Ooo, fun!

I have a new book: "Beginner's Arabic Script", in the Teach Yourself language series. I can write six letters now, if you count alif and alif madda as two. I can write the words "father", "August", "furniture", "door", "firm/solid", "son", "daughter", "I", and "you". I am on page eight.

Wheeee! :-) :-)

To work or not to work

There is less and less suspense over the eventual outcome of the layoffs. No new development is expected to survive in my division. Almost everyone I've spoken to is now hoping to get laid off, because getting the package is better than being the last one out to turn off the lights [and getting no package].

I just summed up the mood here in a piece of e-mail: "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we may never see each other again, and besides there isn't any actual work to do."

Good mood today

I really don't know why, but I'm in a good mood today.

My irrational fear that I will be the only one left behind after the layoffs isn't stressing me much right now. Painful stuff in my personal life has faded to the background for the moment. The little one-upsmanship games around here ("I know something you don't") aren't bothering me much today. Even my stress about the square dance I'll be calling on Saturday (I have to sing!!!) isn't too bad.

I feel good about straightening up the house a bit: flipped all the screwed-up circuit breakers, cleaned the fridge, reset lots of clocks, got the computer network up, turned off the sprinkler system. I also feel good about having just about all the written material I'll need for the dance (now it's just the songs). I am pleased that most of the people at work are happily joining the keep-in-touch list I made a while back; I feel like I'm socially useful :-).

It's always a little odd when I'm in a good mood and I don't know WHY. These things I've listed are the symptoms. I don't feel too bad about X, I feel pretty good about Y. But what made that happen? Other days I feel TERRIBLE about X and not that great about Y. What's different today? Dunno.

I certainly don't mind, though. Good moods are so... pleasant. Nice. I've missed them. I like this.