Monkey of the Day

Thank you, Boing Boing.

Work Less for More Happiness

I've always said that I would gladly work fewer hours for less money in order to have more time off. My favorite work schedule ever was a 32 hour workweek. Sure, I didn't make a ton of money. Guess what? I still don't! But my current 40 hour workweek doesn't leave me time for the things I used to spend my free time doing - long hikes with my dogs, trying out new recipes, exploring the library for something new to read. In part, all of that was a major lifestyle change that happened when I moved from Nashville to Flagstaff, where I learned to cherish the experiences that come from being in an outdoorsy small town over the things that money can buy. So while some might read the intro to this NYTimes article & think, "This chick be crazy!" I'm thinking I should follow in her footsteps...

Monkey of the Day

Colbert delivers today's monkey

In Which I Meet a Hero

This weekend, one of my favorite things on earth, Wiretap, came here to do a performance. (Why in God's name a Canadian show decided to time their arrival to Arizona in JULY is beyond me, though). Jonathan Goldstein is a genius, and in addition to being a Wiretap junkie, I've followed his stuff on This American Life and in print (both his essays and his novel). So I was beyond excited to meet him and have him sign his novel. But I was completely crestfallen when he told the hipster asshat in front of me in line that he LOVED the guy's tattoo. Of a bear playing a guitar. Which then made me all deflated and self-conscious and not wanting to seem like a loser groupie, so I lost all desire to explain what a mega-fan I am and to beg him to take me on as an intern on his show. So instead I just shuffled forward and had him sign my book without speaking anything more than "hello."

Aside from that, the performance reaffirmed just how awesome Wiretap is, especially since I learned that Doug Savage's sticky notes were a pivotal part of Jonathan's presentation. From now on, though, I might stick to listening to Wiretap rather than trying to seek it out in live form.