circumventing the ruiner

Happy September! When I was out for a walk today I noticed that the squirrels are ramping up their food hiding program and the acorns are getting really big. It's sunny and in the low 80s (80's? eighties? 83 degrees?) here today, but will probably be raining tomorrow. This sun/rain sequence will get shorter and shorter until it's raining all the time and the sun is just something I heard about one time. Fall is nigh!

(See that kind of ridiculous escalation there? it brings me to my next point:)

My next point: The biggest ruiner of my own good time is me. ME! Fortunately I figured this out a while ago and usually make course corrections before it's too late.

me to me: you are just a big ruiner.
my sensible reply: you're right! I'm sorry. let's have ice cream.

(this sounds like a good solution, such a reasonable compromise, until you can't do the button of your pants anymore. It's like a double reverse ruiner move.)

ANYWAY. I'm not as quick as I'd like to be at catching my own plan spoiling plot foiling fun ruining tricks, but I'm getting better all the time.

The most recent trick I've caught myself in is the List of Hideous Tasks Loop. The tasks themselves are mostly tedious rather than hideous (make appointment for haircut, upload pictures to flickr, take junk to goodwill, etc.) but I put them off, drag them out, and generally torture myself for no apparent reason. The dread of this list lurks behind every fun thing I want to do. "I want to sit outside and read in the sun, but I should probably return 3 months worth of diet coke cans so I can get my deposit." And then I end up neither reading NOR returning 3 months worth of diet coke cans. (longer than 3 months! and it's 5 cents per can! I have a small fortune just sitting in the potting shed oppressing me, when it should be buying me books or at least more diet coke.)

But, I've finally cottoned to that little routine and I'm having a week of LoHT!! If I think of it, I'm doing it. Every time I cross something off, I feel a small but certain twinge of victory over the ruiner! Who is me. But you know, one thing at a time.

Now to upload some pictures.

(speaking of which, the picture at the top is a puddle picture from mid-august.)