A 1920s oak library table
Jun. 18th, 2003 10:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vaneramosOver the past two weeks, my hours and days kept getting sucked into a vortex. LJ turned into a black hole, where time and space lost meaning. Each morning I woke with hopes and dreams. Then, like an automaton, I would walk into my office, turn on the computer, connect to the internet and go to LJ. The sun would climb and descend the sky. I would occasionally dig through the fridge, scavenging for leftovers, then go back to the computer and LJ. Darkness would fall and I would get sleepy and go to bed, feeling lost and terrified.
I finally hit the bottom and didn't want to stay there. Today was different. I got out of bed, pushed some dishes out of the way and sat down at the table with my breakfast and a notepad, and made a list of things I wanted to do today. Breakfast was a chopped mango, an English muffin with strawberry jam and a cup of coffee. When I finished I went for a walk and took some photographs of flowers.
I came home, made a pot of tea, walked into my office and swept the clutter off my desk into the green armchair. I turned on the computer but only to listen to my favourite radio station. It was 10:00.
Then I sat down at my desk and wrote for three hours.
This desk is my favourite possession. It is a 1920s oak library table, probably my most valuable piece of furniture. It even has the original wood casters, but the broken drawer handles were replaced when my mother and I refinished it about 25 years ago. It is a fine place to sit, with daylight caressing the honey-brown wood grain. It is a fine place to think and write.
I had no prior expectations of what would come out of those three hours, only that I would stay at my desk and write. Without expectations I felt no pressure. I didn't throw a tantrum. When one idea lost my concentration, I moved onto something else. I worked on five or six different things, such as a page outlining the thesis for the book I have been trying to write, a list of concepts I need to research, and a poem, which I finished. I didn't feel frustrated by my lack of concentration. Different projects gathered energy from one another.
It was the most productive work time I have had in weeks. Tomorrow I will do the same. I'm not afraid of getting distracted, because those three hours felt so good.
At 1:00 I got up from the desk, walked down the street and had a slice of pizza for lunch, then came home and checked my email.
Here is one of the pictures I took this morning, a friend for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ruralrob's peony:
Now I am trying to work on some new developments of my website. I would like to add photo galleries. I taught myself HTML. Unfortunately my knowledge has grown rusty since I redesigned Silvan's Glade three years ago. For one thing I need to relearn how to do frames.
I finally hit the bottom and didn't want to stay there. Today was different. I got out of bed, pushed some dishes out of the way and sat down at the table with my breakfast and a notepad, and made a list of things I wanted to do today. Breakfast was a chopped mango, an English muffin with strawberry jam and a cup of coffee. When I finished I went for a walk and took some photographs of flowers.
I came home, made a pot of tea, walked into my office and swept the clutter off my desk into the green armchair. I turned on the computer but only to listen to my favourite radio station. It was 10:00.
Then I sat down at my desk and wrote for three hours.
This desk is my favourite possession. It is a 1920s oak library table, probably my most valuable piece of furniture. It even has the original wood casters, but the broken drawer handles were replaced when my mother and I refinished it about 25 years ago. It is a fine place to sit, with daylight caressing the honey-brown wood grain. It is a fine place to think and write.
I had no prior expectations of what would come out of those three hours, only that I would stay at my desk and write. Without expectations I felt no pressure. I didn't throw a tantrum. When one idea lost my concentration, I moved onto something else. I worked on five or six different things, such as a page outlining the thesis for the book I have been trying to write, a list of concepts I need to research, and a poem, which I finished. I didn't feel frustrated by my lack of concentration. Different projects gathered energy from one another.
It was the most productive work time I have had in weeks. Tomorrow I will do the same. I'm not afraid of getting distracted, because those three hours felt so good.
At 1:00 I got up from the desk, walked down the street and had a slice of pizza for lunch, then came home and checked my email.
Here is one of the pictures I took this morning, a friend for
ruralrob's peony:Now I am trying to work on some new developments of my website. I would like to add photo galleries. I taught myself HTML. Unfortunately my knowledge has grown rusty since I redesigned Silvan's Glade three years ago. For one thing I need to relearn how to do frames.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2003-06-18 08:45 pm (UTC)Inquiring minds really do need to know the answers to random questions. :)
I love your peony picture. We have some growing in the back yard and they're huge and beautiful.
no subject
Date: 2003-06-19 12:34 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2003-06-20 11:11 pm (UTC)Thanks for the info!
no subject
Date: 2003-06-18 09:02 pm (UTC)And ruralrob for that matter.
And write too :)
no subject
Date: 2003-06-19 01:15 am (UTC)A blank notebook has equal beauty to something that popped out of the ground. Splendid things emerge, indeed.
I have found myself turning to LiveJournal and turning off the news, perhaps *ahem* too often. It's comforting though, but like a good sleep on a rainy day, too much can cause soreness.
This gentle remind of good ol' fashioned noodling is most welcome.
As for website development, well, seems like you simply need to add a gallery link to the main frame. When it comes to building galleries (not sure if you use a mac or pc) but I could recommend finding a utility program that builds the pages and thumbnails automatically from a directory.
It's what I do.
The most I ever "see" HTML code anymore these days, seems to be when i'm posting to LJ.
As for frames, well... They make my life hell. I will say this (pardon if it gets too geek). Server Side Includes (SSI) might be a heckuva lot easier to learn, accomplish the same task, AND eliminate frames (or in your case, the side navigation frames that likely are the most difficult to manage)
Main navigation and/or "side" navigation could all be stored in common files and included on relevant pages. Might be worth simply asking geocities if they support "them." (SSI that is)
I've got this big undertaking of eliminating frames from my own site. It's daunting, but it's making me think about architecture and organization as more stuff accumulates. It gets harder to not only navigate, but updating it is a pain in the rear.
Dang tangled web.
Now, back to looking at that fine desk and blank sheet of paper. Ahhhhhhh.
no subject
Date: 2003-06-19 12:51 pm (UTC)I use a PC. Is there a utility program you would recommend?
I'm not familier with SSIs. Have to look them up.
This is most helpful. Thank you, Chris.
no subject
Date: 2003-06-19 03:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-19 01:27 pm (UTC)1. The simple way: http://www.geocities.com/vwaffle. all you have to do is write the address as it appears and it will automatically create a link.
2. The more graceful way which requires an HTML tag: Silvan's Glade.
Here is the HTML tag you would have to type (please ignore the underline and false link, I'm not sure how to get rid of it):
<a href="http://www.geocities.com/vwaffle/">Silvan's Glade</a>
The logic here is:
1. Each HTML tag is enclosed between brackets: < and >
2. A link requires an "a" tag to open it and an "/a" tag to end it, with the visible text in between.
3. The "href=" identifies that what follows is the link address.
Here is the LJ FAQ about links if you want more help.
http://www.livejournal.com/support/faqbrowse.bml?faqid=67
no subject
Date: 2003-06-19 01:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-19 08:37 am (UTC)Congratulations on a three hour work shift! I've been struggling to find a better way to enjoy LJ without losing my mind (not to mention missing many entries I really want to read). I think the solution is to make links to the journals I want to read and just go to them one at a time, when I have some time to spend. The mix becomes an unmanageable amalgam and I lose threads...
no subject
Date: 2003-06-20 08:54 am (UTC)incidentally, does this desk open? or have drawers?
no subject
Date: 2003-06-20 04:46 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2003-06-20 05:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-22 08:28 pm (UTC)I am so behind on everything it isn't funny - and we have guests. So don't expect any masterpieces in the next few days. Lots of pics to share, though, when I'm finally organized . . . . .
no subject
Date: 2003-06-22 08:48 pm (UTC)I'm glad you're safely home, and look forward to hearing about it when you have time.