Let me explain...

... how I can possibly get nothing accomplished even though I don't have a "real" job and should theoretically have tons of time. You'd think I'd be sipping lattes and listening to NPR or something.

Today was a typical morning. Race around to get the child ready for school. Walk him to school. While walking home with another mom, we stopped to talk shop for a while about some of her graphic design clients and projects. I intended to race home to run errands and do a serious cleaning job because we have house guests coming tomorrow.

Instead, I made it almost home, where I encountered another neighbor who offered me a free quilt. Which, of course, a scavenger like yours truly can't turn down. So I went inside, where we proceded to talk about home ownership, tour her new landscaping projects, and move a giant ladder which had been leaning against her house for a few weeks.

Finally arriving home, I received a call from my mother who needed technological help with her cell phone and may need to borrow our truck to get their Christmas tree. So they stopped by and I got her dialed in (so to speak). As I was racing around cleaning prior to my parents arrival, a friend called asking to use my computer and internet connection because hers was down. "Of course!"

So my parents left, and my friend showed up. But, like anybody who wants to "use your computer" she needed not just the computer, but also access to my brain to make the computer and the web features she was using operate as desired. She finished up. As I was walking her out, one of the guys from next door came over looking for a sledge-hammer and prybar, which led to a frustrating, frantic, and unfruitful tour of both sheds-from-hell and what we call "the garage" which is actually a big barn-like structure full of piles of miscellaneous shit.

And suddenly, my watch alarm sounded to notify me that my son's school day was over.

And this, dear friends, is my life in a nutshell.