Today is the first day since I started taking martial arts lessons that I skipped a lesson (not counting days when I was out of the state). Dumb reason, it's probably good to give my muscles a rest once in a while. I have learned that it is possible to ache in places I was not previously aware were muscle locations. It feels great.

Yeah, I'm a masochist. But I like this! Can I be really enthusiastic about everything for a while? (Oh! Also, jazz piano! And also, cooking! And also also, lockpicking! And {break, swing} dancing, and... and...APIs, and the semantic web! Also, metal injection molding!)

(Okay, I'm done now.)

So instead of kicking things myself tonight (I practiced a little at home, though) I went off and got a negotiating lesson at a mattress store. Or rather, tried a negotiation experiment... it worked ok, I can do better, I'll try again sometime. It's amazing how being quiet and letting the other person talk will tend to bring the price down... and down... and down... and down. I'm trying to see if I can reach 50% off list price. Currently I'm at 66% of the list price for a mattress that isn't supposed to ever go on sale. Not too bad for a first try.

Potato-leek soup: easy and gorgeous. Chop both vegetables, saute them for a couple minutes in olive oil 'till they're no longer raw, then pour broth over and boil until tender; season, then blend if you want - you don't have to do the blending, but I like it that way. Don't overblend it, or the potato starch will turn it pasty - I think I overdid it just a bit this time. Rosemary goes well with this.

Tomorrow looks to be a busy day - the start to a busy weekend. This is putting it mildly. I'll spare the  mind-numbing schedule details here; full details available to those who inquire.

I'm trying to find ways to do less right now. Get rid of books!* Cut down on meetings! Unsubscribe from mailing lists! Pareto-ize my life! It's part of my regular cyclic purge of "gaaaaaaahtoomanythingstodoooooo." Recognizing it as a cyclic thing keeps me from stressing out about it too much. This was one of my great triumphs at college - learning to be okay with cycles like that. The cleanliness of my room follows a similar pattern. In fact, the cycles for those two things (room + hosedness) usually align. (When I'm hosed, I don't have time to pick up stuff.)

*Would anybody like science-fiction books, popular-audience sociology/economics books, or books on acting/theatre or the social impact of technology?

Must do fewer things. Have fewer things. Be fewer things. Glory.

For the record, my room currently does not have a floor.