John Lennon Was Not Quite Correct

Life isn't what happens to you while you're busy making other plans; life is what happens to complicate the plans you make. Everything is about choice and setting priorities.

An example: over the last year, I committed to seeking a path for career advancement with the credit union, because I am committed to a future of success and fulfillment, for Marina's sake as well as my own. The credit union is a good place to work; I believe in what I do; but I don't know that I want to do exactly what I'm doing now for the rest of my life.

At the same time, Marina and I decided to move to Santa Cruz, because we were committed to living with more space, and less stress-especially parking stress. And now we have a garden, where we have planted flowers and vegetables in an apt metaphor for putting down roots.

Both endeavors sprang from my commitment to a wonderful relationship. So it was ironic that the first option that came along at the credit union was not one I could pursue, as a direct result of my moving to Santa Cruz. As a telecommuter, I couldn't meet the requirements for the position that I really wanted.

Last week, another position was announced that was open to telecommuters, but the hours were totally incompatible with the need to plan a wedding, as it would require working Friday through Monday, every week, crimping the only chances Marina and I would have for time off together. It did provide a very nice moment of recognition for me, in that two members of the upper management of the credit union specifically reached out to me to see if I was going to apply for the new position; both understood that I could not pursue that option at this time. It felt good that they thought highly enough of me to reach out like that, so I can't complain about how it worked out.

Hopefully down the road, other circumstances will materialize. But this is how life goes. Making one choice in one area of your life shifts the path you can take in another area. There is nothing wrong with that, but it is an interesting aspect of living as a grown-up.

Wedding Conversations, Part Two

Wedding Etiquette Conversation # 3
Marina: Did you know there's something called a groom's cake?
Me: Does it sit in front of me at the table?
Marina: No.
Me: Do other people get to eat it?
Marina: Yes.
Me: Oh. That isn't as entertaining, then.

Conversation continued at SF restaurant Tres, fueled by a pitcher of margaritas, with Vaughn and Emily.*

Me: So the groom's cake is just another cake?
Marina: Yes.
Vaughn: Is that because the wedding cake is basically the bride's cake?
Marina and Emily: Yes!
Me: So it isn't The Cake. It's This Cake Over Here.
Vaughn: Like how it isn't "Do you take The Groom;" it's "Do you take "This Man Here."**

*Some lines of dialogue changed/edited/just made up for the sake of narrative efficiency and punch.

** With apologies to Jerry Seinfeld.

Wedding Conversations, Part One

Wedding Etiquette Conversation # 1.
Me: So, if I don't get to see your dress beforehand, you don't get to see my suit, right?
Marina: No, that's not how it works.
Me: Well, that's not fair.
Marina: That's how it works.
Me: Damn.

Wedding Etiquette Conversation #2
Marina: You need to think about how you want your groomsmen to dress.
Me: I'm going to have them all dress as ninjas.
Marina: No.
Me: No?
Marina: No.
Me: Damn.

AdSense Makes No Sense

Four months ago, I decided to experiment with Google AdSense. It seemed a passive and relatively harmless way to try to earn money for my writing by allowing ads on my three blogs on Blogspot. It also seemed good motivation to write as much as possible, and when I asked people what they thought, no one seemed offended by the notion of putting up with ads to read my blogs.

As of today, I've decided to remove the ads.

I looked at my AdSense profile page this morning, and after four months of allowing Google to post ads, I have unpaid earnings of . . . $1.12.

Considering that I wouldn't get paid until after I had $100 of earnings, this is clearly not a sustainable model for me.

It is nice to have a view counter to keep track of how many views I'm getting, but that's not enough. For the most part, the ads are simply clutter on my pages, giving Google a platform to sell ads without having to pay me anything.

AdSense might work well for some people, especially people who write about subjects that would attract people more likely to click on ads. Maybe people who write about technology or review products or fashion trends would earn measurable amounts. And Blogspot gives me a nice, easy platform for sharing my thoughts and musings with the world. But it isn't worth my time and energy to have ads interfering with the layouts of my blogs.

There may be some good options out there for me to earn money for writing, but Google Ads is not the way.

Enough of this: I'm off to make some scrambled eggs. Those will sustain me, unlike Google.