The Life of Riley is a weekly post that details my activities since I ended a thirteen year career as a corporate drone. These posts are usually long, personal, and geared more for my own memory than the reader’s entertainment.

Sunday (Day 196): Lost

Day lost to history. I should’ve wrote it down.

Monday (Day 197): Writing

Wrote all day because #1GF! is off next week and I don’t want to be writing while she’s home. I want to spend some time with her.

Tuesday (Day 198): Writing

I wrote all day again.

Wednesday (Day 199): Shopping Hell

I wrote for a couple of hours while I waited for my sister to call. Once she did, I picked her up and shopped for 12 hours. We used half a tank of gas and went to four malls. FOUR. And I got three crappy gifts that are going to end up being stocking stuffers.

After a long bout of shopping we went into a restaurant and got seated immediately. It wasn’t too busy, but we got ignored for 10 minutes, so we left. On the way out, the manager asked how our meal was, and we told him that we never got a menu. He practically chased us trying to stop us from leaving. We went across the street to Friendly’s and have sandwiches and shakes like we used to do when we were kids. I haven’t been in a Friendly’s since Reece’s Pieces were a new candy, and it was pretty fun.

As someone who works from home, I forgot how much of the average person’s day is spent just driving to get to their destination. It’s maddening. I get up, shower, and I’m at work. I can work longer and be less aggravated at the end of the day. I can also click click click and get the best price on a gift from 12 stores and have it delivered in 15 minutes. To do that in a mall takes hours of travel time and requires dealing with clerks who have no idea what I’m talking about.

Thursday (Day 200):More Shopping Hell

Went out xmas shopping at 8AM. Got some stocking stuffers and a couple of gifts. At one point I was staring at some stocking stuffers and felt like I didn’t have any gifts and that everything I had pretty much sucked. Then I thought, “And you don’t even have a job so you’re standing here shopping at 9AM.” Because my brain wasn’t helping, I shut it off and got moving.

When I explained this to another unemployed former co-worker, I described the feeling as a microdepression. I think that I’m going to write a book about it and make millions. Don’t be depressed full time. Be MICROdepressed in time you can spare. It will save you money on therapy and booze, and you’ll get more accomplished. After the supermarket, I went home and put together some edible stocking stuffers that are the pride of my Christmas gifts.

Friday (Day 201): Giving Up

Hired an architect, went shopping, and then went over to my cousin’s house for an hour. Afterward, we went out shopping and bought nothing again. For the first time in years, Christmas is wearing me out.

Saturday (Day 202): Wrapping

Got up and wrapped gifts. Noticed that my site’s traffic has been tanking over the last week. Wondered how I could fix it and got frustrated. I played some web games with #1GF! to take my mind off things until my sister came over. We ordered out for calzones and played more web games until I was ready to pull my hair out.

What I learned:

• The internets are fickle and I am not their master.
• I still suck at social networking.
• Very few people call me back anymore. I have no idea why.
• I’m busting ass and sliding backwards on the web.
• I have hit a point where I’m wondering if I’m dreaming about making money on the web.
• I’m starting to have moments where I feel like giving up and just settling back into a corporate coma. It’s way, way easier and pays way, way better.
• I think that the reason I used to hate Christmas was that I always felt like no matter what I bought, it wouldn’t be any good. And I always felt bad about people spending money on me.
• My town had brought in heavy equipment to do snow removal a week ago and the roads are clear. The city of Quincy has 8x the population, and most roads haven’t even been plowed to bare pavement. It’s been a week since the last snowfall, and it’s a disgrace to Quincy’s management.
• If people didn’t have to travel to work, they would get a hell of a lot more done during the day and be half as irritated by the end of it.
• A sandwich, fries, and a shake at Friendly’s dredge up happy childhood memories.

Posted in Leisure