Clean Desk Mission: Day 28

Twenty-eight days.  Four full weeks...almost a full month.   I haven't dusted it in a month, though - ewww.

And in the interest of full disclosure, I did have a slip-up this week.  As I laid my weary head on my pillow Tuesday night, I realized I had left piles o'stuff.  The horror!  My eyes flew open and I very nearly crawled out of bed to go straighten everything up, but it was midnight and I figured it could wait six hours.  To be honest, I was a little pouty when I faced a less-than-crisp and clean surface the next morning; I've grown accustomed to having a clean desk greet me each and every morning.

But my workspace was bound for more messiness anyway, with lots of writing and editing to do this week.  And that means lots of piles of this 'n' that scattered here and there and everywhere, all day long.  However, since the desk is staying relatively clean, it seems rather pointless to continue to dwell on its cleanliness (or even its dustiness) each week.

So let's talk virtual file organization.  How 'bout them computer files?   Okay, let's take baby steps, and start with photo files. I downloaded the new Picasa 3.8 and I'd like to say I'm having fun playing with the new embedded Picnik photo editing, but I haven't gotten it to open yet.  (Something tells me my browser settings are at fault.)

I'm also feeling sucked into the Picasa photo-storage vortex, swirling closer and faster to the drain.  The Luddite in me is leery of online photo storage, even though I've been using WalMart's photo center and even SnapFish for more years than I can count.  Part of me just likes having my photos on my hard drive or flash drive (yeah, where they can get sizzled in the flash of a lightning bolt, or accidentally washed and dried to oblivion.  I know, I know.

But I am working hard to get my photos in some semblance of order.  I keep my text files pretty orderly but PIcasa's folder-naming gizmo does some hinky things now and again, so my photo files are a bit unkempt.  And the bigger they get, the worse they are.  Time to get cracking on them.  Keep your fingers crossed that next Friday's update allows me to brag on some new, impressive photo filing system I've got going on.   Then we can take a road trip to a totally foreign destination:  the land of external hard drive backups.  (Yes, I have one.  And no, I'm not sure exactly how to use it.)

What can I say, except I work without a net.  And sometimes I jump off cliffs. (Don't tell mom and dad.)

Yes, that was actually a leap, not a fall.  No, despite how it looks, I did not do a face plant in the water but went in feet-first, just like the Navy SEALS say you should.  And yes, I know it is foolish and dangerous to jump 20 feet into a gorge on a mountain stream with barely-submerged rocks only a few feet away.

But in my defense, I wasn't as crazy as this guy who climbed about 40 feet up a tree to jump into the same area.

However, I guess I have proven that my answer to the age-old question, "If all the other kids were jumping off a cliff, would you?" is yes.  And with that sanity-defying leap of mine, I have had all the summer fun I can possibly stand.  Bring on fall and football! (15 days and counting....)