Answers (NJM17)

Since I’ve got six days to do thirteen entries, looks like I better kick it up a bit – so for this entry, let’s answer some questions from my notes:

What were the presents that the kids gave you when you were Santa?

They were a beanie baby (Cubbie™) and a little blanket that was the right size just for him.  I wrapped him in the blanket and sat him on Santa’s chair for the rest of the day, and now he is sitting on my nightstand.  The best part about being Santa was that I got to sneak up on people I knew, call them out by name, and tell them they were going to be on the Naughty List.

Let me repeat what I said earlier: I do not feel like I make a good Santa (appearance-wise, at least).  I was really lucky that I had a good suit – that made a big difference.  To some extent, I think almost anybody could put on the red suit and be St. Nick convincingly.

How are the kittens?

The kittens are doing great.  We had a bit of a scare with Stripey Tuffy, when we weaned him a couple weeks ago.  Black Tuffy did just fine with switching to solid food – he picked it right up and hasn’t stopped eating since.  But Stripey Tuffy wouldn’t make the switch – he wasn’t eating solid food, and he couldn’t get enough nutrition from formula, so he started to get a bit undernourished.  For a couple days, it didn’t look good – but after we hand fed him solid food for a couple days, he changed his mind and is now eating like there’s no tomorrow.

We have found them a very nice home that we are extremely pleased with – it is a woman that has adopted a cat from us before (that, unfortunately, recently passed away).  She called us out of the blue asking about kittens, and she has decided to take them both – which is very good, since they have no mother or other siblings, they are extremely attached to each other.

A lot of people asked what we named the black kitten – in fact, we found out about their new home shortly after I asked about names in that entry, and so we left it up to their new mom to name them (although I personally like Loki and Diablo).  In any case, they are living with us for a couple more weeks and then they will be off to their new home.

A couple folks also left notes volunteering to adopt them – I really, really appreciate that and we would have considered it if this other home that we already knew hadn’t shown up.  So to those of you who volunteered – thanks!  It’s not that I wouldn’t have had you as parents, if the opportunity comes up again I will be happy to connect you with the people that run the rescue organization we adopt through.

How’s your shoulder?

Better, thanks.  I still have a few weeks of therapy to go, but it is finally progressing after a few weeks of little change.  I’ve gotten to where I can put on my jacket the proper way (left arm first) again, and do a few other little things that I couldn’t.

Van Halen: Roth or Hagar?

A question for the ages, with only one answer.  Roth.  The other guy should stick with making tequila.

Do you make a comfortable living from OD?

This is a tough one, and one I would have ignored not so long ago.  But this is the new, improved, more open DM – and it was asked nicely, so it deserves at least a little response.

I have said many times before that I think I have the best job in the world, and there are many reasons for this – but money is not really one of them.  Yes, the site makes some decent money – but, after paying for all the hardware and software expenses, and then the usual small business expenses (like health care, don’t get me started) – well, there isn’t a great huge bundle left to pay myself a salary.  Don’t get me wrong, I take home some money at the end of the day – but my wife still has to work full-time in two jobs, and I still have to do the occasional outside consulting work in order to make ends meet.

We have a family of five, with one in college and another entering college next year – so money can be tight for us.  We are not starving, or anywhere near it – but on the other hand, there’s not a lot of money left at the end of the month for spending on frivolous things.  We live in a very modest Cape Cod in a decent neighborhood – but it is ours, so for that we can be happy.  I think that where my family falls financially is right smack in the middle of average middle-class somewhere.  Which means, money is something we always have to think about, and often have to worry about – but I think that makes us just like nearly everybody else in the world. So no, not rich – but not destitute either.  At a time when so many people are out of work, or have it so hard, to have paying work at all is great.  But would I like for my job to pay more money?  Who wouldn’t?

However, and this is the big thing – the rewards of my job are so much more than money.  I get to work with this spectacular community of people, first of all.  My life has been enriched in ways I never could have imagined, just by getting to know the people of OD.  Every time I hear from somebody that their life is better because of OD, or they met their spouse or partner here, or that the site helped them in some little way – it drops another coin in the bag of treasure that Open Diary has given me.

Also, I get to work with our three OD Admins – Gail, X, and EWS, who have all become great friends these past few years, and make my life so much easier.

In addition, this job is MY job and MY work – I don’t have to report to a boss, don’t have to have performance reviews, don’t have to put up with crappy office politics, the list goes on and on.  I can work to my own schedule, and I get to decide what part of my job I get to do each day – that sort of freedom is beyond price, for me.  So is my job rewarding?  Yes, beyond anything I could have imagined when I started OD eleven years ago.  For that, I thank all of you, so much.

The DiaryMaster