What am I doing?

First of all, a HUGE thank you to everyone who hasn't asked me what I'm doing with "all that free time" now that I've left Apple. I'm not particularly upset with folks who are asking...it's just that I don't have any one succinct answer. So, everyone gets the answer I think they're looking for, such as:

• Catching up on major home repair and organization tasks I haven't done for the past three years. This is really scary and time-consuming and eventually will involve the plumber and the electrician.


• Going to writing seminars to try to figure out which type of fiction writing I want to focus on in the coming months.


• Trying out a nice 2-day-a-week writing gig for a local web marketing company — short, fun, do-able projects and great people.


• Staying away from iChat and trying not to pay too much attention to the phones. Trying to dampen the Pavlovian response.


• Serious cooking for large social events. I went to a fondue party (brought chocolate) and a Passover dinner (brought vegetarian matzoh ball soup for 20), and am scheduled to make Swedish meatballs to take to a confab of Zorg's World of Warcraft guild.


• Going out to lunches and dinners with friends. Fun!


• Attending parties and even volunteering to host one!


• Installing and updating software on two new computers.


• Demo-ing my Macs and .Mac.


• Taking part in a yard sale with friends and selling furniture via Craig's List.


• Saying "no" to offers of full-time jobs. No. No. No!

I'd be gardening, but the weather has been damp, windy, and chilly. Brrr!