I read before I write

So the reason I haven't blogged more is that I spend a lot of my free time reading other people's blogs. I enjoy them immensely, but they trouble me, too, and I'm not just talking about their use as my procrastination crutch.

Blogs can be so entertaining and even intimate that I feel in close contact with my friends, and yet they have no idea I'm so up on their lives. Blogs make communication a one-way street.

I'm also amazed at how all the excellent insights revealed on blogs just scroll down under the weight of following entries, never to reach a wider audience. For instance, one friend who's a journalist has these terrific revelations and self-directed research projects -- but why is it only her blog readers can benefit? In a way it seems a waste to see all that intellect with not a lot of places to go.

It's like the information superhighway with too many rest stops and detours.

Anyway, I'm writing now, and it feels good! I finished the clamshell last week, and to my chagrin it's a little difficult to open. I think it's because I've never made one with such high walls before and the walls pose more friction in the opening, necessitating two hands. It's a huge box anyway, so maybe that's OK.

I'll deliver to my customer over Thanksgiving and give him the final say. It would be good practice and help my troubleshooting to make another, but I sort of dread it. Making something that big really brings on the anxiety. For instance, the glue's drying on one part of the board before you've even finished painting it on, and everything's exponentially larger and more difficult.

Right now I'm so focused on the China trip that I've pushed back any decision on making more boxes for the holidays. I did, however, talk to the manager of that neighborhood bank, and he said he'd welcome my display.