April 9th is CSS Naked Day, a day set aside to recognize web standards, and those who work on them. Have you hugged your web developer today?

I was tagged not once, but twice — by Christine and by Heath. And I am helpless to resist the whims of such cool peers.

The Six-Words Meme, which was originally started by Smith Magazine. The history is thus:

Legend has it that Hemingway was once challenged to write a story in only six words. His response? “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” Last year, SMITH Magazine re-ignited the recountre by asking our readers for their own six-word memoirs. They sent in short life stories in droves, from the bittersweet (“Cursed with cancer, blessed with friends”) and poignant (“I still make coffee for two”) to the inspirational (“Business school? Bah! Pop music? Hurrah”) and hilarious (“I like big butts, can’t lie”).

Here are the rules:
1) Write your own six word memoir.
2) Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like.
3) Link to the person that tagged you in your post, and to the original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere.
4) Tag at least five more blogs with links.
5) Don’t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.
6) Have fun.

Mine:
Just a series of humourous accidents.

I’m hard-pressed to find a blogger who hasn’t already been tagged, but if you’re reading this and you haven’t and want to participate, then what are you waiting for?

This accurately characterizes my current situation. My heart might explode, but I feel so damned productive. Even if half of that energy goes towards brewing more coffee. And the work pays for more coffee, and thusly the cycle continues.

I made an honest effort at yesterday’s 12 of 12, but I realized I was in trouble when the most exciting picture was of some dishes smashed on the kitchen floor. I just don’t think there are twelve photographic variations on “waiting on a support ticket” and “slightly modifying a stylesheet”.

Yesterday, I left the house. (Alert the media, eh?) And today I am sick. Coincidence or predicted consequence?

Today’s regularly scheduled list has been postponed. Instead I present this list about all the ways I dealt with the stress of this sucktastic Monday.

• yelled & screamed profanties; always a classic solution
• bitched about it on Twitter
• went for a walk on the treadmill, while watching Sliders
• drank a shot
• took a long hot shower with some fancy bath products
• drank a cocktail
• ate a piece of pie
• drank another cocktail
• slept off the cocktails took a nap
• wrote a blog post about it all

I feel better now. What’s your favourite way to relieve stress?

Okay, I’ll admit it: being a hermit has its drawbacks, even for a confirmed introvert like myself.

• Lack Of Vitamin D
  I’m a pale person to begin with, and the lack of sunshine combined with the constant, cool glow of a computer screen just makes it worse. If I ever decide the leave the house, I could get a new job out at the airport guiding in planes with the glare coming off of my pasty complexion. And don’t even get me started about these damn rickets.
• Pure, Unimpeded Laziness
  You can get a lot of work done with nobody bothering you. And with nobody telling you to work, either, you can lie on the couch with your laptop and read blogs for eight hours straight. Oh Google Reader, how you tempt me!
• Incarceration of Spouse/Enabler
  I’m sure the neighbours are starting to wonder why they haven’t seen me in three whole weeks. Combine that with my history of “funny accidents“, and things start to look a little suspicious for my dear husband. “We never trusted him,: it’s always the quiet ones, don’tcha know. What kind of weirdo gets himself one of those foreign mail-order brides, anyway?”

I didn’t say it was a long list. But for the sake of Mike, I may have to break the streak and venture forth. There’s a Groundhog’s Day joke in there somewhere.

Here’s another shameful confession: I haven’t left my house in three weeks. I’ve blogged about my hermit-like tendencies before, but I’ve been taking them to a new extreme this month. In my defense, I’ve been mostly holed up in my office, taking advantage of a current abundance of work. Although it’s halfway morphed from that into a morbid fascination with just how long I can hold out, with only my long-suffering husband, brood of cats, and the warm-glow of the Internet for company.

I’m finding that the hermit lifestyle does have untold benefits. Let’s list*, shall we?

• Don’t Win Friends, But Still Influence People
  A repuatation as “that kooky old bat holed up in the house down the street” is surprisingly effective at keeping away neighbourhood nuisances like salespeople and proselytizers. At least, it’s been deterring that neighbour who likes to lean over the hedgerow and tell me about his prostate problems.
• Save Money
  Just think of how much money you’ll save by sequestering yourself away from the world. No more gas bills, or costs for the upkeep of that car you’re not using. Save money on clothes by ignoring the latest fashions: who’s going to see anyway? I would advise not skimping on your usual personal hygiene products, however: you don’t want your own stench to drive you from your hermit hole, after all.
• Improve You Health
  Not meeting other people means not meeting their germs, either. Maybe Howard Hughes was right, after all. Where’s my Kleenex?
• No Hair Sniffers
  Enough said.
• Pure Unimpeded Productivity
  There’s nothing better then the still, quiet of the night for getting a hell of a lot of work done. Especially since your aforementioned reputation as an unstable, agoraphobic freak will frighten away anyone who would dare interrupt you. This probably wouldn’t work if you had a job with a workplace other then your house. I think there are laws that prevent your boss from letting you live in your cubicle for three weeks.

Of course, there are downsides…

* one-time happening, or part of a continuing series? Time shall tell.

I’m not proud to say that I squandered my extra day by taking a work-on-the-couch day. But honestly, in the dead of this record-breaking Winter, what else is there to do? I’m not much for hot weather, but even I’m finding it hard not to yearn for summer. Especially as I gaze at my husband’s shiny new blog, and dream of fresh tomatoes, warmed by the sun. I expect that one of my clever friends will tell me the reason, but why don’t we stick the extra day in another, nicer month?

What did you do with your extra day?

Most of the time, it feels like Mike and I got all of the overt sap out of our systems during those two years we were in a long-distance relationship. Now, five years into our marriage, we’re back to being our mostly practical, mostly boring selves. Ours is a quiet, nerd-love. That said, he still manages to surprise me: this time, with a bitty something, all based on an off-hand comment in a blog post. It’s the little things, eh?

I’m going to have to try very hard to use this newfound power for good and not evil.

It’s time for this month’s 12 of 12! I skipped last month, since I spent Jan. 12th laid up with the creeping crud, and nobody wants to see that. Well, maybe a select few of you would: don’t think I don’t see you and your filthy keywords in my stats.

Ahem. Fair warning: this is my very average day. I’m not even going to pretend like I leave the house or talk to people who aren’t cats on a regular basis, like I have for other 12 of 12s. You have been warned. Onward!

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