TrickyBuddha Studios

Back to the regular shorter notes, which may be good for those of you working through yesterday’s entry.

(today’s post: 223 words)

I’ve often been somewhat cynical of auto insurance since you’re forced to purchase it and inevitably you pay more into it than you get out of it. But for a moment in time, for me, it’s the other way around.

I signed on with Geico in August of 2007. I pay $315 dollars every six months: August 2007 ($315), February 2008 ($315), and August 2008 ($315). That’s $945 dollars given to Geico.

My car was involved in a hit-and-run. Geico initially assessed the damage at about $2000, but then tacked on another $1500 when the mechanics working on my car said the damage was more extensive than initially thought. I originally had to pay a $500 deductible, but now Geico is chasing after the guy who hit me instead of me - and they’ve already mailed me a check (even though I haven’t spent the $500 yet).

That means that I’ve given Geico about $950 and they’ve given me about $3500. Yes, it’s just a moment in time - but I have to admit that this particular moment with Geico is a good one.

I’m happy that not only did Geico pay for the damage, but that they didn’t fight the updated assessment. I’m also happy, since the Hartford likes to suggest otherwise, that Geico hasn’t mentioned dropping me for using their services.

(today’s post: 250 words)

BioWare may not have ever given me my copy of the last game I worked on, Mass Effect (or my team gift!), but they did give me a ton of money (my salary, silly) and the money has definitely lasted me longer than the game would have (ooh, burn!).

I read that you should have enough savings that you can weather three-to-six months of unemployment; I’m at 15-1/2 months.

Again, thanks to BioWare, I have enough money to continue enjoying a leisurely life; there’s no need to pick up soup cans from the local church (yet!). And although I know that sooner-or-later I’ll need a job, I’m still of the mind set that I can hold out for an interesting job. There’s no need for me to rush and just grab anything that pays.

Our society is a productive one and our people are encouraged to contribute. Oddly, I don’t see a difference between my life now and when I’ve had work and/or school. I take time for learning each day. I take time for projects each day. I have a routine. The difference is that at BioWare I might have come up with a way to get at focus test information, whereas now I’m spending time building spreadsheets that generate fantasy football power rankings.

I can’t get at the complexity of this passage of time within 250 words, but I will say that I’m working on a story that fictionalizes it. And maybe one day I’ll even finish it.

(today’s post: 247 words)

I love green tea. OK, I don’t *love* green tea, but I love the apparent health benefits and I enjoy the taste enough to love it as a whole. I say this because I feel it’s time to come clean and admit my burgeoning addiction.

So where does this come from? I’ll say Devin.

Devin works until midnight or 1AM. During our recent NJ visit, Candice and I, and oftentimes Dom, would start the night with a Wawa run as soon as Devin got off so he could grab some herbal tea (and us some snacks). I’d been thinking about green tea (thanks to the plethora of online articles touting its health appeal) and one night, while Devin got his herbal, I grabbed a green tea.

It was great. I got a good, non-jittery caffeine buzz from it. And I had no trouble getting to bed that night.

I’ve had green tea almost every day since. Recently, I tried Lipton’s iced green tea and that’s pretty tasty, but it may not be as healthy. Maybe I’ll make my own like the site suggests.

And that leads me to a question.

Do you like green tea? If so, how do you drink it? I’ve been pouring a spoon of honey into the bottom of a cup, dropping in one tea bag, and then filling the (14oz) cup with boiling water. I leave the bag in while the cup cools for 20 minutes or so, stir it, and drink.