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Getting back to normal, sort of...
Jan. 9th, 2015 11:34 pmThe trickle of work at the beginning of the week has risen to its usual volume, and I find myself facing the weekend with three rather large jobs. I find it hard to complain, as nearly one-third of the month has fled, and I would be hard-pressed to pay the utilities for the month with what I could bill thus far in 2015.
I came pretty close to hanging up the old LJ Idol spurs this past week, as between the work I did have and all the medical stuff they had me running around to do, there really wasn't any time to write or think about writing.
Actually, let me amend that last: There really wasn't any time to write the way I'm used to writing or think about writing the way I'm used to thinking about writing. As a result, I managed to somehow tap out about 2,800 words of fiction within four hours, and quite a bit of that time was spent plotting.
I'm sure that if I had some additional time, I could have come up with a nice twist to the tale, but there simply was no time to let the ideas bob up and down in my head like bones in a simmering stew.
This suggests to me that I may be better served, in terms of writing, by working out a plot in advance, after which I can go back and fill in the empty areas. I mean, if I was able to extemporize a 2,800-word story in four hours from scratch, how much further might I be able to get if I've already got a good idea of where things are going?
Admittedly, that means investing a separate chunk of time in working out a story, but that part is like working on a crossword puzzle or a chess problem. A different set of mental "muscles" come into play, I think.
I'm sure there's some kind of fine point at work here, but from what I gather, fax communication is considered secure enough for medical offices to use without running afoul of HIPAA regulations, whereas email is not. As a result, I'm now the proud owner of a bunch of fax numbers that I am expected to use (instead of email) to send information to and receive information from various medical offices.
The only fly in this ointment is that we have no landline available at the house, which meant that the only reasonable alternative for me was to reactivate my old online fax account for the duration. And while a fax may be secure as it travels between fax machines—and I have my doubts about that—once my online fax service emails me the faxed information, I imagine it's just as vulnerable to interception as any other email.
Naturally, nobody seems interested in implemented encrypted email, and with every passing day, it would appear that anyone with such an interest is viewed with increasing suspicion.
Despite the impending work load, I want to get out of the house tomorrow, if only for a couple of hours, to go do something that doesn't involve a medical office.
Cheers...
I came pretty close to hanging up the old LJ Idol spurs this past week, as between the work I did have and all the medical stuff they had me running around to do, there really wasn't any time to write or think about writing.
Actually, let me amend that last: There really wasn't any time to write the way I'm used to writing or think about writing the way I'm used to thinking about writing. As a result, I managed to somehow tap out about 2,800 words of fiction within four hours, and quite a bit of that time was spent plotting.
I'm sure that if I had some additional time, I could have come up with a nice twist to the tale, but there simply was no time to let the ideas bob up and down in my head like bones in a simmering stew.
This suggests to me that I may be better served, in terms of writing, by working out a plot in advance, after which I can go back and fill in the empty areas. I mean, if I was able to extemporize a 2,800-word story in four hours from scratch, how much further might I be able to get if I've already got a good idea of where things are going?
Admittedly, that means investing a separate chunk of time in working out a story, but that part is like working on a crossword puzzle or a chess problem. A different set of mental "muscles" come into play, I think.
I'm sure there's some kind of fine point at work here, but from what I gather, fax communication is considered secure enough for medical offices to use without running afoul of HIPAA regulations, whereas email is not. As a result, I'm now the proud owner of a bunch of fax numbers that I am expected to use (instead of email) to send information to and receive information from various medical offices.
The only fly in this ointment is that we have no landline available at the house, which meant that the only reasonable alternative for me was to reactivate my old online fax account for the duration. And while a fax may be secure as it travels between fax machines—and I have my doubts about that—once my online fax service emails me the faxed information, I imagine it's just as vulnerable to interception as any other email.
Naturally, nobody seems interested in implemented encrypted email, and with every passing day, it would appear that anyone with such an interest is viewed with increasing suspicion.
Despite the impending work load, I want to get out of the house tomorrow, if only for a couple of hours, to go do something that doesn't involve a medical office.
Cheers...
