thinking is exhausting
Another slow news day in the Life of Matthew McQuilkin. How many of you come back to read what I post every single day, I wonder? How can you possibly remain interested? You may need medical attention. I mean, don't get me wrong -- I genuinely think of myself as a dynamic and fascinating individual. But even the most interesting person can't be consistently interesting every day. Unless there's something about my writing itself? The way I write about it? That could be it! That said, not even Shobhit reads my journal every single day, and he's my husband. Although he does read it nearly every day, I believe. Some people just come back regularly to see if I've written anything about them. (You know I know who you are!)
Oh, what the hell? How about I visit my analytics page? (Hey, I just thought of something. My statistics on my sexual activities could be call anal-ytics! I'll show myself out.) Over the past month, I've averaged 17.24 visits per day. Who are you people? I think I've asked this before. Those of you who stay a long time will soon discover I do have a tendency to repeat myself. Anyway, of course 17 people might as well be nothing -- maybe less than nothing -- in the statistical context of all the billions of people around the world with Internet access. Check out this audience I've built, of seventeen people! Hey, at least these ones care. It's like my preference for a select group of close, intimate friends rather than countless acquaintances, right? Right?!
Okay let's look at the geographical breakdown again. In the past month, 86% of my visitors have been from America. #2 is still, just like the last time I looked, Austria, of all places -- at 4%. Last time I looked this up (literally one month ago) that percentage was 7%, though. Hey, Austrians, what gives? Am I boring you already? Fuck you then, I don't need you anyway!
A month ago, #3 and #4 were Indian and Canada at 2% and 1%, respectively. This time it's the UK and Australia, at 2% each -- India? It's down to #13! Just one single visit from that country in the past month. 21 people from Austria, 8 each from the UK and Australia, 7 from Canada, 3 each from the Philippines and Poland, 2 each from Germany, Japan and Russia, all other countries just one person. I can only guess these people are somehow ending up on my website by accident. I wish there were an easier spot on my analytics pages to track regular visitors, people who deliberately come back.
Apparently there are something like 130 RSS subscribers, though? That's weird. I can only assume there's something I don't understand about how that works. I have a hard time believing it means 130 people are regularly reading my posts in RSS feeds, that number is so incongruous with the ones I've already mentioned.
I find this analytics page frustrating. It gives me far more information than, say, LiveJournal ever did, but still effectively feels like a tease that makes me want more specific information that it obstinately does not provide.
Should I tell you a bit about my past 24 hours anyway, even though there's little to tell? Well of course I will! I walked home from work -- actually I walked all the way to Central Cinema, with the intention of getting tickets to tonight's "MovieCat Trivia Night" event at the box office with my 10-admission punch card so I could get the cheaper advanced tickets, only to find them closed at 5:30. Actually I got there at 5:25, and realized I should have checked to see when they actually open every evening. I got on my phone to check their website -- 5:30. So, okay, I can wait.
But then I saw on their calendar that they were closed last night for a private event at 7:00. Shit. I waited five minutes past 5:30 just in case they opened the box office for ninety minutes anyway. For all I know they did after a while, although I doubt it; I just gave up and walked back home. Day-of tickets are $8; advanced tickets $6; it was still worth it to purchase online since the online fee was only 80 cents per ticket, so that cost me a total of $13.60 whereas if I'd waited to purchase at the door tonight then it would have cost $16 for the two tickets. I still saved $2.40!
I went to Trader Joe's for yogurt for Shobhit when he texted me asking if I would. At first I said I wouldn't, but then I decided, fuck it, I have all evening and I'm still outside. I was half a block from home and still turned to go the two blocks in the other direction to Trader Joe's. I am such a generous and giving husband.
I came home and Shobhit had frozen parathas heated up and a dinner of spiced potatoes and zucchini ready. We ate and watched two episodes of Fargo and then did the Washington Post crossword puzzle. Honestly my favorite thing about switching to that paper's crossword puzzle is its being included in the news subscription. This way Shobhit can no longer complain that we're wasting money on a crossword-specific subscription if we don't happen to do it every single night.
I kept yawning while we did the crossword, which I do a lot, specifically while doing the crossword. I got very tired, weirdly early last night -- like, at 8:30. I was in bed and sleeping at a quarter to ten. Shobhit said something that cracked me up, because it was in the middle of the crossword and my regular yawning: "I think thinking makes you tired." Ha! Hmm, maybe it does. Thinking is exhausting!
[posted 12:23 pm]