Although I have missed Blog Girl while she has been away, I have also enjoyed the solitude of the Blog Cave the past few days. I’ve been able to get quite a bit of reading done and spent several hours working on designing and coding my new writing website. I was even able to relax a bit by sleeping in until 6:45 this morning. That will become even more important in the coming days.

I found out a few days ago that I’ll now be spending even more time away from home each workday. The big government agency that I work for finally found a new building for us. The biggest problem with it is that is now an hour’s drive each way from the Blog Cave to the new drone dump, so 90 minutes a day that I used to have during the work week to do things in the Blog Cave will now be spent driving on Central Florida’s wonderful toll roads. It’s not really as big an issue for me as I make it sound; after all I was able to spend 2 years driving just 12 miles a day round trip from the Blog Cave to work and back. But I got spoiled and will miss the time to work on projects or just relax in the Blog Cave and I certainly won’t enjoy the tolls I’ll be paying.

Speaking of which I went Thursday night after work and bought an E-Pass transponder from my neighborhood Publix, then came back to the Blog Cave and signed up online to fund the E-Pass so on Monday I won’t have to fumble for change at each toll booth. I don’t really like the idea of the E-Pass because to me it’s just another way for Big Brother to keep tabs on me, but like a lot of things we do these days, the convenience is what ultimately draws us. The toll roads are set up in such a way now that if you don’t use an E-Pass, you’ll end up sitting in a mile long line of other drivers waiting to throw quarters into the bin and so you still waste the time you hoped to save by taking the toll road in the first place.

While I’m griping; about the only TV that I watch in “real time” is the local news and sometimes the national news or news talk shows. Everything else is DVR’d and I get to skip through the commercials. But I have to tell you that the increasing preponderance of campaign and candidate commercials are about to make me swear off even the news programs until after next Tuesday night. It seems like EVERY commercial is related to the upcoming election. I guess it’s doubly aggravating to me because I have already voted, so there’s nothing I’m going to hear that is going to change my vote. Thank goodness we got rid of the land line house phone and I don’t have to listen to a dozen recorded calls from candidates and causes every day when I get home.

Blog Girl will return home Sunday afternoon and even though I have enjoyed my time alone, it will be nice to have her back in the Blog Cave.