news from my hiding place

Years ago I did a study--I participated in a study--that involved phone calls. Two strangers are paired up to talk about a certain topic, and it's recorded. The strangers talk for 10 minutes. It's to study voices. It pays six bucks per call with a bonus for completing 12 calls. Anyway, I really enjoyed doing this those years ago, back when we lived in Bishop.

I was invited to another study a few days ago, so I sent them the required info, and I got instructions. Today I had my first call. It was with a man named Dwight who sounded like he was from the south. We had a hard time keeping the conversation going. The topic was internet dating. He has been married for 35 years and has a 23 year old son. He would say something then ask, "What do you think about that?" and I found it unnerving.

I've been very much isolating myself. It's been really hard for me to be around people. Yesterday I saw my friend P, and it was even hard to be around her. We think it's stress. However, I've been communicating with people a lot online. My friend J and I chat for hours. I think I'm overdoing it, in fact. I should spend more time away from the computer. But it's on my desk. Right now I'm in the middle of putting zines into envelopes and writing the notes. So I'm at my desk anyway.

Tomorrow SAT scoring starts. I'm aiming for three hours a day. We'll see if I make it. The good thing is that they've changed the rules so that 40 hours per week is the max. Before, it was 50, so Erik would score 50. Now our lives will be a little bit saner.