Size matters

Its that time of the year again: time for Girl Scout cookies!  Although I like them all, my favorite 2 are 

Do-Si-Dos (peanut butter sandwich cookies)

and... 

Tagalongs (chocolate covered peanut butter cookies).

I've been ordering and enjoying them every year for as long as I can remember.  Girl Scout cookie time should be a holiday in my opinion.  Click this link to see all the Girl Scout cookie varieties.

But this year my joy was tempered a bit when I noticed that the cookies appear to be shrinking in both size and quantity.  Is it just me??  

The Do-Si-Dos come stacked in 2 cellophane sleeves in the box, and the box seems smaller this year, no doubt due to the smaller size of the cookies.

The Tangalongs come in a plastic tray with separators between the cookies, and the separators now take up as much space as the cookies.

I remember paying $2.75 per box years ago, and I know that nothing stays the same price forever, but the cookies are now $4.00 per box.  I guess I'm feeling like the flavor pay-off is getting harder to justify with the smaller cookie size and the increasing price.

But the truth is that I will always order a box of Do-Si-Dos and Tagalongs every year because its my thing.  I do it every year, and I really do enjoy the cookies.  But that doesn't mean I won't complain a little.

Routine

Routines can be good and bad.

They're good in the sense that they give one a sense of structure. If you have a lot of small things to do, doing them in a certain order or routine helps reduce the possibility that you will forget to do something.

They're bad in the sense that they can get stale. Doing the exact same things the exact same way for a long time can become monotonous and boring, causing some to want to 'spice up' their routine now and then.

People often have a hard time returning to their routine after a vacation. While on vacation people usually abandon much of their routine, especially the parts related to going to work, in favor of a more free-style, serendipitous time. When the vacation is over, its common to hear people complain about having a difficult time going back to their routine.

In my case, I am having some difficulty defining a new routine.

As you may recall, I was laid off from my job on Oct 29. The following Mon thru Thurs I was dealing with decisions related to Pouncer's declining health as well as packing for our trip. We were out of town for 10 days, and when we returned it took me the better part of 2 days to unpack and do all the laundry. That's when it hit me that I didn't really have a routine to return to.

My formal routine consisted of showering, feeding and walking Jordan, working from 8:30-5:00, then having dinner and spending the evening with Spouse. Without a job, a large part of my routine is gone. Of course, in place of working I am looking at websites for appropriate jobs for which I might apply. I'm also making lots of inquiries regarding enrolling in real estate school. If I secure a traditional job, I'll go to real estate school 2-3 nights per week over the course of 3 months. If I don't get a traditional job, I'll take an accelerated real estate course that will be over in 1 month.

Its not that I don't have things to do; I just don't feel like I have a routine, and that makes me feel uneasy.