A New Low

Peanut m&m's: it's what's for dinner.

Lost and Found

Monday was a good day for a reason besides the paddling trip. Here's the story:

The weekend of baby E's birth, I lost a beloved (expensive) ring. It was a crazy weekend of little sleep, lots of driving, and a medication mishap*.

My sweet mother and my lifesaver almost mother (Gwen) both said the ring would turn up. After searching the house and chapel thoroughly (I played the piano that Sunday at church and put the ring on the music rack while I played), I felt it was gone for good. I even bought a (much less expensive) substitute ring to try to make up for the loss.

Monday night I was looking for a sock in a pile of clean laundry on the guest bed, and there was the wayward ring, on the bed in plain sight. I'm still astounded.

The story has so many lessons for me I probably can't list them all. You have probably mastered these lessons by now, but apparently, I haven't. Here are a few:

• Trust a wise mother (or two) when she tells you something.
• Never take off a ring to play the piano at church.
• Don't run out of medication you're supposed to take daily.
• Don't let the same pile of clean laundry sit for six weeks.**

I realize that in the whole of life, I would have been just fine if the ring was lost forever, but I'm so grateful for the small mercy that it came back to me

*Google "effexor withdrawal" if you really want to know more. If not, I'll just say that it's truly awful.

**To be honest, it's a perpetual pile that I keep adding to and taking away from.

Cleanliness is Next to...

Don't you love a clean desk?

Unfortunately, the desk is only clean because I dumped everything here:

 and here:

On the other hand, it may comfort a few readers to know that some things never change.

Leaves a Bad Taste

This has turned out to be a frustrating week in which several mistakes were made. By me.

I wish I could get a do-over on this one.

Today's Question

How can I put my hands on the same piece of paper multiple times over several weeks in the course of other tasks, yet still never find it when I specifically look for it?

Not an Unqualified Success

The semester is over (for me), and though I'm waiting for grades, I suspect (hoped) I earned a B+ in the class I took. (I actually took two classes, but one was a pass/fail and I earned a 90%).

I earned plenty of Bs and worse in college, but none in library school. This B is a combination of mediocre effort and absence of a natural affinity for the subject. My library school grades didn't always involve my best effort, but library school is pretty easy, and there was perhaps some natural talent involved.

One remedy for my lingering unease is to say, "I'll try harder next time," but I've decided to sit out next semester and rethink the entire Master's of Public Health plan. So if I don't go back, I'm left with a sour taste in my mouth. I realize a B is a perfectly acceptable grade--I think it's the mediocre effort that has me feeling dissatisfied. I'm happy to be done, but wish I could also be happy I'd done a good job.

Too much self-recrimination?

Mantra

Patience is a virtue. Patience is a virtue. Patience is a virtue. Patience is a virtue.



I'll let you know when it's sunk in.

Sinking to a New Low

Enough said?

It's All About the Plan

I'm working on some personal issues, one being my propensity to procrastinate and put off tasks I find distasteful. Unfortunately, that list of tasks includes nearly every housekeeping job and most of the projects I need to do at work (the "why" behind this attitude is an entirely different issue that I'm not going to tackle right now).

I'm beginning with some things at work, particularly on a relatively easy task I've put off for over a month. I've started working on Saturdays when no one else is in the office and I don't have any public responsibilities. So, here is the plan for tomorrow:

It may be too complicated to execute, but here are the timers that go along with the plan:

Notice the positive self talk on the plan? That's my Adult Ego State trying to get buy-in from my Child Ego State to go ahead and get the long-procrastinated task finished.

The plan requires only 3.5 hours of work for a 7.5 hour day, but the idea is that once I get into something I'll build momentum and want to keep going. There are a few production goals and one "bonus" task at the bottom of the page to help focus my efforts. And once I've completed the required 3.5 hours, I earn a trip to Sonic.

I'd like to say the Sonic trip is a special event, but it's in fact a regular occurrence (also another issue for another day). I don't ALWAYS get a sundae, however, so this trip will be sort of special.

So here's to the Plan. I think it's a good one, though purple ink would have made it even better!

Organizational Advice

Not sure how to decide which office papers to keep and which to discard? Here's a simple, sure-fire way to dramatically decrease the deliberation time:

1. If you aren't sure about the item, stack it on your desk.
2. Revisit the stack one to three years later.

Nice Surprise

I got to work this morning after a holiday break and a day of being sick, feeling less than enthusiastic about the day and week ahead. So it was a nice surprise to see that I cleaned my office (somewhat) before I left last week.

I know that to the uninitiated, the office still looks like a mess, but believe me--it actually looks great. I should be kinder to myself more often!

Neverending Story

No, we're not talking about the 1984 fantasy movie. We're talking about my life. Every day (practically).

I didn't find the missing Caffeine Fix, but I made some interesting discoveries during my search. The inner dialogue went something like:

North Texas tolltag? I didn't even know it was missing. And I never would have found it here!

Compact mirror. Sure wish I could make myself use it. Well, it wouldn't hurt to transfer it to yet another bag.

Wait a minute. Where's the bag I took to Day Camp last month? I haven't seen it since then. I better not have lost it there.

Aha! I knew I'd find you, rogue library Dogs and Cats book missing since October! Apparently I took you to KY at Christmas. Huh. This is a pretty good book. I should take it next time I see the children. Lincoln does love his "arfies."

Hello, running watch. This saves me a trip to my gym locker, since I planned to take you to FL tomorrow. But wait, maybe I should take this $14 fashion watch instead. Too bad the battery is dead.

Where on earth is that stupid bag? Now that I've thought about it, I really need to take it on the trip.

Four boxes of Puffs Plus? I knew I couldn't be completely out. Good thing I only bought three more and not another six.

State of the Monday

• I arrived at work at 10 am today. Not as early as I hoped, but not terribly bad (10:30 is my official start time).
• I'm going on vacation in two days. A real vacation. At the beach.
• My toenails are painted for the first time this summer. Mrs. O'Leary's BBQ
• I brought my Primary bag to work today by mistake. This will necessitate a trip home pretty soon to retrieve the correct bag.
• I'm reading The Snake, the Crocodile and the Dog as part of my ongoing bid to once and for all reread and then finish the rest of the books in the series. It really doesn't get much better than Amelia Peabody. She's a great mood lifter.
• In other nail lacquer news, I can't find my bottle of Caffeine Fix. Hmmph.
• I watched the second episode of Zen on Masterpiece last night. Great! I'm now eager to read one of Michael Dibdin's books. If they're as good as Donna Leon's books, I'll be in heaven.

What's going on in your Monday?

I May Be a Slob

but not THIS much of a slob:

Wouldn't It Be Nice? A Non-Illustrated Post

Because I often don't get to work at an early hour, I usually turn on the computer while I'm getting ready for work and monitor my e-mail, reply to a few messages, etc. It eases some of the guilt about being such a late starter.

Is it a surprise to anyone that I would rather sit in my bedroom all day and work from home in my pajamas rather than make myself presentable and go to the office? It's actually the "make myself presentable" part that I detest. If I could wake up, do the essentials (bathroom and teeth), and get in the car, I'd be happy to go to work every day. I might even be one of the first ones there (well, maybe). But I've been known to go to great lengths to avoid showering, putting on makeup, and fixing my hair.

If I stink, will you please tell me? I don't want to be offensive. I'm just mourning the slow realization of the ultra sonic shower machine (think George Jetson).

Help!

What do you do when the only thing that will make you happy is a donut* and you don't think you can make it through the day without one (or more)?


*or thumbprint cookies from Julias' bakery, or a slice of coconut cake, or a piece of cheesecake--you get the idea

Current Record: 1-2-4

Recently Found
One bottle of Goo Gone

Permanently(?) Lost
Two credit cards
One eyelash comb

Temporarily Lost
One ID card
One eyelash comb
One fingerless glove
Two winter hats

Watch Out, Rachael, or, Accomplishments

Recent Accomplishments

Made it to work on a Monday without once thinking about how I didn't want to go to work.

Almost made it through the Thanksgiving dishes (yes, I know this is disgusting).

Made a leftover turkey casserole. No recipe. All from my head. Quite tasty. If you know me, you know this is QUITE an accomplishment.

Did not eat a fast-food lunch today (baked oatmeal. yum!).

By the Numbers

I noticed the "50 Books in a Year" group on Goodreads, and it got me wondering how many books I've read this year. A quick Goodreads scan shows 77 to date, a far cry from the 44 I read in 2008.

Aha! So that's why I never get anything done.

Question of the Day

Will anyone notice, or care, if I manage to sit in my office all day without doing any real work?



photo: Chicago Daily News. (1924). Cook County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Lynch [photograph]. DN-0077932, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago Historical Society. Retrieved from Library of Congress American Memory < http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/cdn:@field(NUMBER+@band(ichicdn+n077932)) >