Because it’s Friday AGAIN. And because traditions are important. In which I cover the good stuff and the hard stuff in my week, trying for the non-preachy, non-annoying side of self-reflection.
And you get to join in if you feel like it.
Yes, they’re on the wall. Why do you ask?
Seriously.
We’re at Ninety-nine Chickens. That is wild. Who would have thought?
* Note: I think we’re going to need a repeat of Friday Chicken #76: Trombones for this one because a bunch of the commenter mice won’t understand the title. Could someone please explain about the bottles of beer and what happens when you take one down and pass it around? Thanks, guys!
The hard stuff
Vacation not being even slightly vacation-ey.
So yeah, I didn’t have client calls this week or any classes to teach.
But between the piles of Doom and the massive amounts of catch-up and blah blah etc, it was still totally a working week.
Luckily, my gentleman friend and I are off to an actual place of vacationing this weekend, so I’m planning on turning that around. Still.
The Piles!
Related to the above.
See, I spent two weeks running around like a headless (non-Friday) Chicken preparing to open for the Playground.
And then a week teaching. And a week recovering. And a week teaching. And a week recovering.
So … that’s six weeks of stuff not getting done.
And while my First Mate is terrifically efficient, and the pirate ship that is my business is still sailing along merrily, interacting with the enormous doom-filled piles of stuff wanting my attention was completely hard.
But the thought of avoiding it until after pirate queen vacation was so overwhelming that I couldn’t put it off.
Gah. Scheduling.
So when I scheduled my best retreat ever — yeah, a week of mad hot biggification in Asheville, I was really careful about one thing:
When are the National WFTDA Roller Derby championship finals?
Well, they were going to be later. But now they are exactly when I scheduled my retreat.
Thanks, world.
Speaking of scheduling.
Stupid being on the west coast means waking up at dark-thirty to listen to World Cup games.
And since we don’t have a television and wanted to see the U.S. team play Algeria, we had to drag ourselves out of bed and get to a cafe.
Obviously it was totally worth it because ohmygod. But the getting up. Ugh.
This isn’t hard, it’s just bizarre.
It’s something called HAVI.
Yes, that’s my name.
Apparently it’s also an organization that promises horribly depressing things like this:
HAVI strives to provide quality, value-added services to its customers. We call this “Delivering the Promise.”
I’ll say it again. Thanks, world.
The good stuff
The Playground!
Turns out it’s also a great place to get stuff done.
This thing I’ve dreamed about for a really long time happened.
And I am overjoyed.
Something stressful ended up not being stressful.
And all the sweetest, funniest, most lovely people helped me do it.
Feeling lucky.
World Cup!
I love it.
We’re not in last place!
The Portland Rose City Roller Derby finals were awesome.
And our girls placed third! Out of four! But I really wasn’t sure we could do it!
There were two extremely stressful, extremely fun bouts. And I only sort of lost my voice.
Go Guns N Rollers!
Real vacation!
Starting soon.
More blueberries.
The Hoppy House garden is out of control.
But in a good way.
The great majority our meals have been care of the garden, at least partly. It’s wonderful.
And … playing live at the meme beach house!
Yes, that’s a Stuism too.
My brother and I have this thing where we come up with ridiculous band names and then say in this really pretentious, knowing tone, “Oh, well, you know, it’s just one guy.”
This week’s Fake Band Of The Week win goes to:
Efficient For Compliments
They dress funny and they’re kind of loud. What’s not to like? But it’s actually just one guy.
That’s it for me …
And yes yes yes, of course you can join in my Friday ritual right here in the comments bit if you feel like it.
Yeah? Anything hard and/or good happen in your week?
And, as always, have a glorrrrrrrrrrrrious weekend. And a happy week to come.
Follow
“HAVI strives to provide quality, value-added services to its customers. We call this “Delivering the Promise.”
Oh no, it’s the anti-Havi! Yep, the Universe is definitely having a bit of a laugh there, I reckon. It’s hard to believe that people actually come up with that corporate dross.
The Hard
– Having masses to do before I leave for the wilds of Scotland on Sunday for a week’s holiday
– worrying about my teenager, who seems very exhausted this week
– stupid, stupid insomnia
The Good
– Starting a new coaching thingie called Internet Hand-Holding. It has biscuits.
– adding more images to my online shop, despite my monsters nagging me about pricing
– selling another art envelope, yay, I did the happy dance
– Finding a near perfect match for the sequins for my sequin apron, which is a huge relief because otherwise an entire year of work would be down the toilet
– realising that I’ve dropped 2 dress sizes. YES!
– Buying bras that actually fit properly
– going to a very funny Bill Bailey gig with my family
– having a fun time at my knitting group on Sunday
– running into an old college friend who I hadn’t see for a year
.-= Kirsty Hall´s last post … Ignore Your Ducks =-.
99 Luftchickens!
(yes, delurked just for THAT.)
Well at least HAVI’s web site sucks. I’d never spend time with them there or anywhere else. Now my addiction to the McThisIsntEvenRealFoodItsTotallyProcessedAddictiveCrapDonalds I’ve had for waaaay to many years.
Okay I’ll finish reading now and Chicken when I’m done reading.
I totally love Efficient for Comments. Their tunes are always brief and telling. The drummer mmm delicious as is the bassist, guitarist and lead singer. That guy rocks.
Okay Chicken seriously.
Hard
– It appears Ear Appreciation Day decided to become Ear Appreciation Month. How is it possible for an ear infection to leave one ear and enter the other ear? I’m just saying.
– I’m trying to listen to the message but gah – it hurts. Yeah.
– Writing ’nuff said
– Money doom quite possibly related to the not wanting to hear the message of the ears, even though I’m appreciating them with a full month
– snarkiness (my own)
Good
– Even though money doom is all doom doom doom, I still eat well. I love that. Food and money do not have to go hand in hand. I can grow food. I can probably grow money, although I’ve been told money doesn’t grow on trees. Anyway…
– I can grow food
– having a conversation that left me jazzed and with a clear understanding of +++business words trigger warning+++
objectives, strategy and tactics
– helping someone figure them out and then getting to be involved in the implementing over the next week. Huzzah!
– Those words didn’t make me throw up or feel slimy even a little as I talked about them for over an hour last night.
– did I mention grown food – Hip Hip Huzzah!
Thank you Havi for this space. Enjoy the actual place of vacationing this weekend and Huzzah to all the Chickneers. May your Chicken cross roads with zeal.
please ad “to end” in the third sentence after Now
Good morning! I hope your vacation vacation goes great and is stress-free. 🙂
My Hard is hard this week because it’s all stuff I can’t talk about in public. So I will be cryptic, and you don’t have to read it if that’s going to frustrate you.
HARD:
* A. I thought this was dealt with and it’s maybe not? And the guy I need to talk to is one of those people who thinks that running a business means keeping yourself insulated from customers by layers and layers of assistants, so I can’t actually call directly and just talk to the guy. Sigh.
* B. Which is completely overwhelming. I honestly don’t know what to do, and that’s the actual Hard, because I need to take action and I have no idea what action to take.
* C. Because there’s only so much of it to go around at the moment, and I’ve been postponing taking what I want in order to make sure that everyone else has what they want, and… ugh.
* D. I just completely screwed that up last weekend, and I still feel ashamed and disappointed in myself for it, even though I know the other person involved has forgiven me. I hate disappointing people.
* Oh, one I can talk about: I have had a great whacking crick in my neck since Tuesday and it will not go away no matter what I do. Ugh.
GOOD:
* I got a guest post up on IttyBiz! And I’ve loved interacting with all of the lovely people I’ve come into contact with because of it. Not a single negative interaction. It’s awesome.
* I think, finally and at long last, and with the help of some very good friends, that we’re probably actually going to be okay. No more stress or panic or nights when I wake up at 4 AM and just sit there and shake.
* I’ve gone running (well, run/walking, when you’re out of shape and get shin splints you have to ease into this kind of thing) two days this week, alternating days with 30 minutes of Shiva Nata. I feel so much better for getting the exercise and doing the yoga. It’s amazing.
Love to all, and to all a glorious weekend!
.-= Chris Anthony´s last post … Which customer do you want? =-.
Oh, the chickens. I do so enjoy taking one down and passing it around (almost) every week. It’s such a helpful thing for me to informally take stock every week. Thanks for providing the space for it so I don’t feel all weird doing it on my own.
This week’s hard:
– Minor irritations all around, the kind you swat away and they just keep coming back.
– Losing an entire workday to drive four hours roundtrip for what was billed as an absolutely critical in-person meeting for a project I’m working on, to find out that it really could have been handled in a twenty-minute phone call.
This week’s good:
– I’m recognizing the irritation gnats for what they are and not letting them ruin my whole day.
– I took advantage of the unnecessary trip to hang out for a little bit with my cousin, check out a shop I might want to consign with/wholesale to, and visit a bead shop I’ve been wanting to check out for years.
– The small show I did on Saturday was very slow, but those who were there were buying, and I got to talk in depth with a few of my customers.
– Two monster projects off my desk this week, and three more normal-sized and -deadlined ones have stepped in to take their place.
– Lots of nice compliments this week.
Happy Friday, everyone!
.-= Lori Paximadis´s last post … Tetris =-.
Another HAVI? Ugh!
The Bad:
-Supposedly high speed (128K) Internet connection at $100 per month that, at top speed, is at 30K.
-All African nations, except one, not making it to the second round of the Soccer World Cup.
-Procrastination-
The famine in Niger, where I now live: Everything else IS good when I see the hungry kids…
The Good:
-Perspective: see above about the famine.
-The Dissolv-O-Matic: Holy Macro!!! That stuff WORKS!… when I remember to use it!
-Ghana making it to the second round of the world cup
A nice weekend to you all Chickeneers!
My first time taking part! Did it last week in secret but decided it is more fun this way.
The Hard
– The week of sleeping badly and not dreaming.
– Two very unproductive days.
– Feeling guilty about them.
– Very little progress with The Thing I’ve been putting off that is becoming a problem now.
The Good
– World Cup!
In South Africa. Watching with my husband and boys. Watching Bafana win in a full noisy pub with my family and a dear friend. Watching my boys take turns to be Uruguay “the team that pretends to get hurt all the time” (Yeah we’re holding a bit of a grudge!)
– Getting lots of smaller things I’ve been putting off done.
– Seeing that an important relationship hasn’t been damaged as much as I thought. Think there may even have been some growth.
– Warm winter days.
– Feeling loved.
Thank you – I am now feeling pretty good about the week that was. I wish everybody a happy weekend.
I love how your post was full of wry humor. I was just reading in a silly women’s magazine how useful it can be to do more “ironic laughing” — that is, scoffing at the little injustices and irritations of the day. It’s supposed to make you feel better, because laughter is laughter. I guess?
This week there should have been a lot more ironic laughter, considering.
The Hard:
-Annoying IBS flaring up. *chuckle*
-Insomnia for one night. *chortle*
-OLD, painful pattern emerging. Hurt, pain, tears. *guffaw*
-Not nearly enough writing. *oh, giggle giggle, that’s hilarious*
-Triple digit temps mean staying inside in over-air conditioned spaces. *Teehee*
The Good:
+IBS starting calming down toward end of the week.
+Knowing I’m working on that old hurt and that this is the perfect time/opportunity to give myself love and check in about what I need rather than beat myself up.
+Got some good movement in this week despite its being too hot to be outdoors.
+Feeling strong from new weight lifting routine.
+Massage scheduled for tomorrow!
.-= Dawn´s last post … All the Monsters Have Hearts =-.
Yay Friday! Yay 99 bottles! Make one root beer and pass it here…
Sorry to hear about scheduling ick. It happens at the worst times.
Anyway, the week…
The Hard:
-Conversation with heartbreak and my friend, which did not go as coherently as I wanted it to. Not knowing exactly how I’m going to handle this, still. Trying to do it the old way and finding that that hurts. Trying new ways and finding that they hurt too. Crying a lot. Feeling foolish for it. I’m taking a break from it all this weekend.
-My wrists, my wrists, my wrists. Le ow. Must find wrist braces today. I know they’re here somewhere…
The Good:
-I am caught up. I have at least gone through the motions of everything and I am where I was told I ought to be today. Maybe not as thoroughly as I’d like, but you know, right now I’ll take it.
-I slept last night. Awesome. Still tired and could do with more sleep, but the sleep I did get was wonderful.
-Pots. I love pots. I love making pots. I’m spending the entire day in the studio tomorrow and I could not be happier about that (if I can just find my wrist braces).
-Taming loose ends. Washed clothes. Done dishes. Made bed. Sanity in a dustpan.
-Sunshine.
Happy Friday! Hugs for the hard and dances for the good. Have an utterly fabulous weekend.
99 chickens took me to that old punk standby “88 Lines About 44 Women”, but we are already past 88. Oh, well 🙂
The hard:
the tide that is the kitchen, it always seems to be at high when I need the table to bake my delicious cookies of doom.
not getting to Donkey enough this week. I miss my peeps.
The good:
the great purge continues, donating and recycling and clearing a lot of old stuff to make way for new energies.
sending a lot of supplies to new homes and getting a little pocket money to boot.
the room from sending the supplies to new homes, ahh.
the picot lace valances i found while cleaning out the studio are perfect in the kitchen. let there be light!!!!
new bookshelf!!!!! I can see my books now!
spending at least 1/2 hour a day sitting under the tree in my front yard with my bare feet in the grass. ahhhhh.
badger anti-bug balm for when the other denizens of the tree decide to visit LOL
fireflies!!!
laughing cow wedges on brown rice bread with cucumber and roasted red pepper.
avocado chocolate banana pudding 🙂
surprisingly getting to bake twice this week even though it is summer. yay unexpected incomes.
and finally, the piece which sold last week arrived at its new home and was received with much delight and glee. 😀
happy weekend y’all!
.-= Andi´s last post … How to Display Your New Art Quilt =-.
Oh dear me, it’s been a bit. But that’s mostly good. The writing retreat that everyone here helped me write a VPA for is gorgeous, perfect, wonderful, and all the other happy adjectives. Which means my own internet vacation for the past month.
Chickening:
I ran square into the hard this week with my people out in the world leaving the jobs I was trusting them to do, with the writing being slllloooooowww for a bit, and with my support circle all doing pesky things like simultaneously all go on different vacations for the same week. (yay! vacation for people I love. boo! everyone gone.)
The good, though, has been plentiful too:
New friends, evening gatherings, mini-trips from the retreat, hiking boots, and right this very second, a woodpecker outside the window so close I could almost touch hi.
.-= Elizabeth´s last post … Occasions for the State of Me =-.
Chicken and beer–99 times! 🙂
Hugs for everyone’s hard, and celebrating the good with you.
Hard this week:
– Slow slog through sovereignty challenges
– People banging on my door in the middle of my workday
– Interrupted sleep
Good this week:
+ Powerfully healing sessions with clients
+ Getting to know the Devas of this new landscape
+ Some of my favorite folks signed up for Sovereignty Kindergarten
+ So much love and support from my friends
Wishing you all a beautiful weekend!
And Havi, wishing you a gentle glide into your vacation.
Love, Hiro
.-= Hiro Boga´s last post … Elegy =-.
Well, Havi, you *do* add value to just about everything! (I know it’s icky to think of it in those terms, but really, you add so much to the world and your readers and your Shivanauts and everybody else.)
The hard:
-Binging pretty hardcore on ice cream (now, in fairness, there is some crazy-hot weather going on here, plus there’s some hormonal weirdness this week. Still…)
-The bizarre tension that resulted yesterday when I used all the tart cherry jam on my PB&J without asking my husband if he wanted some (the fact that he doesn’t usually use jam and doesn’t like tart cherries had a lot to do with it… and makes me think that this might not be about jam at all)
-Still job-hunting. That’s all I’m going to say about that.
The good:
+Besides the ice cream weirdness, I’m getting a lot better at eating mindfully
+I’ve applied for seven jobs in the past two weeks, and they’re all good matches for my skills and experience. Perhaps there’s hope!
+I’ve begun learning how to program an iPhone app despite having no programming experience beyond equations in Excel
+I’m really enjoying the show “Work of Art” on Bravo. Makes me want to get out my crayons and do something colorful.
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!
.-= Catherine Cantieri, Sorted´s last post … Ten steps to more tolerable meetings =-.
Whenever I see the words “value added” I imagine them squirting it in with a giant jam seringe like they use to put the jam in donuts.
Does this contain enough value yet?
NO! Quick, get the value squirter! *spluk* *Fplllsksh*
There, all good. Full of value now. Look, some of it’s running out.
***
Um, enjoy your weekends. And Come On Whoever Is Playing In the Tournament! 😀
@Kirsty – Bill Bailey! I LOVE him way too much. Nice!
@Blue – 99 Luftchickens! That is the best thing I’ve heard this week. Definitely worth delurking for. THANK YOU
@LaShae – you are a doll. I could read anything you write all day.
@Chris – love for all the un-talk-about-able hard
@Lori – I love the chickens too!
@Sanders – hug to you, honey.
@Stephni – yes, it’s hard not to make fun of the drama. That was quite a match!
@Dawn – wow, I have no idea if that works but I did giggle all through your list of hard. So it worked for me. 🙂
@Beth – pots!
@Andi – avocado chocolate banana pudding!
@Elizabeth – hugs for the hard and appreciation for the good. Happy to see you.
@Hiro – mwah!
@Catherine – wow. Definitely not about the jam. But that sucks. I’m sorry. And that’s super neat about the iPhone app.
@Willie – Get the Value Squirter! We need to make a video. With monsters. And really?! You’re not going to watch England play Germany? Please tell me you’re at least going make a bunch of “Don’t mention the war!” Fawlty Towers jokes!
It’s Friday already? Wasn’t it just Friday a couple of days ago?
Hard
– Dealing with unprofessional people. Irritating and a waste of time.
– A scary freaky angry tenant wouldn’t let us see the house she’s occupying. Even the real estate agent was shocked.
Good
+ Won a contest to have my paintings reproduced in public bus stops… and get paid for it!
+ Finished another big painting.
+ My poor sick dog is still slowly getting better.
+ Finally figured out what caused all my Christmas-present soaps to fail last year. Even better, I don’t have to throw away 5 pounds of coconut oil.
.-= Barbara J Carter´s last post … Bus-Stop Art =-.
Happy Friday fellow Chickeneers! Here’s hoping the good keeps coming and the hard is at least manageable ; )
This week… this week has gone by so fast, I’m not even sure I remember enough of it to Chicken. But I’m still here, so I must have crossed the road successfully. Or perhaps I’m on the meridian, and this is just a pause in the mad dash to the other side?
The hard;
* returning to the dayjob of doom, the facing of which makes my guts clench
* the waking up to an alarm clock every morning, and wishing I could just roll over and go back to sleep
* being incredibly drained after my week of Amazing But Also Exhausting Self Work… and not being able to just take time to myself to sit with it 🙁
The good;
* being so inspired by my week of Amazing But Also Exhausting Self Work that this week has just flown by (how is it already Friday?!)
* phone-time with the fabulous Chris Anthony, which helped me clarify some stuckness that really needed clearing (thank you Chris!)
* not having to deal with the boss I don’t love for most of the work week (yay!)
* having an incredibly supportive love/family/friends who are willing to accept vague responses when they ask about last week
* the above mentioned people also being incredibly excited and supportive when I DO share some of my epiphanies from last week
* soooper secret spy communications to remind me of how it felt to be in my thing all last week
All in all, it’s been a much happier and more fulfilling week than I feared it would be… and that’s nothing but fabulous!
P.S. @Beth – I’ve been doing the wrist-pain thing for years, and have collected a number of good stretching resources to help me through the worst of it. If you’d like, I could email them… just drop me a line if you’re interested 🙂
.-= Heidi´s last post … Shining the spotlight; Sparkly goodness edition =-.
Have fun on your vacation Havi!
The Hard:
-horrible horrible period cramps this week, maxed out on advil with no other solution
-Couldn’t run today due to aforementioned cramps-it made me mad, cause I love running.
-House is still dirty. I’m going to try and fix that today, but I really just want a magical fairy for this stuff.
The Good: Seriously, tons of good this week.
-Had a fabulous client who actually found me through the VPA’s here, and she loved her copy and I felt great about the whole thing.
-More fabulous consulting clients, who not only might get more work but told me that I made them feel calm and in control of their business stuff, which just made me so proud.
-Went running for two days, and worked out the other days.
-Really got back into Twitter, which is fun and good for the business.
-Got to hang out with some cool friends and have a nice work break last night.
.-= Holly´s last post … Friday Roundup: Shoes, The Demise of the Guru, and Free Consulting =-.
Well, I suppose HAVI could have been worse. They could have been…proactive.
Hello, Friday! Hello, Chickeneers!
Hard:
–Prepping for our annual weekend house party. Stress, busy-ness, tiredness, and lots of perfectionism, sometimes interacting with other people’s perfectionism in uncomfy ways.
–Actually hosting the house party, which started yesterday and will continue through Tuesday at least. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I love my friends and it’s great to spend time with them, but — oh, hard. Draining, you know? Capacity-challenging, on a few fronts. I can tell you that.
Good:
–I am learning to make cheese.
–I had a beautiful birthday weekend, filled with kindnesses from wonderful people both near and far. (Thank you!)
–I got to spend some quality time with the ocean.
–Helpful epiphanies, popping up everywhere, like that hot buttered things they are. Very helpful, and remarkably soothing.
.-= Kathleen Avins´s last post … Intention =-.
Oof, what a week that was! It started with lots of good, then I ran into that big complicated hard that completely threw me off balance and I’m still trying to recover. Argh.
The hard:
– Being notified when I was at the gate ready to board the plane back home that the flight had been cancelled.
– Not being able to get another flight for the same day.
– Dealing with people who were clearly not interested in being helpful at all, in any way.
– Finding out, as I was about to leave the airport to go to the hotel and wait for my new flight scheduled for the next day, that my suitcase had left without me. Clearly, a cherry was needed on top of that sundae.
– Thanks to that delay, I’m only getting to spend two days with my gentleman friend instead of three before he leaves for 10 days to teach and perform in France.
– Just today, learning that this gig in France comes with unexpected complications of a variety we thought we had dealt with several months ago.
– All the catching up that has to be done.
The good:
– Enjoying my last few days in Portland (the ones before all the cancelled flight related craziness, anyways).
– Getting to spend a lovely time with Elizabeth and Atlas, seeing Shannon again, meeting up with Kris.
– Being back home and having this tiny bit of time with my gentleman friend before he leaves.
– Being hopeful that I’ll be able to find my balance again sometime soon and will then be able to start processing all the good stuff from last week. Looking forward to get a few things moving.
Happy weekend to everyone!
Hard:
-Hot, hazy and humid. Definitely no fun 🙁
-Work has been hard for 2 weeks now. I really need a break.
-Struggles I just can’t talk about yet.
-Making difficult decisions.
-My body is not cooperating.
-I can’t get the comment to post. Sorry if it’s a duplicate!
Good Stuff:
-Nice, cooler dry weekend weather expected!
-Good friends.
-4 day weekend!
-Pay week.
-Iced coffee
-Homemade dinner with my honey and a ride to the beach for sunset!
Happy 99 chickens! And vacation too!
Enjoy the weekend.
.-= Stacy´s last post … Sum… Sum… Summertime =-.
Happy 99 chickens! *takes a bottle of root beer off the wall*
Hard:
Needing rest after last week. Not so much with the getting it. Hence, sleepy and not-so-productive.
Also, sleep troubles are back.
Tried one postcard-making-company and the results weren’t quite what I wanted.
Good:
Postcards are lovely and, since they are thank-you postcards, will work just fine for their intended purpose.
My first product is coming along nicely.
Sun, glorious sun. And this morning of clouds so I could convince the pup to go for an actual (much-needed) walk.
Fresh pitas from the farmers’ market.
A client booked a reiki session because she had pain, and then discovered what was really wrong – and wanted me to tell her whether she should keep the session or not (will it help or won’t it). I didn’t tell her what to do, and I think the way I responded helped her feel happy and comfortable with her own decision. Which was nice.
A reflexology session. Oh, happy feet.
Connecting with lovely people.
.-= Elizabeth´s last post … wild and precious =-.
Yay for continuing rituals!
The Hard:
* I borrowed _way_ too many library books and I don’t think I’ll be able to read them all as well as doing all the other things I want to do.
* I sorta, kinda committed to making some changes, and it’s really scary. I don’t know if I can do it. I don’t believe in myself, and that sucks.
* Still cold and stiff. Still not giving my body what it needs. Still not able to get over that hump.
* I’m not sure I know what a true, good friend is. I’m starting to suspect I have fewer than I thought.
* I wish I got to have 3 months off work like he does. I’m jealous!
The Good:
* The week wasn’t as stressful as I thought it was going to be.
* I have _one_ good, true friend that I can talk to and count on. That’s amazingly wonderful.
* I succeeded in doing half of the (two) things I committed to doing, two days in a row! I’m quite proud of myself. Now for the whole hog…
* I’m starting to accept the idea of letting things go and being OK with not doing everything I wanted to do RIGHT now.
Have a great weekend!
xx Katie.
.-= Katie´s last post … A Finished Page and More =-.
Happy Friday. I’m in bed and maybe the Chicken is better done during the day, but oh well. A chicken is a chicken . . .it’s daytime somewhere.
The hard:
1. Paperwork and people who I need to get information from to do the paperwork that I never signed up for anyway suddenly disappearing. And did I mention paperwork?
2. Big disastrous horribly bad “discussion” with the boyfriend where he thought he was saying one thing and all I could hear was “You are useless”. Which wasn’t what he was saying, but the communication skills, they were not so fabulous. And there was sobbing. Not so much fun. For sobber or the observer. *sigh*
3. Rain for a week straight. And traffic. And people being pushy and rude while driving. And BIG ASS puddles.
The good:
1. USA, Chile, and Germany all went through!! Oh, I love the world cup!
2. Post fight there was some decent communication. And compassion. And comfort.
3. I’m getting some kick ass busines cards made. I’ve been needing to do that for FOREVER.
4. My Shiva Nata DVD arrived! So excited.
5. Chocoate chip cookies.
6. I realized this week that I’m growing. All this effort is actually working. And there was some sovereingty. And some moments of peace amid the chaos. Moments that I called forth myself.
Happy weekend Chickeneers! 😉
My first Chicken! I just found this site last week, and I’m really enthusiastic about it and telling all my friends. Um. Hi.
Good luck with your ACTUAL vacation, Havi! I know what you mean about vacations that are not. >_>
The Hard:
— Some difficult conversations with my husband. Like, really difficult. But productive, and not actually fights!
— Spent a lot of time avoiding going to the DMV to get my new learner’s permit. Was scared.
— Was scared of bugs in the kitchen, a lot.
— Still out-of-whack on my sleep schedule, and not enjoying waking up at noon.
The Good:
— Had a really productive meeting with a career counselor, and revised my resume.
— Finally actually did get my learner’s permit! Yay learning to drive! My anxiety is not going to stop me this time.
— My father’s day conversation with my dad was a million times better than expected.
— Wrote a whole bunch of fiction, which feels really good.
— Figured out some important stuff about what I need to do to get to a peaceful place in my head. Came up with a working model for the relationship I want to have with my anxiety.
It’s good to see that much good. 🙂 Thanks for opening up the floor, Havi!
My chicken got held up in traffic this week…
The hard:
– foot pain, frustration at being dependent and trapped, crankiness, tiredness, getting irritated with the continual stream of ‘helpful’ suggestions, or people asking if it still hurts
– the frustration of not being able to do even incredibly simple stuff I had planned
– attack of the killer pollen
– my wrist is now hurting too and part of me is freaking out
– getting to the point of actual non-functioning and having to go home from work and just lie in bed
The good:
– loving the module of my MA I’m doing, having ideas popping up everywhere, and feeling so lucky to get to do it.
– discovering a new (to me) author I love – Scarlett Thomas if anyone’s interested.
– feeling incredibly excited as I see my project take shape
– having the time to tweak some things on my blog
– discovering 750words thanks to Holly
– having a bomb alert at work and so getting to spend 15 minutes chatting to my friend in the sunshine in the park
– reading some great Bukowski poems
I can’t get that song out of my head now “… take one down, pass it around, 98 bottles of beer on the wall…”. Bus drivers must have either had really good ear plugs or a ton of patience when I was a kid as that was a staple of our field trips which involved at least 1 hour each way in a bus.
The week was a blur………
The Hard:
– Late nights, early mornings trying to finish all my papers for the doctoral program
– Taking on guilt for things that aren’t my fault – all related to the departure of the ex-boss – files were destroyed or otherwise removed because administration didn’t seem to think he should be supervised when he cleaned out his office. First time I’ve ever heard the lawyer swear when I filled him in on what went on several months ago.
– A/C went out at the house contributing to a very poor night of sleep.
The Good:
– 44 consecutive weeks of classes is OVER. I get a 10 day break before the next starts!
– Really happy with my final paper for the class. I was able to weave together a true story of helping a student overcome visual difficulties with the theoretical material of academic accommodations and also bring in an interview conducted with the head of our student services center. I don’t care about the grade, I’m just really happy how the ideas just all wove together to create a positive piece of writing!
– Friends. Terrific night just hanging out with people I haven’t seen in almost a year – we could just pick up right where we left off. Awesome.
– Students excited to be working on the research project that finally got funded this week. I love facilitating learning in the lab. Much more fun than lecturing.
Enjoy your vacation, Havi!
Yay for a real vacation, Havi. Triple yay for the nonstressful stressful thing.Hugs for everyone’s hard & yays for the good.
So. The good.
+ I know my body, and I took a week to recover from the procedure, and I’ve needed every moment.
+ My new rocking haircut and color. Love my stylist.
+ Spending my daughter’s birthday with her. Best 9th Birthday Ever. With Purple Highlights and Build-a-Bear spending sprees.
+ My husband stayed with me as I recovered from the procedure. Good to have the support.
+ Really nice nurses.
+ Paid sick time.
+ naproxen and valium
+ the kindest vet in the world. Really.
The hard.
-General anesthesia
-post-surgical fevers
-allergic reactions to vicodin
-Waiting for the pathology. And worrying. I don’t know how NOT to worry.
-The surgeon saying “it was a horrible D&C” and “if the path comes back as cancer we have to be prepared for a quick D&C”. So terrifying.
-Ugly fights full of contempt with the husband. Not knowing what to do.
-Learning our newest ferret adoptee doesn’t just have adrenal disease (treatable) but is also full of lymphoma.
-Disagreeing with my husband about telling the kids about her. I want to. He doesn’t see anything wrong with lying to them.
.-= lynn @ human, being´s last post … On the D-C- “disordered” cells- and trying not to obsess about my yet unposted path report =-.
My latest Friday chicken ever…
The hard:
– My father fell down the stairs and massively hit his head but had lots of loving guardian angels. It looked awful and there was lots of blood but it was “just” cuts and he is fine.
– Too little time with husband and during the time we had we both got grumpy.
The good:
– Dancing a lot at my cousin’s summer garden party.
– 5 girls’ days in London with my oldest girl-friends. Lots of sitting in cafés and chatting, theatre, museums, wandering around until we had the most tired feet ever, Strongbow cidre, acovado and salad wraps, a new dress.
Late to this chicken but oh well.
The hard:
Attack of the thyroid continued
Anniversary weekend disappointing because of AOT
Losing my purse
The good:
Magically got funding for D&G sunglasses I’ve been coveting
Made it through year one of marriage
Awesome support from my favorite place to hang out online
Finding my purse
Also commiserating about the World Cup hours. Instead of sleeping in on Sunday after celebrating our anniversary the day before, I got to listen to my husband cursing at England’s poor showing on Sunday. Ugh.
.-= Christine Myers´s last post … Mad Love Monday 25 =-.