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.
This week had way too much week in it.
Also, a lot of it was spent in the airport in Johnson City, Tennessee not getting on planes.
If they gave frequent flyer miles for kvetching, I’d have earned a trip back there already, so I’m not going to mention it in this week’s Chicken. Just assume extra persnickety-ness in the hard!
Let’s chicken this thing.
The hard stuff
Exhausted.
Between the getting-ready-to-travel and the traveling and the getting-ready-to-travel-again … I’m kind of behind on the sleeps.
Add to that the flight that required getting up at four in the morning.
And the mini-crisis at the retreat that resulted in me being at the airport at 2 a.m. to meet a stranded student.
Too much tired.
On the other hand, now I have a series of Useful Understandings about how I need to build more rest and recovery into my teaching schedule. Yeah yeah. Just give me a bed please and ten hours to hide in it.
Did I mention traveling?
Because we’re leaving for Berlin in just a few days.
Remember last year
I thought I was a nervous wreck then, but then I hadn’t spent the entire month beforehand teaching and traveling.
Gah. That is all.
Any form of being touched by strangers.
No, really. I need to know.
What is it about me that tells airport security they need to call me aside to have random people paw me? Where is the big sign that says “I love being groped by a total stranger in front of a bunch of total strangers?”
I already know about basic avoidance tactics.
The being polite thing. And the dressing casually but professionally thing. And the not wearing anything that looks like it could conceal anything thing.
Is it the California driver’s license? Is it the red eyes from being crazy tired?
Because I hate this. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate.
*Also? This time the woman asked me, “Is there any place on your body that is especially sensitive to touch?” What? ALL of me is sensitive to being touched by you, total stranger.
Systems headaches.
A pirate queen is never done working on her Mad Pirate Systems (seriously, that’s the what the label on my binder says).
But there was a lot of work this week on our Pirate Crew Code of The Seas stuff.
And while I know that in the long run this is a good thing, it’s totally hair-tearing-out-able while it’s actually happening.
Harrumph, says I.
And onward to the good stuff!
The good stuff
The workshop in North Carolina!
It was so completely amazing to be there. I learned so much.
Plus I LOVE real-life right-there-in-the-room teaching. Love love love love love. It is the most astonishing, energizing, exciting thing.
And every time I teach Dance of Shiva in combination with other forms of wackiness, I jumpstart my own epiphanies like crazy. So I have piles of more Useful Notes about things that are going to be super helpful for me.
And the space was beautiful. And I got to meet a white peacock.
My Right People? So ridiculously Right they knock my socks off.
Wow.
I mean, I already knew that my Right People are smart, interesting, thoughtful and goofy.
But the people who came to my North Carolina weekend of wackiness were just so impressive.
So kind hearted. So insightful. Such askers of fascinating questions. So willing to be silly with me.
Getting to spend an entire weekend with these amazing people was pure joy.
Speaking of socks!
Fan-socks! Fan-socks! One of the Shivanauts at the workshop brought me hand-knitted fan-socks.
She also knitted a scarf for Selma which is now the second time someone has made a scarf for my duck.
Because Selma wasn’t enough of a diva. Now she has a wardrobe.
My life could not be more ludicrous/awesome.
Home!
My gentleman friend! Back at Hoppy House! Having regular access to my Angel Refueling Station again (and not just the one in my head).
And Portland. Oh, Portland Portland Portland. I know I’m about to abandon you again for a few months, but I love you and your unapologetic quirkiness.
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.”
So this week, I bring you:
Pink Like Me
Totally fictitious example because I cannot remember how this one came up …
Me: “You think you’re pink like me?.”
My gentleman friend: “Pink Like Me? Isn’t that … just one guy?”
*Thanks to the Blonde Chicken for this one.
And … STUISMS of the week.
Stu is my paranoid McCarthy-ist voice-to-text software who delights in torturing me misunderstanding me. I can’t stand him.
The one that made the least amount of sense this week:
he’s your caller Colin instead of “the page you want is here”
And … some of the other gems:
- Why is DMU the password? instead of “I’ll DM you the password”
- so that was overdue instead of “oh, that was Stu”
- Charlie to keep from productive lurching instead of “Charlie Gilkey from Productive Flourishing“
- take me out of the blogging instead of “take me out to the ballgame”
- I think advocates of the catechisms levels instead of “I think I have a case of the sniffles”
- Brady and Shannon instead of “Rage Against The Machine”
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
What a week you’ve had, Havi–it sounds like time compressed a month’s worth of both hard and good into seven days! Welcome home. Wishing you rest and a peaceful few days before you jet off to Berlin.
My hard this week:
Still lots of weird energy stuff going on. Tired, cranky, in pain, ugh and ick.
Talked with friends who are experiencing the same thing. Realized it isn’t personal–the planetary energy field is fraught with panic right now. We HSP’s are the canaries in the coal mine.
My good this week:
Once I realized what was going on, I did the inner work to clear the ick and the ugh, and have had a lovely couple of days since then.
Car Wash Rainbow! 🙂
Love and hugs,
Hiro
.-= Hiro Boga´s last post … Car Wash Rainbow =-.
“Productive lurching”. Maybe I’m just giddy, but I love that.
The hard: Feels like too much hard this week. The judge approved the foreclosure on our home, but the bank still hasn’t said yes or no to a mortgage restructure, so we *still don’t know* if we have to move or not. But the sale date is September 9th.
I have had acute pain in my lower right abdomen for three days now, and they can’t figure out what’s causing it. Not appendix (don’t have one anymore), not ovarian cysts, not anything visible on an ultrasound. I’m on serious painkillers and a clear liquid diet and am using this time (catching up on your blog, commenting) waiting for the last dose of drugs to wear off so I can drive.
The good: Apparently, I still have my sense of humor intact. When I lose my sense of humor, that’s just bad all around.
My daughter has told me the name of my expected granddaughter.
My husband set up my gifted sewing machine as a surprise for me, and now I’m all anxious to start playing with it, but can’t pick a project.
There’s a big festival in our town tonight, and my husband’s doing the big aerial-dancing-and-fire-spinning show at it, and my two youngest boys will make their performance debut there! (The very youngest with sparklers, not poi, but still).
I should have the magazine with my sweater design in it in my hands by next week – so excited! (If you would like to see it, it’s Interweave Knits Weekend, a special issue, and it should be on newsstands by Sept 10th or so).
.-= Anna-Liza´s last post … Pollyanna Sews Again (Well, She Thinks About It) =-.
ooh a first go at the Friday chicken.
OK.
The Bad Stuff
i am reallly, really struggling with finding my work mojo. I know i need a change and i have terrible stuckness (Havi, i may be calling on you). my work is meaningful but i can’t help but feel a bit bored. I want out, hardly know where to start.
Our cat Loaf has been diagnosed with diabetes. he needs insulin shots twice a day and a controlled diet. he’s all weak and feeble and we’re worried about him.
The Good Stuff
I had a good meeting this week with some colleagues in regional government. it felt purposeful, it felt okay and made me feel a little better about work.
Loaf has diabetes, it is a manageable condition. we’re not going to lose him.
It’s a long weekend in the UK. We’re not playing cricket this weekend so there is a lot of time to catch up with writing, blogging, thinking and hanging out with Wife.
I love this time of year, the light is honey.
.-= Lucy1972´s last post … Oh the End of Summer =-.
@Hiro: oh, thanks for mentioning that. I have been so cranky and emotional and scattered and batty this week and it was driving me bonkers because there seemed to be no reason for it. Maybe it isn’t all me.
Oh, Havi, so much week. I wanted to give you a hug for the hard, except that made me giggle because then I immediately heard your comment about touching and total strangers in my head. I am happy for all the good. That scarf looks very good on Selma btw – it brings out her eyes.
Chicken ..
The hard:
Yes, cranky and emotional and neurotic.
My computer speakers died which makes it hard to use my yoga DVDs (or anything that requires audio – which I forget again and again and wonder why I can’t hear something playing and then I remember)
The good:
Creamsicle-colored watermelon and veggie sandwiches.
A timer and a sheet of poses means I can do yoga anyway.
Knowing that maybe all this hard stuff isn’t all me.
My youngest sister and her level of self-awareness about her right path.
Productivity.
.-= elizabeth´s last post … a jar full of delight =-.
“Productive lurching” totally describes my life. And I too am guilty of not scheduling nearly enough recovery time after traveling. I feel your pain.
The hard:
– A project I started in January that got yanked back to the publisher for author revisions and has been delayed again and again and again finally hit my desk again this week. With a due date of two weeks. Something this size would normally be scheduled for five weeks. And there’s a three-day holiday weekend in there of which I intend to take off the entire three days. Yikes.
– In the meantime, there’s another editing project I’m trying to finish up, and about ninety bazillion manini to-dos cluttering up my desk and my lists.
– With all this craziness, I have not yet had a chance to even crack the wrapper on my Shiva Nata DVD, although I have a feeling I could really use it right about now.
– In all my me-me-me in last week’s chicken, I totally forgot to congratulate Havi on her four-year anniversary.
The good:
– Lots of projects means money coming in. Money lets me do the things I really want to do.
– Another wholesale order this week.
– My mom came over on Tuesday morning to help in the gardens (scheduled well before my desk was inundated), and we got a lot done in addition to getting to spend some time together. My gardens help keep me calm and centered, so keeping them in good shape is important to me.
– I made some substantial investments in supplies for both of my businesses this week that should pay off.
– I talked with one of my book coauthors about setting up some signings for the holidays.
I hope everyone else’s week has tipped more to the good than the hard.
.-= Lori Paximadis´s last post … tidbits: back-to-school edition =-.
I hate that traveling is such an annoying, intrusive thing these days instead of romantic and exciting. Havi, I was glad to hear about the great people you met stuck in TN with you though. Good stuff!
on to the chicken!
The hard:
big hard for me this week. My boss called me in to her office Monday and I got told that I need to make more coffee more often, and do the dishes and clean the kitchen more often. If I am away from the front desk I have to wear a ridiculous headset so I can still answer the phone… (because you know, we don’t want to miss the solicitors and bill collectors that call all day!) No more attending the creative dept. meetings either. “I just want you to remember what you were hired for. All those other things are just kind of luxuries, so lets stop that for now. Admin. duties are your first priority and helping Account Services is secondary”
UGH. BIG KICK IN THE ASS. And it felt so demeaning and humiliating. I came to this job from being an office manager, running an architecture firm. I took care of all the ‘business’ so they could just create. This job was supposed to be my foot in the door to the creative/design industry because the past two admins are now a producer and designer.. but then yesterday I heard from the intern that they offered her a job (at just $1.50 less/hr. than me) She was insulted and I wanted to slap her and let her know how much I make with 8 years more experience than her. Today I heard the other intern was also offered a job. It seems clear I am not moving beyond this stupid front desk here. I’m so done.
The GOOD!
I went home Monday and read story after story in Etsy’s “Quit Your Day Job” blog. People make it work. I can make it work. It is so clear to me I am crushing my creative spirit by working office jobs. So what that I’m in the ‘creative’ industry, my tasks are so far removed from anything creative there is no benefit to me. I do not belong here. And that clarity and assurance is propelling me forward with great motivation. I also decided that while I gather my paycheck here I will volunteer at the Art museum or the Craft museum. I will get experience working with art and artists and art lovers. My office experience has served its purpose, I know what it takes to run a small business. I am ready to do it for myself now!
Resolve. Motivation. it is gooood stuff.
Brady and Shannon… isn’t that… just one guy?
And for additional amusement value, the punch line is here. It’s password-protected. I think you can guess the password, even if you can’t answer why.
.-= Pace´s last post … My Spiritual Journey: A long and winding path =-.
“take me out of the blogging” is pretty funny.
The hard:
-struggling with some habits. Defensiveness, getting emotional and giving up when I make a mistake…this comes out the most when I’m practicing driving (going for my test next week!) And to add to that – I’m always driving with my girlfriend, so that gets messy and frustrating.
-general stress about driving test. haven’t had to be tested on skills like this since high school (I’m 28. better late than never to go for my license!) It’s bugging me that I get so affected by little mistakes…and how my mind is working in those moments. ugh.
-some lack of direction with work. so many things to be working on, not clear about how and when to do it all…and even what to do in some cases
The Good:
-the best thing that happened this week: my girlfriend got nominated for a Gemini! I’m so proud of her!
-got to spend time with friends and awesome kids. lots of laughing
-some of the procrastination-dissolving concepts are beginning to sink in…and I can see how they can apply to so many different situations in my life
-not sure if this one should fit into “The Hard” catagory instead…I guess it’s bitter-sweet: we finished watching every episode of The Golden Girls. It’s OVER! 7 seasons! Over! Now I have to go on, life after Golden Girls.
.-= Christine´s last post … Ali’s Gemini nomination, and things to be released soon =-.
That’s what we should all hire Charlie for: to keep us from productive lurching. (Thanks Stu for making me laugh out loud this morning.)
And working on the Mad Pirate Systems *is* a good thing in the long run. Sorry it felt so mad this week. Yay for sticking with it anyway. (Maybe wear a wig next time?)
xo C
.-= Cairene MacDonald´s last post … Buoyancy =-.
Brady and Shannon? Isn’t that just one guy? (Sorry, I had to…)
Let’s see…
Hard: Lots of training this and last week, which means a few things feel behind on the following days. Never fun.
Stupid argument with C.
My friends are planning my bachelorette party, and somehow it’s frustraing the heck out of me.
A friend of mine and his wife are expecting, and since they live so far away and had limited internet access anyway, I’m pretty sure this is the kiss of death for the friendship.
And do you have any idea how hard it is to find silver-colored miniature cowbells for a reasonable price?!
And I know it’s a piddling thing in the grand scheme of things, but I’m really quite concerned about what people will think when they realize C’s side of the wedding will outnumber mine by *at least* two-to-one.
Oh! I can’t beleive I almost forgot. I was out with a friend on Saturday, and it started pouring while we’re on a busy highway — so of course, his diver-side windshield wiper sort of snaps in half. That was an adventure, to be sure.
Good: Letters! I actually got one this week (not from a new pen-pal, but it’s something)
Shoes! I mentioned shoe-shopping last week, and it was a success! Got a cute skirt, too, and a gorgeous wooden-covered journal to use as a guest book.
And the cowbells? Well, that’s what it took to convince C to use little ringing bells in lieue of rice-throwing. Sweet.
.-= Laura G´s last post … In which I write personal ads. =-.
D’oh! Got beaten to the “Brady and Shannon” joke. But yeah, it sounds like Stu is a little over blogging…
.-= Laura G´s last post … In which I write personal ads. =-.
The hard:
*Dora-Kitten (OK, so she’s 5yrs old now, but still the baby) in the hospital while I was at the retreat. Worrying about her.
*LONG drive to and from Asheville!
*Transitioning back to crunch week at work on Monday after shivanata-ing all weekend.
*Finding out when I got back that my father apparently has internal bleeding, which is why he’s been so weak sometimes after dialysis.
The good:
*Shivanata all weekend!
*Meeting Havi and Selma! And a bunch of other really really neat people!
*Selma liking her new scarf!(OK, Havi liking her new socks is up there, too!)
*The ride BACK from Asheville included the shortest 5 hours I’ve ever had due to a wonderful traveling companion.
*Dora-kitten is fine and came home on Monday. She apparently got dehydrated when she had a cold last week.
*Now they can’t find anything wrong with dad. I don’t know if this part is good or still hard, because he still gets weak and now they don’t know why. 🙁
*Apparently focusing on “ease” in my shivanata practice is working, because crunch week doesn’t seem so… crunchy this time around!
@Havi – did you ever get to see the goats?
.-= G. Romilly´s last post … Stitching over the Seams =-.
Heh, I’m an advocate of the catechisms levels myself. Or at least this week I adopted a patron saint: Saint Catherine of Bologna, patron saint of artists. If atheists are allowed to have patron saints, that is.
Hard this week:
– The toilet was still not quite right after the plumber replaced all the innards. Leaving me waffling between just throwing up my hands and living with a partially-working toilet (which kept scaring me every time it spontaneously refilled the tank) or calling the plumber back to explain that he hadn’t done a very good job. Ugh.
– Too hot to garden. The weeds are laughing at me.
Good this week:
+ New tutoring clients! Good ones who hired me at the beginning of the school year instead of the end when it’s too late. Oh, how I love good solid clients.
+ I finally fixed the dratted toilet MYSELF. Now it really is working perfectly. And I don’t have to face calling the plumber back.
+ Animals! I love animals! Goats, in particular. I got to pat some VERY cute goats at the Antelope Valley Fair last weekend. (You can see pictures on my blog, previous post. Sleeping pigs!)
+ Art! I got a lot of art done this week. Feeling very productive and energized.
.-= Barbara J Carter´s last post … Candy-colored dot painting =-.
Productive lurching just absolutely hit me where I live. I seriously just bought the domain name! Thank you, Stu! Not sure what I’m going to do with it, but the $10 splurge — an affordable luxury in hard time — will make me happy every time I think of what I could stick on there.
.-= sandy´s last post … “Haply I Think on Thee”…Think Good Thoughts! =-.
@Hiro: I saw your Rainbow Carwash blog this morning and just laughed and laughed and laughed at your wonderful view. I really want to take my car for a wash now too so I can see those cool rainbows (it has been more than a year since its last bath), but it’s been raining here for the past four days.
The Hard:
-Overloaded with long writing assignments for work, which left me with less time to write for fun.
-Stuck in that deeply ingrained head-groove that makes me overeat when overworked and avoiding doing those long writing assignments. Blech.
-Learning to be more patient with myself, and not expecting all of the knock-your-socks-off insights to just come overnight.
The Good:
-Suddenly, all of the insights just came overnight. At least, the ones I was needing did. Oh yeah, dance of Shiva, which I had been skeptical of at first (oh a pox on you, skeptical Emily-person!)…mmm-hmmm, it was so effective.
-Cuddly, rainy-day naps with my little girl, and her really funny comments that come before we fall asleep, leaving us both in fits of giggles.
-Allowing myself to paint for fun again, also with the little girl. And more fits of giggles, with paint in our hair and everywhere else. So glad I ignored the voice in my head that told me to say, no we cannot paint right now because we have to…and instead said, YES!
How is it we all seem to have a week with way too much week in it – simultaneously? Kinda cool – kinda weird.
CHICKEN!
The good:
– new client called with short-term project paying three times as much as current project – and doing more interesting things.
– blood tests normal (whew)
– happy hippie husband up and working again
– scooting to new job is way too fun – despite SF heat wave
– Johnny B Truant set me up with new site and new blog which looks great
– a 4-hour cruise on the SS Jeremiah O’Brien
The hard:
– uncomfortable conversation with agent about ditching current assignment in favor of my own thing
– continued levels of busy-head due to weird new med
– So Very Hot – I wilt in this weather and I sweat pink hair dye
– quitting/firing my boss/co-volunteer before the ship cruised last weekend and not having the time to step up and fix the problem
Safe travels and Happy weekend, everyone!
.-= Casey´s last post … Test post =-.
Productive lurching! Genius!
Ah, Stu. The Fluent Self wouldn’t be the same without you! ^_^
Hard: Actually I had a pretty good week. Missing the boyfriend, who is “op norf” with his family. I also seem to have killed the PS3, which is a little worrying.
Good: Finally getting some work done on that comic I’m supposed to finish next month. I might still make it, and I like the way it’s coming out.
Rocking the Shiva Nata. Or perhaps it is rocking me. Either way, good stuff.
Sympathies to Ilikered. That sucks. 🙁
Hurray for Barbara fixing the toilet. I am in AWE! (I can’t fix a bloody lightbulb! >_<)
Hurray to everyone’s good! Booo to everyone’s bad!
.-= Willie Hewes´s last post … Codename: Pepsi =-.
Productive lurching, the story of a procrastinator’s life — one lurch forward, several minutes of standing looking confused about it all. 😉
I have a long one this week, lots of good!
The Hard:
– Still coming down with something without actually being sick. It’s almost worse that being really sick, because it interferes in so many small ways (aches and pains that keep me up, general listlessness when the tummy acts up, headaches from background sius ick), but I still have to keep up with things because I’m not really sick.
– The dog days of summer have truly arrived, with hot hot sunny and hot that just saps what little energy and will I had left.
– Frustrating client is frustrating.
– It is totally the week of barfing cats. Ew.
– Just didn’t get as much done as I wanted to this week.
The Good:
+ Frustrating client pays for their frustration. I got my ask and will be dyeing on Tuesday — now to decide, burgundy or purple?
+ Got the necessary things done, anyway, and made more progress on Antemortem Arts site. CSS is finally starting to seem less nonsensical and confusing, huzzah!
+ I have discovered that carrying a parasol is so worth the funny looks — that portable shade keeping the hottest of the sun off my head and out of my eyes is the best thing ever.
+ Saw Ponyo, the new Studio Ghibli film, and it was just so adorable. With the cutest credits of all time, too! And there was sushi and mutual treating to things.
+ Made bread and ate super mild foods for a day and am already feeling much better, tummy-wise. Will be on super mild diet until Pacificon so I can drink like the lush I am at con.
+ Kitten is 1 next month, so next food purchase will finally be hairball control instead of kitten food.
+ August was, overall, just a really good month for my business, and I’m looking forward to an equally good September.
+ Cute kittehs are very loving, despite the heat. Healthy, fuzzy, and posing in adorableness right now for my appreciation. Also, I have discovered the decluttering horizontal surfaces leads to a new phenomenon: cat clutter! So cute.
+ Was amused to find that I have no less than four different songs called “Leave Me Alone,” plus various remixes. Antisocial, me?
.-= Amy Crook´s last post … It’s Coming Right for Us! =-.
What a great way to finish off the week.
The Hard:
– Recovering from oral surgery. Eating too much comfort soft food, and overdoing it on ice cream.
– Not enough exercise because of soreness, lack of gym access, heat, and general being too busy.
– Hectic, messy apartment due to packing.
The Good:
+ Mouth feels almost painfree today!
+ Student loans finally came in.
+ Job interview! Job interview, woot! It went well, and it’s promising, but I’m trying to stay nonplussed so I don’t get my hopes up.
+ Awesome spontaneous swank dinner out with my gentleman friend.
+ Knowing I’ll get much-needed time with my lover-man tonight.
.-= Dawn´s last post … The Phinish Line =-.
Thankful for the chicken. 🙂
The hard:
– nervousness about the big trip to NC
– being embarrassed about arriving 2 minutes after the whole retreat thingy was starting!
– 11 hour drive
– decided to scale it back seriously/break it off with the new guy… really like everything except the workaholism and sense of neglect, very very sensitive to this particular phenomenon.
– sad and hard and lots of self doubt and being conflicted about the above.
– Really wiped out from all of the above, and took off of almost all my exercise this week.
– Getting back into the swing of school and starting up classroom #2 for the year- lots of demands on energy.
The Good:
+ Meeting Havi and Selma and “the gang” 😉
+ Pretty sure that by driving up and arriving breathlessly at 7:02 pm, I made a memorable impression. 😀
+ How awesome is Shiva Nata? I don’t know how it does what it does, but it’s cool. Everything about the retreat had an impact, I don’t know whether to be surprised or not at how amazing it was.
+ There is some amazing scenery on this planet! Traveling 650 miles lets you see plains, rolling horse country, beautiful mountains. There were points that made me say “wow” out loud, alone in the car.
+ Such cool people, really amazing- “People Vary” and how!
+ Pretty sure I made the right choice on the boy. Not really good, but I am learning what is healthy for me and how to take care of myself. Learning to not try to FIX so much, especially when it isn’t mine to fix.
Super big hugs to all! <3
Ingrid
Yay Chicken. Double hugs for the hard. Hugs and hoorays for the good. Much rejuvenating rest for Havi.
The Hard:
–I feel like I cursed myself last week by saying out loud what a great week it was. This week, mostly hard, with ultimate good outcomes, but lots of tears and feeling like I don’t have the bandwidth or the skills to deal.
–Tired. Musical is heading into technical rehearsals, which is also known as hell week, as we open a week from today. No day off until Labor Day. Oy. Body tired. Mind tired. Voice tired.
–More relationship churn, after making a lot of progress. Got blindsided by it. Lots of tears, lots of questioning, lots of misinterpretation of good intentions. Feeling like I have the emotional maturity level of a teenager.
–Day job stress. Boss came back from vacation. Cosmic shift in the space. Not enough light at the end of the tunnel pointing me toward the way out.
The Good:
–Having this blog to hang onto.
–Surviving it all.
–I have wonderful friends.
–I’m learning to ride the roller coaster that is my life without food or other narcoticizing substances. Which is GREAT, but also why things feel so HARD.
–I am very much alive as an artist — Actor Pidge and Writer Pidge out in full force
Blessings to all for a glorrrrrrrious weekend and week to come.
The hard:
Received a card and some photos from a long-lost aunt. “I found some photos of you FROM WHEN YOU WERE THIRTEEN, AND THOUGHT YOU MIGHT ENJOY THEM.” (No wonder I was happier when she was long-lost.) There were 3 pictures of me at age thirteen and 1 picture at age seventeen. Very triggering. I’m not usually a destructo sort, but I will be burning those photos tonight. Cannot get over the sheer volume of LOATHING that emerged after opening that envelope.
My iPod alarmclock playlists aren’t working but I don’t know why.
I went to update my Garmin GPS, the day before I left for the long drive to NC, and my credit card got charged but I couldn’t update the thing.
The good:
The Garmin phone rep. guy was nice and I should be all set for the 2.1GB download (!!) of new maps.
Weekend!!
Going to type up my notes from the workshop. I hope they make sense.
It was very funny if people at work asked where/why I was on vacation, and I said “North Carolina. I’d never been there. It was for a workshop. Kind of an artsy thing, you know.” The minute I said artsy, peoples’ eyes glazed over and then they didn’t ask any more questions. HEE HEE HEE!!! Yes, I said it on purpose. On the other hand, my mom asked a lot of real, and nice, questions about the workshop, and was super-intrigued and happy for me. (Fortunately I’m able to actually describe Shiva Nata to my friends, family members who aren’t that long-lost aunt, etc.)
Yesterday my neighbor left a ziploc bag of homemade chocolate-chip cookies on the downstairs banister for me.
And yeah, it was awesome — and inspiring — to meet everyone last Friday.
Glad to hear you are finally back home!
The Hard:
– Much uncertainty about the upcoming semester. So much is completely out of my control. And classes start Monday. Not good for anyone.
– Way too much work, way too little sleep.
The Good:
– An awesome adjunct to help teach one of my classes. Completely clicked with him. Our backgrounds are a complement. I’m very energized!
– My first assignment for my doctoral program was done on time and I got great feedback. Another energizer!
– FINALLY getting an internship agreement back from the lawyer. Wow, that was a project. But I think we will work much better together in the future.
Have a great week everyone!
I can’t imagine packing up and heading across the ocean for an extended period of time, so soon after the retreat (plus all the other stuff you have going on)!
This week for me:
The hard –
Returning home (and to work) after such a wonderful retreat in NC, and wishing I had taken the whole week off.
All the little time-consuming details involved in moving my site to a new design.
The good –
Ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh…I did it! I launched my coaching site after years of working through all the stuckness.
The NC retreat last weekend – it was so amazing and even though I can’t say I really understand how or why, it helped resolve the fear enough for me to move forward.
All my friends who I met through the Kitchen Table and Twitter – they have been incredibly supportive and one big cheering section for me as I walked along this labyrinth.
Pretty much completely overwhelmed with gratitude right about now.
.-= Victoria Brouhard´s last post … Retreeeeeeat! Mind Blown, Site Launched =-.
Oh, wait. Did I unintentionally do something uncool by registering productivelurching.com? Does Havi own that because her Stu said it? It was just an impulse and I didn’t think about copyright, which, after a career in publishing, I respect as much as I do the Golden Role. Lifting phrases from other people? No, no, I’m not that girl.
Havi, it’s yours if you want it. Just let me know.
-Sandy
I thought of Selma when I saw this naughty duck outfit – just couldn’t resist.
http://www.poolandspa.com/catalog/product845979.cfm
.-= judyofthewoods´s last post … Foraging in June =-.
@Havi, yikes on the touching thing. I had a whole summer like that, they pulled me over every flight. No idea why. Maddening. Maybe you can spray healthy boundary spray on them. Because that wouldn’t make things worse at all.
@Hiro, you are so right about the canary in the coal mine thing. Take really good care of yourself. I feel like it’s on the verge of shifting, what do you think?
@Bonni, I would be right there with you. All photographic evidence of 12-17 can be consigned to flames immediately, thankew.
Hard this week:
A very angry woman who wrote a trash post about a project I’m involved with. Shouldn’t have read it but did, then had that itchy scaly feeling you get when you get somebody else’s vitriol all over you. Not nice at all.
The lovely:
Remembering Havi’s great “Why do you charge” posts, and letting that loosen up my own anger.
Judyofthewoods and Melinda WAHM speaking their minds against the nonsense.
Wonderful comments on my last post. Sometimes I feel like a post is knocking and needs to get out, and then it turns out that some other people exactly needed to hear it. That is a really cool moment.
My child (who is fantastic, really) goes back to school on Monday. THANK YOU GODS AND GODDESSES ALL.
.-= Sonia Simone´s last post … How to Quit Being a Badass =-.
Quick Friday Chicken for me.
The hard: Getting my workshop done for the conference I am at.
The good
The workshop is done! I just finished up the slide presentation about 10 minutes ago! Squee!
The conference has been great and I’m getting to know a lot of good people. I am looking forward to my workshop instead of dreading it. Yeah for getting to know people.
The change in my meds is working, and I am feeling much better.
I hope everyone has a great weekend!
.-= Shawna R. B. Atteberry´s last post … A Lessed Depressed Update =-.
@ingrid
wow. I’m impressed with how you are handling your relationship and I think it is great you are making a big choice because it is right for you, and thats that.
“Learning to not try to FIX so much, especially when it isn’t mine to fix.” is sticking with me…. nicely put. good luck moving forward and *HUG*!
You guys! Hey! Chickens!
Wow, I guess it was quite a week for everyone. Goodness.
@Sandy – oh of course you can have productive lurching! Use it in good health. It’s all yours! And Stu’s. Just kidding. No worries. We need to get Charlie over here too because he (I think) will find it completely funny.
@Bonni – genius! “Kind of an artsy thing”! I love it. Can I use that? Because that would be a great way to get people to stop asking. Oh, so brilliant!
@Amy Crooks – so funny. “four different songs called “Leave Me Alone,” plus various remixes” … that just made me giggle for about ten minutes straight. Not because I over-identify or anything … *sigh*
Sending out mad weekend love to all y’all (see? see?) and just enjoying the chickening, as always. Would not be the same without you guys. Mwah!
Productive Lurching! Thanks, Stew! (You don’t have to be an automaton to screw up names and words! :p)
I’m here. I do find it completely funny.
I WILL incorporate the idea – maybe:
“Tired of productive lurching and ready to get down to some productive flourishing?”
Yes, it’s coming folks. Just wait.
.-= Charlie´s last post … You Are Not Your Past =-.