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.
For the first time, in … let’s see, one hundred and twenty four weeks, I’m not in the mood to chicken.
In fact, my impression right now is this: I really did not enjoy this week.
But I know that when things aren’t working, I can always come back to the culture of this blog and the rituals of the week, since both the culture and the rituals are things that hold themselves.
Self-sustaining. Like a yoga pose. Or a sea chantey.
And I’m hoping that working through the hard and the good will remind me of some of what did work.
Or at least help me be more present with whatever is going on under the surface.
The hard stuff
Agh. Of course. The worst week. Always.
There’s something about the end of December and the ambient cultural gunk about the holidays and the approach of the new year.
It’s just not good. And there’s no escaping it.
I have been hiding out in my force field, but man, there’s a lot of general bleargh in the air. Depressing.
Completely and utterly overwhelmed.
Possibly related to the above.
Possibly related to the giant piles (both literal and metaphorical) waiting on me.
Some of these piles are filled with iguanas (very metaphorical), and that just makes the whole thing harder.
“Behind.” Whatever that means. Being behind. An awful feeling.
This is a phrase I dislike. It’s not helpful. It’s not a useful way of thinking about things.
But still I find myself looking at all the stuff I’d gotten ready for the new year by this time in 2009. And shaking my head.
This year has been full of interesting challenges. I’m sure something good will come out of this “behind” thing.
I just don’t know what it is yet and right now there’s some tightness there.
Sickness still taking its time.
Flannel handkerchiefs = yay.
Running out of flannel handkerchiefs because they’re all in the laundry = something that has never, ever happened.
You would not believe the amounts of goo I have watched leave my body over the past two weeks.
Applications overload.
We had so many people apply to the Kitchen Table from the waiting list, it has been completely insane.
I thought I was almost done with reading applications but then this week I think I read something like another seventy billion pages and also my brain exploded.
Still not back into routine.
This might be related to the “everything is getting on my nerves” part of this week.
Feeling a strong need to clear the decks.
I know this feeling. This usually doesn’t bode well.
I mean, it generally results in good things after the storm. But right now I need to take a bunch of things apart.
The good stuff
Looking forward to Zombie Yule.
Barricading myself in and avoiding the world: not just my tradition anymore.
Haven’t decided what I’m going to do yet, but Zombie Yule!
Orange hat.
It’s so orange!
Blindingly orange.
I love it.
Car cleaning!
The inside of my gentleman friend’s car has not seen a vacuum since something like 1992.
As of this week, that is no longer true. And there was also shampoo.
I am disproportionately happy about this.
Getting excited about the new group of Kitchen Table mice.
The Kitchen Table is where we practice all the stuff we talk about here.
And where we get to experience what it’s like living and breathing inside a culture where you’re allowed to have your gwishes, and it’s safe to be yourself, and everyone else is working on their stuff too.
Being around thoughtful, curious, loving, fabulous people. It’s a haven. And I can tell that our third year is going to be absolutely amazing.*
*And there are a few spots still open so even if you didn’t make it to the waiting list before it closed… you might still have a chance. If you want to apply, go to the secret backdoor page (password: speedymouse).
Workless Wednesday.
Even if it was only half workless.
Yay!
Secret Play Date!
This is Maryann’s beautiful thing.
I love it so much I can hardly stand it.
Read the post about it and get ready for Toozday. Or do it now. That works too. Secret play date is my favorite part of the week.
She’s @maryanndevine on Twitter.
Ohmygod my clients are doing such amazing things.
And I’m watching them develop business cultures that are so … subversive and revolutionary and fabulous.
So much progress and so much brilliance.
It’s really very exciting to be me right now.
Now, let’s orbit.
Somehow in a week where NOTHING was amusing, this fabulously inane commercial that really should not be funny at all managed to zoom in on my funnybone.
That sentence made my week.
Video at the bottom.
Fun presents that arrived at the Playground this week.
We got crazy sparkly superhero gloves from @judespacks (with fringe!). That she made. Very, very cool.
An album of songs! Songs! From Blue and her band Hello the Future. I am the luckiest.
And someone in Hawaii sent these very cool surfer light-switch things! I have no idea who you are, but thank you. They’re fantastic.
Also a giant bunny from an anonymous bunny-giver. Not in Hawaii, though. Yay, giant fluff-bunny!
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 band:
George Michael Roger That.
Oh, they are marvelous. Maybe you saw them open for Recursive Angst. Except that of course it’s really just one guy
* Hat-tip to Jeff (@jmoriarty) for Recursive Angst. Which is also just one guy. As is Jeff.
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 day and a restful weekend-ing.
And a happy week to come. Shabbat shalom.
Follow
The Hard: EVERYTHING… stoopid company christmas party I’m the chair of the committee and I’d rather pull out all my toenails than do one more thing related to it. It’s over tonight and I’ve had a headache for 24 hours.
Work drama. SOOO SICK OF IT!!! Don’t involve me!!Want to hide in a mouse hole until I go on non-emergency, emergency vacation.
The Holidays= over-whelm.
The Good: Party being over tonight.
We’re all awesome!
I’m so very sorry to hear about your hard, hard week. I do think that this is an intense time of year, in good ways and definitely not-so-good ways.
My hard stuff:
–Overwhelmed by to-dos, which led to a bit of a meltdown on Wednesday. You know how Holly Hunter’s character keeps bursting into tears during convenient quiet moments in Broadcast News? Yeah, I can relate.
–Conflict between beloved family members. I watched it happen, watched it progress seemingly in slow motion, like a car accident, and could do nothing to prevent it. And it hurt my heart.
–Difficult driving on snowy, icy roads.
My good stuff:
–Riding some waves of energy, which allowed me to get caught up on a backlog of financial stuff, among other things. Feeling strong and powerful.
–Daughter’s choral concert went well, and was a lot of fun. She got to introduce one of the songs and present its historical context (public speaking is one of her superpowers), and she had a brief solo. Seldom have the words, “Won’t you guide my sleigh tonight?” been sung with such passion and panache. Yes, I’m biased, but it’s still true!
–An excellent week of working on my stuff. Lots of insight, lots of grounding, lots of tiny, sweet epiphanies.
Love and shimmery good gwishes to all of you!
The orbiting video was very cute. I love finding unexpectedly delightful and fun things in things that aren’t expected to be delightful or fun (namely, Jimmy Dean sausages).
The Hard:
-Not too much. The week went by *way* to fast to even remember the hard.
Not hard, but annoying:
~a couple hour-long remote meetings at work, where the audio sucked, and I had to listen while holding up my phone to my ear…for an hour.
The Good:
+Holiday scented candles. I get to decide what my holiday smells like!
+Paying special attention to my body: moving it often, and feeding it well.
+Finding satisfactory gifts for the mister.
+Beautiful sunrises lately, and now pretty snow all around.
+Collaborating with coworkers.
+Being able to focus on the good.
*too
gah, that dreaded typo!!
Havi I’m sorry the week was yucky. 🙁 I hope you feel better soon!
the HARD.
last week, it was the interview i was sure I bombed. this week, it was finding out for certain that I was right. *sigh* but I didn’t take it as hard as i thought i would.
work has been STRESSFUL. not because it’s too hard, just…well, it’s hard to explain.
my apartment has still not been cleaned by magical elves. i’m waiting.
the GOOD.
a SUPER AMAZING WONDERFUL 6 HOUR conversation with someone i should be enemies with, but I think we’re going to be best friends instead. weird. awesome.
weight finally going in the other direction. just a bit.
upcoming trip home. travel is stressful, but seeing family is lovelier.
i spontaneously generated a new blog. we’ll see how long i keep it up.
Orbiting happy planets! It tickles my funny bone, too. I love this.
Hard Things:
1. So much to do, so little time.
2. The “please do even more” expectation at work
3. More dragon-whispering appointments, eek.
Good Things:
1. This is my last work day for TWO WEEKS.
2. Miraculously not stressed about taking the tiny llama on the plane during the holidays
3. Somehow, things are getting done
4. The telecall this week was a nice moment of sanity
5. Crazyfun Shiva Nata this week with new words!
Oh boy. I’m so glad it’s Friday, guys. Happy happy happy happy END OF THE WEEK to all. Havi, hope your iguanas and other things get sorted out soon. I am in a similar boat with the volumes of goo thing. Sending happy untangling thoughts in everyone’s direction for all the hard things.
Hooray for orange hats!
And car cleaning!
The hard for this week:
Snow/slush and discovering the driver’s side windshield washer fluid dispenser is blocked. Makes for tense driving.
Arriving at a planned dinner only to discover everyone else had cancelled due to the snow/slush/slick roads.
I didn’t get the last email since I was already on the road.
The good:
Dinner hostess and family were wonderful, had an enjoyable meal and conversations anyway.
Listening to one of the kids having a blowout about going to bed. Observing that our stuck and resistance can start so early in life. Considering the effects of excitement plus exhaustion. By they time we’re “adults,” we have learned to suppress our “public” reactions but the feelings are still there, hiding.
Watching the new (6 months) HUGE puppy being semi-friendly but overly vigilant about a stranger in the house. She hasn’t completely absorbed that it’s OK if family approves, she doesn’t have to be tense and worried in those circumstances. Thinking about mosters and the taming thereof.
(Finally) ordering copies of the Moster Manual, Procrastination Dissolve-O-Matic, and Shiva Nata DVD. Woo hoo! Practicing horizontal arm movements off and on between “events” at agency Christmas party yesterday. Getting them wrong! But having someone at my table completely get it!
Looking forward to seeing friend/cousin this weekend — she is back from 6 months in Bangladesh.
Happy Zombie Yule, Winter Solstice, and any other holiday you’re celebrating, to all the chickeneers!
(Oooh, this year the Winter Solstice is on Toozday the 21st in the US, I should work that into the Secret Play Date!)
It’s not Friday without a chicken.
This week’s hard:
– Neck and shoulder acting up again. Could hardly move on Monday.
– Got talked into trying to DIY a plumbing thing that my first instinct was to call the plumber for, and boy was I right. Everything about it went wrong. Stupid all around.
– Not nearly enough time to prepare for tomorrow’s big huge amazing show. All this great inspiration and no time to execute.
This week’s good:
– My plumber is a superhero. Lesson learned.
– Despite all the crazy, everything that *must* be done today will be.
– Light at the end of the tunnel.
yaaa yuckyuck.
hard
a reoccuring theme of bullying. i am curious about it. and actually fed up of it too.
there’s some good in it this time round. this time i feel stronger inside as in. im pissed, im out of control/reactive some days, but i am not REACTIVE every day, sometimes it bounces right off me and i just observe and the ‘game’ stops. Knowing that i wont be broken, that i know my worth, that i can see what is happening. and yet…THE HARD…furious and frustrated and unsatisfied because i need to resolve this thing and am curious as to whether there is more healing, bad ass woo woo energetic kind, that can help me.
The Bubble thing that I can imagine totally friggin rawks but it is not enough right now.
(i wonder if i am meant to walk away AGAIN or stay and learn how to become Super Dawg Bitch that honestly doesnt give a damn about peeps like that. Because honestly? I don’t, but my body responses anyway sometimes to the taunting, mocking, belittling crap that passes as good fun and politicing nowadays)
Good
meditating. Zingy warm colours inside of me make me feel safe and gooood inside.
Grounding in my feet, tingling there, softness and energy in my hands. I am tripping on natural life energy. Damn it it is good. We all need this. I need this. I love this! More, more, more (woops vpaing creeping in there!)
Some more time rewriting my liddle playlet.
Bridget. Larisa, Havi, me, my love.
Me. I love me. I Love Me.
Practising standing up for myself with someone who yields (false) power by telling them that there behavior was not acceptable to me. That they didn’t need to care, or understand how I felt, but that they needed to hear me and respect that they were hurting me and crossing a line if they insisted on touching me. Okay that may sound weak but it’s a start. It’s a start.
My first Chicken (I think). I’ve been de-chickened. Giblets. Ew. Do chickens have giblets? What are giblets anyway?
The Hard:
An overwhelming to-do list
Asking for help with practical stuff that I am not practical enough to do on my own
Going to the Drs
The slight manhandling at the Drs. Totally My Stuff, but still, hard.
The Good
Actually working on the to-do list. That bad boy needs a new name stat
Swimming! Lots and lots of swimming and floundering around in the pool with the retired folk.
Discovering duck swimming gloves
Making progress on projects (and it being enough for now)
Making more physical space for myself so that I can have more Space space to work on my stuff (hello yoga mat, I’ve missed you)
Realising I need some sort of Phone Sabbatical and starting to think about how that could work
Undecided
The Dr asking but not really asking that I didn’t seem like I liked being there much. I appreciate that he noticed. Not sure how I feel about being read like a book
Gift shopping
I’m glad the checkin did not come early this week, because the hard of yesterday would have taken me all day to write. Or one word “everything.”
But that black cloud lifted and now there’s good:
This bowl of steamed cauliflower, broccoli rabe & shrimp drizzled with olive oil and Bragg’s that I’m having for very late lunch. Oh yes.
Sam Adams Chocolate Bock.
Finishing all my Christmas shopping in one day, and finding the perfect surprises for the people I love.
Thinking about walking to the fancy restaurant down the street from my house tonight, and sitting at the bar and having dinner (and a martini) by myself while writing my Christmas cards. Even if I don’t go, imagining it is wonderful!
Realizing that if I take a hot tub before bed I sleep for 10 hours. And stay warm.
The Hard:
The sneaky cold trying to get in under my doors and I have no door snakes yet. Stuffing socks under there.
Can’t find the brown craft paper I like to use to wrap gifts and am not driving anymore today to find it.
Chicken! Thank you for being here Havi. And thank you for sharing my reaction to that commercial. We’re all awesome.
The hard:
-Tests. Oh tests. I’m still not quite done with tests, actually, one to finish sometime in the next three days. Fear that I didn’t do well, fear that I’m a disappointment, guilt guilt guilt, etc. This dance is so familiar that it doesn’t get to me the same way it used to, but it’s still there.
-It has been a little chilly at least, which was great, but today it is hot. Again. And humid. Ugh.
-Death in the distant extended family, which I didn’t find out about until several days later. It wasn’t completely unexpected, but it’s just a sad thing.
The good:
-I have amazing friends with amazing timing. I got presents in the mail unexpectedly today. Between them I now have an official start to my ornament collection, two of my favorite teas that I cannot get locally, and homemade cookies. I may have been slightly obnoxious with the squealing and jumping up and down but I really, really, really needed a little bit of magic and it showed up. Unbelievable.
-Also today, I finally have work! Another little lift of some guilt and stress. It’s a less exciting present but it still counts.
-That unhostile takeover post. It was like knowing you’re wearing a really uncomfortable outfit but not knowing to do about it, and spending weeks just trying to cope with it, and suddenly being reminded that you’ve had a catalog in front of you for ages, you’ve used it before with great success, and it might be a good idea to just try using it again. Duh. Cool.
-I will see snow in four days. I can’t wait.
Happy Friday to all the chickeneers, and I hope a very happy weekend.
Week from hell.
The hard
– My boss wanting WEEKLY documentation from my neurologist for days I’ve missed from work because of my migraines. He doesn’t have time to write weekly letters. So she gives me a letter telling me that if I don’t give her documentation within 3 business days, my last several days off will be recorded as unexcused without pay. I contact neuro, he responds with letter he sent last week (which I didn’t get), which documents the days off through November, and also says weekly documentation is not feasible and he can no longer provide documentation as we’ve been doing. I forward his email to boss, who says I still don’t have documentation for 3 days off in December, and they’ll still be without pay unless I get documentation by end of Thursday. Um…how? I can’t do the impossible. She says she’ll forward neuro’s email to HR and see whether it’s sufficient. I don’t hear any more about it until today, when she emails that the deadline passed so they’re without pay. Can she even do that? I can’t do the impossible.
The good
+ I don’t have to go back to work until January.
@Riin — YIKES. I’ve no idea what to do about it, but I hope so hard for you that the right things will happen to fix that situation.
@seagirl — writing cards + sipping martini sounds like a splendid combination to me!
@Leila — go you! Lots of people (glances sidelong in mirror) never even get to the practising. You rock so hard.
My hard:
* feeling losses – a beloved teacher passing away; friends of friends near death; revisiting correspondence from people with whom I am no longer in touch or no longer as close.
* feeling stranded, under-supported, and under-informed in several situations that feel like they could change from eggshells to landmines in the blink of an eye
* really could have used a week’s worth of extra time between yesterday and today. It didn’t materialize. *grumble*
* dear right hip: dammit! Don’t you start acting up!
My good:
* gift-finding and gift-creating mojo stopping by the house now and then
* I love my job, my partner, and my dog
* I’m about to don a green velvet gown and cook for some friends (pumpkin-shiitake soup, a Greece-meets-Tennessee variation of herbed meatballs, apple-hazelnut tarts, mulled wine, bacon-wrapped dates, and whatever else I happen to have time and ingredients for). Pretty much my definition of happiness right there.
Wishing everyone help with the hard and hurrahs for the good.
Chiiiickeeeeennnn!
Sorry to hear about your week, Havi. I hope the next one is better!!
Me? I will be brief-
The hard:
-the dark. I feel like someone has taken an eyedropper of ink and covered my eyes in black. I am very happy for all the light festivals of this time of year. I got rolls and cookies for Santa Lucia day, I am enjoying the Christmas lights, and I am thisclose to going to a tanning salon.
-crazy family issues. Mom, sister, niece… everyone is having issues. They suck. (The issues.)
-Gentleman friend is generally very laid back, but has been tense because of selling his house issues, but overall they are good, just a lot to take care of.
The GOOOOOD!
++++Super fun amazing project that will happen this summer and I found out about it and am getting involved in a way I never would have believed my self to be capable of a year or two ago….Woo! I am ELATED and SO EXCITED about this thing. I am hoping to share details on it soon, so soon…. Very, very, very excited! It will involve kids, and art, and innovation, and powertools! and SUMMER. What could be awesomer~
+This has put such a shine on my day, damn near everything else looks good, too. Hooray for passion!
+the Gentleman Friend- good listening ears, smiles when I kiss his neck and ears. 🙂
+The dog- less neurotic than usual!
+The Christmas cards… ha ha ha! I have *never* done Christmas cards, having heard they were a chore… well, except for that one time, I sent out about 50, except they were SO LATE that I decided to send out VALENTINES instead, (early) and that was cool…. but anyhow, I managed to get them out this year, and it was FUN writing a little sloppy note to everyone. And so fun getting cards back! 🙂 I was hopping up and down when I dropped the stack in the mailbox down the street, and smiling getting the cards here and there over the last few days.
+again thank goodness for all the light festivals. I can’t wait for the solstice and the sun to come back!
xoxoxoxo!
Ingrid
My first check-in too!
The hard:
-getting stuck perfectionist-angsting over a recent project; each evening feeling like I should take it apart and redo it before handing it to a customer on Thursday.
-the “omg, I might be overscheduled, jettison everything from the to-do list” impulse led to me abstaining from the low-key house-bustling that I’d wanted to do this week.
-fell out of my productive streak at the day job. Need to figure out how to get back to the “digging into something interesting” mindset instead of procrastination after the holiday break. (I’m actually kinda looking forward to treating it with destuckification techniques.)
The good:
-the customer LOVING her thing and saying she would recommend me to all her friends! Yay!
-not going to be at work again until 11 days from now–so much time to recharge! Some of it will be on a plane, but I can knit and read and snooze there too.
-seeing my family again, for a whole luxurious week. I miss them.
@Riin, eek, how stressful & wretched. Glad you don’t have to go in for awhile.
@Havi, flannel handkerchiefs you say? I must find this wonderful thing for myself.
The hard:
– registration for my class is opening tomorrow, and my monsters are working overtime to freak me out
– family politics over the holidays
– figuring out what I need to let go of to make my life more manageable
– more family politics. Much, much family politics.
The good:
– we just put up the Christmas tree, and it really is very lovely
– I just made peppermint bark, which is the best stuff EVER
– my 2-year-old has started cleaning up after himself, and then he thanks himself when he’s done, and oh the cute!
– my 5-year-old is now on vacation for 2 weeks, so I get to hang out with my babies
UGH. Hard, hard week.
The hard:
– Students. Grade disputes. Tuition disputes. Poor performances on internships. UGH
– No time between the end of the semester and Christmas. Everything all jammed up.
– Super overwhelmed. 2010 was very overwhelming. 2011 won’t be any better as it is time to write the dissertation and knock out the internship along with the 60 hours per week I work. Good luck with that.
– Cold, cold weather in the single digits. UGH
The good:
+ Husband doing ALL of the holiday baking this year. Praise the Lord.
+ Kitties who make me smile when I get up and when I finally trudge home totally wiped out
+ Student workers who are just awesome who restore my faith that not all of them are underperformers
+ NO alarm clock tomorrow after 12 straight days of being its slave.
I’d forgotten about Zombie Yule, though we are making our list of movies for the up all night movie-thon of Friday night. (Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Fall…) I will have to make sure my fun jammies are clean and the sofa is cleared off. Yay!
Hard:
No callback for DH from the phone interview last week.
Body still is not normalized after my surgical procedure of last month. I’m starting to freak out a little.
Having to be a secret friend on my friend’s big birthday this week.
Picking up my art from the gallery in Chilicothe and finding out nothing sold despite sending “affordable” work.
Emotional meltdowns from all of the above.
The hot water still isn’t. I really need a comfort bath.
Good:
My talk to the quilt guild went well on Sunday.
Isa Chandra Moskovitz’ new vegan cookbook.
Making good progress on my newest shoe piece.
Yay for first chickens!
The hard stuff –
On Monday, falling face first, followed by elbow, on the back room concrete floor where I work – blood pool mixed with the eggnog (not spiked – I was at work!) creating a festive mess.
Ambulance ride followed by a “fast track” visit of four plus hours.
Eight stitches in my face following the curve outside my left eye from the end of my eyebrow to the corner of my eye.
Still don’t know if the elbow is cracked or just severely bruised. still much pain and now, the cut itches constantly.
The good stuff –
The orthopaedic surgeon took me off work for three weeks to make sure the arm recovers properly before returning to work.
This means I can create cards and jewelry and work on a website! (This, of course, with plenty of rest for my arm and still aching body.)
LOTS of doggie time – snuggles and kisses, and treats, and LOVE!
SNOW just when we thought we’d have no moisture this winter!
Stitches out tomorrow!
Happy week and happy solstice (with eclipse)!
Gratitude for Havi and Selma and wishing you speedy recovery, Havi ~
I am absolutely sure today is Friday. I’ve been looking for it all week and today it showed up. Yay!
The Hard:
I don’t work for the next two weeks and I don’t get paid when I don’t work. Dealing with the nervousness that comes with that even though I know I’m fine.
I’m pretty sure I’m setting myself up for hurt, but I can’t stop myself anyway. Don’t even really want to. Calling it being hopeful.
Waited too late for Christmas shopping so that some presents won’t arrive until late late.
The Good:
Spending the next four days in the trees.
Having two weeks to think and work on personal projects.
I’m in Costa Rica. That makes it really difficult to complain about much.
Enjoying the moments I have.
New adventures. They keep a-commin’
Havi, so sorry for all the hard. Totally get the think about the ambient gunk.
@Kat. Thanks for reminding me of the solstice. So comforting that the days will gradually become longer again after the 21st. I hate darkness at 4.30pm.
Think I chickenend out last week because I was at a wedding.
Not so much hard, really, things generally feel pretty good at the moment. Just a few little things:
– I am awake a lot between 3 and 5 am.
– Tons of snow and it has been so cold and all the shoe shops have run out of warm boots.
– Not feeling ok with the way I handled my money matters and my thought patterns about this.
– Idea for a present for husband and then finding out it is out of stock everyhwere.
– A really bad cold that hit me out of the blue.
And the good:
– The cold hit me on Saturday night so I could spent Sunday in bed to de-snot and to sleep. My body seems to cope a lot better and quicker with colds than it used to.
– Spending time with someone who has become very special to me over the past months and who has sort of become my “grown up rental child”.
– I saw a woman on the train who wore just the perfect boots and I asked where she got them and I was able to order them over the net, they have just arrived and seem to fit. They look great and they have a perfect grip for the snow and ice to allow me not to look like an 80 year old when I walk around.
– Still so much loving the job and the people that come with it.
– Many things I am currently looking forward to.
Have a lovely weekend, everyone.
The Bad:
Still stuck in this icebox apartment. I will esc-c-c-cape.
The Good:
Making it this far without so much as a sniffle or cough! I’m putting this down to my experiment this year of taking 2000IU of vitamion D3 in the morning, and again in the evening.
Hurrah!
Hi Havi, the hard holiday bug smote me too way over here; it feels like it’s been a hard year overall.
YAY for fun presents. 🙂 And now I’m curious about your mystery gifter!
Mele Kalikimaka to y’all.
Havi, I want to make some comment about being behind, but it all comes out like something that was edited from a Carry On script.
Leila – you are not weak. That’s awesome. Well done. Big smiley faces.
The hard:
– still with the ill and the tired
– and some interesting stomach cramps of doom
– being stupidly behind on my degree work – I have never been this far behind before – stress, feeling cross with myself even though there’s not much I could have done about it
– random shouting from people I live with. Not at me, just shouting about stuff. But still.
– asthma allergy to one of my favourite pubs
– the vegetarian snacks at work christmas buffet being made with vegetarian pig.
The good:
– my cousin finally coming to visit. Yay.
– doing some weird mind voodoo to find my friends wedding photo cd
– got everyone’s Christmas presents – they rock
– looking forward to Christmas for the first time ever because I’m doing it on my terms.
– Katie West’s new photobook
– looking at the edited shots from my shoot – awesome and powerful.
Late, because of one of the hard things!
Hard:
-Spent 8 hrs in ER Friday with mom
-Feeling very pushed to do EVERYTHING ALL AT ONCE
-Neck still very stiff and missed PT appt. due to #1 hard thing
Good:
-Mom is OK, most pleasant ER experience EVER
-New birds at my feeders for the winter
-Learned something about my body and made some progress on neck trouble
-Went away for 3 days with DH
-New Dragon software for writing – Awesome! I may have to give it a name because I love it so much 🙂
Just an update on the job hell crap. I found a paragraph in our standard practice guide on sick leave that says it follows FMLA. Looked that up and found that they can’t request documentation more often than every 30 days, and in the case of conditions that last more than 30 days, they can’t ask for documentation more than every 6 months. I emailed that to the boss and to HR (who really should have known better). I’ll have to wait and see what they say now.
Yay for Friday Chicken! It’s still Friday, right? right?
The hard:
Having a bad gunky exhaustion cold the entire time I was visiting my dad in the hospital.
Seeing my dad looking so frail. Afraid he’s going to be less independent. Will he be okay?
Flight canceled yesterday, no seats till this evening, I was supposed to be home last night. Missing my sweetheart and my own bed.
The good:
Dad is progressing rapidly in rehab.
Deeper emotional conversation with my dad than we’ve ever had. He shared some important stuff. I think that’s why I was there.
Scheming and plotting with dad to get his ideas out on the web using my (budding) internet skills! Fun for both of us!
Hotel with ten pillows last night. The definition of luxury.
I’m going home!
Hope you’re feeling better, Havi!
Riin – keep standing up for your rights! Don’t let the bureauocrats bully you with foolicy and regulationitis.
It does seem there’s much more hard for most of us – if not all – right now.
Wishes for less hard to us all.
Here goes:
The Hard
Family drama about a cancelled BD party
Not getting to see sisters
Dark. Dark.DArk.
Cold. Cold. Cold.
Cough and fever make it impossible to attend event I haven’t missed in 18 years.
Social interaction between some children comes to head right at last day of school before winter break so I cannot work with them on it, and wish I could help parent’s through it too.
The Good
made plans to see sisters at another time
Took care of myself instead of pushing myself to go to that event while sick.
Lovely presents from students and warm feelings all around from families
Winter Break – yowee!!
AdMan gave me great advice which helped me support a co-worker
Hair cut today
Chickening! It’s a wonderful thing (even when I’m a day late) 😀
The Hard:
* Missing internet date with my niece, due to the wifi connection of failure to connect (oh the frustration!!!)
* Traveling home… 30 hours of traveling in one day, followed by 5 hours of driving the next
* The worst headache ever just as I was getting to one of the places I really really wanted to play in 🙁
* Realizing that instead of the 6 hours I thought I would have for play, I was only going to get about… 1
The Good:
* Coming home!!! 😀
* My puppy, super wriggly happy to see me
* My kitty, soft and purring and making happy kitty face at me
* My family and friends, and hugs all around
* Successfully navigating the trains in Tokyo… and managing to do it without missing my connecting flight! (totally did a ‘go me, I rock!’ happy dance on that one)
* My new apartment, with so little stuff, but all the stuff I need/want/love 🙂
* Plans for fun and play with friends and family
* Sharing stories of my trip
* Just being home /happy sigh
Happy weekend everyone, and wishing lots of good and wonderful for the week to come!
Another first chickener here! It’s Saturday, but I hope it still counts… 😉 I love this idea, Havi! 🙂
The Hard from My Week:
– Feeling a bit of “blah” and blurry all week, didn’t get much done and didn’t have much clarity on what I should be trying to get done.
– Winter, cold and snow. Nuff said.
The Good from My Week:
– First draft of a sales page that I was dreading is almost complete.
– Connected with some fabulous folks online for my blog interview series with Quirky Entrepreneurs.
– Made brown sugar fudge, my FAVORITE holiday season tradition.
– Blog traffic has doubled.
– Wonderful emails from my younger siblings. I love keeping in touch with my amazing family!
Late on the chicken, and honestly, I’m not sure I can do it ‘cuz the Little Bird and I just can’t stop watching the sun tell the planets that they’re all awesome, while we also produce copious amounts of snot.
Feeling pretty awesome, nevertheless.
Wishing everyone ease in the upcoming week of culturally induced overload.
@Riin – Good for you!! Surely they can’t ignore that kind of solid fact!
Wow, I am humbled. It seems like *everyone* has been cursed with the “Crazy Life Meenz” this month! (I have it on a smaller scale, which is why I’m doing Sunday Chickening.) Sending tons of love and support to everyone on this, and hoping it all resolves in your favor(s).
For me?
The Meenz:
– Not having enough money to get my nieces what they want to them in time for their xmas celebration
– Two (yes two) cases of food poisoning this week after holiday get-together dinners
– Having to pack all of my stuff away so my landlady can show the apt I sublet to buyers
– Still not knowing whether my sublet extension will be approved
– Not having any time to make holiday gifties
– My computer is starting to fail and I don’t have any money to replace or fix it and won’t until May
The Yays!:
– My dog is not as blind as I thought! Yaay!
– Also, she’s started to make brand new kyoots faces
– My uncle outlived his cancer prognosis and I’ll see him in the New Year
– I get to see my loved one in a week *squee!*
– Tron: Legacy was awesome despite having a slapped-together story
– Found one of those songs that, for whatever reason, just *makes* you sway and swish all happy across the room
– The paint covered the bedroom wall flaws with a *ton* left over for other rooms, so I don’t need to buy another gallon (ohphew)
– My job is stable and my boss likes me a lot (I remind myself of this a lot when things get berserk there)
Anyway, I must get back to cleaning and packing! I hope everyone else has had a marvelous, relaxing weekend and has taken some time to themselves to recharge.
Wow it’s MONDAY. Monday. Okay, so I’m right there on the Behindism. (hi, Havi!) But I am granting myself Late Amnesty so I can get my head organized because rituals are important.
I spent Friday en route to a lovely squishy happy party with lots of exactly what I needed.
So no complaints there.
This week has been a mix. The bad:
hearing that something wasn’t going to happen–indirectly.
some intense physical pain, which will pass.
nothing going as fast as I want. (Impatient! Which is unusual for me.)
And adjusting to the goodhearted but unfamiliar roommate.
Good: support, mastermind. The aforementioned party and its cuddles. Ideas. The courage to ask people to support me. The courage to put my visions and dreams out there for support. And launching my thing!
So not so bad a week.
Riin – keep standing up for your rights! Don’t let the bureauocrats bully you with foolicy and regulationitis. It does seem there’s much more hard for most of us – if not all – right now. Wishes for less hard to us all. Here goes: The Hard Family drama about a cancelled BD party Not getting to see sisters Dark. Dark.DArk. Cold. Cold. Cold. Cough and fever make it impossible to attend event I haven’t missed in 18 years. Social interaction between some children comes to head right at last day of school before winter break so I cannot work with them on it, and wish I could help parent’s through it too. The Good made plans to see sisters at another time Took care of myself instead of pushing myself to go to that event while sick. Lovely presents from students and warm feelings all around from families Winter Break – yowee!! AdMan gave me great advice which helped me support a co-worker Hair cut today