Refueling the Engine

Taking my own advice is not one of my strong suits. But I hope that by dishing it out, I’ll better be able to pick it up and run with it. Or in this case, take a nap with it.

I’m talking about rest and recuperation. Our bodies thrive on the work-rest cycle. So do our minds.  But that doesn’t stop most of us from abusing the heck out of ourselves.

Celebrate Accomplishment

I just finished a big, brain-challenging project. Hooray for me!  I crossed the finish line — on my birthday, no less. And instead of breathing, smelling the roses, and sipping some iced tea on the deck, I started a list of things I need to accomplish over the next week. Well, OK, I did take myself to see a movie the next day, but I made myself promise to work over the weekend to make up for that. *sigh*

Working hard is not a bad thing. I’m not advocating total chaos and loss of control. But there is something wrong with this picture. There is no downtime worked into the deal. There needs to be.

If you just keep going and going for too long, parts of you start to give out. If you don’t shut down for a time in a planned and voluntary way, you might shut down at some point in a very unplanned and involuntary way.  I’ve seen this happen to people (some very close to me), and I hope that one of these days it’ll sink in enough to teach me to really do as I preach.  I’m getting there. Baby steps.

Power Down to Power Up

At the end of a long day, we go to sleep.  At the end of a long project, we should get a spa day. It scares the heck out of me, and I’m not sure I can do it, but I’m going to try to have an at-home spa day.  Well, maybe a half-day. I think that’s as far as my fevered “gotta get stuff done” self can stretch at this point.

Planning it out will help. So, here goes:

1. I’ll light some candles and play soft, soothing music.
2. I’ll apply a facial mask while the tub fills with aromatic, bubbly suds.
3. Luxuriating in the bath, I will allow myself to daydream about something other than “the next project.”
4. When I climb out of the tub, I’ll wrap my hair in a towel and my self in a warm terry robe, and I’ll lie down on the bed to rest. If I fall asleep, great.  No stress. Maybe I’ll even put some cucumber slices on my eyes.  Nah — waste of food.  Baby steps.

Will I really do this?  Can I?  We’ll see.  I’ll let you know.  In the meantime, do as I say!  Take a break. Plan it out and execute your plan. You can feel a sense of accomplishment about that too!

Another Snow Day in Atlanta

Global warming. Hmm.

Last year, I built the first snowman since my days growing up in Wisconsin. And I built it in the deep south, in a suburb of Atlanta.

A week and a half ago, I got stuck an extra day in Arizona (not a bad place to be stuck, mind you) because snow had shut down the busiest airport in the world, Atlanta Hartsfield International.

And here we are again with a few inches on the ground and freezing rain and sleet expected throughout the day, so that we all may miss a couple of days of work. This is nothing to the northerners who are adept at traversing winter streets. But here, we have no snow tires, we possess a total of eight (yes, eight) sand and salt trucks for the entire city, and we simply … shut down with a few flakes.

Ah, well.  Enjoy the snow day.

Snow in the Air

by Raymond A. Foss

Snow in the air
long before the first flakes
started their long fall from the heavens
snow in the feel, the smell,
the texture of the air
feeling the falling barometer
the shift in the weather
Falling lightly at first, while
I stood at the sink,
mesmerized, watching
their dance downward
Go upstairs, roust the girls,
hear the excitement, the joy
at the first real snowfall
Accumulating white, flake by flake
on the ground, the cars,
still quiet snow, light and airy
a film of white, cell by cell
cleaning the world
in white

Happy “Healthy, Fun, and Fulfilling” New Year!

Happy New Year!

I’ve been reading other people’s pending resolutions, and a few 2010 retrospectives, for a couple of weeks now. I’ve mainly enjoyed the short and sweet plans for the new year — like “I will exercise more, I will read more, and I will write more.” (I like that one; maybe I’ll steal it!)

As a seasoned “wait and see” adopter, I’m chiming in just now, on the second day of this new year, with some observations and a few glimpses forward.

The Year That Was

2010 was an interesting year. It was a difficult one for many people. Personally, I don’t know that many people who lost jobs in 2010, but I do know several who lost their homes, a few who had other financial setbacks, some who went through the grief of loved ones passing, and others who had a variety of tough challenges.

My own life has been fairly stable, filled with small speed bumps but mostly a straight and comfortable road, and I am overwhelmingly grateful for that. I’m not one to handle bona fide adversity well, and I’m glad I didn’t have any major issues that would then become a hurtful burden on anyone I know and love.

My biggest challenge is rooted in my lifelong battle with time management.  I’ve been quite busy with work from all angles, which is an extremely fortunate state of affairs, but one that does not afford me the time to do enough of my own writing or to eat right and exercise properly. Yeah, I know — boo hoo.  I feel like a whiner even mentioning any of it. But it’s my challenge, and I own it.  I will continue endeavoring to tackle my scheduling challenge and to lead a more balanced life in which I can take care of myself so that I can take care of business!

As I look back, I mostly feel an immense amount of gratitude. These are a few of things that stand out from 2010:

1. I’m infinitely grateful for my life, my family, my friends, and the fact that world has not yet imploded.  I expect it to do so at any moment whenever I watch the news or listen to “visionaries” talking about the state of the universe.  So I do not do much of that. I often feel like the proverbial ostrich, but I’m convinced that a bit of ignorance (or at least distance) is bliss.

2. Reading was a big part of my life, as it always has been, but I stepped it up a bit, becoming ensconced in the Goodreads community, enjoying the company and discussions of my book club, and discovering many new books and authors.

3. My mom and I spent three weeks in Europe, a trip many years in the making. It was wonderful to reconnect with family in the Czech Republic and with longtime friends. I also managed to take some marvelous photos that will be a lasting reminder of our walks through old Prague and other places.

4. I participated in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) for the first time … and WON!  Winning means achieving the 50,000 word goal (or any goal above that which you set for yourself).  It motivated me to take a short story I’d written and turn it into a book.  It’s mostly drafted now, and as soon as there is a break in the client-project action, I plan to finish it and get out there.  My goal?  Get it done at least before the next NaNoWriMo in November 2011 — because I want to do it again!

5. This year, I felt a personal sense of accomplishment as a kind of settling-in to my skills set, built over a lifetime. It’s allowed me to feel truly comfortable in the major facets of my work — producing the materials clients need, offering advice about things I truly know something about, writing and editing for a living, and sharing some of the knowledge that can only be gained through long-term experience and a passion for one’s work. With my terrific little team, I produced a boatload for the education publishing company I work for, and I managed to become a sought-after conference speaker. I sold a few copies of my movie book, and volume two seems to be in demand.  I’ve had more client projects than I can shake a stick at.  It’s all good … really good!

What’s Up Next

I’m starting out 2011 with a new eating and exercise plan, a new haircut, and a lovely day spent with friends yesterday.  I’m already grateful and looking forward to a tremendous year.

The only thing that has gone (terribly, devastatingly) wrong so far in 2011 is that the Pittsburgh Penguins didn’t win the Winter Classic.  BOO!

I don’t make resolutions. Instead, I just want to be able to accomplish a few things, and it really doesn’t matter when that accomplishing begins.  But it’s a time of inspiration for new beginnings, so here’s the list:

1. I will lose weight and get in better shape.  I’m doing it!

2. I’ll keep working on fitting everything I need and want to do into 24/7/365.  I may not get to exactly where I want to be (again), but I’ll keep working it.

3. I will read joyfully, watch movies with abandon, and spend quality fun time with friends and family!  Trips are already planned for my brother’s birthday bash in Vegas in February and a fun trip in June with mom to the beautifully rebuilt Opryland Resort.

4. I’ll work on my own writing at least once a month. One novel and volume two of the movie book will bear 2011 copyrights.

Really, that’s about it.  The goals are simple.  But they are important to me.  And they will take some doing to accomplish.  They are not earth-shattering, but they are mine, and I’ll be proud and contented to accomplish them all.

I wish you all a year filled with good cheer, balance, health, love, and your own accomplishments!

Something Squirrelly Going On

It’s autumn, and the squirrels are gathering their supplies for winter. Fair enough.

But they’re doing it everywhere. And there seem to be millions of them. I have seen more squirrels lately than I ever noticed before. Is it just that I didn’t look in other years, or are they planning some kind of offensive?

Whenever the weather permits and the piles of work aren’t too precariously high, I grab my iPod and walk the hood for about an hour. It’s refreshing and good exercise … and about the only time in life that I get away from the computer. It used to be that I’d see maybe a squirrel or two along my give-or-take three-mile journey. They would scamper away at a distance as I approached.

Lately, the squirrels seem to have seriously multiplied. And they are brazenly unafraid. They run alongside the sidewalk where I’m tramping along. They scamper up a nearby tree and stay on the side of the trunk I’m looking at, gazing back at me as I pass. They frolic on the grass or in the road, hardly noticing I’m there.

Ah, but the roads … now that’s a problem. Congruently, I’ve also seen a heckuva lot more squirrel roadkill this year. I know, I know, people say these little furry nut-hunters are like country rats — disease carrying and vicious at times. But, come on, they are so adorable and such fun to watch as they run around nervously micromanaging their corner of the world. They’re like the desperate housewives of woodland creatures.

My roomy has named the squirrel that frequents our backyard Skippy. (Never mind that, like Lassie, “Skippy” is probably a dozen or more different creatures, changing places at whim and will. I don’t want to burst my roomy’s bubble.)  This perky-eared rodent (or series of rodents) is a giggle a minute.  He’ll perch on a fencepost, make quacking noises, and shake his bushy tail, taunting my cat, seeming to know instinctively that the feline predator is trapped on his screened-porch observation deck. Or he’ll try climbing or jumping onto the bird feeder — which is not meant for him and is tricked out to prevent his efforts — eventually settling for picking at the seeds on the ground below that the birds have been kind and clumsy enough to drop.

Skippy has friends now.  Many friends.  They are everywhere.

So, if you have a chance, I’d love to hear the news about the squirrel activity in other parts of the country. Maybe we all need to start getting ready to fend them off — heck, if they get their flying cousins involved, they could really do some damage.  Forget the zombie apocalypse; we might have a squirrel apocalypse on our hands.

Remember the Buddy System

Remember, as a child, how you could never go swimming without pairing up with another kid?  Never mind that neither of you could save the other if you were drowning.  At least your buddy could yell while you thrashed about.

The buddy system works in many instances in life. I’ve had a tough time embracing such a concept, being my mother’s independent little trooper.  She taught me well and to this day, that woman continues to dole out the support while retracting into her turtle-shell when she needs a hand. Heaven forbid that anyone but her should ever be inconvenienced. Ah, well, what are ya gonna do?  Parents are so hard to train.

Back in the early ’90s, I discovered what a great shot in the arm the buddy system was for my writing, which was flowing like sap in winter. I met two fellow aspiring writers at a literary conference, and we formed a triumvirate to review one another’s work and hold each other’s feet to the fire to keep writing. By the time our little Five Points Literary Society dispersed, I had produced nearly thirteen complete chapters of my sci-fi novel. But without my buddies, I soon fell back to my slothful, excuse-ridden ways. (Something even better came out of that alliance, though — my current roommate, who is also one of my best friends ever!  Just goes to show how great the buddy system can be.)