Off the Beaten Plan

plan: to devise or project the realization or achievement of

A Reminder

Just a quick note to myself, to try to pull things together a bit.

What is important to me?

  1. Being 100% with my family, not just in the same room.
  2. Completing obligations I’ve made to others.
  3. Getting out of debt.
  4. Losing weight.
  5. Writing.

I really want to focus on these things over the next few days…try to visually represent the list and put it somewhere as a reminder.

I’m the only one who can live my life, and I will be the only one responsible at the end of things if I have any regrets. I need to take that responsibility by the horns and give it a good f*ing shake to make sure things are where they should be.

A Reminder was published on April 21st, 2010, with the tags , under the Personal Enrichment, Planning category. There are currently no comments on this article so far.

Where Should the Desk Be?

VIKA AMON/VIKA CURRY - Image from IKEA

I’m still in love with the desk. Have to get that out of the way.

And I love having it in the living room – after the kids have gone to bed.

My issue is: this weekend when I was supposed to be working hard on a couple of big projects, I instead found myself on the couch (at my parents) or in the chair (at home) watching TV or the same movies as the kids.

My husband suggested moving the computer (and desk) out of the room. My immediate reaction was NO! I can’t! I love having it in here, being able to play on the computer without leaving everyone, or what they’re watching, etc.

But it makes sense. If I’m going to be working at the desk, I need to be working at the desk. Not playing on the computer, or watching a movie, or getting distracted by the kids.

*sigh*

I need help deciding what to do – keep it in the living room, and still feel like part of the family, or move it to the dining room wall, and actually get work done?

Where Should the Desk Be? was published on April 11th, 2010, with the tags , , under the Organization category. There are currently no comments on this article so far.

My New Desk

I am the proud owner of a lovely new IKEA desk. It’s brown/black, 47 inches or so, I suppose, with plain black legs. I have a matching chair that’s super comfortable.

And my back is to the TV.

I’ve got my laptop plugged in with the battery removed, so the computer stays on the desk. Instead of working in front of the TV, it’s been two straight days without any movies or anything. Just 80’s music, a sore butt, and lots of water and caffeine. (The chair is comfy, not soft.)

I love my new desk, I love that I’m getting tons of stuff accomplished. I’m not so in love with not being able to watch any Netflix movies, but right now with the situation at work the way it is (pre-meeting chaos with a dash of panic and frantic prayers that we’ll get things done in time) it’s really for the best.

Squirrel!

I was working at said deck last night, and I saw the most dreaded of bug, the house centipede. Now I know a couple of things about the house centipede that are good. They eat spiders, cockroaches, bedbugs, termites, silverfish and ants. I don’t like those things, either, so the fact that one of the bugs I hate eats the other bugs I hate is a good thing. But still…they’re big. They’re f*ing fast.

And they come out in the spring and fall.

So it was 11:30 p.m. My husband, the poor sleeper, was already in bed. So what did I do? I yelled for him. The centipede was on the floor and under my desk. The only shoe I had available belonged to my daughter and wasn’t very large, requiring me to get entirely too close to said insect. I yelled again. And again, and again, and he didn’t hear me.

The only thing worse than seeing a yucky bug is not knowing where the yucky bug has gone, thereby making one incredibly paranoid that it might jump out from any shadow at any moment.

But since my Bug Killer was asleep with a fan on (to drown out my music and/or movies, ironically enough), I had to leave the bug downstairs – alone - to go get my hero.

I don’t wake up my husband after he’s fallen asleep if I can possibly help it. I know how difficult it is for him to fall asleep, and once woken, equally difficult to get back to that wonderful state. So when I came in all freaking out and saying, “You have to get up and come downstairs, there’s a huge bug you have to kill it before it runs away,” he was startled, disoriented, but also still my hero.

We had to wait to get his glasses, but then he came down. He told me to wait upstairs while he took care of it, but I had to make sure it was dead (naturally). And I pointed it out, and he was like, “Oh, come on!” Dropping the shoe, he went across the room, leaving the bug there to run away, got a tissue, and KILLED IT WITH HIS BARE HANDS!

Then he crunched it.

*shudder*

Late at night in our dark and quiet, and surprisingly bug-free (until now) household, he tells me this is actually the third one we’ve had. One crawled out of the bathroom sink recently, and I think I mostly killed one last fall.

THANK GOD HE SHOWERS FIRST IN THE MORNING!!!

Photo by Kevincollins123 @ Wikipedia.org

My New Desk was published on April 7th, 2010, with the tags , , , , , under the Completely Off Topic category. There are currently no comments on this article so far.

Less Thinking, More Doing?

How unorganized could I get if instead of planning I just acted?

Interesting question.

Less Thinking, More Doing? was published on April 2nd, 2010, with the tags , under the Editorial category. There are currently no comments on this article so far.

Okay, Here’s the Situation

…

My parents went away on a week’s vacation!
They left the keys to the brand new Porche.
Would they mind? Well, of course not!

Have you seen Up!? I liked it. There are these talking dogs (and I don’t think I’m really ruining the movie by telling you that), and even though they seem really smart, they keep getting distracted by dog things.

Squirrel!

Here’s my problem. I’ve been working really hard and coming home from work not having taken a proper lunch (that means goofing off for a bit during my work day to recharge for the 2nd half). Then I’m super tired, so I veg with the television or sleep or be with the kids. Then I have work that I’m not getting done at work, so I bring it home to work on it, except once the kids are in bed, I want to play games online and decompress. Just really screw off. And then when I’m done with that, I am too tired to do the work I really need to be doing. So I’m going to bed late and not having really achieved the things I wanted to get done.

And when I realized that whole thing about ten minutes ago, I realized that my mom completely does the same thing!

We truly do become our parents.

I’m thinking what I used to do when I worked my night job is what I need to start doing again. First and foremost, a freaking desk. No goofing off at the desk. Second, a schedule. Small goofing off or nap, then work with no distractions. I guess late bedtimes are okay, as long as I have a big, crossed-off list to show for it.

Squirrel!

My husband and I trade movie and music quotes from time to time. Yesterday, he woke me up by saying, “Aziz!”

I had to reply, “Light!”

Love that movie.

Okay, Here’s the Situation was published on April 1st, 2010, with the tags , , , under the Completely Off Topic category. There are currently no comments on this article so far.