visited 29 states (58%)
Create your own visited map of The United States or try another Douwe Osinga project
As seen at EcoGeoFemme's place.
Visited Map of the United States
visited 29 states (58%)
Create your own visited map of The United States or try another Douwe Osinga project
As seen at EcoGeoFemme's place.
Winter wardrobe
Today I wore a full length wool-skirt that I had forgotten all about, along with some cute boots and a simple sweater. I don't know why I don't wear this look more frequently. There is something wonderful about busting out a skirt in the middle of winter, and I never remember to wear this enough. I just rotate between different pants when it comes to winter and that is such a shame. I guess there is still plenty of cold weather to get more use out of it. How about you? Do you even try to wear skirts in the winter, or do you resign yourself to pants all winter?
Closure for the academic relationship
I didn't blog about this at the time because things were rushed, but I realize that I finally felt like I was getting closure on our relationship being over when the Mad Hatter visited me right before Christmas.
This visit was different. He was returning my stuff. Stuff that was moved to his city years ago when we were planning to move in together. Stuff that never quite made it back because it just didn't seem important enough. I still have the boxes in a giant stack in my study. I'm sure most of them will be thrown out because I haven't used this stuff in years, so how important can it be, right? But that's not what gave me the closure I needed. What did it for me was when we both went through all the books on my shelves together, checking to make sure that he had all of his, and I had all of mine back from him. We shared a lot both through the books and outside of them, but now, looking at my shelves and seeing only my own books reinforces the end of the relationship for me. Not in a sad way, just that its visibly over. I'm ready for a fresh start in 2009.
ETA: I'm not sure if this is going to re-post, but I'm making the comments on this go "poof" for security reasons.
This visit was different. He was returning my stuff. Stuff that was moved to his city years ago when we were planning to move in together. Stuff that never quite made it back because it just didn't seem important enough. I still have the boxes in a giant stack in my study. I'm sure most of them will be thrown out because I haven't used this stuff in years, so how important can it be, right? But that's not what gave me the closure I needed. What did it for me was when we both went through all the books on my shelves together, checking to make sure that he had all of his, and I had all of mine back from him. We shared a lot both through the books and outside of them, but now, looking at my shelves and seeing only my own books reinforces the end of the relationship for me. Not in a sad way, just that its visibly over. I'm ready for a fresh start in 2009.
ETA: I'm not sure if this is going to re-post, but I'm making the comments on this go "poof" for security reasons.
Pumping Up the blues
I don't do well in wintry weather, and it is only going to get worse later this week, so I dragged myself to yoga this evening. As a result of this, I'm feeling far, far better. There's nothing like post-yoga-euphoria to cure the winter blues. For some reason, today there was blues music playing during the cooling down portion of the class!
Now that I'm feeling better, I just have to get my bike back in shape -- the tail light is not blinking (maybe just needs new batteries) and the back tire is totally flat. I thought I was just tired from the yoga, but then I noticed that flat tire. That was the real reason I was moving so slowly. I passed a gas station on the way home but it was useless, I looked around and didn't see an air pump. The attendant confirmed that they don't have one. (is this normal?) I made it home but I'll have to find another place to pump up my bike tomorrow.
Now that I'm feeling better, I just have to get my bike back in shape -- the tail light is not blinking (maybe just needs new batteries) and the back tire is totally flat. I thought I was just tired from the yoga, but then I noticed that flat tire. That was the real reason I was moving so slowly. I passed a gas station on the way home but it was useless, I looked around and didn't see an air pump. The attendant confirmed that they don't have one. (is this normal?) I made it home but I'll have to find another place to pump up my bike tomorrow.
Laziness and lists
Another loud neighbor party last night meant I got almost no sleep, woke up with a migraine and a giantic list of things that I don't even want to think about doing, but I'd better get cracking on. So far I've only done some urgent work stuff and I'm way behind on some maintenance stuff. Here's what I have yet to do today:
Go to laundromatVaccuumBring giant stack o'books to officeMake soup Clean out fridgeTake out garbageDo yogaClean bathroom
I'll post my progress later tonight. If I get most of this done today I will consider it a decent day.
ETA: Okay, so laundry's done, trash is out, fridge is clean. No soup, yoga or clean bathroom yet, but I'm pretty happy with my progress. The giant stack o'books will have to go to work with me in the morning, I'll clean the bathroom before I go to bed, and tomorrow, yoga after work, and then soup with a friend who is coming over for dinner.
I'd say the day's been salvaged.
I'll post my progress later tonight. If I get most of this done today I will consider it a decent day.
ETA: Okay, so laundry's done, trash is out, fridge is clean. No soup, yoga or clean bathroom yet, but I'm pretty happy with my progress. The giant stack o'books will have to go to work with me in the morning, I'll clean the bathroom before I go to bed, and tomorrow, yoga after work, and then soup with a friend who is coming over for dinner.
I'd say the day's been salvaged.
Easing into work
The last time I got back from a trip (over Thanksgiving), I just woke up and bounced into work at 8 o'clock the next morning like a Tigger. I was really excited to get back to Monumental Project. I ended up burning out before the week was over, so badly that the following week's productivity tanked also. So last night, utterly exhausted from a return trip that ended up being much longer because of bad weather and delays, I promised myself I would not set my alarm clock. I'm still recovering from a cold, and my body was all sorts of tired already because of jet lag.
Today, I've just accomplished one thing and that's eating breakfast. Its 1.30pm. I'm still getting in gear to go to work. I feel like the biggest loser on the face of the earth, but I am hoping that this leads to me getting more done in the long run, because I feel wonderfully rested, finally.
Today, I've just accomplished one thing and that's eating breakfast. Its 1.30pm. I'm still getting in gear to go to work. I feel like the biggest loser on the face of the earth, but I am hoping that this leads to me getting more done in the long run, because I feel wonderfully rested, finally.
The sport of writing
As I’ve reminded myself here before, anxiety and getting all wound up and caffeinated aren’t always conducive to performing well. Adopting this posture towards one’s work can have detrimental effects, such as causing muscles to tighten and even resulting in injury. So then, what is the alternative for high performance? Taking a cue from sports psychologists, I’m listing the conditions that are advised for optimum athletic performance. I think these apply equally well to getting in the “flow” for writing performance and I’m planning to use them as a guide towards greater productivity in 2009.
*Strong internal motivation - whether we are aware of it or not, there are certain reasons that push each of us forward. Write them down and revisit them if you need to remind yourself why you do what you do.
*Ability to transcend stressful situations – Drive to get it done isn’t enough. When you’re out there on the field, or on the page, you’ve got to push through situations that are distracting or difficult. Practice tuning out the noise and mental chatter to do what you have to do. If you’re inclined to practice meditation on a daily basis, this helps strengthen your mind to tune out what you don’t need to pay attention to in that moment.
*Focus on manageable, familiar tasks – play by play, not the whole game at once. In the writing, this means one paragraph at a time, not the whole section or the whole paper.
* Mental preparation- This has three components: 1. visualization 2. pre-performance routines 3. getting ready for the defining moment.
1. Visualizing: Imagine the paper done and accepted before you start. Picture the title and your name next to it, in the font and font size of your journal of choice, with a glossy reprint lying on your desk.
2. Pre-performance routines: these don’t have to be something elaborate, some people like to light a candle or play their song of choice. You could just start the same way every time you sit down to write so you brain is cued into what you are doing. Since I wrote most of my dissertation to it, there is a Pearl Jam CD that unfailingly helps me to get in the writing groove on difficult days.
3. Getting ready for the defining moment: The defining moment is one that we have all faced. This is that moment when you are beyond exhausted and just sick of working on the same paper, you feel like your brain is filled with molasses, you just.cannot.go.on. with the project. How will you respond when that happens? What you do in that moment defines who you are. Picture yourself confronting that moment, and responding to it appropriately before you get there.
*Accept defeat without losing heart – Get back on the horse and revise and resubmit if things don’t work out as planned. After all, facing challenges does strengthen us, even in writing.
*Strong internal motivation - whether we are aware of it or not, there are certain reasons that push each of us forward. Write them down and revisit them if you need to remind yourself why you do what you do.
*Ability to transcend stressful situations – Drive to get it done isn’t enough. When you’re out there on the field, or on the page, you’ve got to push through situations that are distracting or difficult. Practice tuning out the noise and mental chatter to do what you have to do. If you’re inclined to practice meditation on a daily basis, this helps strengthen your mind to tune out what you don’t need to pay attention to in that moment.
*Focus on manageable, familiar tasks – play by play, not the whole game at once. In the writing, this means one paragraph at a time, not the whole section or the whole paper.
* Mental preparation- This has three components: 1. visualization 2. pre-performance routines 3. getting ready for the defining moment.
1. Visualizing: Imagine the paper done and accepted before you start. Picture the title and your name next to it, in the font and font size of your journal of choice, with a glossy reprint lying on your desk.
2. Pre-performance routines: these don’t have to be something elaborate, some people like to light a candle or play their song of choice. You could just start the same way every time you sit down to write so you brain is cued into what you are doing. Since I wrote most of my dissertation to it, there is a Pearl Jam CD that unfailingly helps me to get in the writing groove on difficult days.
3. Getting ready for the defining moment: The defining moment is one that we have all faced. This is that moment when you are beyond exhausted and just sick of working on the same paper, you feel like your brain is filled with molasses, you just.cannot.go.on. with the project. How will you respond when that happens? What you do in that moment defines who you are. Picture yourself confronting that moment, and responding to it appropriately before you get there.
*Accept defeat without losing heart – Get back on the horse and revise and resubmit if things don’t work out as planned. After all, facing challenges does strengthen us, even in writing.
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