TINSTAAFL Reminder

There is no such thing as a free lunch. I learned in history class years ago this phrase originated at a time when bars were trying to drum up business and would offer "free" lunches to those who would come in and pay to drink. So it is with many things in life--there may be a tempting hook or offer, but ultimately there will be some investment or payment required, whether or not it is disclosed. In my opinion and current situation, even a "FULL REBATE" isn't "FREE" for me, because i haven't yet created much of a slush fund, so i don't have the means to front for any offer or endeavor. Sometimes this means i "miss out" on some really good stuff. Sometimes the deals present themselves again; sometimes they do not. It's a good thing my parents taught me long ago to get used to hearing (and now saying) the word NO.

The $100 Game

As the year rolls to a close and i scurry around trying to tie up loose ends to achieve the illusion of temporary closure, I decided to play a new level of my one hundred dollar game. Below are the first few things that come to mind for consideration should I "find" an extra one hundred dollars among my assets or in near future. I might actually return to this after my birthday, pick a few, rank them, and start planning and saving. They're really not uber-extravagant wishes, but sadly, were not realities in 2012.

* a "free" (AFTER REBATE) smart phone and sim card, along with first month's service

* an "extra" payment on any of my open accounts (student loans, etc.)

* a 2-meter radio for Amateur operation

* new living room curtains

* charitable contributions to favorite organizations

* a driving day

* seed money toward a car, trip, bed, or new business venture

Dear [Proprietary Syrup that Would Have Alliterated]

your children's dose still tastes as gross now as it did 30 years ago, and it still makes me sleepy, but thank you for staying on the market, and more importantly, thank you for helping me to breathe again. Workplace cold? severe allergy attack? both? who cares, I'm going to be just fine.

Attitude Adjustment Time

If I sound petulant this afternoon, it is because I feel like i'm often missing out on "fun" because I choose to be responsible. This takes on several forms, but the one that contributes to my inner rage regards my weekends. I try to pack a lot into my weekends--errands, chores, sleep (I know, perish the thought), and more exciting activities like attending cultural, educational, or social events. Well, the rest of the world seems to think they can get by going everywhere sick so they can party later and meanwhile, I catch a stupid cold as a result of someone else not washing hands, but i'll be the one flat in bed on Sunday with a block for a head. I'm so tired of being tired, and so tired of paying the consequences of someone else's actions.

Dear Fashion Police: Please Help!

Dear Fashion Police, Ethicists and Good Citizens of the World: I need your help. There are those among us who continue to believe that stretchy pants are acceptable outerwear. Please advise them to the contrary. While i embrace them as absolutely fabulous items with which to layer a "look" or to wear simply for warmth, they truly should not be the main attraction of an outfit.  I find them more disconcerting than seeing flannel pajamas in public, which also should not happen (but usually at least cover the form adequately). Thank you most kindly, Good Citizens of the World, for assisting us all in becoming more presentable. Dearest Fashion Police, your job truly is a tough one and I commend you for your most noble efforts.

Saturday Morning Decision Paralysis

It's a decent day out there waiting for me to do something with it. I awoke early and reasonably rested. I have a list of things i'd like to accomplish. I thought i'd even made a draft plan before going to sleep to avoid this dilemma this morning. Why, then, is it so difficult to decide which direction to go first?

I suspect it's because every choice i want to make competes for time, money, and transportation. That makes a "quick run to the store" more of an adventure for me than for most. I have to walk or catch a bus. Then i get to wait in line, and depending on which place(s) i go, i also get to wait for the return trip. That time drain inevitably means that one or more options become mutually exclusive because one place will close before i can return. Sometimes i plan these elaborate loops to squeeze in as many of these in one trek as possible. It's great if i do them in the most efficient order and yet there's still the time drain in between each.

My favorite dilemma I plan to one day eliminate is (lack of) funding. Sure it would be great to go grab that special deal on notebook paper, then swing down to the grocery store and buy a bunch of cheap soda to resell for a fundraiser in a couple weeks. Watch a movie in a theater? Challenge to that is the reminder notice that came in the mail indicating a withdrawal is scheduled for Wednesday for more than is currently in the account (and pay day is NEXT Friday). oops. Maybe we go buy the cat supplies with alternate account, pull funds and run to the bank to deposit before it closes at noon. YAY. We have a potential plan, and a wasted half a Saturday.

At least the upcoming work week is set--Two off-site training days, committee and staff meetings, thank you lunch for our summer student assistant, and the return to the long Friday schedule. Thank goodness my psychological "paralysis" is only temporary, even if recurring.

"Instant Transfer"

...Why do "instant transfer" events take three to five business days to post to the accounts? If the money is "gone" immediately, should not you also be credited for making the payment? I'm just sayin'.

Gag Then Cry For This World?

Turned on the TV tonight and what did I see, but a nationally broadcast beauty pageant. Judging categories include fancy clothes (evening gowns/special collections), minimal clothes (swimsuits) and a single question answered. The commentary during the first five minutes was so awful i couldn't leave it on to give it a chance. I really couldn't!  I know these people have to be more than just pretty beings and I want to know those aspects and stories (I did manage to hear that one woman is applying to med school. WOOT!). I just can't handle the whole dumbed-down, demeaning approach taken for this whole event or that it even still exists. Congratulations, ladies, someone thinks you're pretty. What else do you have going for you and what else are you going to do with your lives? Do you have to use your beauty to get people to listen? Will they even listen?

Thankfully I have plenty of reading, writing, housekeeping, and sleeping to do. I would be really bummed if all I had tonight to pass the time were that awful television program.

Thriving on Thursday

I'm still working on building into the schedule set times to read and write "good" stuff. This particular blog is for the impulse-driven desire to write, but i'm finding that a little more discipline and determination with my other one is leading to more frequent, higher-quality posts and interactions. As I reflect on the wackiness of Wednesday just past, I'm so happy to feel a bit more "centered" today: that anxious edge is gone and while i still have much to accomplish, I feel more ready today to DO some of it. De-cluttering both physical AND mental space is essential to that end! Last week I gave pause to a memory from grade school and the satisfaction the structured activity time provided: Each Friday afternoon, our teachers would give us a few minutes to  reorganize our desks. I didn't realize then how important that really would be as an adult to honor that process on a regular basis at work! I am heretoforward declaring Fridays to be "fix-it, finish it and file it" day. That will enable me to delude myself into some semblance of recurring temporary closure to end the work week and begin the next. Thanks for stopping by. For a good read on effective ways to manage time, space, and information, check out Getting Things Done by David Allen. Every so often i need to review it and always find it helpful. ~pma

I Endeavor...

...not to anger when I feel I am undervalued. I will remember that none of us can afford what everything or everyone is worth.

...not to laugh maniacally, "I tried to tell you!" when logical consequences come to pass. I must remember that not only do I not know everything, some people would not receive it even if I did.

...to be grateful for everything, including life's annoyances, because they add to the rich complexity of experience.

Tuesday/Thursday

Usually Tuesday is my "meeting day" but this week, Thursday is extra-booked. If you're curious and in Ithaca, NY tomorrow, come join us for a Toastmasters "demo" meeting at noon and/or the Area 10 Speech Contests (Tall Tales and International) at 7. Email me for details. See you at noon, 7pm, and round the clock on the web.

Nap Time

I hated nap time in Kindergarten. Even then, my mind was racing and I had too many more important things to do than sleep. I learned to be quiet for the other kids because they needed more rest. Problem is, now that I'm a big kid, I have even more important things to do, and I'm getting even less sleep! Sometimes I power-nap on the ride home (because I ride a bus, remember--can't afford to drive) but when i finally get home, there's this weird paradox of tired and wired happening--I'm not feeling rested, yet i can't seem to stay asleep at night, either. It would be great if i were accomplishing all kinds of great things, but sometimes I sit and do nothing, right in the middle of all of the things calling for my attention.  I fall asleep during the news, then wake up a few minutes later. I try again, usually waking within about an hour and a half. Total time between "down for the night" and "up for the day" is under six hours, and that's counting all the waking interruptions as "sleep." MAN, I'm TIRED. Is it nap time yet?

Twisted

Where were all the sweet guys in my 20s when i actually wanted a date? I don't understand why after I made my peace with being single and got too busy with volunteerism and independent learning in my 30s to even be interested they seem to be multiplying.

Multidirectional Projects

I want so much to write more, but still feel guilty trying to carve out the time. Everywhere I turn, there's a more pressing task or a more urgent need to be filled. Make no mistake, I'm writing every day--in my head--I just don't get it all to paper or cyberspace in time for most to have any idea what's spinning in this brain of mine. I hope that one day I'll achieve that delicate balance of vision, purpose, and assertiveness to manage my perceptions of what is important (for self as well as others) and include those extra activities that keep me healthy and happy too.

Love to all, and soon, presentations of the fruits of labors. ~pma