r|read: xenophobes, bluffers, management

i was reminded this morning of three little books (amongst a freakin' sea of books on my bookshelves, floor, nightstands, t.v. console, kitchen counter, ...) i bought in sept '97 at the heathrow airport - on the way back stateside after a 13-day trip (and sometimes a death-march) through parts of spain and lisbon with 2 college girlfriends (and you know there are stories there!). so go amuse yourself while i try to get my weekend started (again) ...

• xenophobe's guides - i have the americans and spanish.
  
  
• bluffer's guides - i have the consultancy.
  
  
• management guides - they are 'for real' - so i have none.
  
  
• xenophobe's lingo learners - i have none but could be fun.

as if ... i'm a scanner [pt. 1]

aka how i'm passing my time ... for now

several months ago, i passed my time with a little bit of apartment therapy, and i've been "do-looping" between weeks 4 through 6. benefit? at least i have been ridding myself of stuff (and i have lots of stuff) and cooking (enough). however, i still have to do some of those repairs and improvements that i've listed ... bathroom caulking, dining room chairs, kitchen base board, kitchen nook area, etc. (and most recently, smoke alarm battery change-outs). so still chugging along ... chugging. along.

nevertheless, i've added yet another "... do stuff around the house" type thing in my life.

refuse to choose: ... (by b.sher)

came across this when i stalked spinning girl who is doing a meme summer, which included mentioning daydreaming on paper. ultimately, i came across the reference to sher's book.

i am hooked ... well, at least because part of the "program" is to get a fabu journal (aka scanner daybook). and i LOVES me my stationery stuff - journals and pens and paper and stuff!

buy a journal ... there is encouragement to get a mega-journal (lots of pages, big writing space, neato-bandito looking, etc.), something that is cool and all. i didn't get a too fancy-shmancy one but i did get something with which i'm sure to write.

let's see how long this
"hipmt ... fn" extravaganza lasts.

i'm very hopeful this will be fruitful because it combines several happy past-times of mine ... writing, reading, reflecting, notetaking, observing, remembering, nostalgia, reasons to drink coffee, plans to do stuff, creativity ... procrastination - in a good way.

(SIDE NOTE: i'm also pal-ing up to woo-woo with ydh: ... with a friend, but i intend to have both co-exist.)

first entry - trial run ... small, recent idea that hasn't been given much thought and totally just go off on it. and i did. and if y'come to a tangent, go off on that for 20-min. and i did. meanwhile, also get some metrics - time started, time ended, and what resulted in stopping the trial run stuff.

insightful sh** for me, already.

how i am passing my time ... for now

therapy.

apartment therapy.
the eight-step home cure

[check web resource out over here]

thanks to k for bringing this into my life. it is a welcomed addition to my bookshelf (... errr, to my nightstand book collection), and i carry it around to remind me that i am committed to this activity.

how long? ... an eight week effort. moi? i'm going for twelve weeks - gots me 3 other rooms (and a garage) and had to chose spend a week procrastinating contemplating.

where am i now in my weekly progress? ... week 3. sort of been hovering around it.

how am i doing? ... well, i'm doing o.k. enough for moving forward. there is a "feed me - outbox" thing that has underscored some of the issues i have (pack rat), and that is fine for me. there is a component of this therapy that involves cooking a meal(s) at home, which i will, as a matter of fact, be doing tonight. and there is a component of this that requires me to focus - and that's where i'm doing pretty good (surprisingly) on focusing. and finally, there is a ...

housewarming date? ... still need to pick it - and it will be sometime around the march/april timeframe.

o.k. - gotta get some stuff thinned out,
get coffee and enjoy my day off,
and buy some flowers for my home.

i needed took 5 yrs to get thru college ...

... 'cuz we switched from the quarter system to the semester system after my 1st year.

(yeah, that's it. that's the ticket!)

hmmmm? that's not the real reason. perhaps ... 'cuz i thought it was challenging & hard? (better) that's part of the reason.

or more likely ... 'cuz i liked classes so much that i took some a second time? uh. o.k. - that's the other part of the reason.

but i turned out o.k. enough to return as an alumnus and talk about the college/work experience at events like this.

so the sentiment in the card - from a fellow chem e ...
kinda sums up the several months after i graduated

(i think she put a l'il curse on me)

thank goodness the limited and macy's were hiring for back-to-school and holiday help while i was still footing my resumé around town, at job fairs, and through want ads. (want ads!) and i got discounts at both places, so at least i had work clothes (and shoes and purses and home stuff for my rent-controlled apartment) when i finally landed my first job outta college.

r|break: sorting stuff ...

cards!!! ... greeting cards. cards from freaking 1988 when i left my first job (in S.F.) outta college!!! cards from family members, friends, people i no longer remember. postcards. postcards i picked up while on vacation. postcards from friends' travels. wtf hotel postcards (y'know, the ones in the hotel room drawer or sandwiched in the 'welcome binder'?!) holiday/special event cards. thank you cards. (oh! and postage stamps from places afar!) freaking cards!!!

keeping some ... and NO, i will not purge/recycle all of them. YES, i will purge/recycle most of them. i will keep some. why keep some? some are actually really beautiful cards. sentiments are memorable (good and not so good). sarcasm at its best. blackmail-lite opportunities (ha!). and simply, some make me smile or laugh.

realization ... as i am regrouping and getting a more clear perspective to adjust here in the BA, i am purging stuff (and donating and recycling what i can) and selectively choosing keepsakes. using my decoder ring to translate "selectively choosing keepsakes" ...

i am a recovering pack rat

when i left SD to move up to the BA, it was evident. the movers were kind (probably because i gifted them wine i was not prepared to drive up with me). so when i come across interesting things (or not so interesting) during this more-clear-perspective time in my life and i have the will to snap a pic (or scan whatever) and i have the patience to upload, i will share.

first offering -
keeping with some shy stuff, i came across this card ...

... which shy sent a couple of years ago.

(i think he may be projecting, but that's another story.) tho' shy will not be stateside for my b-day this 2007, i will remind him of this clever little sentiment he sent.

[did you see how i even
pack-ratted my previous blog posts?!]