we have a winner

Thanks to random.org we have a winner! Andrea, please send your address to clumber at gmail dot com so I can put Getting Things Done into the mail for you. With any luck, it will not get lost in all the holiday hoopla.

And please keep me posted on your progress. If you need an accountability buddy, I'm here and struggling too.

gee-tee-dee

[Read to the end. There's something in it for YOU.]

I spent Tuesday downtown at a seminar, one that I forked over my own cash to attend. Let me start at the beginning. Back in 2002, not long after it was published, I happened upon David Allen's book, Getting Things Done. It seemed to be just what I needed to get my act together. I read it and knew it made a lot of sense. I tried to implement the system but failed miserably. I have re-read the book over the years, each time having the best of intentions but always lacking the 2 days it seemed I would need to get the ball rolling properly.

In the meantime, GTD has exploded in popularity. The best site for learning more is Merlin Mann's 43 Folders, named for the folders needed to create a GTD-esque tickler file.

Fast forward to October of this year, when I was once again feeling overwhelmed by everything on my plate. Time to get out the book and give it another whirl. I was looking at the company website, noticing what an industry the book had spawned. There was a deal on offer for a CD set. "Time to try something new if I want different results," I thought. I bought the CD set.

With the CDs came a discount on a seminar. I looked at the schedule. Yep. Pittsburgh, December 8. I later discovered I could get a bigger discount by telling them I work for a non-profit so I registered. And the CDs sat on my dresser, along with another copy of the book.

Last weekend I decided the seminar would be more helpful if I listened to the CDs. What I discovered was mind-blowing. I didn't *have* to find 2 days to do it right. I could make small steps in the right direction and that was okay. Holy moly. Unfortunately, I fell asleep about 20 minutes into the first CD. I decided not to take it as a sign.

So, Tuesday, I'm at a downtown hotel for the seminar. Found another copy of the book in my packet (can you see where this is going yet?). And for the next 8 hours I barely peeked at my iPhone. I was mesmerized by the ideas in the book coming to life. Apparently my reading comprehension is a bit lacking, and has been for at least seven years. Or maybe I'm just not someone who can learn from reading a book alone. Regardless, lightbulbs were going on for me.

On Wednesday I started putting one principle, getting one's inbox to zero, into practice on my email. My personal email inbox was at 1944. In 90 minutes I had it down to 37. By the end of the day it was under 10. My work inbox was over 500 and it was down to about 45 by the end of the day as well. Not to zero, but a serious dent was made in a relatively short time.

I have a long way to go but I'm moving in the right direction, on the way towards "not overwhelmed". I want to share the energy with my readers. If you would like your own copy of Getting Things Done just leave a comment by midnight on Thursday, December, December 17 and the random number generator will work it's magic Friday morning.

turkey vu

Last year I predicted Thanksgiving would not be fun. Unfortunately, I was right. This year I'm afraid it will feel a bit like Groundhog Day. I'll be cooking, again, and the kids will be not eating, again. I hope saying it out loud will cause them to prove me wrong. I can hope, right?

The only difference is Jingles, Oliver's class guinea pig, is staying with us. We have squeaky toys larger than she is. May we all survive the next six days.

no dead horses were beaten

Board meetings...gotta love 'em. They are, I suppose, a necessary evil. I have been forced to endure gleefully attending them for years. I have come to love those that happen via conference call. It's a fine time to catch up on old emails and drink heavily IM with other bored board members. At least the side conversations are quieter on conference calls!

But what really burns me up is the 5-10 minutes of actual content per hour due to the need for people to make their particular point eleventy seven times before shutting the hell up about it. They must think very little of their fellow board members if they think they need to say exactly the same thing over and over before anyone will understand. Really, I got it the first time, thanks. I get that you're peeved or angry or just feel very very passionately about the point you are making but YOU.MADE.IT. We're all gonna move on so we don't sprout roots out of our chairs. mmmkay?

a smashing good time

Ah, mammograms. I had two back in 2001-2002, pre- and post-op. Then came the babies and the breastfeeding, and a reprieve. When my OB discovered my 40th birthday came and went without another peek at the girls I was given strict orders to schedule one 3 months after Eleanor weaned. This is one of the few areas I do exactly as I am told.

Back before the first mammogram I expressed some concern about the procedure to my primary care doc. He responded by telling me about his colonoscopy. I guess if you are a man, these are analogous (no pun intended). Having had very recent experience with both, I can tell you they are not in any way, shape, or form the least bit similar.

The mammogram today was a lot quicker than I remember. Wedge, smash, hold your breath, breath. Repeat on the other side. Then assume "the pose", which seems to mean "turn yourself into a corkscrew with one relaxed shoulder", smash, hold your breath, breath. Repeat on the other side. It took a while, but I figured out the difference.

Past mammograms I have had involved all of this, followed by another wait, then doing some more smashing, then more waiting, rinse and repeat. It seems those were diagnostic mammograms. Today's adventure was a screening mammogram. The big difference is nobody looked at the results while I was there, so if they need to take another look I will need to take another few hours off work and spend a lot more time watching Ellen in the waiting room. Fun!

I get to call for results next week, and I'll be hoping all is well and I don't have to go back and do it all again.

oops....I did it again

A few weeks back my plurk buddies were privy to something they probably wish they had been spared. I shared that on that day, just before noon, I discovered why my panties suddenly felt like the waistband had shrunk dramatically. That's how it feels when you don't put your legs (one at a time, of course) through the proper holes in the panties. Give it a try and you'll soon discover what I mean. Not.Fun. 

At the time I blamed lack of sleep, dressing in the dark, anything I could think of. Today the only thing I can say is that I didn't make it out of the house without rectifying the situation. Progress!

In other news from the realm of déjà vu, we have the nomination of Sarah Palin as McCain's running mate. As I said earlier in the day, though I still have not consumed the Obama kool-aid, McCain just handed me the straw. The announcement struck me as shockingly similar to the Harriet Miers nomination to the Supreme Court. It came out of no where, seems a little bit silly, and voters willing, won't go anywhere.

Couple of updates from old stuff:  I didn't hear any new words from Eleanor today but she did say "thank you" when CD gave her a cup of milk tonight, entirely unprompted. I guess she does know what it means!  And our rescue girl, Jill, went to her forever home this afternoon. It wasn't easy but I didn't cry.