A few Measly Steps a Day

I had good intentions, but did not meet my three goals. It’s okay, that’s why I’m now in this forum. I’m trying to create these three new habits. I can do this!

Yes, you can, Noexcuses2020,

By the way, 100 oz of water sounds like an awful lot! If you did more than you would have done otherwise, you are ahead of the game because you challenged yourself.

Me - I did figure out how to add words to a JPG in canva. So that's a step closer to my goal. The next step is to try to use what I made in KDP's cover creator. At the moment, I can't get into cover creator. I got an email asking me if I'd changed anything in KDP, so I probably can't get into it because they think I'm a hacker. I procrastinated all morning, and now I will try to get into cover creator and use the photo with the words I added. If I can do that, I'm ready to host my contest. For me this is all very challenging and frustrating. Okay, here goes.

It's working! I'm almost done and ready to post the contest. I just want to take my time and make sure I don't have any mistakes.

Well, the post is on Facebook, so that's good. The bad news - I can't find my own timeline. The contest is on Molly's page. (Molly was my dog.) I'll try to untangle the mess tomorrow. If you haven't figured out, I'm not very adept at social media.

Hi Crew. Noexcuses2020, luv that handle! Welcome in. This stuff is harder than it ever seems.
Delightful, delighted that you figured out how to get at least the contest stuff posted. Somewhere in Facebook land is your timeline. Ask Mark Z.
My client is having another Big Meeting with the Mayor's staff tomorrow to review our deadlock.

Meanwhile, I noticed one tire was low today. There's been a lot of construction about my place so I want to take it to Discount Tire for a complete check-up. Hoped to do that today, but they were booked. Tomorrow after my other meeting.
That'll cover 24 hours for me.
R

Set up for Wed, 7/8/20.

• Research yellow warning paint costs, soon.
• participate in 3.5 hour workshop
• work on materials for my playshop in August
• walk
• nap
• notes out from a meeting today
• Listen to a podcast on Infinite Loops where it's hard to make a decision

Step happy, R

I finally got my contest posted on Facebook. And I got a ton of responses. My friend's daughter and five other people shared the link. And my friend's daughter has 7000 friends. It was my 15 minutes of fame. My mistake - I should have made the title of the book more prominent. I'll do it in the next post. I think I had about five years of happy stored up, and I experienced it all yesterday morning.

Happy stepping.

Delightful, that's terrific. Hope you have a lot of fun shifting through the submissions.
Workshop yesterday taught me that 3.5 hours really drains. I am leading 4 days of 7.0 hours of webinars beginning on the 20th. Get ready.
Dropped by one of the 'vanishing Seattle' landmarks tonight, Hardwicks Hardware store. They're moving to Idaho due to crazy rezoning then the follow-on tax increases. The Mayor was of no help whatsoever. So, they're packing it. Very sad. I'll see if I can get to their goodbye party in a few weeks.
Today, got my second shingles vaccine shot. That's done.
Small things tonight, then tomorrow follow-on check up with my dental surgeon. This is not the funnest month.
R

Oh hey! I know which class it is! I've completed it earlier and it was mind opening. It gives me a new perspective and now I'm putting it in practice. I can't say I'm new to meditation but it still has to yet work on me. I set my phone up so I can do 5-6 deep breathes every hour, and a meditation at night before bed. So far so good I guess. Does it help you?

Yeah..I'm taking measly steps everyday, too, both on my well-being and the creative side of my career. It's not easy. I'm naturally an impatient person and everything is testing my grit. I tend to get easily upset, irritated. Anger issues?

Initially I see this thread and wanted to rant a bit. Today's a cloudy rainy day mixed in a bit of thunder. Been staying home so much that I'm grumpy at everybody around me, now no one wants to talk to me. See, still have a long way to go with those meditations...

Welcome Zoeing. Finding a good cadence for our steps is part of the stepping.

Ms Santos is a ball of fire, isn't she? She comes off so casual ~ maybe I'll host a call about dealing with covid-i9 or not (she did) or can my course move through the whole Yale University system? (she's working on it).

Today I have many small but vital things to do. The most creative is I'm imagining how crowd drafting may work for writing a manual I just got responsible to draft because of a grant. I have till the end of 2023, 1268 days.

Better get hoppin',
Revu2

Hi, Zoeing,

I hope this is helpful. If not feel free to ignore it. I used to work for the hazardous materials program, so the business with masks is nothing new to me. And I like to use disposable gloves when I go shopping. I always told people, "Be smart, not scared." With the pandemic, that means, think. Where's the risk? You can go out. You can drive. You can talk to people on the phone or on the computer. Just use the precautions if you're going outside. And, of course, if you're sick, don't go shopping or be around other people until you test negative. When I start to get grumpy or squirrel-ly I drive or walk, and talk to people from a distance. I'm a hugger by nature, so, yes, the pandemic is challenging, but I'm also a scientist, and my daughter is a doctor. So I get the need to be careful not to spread germs. Like a doctor going into surgery.

I'm not very good at dealing with anger. But I did find some meditation videos on the web that were helpful. The shorter videos were all I could handle.

My steps for today. I'll write my 1600 words (I'm doing the Nanowrimo challenge.) And I'll do a couple of gardening chores, and the laundry.

I just realized something. I remember posting about projects for my garden, and they seemed somewhere between difficult and impossible. And I did them. The swing works, I have a legal, safe fire pit, and an herb garden. I don't have a functioning solar fountain. So I guess that's a project for another time.

And I have a surface that doesn't attract pompillid wasps. This wasp has the second most painful sting of all insects, and it was attracted to the crushed rock in my garden. One pompillid sipping nectar is acceptable; pompillids reproducing and multiplying in the crushed rock is not.

So, yay, baby steps.

The hard steps for me involve social media. And I'll leave them for another day.

That's it for me.

Happy stepping,

Hi, Revu2 I'm glad you're moving right along.

Just stepping along.

On Saturday, I'm having some people over to my garden. They're not likely to have the virus, so the risk is minimal. Still, I'm trying to do all the right things - social distancing and clean hands for the food. Clean hands on the food is the most challenging. I've worked around hazardous materials and sewage for a good part of my life, so washing/sanitizing hands is natural to me. And I like disposable gloves. I hope my guests are okay with the extra cautions.

I'm not very motivated today, so I'll try to just get a little something done. I did get a great photo for the cover of my book. I don't know if I'll get something better later, but I'd be perfectly satisfied with the one I have.

I think I'm done editing. I'm sure there are still a few mistakes in there somewhere, but my readers will just have to forgive me for them.
So now I should start a new novel. Transitions are always tough.

Hi crew. In just a few days my spirit has sunk about our new grant. I'm going to submit my 'resignation' as soon as I can. In line with thinking about the leanest way to write an Obit (so something is ritually done and past), I think just three sentences relating before (fore), now, and next.

Fore: I simply kept focus and did the work in a direct, businesslike way. I read the grant several times and answered the grant's questions.

Now: the key program lead is blaming, accusing, and denying any personal responsibility. She lectures me on "people not listening" and doesn't "hear" what's in the grant or what I say. She wants to speak with no interruptions, not even to help her understand (listening) to what I say. Though on every call to polish and complete the draft, she claims now her views where ignored (because I in particular don't 'listen.') End of April she was all praises; now all criticisms. There seems no give.

Next: completing this Obit settled my mind. Express my withdrawal to this person and my client. Mourn and grieve for what might have been. Cheer for the heartache I'm dodging.
Revu2

HI, got thru the update call with my client. I was ready to drop out. We discussed it and she feels with the uses of other team members as "buffers" it may work. Over and over she retold how eventually truth and facts got through, while I emphasized the dysfunctional dynamics. It's OK to want to excel and be the best and whatever. But, when warranted, acknowledge people helped out or made some thing easier to understand.

Michael Jordan, of the greats of all time (GOAT) in basketball, would sometimes play street ball where he happened to be. Playing one day, someone stole the ball from him and raced down court to make the basket. Jordan stepped over to him and shook his hand. That's how you "play" being the best. It took little off his being the GOAT to show he respected what that other player did.

And yet on another front, same client different wing, someone who dropped out reversed her intentions and began to loudly complain and cry "victim" to the funding source folks. After 2 mediation sessions, including some people at a higher rank than those we typically have contact with, she ended empty handed and fully separated. I'd thought her best play would have been to relate the hours she'd put in that hadn't been paid for yet, bargain to get most or all of that, and then call it quits. She mis-played her chance.

More rant/whine: on top of it all, I have a marathon training M-F next week, online, tight agenda, etc.

No hassles, No work ~ no work, no pay.
Revu2

Hey, Revu2. I hope you make it work, and I hope it's a happy uplifting making-it work and not a moan-and-groan.
I don't know if this is helpful or not. Please ignore if it's not. I don't know what happened. I wasn't there. I do know that women's voices are hard to hear. It's very common for a woman to be ignored and interrupted. Just because men, and other women as well, actually don't hear what they're saying.

Me - I have a cool photo that I can use for my book. So Yay! I'm having people over to the house today. COVID challenge. I cooked everything while I was using sanitizer, and wearing gloves and a mask. A challenge. I hope we have fun.

Good luck to both of us. We both need it.

Novel - I may read it over a bit, but it's done. I'm sure there are still mistakes, but the readers will just have to forgive me for them. There aren't a lot of them any more.

You mean, the steps for the novel are over? I'm celebrating! Finishing is tough on us so a few deep breaths and loud cheers for you!

Today I'm getting lots of little things that will serve my comfort ready for my marathon online training starting tomorrow. While taking it as slow as I can through this readifying.

After my call for a bit of a break I'm going to a restaurant I have a loyalty card for to see if they'll credit my $38 order from yesterday.

Maybe a nap. Feeling more rested. Wish there was a way to store up rest in a type of battery. That way I could draw down now all that rest I stored in December.

Revu2

Wishing you good energy for your marathon training. I know that being in charge of training like that takes a lot of energy. Me - spent the day doing very little. Yesterday's party was a lot of fun, but it really tired me out. Tomorrow is another day. Maybe I'll try to get just a little done tonight - a very little.

Well, two days done, two days to go. Finding little discoveries that improve the work. That's always fun.

Playing with thinking about "before the moment," "at the moment," and "after the moment." Watching myself, there's an "at the moment" genius that I only have ... at the moment. Something extra flows in while in the midst of live performance that shows a better way. I love it, and welcome.
Revu2

Mostly to trudge through email. This afternoon zipping out for fun. Gig quick rental cars now available locally. I know I have some 'free' time or miles, can't remember how much. So I'll call and ask. Last week or so I got my access card since I don't have cell-network smart phone.

Going to the international district for my next round of breakfast foods. I'm letting breakfast foods be the fun luxury of this marathon. Mon & Tues I went with papusas. Bot 6 of them. Thur & Fri I'm feeling curry beef buns and something else. Partner saw an article on Japanese dogs on a stick that I guess you have to eat right away. (Thought I would get a couple to reheat. Kabashed).
Gotta find that nap. If I'm faster with da email, either nap or take off for the food.

Revu2

Sounds yummy.

I'm getting ready to publish, with all the angst that goes with it.
Happy measly stepping.
I wonder how scout2 and squarepegguy and all the other expats from Barbara's Board are doing.

A bit of Woo Hoo for myself! Made it through the week, just got through the many emails stacked up. Even snagged a nap in the middle of the day.

The big things I call "a snake eating an elephant." They're big, lumpy, hard to get your mouth around, and take a long time to digest.

Monday, I'll double check what I need to do to get paid. Someone hinted she might get us to a conference she's part of, but I suspect I'll be third on her list of the 3 presenters.

In better prospects, I am running a playshop for the free Design Festival that's celebrating its 10th year. Day by day I do a bit. I have a new friend and she and I are trading off accountability updates in the Seinfeld keep the chain alive mode. So far, even with a crazy Mon - Fri this week, I've just broken the chain twice in the past 16 or so days.

Delightful, publish, there's another world awaiting on the other side. Great success with it.
Revu2

A big woo hoo to you too. You're taking giant steps instead of measly steps.

At the moment, everything about the cover is going wrong. Rats!

Dang it all, Delightful. Breathe, take breaks. You've got time.
Revu2