the third

November 3rd

I'm thankful for Erin who has been cutting my hair since my junior year of high school. She has provided me with guidance through my impulsive moments of rebellion. But ultimately she's continuously transformed me.

the second

November 2nd

I've always joked that if I were to ever do drugs, I would do inhalants. I'm one of those folks that lives off the smell of dry erase markers, white out, gasoline, Pine Sol, sharpies, etc. I don't know what it is but my nose loves to smell these items. Recently it's occurred with my hair product, toothpaste, Lysol wipes, hand sanitizer and so on. I don't go overboard in sniffing but if I catch a whiff in passing I might waft a second dose my way. Sue me. But I was reminded today by a SACADA training why I don't do drugs and never actually cave into those lingering urges to inhale. I care for my body and it's entire creation way too much than I do for a quick and easy high. The statistics shared at this training were startling and great reminders for my choice of being drug free.

I'm thankful for today's training and my self-control.

the first

In lieu of November and with the onset of Thanksgiving, I would like to blog each day about something or someone I am thankful for. 'Tis the season...

November 1st

I work until 7 pm and our contracted night maintenance staff starts cleaning the building around 6 pm. I'm usually in my office inputting case notes or responding to emails so I regularly interact with one particular worker named Ronnie. Ronnie is a talkative, TALKATIVE, talkative man. But he has the best intentions and an extremely caring heart. Since moving to my new office location I've been privy to some of his interesting conversation pieces as he always stops to chat each time he passes my door. Yesterday Ronnie proceeded to tell me about his food intake for the day. He indulged in a double whopper, two orders of nuggets, a value onion ring, a chocolate sundae with extra chocolate and, of course, a Coke Zero. We both sarcastically laughed at how all the calories must have magically balanced out with that diet drink. Today Ronnie shared that his priority in life by working so hard and as often as possible was to make sure his two daughters didn't have any debt once they graduated from college; he has one daughter at A&M now and another daughter entering UT next year. And I just sit there in my office chair torn between a) wanting to get back to work as quickly as possible wishing this man would just do his job and leave me alone and b) feeling as if in some unknown way his gift is to encourage and brighten a person's day by taking time out of his job routine and partaking in conversation. He always asks how I'm doing and I respond in some terse "I'm fine" or "Doing okay" and when asked in return how he's doing he never fails in saying, "Every day is a good day, Miss Laura." What optimism.

I'm thankful for Ronnie's never ending conversations and ability to make me remember there is more to a day than just fulfilling occupational duties.

change harumph

I'm not a big fan of abrupt change. This is in part due to my recently-diagnosed-by-a-leadership-consultant perfectionist pattern. As an identified Perfectionist, "the specifics of a given situation or project tend to matter to [me]. Work expectations, time requirements, and evaluation procedures are important if [I] am to reach [my] full productivity, so [I] am most comfortable in a clearly defined work environment." So uprooting my entire office and its team in a day when we were supposed to move two weeks later made me crazy. I like systems and organization and plans, not hectic and disorganized large scale movements. I felt lost and unproductive at the end of last week. Change = scary!

I loved my old office. It had great natural lighting from a big window. I could greet the kids coming upstairs to the gameroom. It was distant from constant distractions and provided secluded space for confidential meetings. My new office has mostly been a DIY project. It was smelly, old, gross, and stark white with disgusting smudges all over the wall. Through some assistance from JG, SF, and the CM team it now has four freshly painted walls, one of them in an accent red color. The colors weren't quite my cup of tea but our CEO only lets people paint their office from the "approved palette of colors" so I did the best I could. I finally finished moving all my furniture into the office today and am just waiting on my bulletin board to be transitioned over. I would say the only thing I'm concerned about now is the lighting situation (lack of natural light via sans window) and my empty walls. Something is missing from my new office and I intend to find out what it is!

But all in all, my crazy has simmered down and I can now begin nesting in my new to me but old in years office. Let's do this thing (perfectly, of course).

The World in Six Songs

"One important thing that makes us human, one thing we have that separates us from all other species on our planet, has been noted by psychologists and biologists. It's not the fact that we have a language to communicate with- other animals, such as birds, whales, dolphins, even bees, have sophisticated signaling systems. It's not that we've learned to use tools (chimpanzees do that), that we have built societies (ants have those), or learned to deceive (crows and monkeys). It's not that we're bipedal and have opposable thumbs (primates) or that we often mate for life (gibbons, prairie voles, angelfish, sandhill cranes, termites). What distinguishes us most is one thing no other animals do: art. And it's not just the experience of art, but the centrality of it. Humans have demonstrated a powerful drive toward making art of all different kinds- representational and abstract, static and dynamic, creations that employ space, time, sight, sound, and movement."

HW 2

"There's always that one real catch in your circle of friends who's never single when you're single. But you just know there's something there. And even though you're desperate to hook up with each other, your love lives are completely opposite. He's falling into love as you're burying it. And he breaks up with her just as you're into someone new yourself. When you run into him at parties you attend with your boyfriend, your thoughts drift to what it would be like if he were the one taking you home. You see him thinking that too when he's with his new love and you just went on a break-up diet and look awesome. His girlfriends always distrust you for good reason. And your boyfriends never invite him out for a beer. Now, if you felt like you were soul mates you'd take drastic action but you know in your heart of hearts you really just want one night together. It's an unfair cycle, cupid conspiring against lust. But every once in a while cupid is not paying attention, hung-over, or napping, when the unthinkable happens. At two separate apartments, in two separate relationships, in two separate cities, someone says, "It's over." And all of a sudden anything is possible."

- from "My Boyfriend Wrote A Book About Me" by Hilary Winston

HW 1

"There's nothing like that feeling of waiting for a guy. It's the lonliest feeling in the world. Holding that cell phone in your hand as you take out the trash, use the bathroom, change the litter box. Fearful that the one second you aren't looking will be when they call. Pathetic. And something I have done as recently as last week. What I do know now, and didn't know then, was that no relationship that makes you feel that insecure lasts. You aren't really waiting for a phone call; you're waiting for the other shoe to drop."

- from "My Boyfriend Wrote A Book About Me" by Hilary Winston