paisleypiper's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- rope is also for climbing Friday. Usually I feel different on Friday. I wear khakis and a cotton shirt. I wear my sandal docs. The day goes by quickly and I have a hard time concentrating. A good time to return phone calls, file, attend to routine fiscal matters. Today was like a Monday. I began the morning tired and full of dread for the work. I began the morning by telling Quinn that I felt like a woolly mammoth in a swamp. I think one of the equivalent clich�s is at the end of my rope, only wetter and encumbered by more than a gym suit. I keep finding more rope and am extremely thankful for that. Today was the sort of day where I was reminded that it can be ok to interact with people. That basically, many people are quite descent, and there is usually a connection, no matter how insignificant, to enjoy. The construction crew and I exchanged trait banter all day. After the amount of time we have spent in a small office with them on ladders and with all sorts of stuff and me on various work surfaces�.there comes a natural point that you pass when the banter begins. The gentle teasing of construction type guys that is boring really, but so much more pleasant than a buzz saw. Exchanges that, when handled adeptly, lead to things like help getting the heavy workstation put back into place. I finished my teleconference facilitation gig, that I was doing freelance to pull in extra money. I have a pattern: take on freelance work to make extra money; get stressed out by the extra dimension of business; get stressed out that freelance work always seems to involve something for which I have to gather up some extra courage -- such as facilitation; decide it is just not worth the extra money; get the money. What happens to feed my pattern is that 80% of the time, we develop an unforeseen need for the money. Most recently I edited a brutally boring and dismally written book related to my former job. Two days after I get my check in the mail, mother superior needs new tires. Not just need new tires at some time, needed them thousands of miles ago. The tires were rotten about to rot apart and we were three days away from a road trip. Sometimes I look at these freelance gigs as the universe�s way of giving me more rope. But facilitation is a drag for me. I have to do enough of it at work, urghh, it is really hard to do on the side because it won't leave my brain. I find while trying to sleep that I am thinking about the facilitation next week and wondering whether I will do a good job or bore people to tears. Hour by hour, my day picked up. I got a task completed I had been putting off. I am closer to feeling in control of my horribly demanding work life. In control enough to push it far from my mind and have a great weekend. The fun begins. 6:26 p.m. - 2002-07-26 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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