Friday, February 26, 2010

ODDS AND ENDS

Mercifully Short
I have always liked February because it is mercifully short. January, on the other hand, is the most odious month because it seems interminably long. It seems to me that of all the seasons, Winter should have the shortest months, and Spring and Autumn should have the longest months! Actually, May and October should be the longest of all the months—about 45 days each would be just about right! Of course, the other alternative is to move to San Diego and have Perpetual May. In the event that you ever get tired of Perpetual May, you can always drive up to Big Bear.

Yelling and Screaming, Screaming and Yelling
In one of Maurice Sendak’s books [Really Rosie or The Sign on Rosie’s Door], “Yelling and screaming, screaming and yelling” recurs. (Dara can probably fill you in on the details.) A lot of “yelling and screaming, screaming and yelling” goes on these days on most game shows and at sporting events. TV studio audiences are told to do so. If they aren’t “enthusiastic” enough they are admonished during the commercial break. This mindless and nerve-wracking noise is disturbing to my soul and demeaning to those who do it. To me, “yelling and screaming, screaming and yelling” is something that is appropriate only when the house is on fire (or some other life-or-death event is occurring). Otherwise, it is a sound suitable mainly to the asylum or to nightmares.

Time Management
I have been a student of Time Management techniques since the early 1980s. Thirty years have passed, and I am still struggling (and failing) to organize my time so as to get more done. (Read that as “get EVERYTHING done”!) I am a master at producing forms of all kinds—To Do Lists, Check Lists, etc.—in dozens of formats. And without my lists, I get “lost” in the resulting chaos. To make bad matters worse, I have less energy now, and time is “speeding up.” (Signs of old age.) But, I can’t NOT keep trying to master Time Management.




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... just a few thoughts at the end of February, 2010.


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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hooray that it's almost over! I always think of you in February, and how you always say how "mercifully short" it is. Winter used to hold some joy for me, but after being pregnant through three winters, I don't like them anymore. Too many bad memories of nausea, crankiness, and general irritability.
And just think: Only about a month till conference!

Katscratchme said...

Ooo! Do you have that time management book? Can I borrow it if you do?

I too make piles of lists... I should make a note to remind me not to make lists...

Rebecca's Oasis said...

I love February!

I love the spring months better and I look forward to working in the yard.

I remember the Really Rosie book and reading it...

When I put my mind to it I can stay really organized and have been recognized by my employers for my exceptional orgnizational skills. There are times where I decide that a day of "nothing" is appropriate and everything falls a part. :)