SPF-11

Dear sister,

Um ... I'm still alive. Sorry. A little stressed out with job searching and health insurance and all the other fun things that come with being adults. Remember when we thought being an adult meant eating ice cream for dinner and playing with Barbie dolls whenever we wanted?

But I thought I should share with you one of the things that has at least made me feel like I have a tiny, minute, wee bit of control over the chaos of my life. With no further ado, allow me to introduce you to ... the Strategic Plan for Happiness, 2011 (spf-11, for short).

The SPF-11 is split into categories, each with its own sub-headings of long-term goals. Long-term goals are then split into monthly short-term steps, with a column that should read "met...met...met...met...met" by the end of the month. So far, I have about a 40-60% success rate on this column.

Sometimes goals from one month end up getting met in another month; sometimes goals simply get moved on into the next month with no progress whatsoever. And sometimes short-term goals get met and I get to add another step to be completed in the next month! (That's always an exciting moment.)

The real point, though, is to sit down at the end of the month not only to take stock of what I did/didn't accomplish on my list of goals, but also to realize just how much I'm trying to get done. And how much else I did do, that wasn't on my list. To push myself further in some areas (that have consistently blank "met?" columns) and to ease up on myself in others. And to relax, in general, about the need to fixeverythingrightnowohmygoshnothingisworkingoutitallmustbesolvedimmediately.

One category at a time. One month at a time. One step here, one step there ... and eventually it all adds up.

Love,
your list-loving-i'll-send-you-the-document-if-you-want-to-adapt-it-for-yourself-since-i-know-how-much-you-love-lists-too sister

Things I've learned

Dear Sister,

I've been sitting at the hospital all day, waiting for StrongDad, and I finally got the wireless to work (woohoo!) so I thought I'd blog you a post of the things I've been thinking about.

1. 9 to 5s really aren't that bad, especially when you have a cubicle with a window.

2. 9 to 5s really aren't that bad, especially when you have a computer that works at an efficient speed.

3. 9 to 5s really aren't that bad when you are getting paid for them.

4. Do not put a wad of cash in your back pocket, because $60 will fall out between your apartment and the bank. And it will suck. A lot.

5. Do put wads of cash in a container in your room, or the bank, because the disappear a lot slower that way.

Okay, so, clearly, the first three and the last two are in reference to different episodes from my recent life. The first three I realized last week when I was filling in for a producer at LOE, and the latter I realized after, well, it's pretty self explanatory.

Some other things I've learned (relatively) recently? Well, for one thing, "kill 'em with kindness" really is the best approach. I mean, you can (and should) still stick up for yourself, but people have one of two responses when you're just respond with super niceness: they either can't be mad at you, or it makes them super mad. And I consider either of those a win. (This piece of wisdom has gotten me through 6 years of waitressing.)

Also, a sense of humor makes all the difference. Think PecanMama and her health humor, the Gparents not buying green bananas and finally, the most recent example:

(this was found attached to his health proxy form, which appoints BeachMom as his health proxy).

I'll run the possible new names by him later (my vote is for DarthDad).

love,

your sister