Category Archives: 100 Days

DAY FORTY-ONE: One Step Forward and Two Back

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I sold an item on eBay this past weekend, a lot of Monster High dolls, for $99.00. After paying for shipping and eBay and Paypal fees, I had about $70 left that I figured I could use to either put gas in the car rather than charging it to a credit card, or perhaps make a payment toward a credit card. Then I found out that my “department,” meaning, basically, me, is responsible for providing snacks for today’s faculty meeting. That’s about fifty people.

And that’s how my efforts to get ahead financially generally pan out.

Meanwhile, this cold I have feels like one of the most severe I’ve experienced in years.

DAY FORTY: Ill

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I seem to be coming down with a cold. I’ve always been a “cold wimp.” When I get sick, I feel very sick and lethargic. And colds tend to linger, lasting seven to ten days or longer.

I have a theory about being sick. I think aging occurs during illnesses. I never seem to recover my prior level of energy – low to begin with – after falling ill.

Anyway, I’ll likely be accomplishing even less than usual, and saying less about it, for the next several days.

DAY THIRTY-EIGHT: Ultra-Fail!

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I’m supposed to be writing about my experience running my first trail ultra, the Tantalus Triple Trek 50k.

But I didn’t do it. I stayed home and started taking apart my old piano.

I signed up for the Tanatalus 50k at the beginning of the year, back when I was still running. Back when I had grand visions of taking part in the Peacock 100k in October. The Tantalus 50k is a recognized “qualifying run” for participating in the Peacock 100k.

Then I stopped running. No reason, I just stopped. Laziness. Procrastination. “Busy.” Depressed. I stopped running and I gained a lot of weight. I’m at 195 now.

I went for a short jog/walk this weekend. Two kilometers was all I could manage, partly walking.

 

DAY THIRTY-SEVEN: Too Tired to Tweet

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I worked on “house stuff” all day, some “fix-it” stuff, some “decluttering” stuff, and despite my ending up too tired to write anything decent here, there is virtually no visible progress. I snapped some photos today, but I don’t want to take the time to upload, edit, and post them. I want to take a shower and go to bed.

I have almost completely filled up the back of my car with items for the proposed yard sale, yet I still can barely walk into The Room of Doom. In fact, I had to push debris aside to gain access to the computer keyboard just now. I don’t understand the physics of this. How can I keep removing things, yet the apparent volume of what is left remains the same? Somehow the remaining clutter physically expands to fill empty space. I find this quite discouraging.

DAY THIRTY-SIX: Yet Another Nail

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If this coffin gets any more nails pounded into it, there won’t be room for a body. Work was so very stupid today as to almost defy belief. Seriously, a parent of a 4th grade girl phoned a teacher to complain because a 4th-grade boy called her daughter… pretty?! The daughter apparently “felt uncomfortable” that the boy called her “pretty” and “beautiful,” and telephoned the school to lodge a complaint. Continue reading DAY THIRTY-SIX: Yet Another Nail →

DAY THIRTY-FIVE: Trees, Forest, and All That Jazz

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I was thinking today, while sitting in traffic on the way to work, that part of my frustration is that I am usually allowing the individual trees to block my view of the forest; that is, I’m getting so hung up on and overwhelmed by the small tasks and steps that I forget to keep the broader goal in mind.

I hope to fell a few mighty oaks here over the next few days, during the upcoming three-day weekend away from work, which I’m hoping will help open up the vista a bit.

DAY THIRTY-FOUR: Another Nail

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Yet another reason I have a “100 Days” plan to change my life and change my job: at today’s faculty meeting, the boss told us that the school has no extra money, so for the sake of the “core professionalism” category of our employee evaluation, we should sign up to either bring food or snacks or contribute money to a fund to provide refreshments for the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) observation team who will be visiting our school this coming February. “The sign-up sheet will be posted in the office.”

Yes, I am now required as part of my job duties to provide munchies for a highly compensated team of contracted consultants Continue reading DAY THIRTY-FOUR: Another Nail →

DAY THIRTY-THREE: Ants in the Belfry

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After work I fussed around trying to patch a small area of decaying trim in the bathroom. It’s, like, a six inch long section. Considering my current rate of progress on house projects, by the time I complete even the most basic of necessary cosmetic repairs I will need to start over from the beginning! I cannot visualize this house ever being ready to invite a real estate agent in to get a market appraisal.

Additionally, of course, there’s the clutter, the stuff, the crap with which we have filled our living space. Continue reading DAY THIRTY-THREE: Ants in the Belfry →