I am SO Proud of Myself!

Wow, this week turned out to be incredibly productive.

Let's see - a 3-day week, absolutely no stress as the general atmosphere is slow and steady, and no one around.

I had just a few projects to get done and was able to efficiently divide my time among them and then I did some organizing/cleaning/spiffying of my cube area so I will be all organized for the New Year - it looks awesome!

I am so proud of how much I got done and how ready I feel to attack next year with full force. Now with a system set up, I can hopefully stay this organized.

Plus, since only a few people were around we got to play some too - I saw Superbad yesterday, just hanging out at the end of the work day with a few people...I say it was my reward for having such a productive day yesterday.

And now I get to go party in Houston for New Year's - can every week be like this?! :D

Dr. Pepper Is Like Sweden

Random thought: I am so glad that Dr. Pepper can coexist with other main brand sodas because it's perceived as the "little guy". That's cool, I don't mind drinking the underdog...Dr. Pepper has become very popular recently because it is in fact better and people are learning about its betterness. :D

You see, Pepsi and Coke can't exist together so they spend all that time and energy warring against each other. Dr. Pepper doesn't need all that - it's just sweet and delicious.

Now if only it could become more mainstream in the northern states, I would be set! :p

Man, It's Slooooow...

Wow, work was really kinda boring today. I don't think it was that nothing was going on because I actually did get a lot of good stuff done, but no one is around, it's super quiet, and it's just plain boring. Productivity is immediately cut in half in these situations, I think. :p

And I actually have quite a bit to do which will really help set up next year nicely. I am organizing and remodeling my entire cube so it will be ready for me to be a real live planner with my own account sometime in the next couple of months - exciting!

But I kind of wonder, why even bother having work days this week? I mean, if they're trying to get people to use their vacation days, good job. Otherwise, I would appreciate having these days off since there really isn't anything going on...ah well.

I, for one, am not going to use my vacation days unless I have something planned, most likely with other people. So I will work these few days, get paid to organize my area and get a few small projects done, and then enjoy another long weekend with New Year's upon us. :D

I Don't Think I've Ever Spent a Christmas Alone

This day really did it - I'm really missing my family. Oddly enough, just after you've seen everyone for a long weekend you may very well miss them more. This is new to me...I saw family earlier today but this Christmas night I am thinking about them all and I'm not with them. :(

I got just a twinge of this over the Thanksgiving holiday, but Christmas finally did me in. It's not that I've been terribly sad today but it is a bad day to be away from family. If I didn't have work tomorrow it would have been a bit different.

So I'm just thinking about friends and family that are all enjoying their Christmas with those around them...it's good to be thinking about them and definitely makes me want to make more of an effort to see them, I suppose.

This is definitely a new sensation and one that I'm not sure really helps you grow that much. This part of moving really kinda sucks.

"Planners Who Do"

Ahh, blogging. I have so many ideas for my blog during the day when I seriously don't have time to blog and then my hopes and dreams fall short in the evenings when I don't give the time to blog for various excuses.

However, where is the happy medium of blogging and living a life worth blogging about? Another planner and I were recently discussing such a phenomenon among planning bloggers who do a magnificent job of keeping up with other planners' blogs, trends, news, cool stuff, and their own blogs...but at what cost?

At first I was really envious of a few blogs I have seen. My blog is a mesh of real life and planning, as I set it up that way, and I was considering moving it to a pure planning focus. However, after thinking it over for a bit I have decided that I don't need to be a blogger so much as a planner. And if this blog ends up being a form of expression then I think it will serve me more as a planner and a person.

So those "planners who do" are doing a wonderful job and I will just absorb what they say and then move on...

Little Known Fact

So, I high five myself when I've done something I'm proud of...

Alright, a little lame, but try it - it will totally pump you up. Especially if you think high fiving is kinda corny, it will make you laugh. :)

And you really have to do it - like hold up one hand and slap it with the other. And say "high five" too, you know, like you might do with a friend.

I'm being totally serious, it works. :p

I Have To Make More Of An Effort

*A big sigh*

So I have lived in Dallas for about 4 months now. Job - great. General feeling about most things - great.

Apartment? There's really no reason to go in to a lot of detail because it can all be summed up here. In the short amount of time that I have lived in my current apartment, my air conditioner has broken twice, the air conditioner was replaced, I have been without hot water twice, the hot water heater has been replaced (twice), and a big leak in the refrigerator has been fixed. Trying to get the apartment and maintenance staff to fix the problems has been like pulling teeth. All that - not so great.

However, now that those major problems are behind me I am hoping to start fresh. I took a look around this weekend at all of these small, unfinished projects at home...even though I have been dealing with lots of things in the apartment, I'm hoping that I won't have any maintenance problems for a good while so that I can focus on living life at home.

Little things need to get done, everything needs to be put in order, so that I feel fully settled. Then, I plan on exploring this city a lot more.

I have a general feeling that I don't like Dallas...I don't think I've given it a very good chance at impressing me though. So I want to make more of an effort.

There's always something to work on, and my area of interest right now is home. Work life is great and I will be working on that during the day, but I would like the evenings to be a lot different.

I need inspiration, I need movement - organizing, cleaning, cooking, working out, relaxing, communicating with friends and family, reading, getting outside, exploring.

Maintaining is easier than fixing.

It's Beginning to Feel a Lot Like...Summer

So it's supposed to be a toasty 80 degrees this...December 7. Wah wahhhhh.

I would like to go look at fun Christmas lights this weekend but it just doesn't feel the same when I can go look at them in my Hawaiian shirt. :p

But I've kind of noticed a stall in the movement towards Christmas and New Year's myself. Everyone was telling me how fast Thanksgiving through the end of the year would go and I just have to say it's not. I've been really busy at work and needing to get a lot done at home but it's all moving at a pretty slow pace.

Now that I've said that, perhaps the next few weeks will just slip away. *shrug*