Homeward

Heading out to the airport to go back to NYC today. I had a furiously busy and beautiful week with my sister's wedding. We had completely, undeservedly gorgeous weather. Nothing like clear blue skies and warm breezes and mountain views to make you have an unrealistic and romanticised vision of the Northwest in your mind as you head back to Brooklyn.

Ah, Brooklyn. Will it be sun-dappled with fall colors? Will it be melodic in its chaos? Or will it be dirty and stinky?

This is what is getting me through the night

Day 17

I am not sure how I managed, but I am finally on my last day of a long stretch of work. I am exhausted and fried and so is everyone else around me. But somehow its all getting done.

Tomorrow I leave for Washington for my sister's wedding. As maid of honor (matron of honor, actually, but how horrible is that?) I don't think that the next six days will be a huge break, but at least it will be a change of scenery.

My body is so close to revolting against me.

Back To School

For any of you who are heading back to school this fall, or working on the school schedule in some other way, I bring you two videos that have significantly shaped my own fall.

One is a statement of need, a call to action. Our schools have become a place where right answers are valued more than the questions, where the success of the school is more important than the growth of the child, where millions of minds are expected to look the same.

So often in discussions about the needs of students, we forget to listen to the kids themselves. We are confident that we know what is best for them, that we are the leaders. This year the Dallas Independant School District gathered together the 20,000 teachers, janitors, paraprofessionals, principals, and others who work in that school system for a kick-off-the-year convention, and the keynote speaker was Dalton Sherman. You MUST hear this voice.

I'm optimistic about this year. I think big things are going to happen.

Will someone please tell me what is going on with the financial market this week? I have been diligently reading the newspaper and scouring the multi-media features, but I understand NONE of it. Not even a little bit. All I can tell is that people who already have a lot of money are freaked about losing it. What about those of us who only have a very little bit of money? Or no money at all but a lot of debt? What does this all mean?

I don't know many people in the financial world, but all this is going on just a couple miles from me and as the ripples get wider and wider I suspect that pretty soon its going to be my friends and loved ones who are out of work and wondering where all their assets went.

Keep Going

I haven't really had time to update the ol' blog this week and, really, I could have just re-posted that last post every night. I've been working way too much and this week, even though I still have things scheduled every day, I'm going to work really hard to have relaxing evenings. I might even (gasp) spend some time with my husband. Possibly in conversation. I know, I know...its a slippery slope and I'll have to watch out. Too much "conversation" and soon he'll be expecting regular dialogue and communication and talking and ICK it just makes me cringe to guess what else. Ideas?!?!? Sharing?!?!?! These are the things they don't tell you about in premarital counseling.

When I think back to what I have accomplished in the last week, I'm really impressed with myself. For you, dear readers, a list of things that exist now that did not exist a week ago:

• A complete program draft for the Big Event next month
• 5 lesson plans for TA Training
• Collaboratively developed pre/post curriculum for a cool show
• A ridiculously specific 34-page grant proposal
• A whole weekend of facilitating training sessions
• A handmade guest book, flower girl wreath, and ring bearer pillow for my sisters' wedding
• A residency outline for a new class

And it only took 12-14 hours a day for the last 8 days to do all this! I rock!

I am so tired

My eyes are burning. I've been working all day and I still have something huge to do before tomorrow and I'm not exactly sure when it's going to get done. I am so tired. But I have another mega-long day ahead of me, followed by 21 more after it, so I don't know if its better to sleep now or plough through and be done. Either way, my mind is drifting and I keep finding myself on websites that are not work related, so I must be trying to tell myself that its time to be done.

A Journey Worth Taking

There is a mythical creature in our world, rarely sighted but often storied: The Undecided Voter.

A friend of mine has recently come out as just such a creature, and she has invited me along on an epic journey into the heart of the political jungle. She is keeping a blog to document her negotiation of a variety of issues, based on the candidates' positions and some other research. She'll go through, issue by issue, and has invited her online community to join her. This is how she describes herself:

I registered to vote when I turned 18. I just turned 30. I moved to New York City 6 years ago which means exactly one half of my political influence while of voting age happened in the conservative South, and one half in the liberal North. Marry that statistic with this personality flaw/trait(?): I am ever reticent to voice an opinion, especially about politics, without sincere conviction. During political discourse of any persuasion, I am the one listening, full of conscious curiosity, challenging mean-spirited remarks, but almost never taking a clear stance. Perspective is one of my personal virtues, but seeing both sides of an issue sure does make voting arduous... Whether you are left or right, whether you vote for politicians or for parties, whether you’ve made up your mind or your mind is not yet made, you’re cordially invited along for this ride.

If you are interested in getting beyond partisan news coverage and campaign press-releases to a real negotiation of issues that many of us may have thought we came to conclusions about a long time ago, I encourage you to check her out HERE.

It's Like It's Over Before It Even Started

I just enjoyed my last day off until...at least October 1st, but probably the 4th. And what did I spend it doing? Working.

But I have a lot to prepare for.

This week:

• half-days training at job #1
• 20+ hours at job #2
• evening work for job #3
• prep work and planning meetings for job #4
• weekend workshops -all day both days - for job #4
  

Next week:

• half-day training for job #1
• half-day training for job #4
• evening work for jobs #2 and #3
• all weekend festival for jobs #2 and #4

The following week:

• only two days to have training, meetings, and office hours for jobs #1, #2, #3, and #4 because
• then I fly to WA to be my sisters' maid of honor and (hopefully) make it out of the weekend without alienating any more friends/family.

October, ah October. How I dream of thee. Even though I'll still be neck deep in job #2, even deeper in job #3, and HOPEFULLY start getting booked for jobs #1 and #4 on a regular basis.

You would think that I would be making more money than I do.

Charts for Nerds

The NY Times put together a nifty chart about the conventions. If you like bubbles, check it out:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/09/04/us/politics/20080905_WORDS_GRAPHIC.html

If you just like charts in general, check out www.graphjam.com.

The Big Picture

I think that in every job application and cover letter I've written, I've claimed to be a "detail-oriented person" and, sometimes, after constructing a very elaborate spreadsheet, I actually believe this to be true. But then, two months later, when I realize that I left some very, very important data off of that spreadsheet, I have to offer profuse apologies for not being as detail-oriented as I claimed.

I hate that sinking, tightening feeling in the gut when you realize that you made a big mistake, and you have to fess up to it.

I made a beautiful brochure for my big annual event, and the information on it is 95% true...which my dear friend JBster pointed out is better than 90%...but I still don't feel very good about it.

Maybe it's okay to be a big-picture person instead of a detail person, but it is not so good to be a big-picture person who is also a perfectionist. Maybe on my next cover letter I should write that I am a "big picture person with occasional but erratic bouts of anal retentiveness." Does that make you want to hire me? I hope not, because I have too much work right now. Feast or famine, my friends. The curse of the freelancer.

The NY Times Top Emailed Stories:

1. Maureen Dowd: Vice in Go-Go Boots?
2. Economic View: Is History Siding With Obama’s Economic Plan?
3. Disclosures on Palin Raise Questions on Vetting Process
4. Palin’s Teen Daughter Is Pregnant; New G.O.P. Tumult
5. Preoccupations: Girl Power at School, but Not at the Office
6. David Brooks: What the Palin Pick Says
7. The Caucus: Palin’s 17-Year-Old Daughter Is Pregnant
8. A New Twist in the Long-Running Debate on Mothers
9. Vogue’s Fashion Photos Spark Debate in India
10. Paul Krugman: John, Don’t Go

Six of the top ten stories are about Sarah Palin, and one more about sexism in the workplace. Congratulations to the GOP for effectively dominating the news cycle this week.

What times we are living through! Regardless that McCain's VP pick is beyond desperate and condescending, he has ensured that history will be made this year and the White House won't just belong to crusty old white dudes anymore.