Under the Weather

What do the following things have in common?

English Breakfast tea
Toast
Airborne
Chicken soup
An orange

Give up?

It's a list of what I've consumed today b/c I've come down with a nasty cold. I'm in my flannel pj's, warm bathrobe & fuzzy slippers & I'll be horizontal on the couch all day with a trusty stack of magazines by my side. So don't worry mum! I'll be a-ok.

Take care,
PortlandGirl

Things I Should Probably Feel Guilty About...But Don't

I'm supposed to be at work right now. But I'm not. My client canceled at the last minute (& when I say last minute, I mean, when I got to her front door & found a note) which leaves me with 4 hours of bonus time on a Saturday. Score!

Although I don't get paid when clients cancel their appointments, I still get a little thrill when it happens. Because it's nice to have a half-day off when you least expect it. And sometimes, that time is worth more than money. I like to think of it as the universe knowing when I need a break & throwing me a bone once in a while.

On my drive home, I thought of all the things I should do with my found time...throw in a load of laundry, empty the dishwasher, straighten up my car. Then, I asked myself what I wanted to do. Big difference! I wanted to relax on the couch with a book or a magazine & chill out for a few hours. I wanted to watch a movie. I wanted to eat bon bons. I wanted to do NOTHING that had anything to do with work (job or household-wise) in any way, shape or form.

So that's what I'm doing. And it feels great! Which is why I don't feel guilty about it. In today's keeping up with the Jones', politically-correct, ecologically-mindful, do-everything-now-and-do-it-faster-tomorrow world, sometimes you just have to do the opposite of all that. Go against the grain. Do what YOU want to do...not what you think is the RIGHT thing to do or what is EXPECTED of you. Not b/c you're being mean or spiteful or particularly rebellious. But just b/c it's what you need.

And so, in the spirit of George Kostanza, I say, pick a day this week & do the opposite of what you'd normally do. It could be very liberating. Or very uncomfortable. Or just plain weird. But at the very least, it would be different. And different is good.

Stuck for ideas? Here are a few....

- take a really long, hot-as-you-can-stand-it shower
- call in sick & lie on the couch all day watching cheesy movies
- eat that 4th chocolate-chip cookie
- create an entire outfit out of clothes you never wear

- have a bath in the morning
- drive a different way to work
- unplug or turn off all electronic devices (cell phone, PDA, laptop) for the day

I'll let you know what I do if you'll do the same!

Happy Opposite Day!
PortlandGirl

p.s. That extra space between those two bullet points is driving me crazy, but the formatting's being weird & I can't figure out how to remove it AND...since I just preached doing the opposite, I'm not going to obsess over it anymore! It stays.

A Year in Review - Part Two

It has taken me a while to get back to this wrap-up. Partly, b/c it seems like a lot of stuff happened, therefore, I have the idea that it's going to take me a long time to tell it. And what do I do when I feel like something's going to take a long time? I procrastinate. I tell myself over & over again to just sit down & do it, but then I find something that seems much more pressing (like watching a rerun of "Sex and the City") & I do that instead.

I think the other part of the reason I've taken my time coming back to it is b/c I'd rather focus on the here & now rather than go backwards. We are already one month into 2007...do I really still want to be rehashing 2006? I don't think I do.

And anyway, in hindsight, aside from losing both Ralph & Grandad (my mum's parents who were the epitome of what grandparents should be) within 11 days of each other, none of the other stuff that happened seems that bad.

I'm saving a post about Ralph & Grandad for another day. It needs more time to come together in my head.

I do believe I've run out of things to say tonight. Must be writer's block. Or that 2nd glass of wine. Either way, I'll be back soon.

Namaste,
PortlandGirl