I hope you are able to rest enough to go to scholl tomorrow.
long a $$ meeting!
bizi

Yuck about that meeting! :( :hug:

In one job I had, upper management felt that weekly meetings were "useless" and instead scheduled all-day meetings "as needed". These were even more useless, not to mention infuriating.

I find that anything over a half hour gets boring. After an hour, I usually start wanting to pull hair out, poke eyes out, scream, jump up and down, shred every document in the room and do other inappropriate things.... :o

2.5 hours is way overkill. :(

I hope you get good rest and feel better by tomorrow. :hug::hug::hug:

waves

purpose for meeting
 

Exactly.

I did not need to be there.
We should have had the agenda emailed to us ahead of time.
We should have started exactly on time.

Agenda items should have been divided up before hand and small groups could have met earlier.
Or , better, done the whole thing over email.
Getting details worked out can be done in phone conferences also. . . . Discussing bs and going off on tangents that will not end in good places --- bad meeting practice.
Worse, this was old stuff from months ago, still unsettled and still boring.

I think a good meeting is where everyone needs to be there to help make decisions or vote.
Also, the leader should end the meeting with a summary of sorts so we leave feeling clear about what was accomplished.
Also, when I used to be in a position that required me to call meetings, I never never let folks get side tracked for more than 30 seconds. We stayed on track and were done in the time established on the agenda --- no freeeeking open ended time.

Yes, I was time nazi when I ran meetings.
We usually had one or two clear tasks communicated ahead of time via agenda on email, met and talked about that task, concluded the task, and left satisfied that something had been accomplished.
(People did naturally want to go off task but I told them to save that for another meeting and no one ever wanted another meeting).

This worked BECAUSE most people came to the meeting prepared. In other words, meeting time was sacred. We were respectful about the shared sacrifice of time and space.

M

yes
 

Yep. Detailed stuff is more "group activity" and should be treated as work not meeting material... with a number of collaboration means available, including phone exchanges, asynchronous exchanges (voice or email), etc.
Yep, in the workplace I found to have the best planned meetings, there was a format and an agenda for any given meeting, both introduced at the start. The leader maintained the format, kept people on topic, and kept things paced. Conference rooms were booked for 30 mins or 1 hour and we never went past. Meetings always ended with the leader (or someone) recapping action items and their assignees. Sometimes a deadline recap was done. The recaps took seconds and were very useful.

Short meetings (5-15 mins) were sometimes held, even impromptu, to address issues of narrow scope. Narrow scope usually meant fewer people and great efficiency. Having these left less potential for "drag" on the more general meetings.
It helps when people join a group that already does meetings the right way... people learn the right habits, and perpetuate them. I've worked with people who were never exposed to a "good" (productive) meeting. :o

waves

Btw
 

Who in their right mind has a meeting from 1530 to 1800? When I was 100%well I couldn't hang for that! You are a super star!

Hi Mari,

Just popping in to see how you are doing?

I hope you had a peaceful weekend. :hug:

waves

photos from today.
 

Ignatius the Iguana: picture 1
http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/p...psf8a99a15.jpg

Ignatius: picture 2
http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/p...psb084b272.jpg

I encountered Ignatius when I stepped outside the building to get some air. He was finishing off lunch from a take out chicken place that someone had dropped for him.
He was not happy about my taking pictures and slowly moved toward the sunny water and grass where he lives with others.

M

Hi Mari
 

That is one big boy. Loved seeing him. My son had one when he was a child. Wound up in St.Louis Zoo, he was too big to handle! He also got mean. Hope this big boy has a nice disposition. ginnie:hug:

Ginnie,

He seemed pleasant but I did not spend enough time with him to find out otherwise.

M

he was just loose? not with anybody?
these guys roam freely? we have little lizards 3-5 inches but this guy wins hands down biggest lizard, I think I would have been afraid of him.
bizi

Bizi,

They live near the water and sit out in sun the unless someone has food for them.

====

At home I have prettier ones. They are green and a tiny bit smaller. They sit in the sun on nice days.
The ones near my home hangout at the canal across the street from me and are not used to people so they run off if you get too close.


They are thriving because the past three of four winters have been too warm to kill them off.

Mari

I had a Iguana type Lizard that was about 1 1/2 feet long when I was a teenager. When it died,I should have buried it about 4 feet down in the earth because it stunk up the back yard. That's what I mostly remember about it. lol BF:hug::hug::hug:

lol
 

Steve,
That is funny and awful. :eek:
M

Rain
 

It's raining and I am anxious.
Nighttime and I am anxious.
Rain at night.

hope you ended up getting some rest....sometime.
bizi

Bizi,

I watched youtube links of songs about not sleeping / or nighttime and slept about 4.5 hours

I do hate rain at night. It is disturbing.

I called in sick for the first part of the day. ' Might go to a 4:00 meeting later.

M

keep taking care of yourself!
bizi

Hi.

Sorry about the disturbing night-time rainfall.:rain:
I hope your day went better than the night. :hug::hug:

waves

Hi, Bizi and Waves,

I slept very little Tuesday so when I woke up I emailed work to get out of the 11:00 am meeting, visited here, and went back to sleep for 3 hours and got to work for a 4:00 pm meeting that went until 6:00 pm.

The meeting felt semi-useful compared to the what would have happened in the 11:00 am meeting.
(When I can get away with it, I pick my meetings.)

After the meeting I talked to people and then shared gossip.
Connecting (commiserating) like that was helpful.

I got home close to 9:15 pm with some groceries.


Mari

Sounds like a busy and productive day, Mari. :)

And... good for you for picking your meetings. :cool:

I am glad to hear you got some sleep in, too.

:hug::hug:

waves

Sleep
 

There have been some changes in my bed time:

1. Wednesday I slept from 1:30 am to 8:30 am
2. Thursday I slept from 2:30 to 8:30.

~~These two nights in a row of getting to bed at almost reasonable hours were a good start.


~~ am so sleepy and brain barely functions. I am confusing to people around me because I say dates wrong, say a bunch of stuff at the same time and in the wrong order (cannot think orderly), . . .

And I need to be careful driving.

Tonight I hope to get to bed soon.

Mari

band
 

Hi,

I have been listening to Old Crow Medicine Show:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyUOe7HAkpk

The lyrics change depending.
And the line up changes (band members come and go.)

Here is a recent group publicity shot.
http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/p...ps0789e7ce.jpg

Mari

I liked them, they were fun to listen to.:)

old tdoc left message few nights ago
 

Hi,

Sunday night my oldc tdoc called.
I was late a few seconds in answering the phone so I called her and she did not pick up. (I continue to be confused about how people use cell phones.)

Her message was something about how she hadn't heard from me and she was concerned.
My message to her was that I am mostly the same and still working on getting a psychiatrist. . . .. 'Said I am seeing a new psychiatrist next week.


. . . not sure why I called her back except that it was Sunday night when I alert to the phones (very anxious on Sundays) and she had called both house and cell phone.

=========
I feel like crap today.
I tried to sleep through thunder storms and eventually got up after 6 hours of miserable sleep. I awoke feeling sad and frightened. 'Still feel that way.

M

I am sorry that you are feeling sad and frightened.:(
(((((HUGS)))))
bizi

Hi, Mari.

I'm sorry you are feeling this way today. :o
I know you find rain disturbing especially at night; thunderstorms must be even more unsettling for you. :(

You did a good job calling back the old tdoc even if (especially because) you don't really want to be dealing with her.

I hope you can get some time-outs today.

I send you reassuring thoughts and some :hug::hug::hug:

waves watching some silly European television -- currently a show about a chimp, to be followed by a sea lion one. They are Lassie-type shows, with rescue-type plots showing cute/smart animal behavior -- easy on the eyes, mind, and heart. :)

Mari

I am sending you some hugs.

Donna :hug::grouphug:

I am o.k. tonight and was most of the day Wednesday because I was surrounded by people.

I slept only TWO hours Tuesday night.
It is strange that the amount of sleep and quality of sleep seem to be only loosely related to mood.

Mari

Gratitude Journal
 

Hi,

Since August 13 I have been keeping a gratitude journal. Here is the one I use:

http://www.amazon.com/Simple-Abundan.../dp/044652106X

It has four or five lines for each day.

Somewhere recently I saw an article about how to be Charismatic.
One of the things was to keep a gratitude journal.
Anyway, most days I manage to write. A few days a week I forget and end up with empty pages for those days.

M

mood, gratitude journal
 

I am glad you have been mostly ok, despite the lack of sleep.

Sometimes, I have problems related to lack of sleep show up with a day or two of lag time.

You are doing really well with this! :)

now that is intriguing. I wonder how it works.

waves

my breakfast
 

Hi,

Before I went to bed (around 4:00 am) I put quinoa, frozen okra, and pecans in the crock pot.

This morning I added salt.
It is good--- maybe a little over cooked.
It is soft and that is good in the a.m.

http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/p...ps18ffa616.jpg

M

did you precook the quinoa? Did you add any water to this? I have never cooked it at all and am excited about putting it in the crock pot. It is such a health gluten free grain.
bizi

Hi Bizi
Quinoa is supposed to be rinsed because of something I do not remember but one can buy it pre rinsed.

I used quinoa that I had rinsed so it already had some water.

1 cup of rinsed quinoa
2 cups water

It cooks very quickly so it does not need a crock pot.
I used the crock pot because I wated something that would need zero prep in the am.


M

Work
 

My boss and I were bring nice and polite and then I brought something up, she responded in a reasonable manner, and I BLEW UP.

I ran out of her door before it got ugly.
I told her I had to go. She was still doing her bs talking.
I said it is best for me to go.

============
I am very upset and no one here at work is available to talk to me.

M

Hi Mari,

How are you now?

Can you take a Klonopin and go home?

:hug::hug::hug:

I sure hope you are ok. :circlelove:

waves

Mari

I sure hope you are okay. I was gone at the time you posted.

I'm sorry.


Donna :hug::grouphug:

I am sorry that you had a bad afternoon.....
wish I could have been there for you.
bizi

I told work buddy what I said to the boss.
He reacted as if it was not a huge deal -- that it was within range of what is still considered ok behavior / words.

M

glad that you have work buddy to bounce things off of.
bizi

new project. one that does not count for anything toward my file / portfolio
 

I was so upset and rattled Thursday about so many things that I VOLUNTEERED for a project!!? :eek:

Colleagues were working on something that I thought they should take more seriously. Because I felt that the project had to be done correctly, I volunteered to take it on.

I hope I sleep soon. Otherwise I might upset people and do stupid things. (too late!!!!)

M