our apartment is kind of a mess
hey, remember how i tried to clean up? there were definitely some improvements wrought by those efforts, but this place is definitely backsliding. i started to think about when i would have a chance to really hunker down and finish going through everything, and the best time i could come up with was june 5-6 after we get back from our tropical interlude in st. maarten.
it’s either hold out until then, or spend a chunk of my birthday (in 7 days now! woo!) scrubbing the toilet and cleaning out the closet. although honestly, that doesn’t sound so bad from this vantage point . . .
the next 3 weeks: a summary
today: overnight call (one of THREE left, ever!)
tomorrow: post-call fly to NYC for wedding (!). try not to fall asleep at rehearsal dinner.
saturday + sunday: wedding weekend with family
monday 5.17: call. oh, lord help me.
thursday 5.20: my bday! a little breath of fresh air . . . complete with massage, mani/pedi, and even time to clean if i so choose . . .
friday 5.21: last. call. EVER!
sunday 5.23: regular ol’ work day
monday 5.24: last day to cover the wards
tuesday 5.25 – friday 5.28: GI clinics
saturday 5.29: fly to cincinnati – wedding weekend #2!
monday 5.31: fly to st. maarten. time to recharge and BREATHE.
friday 6.4: fly back to RDU
saturday 6.5: (possibly) throw belated bday party?
sunday 6.6: at long last – a day at home with nothing planned.
so many fun things on the horizon! but a bit of an imbalance between crazy and calm. life just feels hectic right now. i was talking on the phone with my sister yesterday about time management when she declared, “if i had your life, i would hate it.” she was not referring to call (she knows i am not a fan of that part, either!) but just my continual need to keep my calendar full and to-do lists long. she prefers a simpler existence, with fewer engagements and projects.
that SOUNDS good to me, but whenever i see empty space in my planner i seem to find something essential to fill it. the life-is-too-short mentality, you know? but what gets skimped on is time to recharge, reorganize, relax.
back to the mind
so maybe i won’t be able to carve out large empty spaces to sit around and meditate in a freshly cleaned apartment. but that doesn’t mean that this time has to feel as hectic as it looks! after all, even with a packed schedule, there is solace in the fact that truly, you can only do one thing at a time.
with a mindful attitude and a purposeful and honest triage of each day’s to-do list, i am going to aim to enjoy this block of time. busy as it may seem, i will try to remember that there is still peace and relaxation to be found in the everyday.
for example, yesterday i arrived home from an 11 hour work day and was exhausted. the thought of shelling what seemed like a million english peas seemed like an insurmountable task. but then i reframed it and thought — hey, what could be more therapeutic?
i turned on glee (maybe not the most mindful approach, but it totally made me happy) and shelled steadily as the tension from a full clinic melted away.
not only was it enjoyable, but these fresh peas made a mundane dinner into something much tastier. a metaphor for something larger? perhaps.
off to call #5.
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5.12.10
workout: 4 miles outside, 9:01/mi pace. my hip started complaining by the end — i think i really need to get back to better strength/cross-training.
fresh pea pasta: this impromptu creation reminds me of something kath would whip up!
whole wheat rigatoni, canned salmon, fresh shelled peas, arugula, olive oil, and a sprinkling of romano.
3 Comments
In NY can't waiT to see u
Random, but I saw this on yahoo finance and thought about how you had mentioned the quantified self recently. It's more finance oriented, but still kind of related to what you are talking about. The joys of being a planner!:
http://finance.yahoo.com/retirement/article/109540/fast-track-to-financial-success
After really 'crazy-busy' moments (weeks or months), I tend to crash and need a major break to relax, rejuvenate and reconnect. That said, I also like a certain amount of busy-ness.
I think everyone is different in terms of their tolerance of downtime and craziness, but if the craziness involves some fun, or quite a bit of it, then maybe that also shifts the balance?