Land of Nod

I had big plans this past weekend:

Friday – Dinner and lapdancing class with girlfriends

Saturday – coaching work extravaganza (workshop brainstorm for 2012 sessions, website writing and planning, writing of collateral and products, long-term visioning….etc etc), Blue Rodeo concert in the evening.

Sunday – sleep in, attend Birthday Party, appointment with client, work some more, prepare for the week ahead

Aaaand here’s what I actually did:

Friday – Quick, gobbled-up dinner.  Attended lap dancing class - it was so much fun, and who knew what a workout it would be to slither around a chair and on the floor in heels?? 

Saturday - I slept in later than I probably have in a year, stumbled into kitchen and discovered that there was zero cream for my coffee.  Decided to walk whining dog to nearby Starbucks for emergency Venti Dark, got 2 blocks from home and the dog was gasping for breath in the heat.  Turned around.  Considered walking to store for cream, then got distracted by dirty dishes the Maid hadn’t yet washed.  Got inspired and took spare key to neighbor’s house (they were away) and stole the remaining creamer from their fridge.  Made coffee and breakfast/lunch.  Realized with dismay that it was already 1pm and that I had only 5 hours until I was picking up my date for the concert.  I started to do some reading on the sofa, made a few notes, then when my eyes started to feel heavy, I decided to take a nap.  Set alarm for 30 minutes and crashed.  Woke up with alarm, shut it off, then went back to sleep for another hour.  Or so.  Half-assed looked at the clock and considered getting up.  Dozed for a few more minutes.  Rose with some panic when I remembered my bed was not made, and was, in fact, covered in clothes that needed to be put away.  Also realized I wanted to shower and pretty up for concert.  Answered a phone call that began with “HO-LY SHIT.” which prompted much hysterical laughing and lengthy (but yummy!) debriefing of “Holy Shit” Event.  Showered, raced around, got ready, went to concert…blah, blah, blah.  Do I have a plan for 2012?  Did I cinch up all my web copy? Did I brainstorm, well, anything, beyond “What position should I sleep in next?” Is my homework done?  The answers to all of these is NO.  (Unless you consider that perhaps I dreamt about brainstorming while napping)(I am pretty certain I did not)

Sunday – slept WAY in, went for breakfast, raced with Baxter to Birthday Party in White Rock, got groceries, arrived home in time for coaching call, then sat on ass on sofa watching recorded television and editing a document for Day Job.  Again.  No joy on the coaching work. 

The lesson of the weekend (and gawd, this post is even boring ME) is that as much as I want to get done and think I will be super productive, I simply have to listen to my body when it’s tired.  I can’t make myself work when what I really want is downtime.  Case in point is the last, like, 30 Wednesday nights: I always think I’m going to finish my coaching calls then get to work, and then I usually end up napping on the sofa at 9:30, thinking I’ll wake up and work afterward.  Clearly, I am diluded, or just doing too much.

I have also been failing on the Taking Photos Front.  Here’s the lone proof that I even had a weekend:

Weekend of Nothing

You know what I didn’t do this weekend?  Much of anything.

In true Tara fashion, my version of “nothing” still meant I walked the dog until he was gasping in the heat (he doesn’t like the sun and functions best when it’s cold and dry – so close to the ground he is), triumphantly mowing the lawn all by myself (I started it up just like a lumberjack), seeing several friends for dinner, grocery shopping, and spending a day cooking.  In my jammies.

It was amazeballs awesome.  I loved every minute.

Aside from it being the first long weekend in THREE HUNDRED YEARS (or something like that), it was also the first completely single, unattached and free weekend I think I may have ever had.  I wasn’t staging a house, running for a ferry, packing, crying, unpacking, entertaining or doing anything I didn’t absolutely want to be doing, and I could not be happier.  Well, if I had another day off, I could possibly eek out a smidge more, but I’m happy all the same.

Here’s some photographic joy from the chick who never remembers to bring the camera anywhere (they’re all in the apartment or the back yard):

Thursday evening - smooches on the sofa

Aloof and unwilling subject

Sun bathing

Enjoying the mowed lawn - terrified of the mower when parked, but lazed on the grass and could easily have been mowed over...silly boy.

This weekend was brought to you by the Cactus Club (Thursday with Jenn and Christine and our mini-Sedin eye candy), Sarah (roast chicken and taboulleh (sp?) which I have re-created for myself, it was so good!), Erin, Martin, Baby Max and Maria (roast turkey and fixins’ (no VEGGIES!! HA!)) and my flannel pj’s.

Hope you all had fun, too.

Recap

Woke up late, avoiding the alarm, and not fully connecting that it was the thing making noise every nine minutes.  Got up slowly (no need to shock the system), quickly showered, didn’t wash hair, curled it instead.  Beautified, changed mind on outfit approximately 14 times, settled on the first thing I tried on.  Put contacts in, had trouble with the right, likely because I put them in in the wrong order (should have been right one first, then left).  I said, “It won’t go in…heh, that’s what she said” That joke never gets old.  Rushed downstairs, kissed the dog on the head, gave him a cookie, left the house.  Late.

Drove to work, very slowly.  Realized how absurd it is that all of us drive in the same direction so slowly, to get to somewhere we don’t even want to be. Talk about a big hurry  to go nowhere.  Stopped at Starbucks, despite lateness, for a grande, non fat, americano meeesto (that’s how I pronounce it to the barista), top it with a bit of honey, head to the office.  Arrive.  Take the shittiest parking spot available, next to an identical car with dings in the door.  Worry slightly that this person will have zero regard for my door’s safety and hope I leave before they do.

Arrive at desk.  Work like a slave for the rest of the day, trying to be good humored when my boss tells me, from the road, what I can work on when I am not busy and the “dust settles”.  Mumble under my breath that I am in a shit dust STORM.  Briefly drop in on a dealer at lunch to drop off a sample.  Am disappointed that he is on the phone when I arrive, as I have a bit of a crush, and wanted to flirt a little.  Yes, I know I am married.  I’m not dead.  Head back to the office, eat a sandwich.  Warm up remainder of americano in the microwave, then forget it.  Return to the lunchroom for something else and discover my coffee waiting in the microwave, squeal with delight and drink it.

Work through the afternoon, realize with dismay that I am going to miss the start of the hickey game.  Leave to battle traffic at about 5:30, hear a traffic report in not enough time to take a different route.  Drive home very slowly with everyone in the city.  Apparently all the nice weather has erased the capability to drive in the rain.  Alternately turn on and off the radio when DJ’s talk – I can’t stand the sound.  One update tells me I have missed the first period of the Canucks, and they are up 2-0.  Yay.

Arrive home, too late to go to yoga and still have an evening, so skip practice for the second night in a row.  Resolve that tomorrow it can all fit in, and that limits will be set. Venture out into the backyard to pick up the dog poop.  Glamorous.

Tidy up bedroom and gather obscenely large piles of laundry and take them to the machine.  Realize that husband has washed my (gleaming white) yoga towel with a bunch of dark, dirty stuff.  Curse him a little, but remember to be grateful that it got washed.  It stunk. Still, though, no one ever taught this man to SORT?  Watch the remainder of the hockey game – think to myself that Roberto Luongo has really nice skin.

And now, here is a random (5omm lens) shot of the dog:

 

Baxi love

 

Make salmon, peppers, and rice for dinner. Salmon is dry.  Watch PVR recording of 24.  Imitate Jack by yelling “Dinner is ready. NOW!” Heh.

Spend a couple hours working on coaching stuff.  Half watch the biggest loser until the end of the marathon, when I put down the computer and cry, realizing I REALLY should have found a way to sweat tonight.  Oops.

Put the dog to bed with a small cookie.  Let the cat in for the night, listening to his cat-rant as he comes in complaining about the rain.  Fold some dry laundry.  Make lunches for next day, tidy kitchen so the dog walker is fooled into believing that we are not total pigs, even though we are.  11:45, head to bed.  Spend 38 seconds thinking about doing it all again tomorrow.  Fall into  a deep sleep that precludes and recognition of the alarm clock in the morning.

Bravery

I was good at my job today – I travelled to see some new accounts, some of whom aren’t actually accounts yet, and while I did waste a fair amount of time buying cupcakes for dessert (yeah, it’s a BIG mystery where all this FAT came from!) for tonight, playing on Dick the Mac, and exploring beautiful old Abbotsford (yeah, right), I also pulled up in front of all these businesses, and (eventually) went in to see them after a few minutes collecting myself and all my various bits of information with which to bombard them. 

My instinct was to not, though.  Left to my own devices, I would have pissed away the day shopping in the valley at some oh-so-glamorous-store I have near my house or lounging in a coffee shop with my Dick (the Mac – we’ll save that for another post…).  Before sucking it up and venturing in to talk to strangers about the lovely product I represent I even made a brief story up in my head to tell my boss, to make it seem as though I had really done my job, when I was really adding to my MasterCard balance.  At the end of it all, though, I went in.

I know my stuff, so I said what I had rehearsed in my head, and managed to get several new clients on board.  I dare say I was even impressive.  Even with my fly at half mast for one of them.  Oops.

The end of the day is decidedly less celebratory than a relief that it’s done.  These will get easier, but I will not get less shy when approaching people I don’t know.  That’s the way it just is.

Listy Lusty Friday

The thought of making another list is making me want to dive head first into a very-cold river, so instead I will post some random numbers, whixh will form a bit of list on their own:

• minutes till I leave the office: about 45
• speed at which I will drive home: approx. 20km/h
• number of emails answered today: 14
• places I wish I was that are not my desk: 7
• days till I go to Smithers for a visit: 35
• number of times in one memo my boss used the term “face time” after I mentioned it to him in a meeting: 4
• number of minutes we waited to be served lunch today: 20
• meals I feel like preparing tonight: zero
• movies I will watch tonight: 1
• number of hours I will sit with my nose buried in my computer this weekend: about 7
• customers I have to stop in on when I leave work: 1…better go