• Still feeling sick, but better than earlier today. I really hope I feel well enough to go to work tomorrow. #
• Made it into work today. Now home again and resting. About 60%, I’d say. #

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• Just finished watching 2 hrs 45 min of Branagh’s Hamlet with N - will finish tomorrow night. I feel soooooo sick. Going to sleep. #
• Stayed home sick today. Just got out of bed for 2nd time - feeling a bit better. Feels like fever broke. #

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• @cunningminx Oooooohhhhhh! I can’t wait!!!!! #
• Just got finished grocery shopping and now off to measure choristers for costumes. I FEEL LIKE SHIT! Sinus crap returned with a vengeance! #

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• What a day <<sigh>> But now I get to watch debate. #
• Stuffy, stuffy, stuffy again. #
• Marion Street Cheese Market has the mostest awesomest croissants I have had in many, many years. Fresh out of the oven. Pure NUMMINESS! #
• Rode my bike around town for about 40 minutes. Must get something to cover my ears - they hate cold. And my arse is sore. Shower time! #
• Getting ready for my photo shoot. LOL! #
• Finished with the shoot - now P has his homework assignment done. I will get some pix of me doing silly things which I will share. #
• Did I mention that I had the most awesomest croissants this morning? Bears repeating. They ROCKED! I’m still thinking of them hours later. #
• My neighbors are pissing me off. #
• Over the river and through the woods, to grandmother’s (and grandfather’s) house we go (N’s grandparent’s, that is) #

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• Feeling all kinds of lonely. But I just finished drafting up the strength exercise routine I’m starting next week. Sore from running. #
• Just discovered that I can write tweets thru word press admin. Now I can even more efficiently let absolutely no one know what I’m up to! #
• In an all day meeting of a group chaired by the bane of my existence. This should be fun! #

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A long time ago I bought a book that I don’t think I ever read (not that that’s unusual), that I’ve now started to read. It’s called Managing Your Mind (1995, Gillian Butler, PhD and Tony Hope, MD) I’m only a chapter in and it’s already got a lot of great advice. Not anything that I haven’t heard before, but the way it is put together seems extremely clear and useful.

The first topic it deals with is time management and it starts by targeting the main reason why people have difficulty with this (certainly my main reason) which is that they can’t manage their time effectively because they cannot set priorities based on what is important to them because they lack a clear view of their own personal values and goals. in life. BINGO!

The book describes an interesting activity to help explore one’s values and goals and I’m going to share it here. The directions were basically these: Think ahead to your hypothetical death three years from now. How would you want the various important people in your life - family, friends, coworkers - to eulogize you.

I started out by considering what I would want my 15 year old son to say of me. So here goes.

I always knew that I could come to my mom with questions and problems. She may not have had the answers or the solutions - or perhaps she had them but she wouldn’t necessarily give them to me. Instead she would guide me, patiently and respectfully, to discovering the answers and solutions myself.

My mom worked hard to improve the world she left me in so that I and my generation may live a richer life - not richer in meaningless material wealth, but truly richer. She fought against the current that sought to sweep away personal freedom - freedom to live one’s life as one chooses when doing so does not infringe on the rights of others.

But most of all, my mom prepared me well to live an enjoyable and meaningful life. Both by her words and, more importantly, by her example she has show me how to

• live and love honestly and with integrity
• think for myself and to look at information and ideas and dogma critically and decide for myself the right way to live rather than allow myself to passively accept the beliefs of others
• live and love mindfully and compassionately
• remain actively and consciously engaged in my world and in my life as part of it
• continue learning and growing throughout my entire life
• engage my creativity to inspire others to see beauty in life and expand their horizons
• laugh - at my world - at myself

I’m thinking that even without considering other family, friends, and coworkers, I can probably come up with some values and goals from this activity.