This is a short one...just a couple of videos of my dog Grace. She gets such joy from such simple activities. These made us giggle. Hope you enjoy them, too. This is classic Grace.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
The pros and cons of seeing the pros and cons
I admit freely that I am a nerd. I have very strong analytical tendencies, which have come in handy and made me very good at math and science. I know lots of other people with similar tendencies, which got me thinking over the last few days about both the positive and negative aspects of analyzing everything, almost compulsively.
Here is my take on some of the pros and cons of being such an analytical person:
Pros:
1) I'll never waste money gambling or playing the lottery, because I know how tiny the probability of coming out ahead over time actually is.
2) I'm very good at organizing things, which means that I actually enjoy keeping things clean and tidy (although I don't always make the effort).
3) I'm very financially responsible and good at saving, because I think about all the negative and positive effects of spending money on something.
4) I'm good at problem-solving and a complicated challenge excites me, even if I can't always carry out the solution to the problem.
Cons:
1) I overanalyze every interaction I have, often making interpretations that aren't warranted.
2) If I do happen to act on an impulse, and the outcome is not as hoped, I can't let go of my lapse in judgment for a very long time.
3) I avoid committing fully to creative activities and individual sports, because I am too much of a perfectionist to really enjoy the learning process for very long.
4) I have no idea how to truly relax, because I am always thinking about what I could be getting done or new places I could be visiting.
I'm sure there are many more in each category, but these are the ones that strike me now. Just the fact that I made a pros and cons list must be a sign of my nerdiness. I'm sure I'm not alone in this personality trait, but it often feels like it when I start to believe no one else thinks like I do.
Here is my take on some of the pros and cons of being such an analytical person:
Pros:
1) I'll never waste money gambling or playing the lottery, because I know how tiny the probability of coming out ahead over time actually is.
2) I'm very good at organizing things, which means that I actually enjoy keeping things clean and tidy (although I don't always make the effort).
3) I'm very financially responsible and good at saving, because I think about all the negative and positive effects of spending money on something.
4) I'm good at problem-solving and a complicated challenge excites me, even if I can't always carry out the solution to the problem.
Cons:
1) I overanalyze every interaction I have, often making interpretations that aren't warranted.
2) If I do happen to act on an impulse, and the outcome is not as hoped, I can't let go of my lapse in judgment for a very long time.
3) I avoid committing fully to creative activities and individual sports, because I am too much of a perfectionist to really enjoy the learning process for very long.
4) I have no idea how to truly relax, because I am always thinking about what I could be getting done or new places I could be visiting.
I'm sure there are many more in each category, but these are the ones that strike me now. Just the fact that I made a pros and cons list must be a sign of my nerdiness. I'm sure I'm not alone in this personality trait, but it often feels like it when I start to believe no one else thinks like I do.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
No time for contemplation
When we first planned to move from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Salem, Oregon, I assumed I would spend some period of time unemployed after we arrived. I worked for the federal government, and despite what some people think, there is no such thing as a transfer with the government. At least not for people at my level. I knew I would have to actually quit my job at some point, and I had no prospects for another job, no matter how hard I tried to look from 2500 miles away. I actually grew to like the idea of being unemployed and taking some time to figure out what I wanted to do.
Well, nothing ever turns out as we plan it, it seems. Right as we were moving, a position in the agency I was already in opened up, and I applied for it before we moved. I still didn't think I had a great chance of getting it, but there was no huge rush. I was already committed to working from home (in Salem) at my Cincinnati job for 3 months, until some projects I was working on could come to completion. I'd like to think that I could just quit my job and explore other opportunities, but the whole experience has shown me that for me, the compensation is not nearly as important as the benefits with a job. For both my husband and I having serious chronic illnesses, good health insurance is the most important benefit we have, and the only place I could get that would be the federal government, where they can't impose lifetime maxima on coverage.
In the end, I think I missed out on time that might have benefited me to spend doing some soul searching for stability in my health insurance. I no longer seem to have time to relax or even think about what's important to me. I have too much going on and not enough time in a day to do it. It's too late to go back and change any of that now. I guess I need to take some time off from the world soon, before I lose the motivation, and think about what it is I really want from life. I spend so much time doing, and not enough time thinking about what I want to be doing, and I am paying for that emotionally now.
Well, nothing ever turns out as we plan it, it seems. Right as we were moving, a position in the agency I was already in opened up, and I applied for it before we moved. I still didn't think I had a great chance of getting it, but there was no huge rush. I was already committed to working from home (in Salem) at my Cincinnati job for 3 months, until some projects I was working on could come to completion. I'd like to think that I could just quit my job and explore other opportunities, but the whole experience has shown me that for me, the compensation is not nearly as important as the benefits with a job. For both my husband and I having serious chronic illnesses, good health insurance is the most important benefit we have, and the only place I could get that would be the federal government, where they can't impose lifetime maxima on coverage.
In the end, I think I missed out on time that might have benefited me to spend doing some soul searching for stability in my health insurance. I no longer seem to have time to relax or even think about what's important to me. I have too much going on and not enough time in a day to do it. It's too late to go back and change any of that now. I guess I need to take some time off from the world soon, before I lose the motivation, and think about what it is I really want from life. I spend so much time doing, and not enough time thinking about what I want to be doing, and I am paying for that emotionally now.
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