Reaching Goals

Post Number: 104

Review of Yesterday's Progress

     Daily PPV Used/Left: 21/50 of 71 (Goal: 26/45)

     Pedometer Reading: 2406

     Meetings Attended: None Scheduled

     Exercise Completed: Missed the Y

     M-W's Daily Word: Hoopla

A late night medical crisis with the in-laws pulled MBWM away, creating the opportunity for a rousing start to the day yesterday, heavy on the effort behind the rousing With MBWM about to be completely out of the picture yesterday morning, I planned to simplify my day. First, yesterday's lesson in home school was changed from personal projects to physical education at the Y. Second, the home school room, being a little too well attended this last week and displaying ample evidence of that attention, was going to get a work over in preparation for next week. And having made those plans, I discussed them with MBWM. And as happen so often where planning is involved, there were several events I hadn't remembered and a couple more than I didn't know about. We raced through the morning routine with only verbal alacrity and I watched as MBWM and Asian Red Fox headed over the horizon.

While still very much home in the early morning, I witnessed Quail playing among the DVDs in my bedroom. He found one that delighted his attention. He proceeded to remove the shrink wrap. That exercise invoked intense concentration and effort. He then tried to get at the discs but the security seal did its job and secured the DVDs firmly inside the case. This particular DVD was one of his Christmas presents. And with little Quail, he can watch the same movie several times before becoming interested in the next one. I am very grateful for this viewing characteristic of his. This means that of the several DVDs he received for Christmas, about half of them are still in their original shrink wrap. He is enamored with Bob the Builder and Thomas the Tank Engine. This means his movies were easy to locate in the less-expensive bins. This adds to my gratitude. But he was just exploring the DVD case and striving to reach the discs inside. Wanting him away from the DVDs, I said, "Quail, take that downstairs to watch." His enthusiasm was such that it expressed itself before his coordination was activated. He went from a sitting position into a sprawled position with one energetic tumble. As my girls are wont to say, "He is so cute!"

My day was to be cleaning and planning until right before MBWM came home. A that point, the Y was the target. But then two different contacts directed my attention to two different jobs. One of jobs: full-time chemistry instructor with CWI. This one received my full intellectual attention but my heart wasn't in it. I made several refinements that I think increased the value of the cover letter and resume over my previous submission. But having had my prior efforts receive no response beyond the automated and appreciated e-mail acknowledging submission, I expect to hear absolutely nothing this time around as well now that the e-mail confirms that my cover letter and resume have been received. And that took my heart out of it. If they do call me in for an interview, I will most assuredly have my heart back into the exciting opportunity to be teaching once more.

The other position that I did put my heart and intellect into was for Simplot. That position looks quite exciting. It took quite awhile to craft the resume. And then, when I thought I had expressed my experience to meet what the job description requests, I let it sit for awhile so I could see what their career website would provide for administrative hurdles. It was a lengthy process. Not as involved as the one with Hastings, but certainly intriguing. There were a couple of good question in it. "Why do you want this job?" and "Why do you want to work for Simplot?" in 50 characters or less. These and other challenging questions made more challenging by the length limit were exciting to answer. There was much detail required in the online application. And I do believe I caught all of it.

But I wasn't able to catch the Y. I was barely able to catch dinner. I have to complete my efforts in adjusting my scheduling to fit all of my requirements. And the best time for the Y time and time again is getting up at 5 in the morning. I don't see any other way around it. I pulled it off once. Can I pull it off for one week? We shall see this next week.

Yours in the plans that please the mind and reach the goals,

Eliot

P.S.: A great article on the value of sleep: Goodnight. Sleep Clean.