If you can do more, you should.
The title statement came from Robert Redford. It's his explanation of how he has accomplished so much. I identify with that sentiment. This is why I find it so hard to stop doing things and "take it easy". Having spent almost ten years in graduate school, I have become accustomed to having LOTS of things pressing on me waiting to be done. On the other hand, it also keeps me from stagnating or just sitting on the couch watching my life pass me by. It keeps me *doing* things and keeps me moving. That and the knowledge that as a single woman if I don't do it, it won't get done.
There are two downsides to this. The first is that I have a hard time taking a break because there is always something to be done and I was taught very clearly as a child that you can't do anything fun if you still have work to do. This may be why I have had two vacations in my adult life.
The second downside is that I keep finding more things to do. This leads to something of a paradox. I have so many choices of things to do that I sometimes get stuck and do nothing. Too many places to start. Too many distractions from other choices. I have lots of half-done things because I get distracted by something else that needs to be done before the current task can be finished or needs to be done simultaneously. This leads to even more half-done things, more mess, more sense of urgency to get things done. Of course, this is not helping me get my garage cleaned out/reorganized.
Part of the problem with finding more things to do is that I am easily distractable by something new. My brain is hungry. It likes to learn new things. It can learn new things, therefore it should learn new things, right? I joke that I have only one hobby--collecting skills/learning new things--but that's really true. Once I learn how to do something to my satisfaction, I rarely stick with it very long. I don't have to become expert at whatever it is, just figure out how it works and the theory behind it. Then I move on to the next "new shiny". I have only stuck with a few activities: knitting/spinning, cooking and computer stuff. Perhaps it's because there are things within each of those activities I don't know how to do yet. Right now I'm focusing on knitting lace, exploring vegetarian and whole grain cooking and learning to use the vi editor when editing webpages. I suppose if
Conference Trip Revisited
The highlight for me was finding a Wild Oats market. There is no big health food store like Strawberry Fields or Wild Oats or Whole Foods in my town. Actually, there's no Whole Foods store in the entire state. I decided it would be good to stock up on things I'll use but can't get locally. I picked up some millet, bulk wasabi peas, amaranth, organic shoyu, soba noodles, Odwalla breakfast bars and red miso. I also got some pomegranate-lime juice to have for dinner and breakfast while I was traveling.
Amaranth is a grain which is native to South America and has been grown for thousands of years. It has a very high lysine content, which is important as lysine is an essential amino acid (meaning it can't be synthesized in the body and must be eaten in food instead). I can't decide whether to cook the amaranth into an oatmeal like porridge for breakfast or to put it into a soup or veggie casserole. I'll figure out something later today and cook this evening.
Other food things:
I'm shipping cookies to Mitch for the SCinet setup--chocolate chip cookies made with both semi-sweet and bittersweet chips, plus either peanut butter cookies or oatmeal scotchies. I may ship a second box for the actual conference week. I'm including business cards since a few people asked about how to get in touch with me. It sounds like the people in Mitch's office now ask about "Mary cookies".
Recipes for the week:
Mediterranean lentils and rice, split pea/lentil soup, and some sort of veggie stir-fry or casserole. I've got some frozen veggies to use up. I may also make muffins for a portable breakfast/snack, I just haven't decided whether to make blueberry or millet muffins. I could, I suppose make blueberry-millet muffins. I do need to go buy some salad greens. I've become quite accustomed to having a salad at lunch.
Knitting Update:
I am still working on the Kiri shawl. Unblocked, it's about 12 inches long now. I'm on the 9th pattern repeat now. I think I'll go to 12 to 15 repeats from the top, based on length. I don't know how wide that will end up being. I may end up going further.
I started a pair of socks while at the conference. I started in on the Mountain Colors yarn stash I have. This particular pair is in Weaver's Wool in the color Crazy Woman. I bought it for the beautiful colors, though the name is fitting too, I suppose. This will be my third pair of Mountain Colors socks. They all use the same pattern--Braided Toeholder from 3 Trails Designs. I've got about three inches of the cuff done. I'll post a picture soon. Maybe I'll get the socks done in the next few weeks. I miss not having knitting time at work like I had at Pro. Of course, I have more time which could be knitting time in the evenings, but there are so many other things to do in the evenings. On the other hand, knitting night at the library is in two weeks.
Trivia from In the Actor's Studio today:
Anodyne is Al Pacino's favorite word. No is his least favorite. He'd like to be a good doctor as an alternate profession. The job he'd least like to do (which he's actually even done) is moving furniture.
There are two downsides to this. The first is that I have a hard time taking a break because there is always something to be done and I was taught very clearly as a child that you can't do anything fun if you still have work to do. This may be why I have had two vacations in my adult life.
The second downside is that I keep finding more things to do. This leads to something of a paradox. I have so many choices of things to do that I sometimes get stuck and do nothing. Too many places to start. Too many distractions from other choices. I have lots of half-done things because I get distracted by something else that needs to be done before the current task can be finished or needs to be done simultaneously. This leads to even more half-done things, more mess, more sense of urgency to get things done. Of course, this is not helping me get my garage cleaned out/reorganized.
Part of the problem with finding more things to do is that I am easily distractable by something new. My brain is hungry. It likes to learn new things. It can learn new things, therefore it should learn new things, right? I joke that I have only one hobby--collecting skills/learning new things--but that's really true. Once I learn how to do something to my satisfaction, I rarely stick with it very long. I don't have to become expert at whatever it is, just figure out how it works and the theory behind it. Then I move on to the next "new shiny". I have only stuck with a few activities: knitting/spinning, cooking and computer stuff. Perhaps it's because there are things within each of those activities I don't know how to do yet. Right now I'm focusing on knitting lace, exploring vegetarian and whole grain cooking and learning to use the vi editor when editing webpages. I suppose if
Conference Trip Revisited
The highlight for me was finding a Wild Oats market. There is no big health food store like Strawberry Fields or Wild Oats or Whole Foods in my town. Actually, there's no Whole Foods store in the entire state. I decided it would be good to stock up on things I'll use but can't get locally. I picked up some millet, bulk wasabi peas, amaranth, organic shoyu, soba noodles, Odwalla breakfast bars and red miso. I also got some pomegranate-lime juice to have for dinner and breakfast while I was traveling.
Amaranth is a grain which is native to South America and has been grown for thousands of years. It has a very high lysine content, which is important as lysine is an essential amino acid (meaning it can't be synthesized in the body and must be eaten in food instead). I can't decide whether to cook the amaranth into an oatmeal like porridge for breakfast or to put it into a soup or veggie casserole. I'll figure out something later today and cook this evening.
Other food things:
I'm shipping cookies to Mitch for the SCinet setup--chocolate chip cookies made with both semi-sweet and bittersweet chips, plus either peanut butter cookies or oatmeal scotchies. I may ship a second box for the actual conference week. I'm including business cards since a few people asked about how to get in touch with me. It sounds like the people in Mitch's office now ask about "Mary cookies".
Recipes for the week:
Mediterranean lentils and rice, split pea/lentil soup, and some sort of veggie stir-fry or casserole. I've got some frozen veggies to use up. I may also make muffins for a portable breakfast/snack, I just haven't decided whether to make blueberry or millet muffins. I could, I suppose make blueberry-millet muffins. I do need to go buy some salad greens. I've become quite accustomed to having a salad at lunch.
Knitting Update:
I am still working on the Kiri shawl. Unblocked, it's about 12 inches long now. I'm on the 9th pattern repeat now. I think I'll go to 12 to 15 repeats from the top, based on length. I don't know how wide that will end up being. I may end up going further.
I started a pair of socks while at the conference. I started in on the Mountain Colors yarn stash I have. This particular pair is in Weaver's Wool in the color Crazy Woman. I bought it for the beautiful colors, though the name is fitting too, I suppose. This will be my third pair of Mountain Colors socks. They all use the same pattern--Braided Toeholder from 3 Trails Designs. I've got about three inches of the cuff done. I'll post a picture soon. Maybe I'll get the socks done in the next few weeks. I miss not having knitting time at work like I had at Pro. Of course, I have more time which could be knitting time in the evenings, but there are so many other things to do in the evenings. On the other hand, knitting night at the library is in two weeks.
Trivia from In the Actor's Studio today:
Anodyne is Al Pacino's favorite word. No is his least favorite. He'd like to be a good doctor as an alternate profession. The job he'd least like to do (which he's actually even done) is moving furniture.
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