Day 154

Ok, so it's been almost 2 weeks since my last post. If I don't get back to it now, I might not ever get to 365!

Something learned:

People liked me when I was younger. I had less on my mind, and had more free mental cycles to reach out to people and connect with them. I think since becoming a parent, I've lost all my spare energy, and then some, and have turned into an introvert. I don't really like this side of me as much.

The lesson learned, is that to make/maintain/keep friends, you have to invest of yourself in the friendship, give attention and mental space.

(I'm not sure I know a clever, pithy way to phrase this, but this is the best my tired brain can come up with right now. Some day when I turn this blog into a book, I'll rewrite it in a much catchier way. Heh.)

Something I'd like to get better at:

Finding exercise that I enjoy. I find it so hard to stick to physical fitness. Running worked for a while. Now to run farther, I'm afraid that I need to learn how to run properly or I might injure myself or something.

Today I was thankful for:

1. Getting a medical billing issue resolved in my favor (amazing)
2. Despite horrific traffic, I made it to my destinations on time
3. Kid cheering up halfway through her TKD class
4. Getting a new chromecast for $25
5. Hubby making dinner

Looking forward to:

Dinner at a new restaurant this weekend to celebrate Hubby's birthday

Day 153

Something learned:

Gambling is about buying hope. Games are never set up to benefit the player. O used to say that gambling is a tax on the stupid. But hope can be a powerful thing. Hope of being rich. Hope of being lucky. Or maybe a delusion that you're smart enough to win. I think now that as long as you know what you're buying and you can afford it, why not.

Yes I know that there are ways to exploit games, but that's not really gambling anymore, since there is now the element of extra knowledge.

Something I'd like to get better at:

Remembering people's names. Unless I interact with someone on a daily basis, I tend to forget names. I hate getting stumped in conversation by this.

Today I was thankful for:

1. Finishing my thick novel
2. Yummy buffalo jerky from Barstow
3. Spending time getting to know some coworkers better
4. Yummy seafood at the buffet
5. Watching Cirque du Soleil

Looking forward to:

Singaporean food!

Day 152

Something learned:

It is important to be aware of your own weakness and shortcomings to be able to prepare and compensate for them.

I had an incident today where I overestimated my ability, with disastrous results. I'm really depressed and upset with the world.. but I'll know better for next time.

Something I'd like to get better at:

Keeping the big picture in mind. I focus so much on the details and getting through each day I think I've lost sight of where I'm going

Today I was thankful for:

1. Breakfast with hubby
2. Kim liking the song I chose for the recital
3. Sharon helping me pick up my package
4. Hubby picking up the kid after school so I could work
5. Successful nail art for my trip

Looking forward to:

Reading on the bus to Vegas. Can never find time to read at home.

Day 151

Something learned:

Don't treat people like computers.

I recently wrote a long message to our health benefits team about an insurance issue I was having. It was very detailed and they thanked me. A few messages later, I began to suspect that they had misread the dates I had typed, and the next message from them confirmed that I was right. I should have said something like "Note that the date is 2013, not 2014" even though the numbers were clearly there to be seen. It's only human right?

This lesson has also been learnt over years of trying to understand User Experience and User Interface design. Humans respond differently to different interface design. As a programmer, I've always felt that the most important thing was that the necessary information and functionality was available, not how they were presented. I've come to understand that this isn't true. A bad user interface will break a system.

Treat people like people.

Something I want to get better at:

Be more willing to take on things I don't know how to do.

Today I was thankful for:

1. Husband cleaning out the fish tank and getting a new cleaning system for it.
2. Having a treadmill desk at work so I could take a short walk after lunch while reading.
3. Finding some pain medication in the cabinet after I split my lip open while being a klutz.
4. Husband making dinner
5. Free movie rental

Looking forward to:

Watching a show with friends tomorrow night

Day 150

Something learned:

Delegation is a learned skill. It also means relinquishing control over a part of the process to others. But it's necessary. You can't do everything yourself. I try to delegate at home so that I'm not so busy. At work, without delegation we couldn't work as a team.

Something I would like to get better at:

Not getting distracted. Unless I've set myself a deadline, I feel like I keep straying to other things I want to do.

Today I was thankful for:

1. Seeing an out of town friend visiting at the office
2. Kid's friend's father tipping me off to the kid sneaking around to surprise me
3. Being stopped at the side of the road when a collision happened.. barely 20 feet away.
4. Husband making me a bowl of ice cream and pound cake
5. Getting about 30 items off my todo list.

Looking forward to:

Husband helping me out a little on his days off

Day 149

Something learned:

The best things in life are free. Being remembered and loved. Spending time with loved ones. Wish there was a way to hang on to these moments forever.

Sometimes I wonder if I made the right choice to have a life over more money. Then I see pictures of my family and remember that the answer is yes.

Something I'd like to get better at:

Trying to do less. I'm terrible at keeping things off my plate. My todo list inbox accumulated about 40 items over the weekend since I was too busy to process any of them away.

Today I was thankful for:

1. A Mother's Day card from the kid
2. A Mother's Day card and chocolates gift card from the husband
3. A fun exhausting day at Disneyland Resort
4. The kid saying multiple times that she had a good day
5. The kid buying $3 of sparkly hair bows because she found something in the store that she could afford with her saved allowance. So proud of her.

Looking forward to:

Work offsite later this week.

Day 148

Something learned:

By trying to be the person I want to be, I make it easier to explain to my child the person I want her to be.

I don't know how to justify "Do as I say not as I do". I can justify things that are not appropriate for her though, since she agrees that there are things she doesn't need to know about yet (e.g. war movies). And it's easy to provide examples for various explanations if I'm already doing them and she has seen it (e.g. practicing a new skill)

Something I'd like to get better at:

Developing creativity. I've been so focused on problem solving and skill development for years now, it's hard to remember I ever knew how to create.

Today I was thankful for

1. Hubby taking kid to swim class so I could prep for our trip
2. Trying the little Peruvian restaurant in the neighborhood for the first time and it was good
3. Pool fun with family
4. Yummy shrimp and grits at Downtown Disney
5. Discovering the delightful surprise firework wall in our hotel room

Looking forward to:

Mother's Day in Disneyland!