SueWorks

A Door

As of tomorrow at 9 AM I will have an office.  I will have a door and a U-shaped return, sorry, no window.  Yet that is.

In 1989 I had an office, a door and a window facing north.  In 1995 I had a cube and large windows facing east.  Now it's 2005 and I get hard walls and a door.  For the most part, enclosed offices have become a rarity in the workplace.  I'm sure there are people who study these sorts of things.  They develop statistics and metrics and more studies about the impacts and the effects of walls, doors and windows.

For my little world, it's causing a bit of a stir.  Three people get happy and two people feel like they are losing a little bit of their security.  It's a long, gory story better suited for my book.  You know, the one I'm writing when I become one of those people who study the statistics and metrics of office space. 

Sue's Office Rules:

1. The door will be open way, way more than it will be closed.
2. My guest chairs will be free of everything except guests' bottoms.
3. I will actually decorate the space (Please help, I have no sense of style.)
4. I know that my new space is both a reward and a responsibility.

Pasta and All Things Good

I love pasta.  I love bread.  I am enraptured of the bread and pasta combination.  Last night I had both, with cream sauce and great company.  We talked about career goals and aspirations, along with olive oil.  Do you think I should bite the bullet and go back to school to be a psychologist? 

My master's degree has yet to pay for itself, at least not the way the school counselors promised.  There are so many things I want to do with my life and going to school is not one of them, not right now.  But each year, about this time, I keep coming back to it.  I know I'm mental enough to really benefit from the extensive psychotherapy most good counseling programs require.  Paying some $50K for a shrink seems a bit extravagant, and I would have to do homework too.

What are your good things and new year goals?

Lost Links and the Best Intentions

It is a very long story, and yes, I do understand how "history" works.  I was working on another laptop and I linked to a site for online/email literacy tutoring.  And now I cannot find the site.  I don't currently have access to the laptop and I thought it would be easy to navigate to the website.  But I can't recall how I got there.

The program is for grammar school aged children in Chicago and Washington, DC.  You have to be FBI screened, read the books and have intelligent online discussions with a youngster from the inner city.  It sounded like a very "easy" way to volunteer. 

My next volunteer foray is into painting.  I'm helping to paint the walls of our local Planned Parenthood office, which reminds me.  I need to be sure messy clothes and shoes are in the car when I leave home on Friday morning.  I also need to pack a tarp for the car, just in case.

Now I don't know how to get to the link.  I googled school literacy programs and Chicago public schools.  I looked at the Best of Blog site.  Still nothing.  I searched through my favorite blogs, hoping to find the link or trigger a memory.  And nada. 

So, if you know of a volunteer literacy program that I can do from the seat of my chair, please send me the link.  Thanks!

Better Late than Never

This is my mom.  She lost weight over the holidays.  If I didn't love her so much I'd really hate her. 

Mom, Keep it up!

The picture is from Christmas day.  There are a few assorted picture in my Photo Album.

New Years, Resolutions, and Happiness

I tried to write my resolutions for this year and nothing came to mind that was actually possible.  Jef Mallett in his Frazz comic defines three types of resolutions:  I will, I wont and Impossible.  All of my resolutions were previously stated resolutions and not just last year but for years before, and nothing has changed.

I should probably not be writing about something so positive when I'm feeling so generally negative.  I was really amazed that I actually got to work on time today.  It was so incredibly tempting to just pull the covers over my head and pretend that I've fallen off the earth. 

Darned, now I'm getting all depressed all over again.  It's not only a new year on the calendar but a new year for me.  On January 8 I celebrate my birthday.  I've told all my loved ones that I want a gift for each day of the month.  I'm not asking for lots of stuff, rather I'm asking for lots of thoughts.  Maybe that's what I should reply when asked about these gift things:  I want you to think about what makes me happy during my birth month and help me get, find, and/or enjoy those things.

So, what makes you happy?