Is it February yet?
A work in progress
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: South Jersey
Posts: 16,633
Is it February yet?
Oh, man, I cannot WAIT for this month to be OVER.
I took a few days off between Christmas and New Year's, and ever since the beginning of this month, it has been one nonstop, exhausting ordeal after another.
The first week or so of January was pretty much nonstop work on this HUGE work project with a January 26 deadline. The second week (starting with Sunday travel) I was at a training in SC--I got a dispensation to come back Thursday rather than Friday so I could unpack and re-pack for a planned visit with my Dad in AZ and my two boys (who came down from Colorado). I spent almost every waking minute of "vacation" (with the exception of meals and a couple of outings we had planned) glued to the computer as revisions on this major work project flew back and forth with a writing partner who pushed me to the verge of insanity.
I'll spare you the details, but suffice it to say I will NEVER undertake another project of this type with her again. (I can only hope that she found dealing with me equally annoying.) She's actually very smart and I actually am somewhat fond of her, but this was beyond beyond. I counted, from January 1, 249 emails from this one person. And, because of the way things went, I was operating on 4-5 hours' sleep per night.
This continued, once I got home last Thursday, up until we finally had to ship it off this weekend. Of course, in the meantime all my OTHER work had piled up, and more urgent things had to be finished. Squeeze in a doctor's appointment, a dental appointment, and a deposition this week on my lawsuit involving my foundation problem (that's scheduled for Friday this week).
And on top of that, I have to try to find some accounting/bill paying help for my elderly father, as well as work on convincing him to see a physical therapist so he can get a walker (currently refusing). He fell twice while we were there, and almost fell a third time (I grabbed him just in the nick of time).
While I was away, I noticed I was missing a bunch of sent emails in my personal email account. Called the provider to give them a heads up in case I needed to restore them, but nothing they could do till I got home to my personal computer. Came home to find said computer DOA. I took it to the Apple Store and was told the video card had failed, and the repair would be free but they would have to send out computer for a week. I NEED said computer to obtain files relating to my house (lawsuit re foundation issue)--deposition scheduled this week and interrogatories to answer. As I'm leaving the Apple Store (with a new computer, which is still going through the "restore" process), the first flakes of the Blizzard of 2016 started to fall.
The good news is that I worked so many hours while I was away (including the Monday holiday last week) that I didn't have to take any vacation time, and I can use my "holiday" for my deposition Friday. So I've got all my vacation time intact for when I need to go out to see my Dad again--which will be a lot sooner, I think, than the yearly visit I've been trying to make.
And I did have a nice time with my kiddos (though I felt like I was neglecting everybody while I was there)--the boys cooked dinner for all of us the last night we were there and it was WONDERFUL.
I'll just be very glad when this month is history.
I took a few days off between Christmas and New Year's, and ever since the beginning of this month, it has been one nonstop, exhausting ordeal after another.
The first week or so of January was pretty much nonstop work on this HUGE work project with a January 26 deadline. The second week (starting with Sunday travel) I was at a training in SC--I got a dispensation to come back Thursday rather than Friday so I could unpack and re-pack for a planned visit with my Dad in AZ and my two boys (who came down from Colorado). I spent almost every waking minute of "vacation" (with the exception of meals and a couple of outings we had planned) glued to the computer as revisions on this major work project flew back and forth with a writing partner who pushed me to the verge of insanity.
I'll spare you the details, but suffice it to say I will NEVER undertake another project of this type with her again. (I can only hope that she found dealing with me equally annoying.) She's actually very smart and I actually am somewhat fond of her, but this was beyond beyond. I counted, from January 1, 249 emails from this one person. And, because of the way things went, I was operating on 4-5 hours' sleep per night.
This continued, once I got home last Thursday, up until we finally had to ship it off this weekend. Of course, in the meantime all my OTHER work had piled up, and more urgent things had to be finished. Squeeze in a doctor's appointment, a dental appointment, and a deposition this week on my lawsuit involving my foundation problem (that's scheduled for Friday this week).
And on top of that, I have to try to find some accounting/bill paying help for my elderly father, as well as work on convincing him to see a physical therapist so he can get a walker (currently refusing). He fell twice while we were there, and almost fell a third time (I grabbed him just in the nick of time).
While I was away, I noticed I was missing a bunch of sent emails in my personal email account. Called the provider to give them a heads up in case I needed to restore them, but nothing they could do till I got home to my personal computer. Came home to find said computer DOA. I took it to the Apple Store and was told the video card had failed, and the repair would be free but they would have to send out computer for a week. I NEED said computer to obtain files relating to my house (lawsuit re foundation issue)--deposition scheduled this week and interrogatories to answer. As I'm leaving the Apple Store (with a new computer, which is still going through the "restore" process), the first flakes of the Blizzard of 2016 started to fall.
The good news is that I worked so many hours while I was away (including the Monday holiday last week) that I didn't have to take any vacation time, and I can use my "holiday" for my deposition Friday. So I've got all my vacation time intact for when I need to go out to see my Dad again--which will be a lot sooner, I think, than the yearly visit I've been trying to make.
And I did have a nice time with my kiddos (though I felt like I was neglecting everybody while I was there)--the boys cooked dinner for all of us the last night we were there and it was WONDERFUL.
I'll just be very glad when this month is history.
Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 25,373
I would like to vote against email. All emails. It has created an insurmountable amount of ridiculous unnecessary communication that half the time is misinterpreted.
Can we go back to face to face and/or phone calls now? Kthx. This email experiment has been a fail in my opinion.
((Lexhug))
Can we go back to face to face and/or phone calls now? Kthx. This email experiment has been a fail in my opinion.
((Lexhug))
A work in progress
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: South Jersey
Posts: 16,633
See, I prefer emails to phone almost always. I communicate much more efficiently in writing, and phone calls drive me crazy. I hardly ever use the phone.
Cell phones are what I, personally, would legislate out of existence.
Cell phones are what I, personally, would legislate out of existence.
Member
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 2,792
Lexi,
I thought you had gone on a big trip again, as I notice you were quiet. I thought I missed the thread that said you would be away.
Glad you are safe. Take some deep breaths, and get yourself pumped for Friday. Good luck I hope all goes well!!
I thought you had gone on a big trip again, as I notice you were quiet. I thought I missed the thread that said you would be away.
Glad you are safe. Take some deep breaths, and get yourself pumped for Friday. Good luck I hope all goes well!!
Member
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Texas
Posts: 2,872
Aw, Lexie-I hate email...and texting! It's so impersonal (IMHO). I am so old school and just wish I was living in the good old days before technology got so advabced-BUT as I'm writing on this forum learning from all of you lovely people on my iPhone while looking at pictures on my laptop, I see just a little bit of irony in my statements 
Ha! Hope you get some rest, Lexie!
Ha! Hope you get some rest, Lexie!
A work in progress
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: South Jersey
Posts: 16,633
Oh, one other piece of goodish news is that the missing emails were finally found. Long story, but the way I've set up my email is complicated, I accidentally changed some setting, and they were in a different email mailbox.
Say what you will about email, if you use it a lot (as I do) there's a record of all communications, which can come in VERY handy when your memory starts to go (mine feels like it's leaking out my ears right now).
Say what you will about email, if you use it a lot (as I do) there's a record of all communications, which can come in VERY handy when your memory starts to go (mine feels like it's leaking out my ears right now).
Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Midwest
Posts: 11,481
Lexie, I like email too, for all the same reasons you listed and would also second a motion to vanish all cell phones from the face of the earth...
I hope the end of January sees the end of your trials and tribulations!!
I hope the end of January sees the end of your trials and tribulations!!
Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: atlanta, ga
Posts: 3,581
I took a nap after reading about your month!! LOL! Good grief you have been on the go.
I am just like you I do everything I can via email or text. Phone is for personal calls only. Works best for my business as I always have everything in writing. I cannot recall conversations on the phone either - not verbatim anymore. I also schedule off my phone so if I am on the phone speaking and happen to be doing something else at the same time I might forget to add in an appointment. (Don't ask me how I know that).
I am just like you I do everything I can via email or text. Phone is for personal calls only. Works best for my business as I always have everything in writing. I cannot recall conversations on the phone either - not verbatim anymore. I also schedule off my phone so if I am on the phone speaking and happen to be doing something else at the same time I might forget to add in an appointment. (Don't ask me how I know that).
Member
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: UK
Posts: 54
Urgh that sounds like an exhausting time! I hope you can find some time to relax and have some YOU time now.
Email can be exhausting but I quite like it. I'm planning my wedding at the moment and with all the vendors I'm in contact with I'm finding emails so much easier than phone. It's much easier to look back and see what was said/make sure I'm getting everything right. They're exhausting when there's just so many of them though!
Email can be exhausting but I quite like it. I'm planning my wedding at the moment and with all the vendors I'm in contact with I'm finding emails so much easier than phone. It's much easier to look back and see what was said/make sure I'm getting everything right. They're exhausting when there's just so many of them though!
A work in progress
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: South Jersey
Posts: 16,633
These emails each represented an interruption, too, in what I was doing. I'm not a good multi-tasker--I can do one thing at a time, and do it well, but when I'm being bombarded with interruptions (many of which call for a response), it throws me off.
I was just thinking, this morning, though, that I was happy with how things worked out toward the very end. It turned out that somehow this person believed she was in CHARGE of this whole project (she works for a different agency), while I perceived it as more of a shared product. We went back and forth on that for a bit, and I had typed one email spelling out in excruciating detail how I felt about all this--not from an emotional standpoint, but a professional one.
And I didn't send it. Yup, I dropped the rope. So at least the last few days were spent on substantive discussions and not the "but you said, so I thought" discussions. I let her have the last word.
I am utterly convinced that if I had sent that email (and it wasn't nasty, and it was absolutely honest), it would have prolonged the agony.
Another thing (I've done a few things right lately) is that I looped in my Dad's financial advisor (who lives out of state) to help with his accounting/bill paying problems. I'd found a couple of nearby accounting firms that also offer "elder care" services for exactly that purpose. Well, financial advisor emailed me with a recommendation about an accountant who could do his taxes but didn't offer that kind of service. I know my dad--if he already knows/trusts someone (e.g., someone who has done his taxes), he will be much more likely to be comfortable having them help with the bills.
At one time I would have felt compelled to use her guy just because she went to the trouble of finding him. Instead, I thanked her and told her I wanted to talk with a couple of other firms first.
Every so often I notice that I actually AM continuing to grow and to be able to focus on what's best for me rather than pretending everything's OK, deferring to someone else's judgement, or needing to get the last word in so people will agree with me. I'd made huge improvements in that sort of thing already, but as overwhelming and exhausting this past few weeks have been, I'm mostly pleased with how I managed them.
I was just thinking, this morning, though, that I was happy with how things worked out toward the very end. It turned out that somehow this person believed she was in CHARGE of this whole project (she works for a different agency), while I perceived it as more of a shared product. We went back and forth on that for a bit, and I had typed one email spelling out in excruciating detail how I felt about all this--not from an emotional standpoint, but a professional one.
And I didn't send it. Yup, I dropped the rope. So at least the last few days were spent on substantive discussions and not the "but you said, so I thought" discussions. I let her have the last word.
I am utterly convinced that if I had sent that email (and it wasn't nasty, and it was absolutely honest), it would have prolonged the agony.
Another thing (I've done a few things right lately) is that I looped in my Dad's financial advisor (who lives out of state) to help with his accounting/bill paying problems. I'd found a couple of nearby accounting firms that also offer "elder care" services for exactly that purpose. Well, financial advisor emailed me with a recommendation about an accountant who could do his taxes but didn't offer that kind of service. I know my dad--if he already knows/trusts someone (e.g., someone who has done his taxes), he will be much more likely to be comfortable having them help with the bills.
At one time I would have felt compelled to use her guy just because she went to the trouble of finding him. Instead, I thanked her and told her I wanted to talk with a couple of other firms first.
Every so often I notice that I actually AM continuing to grow and to be able to focus on what's best for me rather than pretending everything's OK, deferring to someone else's judgement, or needing to get the last word in so people will agree with me. I'd made huge improvements in that sort of thing already, but as overwhelming and exhausting this past few weeks have been, I'm mostly pleased with how I managed them.
Member
Join Date: May 2016
Posts: 83
Lexi! You're amazing!
I wanna grow up to be just like you!! :-P hahahhahha. But seriously!
"Every so often I notice that I actually AM continuing to grow and to be able to focus on what's best for me rather than pretending everything's OK, deferring to someone else's judgement, or needing to get the last word in so people will agree with me." This is brilliant! And J hope I can say this myself one day! You clearly work so hard a d it is so inspiring.
-> "And I didn't send it. Yup, I dropped the rope. So at least the last few days were spent on substantive discussions and not the "but you said, so I thought" discussions. I let her have the last word"
I'm learning to do this, at the moment, and I am as proud for you as I am for myself, for being able to do this. It really is the best thing in some cases.
Last bit not least, -> "Say what you will about email, if you use it a lot (as I do) there's a record of all communications, which can come in VERY handy when your memory starts to go (mine feels like it's leaking out my ears right now)" thanks for the laugh! I feel the same, leaky brains!
I wanna grow up to be just like you!! :-P hahahhahha. But seriously!
"Every so often I notice that I actually AM continuing to grow and to be able to focus on what's best for me rather than pretending everything's OK, deferring to someone else's judgement, or needing to get the last word in so people will agree with me." This is brilliant! And J hope I can say this myself one day! You clearly work so hard a d it is so inspiring.
-> "And I didn't send it. Yup, I dropped the rope. So at least the last few days were spent on substantive discussions and not the "but you said, so I thought" discussions. I let her have the last word"
I'm learning to do this, at the moment, and I am as proud for you as I am for myself, for being able to do this. It really is the best thing in some cases.
Last bit not least, -> "Say what you will about email, if you use it a lot (as I do) there's a record of all communications, which can come in VERY handy when your memory starts to go (mine feels like it's leaking out my ears right now)" thanks for the laugh! I feel the same, leaky brains!
Last edited by NatashaRomanova; 05-17-2016 at 01:18 PM. Reason: Mistake submitting before finished
Currently Active Users Viewing this Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
