I’m working on a post in response to a couple of comments received the other day, but I’ve been out of commission for the past couple of days with the godforsaken virus that I’ve been battling. The doc wrote me a prescription for cough syrup with codeine which worked brilliantly for the first 24 hours both at controlling the cough AND turning me into a zombie. Last night was not the same. After 3.5 hours, I was coughing so much I could barely catch my breath. Same thing this morning at about 7 a.m. Even the cats are looking at me with concern in their eyes.

At the moment, however, post two cups of coffee and sitting in a prone position for the last two hours, I’m feeling generally spiffy. If this keeps up, I’ll be in good shape for work today.

Tomorrow, when I have to be in at 8:15? That might be a different story. My colleagues should be forewarned that I probably won’t be conscious for at least two hours after my arrival.

Any volunteers for a designated driver?

Oh yeah, my dryer broke the other day. Cross your fingers and/or offer a prayer to the deity of your choice, because The Boyfriend is going to attempt to fix it today.

More later…..

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It doesn’t take joining a mailing list or reading one of the countless self-help books to know that you’re not alone in the struggle to get (and stay) organized. For starters, if it was that simple for everyone, there’d be no need for professional organizers and I doubt the Container Store would be nearly as successful.

For someone like me, it’s actually not difficult to GET organized. It’s the staying part that’s always been a problem.

Back when I was in college full time and managing the household expenses quite nicely with my late husband’s survivor’s benefits, it was easy to stay on top of things. I was in class when the boys were in school and there wasn’t a lot of opportunity for them to do damage in my absence. Flylady was awesome and I was singing her praises to everyone I knew.

It was a very different story once I graduated and started working full time again.  Two 15-year-old boys can create a large mess in the space of three hours. Add to that their penchant for magically disappearing and it didn’t take long for me to feel resentful.  Flylady’s ideas, quite frankly, started pissing me off. I felt that they were very unrealistic where working moms were considered and even more so when it came to single parents. One can only do everything for so long before one blows her top.

The key to any system of staying organized is keeping it as simple as possible. Unfortunately, for people like me, keeping it simple frequently translates into spelling everything out so thoroughly that it doesn’t require thought. If you’re spelling it all out, you’re adding more work without even realizing it. A lot of people have jumped on the Getting Things Done bandwagon, trying to integrate into their home lives. I read the book and was overwhelmed with the idea of having to think about Next Actions. It doesn’t mean it’s a bad system. It’s just a bad system for me.

I’ve seen discussions on paper vs. electronic organizers. Which one is more effective? The answer is neither, if you don’t use them. Paper planners need to be opened up and electronic organizers need to be turned on. I’ve spent money on both and watched them do nothing but gather dust.

So, how does one do it and stay with it? Hell, if I knew the answer to that, I wouldn’t need to blog about it. Part of the key is understanding how your own mind and body works. For example, I know that I’m not exactly a morning person, but I would much get up earlier to do chores just to get them out of the way. So, if I can’t vacuum the living room because The Boyfriend is sleeping on the couch, it will throw off everything else I’d planned to do and consequently, little (if anything) gets done. And yes, I can hear some of you saying, “I’d just run it anyway,” and yes, theoretically that’s my mentality as well - WHEN I’m on top of my game. But when I’m trying to get there? Any justification to not do something will do.

I also know that when I’m PMSing, I am more motivated to clean. Is this related to the nesting that pregnant women do? Am I the only one who does this?

So, I’m in search of a simple system and the patience to stick with it. I know that I can establish good habits. I do the same things in the same order every morning when I get ready for work. It’s not impossible. But there is a difference. When I brush my teeth, no one else in the house is unbrushing them right behind me. The obstacles created by family members don’t exist beyond someone getting into the bathroom when I’m in the midst of getting ready (and believe me - there is hell to pay when THAT happens).

The system also has to be flexible enough to accommodate a changing schedule. My hours and days off both change according to an academic schedule. It’s not vastly different, but again, for someone like me, even a slight deviation from “normal” can throw off an entire routine.  Throw in a cold like the one I have now, and the best laid plans go right out the window.  It’s really quite depressing at times.

Since the whole point of launching Disorderly Conduct was to blog about (mis)adventures in overcoming these obstacles, I think it’s about time I took a step in the right direction, don’t you?  Stay tuned for more…

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You know that whole post yesterday about feeling better? Yeah, scratch that.

Just cross your fingers that the reason I felt like complete crap today is because all of the dust from our renovation at work. If that’s the case, the next three days off should be just what the doctor ordered.

Off to make some coffee to see if I can open up these bronchial passages a little more and maybe knock off the elephant that’s currently sitting on my chest.

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Yesterday was not a good day. That cold I was trying not to catch came to an abrupt halt right in front of me and I crashed into it at full speed. I spent Tuesday night tossing and turning with a nasty sore throat. Only Advil C&S helped, which then kept me tossing and turning from sleeplessness.

So, I took yesterday off of work to rest. I didn’t really rest though, not until last night. What I did was clean (I hate being sick in a messy house). I didn’t get a lot done, because hello? I didn’t feel well. But it was 90 degrees here yesterday and what I did get done made me sweat.

Last night, I tumbled into bed, still taking the Advil C&S, but this time I was so dang tired I shut my eyes immediately. Though I still got out of bed three times in the night (did I mention I also consumed a LOT of fluids yesterday?), I had no trouble falling asleep right away each time.

Instead of looking at the clock every hour thinking, “Oh my god how will I ever make it through the day tomorrow if I don’t get some sleep??” I was thinking, “Wow, it’s still not time to get up?” At 8 a.m., I was wide awake and feeling pretty good.

Almost good enough to go out and mow the lawn.

Nah. Not that good.

But I am going to do something productive before it’s time to start getting ready for work.

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Things I’m Doing Lately:

1) Working through Eric Meyer on CSS. I’ve known bits and pieces of CSS for quite some time, but nothing like what I’m learning in this book. The book has several projects that you work through, using files that you download from the accompanying web site. I found this recommendation on Web Teacher’s blog and I highly recommend it if you’re interested in learning more. Web Teacher herself has some books that I’m planning on checking out. And she’s going to be in Chicago at BlogHer, so I hope I have the chance to introduce myself.

2) Fighting off getting The Boyfriend’s cold. I’m taking Cold Ease and Advil C&S, and hoping like hell it doesn’t hit me full force. I do NOT want to be sick for the holiday weekend. We have Tigers tickets, dammit! I can’t be sick!

3) Laundry

Things I’m Not Doing Lately:

1) Gardening (although I did pick up these little clay pots with seeds in the dollar section at Target a few weeks ago and now I have at least four little sunflower sprouts popping up. I also had basil and daisies, but Alex who defies the term “graceful cat” knocked them both over and now I have nada. I’m still have some seeds though, so I’m gonna try again.

2) Anything related to the upkeep of my house

3) Anything related to clearing out and redoing JM’s old room so I can move into it.

Lately, finding motivation is a crapshoot. Even moreso when I don’t feel 100%. Hopefully the upcoming long weekend will yield some results. You know, when I’m not at the Tigers game.

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What’s the “best” pick-up line you’ve ever heard?

I was just talking about this the other day to a couple of colleagues and in her latest post, Dawn mentioned the subject.

I’ve been doing quite a bit of strolling down Memory Lane lately, mostly to do with ASP people (and there is a post on them coming soon, trust me). It was when I was hanging out with one of those lovely people, Jen, that this particular event took place.

I was in Cincinnati for a Train concert. We were standing outside the venue waiting for doors to open and being mildly entertained by a drunk. If memory serves correctly, he had a guitar. Someone did.

In any event, at one point he looked me up and down and said, “You are not too fine. You are THREE fine.”

*swoon*

And there you have it, folks. My “best” pick-up line ever. So, what’s yours?

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Hi.

Allergies/possible colds suck. Being tired sucks. Messy houses suck. Lack of motivation sucks.

Upcoming holiday weekends don’t suck.

Baseball doesn’t suck. Cubbies spanking the White Sox doesn’t suck! Go Cubs!

Tigers beating the Cardinals (Boo! Cardinals!!!) definitely doesn’t suck. ROAR! Go Tigers!

Off to the store to buy Advil Cold and Sinus and maybe visit My Dear Friend Wendy to discuss important life issues, such as what to wear to our friend Dawn’s wedding later this summer.

Oh yeah, 74 degree sunny Sunday afternoons? ROCK.

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So, how likely do you think it is for a 40-year-old woman to decide on a career change and a change of scenery pretty much all at once?

Seriously. I think I’ve about had it with this town AND this state. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately and if I ever want to do all the things I’d like to do, I have to make some changes, specifically in my income bracket.

This obviously isn’t something that’ll happen overnight. The downside is that I have an education, but unfortunately very little experience in the field I studied. I’m not even sure it’s what I want to do anyway. I like my job now and I’m paid what I feel the job is worth. And if I were still married and part of a dual income family, we’d be in great shape. Unfortunately, that’s not the case.

So, I have some things to think about and some decisions to make. My job now permits me to take eight credit hours per semester. I guess the starting point is determining what kind of career I want. And that’s the part that makes me feel so inadequate. If I look back on all the past employment I’ve had, the bulk of my experience has been clerical and/or customer service. Frankly, I’m not that interested in either one anymore.

*sigh*

I need advice.

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Yesterday, Mother’s Day, a local restaurant was the scene of a brawl due to a crying child. Read all the gory details.

Call me crazy, but I prefer my holiday brawls induced by too many gin and tonics to be in the comfort of some extended family member’s home - not out in public with complete strangers.

All kidding aside, what the hell is up with all the rudeness?

There are so many ways in which this was handled incorrectly. First of all, parents should realize that when their young child acts up in public, it is their responsibility to correct the situation immediately. If the child can’t be consoled, removal from the situation (out to the car, to the restroom, etc.) is the next step. It should NEVER get to the point where someone else is asking you to quiet your child.  As the parent, you should know better. And I don’t want to hear the “young mom” excuse, because I was 19 when my kids were born and even if I hadn’t had enough sense to know this (which I did), you can damn well be sure my own parents would have set me straight ASAP.

The customer who asked the mom to quiet her child was also in the wrong. Big time. If you’re at a restaurant and there is something that is making your experience unpleasant, TALK TO THE MANAGER. Part of any restaurant manager’s job is keeping the customers happy.

Generally speaking, most people respond to requests from those in perceived authority than they do from perceived peers. If the restaurant manager had approached the woman with the screaming child, the outcome probably would have been different. I say “probably” because as I do think that rudeness is becoming the norm and there’s every chance that this mom would have flown off the handle at the manager. But at least it would have left the other customers out of the situation and mostly likely there’d be less people hurt and/or arrested.

Or maybe my warm, fuzzy imagination is completely out of touch with reality. *sigh*

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The deadline for faculty to submit grades was today and yes… “instructor” dragged it out until the last day.

The final tally:

• Workplace Communications - A
• Digital Imaging - A
• Database Management - A

I’m rather shocked at the last one. For starters, I don’t believe the quality of my work is worth an A. I had solid Bs on both the midterm and the final. He changed the grading scale on the homework assignments at some point, and apparently opted not to grade so much on performance as the syllabus stated he would. Because I know damn well there’s no way I could have perfect scores on the homework assignments where I had unanswered questions. No. Way.

And yesterday, I discovered that he pulled down ALL the posts on the class message board. So, my opinion? He’s covering his ass and hoping that by giving me an A, I won’t go complain to the dean.

Part of me is pissed because while I like getting As, I like EARNING them. And a voice in my head says I didn’t earn an A because I didn’t learn the material. But then a part of me also says that this guy put me through so much aggravation throughout the semester that yes, I damn sure did earn the A.

I talked with co-worker J earlier and she agrees with my one idea that I’ll just let it go, hope the guy doesn’t get hired back to teach again and make sure I review him on RateMyProfessor.com, just in case he does.

Or hope that he at least learns from this experience and actually TEACHES his future classes. He’s young. There’s hope. Either way, this semester has finally been put to bed.

RIP spring semester 2007.

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