Monday Morning Blues

Back to the grind today. Friday I was out with a migraine – wonky weather I guess, since it climbed to the fifties here over the last week – but today I’m on my game again.

I got some better sleep over the weekend. I can’t imagine what caused my insomnia except for stress, as suggested by my friend Sparkling Red. Good eye, Spark. I’m not sure what I can do about the stress, either, except get it out of my life by finishing the project(s) causing the stress. We’ll see how that goes.

I’ve got a full docket today, which looks something like this:

• Do my weekly reports, due every Monday morning
• Finish a couple of Excel macros and get those out by tomorrow so I’m not behind on my deadline/late (again)
• Do the mid-month metrics reporting for our group, due every month after the eighth business day
• Get crackin’ on the two newly-elevated projects which are ahead of Appmageddon now

So, with all that on my plate, it’s pretty crowded. But I had a good and restful weekend. How about you?

-jdt-

Miss Me?

So, did you miss me yesterday? Didja? Huh?

I bet not. But, because I don’t have anything else to blog about, I’ll tell you what’s been going on with me.

Fast Update

I just wanted to give a quick shout-out here for all my peeps who’ve been worried about me lately.

First, thank you for being concerned, and I felt the prayers and kind thoughts directed my way, believe me. Second, I’m through the worst of the garbage and headed into the home stretch. Third, I may (maybe) have overplayed how bad things were.

When I get in the dumps, things always look absolutely HORRIBLE to me. But when I overcome the first obstacle and start seeing the clear blue sky again, things look up. I should know better than to write and spew during that stormy-cloud time, but I do it anyway. And I should know better than to trust my “feelings” during even the best of times. I’m a bit too manic for that.

Nevertheless, you’re all a great bunch of folk for being so generous with your support, and yes, I really did need it. I thank you for it. I don’t know if I could’ve overcome what I needed to without it, especially from my loving spouse.

We’re good to go, though. I’m ready to face the list of challenges my boss is compiling to give me now. I have a few more changes to make and then I’ll be through with this project, at least for the time being. I don’t know why it’s been so hard, but I do know I need to take steps to right the ship and make sure things don’t get so out of hand again. More on that when I get a firm handle on what to do.

Thank you all again, and God bless.

-JDT-

Paying the Piper

Well, I worked my a$$ off over the weekend and got the danged non-fiction book finished. Finito, done. Uploaded by the love o’ my life, and I don’t have to deal with it anymore. That left me one day to sort of goof-off and laze about and thank God Most High I did, because I paid for my time off today in spades.

Got up at 5:40A, but woke up around 5-ish. Everything felt normal until I got to the office. My day starts with reports which were supposed to be done Monday, but because we were closed on the Fourth like everywhere else in America, I had to do them Tuesday. No biggie, this has happened before. I begin to run the data, and the first thing I get is a Microsoft error message on the web page which is used to generate the data.

What the f…?

Stressful Day

Yesterday was a high-stress affair for me.

I can’t get into the specifics, but suffice to say I worked myself into a complete froth over what will likely be nothing yesterday.  I spilled some of that stress over onto my wife and kids, unfortunately, but they all seemed not to notice.  (I’m not sure how to take that.)

My wife did ask a couple of times if I was okay.  When I told her no, I most certainly was not okay, she asked why.  When I tried to explain ….

I realized how stupid I was being almost immediately.  But man, I couldn’t help it.  I just kept right on being stressed, being frazzled, being worried.  Today, I’m still feeling that way a little.  I played with the kids some and they did great.  I feel bad for being snappy at everyone (which is the sign I’m under some sort of duress), and want to make it up to them today.  I figure some good, quality play time with the kids and pitching in to help Falcon get some computer- and relaxation-time will somewhat atone for my sins, but she’s really lousy at letting me make things up to her.  Here’s hoping.

No one got mad.  No one even said anything.  I spent time addressing one of the areas of stress with Falcon and praying about a big decision causing the stress, and afterward, felt a little better.  Sent an email, did some research … ah, that’s better.  Not relieved of the stress, but it’s manageable from here.

Of course, nothing’s changed in my situation.  I still am not working, and the uncertainties of that remain.  But now I feel today is a day when I can look at a couple of things and take care of them, and get myself into a better place.  I hope.

How about you?  How do you manage your stress, your tough emotional times when you feel caught between a rock and a hard place?  What’s your trick for getting out of the vicious cycle of worry and hand-wringing?

Any tips, greatly appreciated.

-JDT-

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