Working system

System not working: One minute Val is standing upright getting ready to go out, the next she's on the floor because her prosthetic hip slipped out of joint.

System working: For the first time ever, I dialed 911. The paramedics came. They were kind, capable and effective. Took Val by ambulance (no sirens) to hospital.

System working: The clever emerg doc assessed, advised and performed effectively. The joint was popped back into place (thank goodness for drugs).

We spend a lot of time complaining about our healthcare system, but at times like yesterday I bless Tommy Douglas for universal coverage: At no time did anyone ask us if we could pay, if we had coverage. Everyone simply did their job the best they could. Nothing happened quickly, but it happened effectively.

Let's remember that.

Editing the fridge

A tidy fridge is like a well-written text: elements carefully placed, correctly sorted, well structured. Open it up and you know what you're looking at, what you're getting into: post-modern chaos or zen-like haiku.

Like any text, the content of a fridge can benefit from a good edit, a ruthless sorting, a thorough proofing. Dig behind the mayo jar for the carton of cream, bring it forward, on the right - where the dairy goes. Move the cat food down below, where it belongs - beside the leftovers from (human) dinner. Keep the veggies in the bottom left drawer, the fruit in the bottom right.

Want the yogurt? Check up top on the right. Unless a post-modern user was there before you, in which case it's as likely mixed up in the cat food as it is on the dairy shelf. Makes me crazy!

I like my fridge in haiku form: tidy, clean, spare. My partner favours post-modern chaos: anything goes...anywhere. Sigh.

The solution? I edit the fridge.

Virtually hooked

I tried it. I liked it. I got hooked. I signed off.

I'm talking about the Facebook app World Cafe, which gets you playing at being a virtual chef in a virtual restaurant. All very fun until the pull towards that online spot becomes stronger than the pull out of doors for a walk in the sunshine. Then it's time to quit.

It reminded me oh so strongly of my brief affair with TV soap operas. Oh goodness - I got pulled into that maelstrom more than 20 years ago and found myself bereft at Friday's end when I would have to live with the cliffhanger of a plot (ok, that's a slight overstatement...story, then) until Monday afternoon. Could I do it? Would I make it?

Finally, a decent-paying job came along and saved me. Threw me into an entirely different (so very different?) maelstrom of pulls and pushes and plots and stories.

My online restaurant was fun while it lasted. But now it's closed. Reality 1.0...here I come!

Whuffie

It's a new term I've recently learned: Whuffie. It's about building social capital through online tools. Very interesting. I'm going to see what I can do to explore this concept for myself and build some whuffie for me! Stay tuned for updates. BTW, the author of the book I've been reading is Tara Hunt.

And more!

It just gets better. I came home the other day to a message from the chair of the creative arts department asking me if I'd consider teaching a section of the Freelance Business Management course in the Creative Communication program at the local college. It took me about a nanosecond to say yes. The last five years of my professional life have perfectly prepared me for this teaching...and I cannot wait for it to begin. Yet another excellent payoff for having said no earlier in the year to other offers.

Got there!

Patience pays off if we use the time to persist in our pursuit of what we truly want to do...and achieve. It's mid-summer and I am looking ahead to a fall of work that includes teaching at the local college. Only by saying "No thank you" to offers that popped up along the way have I been able to say "Yes thank you" to the one offer I've been waiting for. It takes real guts to turn down work, but the payoff is real joy - and it's worth waiting for. The biggest challenge is maintaining confidence in yourself and staying focused on your long-term goal. Now THAT'S a full-time job!

Open space with NO

I've been reminded recently of the power of saying NO, even when the offer seems positive. Sometimes we have to say NO to firmly close one door in order to keep another wide open. In these days of seemingly limitless options (even despite the recession), saying NO is a vital skill. Only when we can say NO with intention can we say YES with equal intention. If we only ever say yes...to work, to contracts, to new experiences...we deprive ourselves of experiencing the difference between duty and desire, between reaction and action, between living our life and creating our life. 

Give it a try. Say NO to something today and see what happens in your head and your heart. It may surprise you!