Well, that makes it easier

This morning I came into work to find out that my co-worker that drives me crazy quit over the weekend. I didn't really expect him to quit; based on recent behavior I thought the company may let him go but I didn't think he was going to quit. I am trying to not be too excited about this and I refrained from a doing a jig when my project manager told me this morning but I am really quite happy about it. One of my co-workers even remarked that he thought I looked more relaxed despite all the work that I have to get done.

I thought God had a lesson there for me to work through, and maybe he did, it just didn't last as long as I expected.

An Overwhelming Task

Sitting next to me is the stack of pictures that I choose to print from my trip to Europe trip. Between the 3 of us we took a little of 2,050 pictures and I had intended to print about 25% of them. Instead I printed 803 of them, or 39%. The pictures create an 8" stack.

I don't intend to use all of them but I couldn't really narrow it down any further on the computer screen. Well, I guess I could have but I didn't bother to add up how many there were until I was done. Now as I look at this stack I find that I the idea of scrapbooking them seems overwhelming.

But I must admit it is not the most overwhelming task I am currently looking at. I have to clean up the spare bedroom which is where I will do the scrapbook and this involves re-organizing the closet in that room. It is a rather large closet and I use it for storage but I have discovered that I am currently trying to store much more stuff than I was when I first moved in 4 years ago so the current organization scheme I was using is no longer working. In doing this I am going to also re-organize my desk and the closet in the hallway. But still I can't really explain why I am more over-whelmed by the idea of an afternoon task than by a task that will probably take over a year (my joke has been 3 years).

Maybe because I am not sure when I will actually have a spare afternoon to work on the closet and the idea of a year whole of scrapbooking is much more fluid. And the obvious that scrapbooking sounds much more fun than cleaning and organizing. Also lastly, because I am no stranger to craft projects that last me years. If you don't believe me stop by sometime and I will show you a few.

A New Attitude

I have heard it said that you can change your own attitude. I have always questioned that to some degree because I have never managed to have a lot of success with my own ability to do that. Or at least not things that I any real strong emotion tied to.

In the last week I have decided that there are two things that I need to change my attitude about, both concerning work. The first will be a little easier - it is my attitude towards working longer hours. I tend to get grumpy about it and make sure that all my friends around me know it when I am. This does not help me get through it and by the time whatever project that is causing the extra hours goes out the door I am pretty cranky in and outside of the office. My course of action on this is to just accept that I have to do and not think about the other things that I could be doing instead of working. And of course pray to stay positive during these times.

The second is going to be harder because it has been festering for a while. The guy who sits next to me drives me crazy. He started in April and about 4 hours after he started I wanted him to go away. Now 9 months later I still want him to go away. He also now he has issues going at home which makes him even more fun to be around. Last week they sent him home for a day, I started to think that maybe I would get my wish. After he returned I decided that I had a horrible attitude to this guy and maybe I should work on changing that. In the last few days I have managed to find some compassion for him in his current situation but I also need to find a way to have a conversation with him. In the past I have either ignored him because I tend to be argumentative with him. I have prayed for him this weekend and I also prayed that I can learn to get along with him. And now I just have to trust in God to have the Holy Spirit work through me because I do not have the strenght or power to suddenly like this guy.

My Christmas Vacation

My company closes the office between Christmas and New Year's so as an adult I still have returned to a life of having a Christmas vacation. So this year for Christmas my brother and his family and I traveled to my parents home is Sarasota, Florida where we had a wonderful week. While a lot of the country, including Denver, experienced the dream of a white Christmas, I thrilled to say that it was in the high 70's on Christmas in Sarasota. In fact we went for a boat ride that included a nap.

The week included lots of reading, sleep, walks on the beach and even a swim in the Gulf of Mexico.

On Sunday I returned to the snow and cold of Denver and tomorrow I return to work. In some ways I am ready to return to the routine of everyday life but I am sad that it is ending. But I am grateful that I had the week off without having to take vacation time.