I know I usually start with a quote and then write about that, but this morning my brain is just full of random thoughts… So rather than start with a quote, I thought I’d just write then see if anything fits it. We’ll see how this goes…
1. I don’t usually talk to anyone until someone else shows up at work – usually around 8 am. By that time, I’ve been up for, well, let’s just say a while. (I get up really really early. It’s an odd quirk of mine and drives my spouse crazy; a topic for another post, to be sure.) That’s not to say that I don’t encounter people, but that I either just say hi, good morning, or say nothing at all. The other people at the gym – I know who they are, I see them almost every day, but we don’t interact other than the occasional comment or wave. I say good morning to the bus driver. I rarely if ever encounter anyone in my apartment complex who’s also up at that time. So by the time someone else gets here who I can have a longer conversation with, well, this introvert is actually ready to talk. It’s interesting – and so different from how my mornings were elsewhere.
2. I had to do a brain dump this morning to remind myself of all the different things and projects and analyses and grants I have going on. I was having a hard time this week remembering where, exactly, each project is, who’s working on it with me, and what the next necessary steps are. It helped, a lot. It also reminded me that I have a lot going on.
3. I can so easily set goals in my professional life; not so much in my personal life. I don’t know why this is. I try to, I really do, and then I usually don’t achieve them. It’s odd. Maybe I just need to try harder? Write a personal to-do list, the way I do with my work-related stuff? I don’t know, but it’s something I should probably work on, as there are things I want to try and change in my personal life. Or, perhaps a bucket list type of approach would work. Hm. I need to think about this one more.
4. 2 vacations coming up with family. I hope I’m ready for this. I’m eagerly anticipating them, but my mother is now involving me in the minutiae and I’m reminded of why I love having her just do things, rather than asking me for my opinion and my input. It’s so, well, easy when someone else does the work. Time to step up, I guess. And time to come to grips with the fact that I actually, despite some major differences, really like my family. I’m lucky.
5. We finally got some good news medically for a family member who’s had some issues recently, which was a huge, huge relief. It seemed like the blows just kept coming, and this was a welcome reprieve. Here’s what’s strange – I haven’t shared this information with anyone. Which is strange, because usually when there is good news I want to share it with at least a few close others, but this time… yeah, not sure why I’m keeping it close, but I am.
6. I love sports. I love watching SportsCenter in the morning. I have a lot of random knowledge of sports, but I never, ever use that information in the rest of my life. It’s like this separate little piece of my brain. One that very few know about it. It’s just another thing that’s weird about me.
And, oh, there, that might be the common thread here. I’m weird. I’m strange. I’m trying to embrace it.
And here’s the quote. I think I used this one before, but it’s still so appropriate.
“I’m fine with being strange, but I’m tired of people telling me I’m strange.” Carolyn Hax (wonderful advice columnist for the Washington Post)