The Sprint Begins
If you hear loud, panicked screams coming from the direction of Ventura County over the next couple of months, it's probably me.
Over the next ten weeks, my life will be dominated by two major endeavors, neither of which I'm really sure how I'm going to pull off. Over the next ten weeks in day-job land, I have to get the company ready for the big transition audit to the latest version of the ISO9001 quality standard. That would be a challenge under normal circumstances, but these days we've got a new General Manager we're all still adjusting to, projects that are behind schedule and other things happening that I won't go into details about. The bottom line is that everyone is already busy and would just prefer that I get the company through the audit for them. But quality systems don't work that way any more, so I've got to find a way to hand-hold everyone through the process.
Meanwhile, my publisher Royal Fireworks has started an Online Learning program, and they asked me to do a six-week "Middle School Math Review" class based on my Mathematical Nights books. It's a good idea, and under the right circumstances it could even be fun - but as it is, I have no idea what I'm doing. Not just with the mechanics of coding and uploading the course material, but with writing the lessons themselves. I'm just guessing at the right number of problems to have the kids work on, how hard they should be, and stuff like that. The first lesson needs to be posted tomorrow, and I've been having performance anxiety/fear of failure nightmares about it all week.
So why am I here blogging if I have so much to do? Because writing about it is one of the best ways I know for dealing with it. Trust me, I'll be in better shape once I've gotten out some of the anxious uncertainty I'm feeling.
Also, here's an inspirational turtle.
When I saw it on Lake Manitou last week, I dubbed it "Big Softie," because... well, it's big and it's a soft-shelled turtle. Not my most imaginative moment, but there you go.
As I pedaled my little boat up to the log it was sitting on, all the other turtles that were sitting there skittered off and into the water, but this one stayed put, letting me get close enough to take its picture several times. When it finally did go into the water, it was in an unhurried manner, as if it was simply tired of sitting in the summer sun and was ready for a dip.
We should all take a lesson from Big Softie, and not let ourselves be spooked when the unknown appears in our lives. The next ten weeks are going to be crazy, and you might not see me online very much, but I will get through them. And you'll get through whatever's coming your way, too.
Catch you on the flipside.
Over the next ten weeks, my life will be dominated by two major endeavors, neither of which I'm really sure how I'm going to pull off. Over the next ten weeks in day-job land, I have to get the company ready for the big transition audit to the latest version of the ISO9001 quality standard. That would be a challenge under normal circumstances, but these days we've got a new General Manager we're all still adjusting to, projects that are behind schedule and other things happening that I won't go into details about. The bottom line is that everyone is already busy and would just prefer that I get the company through the audit for them. But quality systems don't work that way any more, so I've got to find a way to hand-hold everyone through the process.
Meanwhile, my publisher Royal Fireworks has started an Online Learning program, and they asked me to do a six-week "Middle School Math Review" class based on my Mathematical Nights books. It's a good idea, and under the right circumstances it could even be fun - but as it is, I have no idea what I'm doing. Not just with the mechanics of coding and uploading the course material, but with writing the lessons themselves. I'm just guessing at the right number of problems to have the kids work on, how hard they should be, and stuff like that. The first lesson needs to be posted tomorrow, and I've been having performance anxiety/fear of failure nightmares about it all week.
So why am I here blogging if I have so much to do? Because writing about it is one of the best ways I know for dealing with it. Trust me, I'll be in better shape once I've gotten out some of the anxious uncertainty I'm feeling.
Also, here's an inspirational turtle.
When I saw it on Lake Manitou last week, I dubbed it "Big Softie," because... well, it's big and it's a soft-shelled turtle. Not my most imaginative moment, but there you go.
As I pedaled my little boat up to the log it was sitting on, all the other turtles that were sitting there skittered off and into the water, but this one stayed put, letting me get close enough to take its picture several times. When it finally did go into the water, it was in an unhurried manner, as if it was simply tired of sitting in the summer sun and was ready for a dip.
We should all take a lesson from Big Softie, and not let ourselves be spooked when the unknown appears in our lives. The next ten weeks are going to be crazy, and you might not see me online very much, but I will get through them. And you'll get through whatever's coming your way, too.
Catch you on the flipside.
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