Havi at The Fluent Self has a wonderful habit (among many) of checking in with herself every Friday, to reflect on how the week went. I like it. I don’t have a better name for it, so for now I am stealing quietly borrowing hers. You will see me borrow a lot of her practices, because she has wonderful practices that are worth adopting.

So, let’s begin!

The Hard Stuff

Medication weirdness. For reasons that are mostly my own fault, I missed a couple of days of medication last weekend. My body is still adjusting. Tuesday was particularly bad – chest tightness, panic, panic about chest tightness, the usual. Note to self: don’t do that again.

Missing sleep. I am still trying to figure out what to call this monster that keeps me from going to bed at bedtime. I’m not usually doing anything productive or entertaining; it’s more of a zone-out. If I don’t get my hours, after a couple of days of build-up, I find myself dizzy, irritable, and unable to focus. Plus I overeat. And don’t exercise, because I’m too tired. We’ll have a conversation about this soon, my monster and I.

Hurry up and wait. I am still adjusting to the role of Producer at work, after having been an in-the-trenches Programmer for the last decade. Mostly, I really enjoy it. I feel like my work enables the people actually working on the games to do their work. I get to rally the troops. I get to make lists (I lurrrve lists). I get to plan parties! The hard part is that, since so much of my to-do list involves communicating with outside people, I end up waiting. A lot. I frequently look back on a day of work and can’t point to anything tangible that I’ve done, besides send a few e-mails and talk on the phone a couple of times. I’ve been told that “hurry up and wait” is the heart of a producer’s job. I guess I will just continue adjusting, then.

Game Industry Night. This monthly event that I organize is generally a good and fun thing, but I am a pretty committed introvert, so I have to work myself up to being comfortable around a large group of people. It worked out in the end (see: The Good Stuff), but there was a not insignificant amount of dread in the days beforehand.

The Good Stuff

Playing Dress-Up! This was seriously one of my favorite games as a kid, and though I can’t role-play for shit, wearing costumes is still awesome as all get out. I had a big breakthrough this week (Havi-inspired, of course) where I realized that I could use costumes as a tool to get things done! These are not big elaborate costumes (although they could be) – just symbols of an activity that help set boundaries and align your mind with the project you’re working on.

Project #1: house-cleaning. I put on my handmade apron, the awesome yellow one with pink and orange polka dots, and – blammo! – I was Martha Stewart. Two hours passed in a heartbeat, and all of my anxiety about having a messy home was gone. Dot is now my Apron of Craftiness!

Project #2: networking (blegh). Getting myself psyched up for Game Industry Night was not easy this month. I needed to be ready to meet and greet old friends and new, and it just did not sound exciting to me. I costumed up with my Painted Nails of Handshaking, and – excelsior! – I was ready! I felt professional, I felt dressy, and ready to attack the party!!

Game Industry Night! Thursday’s Vegas GIN mixer #2 was a great success! Once I got in the mood to play with everyone, it was easy. We had about 50 guests, I think, and everyone seemed to be having a good time. I am already hatching devious plans for next month’s event, *insert evil laugh here*.

Objectives Devious* Plan-Hatchery

Blegh. Objectives sounds so cold and business-like, but I really do want to add a section for looking forward to next week. I need a list.

More of Dot, the Apron of Craftiness! I’ve had serious blockages around being crafty when my house is a mess. If I can just get back to a state of normal, I’ll be able to sew! knit! plant! organize! improve! I don’t want to be stressed about it, though. I want to be like Martha Stewart, or better yet, Mary Poppins!

Be Outside! This Sunday is supposed to be quite the cold spell for Vegas in August – a chilly 90 degrees! Must take advantage. I’d love to finally get out on my bicycle (and not get killed by crazy Vegas drivers).

Dance! Ballet always makes me feel wonderful. Wonderful and tired. And sweaty. But mostly wonderful. I get to stretch, I get to focus, I get to revel in the music. I would like to dance not once, but twice this weekend.

Cook! Now that my refrigerator is all cleaned out, I want to fill it with good things. Simple things. Things that are all the best thing ever. I want to prepare them with love, and then eat them up. Anyone want to come over?

*Maybe devious isn’t the right word. I’m not evil; I am really quite a nice girl. I want to make things better. I want to have fun doing it. Mischievous? I’ll keep looking. Suggestions welcome.

Have a great weekend!!