But, really, the dog comes first
Posts tagged 12 in 12
12 in 12: Part 3 and a Soapbox
Feb 1st
Waaayyyy back in September, I said I’d read 12 books in 12 months from a long-standing To-Read pile.
5 months in; this is Book 3 (but only the 2nd posted review. Because I’m lame like that I keep meaning to finish the first review but it’s really hard to concentrate with Ned chewing on my toes.)
(Ned, for any newbies, is a cat.)
For the record, I’ve been reading this book for at least 2 months and I’m not going to be as diligent with the next one that becomes a slog this bogged down. I’m letting myself go find another book – right after I place the offending volume in a box for donations. (I have a very hard time not finishing a book – long history. So I need to put this out there: I do not have to read everything.)
I did HAVE to read this: My Land and My People: the Original Autobiography of His Holiness the Dalai Lama of Tibet, 1977.
The bad – There are lots of names that don’t sound familiar to my ear and make the story hard to follow. There are lots of place names that aren’t familiar to my ear and I had to go look them up.
This may be just me – I studied a good bit of Chinese history in college so there were things I thought I remembered, and had to check; blah blah.
The Good: The Dalai Lama shows incredible restraint throughout the book. He is gentle and compassionate. He presents a simple story — a personal and historical account of his childhood and education in Tibet, and the events leading to subjugation of the Tibetan people and his subsequent exile.
I heard someone, just this week, refer to “Chinese Tibetans” and I thought “Wow. When did we (the world) accept the Chinese invasion of Tibet as “normal”? (See Wikipedia for a quick history.)
The Dalai Lama has written much since this first book. I wanted to read his first take on the situation. The situation is Tibet is tragic and wrong; and yet he keeps his very gentle soul.
Ten on Tuesday: The Freaking Out* Edition
Dec 14th
*a.k.a. The To-Do List edition
Although at least two people subscribe to the theory that secret is to cross things off faster than you add them; this theory is suspect as neither person has mastered the technique.
And this theory runs counter to the (profitable) teaching of David Allen (of Getting Things Done fame), who maintains (among other things) that the secret is to write the next smalltinymanageable step on your list. (If you don’t know what that is; the next step is to ask for help.)
With that in mind (ha!)
1. Finish New Year’s Resolutions (accounting: 7 items — 2 completed, 1 disappeared (done!) and 1 in (continual) progress. Does this count as a win?.)
2. send holiday cards (first step: acquire holiday cards:
3. Send Legal Interlude Thank you notes (Accounting: I’m not late. I hear I’ve got a year. Rationalization: I was waiting for those cool new red dishes to arrive get photographed to include a picture with the note. Step 1: done!)
(People: is it confusing for thank you’s and holiday greetings to arrive at the same time? Should I write but not post till after New Year’s?)
4. finish holiday baking (Accounting: I’ve made 2 batches of toffee and 2 batches of fudge and the mutant melted snowman cookies. That leaves gingerbread cookies, macaroons, poppy seed bars and 2 versions of chocolate cookies to go. And two pecan pies and two three two pot lucks.)
And Dude says to me this morning (at 6 a.m.) “Can I bring something to my holiday party?”
Note to non-bakers in any family: the time to ask is NOT 6 a.m. (My biggest hurdle was traveling containers – but he drives into work (shortest commute evah) and this wasn’t a big deal for him.)
5. Find the winter gear (and who gave Mother Nature permission for this much cold, this early in the season?)
In the David Allen world, the next step might be: look on the spare bed (and I am only brave enough to post that, because kmkat did):
5a. research dog booties (poor pooch stepped in the road salt this a.m.)
6. finish red gloves (the only hold up is wanting to document. Either the pix work after this post, or they don’t. Gloves will be done tomorrow (I’ve got a dentist appt/extra long train ride.)
7. Post another 12 in 12 review
8. start holiday wrapping (finishing wrapping would be o.k. … desirable, even.)
9. go for a run (done!)
10. Take pix for this post (done!)
p.s. #11: Dude
