26. Strange day. 27. Some traction

[Jay Ey]

What, what a strange day was yesterday.

* I was all prepared for an important meeting with the client at noon, with a "pre-meeting" with colleagues scheduled for 10. I had finished a new version of a presentation I had "in the can" as well as a draft of a working document that was good work. And I wasn't up late into the night finishing it and worrying about whether it was good enough.
* I went to an unrelated early morning meeting. Then went to Starbucks to check my e-mail. Starbucks was giving out samples peppermint mocha coffee in tiny cups with about 1/4 coffee and the remainder whipped cream. What's not to like? Well, basic physics. As I was drinking, the cream shifted espresso poured out & onto my shirt.
* My colleague canceled the 10 am. A vote of confidence perhaps, but we also hadn't touched base in more than a week, while she was on vacation.
* After working in the bathroom on the toxic waste spill on my shirt, I decided to go home & change. Luckily, home is only a 15-20 min. bus ride.
* My client's colleague calls & had goofed up--she was supposed to move the meeting along with another she had moved. They will take place in a couple weeks. All my anticipation and preparation were in vain for the day--luckily I just took it in stride.
* Here's where it gets even weirder: I decide while I'm laundering my shirt that I should clean the lint from my dryer. The directions say that it is a fire hazard. Somehow I get myself over the top & behind it and vacuum it out. After living here 7 years, it wasn't bad at all. No crisis in the professional or personal life today.
* Weirdness ensues. I check my e-mail and my colleague has said to stop the presses on my work. Her boss is with the client and they are cutting budgets as much as they can. (I use the term colleagues here, though I'm really self-employed contracting to them to serve a Fortune 500 with them, whom I call the client). Looks like I may be out of any cash flow again, though they are still working on a new budget.
* I decide to get out of the house and join a friend at a "green" business presentation. The presentation wasn't too enlightening, but they actually had very good food and a free drink coupon with the $5 entrance fee. Can't beat that, especially in this time of declining business! Better yet, there were two very fun, very cute, very smart women that I chatted with for a long time after the presentation. My mood was great, and the friend I met there was nice enough to say goodbye and leave me to them.
* I was feeling very manic when I got home. Hopefully I won't fall into depression to complement that.

And so, yesterday was probably an indicator of a roller coaster ride ahead, with a depressing economy, but hopefully at least one if not two chances to have drinks with each of the two women.

What I gave
* I was able to prepare for the meeting with minimal drama.
* I put myself out there with the two cuties.
* I was able to "just do it" and get a minor household chore done in a spontaneous way, despite having a lot of inertia over most household tasks.
* Today, I set-up my bike rollers to exercise on my bike indoors and did it for about 25 minutes. I also found motivation: I have the last season of "The Wire" on DVD and I'm only going to watch it when I'm exercising. I feel good that I got myself to do aerobic exercise (usually my favorite anyway) and my body feels good & relaxed as a result. Hopefully it will also help my sleep, which hasn't been fantastic lately.
* I forced myself to get out of the house to work on writing a business plan. It's FREEZING in Chicago--I dragged myself to the closest bar, ~half a long block away, and had a rum & worked. What I got done on paper (or on pixels, in this case) wasn't fantastic, but the fact that I moved the needle even a little was progress.
* Today I also wrote to each of the cuties, saying what a nice time I had had with them and asking them for a drink.
* I'm getting better again at eating right, and I've gotten back into the habit of making a smoothie each day to consume more fruits.

What I received
* The net of the professional situation is that I did good work & even if I don't get any more, the gig paid my mortgage for most of the year. I worked with a large B2C company on internet-related work, both of which I wanted to get back onto my resume.
* The two cuties responded well to me being myself. I have to stop myself to realize this/appreciate it and not let myself diminish it if it doesn't extend to dates with them.

What else?
* I've been procrastinating again about writing in my journal, doing affirmations & working on my negative thinking. This isn't a healthy way to make progress, but I'm noting it. And writing this long-winded (or long-fingered) blog is halfway to doing my journal.
* I'm a little discombobulated here, but I guess it's par for the roller coaster ride.