Day One-hundred-and-forty-two: Down to a precious few

I'm not going to start trying to rhyme my entry titles, although I was pleased to realize that this one did rhyme. (Although it doesn't scan.)

Today also seemed more productive, more like Monday. While I did add a few things that I should do before I leave, I can't do most of them until next week. And "should" is a long way from "must." Of the things that truly must be done, I have only two or three on my current list that can even be done this week. One of them is print my Christmas Letter. I'm going to have to print them in small batches to make sure I don't run out of ink part way through a longer batch and ruin too many. In fact, since I need to sign them, I will be definitely be printing them no later than Friday. Right now I have 91 addresses. I may hand write one as my mailing labels come 30 to a sheet.

I tried an afternoon soy latte again but I don't think it will keep me awake tonight. I have an early day tomorrow and have to be out of here by 9:00 AM. (My early days in my Life after Layoff are nothing like my early days when I was "working for a living.") It's nice to not have to get up by an alarm clock even on my "early days."

I had a decent talk with the person who made Marilyn's last days "living" ones, allowed her to attend her daughter's wedding. He was telling me about a lymphedema sufferer that he was able to help because the patient's therapist learned of him through the Marilyn Westbrook Garment Fund. It is great that there are tangible results and that Marilyn can have this impact, touching even more lives. The founder of the National Lymphedema Network and host of the fund tells me that testimonials, from some of the people who have been helped, are going to be posted on the NLN site soon.

I think when I get back, I will need to do a picture retrospective of all the times that I took a picture of Marilyn's hand. It wasn't nearly as many times as I could have because even I gave up after a while. What I regret most is all of the pictures that I now don't have of her hand and the other pictures I then didn't take.

Day One-hundred-and-forty: Productive Mondays

Wow! I'd be impressed with myself if I hadn't so many other things still undone and less than ten days to do them in. Of course my actual leave date is an arbitrary one but I don't want to waste any of it doing what has become work. Writing this blog is actually a break. While I hate to be practicing on the few readers that may be regularly viewing this blog, and I do get a few emails that reference reading it, it is good practice and hopefully will pay off in other writing, including future entries here.

Once I charge my camera batteries, I may even start including pictures.

Reviews are done. Christmas Letter is in a final draft and with a sample printed on the Christmasy paper. The mailing labels for the addresses I have are typed with the label sheets purchased and ready to be printed. The Christmasy envelopes are ready to be stuffed. My paper is suspended for the time I plan on being gone. My second speech to Toastmasters is written and printed.

Slowly I am checking off more things on my to do list than I am adding and getting the things done that are the least fun and absolutely must be done before I leave.

Today started out great. When I went out to bring in the trash can and recycling bins, there was an unexpected newspaper. Since I don't think my neighbor has started receiving a paper, he certainly didn't get any over the weekend, I assumed it was a bonus for me. So, after I finished up my brownies for breakfast, I took the puzzles and went to the Chat Cafe for a soy latte. Since having a latte in the afternoon proved to be so wakeful through the night, I just had to see if an earlier one has the same effect. I'm not tired yet but it's only 8:30 PM. It may be my excitement at all I've accomplished today. (Ha, ha.) Still, it was a nice morning.

As I was leaving the Chat Cafe, I ran into my CPA. I hope he was right about my tax liability earlier in the year. I will need a good refund to do all I want to do next year.

I have an errand to run and meditation. Hopefully after all of that, I will be able to sleep, but it isn't like I have to get up at a certain time tomorrow. After all, I can still sleep in most days in this Life after Layoff.