I made good use of my commute time to Washington yesterday. It gave me an opportunity to rework a document on the plane that I had worked on several months ago. It is on the agenda for today’s board meeting. I know what you’re thinking. Your thinking: “If you wait until the last minute, it only takes a minute”. Actually, that’s not what your thinking, but I get your drift. Some would say that I’m cutting it close. However, I don’t recall a time when I’ve failed to cross the finish line with an assignment.
My lifestyle would drive the General crazy. She wouldn’t have gotten on a plane to head anywhere without first having all of her stuff together and neatly organized. Maybe I am the epitome of someone who has never had it all together, but I somehow manage to get by.
I am intrigued by folks who have the skill set to juggle a handful of balls in the air without any falling to the ground. Juggling is obliviously a physical skill that I don’t have the eye-hand coordination to master. I was the kid who couldn’t walk and dribble a basketball at the same time.
I’ve known folks who could juggle and I’ve always wondered how one found the time to learn to do that? I’ve even seen folks juggling while riding a one-wheel bicycle. Actually, that doesn’t sound right. I guess if there is only one wheel, it is called a unicycle. At any rate, that is a feat that few can accomplish.
My freshman year at college, the proctor in the dorm where I lived rode his unicycle up and down the hallway. I always marveled at his ability to balance. Could I ever learn to do that? I’m certain it would be a process of falling off and getting back on until I eventually discovered the process was a lot like dribbling a basketball and walking at the same time. It isn’t going to happen in my world.
Last night, I replayed the last several days over in my head and it occurred to me that my life is composed mostly of living in the last minute. Suffice to say, I have a very full schedule and a very full life. The naysayers would suggest that I’m doing it all wrong.
The General would tell you in a heartbeat that I’m hardheaded. I know myself well enough to know that I’ve only got two speeds. They are off and on. The General insisted I read the book: “How to say No”. I think I did, but I don’t recall the premise. It isn’t within my nature to say “No”. If someone needs my help or if an assignment comes my way, there is only one correct answer and it isn’t “No”.
The biggest challenge for which I didn’t have an immediate answer associated to yesterday was finding a place to get the 12-page document I had worked on during flight printed. I was in the same bind on Sunday afternoon when I looked at the stack of stuff that needed to be duplicated for today’s board meeting.
Consequently, I found the time out of a very full schedule to drive into Austin and park-out at Office Depot for a while. I only needed 10 copies, but it took forever and a day. There was only one employee at the service desk and the lady and daughter in front of me took their sweet time. Would you believe 24-minutes? On the bright side, when it was my turn it was only $.12 a page and $40 plus dollars later, I had all I needed.
Getting to my hotel room late yesterday afternoon, I searched for Office Depot on my computer and discovered there was one on the same street as the hotel. I know – I really do lead a charmed life. What I didn’t know was how to get the file off of my laptop and onto the printer. Surely, they’d have a way, but to be on the safe side, I telephoned to ask.
The fellow who answered the phone didn’t articulate the name of the business when he answered the phone. He sounded like he had just awakened on the wrong side of the bed. Of course the phone had rang several times before it was answered. When I asked if it was Office Depot, he hung up on me.
Maybe the hotel had a business office? I only had 12-pages that needed printing, but I needed 10 copies. The folks were amicable and willing to help. I gulped when they provided me an estimate for the job, but what choice did I have. There costs were double the cost of Office Depot.
A colleague and friend invited me to dinner last night. His hotel was about a mile away. Before answering with a “yes”, I gave it a second thought. I was exhausted. Getting up at 3:30 a.m. has that effect on me. Besides that, it was cold outside. In uncharacteristic fashion, I declined the dinner invited. I opted to have dinner in one of the restaurants in the hotel.
I had a salad and plank salmon. The salmon was cooked on a plank of wood. The taste was incredible. The time-out I took from last night was just what I needed. I am rested and good for the day.
All My Best!
Don