A Letter to Myself

I like long plane trips: it gives me time to think and re-evaluate. On the Seattle-to-Midway leg of our trip home from the Vancouver IAGSDC convention, I wrote the following list as a letter to myself. I only now need to invent some sort of time machine for sending email back to myself in, say, 1980 or so...

1. Never speak when angry or upset.
   
2. It's OK to ask for an outside opinion, especially when you're in unfamiliar territory.
   
3. It's OK to say no.
   
4. Listen to your body. It may not comply to your scheduled day but will always win in the end, one way or another.
   
5. Before unleashing your inner perfectionist control queen, ask yourself: is the payoff worth it?
   
6. Procrastination frequently comes from over-committing, a lack of clarity, laziness or fear. Get moving again by identifying the cause and addressing it directly.
   
7. Details matter.
   
8. Being brief & concise is an art. A really valuable one.
   
9. Delegation is good management.
   
10. Self-discipline, preparation and time/resource management are the paving stones of the path to success, whatever your goal may be.
    
11. Truly worthwhile things are rarely easy. Practice matters.
    
12. Be generous with advice but only when asked. And accept that your advice may be ignored anyway.
    
13. Making a mistake is OK. Not fixing it promptly when discovered is not.
    
14. Learn both to give and accept a compliment sincerely and gracefully.
    
15. Surprise a friend by taking him/her out to dinner.
    
16. Forgive enemies and let go of grudges.
    
17. Forgive yourself. In fact, schedule some personal inventory, congrats & forgiveness once per month.
    
18. If you can't remember why you're angry at someone, it's probably time to let go of the emotion.
    
19. An annual emotional housekeeping exercise is a good idea.
    
20. Take a vacation from the Internet periodically.
    
21. Practise saying:
    • I was mistaken
      
    • You're welcome
      
    • I'm glad you're my friend
      
    • I love you
      
    • Thank you
      
    • I'm sorry
    
    
22. Spend time with pets. You are their universe, and they can teach you more about life than any book.
    
23. Time is your most precious commodity. Avoid those who fritter away theirs and yours.
    
24. You are measured by your contributions & company, not your car or possessions.
    
25. Get away from the TV as much as possible.
    
26. Audio books are awesome!
    
27. Have you volunteerred or given to charity this week?
    
28. Every morning, list & prioritize six goals for the day. Be flexible but don't be distracted.
    
29. Nearly everything in life is a choice --including not to choose. Own your decision.

Post-Vancouver Catch-Up Post

I had a fun time at the IAGSDC convention in Vancouver. After all, how could I not? It involved travel (which I love), Vancouver (which I love), reuniting with friends (who I love), being away from work (which I f'ing adore) and being a busy project manager/control freak (which I love about myself).

Yup, total win! :-)

Highlights:

• I got to see bitterlawngnome and danthered for the first time since they moved to Vancouver. And they took us to a fun nearby Indian restaurant. Good times!
  
• I caught up with Dan L., a Vancouver local I know through chorus circles whom I haven't seen in many years. Yay!
  
• I danced as much C2 as I wanted. That is to say, I could have danced a whole lot more but didn't feel pressured to dance continuously and there was always a space for me if I wanted to get on the floor.
  
• I called four scheduled guest spots, all of which went pretty well. I even called two additional tips simply by being at the right place at the right time during unforeseen disruptions to the original dance schedule.
  
• The hotel was very comfortable. Yup, the elevators were a bother sometimes but I quickly learned to prepare & avoid them during the high traffic periods.
  
• We've pre-registered for the Salt Lake City in 2014 (we had already pre-registered for San Francisco in 2013).

As I mentioned previously, I'm now the GCA vice-president. I have some ideas I'd like to implement for the next two years of calling schools but I need to consult with a handful of people first, look through a tonne o' documentation the past VP has sent me and examine thoughtfully the feedback we've received from the latest caller school participants. Then I need to write a proposal, discuss with the GCA board for amendments & feedback, then approach the San Francisco convention host committee and the All Join Hands board for funding. Whee!

Following the convention, we took an evening to visit with tdjohnsn & rlegters in the Seattle area. It's been far too long since we've seen them, and our visit was sadly all too short. We'll have to make up for that somehow.