Looking Glass

I attended an Officer's Training for Toastmasters last night in conjunction with my role as VP of PR.  Several people gave an oration of important roles to undertake, in order to enhance a club's success. (Keep reading, I am trying to expand my vocabulary...smile here.) They were interesting and confident during their course, in front of the 30 plus attendees.  I was observing the audience throughout the presentations and came to recognize the impact this type of club has had on individuals. They all spoke of the positive impact the organization has had on their personal confidence as well as growth in their careers. There were a few people who spoke of the fact that their spouses are involved with Toastmaster's. Many couples have worked through the chains of command and are seated at some top positions in the area. I found this very interesting. I know one of my fellow co members belongs to three clubs and is a mentor to another. Now, in visiting with his wife at holiday...

Yesterday I had the need to travel to that small, ole town I moved from. It was a two-fold purpose. I went to review the generation pictures at my friend's studio and since I was in the area, I decided to attend a quick wine tasting event with a friend of mine. The proofing at my friend's studio went well. The wine tasting segment was short, somewhat boring, but nice to see a few old friends and get some hugs. After the wine tasting, I trudged through the grocery store with my friend, then met her at a local bar for a few drinks and a meal. She is a person who, like many, has been friends of mine and the X's for years. She is one whom I have always had truthful, cut to the chase-type conversations with, whether they were happy or sad. The conversation was of normal tidbits of information in order to "catch up", but then, twisted into a somewhat disturbing engagement, while being enlightening at the same time. I imagine the difficulty of following this until I expl...

I have thought long and hard while driving to work each morning and evening. I have found this time to be dangerous. Not due to traffic jams, accidents or road conditions. But, that is when I think the most... in silence, or with a bit of background music playing from the radio. That is when I recognize my thoughts flying through my mind, equal to the speed of the vehicle. That is when I feel time pulling at my gut. That is when I notice facts, figures, faces, failures, accomplishments and such. That is when I notice my mental calendar developing with items to do or things I forgot, places to be and people to see. My calendar of future endeavors, and past circumstances. Sometimes it seems so full, I sigh. Sometimes a smile crosses my face when looking ahead or thinking of a happy moment. Sometimes a ping of pain furrows my brow. Not all of my thoughts are fluid. Some are quite chipped, and only fragments of past times, or pieces of ideas that have not fused together, seem to poke at ...

Flung.

As I sit having my morning coffee and scroll through other people's blogs, of which I have not visited, I am thinking about many things, of the past, of the future. When I traveled to some other blogs, I was hit with appreciation of the talent that graces our computer screens. Wow! How do they create such interesting sites? I was astounded with their creativity. Many blogs are colorful with eye catching backgrounds, customized nonetheless, ads lining the edges, humorous writing, subdued posts, thoughtful advice, knowledge you should know, countless pictures of every subject out there, followers hitting numbers in the hundreds. (I was lucky I discovered how to change my blog background once, and would have to remember how to do it again.) People are amazing, aren't they? Most people have some talent, some attribute, some knowledge, something to share, something to tap into and release from within themselves. I now feel it is a matter of confidence, and not being afraid to let it...

I have been reviewing and thinking, again. Darn thought processes. (frown here). Now the x is starting to post stuff publicly about "her". His Tweet this am said, "Norma, friends and Grey Goose...priceless." I recall when he felt that way about me. I think she owes me big time for putting him through relationship boot camp for 8 years. A trait he had no experience with before me. Why do I keep peeking and putting my emotions through this? I will wise up friends. Enough is enough. It's been months, (wow 8) since our separation, and 5 months since our divorce. Claire, get over it, right? I keep trying and still maintain at most times I am okay. Once in a while, though... I am solidifying my friendships with my new friends at Toastmaster's. Myself and the VP of Membership had a meeting the other day to plan a presentation to introduce a membership drive/contest, to be held for the club. We laughed a lot and came up with a good plan, full of humor of course. W...

I have a few minutes to relax, review and write. This last week has been busy. My job has been challenging of late, trying to restaff many client schedules as many caregivers have been approved for holiday time off. I need to be a more authoritative boss and say no to their requests. That is challenging however, as my team of 80 caregivers are quite wonderful and giving. We want to make them happy. This creates multiple more phone calls for me, and more paper to be pushed when substitute caregivers are scheduled. 2011 will be starting with a heavy hand as my co-supervisor, of 11 1/2 years was given her pink slip a couple of weeks ago. This is due to the WA state deficit of 4.6 billion dollars and the state's need to cut back social service programs. Some of these programs foot the bill for our agency's income. I cannot imagine what the office will be like without her. The Director and Human Resource Coordinator had a meeting with us a few weeks ago to break the news. We were ut...