Ever have one of those days, weeks or even months where you are so busy you can barely see straight? Where you absolutely, positively must keep a note pad near you at all times to capture the overflow of thoughts and reminders sloshing around in your brain? Well, I’ve been having an entire season like that. [...]
Archive for the ‘Work’ Category
Operating in a State of Flux
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Change, Expat Life, Expat Transitions & Change, Light Bulb Moments, Work, tagged change, Department of Defense, embrace change, expat transition on July 29, 2011 | 10 Comments »
Once again, Maria over at I Was an Expat Wife has hit the proverbial nail on the head. She wrote a great piece recently Can Previous Expat Experience Help With Adjustment? that I hope you’ll take the chance to read. In it, she examines whether having prior expat experience can affect one’s ability to adjust [...]
Let the (Re)Building Begin
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Change, Light Bulb Moments, Work, tagged bravery, courage, destruction, heroism, hope, Osama Bin Ladin, pain, September 11 on May 2, 2011 | 22 Comments »
I went to bed last night thinking about what I wanted to write here this morning. I awoke to the tumultuous news that Osama Bin Ladin was killed in a firefight with US forces in Abbotabad, a city north of Islamabad, Pakistan. Out went my well-laid plans. You see, this is very personal for me. [...]
Being ‘Outed’
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Change, Expat Life, Family & Friends, Life Balance, Light Bulb Moments, Work, Writing, tagged honesty, judged, privacy, vulnerable, writing on April 27, 2011 | 12 Comments »
When I sat down this morning, I fully intended to write on another topic. I’d been thinking of doing that post for over a week now, and had outlined a few key points in my head. But I won’t be writing about that today. It seems another idea has been camping out in my thoughts, burrowing [...]
The Heavy Beauty of Creating
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Change, Work, Writing, tagged building something, creating something, criticism, negativity on April 16, 2011 | 6 Comments »
‘Griping isn’t the same as creating something. Rebelling isn’t rebuilding. Ridiculing isn’t replacing. We’ve taken the world apart but we have no idea what to do with the pieces.’ Novelist Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club I absolutely love this quote. Why? Because it celebrates the building up, the creating, the fixing in this world. Palahniuk [...]
The Singing Warrior: Niamh Ni Bhroin
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Change, Expat Life, Light Bulb Moments, Work, Writing, tagged Jo Parfitt, Niamh Ni Bhroin, pain, prevailing, The Singing Warrior, vulnerability on April 11, 2011 | 2 Comments »
I often talk about writing, and the fact that I like to work on various writing projects. My credo is: I like all kinds of music. Why should I be button-holed into only one writing genre? One of the things I do ‘on the other side’ is write articles, interviews and the occasional book review. [...]
In the Eye of the Hurricane
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Expat Life, Life Balance, Work, tagged 'to do' list, calm, eye of the hurricane, storm clouds on April 10, 2011 | 2 Comments »
It’s Sunday morning, still early. I’m not really a morning person. (I laughed while typing that last sentence, because I’m not really a night owl either. I have both feet planted firmly in the ‘not too early, not too late’ camp. If I told you when I’d like to get up and when I’d like [...]
Going for the Full 3%
Posted in Expat Life, Work, Writing, tagged internet, research, siren's call, wasting time, writing on April 8, 2011 | 3 Comments »
Uh oh. I think I’m in trouble. Deep trouble. I follow @Quotes4Writers on Twitter, and just read the following anonymous quote: Being a writer is 3% talent and 97% not being distracted by the internet. Damn. Only 3% for talent? I am in trouble. And that’s for the most talented writers out there. So I’m thinking [...]
Expats: Nature or Nurture? Born or Bred?
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Expat Life, Expat Transitions & Change, Family & Friends, Work on April 4, 2011 | 4 Comments »
Several days ago I wrote a post entitled Seven Reasons Not to Become an Expat. It grew out of my surprise about the nature of comments and questions of many aspiring expats on various expat info sites and expat blogs. Don’t get me wrong. I think it’s great to ask questions, and I’m a firm [...]
Resentments Under Construction
Posted in Change, Light Bulb Moments, Work, tagged accountability, expectations, resentments, work on April 1, 2011 | 2 Comments »
This morning I was sitting here trying to get my head around how I would do the seven tasks on my ‘absolutely, have to do now’ list; I estimate it will probably take me about eight (uninterrupted) hours to do them, and do them well. You see, I only have four hours in which to get most, if not all, [...]
UN Reverie
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Light Bulb Moments, Work, Writing, tagged peacekeeping, UN on March 30, 2011 | 4 Comments »
Over the past couple days I’ve been a little out of sorts. Not irritable or cranky, just distracted. I’d been plugging along on prep workd for what I’ll call Project A, trying to get a fair amount done before a crucial meeting (and before the first wave of house guests arrives). I’m really excited about Project [...]
Seven Reasons Not to Become an Expat
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Change, Expat Life, Travel, Work, tagged becoming an expat, expat life, moving overseas, stages of expat transition on March 26, 2011 | 22 Comments »
Many people harbor a secret dream of trading in their current life to become an expat. Making a break and moving abroad. Not surprisingly, the frequency of such dreams tends to spike after you return from a wonderful vacation overseas. Who doesn’t know someone who has sighed and murmured, ‘What I wouldn’t give to live [...]
Adopt-a-Graduate-Student Day!
Posted in Expat Life, Work, tagged grad student, time-to-proficiency study, working expats on March 19, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Okay, that’s not exactly accurate. But I wanted to share a request that, if you’re able to help out with, will make you feel as good as if you’d adopted a grad student. I happened to see a recent article on Expatica about a graduate student seeking working expats for a thesis-related survey on ‘time to [...]
Centraal Station Around Here!
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Culture & Customs, Dutch Life, Food and Drink, Work, tagged Dutch etiquette, koffie met koekjes, landlord, leak, painter, plumber, repairs, water heater on March 16, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
It is absolute madness around here. We’re talking sheer bedlam. So much noise and commotion that it’s hard to think, let alone write. Except that I have deadlines to meet, places I’d like to go, people to see. Oh, and a ton of laundry. Which is a royal pain because the washer/dryer are on the [...]
Busted!
Posted in Dutch Life, Work, Writing, tagged bouquet, deadbeat, pajamas, working on February 17, 2011 | 4 Comments »
Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. It ended up happening this week. I work at home, primarily on my laptop. Two days ago I was juggling a host of projects. Making progress, meeting deadlines, Skyping for a meeting. It was a druk (busy) day. I was getting a lot done, with more to do. [...]
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