OK - totally the proud mom here - Gym Girl was awesome at her state meet. I have to admit, I like it when she brings home those metals and stuff - when she gets a "State Champion" title, it is pretty awesome. Now that she is competing elite division, there are fewer medals, and each one is VERY well earned. She pulled an amazing bar routine. 9.5 her best score ever, on any event, ever. It only earned her a tie for 2nd - but it was the first time that I have ever seen her happy about her score. Truly proud of her self. She did an excellent routine, corrected all of the glitches that she has been working really hard on at practice, and ROCKED it. Go Girl!
Our gym recieved 1st in level 5 large team. I do not think any of our girls recieved 1st place AA in any division. I may be wrong, I haven't talked to everyone (it is a big team, and we had 5's in probably 12 different age and class groupings), but the 1st place teams shows a quality of dedication, in both athletes and coaches that has to be commended. Our gym is unique in that it is very athlete based, and our girls move up when they are ready to perform the skills, even if it doesn't raise team standings. So we have a whole bunch of consistent, well trained, well rounded athletes, coaches that love them, and parents that are just tickled pink when any of our girls do well.
The life of a gym mom is very very good.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Saturday, April 18, 2009
"No"
It is a pretty simple word. Many people (myself included) find it a very dificult word. We have given it all sorts of weird contextual implications. If we say it, we feel rude. If we say it too often, maybe they will stop asking - and we want to be asked. We get racked by guilt over a simple little one syllable word.
From the other side - it is difficult to ask favors, or to ask people to do more than their share. They say to ask a busy person if you want the job done. But if the person is truly busy - are you offended when they say "no"??? Maybe you feel a little guilty having asked. And what is with the guilt thing?
I took one of those weekend long self-help retreat things a few years ago. You know: the "Rah, Rah, you are a wonderful person, all of these strangers are here for you, get on out of here with your newbie positive attitude. Power of attraction! you go girl!" weekend. I took the class because, quite simply, all of the happiest people I know in Tampa are graduates of this course. It was fun. I didn't get any huge, mind shattering insights. I did not make any life-long, bare-my-soul buddies. I met some interesting people, had some interesting observations. My favorite concept from this class, the one that hit, and I've incorporated is: if you want/need something, you can ask. WHAT? ask? for help? WHAT? The trick, the thing that makes it easy, and kind of fun, is to not be vested in the response.
I learned from my Mom to never ask for help; we are self sufficient farm stock. On the rare occasions I have seen my Mom ask for help, she Really needs help, has exhausted all possibilities, and is VERY vested in the response. If she is refused - which doesn't happen often (you know the whole none of us want to say "no" thing) - she tightens her resolve and becomes even more self-sufficient, closed away, and unwilling to ask. mom - I know you read this, don't take it personally - I'm just using a very close example. But - people LIKE to help. If you ask, with no pressure, you give them an opportunity to show how much they appreciate you, and it is win/win. The old adage "there is no harm in asking" is only true if you are actually "asking." Leave the manipulation muscles out of it.
What about being asked? oh, oh - pick me, I know this one! Where does your response fit into your priorities?
We are smokin' busy at work right now. We therapist are running all over, we are all working overtime, trying to cram patients into non-existent time slots, and across the board all of the teams are not getting therapy evals done in time. So when an eval comes in, the schedulers BEG us to help. The last few weeks I needed the overtime. The next two weeks, I need to have time off for family things and court things. My schedule is FULL. I could put 90 miles a day on my car, get a bunch of new people in, drive all over the place and feel like I am helping. But here is the deal - the therapists that do that are tired, cranky, burned out, complaining, completely unappreciated (the office people still do not have enought therapists to see all of the patients, and now they are not getting their paperwork in time), and stressed. Right now we need more staff. And currently we are all running all over the county. I like to work hard, but I won't compromise care, or my family, and inefficiency drives me batty.
So - my answer is "NO."
Molly - will youNO how aboutNO can I NO there's a newNO.
I have decided that since the system is inefficient, I have to be proactive about efficiency. I only say "yes" if it is in my chosen geography. The thing is, people actually appreciate it. I am seeing more patients than I am required to, I still get my paperwork done in time, I spend quality, productive time with my patients, and when I walk into the office I am relaxed, happy and cheerful. And, as I have explained my reasons, no one has a problem with my No-ness.
Hmmm - try it. It is just one little word - with the power to make lots of people very happy.
From the other side - it is difficult to ask favors, or to ask people to do more than their share. They say to ask a busy person if you want the job done. But if the person is truly busy - are you offended when they say "no"??? Maybe you feel a little guilty having asked. And what is with the guilt thing?
I took one of those weekend long self-help retreat things a few years ago. You know: the "Rah, Rah, you are a wonderful person, all of these strangers are here for you, get on out of here with your newbie positive attitude. Power of attraction! you go girl!" weekend. I took the class because, quite simply, all of the happiest people I know in Tampa are graduates of this course. It was fun. I didn't get any huge, mind shattering insights. I did not make any life-long, bare-my-soul buddies. I met some interesting people, had some interesting observations. My favorite concept from this class, the one that hit, and I've incorporated is: if you want/need something, you can ask. WHAT? ask? for help? WHAT? The trick, the thing that makes it easy, and kind of fun, is to not be vested in the response.
I learned from my Mom to never ask for help; we are self sufficient farm stock. On the rare occasions I have seen my Mom ask for help, she Really needs help, has exhausted all possibilities, and is VERY vested in the response. If she is refused - which doesn't happen often (you know the whole none of us want to say "no" thing) - she tightens her resolve and becomes even more self-sufficient, closed away, and unwilling to ask. mom - I know you read this, don't take it personally - I'm just using a very close example. But - people LIKE to help. If you ask, with no pressure, you give them an opportunity to show how much they appreciate you, and it is win/win. The old adage "there is no harm in asking" is only true if you are actually "asking." Leave the manipulation muscles out of it.
What about being asked? oh, oh - pick me, I know this one! Where does your response fit into your priorities?
We are smokin' busy at work right now. We therapist are running all over, we are all working overtime, trying to cram patients into non-existent time slots, and across the board all of the teams are not getting therapy evals done in time. So when an eval comes in, the schedulers BEG us to help. The last few weeks I needed the overtime. The next two weeks, I need to have time off for family things and court things. My schedule is FULL. I could put 90 miles a day on my car, get a bunch of new people in, drive all over the place and feel like I am helping. But here is the deal - the therapists that do that are tired, cranky, burned out, complaining, completely unappreciated (the office people still do not have enought therapists to see all of the patients, and now they are not getting their paperwork in time), and stressed. Right now we need more staff. And currently we are all running all over the county. I like to work hard, but I won't compromise care, or my family, and inefficiency drives me batty.
So - my answer is "NO."
Molly - will youNO how aboutNO can I NO there's a newNO.
I have decided that since the system is inefficient, I have to be proactive about efficiency. I only say "yes" if it is in my chosen geography. The thing is, people actually appreciate it. I am seeing more patients than I am required to, I still get my paperwork done in time, I spend quality, productive time with my patients, and when I walk into the office I am relaxed, happy and cheerful. And, as I have explained my reasons, no one has a problem with my No-ness.
Hmmm - try it. It is just one little word - with the power to make lots of people very happy.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Random Acts
I love the "Random Acts of Kindness" movement. You've seen the pretty purple bumper stickers - Practice Random Acts of Kindness and Senseless Beauty. The concept got a huge boost in the population at large with the movie "Pay It Forward." (Great movie - but - spoiler alert - very sad! Don't watch it unless you schedule some emotional recovery time afterward). The new insurance commercial, (if I was a better consumer, I'd remember which company), about people doing simple kind acts for each other in a sort of chain reaction - love that, and shows that the concept has hit mainstream.
I, myself, often do nice and unnecesary things for strangers. You, know, opening doors for people, helping people pick up stuff they dropped, letting people in during tight traffic situations. Once I even paid for some guy's groceries because he was obviously on a tight schedule and his paycheck hadn't hit the bank yet - 6:00am on his way home from a double shift, he really didn't need to think about how to get back to the store before he went to work that night. But the acts aren't really random. In each and every incident, I saw a need, and I filled it. I sort of look at these as opportunities to fill my Karmic bank account. And being from a very proud, self sufficient family, I do not take withdrawls from that account. I would never allow a stranger to give me money for something, and if someone helps me pick up stuff, I certainly do my best to pick up MORE, and thank them, profusely, - to prove that I appreciate, but did not NEED their help. Oh no, needing other people? not me. no way.
So - the other day, I was the recipient (victim?) of a truly Random Act. Standing in line at the grocery store express lane, patiently waiting my turn to pay for the few items that were on my list the day before, but I forgot - dammit - don't have TIME to be going to the flipping grocery store everyday! The lady in front of me had a small child with her, used her debit card to pay for groceries. The checker started scanning my things. The lady was still there, swiping her card - odd. The fax machine at work allows multiple faxes and numbers to be entered in succession - I didn't realize that grocery store scanners had gotten so advanced, maybe she forgot to get cash with her purchase? I walked up to the key-pad and started to scan my card - the clerk stopped me - oh no, the lady ahead - she paid for you. WHAT? REALLY?
Now - that was random. As I walked out of the store, I saw her getting her child out of the cart, and started to thank her. She said, "no, no, do something for someone else."
Now I have been charged by the Gods of Generosity to repay an unfathomable debt. I am looking. Looking for the opportunity. Something random. Something faceless. Something that will restore some random person's faith in mankind. Or at least something nice.
I, myself, often do nice and unnecesary things for strangers. You, know, opening doors for people, helping people pick up stuff they dropped, letting people in during tight traffic situations. Once I even paid for some guy's groceries because he was obviously on a tight schedule and his paycheck hadn't hit the bank yet - 6:00am on his way home from a double shift, he really didn't need to think about how to get back to the store before he went to work that night. But the acts aren't really random. In each and every incident, I saw a need, and I filled it. I sort of look at these as opportunities to fill my Karmic bank account. And being from a very proud, self sufficient family, I do not take withdrawls from that account. I would never allow a stranger to give me money for something, and if someone helps me pick up stuff, I certainly do my best to pick up MORE, and thank them, profusely, - to prove that I appreciate, but did not NEED their help. Oh no, needing other people? not me. no way.
So - the other day, I was the recipient (victim?) of a truly Random Act. Standing in line at the grocery store express lane, patiently waiting my turn to pay for the few items that were on my list the day before, but I forgot - dammit - don't have TIME to be going to the flipping grocery store everyday! The lady in front of me had a small child with her, used her debit card to pay for groceries. The checker started scanning my things. The lady was still there, swiping her card - odd. The fax machine at work allows multiple faxes and numbers to be entered in succession - I didn't realize that grocery store scanners had gotten so advanced, maybe she forgot to get cash with her purchase? I walked up to the key-pad and started to scan my card - the clerk stopped me - oh no, the lady ahead - she paid for you. WHAT? REALLY?
Now - that was random. As I walked out of the store, I saw her getting her child out of the cart, and started to thank her. She said, "no, no, do something for someone else."
Now I have been charged by the Gods of Generosity to repay an unfathomable debt. I am looking. Looking for the opportunity. Something random. Something faceless. Something that will restore some random person's faith in mankind. Or at least something nice.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Waylaid
OK - been gone for the longest time. Sort of got thrown into a tail spin in early March - found myself in an emotional spiral over what I percieved as a - I don't know - Betrayal? Abandonement? I actually schedule a counselling session over it, which I then cancelled, because the girl got sick.
Which has kind of been my month. One or more of us have been very ill all month, I have been incredible busy - picking up tons of overtime, working in my little clinic (which I am probably going to close in June), barely keeping up with social obligations and gymnastics doings. Did I mention my stress level? Anyway - things are settling, and I have come to a few realizations:
#1 Being a Grown Up SUCKS! - Now that I am make real money for the first time ever, I have to make decisions. Retirement. Health Insurance. Debt management. When your pay does not cover your basic, necessary bills, the extra money that shows up now and then is like a drink of cold water. You use it, enjoy it, relish in the short lived luxury. Now that my paycheck is consistently bigger than my basic bills I have CHOICES. I could enjoy the money - I could really use furniture that I'm not the third owner of; window dressings; an actual vacation that doesn't involve kid sports, camping or visiting family; or - I could put money into the 401K that my company will begin matching after a year - pay off the credit cards that the darling man used to make the house livable when we bought it, pay on the principal of mortgages and student loans. Responsibility will win - kicking and screaming perhaps - but my sister is a consistent influence, and the original life plan of having the little girl support me in my old age is right up there with winning a lottery. But seriously - making twice the money should not result in zero lifestyle change. At least I'll have some kind of future - and the good new is that I did not invest BEFORE the economy tanked.
# 2 - having people that love you makes up for just about everything.
Easter approaches - last year we fed 97 of our closest friends and family :-), this year we will probably break 100. Plus I have a week off, and since I don't have the kidlet full time, I'll get lots done, and it will be more smooth than ever before. The boy child and his friend cleaned up the yard (for a price - there is always a price) and the "sorta daughter" cleaned my house today (pretty), so I believe I'll be all ready.
So that's the recap - I'll be glad when March is behind us. April looks to be much brighter!
Which has kind of been my month. One or more of us have been very ill all month, I have been incredible busy - picking up tons of overtime, working in my little clinic (which I am probably going to close in June), barely keeping up with social obligations and gymnastics doings. Did I mention my stress level? Anyway - things are settling, and I have come to a few realizations:
#1 Being a Grown Up SUCKS! - Now that I am make real money for the first time ever, I have to make decisions. Retirement. Health Insurance. Debt management. When your pay does not cover your basic, necessary bills, the extra money that shows up now and then is like a drink of cold water. You use it, enjoy it, relish in the short lived luxury. Now that my paycheck is consistently bigger than my basic bills I have CHOICES. I could enjoy the money - I could really use furniture that I'm not the third owner of; window dressings; an actual vacation that doesn't involve kid sports, camping or visiting family; or - I could put money into the 401K that my company will begin matching after a year - pay off the credit cards that the darling man used to make the house livable when we bought it, pay on the principal of mortgages and student loans. Responsibility will win - kicking and screaming perhaps - but my sister is a consistent influence, and the original life plan of having the little girl support me in my old age is right up there with winning a lottery. But seriously - making twice the money should not result in zero lifestyle change. At least I'll have some kind of future - and the good new is that I did not invest BEFORE the economy tanked.
# 2 - having people that love you makes up for just about everything.
Easter approaches - last year we fed 97 of our closest friends and family :-), this year we will probably break 100. Plus I have a week off, and since I don't have the kidlet full time, I'll get lots done, and it will be more smooth than ever before. The boy child and his friend cleaned up the yard (for a price - there is always a price) and the "sorta daughter" cleaned my house today (pretty), so I believe I'll be all ready.
So that's the recap - I'll be glad when March is behind us. April looks to be much brighter!
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Almost State Champions
Freedom High made it all the way to the championship play-offs - go Patriots! The game was intense, our boys were (dare I say?) out-played in the 1st half, and it appeared that the refs were a little biased. In the second half our boys ROCKED. Especially Ian. I'm not a bit partial. There was one goal made, lots of really good defense happening, but not enough to make up for the first half struggles.
Ian was adorable. (I know 18 year old "men" are not adorable, more bad-ass in a fun-loving sort of way, but adorable, in my book). He was totally working the crowd. Freedom would make a great play, the crowd would cheer, if the cheering started to lag before the ball went back into play, Ian would signal us to keep it up. Plus - he plays some kickin' hard defense. I wouldn't want to run into him at top speed. The girl took her camera - most of the pictures are, of course, of Ian. I'll try to post on Facebook later today.
I have not been to very many soccer games, they usually conflict with gymnastics. Last night we should have left early, because 10:30pm is too late for the girl with an early gym meet this morning. But we stayed, and I have to say, I'm glad its over, 'cause I'm not sure how many obnoxious parents at soccer games I want to deal with in my life. It was bad to the point of laughable bizarre. I had no idea I was taking my child to an "R" rated event.
The fans for PHU (Palm Harbour University) were obnoxious, but I couldn't decipher most of what they were saying. Some of the Freedom parents were totally over the top. The guy behind me kept screaming at the Refs to put on a skirt. I thought the word "Pansy" was out-dated, but it got a revival last night. "Pussy" is still popular. "Girl" is apparently the worst possible thing to call a soccer boy. And, when a player gets injured, and the coach comes onto the field to assess his injury, he probably does not need public encouragement to give the kid a "BJ" while he's there. The standard obscenities were used.
We watched part of the game ahead of us, and there was one security guy watching the game. Our security guy watched the crowd, and after the 1/2, we had two, carefully watching the crowd. There were no post game issues, but from the size and unruliness of the other fans, a different result in the game may have made a messier outcome.
I am now less critical of gym moms. During moments of frustration, there is a lot of muttering, usually directed at the child that is not performing as well as the mom expects. Sometimes I pounce on the offending parent, but it is relatively harmless, unless they forget that the video camera is running, with full sound. Seriously, even the worst gym mom that I know is not as hard on her child as the girl is on herself. And the parents do keep it at a low mutter, and for the most part we all trust our coaches and let them do their job - which includes disputing scores, so we are not screaming obscenities at the judges.
I'm wondering what the effect would be to bring the soccer culture to a gym meet. "Hey judge - what was THAT? why don't you put some pants on?" "You little pansy - you flip like a BOY." "Hey strap on a penis and go play football, you Wimp." Somehow, I think I'd probably get thrown out. My daughter would never speak to me, and her friends would no longer be allowed to visit.
Wish us luck today. Off to prepare for the gym meet.
Ian was adorable. (I know 18 year old "men" are not adorable, more bad-ass in a fun-loving sort of way, but adorable, in my book). He was totally working the crowd. Freedom would make a great play, the crowd would cheer, if the cheering started to lag before the ball went back into play, Ian would signal us to keep it up. Plus - he plays some kickin' hard defense. I wouldn't want to run into him at top speed. The girl took her camera - most of the pictures are, of course, of Ian. I'll try to post on Facebook later today.
I have not been to very many soccer games, they usually conflict with gymnastics. Last night we should have left early, because 10:30pm is too late for the girl with an early gym meet this morning. But we stayed, and I have to say, I'm glad its over, 'cause I'm not sure how many obnoxious parents at soccer games I want to deal with in my life. It was bad to the point of laughable bizarre. I had no idea I was taking my child to an "R" rated event.
The fans for PHU (Palm Harbour University) were obnoxious, but I couldn't decipher most of what they were saying. Some of the Freedom parents were totally over the top. The guy behind me kept screaming at the Refs to put on a skirt. I thought the word "Pansy" was out-dated, but it got a revival last night. "Pussy" is still popular. "Girl" is apparently the worst possible thing to call a soccer boy. And, when a player gets injured, and the coach comes onto the field to assess his injury, he probably does not need public encouragement to give the kid a "BJ" while he's there. The standard obscenities were used.
We watched part of the game ahead of us, and there was one security guy watching the game. Our security guy watched the crowd, and after the 1/2, we had two, carefully watching the crowd. There were no post game issues, but from the size and unruliness of the other fans, a different result in the game may have made a messier outcome.
I am now less critical of gym moms. During moments of frustration, there is a lot of muttering, usually directed at the child that is not performing as well as the mom expects. Sometimes I pounce on the offending parent, but it is relatively harmless, unless they forget that the video camera is running, with full sound. Seriously, even the worst gym mom that I know is not as hard on her child as the girl is on herself. And the parents do keep it at a low mutter, and for the most part we all trust our coaches and let them do their job - which includes disputing scores, so we are not screaming obscenities at the judges.
I'm wondering what the effect would be to bring the soccer culture to a gym meet. "Hey judge - what was THAT? why don't you put some pants on?" "You little pansy - you flip like a BOY." "Hey strap on a penis and go play football, you Wimp." Somehow, I think I'd probably get thrown out. My daughter would never speak to me, and her friends would no longer be allowed to visit.
Wish us luck today. Off to prepare for the gym meet.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
One man's meat . . .
I was listening to some talk radio thing the other day on the subject of food, sort of. The guest was suggesting that we should change how we define food. Some sort of calorie to nutrient ratio to meet the criteria "food." So, veggies could still be food. McDonald's french fries would not be food. Even a big mac would probably not meet the mark.
Just think; junk food, candy, soda - no longer food. It could be regulated, controlled, and taxed like cigarettes and alcohol. Maybe we would begin to see a trip to the local fast food dive in the same light that we now look at ice-cream shops. "No, honey, you can't have chicken McNuggets, it will spoil your dinner." "Maybe after dinner we can run over to BK for some fries."
Of course if we actually followed this advice, the food industry would add enough "nutrients" to meet the criteria. We already have "vitamin waters" and herbal sodas, it would not take much to get the chemical composition of our junk to have the legal mix of nutrients. So that wouldn't really change anything. What if the criteria had to do with number of steps away from a live food source - so that overprocessed ingestibles would not be considered food.
Would we have a limit on the amount of controlled ingestibles allowed? What about open containers in our vehicles? Government sponsored rehab programs for those with serious non-food ingestible addiction?
We already have enough crazy laws telling what we can or can't do or eat, or enjoy. What we don't have is enough education and cultural reinforcement to prioritize good nutrition over convenience and "taste." I also think that high salt, fat and sweet foods do not necessarily taste better, but they have those basic qualities that our primitive bodies interpret as "good." In fairly recent evolutionary history more calories meant healthier. Our bodies have not caught up to our knowledge, and our will-power is caught in the middle.
So have a nice big bowl of steamed veggies for dinner, berries for desert. And maybe a whole bag of Cheetos as your non-food treat.
Just think; junk food, candy, soda - no longer food. It could be regulated, controlled, and taxed like cigarettes and alcohol. Maybe we would begin to see a trip to the local fast food dive in the same light that we now look at ice-cream shops. "No, honey, you can't have chicken McNuggets, it will spoil your dinner." "Maybe after dinner we can run over to BK for some fries."
Of course if we actually followed this advice, the food industry would add enough "nutrients" to meet the criteria. We already have "vitamin waters" and herbal sodas, it would not take much to get the chemical composition of our junk to have the legal mix of nutrients. So that wouldn't really change anything. What if the criteria had to do with number of steps away from a live food source - so that overprocessed ingestibles would not be considered food.
Would we have a limit on the amount of controlled ingestibles allowed? What about open containers in our vehicles? Government sponsored rehab programs for those with serious non-food ingestible addiction?
We already have enough crazy laws telling what we can or can't do or eat, or enjoy. What we don't have is enough education and cultural reinforcement to prioritize good nutrition over convenience and "taste." I also think that high salt, fat and sweet foods do not necessarily taste better, but they have those basic qualities that our primitive bodies interpret as "good." In fairly recent evolutionary history more calories meant healthier. Our bodies have not caught up to our knowledge, and our will-power is caught in the middle.
So have a nice big bowl of steamed veggies for dinner, berries for desert. And maybe a whole bag of Cheetos as your non-food treat.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Bees and Buttocks
Bees are industrious creatures. As individuals they are single purpose driven creatures without individual thought; as a colony they are an amazing, adaptable organism accomplishing task much larger than any individual bee could concieve of. The most amazing thing is that there is no single nucleus of control in the colony. The queen does not direct the motions of the workers, they work as a unit.
From a distance people may look like colonies of bees, especially city dwellers. Often I have found individuals to be disorganized purposeless drones going about their mindless tasks with little thought. OK - that is harsh, but rarely do we work as a collective, and what labor we do mindfully is rarely for the greater good of all human-bees. Plus, for most of us there are many locus' of control that get diluted into stranger and stranger disorganized jumbles by they time they get to us. We are constantly caught up in the bizare mindless "because that is the way we do it" of work, school, government, church, family, volunteer organizations, etc.
I am a good worker bee. I HATE inefficiency. I have been accused of being lazy, never by patients, or supervisors, or anyone directly involved with measuring my productivity, but by people (friends, lovers, coworkers) that observe my activities, without any knowledge of the result. I am amazed by people that use a 20 step process to do what I can do in 3 because "it is the right way."
Paper work is a good example. I do as much as possible as soon as possible. In other words, I know that when I discharge a patient, I have to write a comparison of where they were at evaluation and discharge, and if they have met their goals. So - when I do an initial evaluation, I fill out the "at eval" section of the discharge summary. When I do the discharge, I fill out the new information and: DONE. I do my notes as I go. I don't think I have ever had anyone wait for paperwork from me. Why waste their time? I have to do it eventually.
Although you would never know it looking at my car or closets - I am incredibly organized, especially when it comes to time. Pathologically early. And when I have built in free time, I don't fill it up looking busy. Disorganization in a structure that I did not create is very hard for me, and I have learned over the years that in general, people would rather complain about the "extra work" than do anything to actually eliminate it. So - with all my extra time, I will breathe, and meditate on bees.
From a distance people may look like colonies of bees, especially city dwellers. Often I have found individuals to be disorganized purposeless drones going about their mindless tasks with little thought. OK - that is harsh, but rarely do we work as a collective, and what labor we do mindfully is rarely for the greater good of all human-bees. Plus, for most of us there are many locus' of control that get diluted into stranger and stranger disorganized jumbles by they time they get to us. We are constantly caught up in the bizare mindless "because that is the way we do it" of work, school, government, church, family, volunteer organizations, etc.
I am a good worker bee. I HATE inefficiency. I have been accused of being lazy, never by patients, or supervisors, or anyone directly involved with measuring my productivity, but by people (friends, lovers, coworkers) that observe my activities, without any knowledge of the result. I am amazed by people that use a 20 step process to do what I can do in 3 because "it is the right way."
Paper work is a good example. I do as much as possible as soon as possible. In other words, I know that when I discharge a patient, I have to write a comparison of where they were at evaluation and discharge, and if they have met their goals. So - when I do an initial evaluation, I fill out the "at eval" section of the discharge summary. When I do the discharge, I fill out the new information and: DONE. I do my notes as I go. I don't think I have ever had anyone wait for paperwork from me. Why waste their time? I have to do it eventually.
Although you would never know it looking at my car or closets - I am incredibly organized, especially when it comes to time. Pathologically early. And when I have built in free time, I don't fill it up looking busy. Disorganization in a structure that I did not create is very hard for me, and I have learned over the years that in general, people would rather complain about the "extra work" than do anything to actually eliminate it. So - with all my extra time, I will breathe, and meditate on bees.
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