Didn't Quite Reset

Return to OLLI.  Return to household activities.  The final three days of each month I allow myself recovery time from a dedicated treadmill schedule.  New month, new half semester.  Week off to a reset that didn't happen.  Not restored by travel, deferring meal preparation to somebody else, relaxation at a hotel, or new experiences sampling new wines and brews.  Not at all the restored New Me.

Still, upcoming tasks return with me.  At least they are foreseeable.  Two Torah readings, my Birthday, Pesach, resumption of an exercise schedule that has gone well.  Plumbing repairs, decisions on this spring's garden, more OLLI.  I can wedge in a platelet donation.  Some legal loose ends.  Some financial loose ends, resumption of writing that has languished.  Indeed, the rest of my semi-annual projects, only one fully completed in the first quarter of the calendar year.  Nothing beyond my capacity, though I wish the week's reset had been more effective.

Late Year Swoon

Final work day of calendar year.  A few loose ends, really nothing that cannot wait until the next calendar year.  Then I start having some Musts.  IRA withdrawals, a court date.  Some medical care.  And some Like To's.  A short trip, resumption of OLLI, next entry to Voices of UD contest, alleviating Loneliness, visiting some new places.  And some Should Do's.  Public writing, tending to house, telling My Story.

The transition of the calendar year can be a useful demarcation point, which may be why half my Semi-Annual projects have that as the start date.

It's been a tough exit to the closing year, though still with its share of accomplishments.  But time for a new set of Semi-Annual projects and a new commitment to completing them.

Sidetracked

Thanksgiving break has arrived. My OLLI Classes have suspended, In college Wednesday would have been a travel day.  I think public school still had classes on Wednesday but intercity travel, particularly air travel for family to assemble, was much less common than now.  Instead, Thanksgiving break has become a multifaceted demarcation point.  For some it is time off, for others seeing people not seen in a while.

My own interlude may need to focus on getting back on track.  Since my trip to Europe at the end of he summer, many of the other things I intended to do over this semi-annual cycle have found their way to the back burner.  I've done virtually no public writing, little focused reading, not been pursuing the home upgrades I thought I had aspired to, not engaged with friends as I might have.  Much of this purposeful activity found its way to screen time, those Twitter sinks or Reddit where at least my contributions are useful to other people.  I have had guests, even devoted some attention to the kitchen as I will for Thanksgiving, but at the cost of other things.  So the Did Instead wasn't nearly as valuable as what I had set out to do.

Some things have retained consistency.  Exercise goes mostly on schedule.  I get medical care largely as I should.  I have paid attention to finances and age related transitions.  But too much has gotten sidetracked with inadequate return on effort.

Thanksgiving, wife birthday, a couple of receptions, Hanukkah.  All purposeful.  Screen time, not adequately purposeful.

Editing Non-fiction Manuscripts

Latched onto my Writer's Group last week.  Read a manuscript, as my printer failed.  Roundly critiqued to where I understand professional editors all declined it.  Too long.  Parts did not fit together.  While perhaps a masterpiece of thought, it was not a masterpiece or reading.  Yet the critiques were much appreciated for their objectivity and candor.

I have a lot more to edit.  But submissions are among this cycle's Semi-Annual projects.  The composition keeps my mind agile.  My spirit would be better if it were shared with readers, but that takes a measure of discipline and compliance with the rules that the different potential destinations have.  If that's what it takes, that should be what I do.