Just when I thought I wouldn't post anything this evening....

I could only think to write about not being able to write. I could write, I thought, about the book discussed at a book group I attended this evening, but I was too tired to be interested. Or I could write about a comment made there about how reading when you're going to discuss a book makes you read in a different way. I thought about how blogging does the same, but I wasn't going to say that in this group. Maybe I'll write about this some other time. I could have written about how blogging regularly was one of my resolutions, but I've failed miserably so far. Blogging once every 14 days was not what I had in mind. I could have just posted "I'll be back sometime. I promise." but that does seem rather dismal, doesn't it?

I was ready to shut off the laptop.

Then I thought about how last year, when my doctor gently told me I needed to lose weight, I asked him how much. This doctor is a 20-yr acquaintance; I knew he would be truthful, but kind. When I heard his whispered answer, I almost burst into tears. Not wanting to be embarrassed at crying over the shocking truth, I smiled and asked him whether I should accomplish this goal by amputating my left or my right leg. He is kind and a good doctor, but I'm not sure that he understands my sense of humor. Maybe I imagined it, but I think he actually rolled his eyes. I left the office and did nothing about my health. Then, following an accident, with my foot immobilized for 6 months, I was able to add significantly to that total.

I don't want to write about my battle with blubber, or how I'm failing all of my New Year's Resolutions. This isn't a New Year's Resolution, but a health resolution. Now that I can wear shoes that tie and walk more than 10 steps, I know that I need to take action about my health. I can't just try some gimmicky psych-out move, like thinking that every bite might kill me. Each unnecessary bite will shave more time of my life expectancy. I do plans for many things but you won't read this plan here, not even if Bloglily asks me to. I have (I can't believe I'm writing this) dubbed this effort the 100/50 plan. This year my doctor told me not to think about the total because I'd be too overwhelmed; rather, he said, set a goal each week of losing 1 lb. But, what do I do immediately? Calculate minimum number of weeks needed. The good doctor's motivational point was lost. But it is not needed. I am determined: 100 lbs by my 50th birthday. Without losing any valuable and necessary body parts and without surgery. 93 more to go. Don't expect me to write about this much here.

So what do I really want to write about? Perversely, this evening, I want to write about food. I saw this meme on Ted's blog. Why do I want to do this? Because it's 12:30am and for the first time in 2 weeks, I am hungry!

What did you eat/drink today?
Lean turkey breast, rye bread, milk, coffee, water, olives, almonds, lots of lettuce, more water, tomato, orange, blueberries, yogurt, a smidgen of cheese, more water, hummus, chicken, brocollini. Topped off with multivitamins and pharma-grade fish oil and more water.


What would you never eat/drink?
Eggplant. Do not tell me that I'd like it if only it were cooked a certain way. I will not. I also will never like peanut butter. Do not come within smelling range of me with an open jar. I will gag. Really rare meat. Cheap wine.

Favorite failsafe think to cook (if you cook) or defrost if you don't?
Pasta with marinara sauce. May be replaced with egg white omelets with fresh veggies and herbs.

Complete this sentence: In my refrigerator, you can always find.... Olives, mustard, pickles, leftovers that should have been thrown out last Tuesday, if the college kid is home, some sort of empty container.

What is your favorite kitchen item?
I love my large Le Creuset stock pot. I also am quite fond of my cooktop and the fancy-smancy coffee maker that froths milk. The acquisitions board tried to veto the purchase of both of these items, recommending less expensive substitutes. Admitting my fondness for these items in writing may cause me more grief than publicly stating I'm going to lose 100 pounds. Now that I think about it, I thought the stock pot was too extravagant too.

Where would you recommend eating out -- either on home turf or elsewhere?
In Indianapolis, R Bistro and Shanghai Lil's. Both are great independent restaurants with amazing food, friendly wait staff, and run by women chefs.

In Chicago, my favorite restaurant is Russian Tea Time. I love the beet caviar! Red Light is also great.

In New York, Haru for sushi. Roberto's Passion on 9th (around 48th?) for a relaxing, quiet Italian dinner at a reasonable price, Bistro 1018 at 110th & Amsterdam for a nice expense account meal. Walk down the street afterwards to Hungarian Pastry Cafe.

The best restaurant meal I've ever had was in Giverney, France at a little place away from the tourists. I think it was called Les Jardins. A lovely place for a leisurely lunch after touring Monet's gardens (skip the smaltzy house tour).

World ends tomorrow. What would you like for your last meal?
To hell with the diet -- ice cream, pasta, hard cheese, a New York Strip, Boeuf Bourguignonne, cheese cake, McDonald french fries, chili, oysters, chocolate, curry, my mom's tuna noodle casserole. Can I have two days notice, please? To drink: a few of my dad's whisky sours. Unless St. Peter greets me at the Pearly Gates saying: Your dad is right over there near the golf course. He has a whiskey sour waiting for you.

Survey Says....

The results from the Favorites of 2007 Survey have been compiled. As I did last year, I found the results surprising and interesting. A total of 12 different people replied, although not all completed every question.


1. Favorite Fiction Read in 2007 (12 responses)

- Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince & The A-List series.

- Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go. I loved Ishiguro's take on a science-fiction topic -- who would have thought a book about clones would be so beautiful?

- Is it too trite to say Margaret Mitchell's GONE WITH THE WIND? I was so, so surprised by it, not expecting to like it anywhere near as much as I did.

- Of Human Bondage, Somerset Maugham

- The Oasis

- A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini

- Goldberg: Variations by Gabriel Josipovici - A favourite because it expanded my ideas of what fiction could be.

- The Thirteenth Tale, Diane Setterfield

- Spook Country, William Gibson

- The Forsyte Saga, John Galsworthy


2. Favorite Non-Fiction Book Read in 2007 (11 responses)

- James Boswell's Life of Johnson. This biography captured not only Johnson, but the 18C wonderfully well.

- That's a really, really tough one, but I think Rose Macaulay's PLEASURE OF RUINS just squeaks by (by a hair) Vicki Constantine Croke's THE LADY AND THE PANDA.

- The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins

- Light on the Hill, by William D Snider

- Black Dog of Fate, Peter Balakian

- Demons and the Making of the Monk by David Brakke - A well-written, excellently researched, entertaining book about spiritual warfare -- often literally. Who could not love a book that combined philosophy with monks and demons duking it on a monastery terrace or at the bottom of a well in the desert?

- Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters

- The Wild White Swan by Jiyu-Kennett

- Fathers and Sons, Alexander Waugh


3. Favorite Author Read for the first time in 2007 (11 responses)

- Stephenie Meyer & Zoey Dean

- Gabriel Josipovici. Goldberg: Variations was an amazing novel.

- Armistead Maupin, no question or tough choices there.

- Richard Dawkins

- Wilson Crawford

- Khaled Hosseini

- David Treuer - His book enthralled me from start to finish. Outstanding. It was hard not to give his book to the top spot in "favourite fiction".

- Neil Gaiman

- Richard Morgan

- John Galsworthy


4. How many books did you read this year? (11 responses)

<10 0% (0)

<25 9.1% (1)

<50 27.3% (3)

<100 54.5% (6)

I was suppose
to be counting? 9.1% (1)

Books? 0% (0)


5. Favorite Daily Read (11 responses)

- Time & Nylon magazines, Stephanie Meyer, & perezhilton.com

- Tales from the Reading Room. The blog is always smart and the blogger always gracious.

- Ian's Blog. I'm biased. He's my brother, and it's a great way to keep up with each other, as we each lead such busy lives. But I know I'd read him everyday, even if he weren't my brother, because he's just so damn funny and such a talented writer.

- A Fraternity Of Dreamers Kookiejar discusses books and pop culture...what's not to love?

- http://progresscity.michaelcrawford.com/

- That's a hard choice, but probably Dovegrey Reader Scribbles.

- The Sharp Side I am guaranteed to learn something new, whether it's an "outmoded" author or a political issue overlooked by the media, and it's always told in the most spirited, engaging manner. Excellent stuff.

- Fraternity of Dreamers It's a favorite because I can count on her to post every day, because she post a lot of interesting tidbits besides just her book reviews, and because she's funny and smart.

- Very unfair to pick one but I've learned more from Achelois than almost any other blog - always funny and often challenging.

- Telecommuter Talk - with QC Report a close second, this post in particular. Both make me laugh and brighten my day.


6. I like to read blogs about.... (10 responses)

- The book industry 20% (2)

- Soon to be published books 40% (4)

- Literary Criticism 50% (5)

- Reviews of Books read 70% (7)

- Blogs that summarize and
link to other posts 20% (2)

- Reviews printed in newspapers first 0% (0)

- Some book news and reviews, but
other topics too 80% (8)

- Other (specific answers below) 30% (3)
**Cooking and recipes
**life, parenting, music, politics
**Whatever my favourite bloggers write about


7. Favorite Commenter (9 responses)

- Danielle, A Work in Progress. She asks great questions and makes great observations.

- Mandarine

- Jenclair, from A Garden Carried in the Pocket

- Stefanie at So Many Books

- Sylvia, from A Classical Bookworm - she's never afraid of challenging my views.

- Litlove, at Tales from the Reading Room. Her comments are insightful on other people's blogs, but I especially love the comment conversations on her blog.

- God! That one's too difficult.

- Emily, who lured me into this whole blogging thing in the first place.


8. How often do you post to your blog? (9 responses)
- Every Day 11.1% (1)

- 1-2 Times/Week 22.2% (2)

- 3-5 Times/Week 33.3% (3)

- A few times a month 0.0% (0)

- Infrequently 0.0% (0)

- Whenever I have something to say 33.3% (3)


9.Favorite Reading Meme or Challenge (7 responses)

- The Outmoded Authors challenge received 3 votes. Comments included:

I've really enjoyed which is getting me to read authors that are new to me

So far I have loved everything I picked up; and the posts by other bloggers completing the challenge are inspiring me to so many other authors too.

- TBR Challenge

- Russian Reading Challenge (but I guess that one doesn't count for 2007 yet. ;-) ) In 2007 I didn't participate in any challenges.

- The Great Imperative Meme

- The songs we sing meme


10. How has blogging changed the way you read this year? (# of books, type, etc.) (7 responses)

- I have read more books than ever before because blogs keep me focused a bit more on reading than I was before.

- I read more carefully, always mindful that I might want to post about the books I'm reading, which I didn't used to do, paying attention to quotable material. Blogging hasn't changed the number of books I actually read, but it's certainly changed the number of books I add to my TBR list.

- I'm reading more authors from other countries.

- I guess for me it's the other way around: reading changed the way I blog! I started a separate litblog this year besides my already existing blog. I wanted to blog about books and reading, my one lifelong passion.

- I've begun to search for and read Jamaican novelists for the first time! I'm very pleased about that.

- I've gone out and bought at least one book I wouldn't otherwise have.

- It has broadened my reading, and encouraged me to read more critically.


Thanks to all --whether identified or not -- who completed the survey.

The Participants (who identified themselves in blog comments):

Dorothy W., Of Books and Bicycles
Emily, Telecommuter Talk
Myrthe, The Armenian Odar Reads
Dewey, The Hidden Side of the Leaf
Imani, The Book of My Numberless Dreams

Happy Holidays!

Psst! I'm away reading.

Mysteries: Help

Phone conversation today went like this:

Me: What can I get D for Christmas?
L: He's been reading a lot recently.
Me: READING?! Something other than the sports page?
L: Mysteries. Murder Mysteries. Thrillers. Political intrigue.
Me: You mean I should buy him books???
L: Or a gift card to the bookstore. He said recently I didn't have anything interesting to read. I told him it might be a novel idea if he bought some books for himself.

Thus started a holiday shopping trip in which I went searching in the last place I expected for a gift for my older brother.

I don't read murder mysteries. I haven't a clue what to buy. He's read everything by John Grisham and David Baldacci. Recently enjoyed Acts of Treason by Vince Flynn. I was totally perplexed at the store. This isn't my category.

Mystery and thriller fans: Any suggestions?

Maybe it was easier when I could pick him up anything at the Golf Superstore

Favorites Survey 2007 Still Open

Too many things happening last week and business trip this week have meant that I haven't had any time to post here or read any of my favorite blogs this week. Skipped work today so that I could walk around the city and enjoy New York at Christmas time before flying out tomorrow. Hope to be back posting frequently soon, though it might not be too frequent until after the holidays.

In the meantime, just wanted to remind those of you who haven't completed the Favorites of 2007 survey that it isn't too late to do so. You can complete the survey here. 10 brief questions about your favorite books and blogs of this year. If you want to be included in a list of respondents, leave a comment on my blog. The survey will remain open until 12:01 am on 12/31. Results of the survey will be posted 12/31.

Tools of the Trade for a Project Manager

Alice came to the fork in the road.
"Which road do I take?" she asked.
"Where do you want to go?" responded the Cheshire cat.
"I don't know," Alice answered.
"Then," said the cat, "it doesn't matter."
- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

The lovely Lily tagged me and many others for input on how they plan things in their lives in general, and how, like BlogLily, we might be planning things -- do we dare say it: a survival plan -- for the holiday season.

I've pondered for a few days how I might approach this post. I was stumped. What could I say about my personal plans? I deal with professional plans daily, but cannot share them. Nor would I want to even if I were not so constrained by all sorts of legalese from doing so.

So I thought I could share with you a few valuable tips for planning in general, and the holidays -- or any stressful period -- in particular. Like a good project planner, I must tell you up front: Communication is key. In this particular instance, communication is in written format and it is imperative that you read to the very end of this post. If you cannot do that, then skip to the bottom and read the last paragraph. If you cannot even do that much, well if I haven't lost you yet, feel free to leave.

1. How do I plan? I am a great sequencer. I loved to alphabetize in first grade. I used to write step-by-step manuals for exciting manufacturing processes like operating plastic extrusion machines or welding evaporator fins on refrigerators. I love it when system analysts and software engineers draw flow charts and UML diagrams. (Psst: trade secret. Many don't, unless management makes them!). I love to make lists of things to do in order. And I like marking those items completed.

2. But, before one can made a sequenced plan, one has to gather your information. Brainstorm. Research. Take notes. I spoil myself -- even for work -- by using paper & pens that I like. At work, that means indulging in buying Moleskin Notebooks, the larger 5" x 8.25" size. Squared, not ruled. I sometimes think that I like the squares because it will be easier to draw flowcharts. See # 1 above if you wonder how often I do that. More than the remote possibility that I might need to freehand a flowchart, I like these because I've never been able to write within the lines. Those nuns in grade schools were unable to correct that. Tsk. Tsk.


3. Sometimes at work I use a neat software tool for brainstorming and organizing my thoughts. I have only used it twice for non-work projects -- last year when I traced the spread of the poetry meme (see here), and this week, for this post. (Note: I'm not selling anything.) MindManager lets you record your ideas and then organize them. Different people do mindmaps in various ways. I've seen this used in writing classes. I like it because I can easily rearrange and categorize items. Since I started using this, I've taken fewer pictures of my white board with my phone. I think it mimics the non-linear way that I think and helps get all the pieces on paper so that later I can put them in order -- like a puzzle. I did a map to show you as an example. This is the beginning of my task list for what I need to do to have new carpet installed in my house: 6 rooms, 8 closets, too many heavy items to be moved.



4. Once I have my ideas on paper, I can group them together. I have numbered the different clusters in my map, but I don't care if they are in numerical order. By looking at this drawing, I can see where I have the most tasks. That might be the most time-consuming, but that isn't always the case. The map gives me a pictorial representation of where much of my energy will need to be directed. I can take a step back from this and make a decision that the carpet won't be installed this month. My 'resources', aka husband and college-student child, have too many other activities this month. I can't get the job done by myself. It doesn't need to be here before January. I can breathe a sigh of relief.

5. From here, I can put this into a a sequential project plan. If it were a work project, I would assign resources, schedule the amount of time, specify deadlines, indicate milestones. A project plan is not only a good tool for those doing the work, but it can be used to communicate to others what needs to be done and where you are towards meeting your goals. There would also be lots of other documentation -- communication plans, risk plans, training plans, resource plans.

At home, I don't schedule things. But, I do make lists. I might place a list on the fridge. I might think of this poem when I see the list:

This is Just to Say
--William Carlos Williams
I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

I would be reminded that my fridge notes are never as poetic as William Carlos Williams' notes must have been.

I might ask my family to assist with some tasks and we'll discuss when we'll do them. I can hear my son objecting as he reads this: "We'll decide?" he'll lament. I will move on, thinking briefly about how at work I'm much better at finding compromise. But, at home, things are different. I find it difficult to formalize a plan at home. I want to relax at home. Don't bother me with methodology once I walk in the door and put down my briefcase. I want to forget about goals, tasks, and timelines.

Still, I think these are good exercises to do -- regardless of your plans or what tools you use. By planning you force yourself to think of specific goals, identify tasks, and think realistically about how long it will take you to accomplish something. A plan should help you see too where you might need to ask for assistance or guidance. I encourage you to try it.

After you have completed all of your plans, take a look at them. Aren't they pretty? Won't you feel like you have accomplished much? Aren't you tired? If this is your home life and your schedule is overbooked, go back to your first list. What are you trying to accomplish? Look closely at my list:


Throw away your plan. Make a list like this. Hug your babies. Kiss your spouse. Forget about your electronic gadgetry for awhile. Breath deeply -- it will all get done that needs to be done.

Philosopher Henri Frederick Amiel said: Life is short and we have never too much time for gladdening the hearts of those who are travelling the dark journey with us. Oh be swift to love, make haste to be kind.

Find beauty in your world. Recite a poem. Make haste to gladden a heart. Have a cup of tea.