THE HARD. The really hard.
- A friend of mine died. He was 35-ish and he died in his sleep. We don’t know why yet.
- This event made work really hard to focus on. I had termite brain.

THE GOOD. The surprisingly good.
- The Whole Gang (almost – my dead friend’s wife wasn’t there) got together and accidentally had a big party that night. We had Mexican food and sangria with tequila in it and we slapped the waitress on the behind in my friend’s honour. (He was a good guy but, um, quite rambunctious.) We also each wrote down our favourite thing about him. It was a lot of fun and very healing.

*cough* Um, okay, that’s it from me.

Chloe Walkers last blog post..chloewrites: @zenatplay Just typed my jottings into Evernote. I love it so.

It took me forever to get a chance to sit down in a cafe with my baby laptop and check in with you.

Hi hi hi from San Francisco.

Loving reading about all your good and sending hugs and warm wishes for all the hard.

Looking forward to brunching it up with Casey … (ooh, I hope you’re awake while I’m typing this because I’m about to head over to your place).

@Dawn + Amy C – Spot the Stuism! That’s fabulous.

Actually, two of this week’s are either from Sunday’s post or a post-in-progress, and two are from me trying to dictate replies at the Kitchen Table forum.

You guys are too clever for me.

Internet hugs all around and happy Chicken. I’m sure there were all sorts of other things I wanted to say, but can’t think of any of them at the moment.
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This week’s hard:

- Deadlines. Lots of ‘em. All piled one on top of the other.

- Really looking forward to an event where I would meet some new people, then realizing when I got there that the group as a whole was nowhere near what I expected it to be, and not in an “oh, cool” way.

- Did I mention the deadlines?

This week’s good:

- Deadlines all met with the help of a couple of late nights and copious amounts of caffeine.

- I was able to say NO without any guilt when asked if I would take a leadership role in a new organization.

- Some of my work this past week was on paper, which meant I got to work outside on the back patio and enjoy the amazing weather we’ve had this week.

- I got another wholesale order and sold one of my favorite pieces from my Etsy shop this week.

Thanks again for providing this space for us all to share.

Lori Paximadiss last blog post..it was seven years ago today…

Funny that, in a way it was hard to just accept what a nice thing Havi did for me, but I’m working on it!

Thank you!

I hope everyone’s Hard gets Easy.

I’m so glad the SF thing is working out — I’m a little bummed I can’t come to the workshop, but I’ve come to realize that I haven’t got the time or the shoulders for it, so not having the money was probably for the best.

The Hard:

So much busy, and none of it is turning into money. But I’m coping.

Apparently, Shiva Nata makes me nap. Not that naps aren’t a good thing, but I don’t always have 2 hours in the afternoon to give my brain to process, which is giving me another excuse not to practice. Bah.

Money, and the lack thereof. Enough said, and yet, it’s been such a HUGE Hard for me this week, it seems like there should be giant arrows pointing to it.

The Good:

New clients in potential, if not actuality.

Bartered something I would have done for free for something that’s no big deal for the person, but hugely helpful to me — a little bit of wordpress help in exchange for getting my floors vacuumed before someone sleeps on them. Allergies make vacuuming a real challenge for me, so mostly I don’t, and I was feeling guilty about the cat hair. And Amy hair. And stuff.

My kitchen’s getting clean! And other things as well. And I gave away some mini-comics I thought I was going to have to recycle to someone who will enjoy and get use out of them. And I saw people I don’t get to see often. Much of the busy resulted in good, even if it was omgbusy.

Thursday is totally my new Saturday — introvert me had 2-3 meetings every day on Mon-Weds, so I spent Thursday doing Shiva Nata, napping, and watching SYTYCD. It was awesome.

I’m starting to work through some of my Stuff, or at least be more aware of it. And I’m loving Havi’s post about doing it from your comfort zone instead of having to force myself out of it, because it’s just so ME. I like being comfortable, thanks.

Kittehs are sleeping and being very cute. Even if Pod did wake me up earlier by attacking my butt.

Amy Crooks last blog post..Private Myths

Everything seems hard this week. I’ve been leaky and every time Dave asks, “are you crying?” I just have to shrug and say, “it’s a leaky week.” Good things make me cry, hard things make me cry. It’s equal opportunity week in my tear ducts. Still getting over the ankle pain and the near-stroke experience. And the 14 year-old cat who keeps peeing on our couch. Nothing like waking up and immediately sitting down in a puddle of ick. And Dave had some health issues this week, which is scary and bad, but since it reverses our caregiver roles, it strangely doesn’t completely suck.

Luckily there’s some good because otherwise I’d be writing this from the looney ward. I’m making progress in the ship’s cluttered store room and being noticed for my help. We had a wonderful dinner with some great friends yesterday. I have two possible gigs on the horizon. And I’m really looking forward to brunch with Havi and your Gentleman Friend tomorrow. YAY for well-timed visits!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone and thank you for sharing on here. The hard is a little easier to take when we can all share.

The… Ehn.
Wasn’t anything really bad, but definitely ‘ehn’ and ‘oof’. Getting sidetracked and focusing on everything which meant not focusing on anything. I’m planning a baby shower for this weekend and I just couldn’t pick something to focus on. This means lots of stuff slip past me while I chased my tail.

The Good:
Re-learning to ask for what I want/need. And listen *really listen* to listening to what others need. Wow. I’m practicing it all over the place.

melissas last blog post..Walking Meditation

My first time playing:

The Hard:

VERY promising job interview fell through when I got a call the *day before the interview* saying they were suspending the search due to “internal restructuring.” So disappointing.

My dog’s being sick. He appears to be better now, but for a few days there, he was vomiting.

Had a total meltdown this past weekend during which I revealed to my partner my deepest fears and insecurities. I had never told him this stuff before. Every time I think about it, I feel naked with my guts hanging out.

The Good:

My partner’s telling me I was safe with him and that I could tell him everything. It was a beautiful moment, nakedness and guts notwithstanding. Also, I feel a tremendous amount of relief that the cats out of the bag. This is me, bare.

Two excellent workouts at the gym, with another one I’ve promised myself tomorrow. I feel physically strong.

My boss telling me he’ll miss me when I leave the university to take a new job.

Excellent progress on dissertation, including getting close to nailing down my ever-elusive methodology. Watching an inspirational video on creativity by Elizabeth Gilbert, who wrote the delicious memoir, Eat, Pray, Love. It’s here: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

Asking for input from my academic advisor, and receiving a very helpful, thoughtful response.

Have a blast in San Fran! My favorite city ever. Going there in a couple months. Can’t wait to hear how it went!

The hard:

my job. i took a step down to be an admin assistant just to get in at a creative agency. its hard to remember why i’m here as i’m doing dishes, serving food, booking plane tickets, going on coffee runs, stocking the fridge blah blah blah blah… 5 years out of art school and here i sit at the damn front desk.

my 10 year high school reunion in Oklahoma is tomorrow. I am too broke to get there, so i’ll miss it like i’ve missed all the weddings and births. It makes me feel like i’m being erased from that history. Like I’ll officially be forgotten. I’m not good at keeping in touch with old friends and this seems like the last straw. I won’t be in any pictures, they won’t see how I’ve changed and abandoned christianity and become just ME. I escaped, like we all wanted to, but now I can’t even get back for visits.

The Good:

My co-workers really appreciate all the menial tasks that I do and actually say so. Its nice to know it is noticed and to get thanked.

I am going to re-start a project i’ve been afraid of. The things i’ve learned hanging around this blog have sparked a new direction and approach for me. I am not crystal clear on the form it will take, but Imaginary Real World will be a web comic/graphic novel/blog about my christianity… how I got it and lost it and what it did and is doing to me. I want the project to be that thing I desperately needed and couldn’t find when the ‘big break’ in my reality happened. I just needed to hear from someone else that had experienced the same thing and couldn’t find it anywhere. http://imaginaryrealworld.com/

ilikereds last blog post..excuses

At least that’s what my friends and I call this thingy – so much stuff in the head that everything snarls up and nothing can come out.

I usually fix it by setting a timer for five mins, write on one thing and write on the next thingy when everything is done. Works for me. :)

Hope you have lotsa fun in San Fransisco!

Carinas last blog post..Steps of the Creative Cycle.