Procrastinate? Who? Me?

Who procrastinates? I have NEVER procrastinated—not even in college—because I don’t like the pressure of an approaching deadline squeezing all the blood to my head. And I like my sleep.

My roommate in college almost always waited until the day before a paper was due to start working on it, and she was a “hunt and peck” typist, which took even longer to get the work done. I had always said I’d never lose sleep to help her complete a paper, but one time senior year I took pity on her and stayed up past midnight typing while she dictated. We got so caught up in our typing/dictating roles that she let some Chinese food she was reheating on the stove burn. She pulled it off the stovetop while I grabbed a towel and ran down the hall to hold it over the fire alarm until the smoke sufficiently dissipated; the other students who shared our apartment building would not be amused at being awoken and having to exit to the courtyard that late on a Tuesday night.

Though I don’t like pressure, my first boss on my first job after college thrived on it. On a Wednesday afternoon he’d step into my cubical with a 500-page document and say, “I need 16 copies of this for a meeting Friday morning.”

To complete that task, I needed to complete several steps:
1) make 16 copies of 500 pages
2) find 32 3-ring binders for the 16 copies of the two-volume document
3) print covers for the binders
4) print labels for the separators within the binders
5) find separators and insert the labels
6) collect the 16 copies of the 500 pages from the copy center
7) collate the sections
8) load them into the 32 binders.

Ugh. Not an easy task, and I was quite frazzled while completing it. I took Friday off and told my boss so when I carted the copies into his office on Thursday afternoon. Told him I was taking a personal sanity day. I went shopping.

My point is, why put off something you have to do anyway? Unless, of course, like my former boss, you do your best work when your clock is ticking louder and louder.

This morning I realized I might not be as perfect a nonprocrastinator as I’d previously thought. It’s the phone. I don’t like talking on the phone. I don’t even own a cell phone and never have, and sometimes when I have to make a call, I put it off, dreading the moment I have to punch in the numbers. Actually, number punching is fine, it’s the person on the other end answering that I dread. I like answering machines. I sound like a goof sometimes leaving a message, but at least I have an excuse to sound like a goof as the eventual listener might think, “Wow, what a goof, but I bet she’s nervous talking to a machine.” Right-o, but I’m worse when speaking in person.

Despite my trepidation of speaking on the phone, I need more bookmarks to promote My Lost Summer, and this weekend I got an e-mail from the company I ordered from last year saying that shipping rates are going up for orders placed after May 4. (Postal prices go up in mid May.) So this morning I thought about calling, then I decided to read an article on bacteria and how we humans are becoming less resistant to its ill-effects.

I thought about calling but instead went over to visit with a couple coworkers.

I thought about calling but checked my e-mail. And there was the message I’d received this weekend, the one reminding me to order before postal rates go up. So, almost reluctantly, I called. And it was painless.

I called the 1-800 #, my order was there from last year. I placed the same order for the same number of bookmarks and my same credit card was charged the same amount and I was off the phone in five minutes. Effortless.

The lesson I take from this: it never pays to procrastinate.

Another Funny Foto

Is this one of the funniest pictures you've ever seen?

I learned that the cat was actually "placed" in the picture--she wasn't actually tubing with the girls. But it's still really funny.

April '07 Sales

Sandy, a lady who works in the cafeteria here at work, asked me how to go about getting her hands on one of my books. Of course, I told her, “I can sell you one!”

Her daughter has started My Lost Summer but had to return it to its original owner before reaching the denouement. She would like to write a book report for health class. She showed it to the nuns at her Catholic school, and they approved it. Wouldn’t it be great if the school ordered a bunch for the students of future health classes?

Sandy is bringing a check for $15 in tomorrow for our exchange. (I sell them for $15. The retail price, however, is $16.95—or $16.67 from lulu.com.)

I’ve sold nine copies myself this month. Borders bought 15 copies from my warehouse last week too. Plus, I’ll be speaking Thursday evening to the Brain Injury Association and will likely sell a couple copies to those in attendance.

It’s really a beneficial book. I hope sales take off.

Funny Animal Pictures

Cuteoverload.com is at it again--or actually, they were at it in October, and they;re always at it, every day. As a break from my drudgery, I'm seeing what's posted today--and then I checked out the October archives.

If you remember, I posted a really funny picture of a young llama or alpaca a couple weeks ago. Oh, OK, I'll post it again.

In October several people submitted pictures of their pets dressed up for Halloween. These pictures make me laugh out loud.

If you haven't checked out CuteOverload.com, you should for a laugh.

Network When You Can

If you have a product to promote and someone invites you to a venue to promote it, attending is most always worth the investment of your time.

This weekend was the 2nd annual Mad Anthony’s Writer’s Conference in Hamilton, Ohio, and it’s also the 2nd year I was invited to sit and sign my book, My Lost Summer.

Last year almost 60 Ohio authors signed at the Hamiltonian Hotel near downtown Hamilton. Still, with all that competition, I sold eight books throughout the day, and not just to would-be writers attending the conference, but to the general public, who were invited to step in off the street and browse the temporary store set up by Barnes & Noble.

This year the Hamiltonian is getting a designing overhaul, so the event took place at Miami University’s Hamilton campus. Fewer authors showed up to sign—40 or so by my estimate. And because the campus is out of the way, I think that not a single person browsed the books who didn’t also attend the conference—no general public.

However, I did sell three books, which is three more than I would have sold had I not attended. Also, lots of people stopped to chat with me and took bookmarks with my book’s information, so several of those people may order later.

A woman who bought my book teaches at a nursing school, and she told me that in one of her classes, she gives the students an assignment to read a book concerning medical care and report on it. She said my book would be a good one for the students to read and asked about ordering online.

So, the lesson learned is—Even though I only sold three books during an investment of five hours, lots of people collected bookmarks, and future sales will likely increase because of the contact at the nursing school; I should take every opportunity I can to reach the public about My Lost Summer.

My Scanner Works!

Let me say it again, My Scanner Works!

We got a new computer in February, and I have a scanner from 2003 that I was hoping to use with it. I’ll skip the details and say simply that I thought it was hopeless getting the two to work together—a couple mornings ago as I lay in bed waiting for my alarm to go off I thought of one last thing to try. But I forgot to try yesterday.

I just sat down here this Friday afternoon to write another travel story for The Franklin Chronicle (and three other weeklies in Southwest, Ohio) that I also post to my other blog www.ournationstreasures.blogspot.com , when I thought to try what came to me in the early morning mist of my mind two days ago.

And it worked!

The story I submitted this week (to be in next week’s paper—but it’s already posted to my other blog) is one with no pictures.

So I interrupted my reminiscences of Maine, about which I’m writing, to write this blog entry because I am so happy.

A GP, a Podiatrist, and a Chiropractor

I sleep on the right side of the bed, but I get into bed on the left side, the side that’s close to the door to the bedroom. My left knee goes up and slides across the mattress and my right leg follows.

Sometime in January as I pulled my right leg up and my foot slid across the mattress, an instant of pain shot through my second toe—the one next to the big one—like a strong electric shock. It was too quick to bring tears to my eyes, but if I had to feel pain that intense for several seconds or more, I would likely cry.

Then, the following weekend I visited my second cousin and her little girl, Olivia, who was almost one. I sat on the floor for the visit. To get up, I bent my left leg, supported myself with it and pulled my right leg on the floor behind me to eventually come to standing—but I let out a yelp when the instant of pain shot through my toe again as I dragged it across the carpet.

A week and a half after that, in February, I saw my GP about it. She asked if I were wearing any new shoes—shoes that might be constricting the ball of my foot. The last pair of new shoes I had gotten were hiking boots from L.L. Bean in October or so, at least three months earlier, and I wore them for three weeks of hiking New Zealand and they were big enough at the ball. So no, no new shoes. My doctor left me with the feeling that the pain should resolve itself in a few weeks. However,..

…a few weeks later my foot got X-rayed from all angles, and a couple days later the office called me to say it’s not broken. (I knew that as it was a nerve pain, not a broken-bone pain.) The receptionist gave me the number to schedule an appointment to see a podiatrist about it.

This podiatrist is so popular, I couldn’t get an appointment for three or four weeks, which was OK as the toe didn’t hurt unless I rubbed the top of it across a surface. I was very careful with it by this time.

Last Thursday I got in to see the podiatrist. I said, “Doctor, my toe hurts when I do this,” and, using the examining table, I demonstrated getting into bed, and I sat on the tile floor and got up—to show him. After several minutes of pulling and feeling around my toe and forefoot in general, he told me, “Don’t do that.”

Cost of examining my foot
General Practitioner Co-pay - $15
X-Rays over $120
Podiatrist Co-Pay - $45

All to be told just not to do what makes it hurt. “Uh, OK.” And you know what? The podiatrist, a guy in his late 50s probably, held up his hand for a “high 5” before I left his office. “What? I’m 37,” I thought, but it would be rude to deny the guy his “high 5.” So, feeling foolish, I slapped his hand. “High 5s” are for kids six and under—or teammates. Not a 57-year-old doctor and his 37-year old patient he’d just met.

Anyway, yesterday I went to the chiropractor (co-pay $15) for the first time in over a year. My left lower back is sore. In our chitchat I mentioned my toe. A couple minutes later when I moved to the adjusting table, Dr. Steve asked me to take my shoes off. He popped every one of my toes and couldn’t believe how poppable (in need of popping) they were. I pushed my other shoe off and he did the same with those toes. He stated with confidence that he fixed my toe. Since it only hurts when I do certain things, I wasn’t positive, but I do have confidence in Dr. Steve.

Today, as I sat at my desk editing at work, I kicked my pumps off and was mindlessly curling my toes under and pressing into the carpet—and I realized, “Dr. Steve fixed my toe!” When I’ve spent almost $200 to get the diagnosis, “If it hurts when you do that, don’t do that.”

Chiropractic. Some doubt it (my husband included); not me.

Had Your Cholesterol Levels Checked Lately?

I'm depending on an article I wrote for my column last year to hold you loyal readers over until something insightful, curious, or annoying hits. It's been a while since I've written anything worth reading, therefore, I'm falling back on this--to remind you that, yes, I can write about something other than my daily happenings.


Cholesterol. We’ve been conditioned to cringe at the sound of the word, yet cholesterol is naturally produced in the body and is used for cell construction and hormone production. A high level of cholesterol is cause for concern though, simply because too much of the waxy, fatty substance can clog arteries, blocking blood’s free pass to the heart. This is why high cholesterol is a leading risk factor for heart disease.

Do you know your cholesterol level?
According to the National Cholesterol Education Program, those older than 20 should get their cholesterol levels tested every five years. Medical economists and some researchers say that men with no other risk factors for heart disease* can wait until they are 35; similar women should be tested by 45.

What do the numbers mean?
Once you have your cholesterol levels checked, your doctor will report three values: your total cholesterol, the LDL and the HDL. The LDL, or bad cholesterol, is what sticks to the artery walls, hanging out to see what kind of trouble it can get into. HDL, or good cholesterol, cleanses the arteries, is the bloodstream’s bouncer, picking up the trouble-making LDL cholesterol and escorting it out of the flow.

Borderline total cholesterol is between 200 and 239. If your level is above 239, you are at high risk for heart disease.

(The table didn't copy. I hope you can figure this rough organization out.)


Risk Total Cholesterol LDL HDL
High Above 239 Above 159 Less than 35

Borderline 200 – 239 130 – 159 na

Desirable Below 200 Below 130 Above 60

• 
  How can you lower your cholesterol level?
  Exercise. Just 30 minutes of aerobic exercise on most days of the week will help raise the HDL (good) cholesterol level in your bloodstream.
  
  Eat right. Make sure the majority of the fats you consume are the unsaturated kind. Polyunsaturated fat lowers total cholesterol, meaning both HDL and LDL levels, while monounsaturates lower only the bad LDL cholesterol levels. For more information on healthy fats, please read The Skinny on Fat.
  
  Don’t eat wrong. Reduce saturated fat intake and cholesterol by watching your intake of butter, whole milk, cheese, ice cream, red meat, palm oil, palm kernel oil, coconut oil, and hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oils. If you have borderline or high cholesterol, make sure to limit yourself to no more than one egg yolk per day.
  
  We can be proactive in lowering our cholesterol levels and maintaining them below 200:
  1. Exercise
  2. Limit intake of less-than-good-for-you food:
  *Full fat dairy products
  *Hamburger, bacon, sausage
  *Commercially prepared cookies, crackers, pies and cakes.
  
  3. Select healthy snacks rather than candy and chips:
  *Baby carrots
  *Tangerines
  *Pretzels
  *Celery
  *Grapes
  *Radishes
  *Air-popped popcorn.
  
  4. Cook with healthy vegetable oils:
  *Corn
  *Canola
  *Soybean
  *Sunflower
  *Olive.
  
  Incorporating the above four suggestions into your lifestyle may take determination and time, but when you consider the alternative to having a desirable cholesterol level, the effort is totally worth it.
  
  
  *Risk factors for heart disease include
  high blood pressure
  smoking
  a family history of heart disease
  being male
  diabetes
  obesity
  
  
  word count 519
  
  
  Resources
  National Heart Lung & Blood Institute
  http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/chd/
  
  Health Services at Columbia University
  http://tm.wc.ask.com/r?t=c&s=a&id=30787&sv=za5cb0de8&uid=2d8442ae1d8442ae1&sid=19AD5B237BC16D614&p=%2ftop&o=0&u=http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/0880.html

Book Sales but No Baby

I sold a book yesterday to the receptionist at my doctor’s office. Whenever I have any kind of appointment—hair cut, doctor—I take a couple books to pass out to other waiting folks or the receptionists. About 50% of the time I do this, I sell a book.

Last week after I spoke at the National Honor Society induction ceremony at my former high school, a couple whose daughter was just inducted told me they appreciated the message of my speech, namely that the students should be proud of themselves and know that this honor was not “given” to them, that they earned it through their scholarship, leadership, service, and character. The woman said she would get my book. I told her I had some with me that I sell for $15, and it was like I’d caught her in my headlights. She stammered and looked to her husband for rescue and came up with “Well, we don’t have the money right now, but it is at local stores, right?” I don’t like to put people on the spot like that, but I have nearly 400 books at home I need to sell.

Last Saturday my Uncle Joe called my mom. I’m sure they hadn’t spoken since the time of my accident in 1983. You see, Joe is the husband of one of my dad’s sisters. Anyway, Joe told Mom that his brother read my book, bought for him by a friend, and loved it, called Joe and told him it was a great book, however, wouldn’t part with his. My articles in the newspaper end with my byline saying my books are available at Lake’s Jewelers on Main Street in Franklin. In fact, that’s where Joe’s brother’s friend bought the one for him.

So Uncle Joe goes to Lake’s, but they’re sold out, so Joe called Mom.

Long story short, Mom and I drove over Sunday and dropped off five copies. One for Joe and my aunt and one for each of their four children, my cousins.

That’s six copies gone this week. Selling books always cheers me. I need cheering as this morning my temperature dropped, which means I’m not pregnant. I get depressed each month when I realize I’m not pregnant, and I almost cried this morning, and I’m about to cry right now, but I try to concentrate on the fact that I’ve sold six books this week. We have four more months of taking chlomid to try to get pregnant. Surely it will happen in that time.

Iran vs. Britain

Iran captured and detained 15 British military personnel on March 23. Britain, of course, is in an uproar over this, and Iran wants it to be over with too.

It all started when the Britons “patrolled for smugglers near the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab, a waterway that long has been a disputed dividing line between Iraq and Iran (AP, April 3, 2007).”

So the Iranians thought the Britons were in their waters so nabbed them. The Britons feel they were righteously in Iraqi waters. It’s all a big misunderstanding, it seems to me.

To release the “hostages,” Iran wants Britain to apologize, but Tony Blair, Britain’s Prime Minister, is having nothing of it.

COME ON, ALREADY!! Why can he not simply say, in his cheeky way,. “We’re sorry; our sailors mistakenly thought the waters belonged to Iraq. It was simply a misunderstanding. Please release our sailors, and then let’s have some tea.”

I wonder if Margaret Thatcher, PM of Britain in—gosh, maybe the 1970s?—I wonder if the sailors already would have been released from their Iranian captivity. You see, if women ruled the world’s nations, I think things would not be so difficult, wars would be fewer, international relations more friendly.

I bet the sailors’ families are fuming at Blair: “Apologize!!! So our sons can come home to us!” I know I’d be irate if my husband were detained in a suspected terrorist country, and all that was required to secure his release would be an apology from President Bush, and Bush refused to give it.

Harumph. I’m angry now, and I’ve never even been to Britain.