15 Minutes

Sometimes, when I'm having a hard time feeling motivated to do things or when I'm feeling overwhelmed by the things I need/want to do, I set a timer for 15 minutes and work on one thing as furiously as possible for that amount of time. When the timer sounds, I move on to the next thing, and so on, and so on. It's easy to do pretty much anything if you're only going to spend 15 minutes on it. Then you go do something else that's more fun, for 15 minutes, and then maybe go back to something else more mundane, but only for 15 minutes! Usually I end up abandonning the timer, once I get some momentum going, but there are times when without it, I'd get nothing done. Today was one of those days! Up to about...hmmm...7:15 this evening, all I'd done is take a couple of walks, eat a few meals, and play spider solitaire until my brain started oozing out my ears (I hate when I do that- curse you, spider solitaire!- I've lost valuable brains that way). And that's the stuff worth reporting*. But after 7:15 pm, I found the timer on my cell phone (my watch's batteries have been dead for months), set it for 15 minutes, and BAM! Barely two hours have passed and now I will be able to call today a productive day!

I worked on four drawing projects (crayoning, Cincy chili, and two others- all will be photographed and posted tomorrow, when there is good light to photograph them by) and completed two of them, sent some emails, and applied for a job at the Jamba Juice at Whole Foods (now there's an employment opportunity!). And now I'm even updating my blog. Wow.

So anyway, the first walk** I took this morning ended up being quite an adventure! I didn't have any errands to run, so I decided to explore the more residential side of the town where I live. Well. The homes are incredible. Not as jaw-droppingly huge as those in Atherton, but still sizeable and all very unique. It's fun to look at people's gardens or glance (inconspicuously) into the windows...I like thinking about the kind of people that might live there, or how crazy it would be to actually live in a place like that, etc. Well, I wanted to try to stay as far north as possible to be near the mountains, because they are green and beautiful right now, and also because I'd love to discover some trails leading into them! I didn't find any trails, but did find lots of hills leading up and up and up, with lots of amazing views of the valley and the city that goes on and on and on until it fades into the smog. I also found roads that got very narrow and windy, and artsy cottages that were small and carefully crammed into the crevices of the hills. The clouds overhead made everything dim and extra green. There were a lot of trees, and the only sound was that of a barking dog. It was very nice. I took some pictures with my handy cell. If they turn out, maybe I'll post them at some point.

Sorry for the hasty conclusion of today's blogging installment, but it's bedtime now. Goodnight

*Not worth reporting: pages and pages of Lolcats, MarthaStewart.com and Stuff White People Like; feeling mopey, wishing I could have a kitten.
**Ahhh....the joys of being unemployed :)