Ugh. I just lost an entire post and now I’m too tired and unmotivated to recreate it. I guess I’ll have to save my “bloom where you’re planted” entry for another day.

I’m starting on my client’s quarterly newsletter layout this weekend. Deadline to press: Wednesday, November 7. Oy! Needless to say, I was a little preoccupied with other projects last weekend to even think about starting this one, so now I’m scrambling. It appears that a restful weekend is not in store for at least another week. Thankfully, next weekend is a 3-dayer. Hallelujah for holidays!

Sorry, tangent. Back to the newsletter.

This is a low-budget project for a non-profit group; so, spending $500 on Adobe Pagemaker to create the layout for a quarterly newsletter is completely out of the question. So, for the past several years, I’ve been doing the newsletter in Microsoft Publisher. As I’m trying to migrate everything to my Mac, this newsletter is the last remnant of “need for PC” in my blood. If I can find a suitable (cheap) solution on the Mac, there will be no need to hold on to the PC (now Hubby’s primary computer) and maybe we can upgrade him to a Macbook instead. Perhaps iWork’s Pages will be just the app I’m looking for. Of course, the learning curve is going to slow me down, but I’m hoping the end result will be worth it.

I’m still very much a Mac newbie, only one year old in the cult of Mac. My Twitter friends have been so gracious to help me along and guide me into the way of enlightenment. Many mahalos to Kimonostereo and rsuenaga. And, thanks to zztype for helping me discover that I actually had InDesign (Pagemaker’s replacement) installed on my Mac with the Adobe CS Suite. (Doh!) The kindness of people so willing to lend a hand just blows me away! You guys are the best!

Now that I’ve completed my NaBloPoMo obligation for the day, I can start on the newsletter. Oh, joy.

Day 2 of 30

Another visit to the doc

The day began with a visit to the doctor. My calendar is dominated by doctor’s appointments and weekend bon dances lately. For the record: More doctor’s appointments than bon dances, which is never a good thing. Today’s visit was to the dermatologist to check on a troublesome patch of skin near my incision site which has been looking pretty annoyed for quite some time. I figured that it was just a result of over-cleaning with rubbing alcohol and being subjected to all kinds of tape and gauze for so long that my skin finally got fed up and decided to stage a protest of its own. However, it’s been nearly two months now since I stopped swabbing it with alcohol and dressing my now-healed wound, so I asked my IVF doc about it and he referred me to a dermatologist.

The dermatologist assured me that it wasn’t a fungal infection (thank God!) and that it was just irritated. He prescribed a topical medication and said that it should disappear in a week or two. Good news.

After the appointment, I went straight to Olelo to continue my video editing endeavor for work. (I love this part of my job!) Today I decided to do something a little different and incorporated a voice-over to tie together the video segments and interviews into a (hopefully) cohesive storyline.

It was an interesting experience, as they lock you in this tiny room with a microphone and blank DVC Pro tape and let you have at it. Of course, it took me about 17 tries before I was finally satisfied with the result. Thankfully, no one was in the room to listen. I’d have a lot of fodder for the blooper reel for sure.

Me, trying to look all professional (or something)

I am still not very happy with my camera work: a couple of shots looked like the white balance was off (even though I set it before the shoot) and another scene has some major backlighting issues. With every episode, I learn something new. Video production, even on this very basic level, is something that I am extremely interested in. If only this could be 90% of my job instead of only 10%.

I love days like this.

At work, one of my duties is to co-produce a monthly television show on `Olelo Community TV for our company. My role in the show is to take care of all of the technical aspects: videography, editing and running the laptop for the in-studio PowerPoint. Although I do my own videologs on my personal site, I have never felt the urge or desire to step in front of the camera for work. However, on Friday, our normal host, the Communications & Public Affairs guy lost his voice and with less than 24-hours notice, I was thrust in front of the camera to host the show.

Luckily, he gave me a script and I didn’t have to interact too much with the in-studio guest. The stint mostly entailed introducing the video features and narrating over a slideshow of photos from recent events. It was nerve-wracking, to say the least, but I survived. Would I do it again? Maybe — if I could have more than one day to prepare myself. But I must admit, as much as a ham that I am, I still prefer to be behind the scenes. In the hours leading up to the taping, I was so nervous that I managed to give myself a tension headache which I had to expel with a dose of Excedrin before my appearance.

And, just for the record: what they say about the camera adding 10 lbs. simply isn’t true. It’s 20.

Just a quickie because I have exactly 10 minutes to post this before I turn into a pumpkin.

Diamond Head Lighthouse

Today was an extremely hectic and exhausting day, yet gratifyingly different than the daily grind. The job took me on location at the Diamond Head Lighthouse to film a segment for our monthly show. The weather was absolutely perfect; gorgeous, sunny skies and a frisky breeze to keep us from burning to a crisp. We couldn’t have asked for a better day for the event.

Although I thought I spent most of the time in the shade, I still managed to score a pretty decent sunburn.

At the conclusion of the event, we climbed to the top of the Diamond Head Lighthouse, flying in the face of my fear of heights. Here’s proof:

Standing on the balcony of the Diamond Head Lighthouse
I had to crop my co-worker out of the photo, since I don’t think
she would appreciate having her picture on the web.

The view was simply breathtaking and certainly worth overcoming my phobia of heights to enjoy it. Perhaps there will be more later — and maybe even a vlog entry.

For now, it’s time for me to hit the sack and recover from all that excitement — and the sun!

I had been anticipating my return to work with the same enthusiasm as a death row inmate facing the electric chair. Pondering the projects, events, e-mail backlog, and the other stuff that go along with my job, I couldn’t help but to feel overwhelmed and apprehensive about heading back to the office.

This morning, I stayed in bed until the very last second and grudgingly moped around as I got ready for work. Shortly before I was set to leave, my stomach tied itself into a dozen anxiety knots and the subsequent trip to the restroom set my schedule back a good 10 minutes.

Whenever Hubby is home, he will walk me out to my car and see me off. Today was no exception. Before I left, with the engine idling, Hubby stood outside my car and peered into my open window. “Remember, try to go in with a good attitude,” he said, far too chipper for 7:30ish in the morning.

I grunted in response.

I was half-listening when he gave me some other advice about being positive and sent me on my way with a kiss and a “drive carefully, I love you.”

Hubby is a smart man and often plays the part of my conscience. He gives me perspective and balance. As I drove off, I thought about what he said and made a conscious decision to change my grim attitude. I lifted a short prayer for the day and listened to Chuck Swindoll on the radio as I hit the tail end of the rush hour.

When I arrived at the office, I was greeted warmly by co-workers who looked genuinely happy to see me. Faced with the piles of paperwork on my desk and 200+ e-mail messages awaiting my attention, I felt a little overwhelmed this morning. But I took things one at a time and by the afternoon, through diligent effort, a “good attitude,” and an absent boss, I was able to get caught up. Honestly, that’s nothing short of a miracle.

I managed to make it through the day without feeling like I was going to have a nervous breakdown. In my opinion, that constitutes a “triumphant return.”

Honestly, Sunday afternoons should not be spent dreading Monday mornings.

I felt like I barely survived my Life Sciences course, so I was surprised to discover that my final grade was a B+. I consider this quite an accomplishment considering I was afraid that I might not even pass the class. In all honesty, I didn’t do my best work in that class and put forth perhaps 75% effort (thanks to work-related stress and subsequent illness), so naturally, I expected a grade in the 70-something percentile. Of course, I’m not complaining and am delighted to have received the B+.

My current course of study is a communications class, focusing on communication in the virtual workplace. Needless to say, it has whet my appetite for finding a job that would allow me to telecommute. It made me nostalgic for the days in the early 90’s when I was fortunate enough to be a “virtual employee” and had the pleasure of working from home and being able to do business in my pajamas for nearly a year. Job duties included chatting online, monitoring discussion boards and games, handling payments/credits, and tech support. (For real!) I seriously need a job like that again, especially if/when we ever have children. I would like to be a stay-at-home mom and still be able to bring home a portion of the bacon, as the cost of living in Hawaii is ridiculous and surviving on a single income is nearly impossible.

Anyone looking for a good virtual employee? I’m your woman!

Okay, back to reality.