It's All Too Much

I've had the week off for spring break this week. I decided to spend the week trying to catch up on things that have been piling up--you know, just THINGS that need to be done, THINGS you can't do when you work for a living.

I had big plans. I had this incredible list of new things to cook that were time consuming--things I would never have time to make during the regular work week. I was going to go shopping and put away my winter clothes and grade papers and get my house sparkling clean, all while sorting out all my bills and paperwork, and getting my car fixed.

Now that I am at the end of my week, I cannot believe how much I had to do. Some of it I managed to do, but once I started digging in, I found that I had WEEKS of work to do, not days. At the start of the week I had planned to paint the utility room and go to Chicago this weekend. HAH! I haven't even managed to keep on top of the dishes this week much less paint! I've been just as busy as I am when I work, just doing different things.

Yesterday I filed insurance paperwork and had to dig through piles of crap to find all the necessary info. After hours I had managed to find what I needed and sort the rest of the stuff into categories, but it will take another entire day to file all that stuff. It doesn't help that my cats keep racing through the piles and scattering they all over the place (which is how they got that way in the first place.) Looking at that giant pile of necessary Crapola it makes me ask some questions: Why is life so complicated? Why do I have/need so much crap just to live? How does anyone find joy in this life that is full of nothing but an endless parade of crap and paperwork and chores?

And here's the other thing: Compared to many, many people, my life is EASY. I'm not starving or living in a war zone. I live in a prosperous country and have a secure job. Yet, I feel overwhelmed most of the time, especially by finances and taking care of things like medical bills and taxes and car accidents and people stealing my credit. Throw in my health and trying to conquer my emotional demons to lose weight and overcome my injury. Then throw in a truly difficult job. Add in family members that can really push me over the edge. RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU CAN RELATE! I declare life officially Too Hard.

What happens to me when I get like this is I want to run away. The procrastination gene kicks in. The problem now is that I have no more time for procrastination. The shit snowball has rolled downhill and flattened me and I have to dig my way out from under. I'm fighting the urge to pack the dogs up in the car and go out hiking instead of grading my students' research papers, which if I don't start today will never be done by Thursday when they are due. "It's not fair!" I whine. I deserve a walk in the woods! I've worked so hard this week! I shouldn't have to work during my spring break! Wahhhhhh!

Somebody slap me.

Ahhhh,

I am sorry but I feel your pain about the paperwork crapola.  Sometimes I just want to shred it all without ever looking at it...obviously I can't but wouldn't it be nice?

digging out

I always do that to myself on vacation too--there are too many projects that *could* get done. 

First, file those papers before the cats ruin what precarious order you have established!  I have taken to using Saturday morning for opening all the week's mail, then filing or tossing everything immediately.  My cats love paper.  Or maybe they hate it, but either way the result is a shambles of an office if there's stuff left out.  It sucks, but it's better when you can find stuff later and not have to sift through every time.  Now if I could apply that discipline to anything else in my life . . .

Once that's done, take a deep breath and congratulate yourself.  Put away the project list for another time.  Make sure you have sustenance for that grading marathon, and if you need a mental break think about the next vacation on the list!  And you can tackle some of those projects this summer--which is frighteningly close as far as I'm concerned.

Feeling better?  Sometimes I think life would be easier without having to deal with the paperwork that comes with the luxuries of "civilized" life, but I like having insurance and a retirement plan and all that, so I'm trying to learn to deal.  I never knew that being a responsible adult was so damned complicated, though.

A few tips to try

Tip #1--If you have a week off, don't spend it at home. Go somewhere for the week! (Obviously this will involve saving money to pay for the trip, but it's not like you don't know precisely when these weeks fall. Set a budget and work out how much to save each month toward your breaks. It is WORTH it.)

Tip #2--Who set the deadline for research papers to be in on Thursday? You? Can't you change the deadline? You're in charge! You don't have to explain yourself to the little buggers. Just announce that research papers have been pushed back to a week from Tuesday or whatever. Part of life is learning to roll with the punches. Punch them.

Tip #3--Never believe Hollywood's version of England. It only exists if you are one of the tweedy horsey set who say mumsy and drink Pimm's. My England is working class, there's litter in the streets, the vernacular involves a lot of F words and tattoos abound. Not that I've seen 'Calendar Girls', but I can imagine what it's like. I don't actually live in a small town--it's a satellite town of Coventry. We're caught between three cities, Coventry, Birmingham (second largest city in England after London) and Leicester. With urban sprawl, they sort of crawl into one another with hardly a break. Here's a link to the borough council website.  Of course, Warwickshire itself is a fairly rural county, so there are some pretty spots. My town is just not one of them. North Warwickshire is the poorer part of the county and it is not as nice as the south (Stratford-on-Avon,etc) but it's got some pretty stuff. Check out the North Warwickshire website. It's expensive and crowded, but I love England. If I had married into the middle class, I might see twee villages and village fetes, but I'm okay with town centres and Virgin trains.

What I Failed To Mention..

...was I had already been to the bricks and mortar store and they didn't have what I was looking for.  Was I bummed about an otherwise fruitless trip??? Heck no!  And, the good news is the online store stuff arrives remarkably quickly.  I ordered it Tuesday night and it was here this morning.  Not bad considering it had to cross a border in the process.