Productive

Sleeping with Bread is a Monday meme based on the examen, part of the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius s of Loyola. It helps a person hold onto what spiritually nourishes him by looking at what is giving him consolation in his life or causing him desolation. It allows someone to express his gratitude to God for the good stuff and turn to him for solace for the bad stuff. It is quite simple. You simply ask yourself, in the last day/week/month what gave me consolation and what caused me desolation.

When did I feel most alive?
The big boss’ 70th birthday was this weekend. The secretaries organized a surprise birthday happy hour for him on Friday afternoon. Food, drinks, stories of days of yore, and a break from working in the late afternoon… What’s not to like?
A friend of mine started a monthly dinner outing “club” over two years ago as a way to explore the various ethnic restaurants in St. Louis. He’s moving in a few weeks so he declared this past Saturday the last one. We went to a Russian bistro—the food was great, the staff was wonderful, but it was slow. We enjoyed a 3 hour dinner including Russian pop music and dancing during dessert. It was fun, but it’s kind of bittersweet. (But someone else has agreed to take it up after he’s gone so it’s not over.)
Who can't feel alive when they have a furball like my Rum Tum who purrs and curls up with them in the morning?

When did I feel most drained of life?
Adjusting to new meds… side effect seems to be yawning all the time, but it’s not linked to sleepiness.
I’m working on a major project due in less than two months while trying to handle all of the smaller tasks that are part of each week and prepare for September. I am concerned about meeting my deadline, but more so I am worried about a friend. Her deadline is a month earlier than mine, and she’s struggling. It’s been nice to share this process with her and be able to commiserate, but she needs to be more productive. I would really like to help encourage her to get it done. My personal cheerleader has offered to cheer her on too (knowing what it means to me), but she’s withdrawing. Prayers for SS would be appreciated.
I’ve mentioned in other posts the integrity issues and my dealings with the ethics and compliance office. While I know that I have done the right thing, grappling with this issue has been quite trying.

Wishing you all a productive and gratifying week. God bless.