Thursday, March 26, 2009

Multitasking At My Best Means Writing and Sleeping At the Same Time"


"I'm so tired, I haven't slept a wink. I'm so-oo tired, my brain is on the blink"...I love how The Beatles take me from one end of the spectrum to the other with this great song. The words are just dragging & dragging, then it revs and boom! I'm slapping at my steering wheel. This is a quintessential analogy of how the need to sleep is both a burden and a beloved pleasure in my world.

Par for moi, I cannot make up my mind. Right now...I really love going night-night. In fact, I would love to crater right this very second. However if I did and kept right on typing...that would too weird, even for me.

You may already be aware of this, but I have been known to fall asleep while typing or writing...or even talking for that matter.

Such a practice may have an impact on what job or jobs I end up pursuing in the near future. (Please see the last blog post titled "My Dream job Was Knitting Caps Out Of Dryer Lint& What Do I Want To Be When I Grow Up?" if you want to give me your opinions of what we are mulling over) Perhaps establishing some controls to prevent "sleep chatting" from ever taking place again would be prudent. I CANNOT allow my alter ego to go on convincing me that there is just no rest for the weary & that going without sleep repeatedly is a necessary evil & that I will eventually catch up, so buck up!

This multitasking oddity might be contrived from having started over too many times in Genesis to the point that I keep re-reading that certain part about "In the beginning" & my prideful self proclaims "I too can do it all in 6 days and then I will rest"! Certainly flawed and certainly not omnipotent, admittedly, I am just a mere mortal, who loves to climb into bed, bone tired at 8:30pm and crash by 9ish! I soooo relish those rare occasions!

But alas, I know me & when I am really focused...I mean HYPERFOCUSED on some crucial undertaking, then sleep is such a pain in my back side & such a waste of my precious time. Nevermind that by being well rested, surely I could increase the quality and production output of whatever will not wait another 6-8ish hours...nevermind that I get loopy & punchy & cannot complete a sentence....there are just those times when I am too excited about what I am doing and CANNOT wait to get back to it. Do I fret about my other responsibilities which are still on my plate...Indeed Not! Whatever I choose to do in my life is only chosen to somehow benefit my entire family, hence everyone of the Christie Chrew pitches in when the radar is on & the sights set. Roses may be trying to "bloom beneath our feet" but the Christie Chrew has a job to do too!

However, reason simply must trump enthused rationale these days in my post 40+years of wisdom & waning immaturity. Because when I hit the wall and start conversing while REM-ing...it is NEVER a good thing. The finished product might be awkwardly funny....but it is a considerable gamble. Please, no one would ever be so foolish as to hire..."Mrs. Needs No Sleep"!

The real genesis of this bad habit started when I was a youngin'. I would lay in bed and chat away with myself and my 2 imaginary friends, Kay & Lori, for hours. Then when I was a teeny-bop, carefully, slyly, I would sneak my light blue princess phone into my bed at night to talk for hours to a fellow teeny~bop, probably Trina, Devon, or Heather, and I was like all "totally gag me with a spoon & groady to the max; wow, that is so rad maybe it's even, like, totally tubular...for sure..." then I'd flatline, wake up to the laughter on the other side of the phone and actually be groadied out to the max from drooling all over myself!

Then once in my twinkies, I was the passenger of a fellow Levi's associate Mary Helen, who was gratefully, the driver. While she was booking to our next stop, I was to pen our findings at the last mall we spiffed and then "Umph, umph, whoa!...what happened?" I woke myself up to my Mary Helen's howling laughter at me, me drooling on her seatbelt & me scribbling all over my very cute chambray sailor britches.

In recent years I have managed to garner a reputation from composing emails that I was awake for when I started typing but not so much by the time I hit "send". This phenomenom has taken place during such stints as the election campaign which I help run for Lisa N. & 2 other school board members; my tenure as Young Women's President at my church & again while dabbling a rhyming diddy for a baby shower invite I created for Chris & Anna L., only to conclude that I must have truly concocted some kind of bizarro invitation because after reading it, Mike S. asked if I had listened to Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" over & over again in my youth.
(BTW, yes to that last question, I still love to listen to that classic release! But not while I am trying to communicate! Good night, I can't have any pudding... I mean I can't concentrate on talking and listening to Pink Floyd at the same time! I know my limitations!)

The picture of the book posted here is proof is another fine example of my talent for muiltitasking by corresponding and catching a few Zzzz's simultaneously.

I gave this exact children's book to my darling Ad (pronounced A.-D.) several years ago. At the time she was our treasured babysitter on a full time basis and she was simply amazing. Kidlet tossing his cookies? No worries if Ad was on the clock. Need dinner cooked? Chef Ad with Le Menu was at my service or even better...she would go through the drive-thru for me with my debit card only to end up paying for the order herself after I gave her the wrong pin #. Sadly, Ad fell short of attaining perfection when she gave my then toddler his very first Diet Dr. Pepper...in his bottle & ruined him. But I digress.

Due to my genuine regard & appreciation for Ad's nanny abilities, I really wanted to cement my impressions of her on the inside cover of this book and present it, with love, that beautiful Christmas morning.

Only...it was already Christmas morning when I began to write.

As best as I can make out from the picture of the inside cover...I wrote the following:

"Just like a fish to the sea I have found myself more and more impressed with your abilities withe our lack on a vehicle...and thaht date were _____________(long pause) you have the "pip" if the day you will need to ask somewart------What????Oh my, I fell asleep. Gotta go-I love you! Leah"

You know I was not in my right mind if I signed something that personal with a salutation other than "LeLe".

Nighty Night!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

"What Do I Want To Be When I Grow Up" & "My Dream Business Was Knitting Caps Out Of Dryer Lint"

What to do....what to do....what to do....

My first job as a Flying Monkey Mother is to be the mother I need to be to my 4 monkeys...I mean...my 4 sons. I signed up for my gaggle willingly & I intend to do this job full-time to the best of my abilities.


Stop laughing.


However, after some personal reflections, Kenny & I are satisfied with the reasons to take a leap of faith and take the thought bubble of again being gainfully employed to the next level. My spare time these days is spent at the perpetual job fair that goes on in my head asking myself "What do I want to be when I grow up?"


This ADD thing is kinda cool at times! It has help me come up with a long list of options for us to mull over. Given the way my brain works, I invent stuff constantly or come up with another way to do things. The J.O.B. possibilities are intriguing for someone who as a young girl, knew two of my dream jobs included knitting caps out of dryer lint and making furniture out of whittled landscaping bark.


This particular blog snippet is your golden opportunity to help shape the next chapter in our lives by offering your feedback to my pile of employment ideas by giving me your feedback, no matter what it might be.


What are my talents to offer potential employers and/or customers? I walked away from that chapter of corporate life with a love & firm understanding of:

1.Customer Service

2. Sales

3. Marketing


When it was time to halt my 15 years of retailing that ran the spectrum of production, delivery and point of sales of products, I may have left Levi Strauss & Co. but my skills did not leave me nor did they get put on hiatus. As the last chapter of my life has unfolded, to my surprise, I have applied those 3 acquired tools to some very unique experiences that have come my way since being at home full time. Now, not only do I still love the dynamics of customer service, sales & marketing, these personal strengths have become refined and authenticated in my own real world.


I need to be home-based. Period. It is my schedule that will have to change. My first priorities, all 4 of them....are still my children. The older they get, the more they need me here at home when they are home. Thus, the desire to go into law enforcement is just not realistic.


Stop laughing.


Yes, I need to establish a actual home office ...but I have done it before and I can do it again.

Yes, I may need school for a few of the brainstorms below.

Yes, I realize I will have less time to volunteer. But I know the in & outs of volunteering now and know I can still contribute.

Yes, I know this change would mean less time for my millions of home projects...but the dirty truth is that my home improvement projects demand 2 critical elements to see completion dates: $ for a hired hand(or 2 or 3 or 4) and $ for materials. Watching HGTV and DIY for hours on end only confirms to me constantly that I have the need & ability to create...but I have found no cash in the attic.


HMMMM.......


What I hope you will do is give me some solid feedback either here or via email on my list of ideas for me, Kenny and the my boy chrew to noodle on:

  • Getting into politics (not me in an elected office...but going to work for what I believe in, maybe Glenn Beck needs field support and just does not know it yet!)

  • Looking into positions with The Tomball Chamber of Commerce (I love my town!)

  • Writing on-line newspaper column/magazine complete w/ classifieds

  • Starting a consulting company for parents in school districts....encompassing the education foundation ideas we had to put on ice for TISD this year

  • Starting a customer service consulting firm.

  • Becoming a professional gardener (really...the goal would be a "Master" Gardener)

  • Representing companies whose products I personally love & use

  • Developing an on-line personal gift service

  • Earth Quest Dino Park Marketing (I have 4 boys that think this idea totally rocks!)

Did I leave something out?


Penny for your thoughts!