Quite a day!

1:30 a.m.
Fitful sleep
Somewhat normal stress about getting up early to catch a plane
Also some “normal stress” about cancer check-up

2:40 a.m.
Awake again
…& so on…
4:30 a.m.
Need to get up in 30 minutes.
Wonder if I should try to sleep a little longer.

5 a.m.
What’s that noise?!?! Oh, yah, the alarm.
Guess I did go back to sleep.

6:15 a.m.
Out the door, on the way to Saginaw.

7:30 a.m.
AR. MBS airport, say good-bye to hubby

7:35 a.m.
Checking in at kiosk.
Agent says the flight is canceled because of t-storms in Chicago.
“Put you on 8 a.m. flight to Detroit – then 10:10 flight to Chi-town."
Sent to next desk
Hurry up & wait.
Call B. – maybe stay nearby.
Finally get some paperwork for Delta flight
No seat assignment yet
Hurry to gate area
Through security, no problem
Gate agent eventually issues seat assignment
Time for bathroom? Nope; boarding now.
Board plane, find seat, use bathroom.
Small planes have tiny bathrooms!
Call B. – I’m on plane
Call cancer center; inform transportation dep’t of flight changes
Turn off cell phone.
Barely notice take-off, normally a favorite thing.
Lean back, breathe.

8:10 a.m. – descending already
8:16 a.m. – on ground in Detroit. That was fast.
8:22 a.m. – at gate
Ask for connecting flight info – Gate A-57
Up this escalator, turn left, down the escalator, thro’ tunnel, up escalator
No big rush, departure is at 10:10 a.m.

8:35-ish – AR at new gate
Flight delayed, to depart at 10:54 a.m.
Call CC to give heads-up on latest schedule change

Flight delayed again – now to depart at 11:45 a.m.
Call CC to update.

Gate change
Flight delayed again – depart at 1 p.m.
Call CC – push back appointments?
Oops; wait. Flight is canceled
Stand in line to learn options
Call B.
Call CC
Keep standing in line

They’re closing this gate.
Go to Gate A-43 for options
Confirmed for flight tomorrow – 7 a.m.; for other options, must see person at desk.
Stand in line.
No hotel vouchers
Call B.
Call CC. Travel person gives blessing to going home & re-scheduling. She sees flight to Saginaw at 1:45 p.m. Seats available? Doesn’t know. Advises me to stay in line.

1:30 p.m. – still in line
The natives are restless (the other people standing in line)
Finally my turn
There is a flight to Saginaw at 3:45 p.m.
Can’t do that because United is still holding ticket.
Agent "releases" boarding pass as requested by CC's travel staff & tears it up.
Hmm… Wonder if that’s a good thing.
Call B. – Come to Detroit and get me…?

Find an outlet to charge phone
Call from CC: try to get United to release ticket for credit
Wait for phone to charge a bit
Go to ticket counter area; no United, different terminal.
Walk to shuttle stop, ride shuttle to North terminal, walk some more…
Huge line for United desk; never made it.

Hubby arrives to take me home.
Try calling United about ticket. Can't get thro' to real person.

Did I make the right decision? Who knows?
Learned later that more bad storms came thro’ both Chi-town and Detroit. Tornadoes were sighted and/or touched down in both cities. Trains were stopped, expressways closed and even the big planes were grounded.

Guess I made the right decision.
Happy to get back home safely.
But I still have to go for that check-up – try again same time next week.

What is the story going to be?

 "The thing about writing a story in real life and on paper is half the effort is just figuring out what the story is going to be."

~Robert McKee, author of a "screenwriters' bible" called Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting

...
Does it resonate with you? It definitely does with me. I often feel this "pressure" of trying to figure out the direction I want to go with all of the ideas that swirl in my head.

And now that the dilemma is verified by this expert, Robert McKee, now what is the solution? Guess maybe I need to read his book. Or even re-read Donald Miller's "Million Miles."

What one thing?

I often feel scattered - or pulled in different directions. There are so many things to do - things that I want to do, things that I need to do, things that I should do... Arrrrgh! How do I find balance? How can I be more productive? As I think these things, I remember something I wrote a couple years ago. Perhaps it would be helpful to pull it out & read it again...

............
Yep, I'm trying to get my house in order.
-My house - literally.
-My life.
-My office.
-My stuff.
-The piles, the files, the messes.

Nope, this is NOT a new quest. I've been trying to get my stuff organized, sorted, de-cluttered for years now. Am I making any progress? Oh, boy; do I ever HOPE so.

But it seems like I keep getting STUCK. Like it's three steps forward, two steps back. At least, I certainly hope there are more forward than back.

So I try new methods. I encourage myself to stick with the old ones - the ones that seem to work. I use gimmicks. I post reminders. I seek accountability & support. I promise myself rewards. I try to discover the obstacles & find ways to remove them. I evaluate which things are time-wasters & work at eliminating them.

In my honest moments, I realize that I'm probably still trying to attempt too many things at once. My old habits of multi-tasking tempt me to spread my focus too wide. My tendency for not wanting to miss out on anything hinders my attempt to choose a single goal. But I must.

So, now I've happened upon a new tactic. How about if I begin to ask myself "What ONE thing...?"

-What one thing bothers me the most today?
-What one thing could I change that would improve my world?
-What one thing would make me feel better about myself & my day?
-What one thing is most urgent? Or most important?

This just might work - in various settings - to give me the nudge I need.
-What one thing could I do before I take a break? (or "before I go to bed?")
-What one thing could I accomplish in this 5 minutes before heading out the door? (or "...before my TV show comes on?" or "...while dinner is cooking?")
-What one thing could I be working on WHILE watching Jeopardy?
(or INSTEAD of Jeopardy - *gasp*)
-What one thing could I do during the next commercial break?
-What one thing could I put away before grabbing that snack?

Speaking of snacks, I realize that this could apply to other areas in my life - where I need to narrow my focus & choose only the best - like food. For example, before popping something into my mouth, I could ask myself:
-What ONE thing would I most like to eat - instead of munching on a whole bunch of stuff?

My friend has given me ideas of other ways to use this. When taking a break from work, she suggests asking "What one thing would I enjoy the most for this break time?" Then for a chunk of work time, she asks "What one thing do I most want to have done?"

So again I try - to take steps to get my house de-cluttered. What shall I tackle this week? What one thing?

..........

Sure enough, this is not a new battle for me. I do, however, notice a couple changes. Improvements, hopefully. I don't watch Jeopardy anymore - but not because of any virtuous decision on my part. Nope, it's just that we no longer get that channel since the switch to digital TV. Ya' gotta' love progress! But actually, I watch very little TV these days - so perhaps that has been a good step in eliminating time-wasters.

So I continue to struggle. Not gonna' give up. Important things are worth fighting for.