good evening everyone!
I went on LinkedIn today and saw an avalanche of well wishes on my book's 7 year anniversary as well as my work anniversary!! It was overwhelming, slightly annoying, yet wonderful at once to see. I somewhat felt bad that I have not been on there all that much-it is just periodic content to review in my mind. I made sure to reach out to all and say thank you- I was alarmed that I spent a significant amount of time to do so. When you think about it, it is cool that a person took time out of their busy schedule to reach out. I am actually surprised to see that I have over 1,000 professional contacts on there!! I spent some time updating it and adding content to my page as well. I try to keep my content as professional as possible. I see a lot of political posts and personal content in the news feed. I find that odd since the intent of LinkedIn is to search for business contacts, a job, or seek professional affiliations. In my mind, it is not a space to place personal content. Therefore, I tend to not do it much. However, people may fare better when they socialize amongst their business network. Perhaps I am a fool for putting some distance with my network? I am not sure on the "right" approach. I am convinced that my approach works for me-at least.
Although we have freedom of speech, we are not free of the opinion of an employer- past, present, or future- or the consequences. The sad part is once content leaves your page, it is presumed that YOU sent it. It is difficult to prove otherwise. Meanwhile, you may have other family members who have access to your electronic equipment. It is something to ponder when you think that almost anything you post or respond to may have consequences in the present or future. It is painful to think that something you found humorous ten years ago, comes up and becomes an issue. When I was younger, I didn't think about it as much. I worked with the tools and felt like I was a construction worker-no need to be a delicate flower. As I get older, I'd like to think that I am more weary of the content that I am affiliated with. However, I am sure the perception of my construction humor content, over the years, may be considered vulgar to another person. I feel pretty comfortable that I can stand by anything I have posted- that is my position on the top of my head.
It is during these anniversary moments, that I am hard on myself and start to think about some of my book projects that are still on the back burner!! Damn it Leslie- get it in gear!!! Then again, some people have NEVER attempted to even write a book! Much less work on multiple book projects! Additionally, I have been working on my house project for the past 20 years-mostly solo. I ripped every room out in the whole damn house- talk about a time consuming project! Then I rented it out and sometimes contemplate about buying another house/condo project. Don't laugh- where I am currently living, I have tackled some projects here as well. I just did a makeover to the kitchen- I am not done as of yet. I just can't help myself-I feel accomplished and happy working on projects. My back problems are frustrating and keep me from finishing the entire house by now. We can't forget that a career takes up a huge block of time during my typical week (insert face palm to my forehead). I was also thinking about how fast 7 years goes!! The thought of writing Volume 2 then crosses my mind along with the fact that I have not done much with it at all. In all fairness, I did pay for the app where you talk and it writes down. I had issues with the app and the content is "lost"- I get busy and it went on the back burner.
I then shift gears and work on "easier" projects. My children's book #NotAllGirlsPlayWithDolls has been written for awhile now. I even mapped out what I want the content to be for my illustrations and handed them to my illustrator to work his magic and bring the book to life. I have not chased down the illustrator to get the project finished in the manner that I should. I have done it a few times- I have felt like he drags his feet with his personal life and I respond by backing off. At times, it feels like it is something that I really need to finish & get published!! On the positive side of this, I have not had to pay someone who doesn't do the work. Then again, I think I sat on my audio version of #ConstructionTales for at least 2 years before finally finding time to pursue it in order to publish it. I had to chase my sound engineer down to do the editing. It is not something that I know how to do so I must rely on someone else; a huge source of frustration. Part of my push back is that it takes awhile to re-coup the money spent on these projects. I know that I like to do the projects more out of a need to accomplish a goal than to make money on it. I must remind myself that a lot of people are extremely lazy and I push myself way too hard. Learning to "slow down" is a lesson that I am trying to master over the past few years. My problem is that by slowing down, it helps my back/body but not so much my mind. Some middle ground would be a great way to walk along my journey.
A lot of my focus for the past year has been split between my career and studying for my safety credentials-also needed for my career. Due to the arthritis in my lower spine, going back to the tools is NOT good for my well being. I decided a year ago this month to go deeper into safety and become a NYC Site Safety Manager. I tested and passed the CHST Certified Health Safety Technician exam back in October. My goal is to pass the ASP Associate Safety Professional in the next 1-2 weeks. I need to then pass the CSP Certified Safety Professional in September. The safety content with each test is harder and harder and requires a tremendous amount of dedication and focus. My goal is to limit my distractions so I can smash my safety credential goal by the end of 2020. Sadly, it is impossible to be "distraction free" in life. I have been healing from a painful break-up, where I was engaged, for the past year and a half- it has served as an annoying distraction that I have worked hard to get past. Work and studying has been my means of healing and pushing past this tough challenge. Against my better judgement, I have put my toe in the water to attempt to date here and there. However, I feel like it could serve as a distraction from my current goals and I should hold off on diving in that part of the water. Word on the street is that people end up with broken necks and irritable bowel when attempting to dive in those waters when not exercising absolute caution. I know that I need someone to be as motivated as myself in order for it to work. I have already learned that dealing with another lazy soul (he initially disguised himself as motivated) is not a good fit at all- laughing out LOUD!! I believe that the key is to not think about it too much, let go of what doesn't fit, and try to have fun in the process. With this whole current Covid-19 world climate, dating wasn't even a viable option.
To make matters worse, I have not been getting as much exercise that I was getting before the lockdown. I know for a fact that I am not the ONLY one with this problem- cue evil grin and chuckle. I have found out that working from home SUCKS big time for my body! If this lockdown was kept up, I would be a contender for the TLC show, "My 600 lb Life". That is an ugly truth that has managed to present itself in a very rude way to me. The month of May to June were really RUDE to me!! I was in the stretch pants ONLY zone for a hot minute while working from home. I knew change was needed when I noticed that touching my feet was a challenge. It crept up on me in only two months- I felt disgusted and had to fix it ASAP! To make matters even worse, stress from work is a doozy for sure-it raises cortisol levels and doesn't help my plight at all!! I cut out booze as the first line of defense- it has been a switch from Jack Daniels honey (drank more than I like to admit) to White Claws. I must say that black cherry and raspberry are the best flavors along with being low carb and great alcohol content= not so bad. What more can ya ask for?! As of late, I am trying to drink White Claws only for "special occasions" and on the weekends with friends. I then shook off the dust on a step tracker in my gym bag, slapped it on my wrist, put the app on my phone. I must admit, this is a powerful motivator to see how lazy or active I am each day. Next, I have to monitor what I put in my mouth each day and be VERY honest about it. I typically avoid bread and pasta like the plague-time to go even tougher on the diet!! I even threw some "bad" food away in an attempt to steer the ship in a different direction. I have seen some progress already but I know more is needed. After all, I need to date at some point in my life so I don't become the cat lady spinster.
Let me tell you, dating is not a great idea if you can no longer fit into your closet of cute outfits- epic FAIL!! Getting those daily 5-10k steps in is CRUCIAL and has also been a huge goal of mine as of late as well. I can't possibly think that I can get away with wearing the same outfit for each date- that would not work at all. Even guys that don't notice stuff would surely not be fooled by this attempt. My evening walks have been a challenge with the humidity as of late. I indeed have been sweating profusely each night I go out- YUCK!! One doesn't realize how the lockdown makes you "out of shape" until you attempt to start walks and EVERYTHING HURTS!! I felt like someone cut off my achilles tendon right off the back of the foot. It took awhile to get through a walk and not feel like my ass was kicked in a fight. This is a gentle reminder to NOT get old since that cannot possible be fun with more aches and pains. I am sure I have no choice with this matter- I just need to keep in decent shape. A goal is to get a swimming pool membership so that I can shed any extra accumulation since this shutdown began. This just adds another layer of fear of "not looking like my photos" upon first meeting a suitor (insert face palm on my forehead). My mind races with this layer and gets me out of the dating game- for the time being. The only good things about working from home is wearing whatever you want, cheaper commute, and getting some more sleep before work. Sadly, I saw that I did use my normal "commute home" time and did more work. Yay for my boss on that one.
Well, it is time for me to go get dressed so I can walk past people dining and pretend like I am walking to another restaurant to eat something truly amazing. I will pretend like my Poland Spring is vodka and dance while I am walking- until my back screams to stop. Boy- I was a chatty Kathy in this post! I wish everyone a good evening and a great upcoming weekend! I hope my current narrative makes more people laugh than cry. Be safe, calm, cool, and dry!
Hot Tip- I got word that hearing incredible voice on my Audible version of the book makes the book way more funny!! Who would ever know! Please leave feedback good or bad- that way I can attempt to make future projects more appealing to readers/listeners.
Cheers!
Leslie M. Jasper
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