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gemini://gemini.circumlunar.space/users/christina/
1. How far in advance do you like to start planning things?
I'm an OCD sufferer in remission, and a project manager by trade, so I have historically had a propensity to over-plan things far in advance. I used to make Gantt charts for holidays, and build in contingencies and buffers for every conceivable derailment. I also have a 30-page risk management and mitigation plan for this pandemic (no, really - I'm not kidding! I already had a partially-filled template ready to go, and put the first draft of this one into place in February 2020. I guess you wouldn't be surprised that I had a plastic box in my garage labeled "Pandemic Kit" with n95 masks, cleansers, Tyvek suits, medication, and even actual gas masks. This boy likes to be prepared.)
There have been occasions in my career, skirting burnout, when I have desperately sought spontenaiety and adventures that were less structured and unplanned, to balance the stress of running multiple high-stakes projects with hundreds of concurrently moving parts. These tensions were all part of a learning process for me where I finally came to the realisation that not all things can be planned, and adaptability was the key. (I really love "Agile" practice, and started building iterative processes, review points and feedback loops into my approach long before it became fashionable). Realising that I needed to strike a better balance led me to take my meditation practice seriously about a decade ago, and spend many Sunday afternoon in a local Tibetan Buddhist temple exploring more of myself.
That eventually precipitated a deeper shift in my practice, my priorites and how I engage with the world. In my personal life, I tend to signpost more and plan detail less. I no longer tend to plan the details of holidays and adventures to the nth degree. I prefer to be surprised and let things take their course. In my work I prefer agile approches that fill in detail as the context emerges and evolves, and that work to higher level roadmaps which are open to change. This approach is far less stressful and tends to deliver superior outcomes. I now enjoy responding to the path before me, rather than carrying earth-moving and pavement-building machinery on my back.
2. What do you hope happens in 2022?
Wow - open-ended question much CoT? (hugz & xxx)
3. What challenges have you recently overcome?
I suffer from some kind of complex partially-diagnosed PTSD. I know this because I have a professional diagnosis that got that far before my insurance ran out. (I also majored in Psych as part of my double major, and can read and think, so reached that conclusion before my shrink independently confirmed it at $800 an hour ;) ... Yes we have free healthcare in Australia - but not Psychiatry, unless you are committed. I've not ever found that to be necessary.
One of my condition's manifestations is mild agoraphobia. I prefer to remain in the house if I can, to work on my front yard when the neighbours are out of sight, and to avoid crowded shopping centres etc (that one is long-standing; I was in a crowd crush in the late 90s). I have always been an introvert, but I used to be quite socially outgoing with the right crowd, and people who met me in those settings might even sometimes have mistaken me for an extrovert. I can still deal with those situaltions when compelled to, but prefer not to, as I now find it especially draining. Lockdown suited me fine!
I am however missing my face-to-face friends, and have been working to get comfortable with getting out and about with people I feel "safe" and comfortable with, and also going to malls etc. The lower crowd numbers the pandemic has enforced is helping. I think a new version of the old me is slowly emerging. I want to go out dancing with friends in 2022, which I really miss.
4. Seasonal traditions you're most excited about
We're planning on putting up the Christmas tree tomorrow. I've always enjoyed that, and Christmas dinner. We're going to try to make that special.
My friends always have a huge NYE party - I hope I get invited this year. It is my favourite social event of the year.
5. Are you good at directions and maps?
Yes - I am good at giving directions from a map as a passenger. I am less good at following a map as a driver. I got my license when I was 30 so always had a GPS as a driver - my brain is wired to work that way when in "Driver" mode.
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♻️ (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) Bronzie Beat
Updated 20211208