This weekend felt like my weekends of yore: I had a packed schedule of errands to run, things to do; as one item on the agenda would take longer than I'd anticipated, I'd shift around my list to accommodate it, de-prioritizing others. It had always felt like a game I played with myself: what is the optimal plan that best maximizes my time vs. all the things I want to accomplish and people to meet? I used to get such a kick out of being able to cross out all the items on the agenda. I won!
In the middle of all my weekend errands was a game-within-a-game: on Saturday evening, I decided to hunt for the BTS Meal, because the campaign was about to end. I had heard that some branches had run out of one sauce. The gameboard: all the drive through branches of McDonald's near me. The challenge: map out a route that would get me the BTS Meal in the fewest number of attempts. My brother joined in; he wanted street food. My sister-in-law asked us to get her something from Burger King. Gameboard adjusted. After hitting the first McDonald's branch, I realized I wanted to grab something from my shop partner so I wouldn’t have to do it the following morning. Gameboard adjusted again. After the second McDonald’s branch, I realized I could expand the geography of my gameboard because of the new BGC-Kapitolyo bridge. Off to BGC we went, where I did end up finding the meal at the third branch. We did not find the street food. We did pass by Burger King as the last stop. An adventure! During a pretty bleak, monotonous time...
As I type this, it feels silly to even discuss it in detail: doesn't everyone's mind work like this? Aren’t we all trying to find the most efficient way of doing what we need to do? I am both a planner and adaptable. I can easily flow to adjust the plan when there’s a new factor that comes into play. Maybe I am adaptable precisely because I'm a planner; I can be ready with plans B and C in case plan A won’t work anymore. Or is it unusual to be able to switch from one plan to the other without much fuss?
I remember how frustrated I had been in the workplace about incompetent coworkers and inefficient processes, and how it seemed to me that a lot of people have a high tolerance for irritating things not being fixed. So many of my professional achievements began with me being annoyed about something minor and tinkering with adjustments until I could come up with a more sustainable solution that also minimized the repeated work on my end. Most of the time, I approached those situations like games too: “What is the optimal way to do this work so that everyone’s time is used efficiently and no effort is wasted?”
I’ve been thinking about what kind of job I could take next, or maybe a course in case I decide to study again. Based on what I described above about the way my mind works, do you have any suggestions?
Currently...
Eating Kodawari gyudon again. My family will take any excuse to order it.
Updating my CV, which is such a chore. Thankfully I got really great advice from a former colleague who told me what she’d be on the lookout for as a hiring manager.
Watching Catch and Kill: the Podcast tapes on HBO (link to trailer). Huge fan of Ronan Farrow, of this body of work. I ate up the articles, the book and the podcasts, and now we have this too.
Finishing Brene Brown’s The Gifts of Imperfection after a long break, and starting on Daring Greatly. Both in audiobook format since I’ve been driving an unusual amount this week. I need to use up my Audible credits -- any suggestions?
Curating the best BTS-themed gift ever for someone. It gives me great joy whenever I’m asked to help buy a gift for someone (especially if the request is coming from a non-fan!)
Feeling spoiled by three (!) BTS lives in a single week - Tae playing his old songs, then Hobi where he danced and then took millions of us into the bathroom to wash his hands and then to his studio for a tour, and then Jungkook where he sang “Leave the Door Open.” Something must be coming up~
Sobbing at Hidilyn’s Diaz’s first Olympic gold. I bawled when the national anthem played. It’s been too long since I felt that kind of national pride.
Reading Jasmine Guillory’s While We Were Dating. I always enjoy her books! She’s also a delight to follow on Instagram.
Longreads…
The Daily Journal Prompts That Helped Me Curb Anxious Feelings — Cindy Lamothe, Vogue.
“The real surprise was the soothing realization that all of these worries and frustrations seemed to miraculously work themselves out and that I, somehow, didn’t crumble under the weight of them.”
Simone Biles Just Demonstrated a True Champion Mind-Set — Lindsay Crouse, The New York Times.
“We have a fundamental misconception of what it means to be tough,” Mr. Magness told me. “It’s not gritting our teeth through everything; it’s having the space to make the right choice despite pressure, stress and fatigue.”
How to Get Things Done When You Don’t Want to Do Anything — Cameron Walker, The New York Times.
“Motivation is the energy that gets us to take action — and I’m not the only one finding it hard to come by. Some of us might have full-on burnout after a year-plus of loss, grief and pandemic challenges. Others could feel more like I do — nothing’s terribly wrong, but we can’t quite find our spark.”
Late Nights With Heath Ledger: Stories From the Set of ‘A Knight’s Tale’ —Jake Kring-Schreifels, The Ringer.
How is this movie 20 years old?
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Yours from afar,
Pinky