February 27th, 2008

NaBloPoMo Badges – March 2008

Badges for April are here

Some badges I created for National Blog Posting Month. Feel free to use them on your blog but please download and save to your server first(do not hotlink). See also instructions and other badges at the NaBloPoMo site.

NaBloPoMo Coffee-Corn

NaBloPoMo Coffee-Candy

NaBloPoMo Coffee-Sky

NaBloPoMo Just Sky

NaBloPoMo Just Candy

NaBloPoMo Just Suit

Tutorials
Adding Badges using Blogger
Adding Badges using WordPress

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February 27th, 2008

1-2-3-Go! NaBloPoMo!

I’ve made a promise to post everyday(all 31 of them) in the month of March at NaBloPoMo. Today’s the 27th and there’s still time to join in the fun(or madness?). I’m really excited and a little nervous. Last night I even had a nightmare about not being able to post here because I was travelling in a desert on a bus for 3 days non-stop. Hmm…

Anyway, I made some badges (150px by 40px) for NaBloPoMo. Feel free to use them but do remember upload them to your own server first!

NaBloPoMo Coffee-Corn NaBloPoMo Coffee-Candy NaBloPoMo Coffee-Sky

See all the badges here

Tutorials
Adding badges using Blogger
Adding Badges using WordPress

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February 22nd, 2008

Testing Out Theories

Milk is the answer?

Dear Body,

Why are you giving me such a hard time every month?
What is the meaning of this? Are these cramps a warning of sorts?
What are you trying to tell me?
love,
M

Yes, I’m still in pain. For the past 22 hours, I’ve not done anything other than to sit (slept in this sitting position too), type and occasionally craugh. I contemplated on turning on the TV to see what’s on, but the remote is two feet away from me, a big stretch in my current form, so I scrapped the idea. It’s not easy for me to remain positive on an condition that has been described as “unnaturally debilitating” by not one but three of the doctors I’ve visited before.

But I’ll try.

I’m going to embark on a project to find ways to eliminate or a least reduce the monthly cramping. Starting tomorrow, for 1 month, I’m going to do an experiment based on the findings in this article.

Update: I just drank 2 cups of high-calcium soy milk(about 800 mg calcium).

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February 20th, 2008

Desktop Cleanup 3

My desk cleanup is a success. Although I initially planned to do just the bottom left quarter, I unintentionally cleaned the top-left section too. There’s now just one folder for everything, a mug, a pencil case and a cat. I didn’t do the area behind the monitor but for now (forever?)… out of sight, out of mind.

My Desk - Clean!

My pencil case is doubling as a comfy pillow for the cat(why is he still here? God knows!), who, in the absence of clutter, decided he didn’t like my pen holder much (he pushed it off the desk twice, how annoying).

I declare this project complete and a success.
Success
Now where can I put my pen holder?

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February 18th, 2008

Desktop Cleanup Part 2

My Desk

So I got to cleaning the bottom right quarter of my desk. All pens and pencils in this quarter are now in the pen holder. All empty wrappers are gone. Papers are now kept neatly in a folder. I found 3 CDs, 2 pen caps and $2.20 under the mess. The cat? He got back on the desk after the cleanup, so my phone is still on the floor (he pushed it off again, the little brat).

I’m working on the bottom left quarter now. My cat doesn’t look too happy with the ruckus.

Micromovements
1) Remove one of the mugs (I think I only need one)
2) Put markers into pencil case
3) Throw away empty snack wrappers.
4) Remove all but one folder.
5) Put all loose papers and clipping into one folder.

Related posts
Desktop Cleanup
Inspiration: SARK

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February 15th, 2008

Desktop Cleanup

MicroMOVEMent is a term coined by SARK for the method of dividing a main task into a number of tiny tasks(in chunks of about 5 minutes or less) in order to accomplish a goal. Instead of looking at the big picture, you break down the process into very small, very manageable steps. This way you’ll feel a sense of achievement for every little accomplishment, which in turn, will motivate you to move closer towards achieving your goal.

I am running out of space to work so today I want to clean my desk. My working space is 1.5m by 1.5m ….hang on a minute, let me confirm that. Nope, it’s 78cm by 60cm. No wait, that’s still not right.. I’ve included the area under immovables such as the monitor.

My Desk

Ok, my effective workable working space is 35cm by 78cm, that’s less than 15in by 30in, which is small, but it’s something I can live with provided things remain in their respective places as shown above. Pens and pencils in holder, Copic markers in pencil case, pieces of papers and news clippings kept neatly in folders.

But no. In reality, my desk is an untidy mess of loose papers, uncapped pens and markers, empty snack wrappers, receipts from 2006 and 2 mugs(one for coffee, one for “other”). My Wacom tablet, something that came to my possession less than two weeks ago, is now buried somewhere underneath this behemoth pile of junk. And on top of it all there’s a CAT.

My Messy Desk

Why do I even need a cat on my desk? It doesn’t even remotely qualify as office equipment. It just sits there purring and blocking my screen. The worst part, it never fails to push my phone off the desk. Every single time. On purpose. I’m not talking about the phone accidentally falling as the kitty shifted its huge, lazy bum around. No, it literally uses its paw to push the phone down thinking, “Oh look, a phone, let’s push it off the desk.”

What I’ve drawn above is in fact a less-cluttered representation of the actual state of my desk. The pile (sans cat) is about 4 inches thick. I feel thoroughly overwhelmed each time I tried to bring myself to tidy up the mess. So I am giving micromovement a try.

Today, I’ll concentrate on the bottom right quarter of my desk.

Micromovements
1) Remove sleeping kitty.
2) Put pens into pen holder.
3) Throw away empty snack wrappers.
4) Neatly stack loose papers on top of tablet.

We’ll see how it goes.

Related post
Inspiration: SARK

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