Almost Missed: It’s GO Month!

In the slow process of organizing the garage yesterday morning (like ten minutes a day) … I pulled out a batch of paper including a January 2008 newsletter from Colonial Court.   Was it just luck at the end of the day, that I noticed the feature article: “January Is Getting Organized Month”?  

I think it was meant for me … not my recycling spree.  Excited about the prospects, I felt compelled to Google if it’s honored in 2015, with only one day left.

First up was this NAPO Get Organized Blog with a different article for every day of January 2015: napo.net/get_organized

“Tips, news and resources from the National Association of Professional Organizers ... So this GO Month [powerful acronym], we challenge you to go through your old … collection and pick out all the ... 

1/23/2015 — Now, let’s talk about that old CD rack in your home that is more or less a glorified dust collector. You haven’t listened to ...

1/29/2015 — Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Organize your Paper

The last topic we’ll be highlighting for GO Month is paper documents. How many of us get excited when we hear the word: Paperwork? Every day we are greeted by newspapers, junk mail, bill statements, flyers, newsletters, the kids homework assignments and invitations, just to name a few. It can be a shock to realize that one day what seemed to be a small pile of paper morphed into a sea of paper.  ...

according to a recent NAPO survey, only 40% of Americans actively reduce, reuse and recycle.  ...  [We do the last two.]

1/30/2015 — Sponsored Post

All gamers know a very familiar cycle when it comes to their video games… Here at Decluttr, we have a …”

Wo!!  I remembered my office, a space “full” of future potential for productivity, meaningful meditation, and peaceful prosperity.  Having almost totally missed the month, I was relieved to learn that GO can be done throughout the year – not just in January.

GO makes me smile when it’s done!

A select few VHS tapes I am tempted to preserve in the office

P.S. (postscript):  This go post reminded me of the Super-organized event tomorrow in Glendale AZ.  As I looked into it, I puzzled for a moment over the “XLIX” – must be one more than last year’s “NFL marquee game.”  
"The word for forty-nine or 49 represents a cardinal number that conveys 'how many'.  Quadraginta novem is the correct form of the word which means forty-nine ...

Forty-ninth in Latin is quadragesimus nonus.  The Roman numeral for this number is as follows: XLIX"  – latiumfigures.info  (I'm learning Latin.)
(One more piece to keep in my digital collection.)

Stories to Bring Us

Maybe I was just slow, but with persistence I found it – downloadable PDF and the fill-in-online version (the choice for long stories.)  “The new My Family: Stories That Bring Us Together booklet is a resource that you can use …”  

– broadcast2.lds.org/elearning/…

lds.org/bc/content/ldsorg/topics/my-family-booklet-pdf/english-whole-pdf.pdf?lang=eng

The brilliant presenter at our Layton family history center last night made it sound so easy.  “Just go to FH consultants and download it.  Use the unlimited online version to write long stories.”  That was it.  She was right.  I trust the mental exercise did me good in my old age – better than saving time with how-to YouTube videos?  (Examples at youtube.com/user/FamilySearch)

[Fumbling around with Google is how I found this:]

familysearch.org/campaign/myfamily

“Fill in online version:

Transfer information from your existing booklet or start fresh and create a new booklet online.”  Clicked: Get started.  (Yes!!  You should see what it pulls from Family Tree when you sign in!)

I won’t print the 38-page PDF to save buying the limited paper booklet for 50 cents at our FH center, but it helps to see on screen what’s in it.  Of course, one could use an unlimited number of ten-cent notebooks to “Write your stories and memories about your grandfather.”  But the online “booklet capture tool” is so easy, it’s a no-brainer for an elder like I … and others who minimize handwriting and/or duplicate entry (transcription.)

First thing, possibly on the train to RootsTech 2015, I will type in the book a story about my distinguished, white-haired grandfather Cannon taking me for a ride to west-side SLC to see the trains when I was a young boy.  As I recall, we toured the tracks – just the two of us in his big black sedan, probably a Buick (a classic, unlike my father’s Buick wagon.)  Grandfather (“Pop”) must have known how I loved trains!  Strange that I lose countless memories, but always remember this one.  (Write more!)

As a young married man, I sat on the front row at his funeral in the Twentieth Ward chapel.  I cried with love for my grandfather.  Many are the memories that bring us together.

Our friend, Brother D.L., inspecting his backyard train after the ride 9 Sep 2011

State of the Stretch 2015

My world is aging, climate changing, and "2014 was the warmest year on record!"  (Stretching a point, Mr. President?  Remind me not to go there – too much warm air in DC for me.  I had a meeting, and missed the … Union talk last night.  Granted, he’s right – cynicism like mine is not progressive.  Sorry.)

But this is about how I need to stretch for physical health.

Finally found in garage on my early-morning winter "walk": my PWP ("Personal Wellness Profile") report, custom-printed just for me in 2000 by BeneCor.  A belated thanks to them for caring.

Let's see ... just checking ... what should I have done for the last 14 years?

1. Stretch three to five times to warm up after muscles are warmed (?!).   (Putting socks on after lying in a warm bed is two.)

2. Do a “static stretch” three to five times.  (I’m good with static.)

3. Two days per week do “dynamic weight resistance training and calisthenics” for “major muscle groups.”  (Right – forget the minor groups.)   (Strength was marked "Needs Improving", which I've known since I got married and quit skiing 3x per week, summer and winter.)

4. Maintain a healthy “body composition.”  (Was marked "Doing Well" despite 90s settling.)

5. Aerobic walking.  (Did today – to garage, mailbox and stairs – that’s a stretch!  I prefer the warm mall.)

There’s a lot more to it ... maybe for next January.

What one word would you use to describe this “state of the stretch” address?

Family walk by a mountain cabin 2 Aug 2013

Stretch exercise at Surf’n Swim 26 Dec 2009

"Quite honestly, ..."

I listened to a popular radio talk show this morning for ten seconds (an average sound bite.)  The guest began a thoughtful answer with this 
two-adverb phrase: "Quite honestly, ..." 
Laughing out loud, I responded, "Does that mean not totally honest, or what?"  Where does it fall on the scale of slightly honest to 100% honest?

In the political arena and on talk shows, you never know.  I guess that's one reason listeners/viewers keep coming back – to seek clarification.

Another thing in the media: seldom is heard a simple "yes" or "no" answer to a yes-or-no question.  Yes, that disappoints me.

Like I say, it's a guessing game ... and reminder that some leaders need to be clarified.  But don't expect me to illuminate, elucidate, or shed light on the subject.

Kay and metal art 29 December 2014, at the working home and
campus, Taliesin West, built by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1937

A straight answer worked wonders in the architectural arena.