Ode to Being Organized

This morning I biked to work--luckily did not get rained on--and immediately set to work getting rid of all the extraneous stuff that's accumulated on my desk in the past two months. I gave the dusty area behind the computer a much-needed swipe with a paper towel, chucked irrelevant sticky notes, and tacked up this week's plan right in the middle of one of the cubicle walls.

Big ideas for the week:
outreach--editing and finalizing the "invitations" to join a new project to connect LGBT student groups with employers offering internships in the SWPA region
time management--spending the time to make lists, prioritize and think things through; setting up systems to keep track of ongoing conversations; loading my Google calendar with all of the things I have to do each day
side projects--moving side projects just one step forward as these are the things that get pushed back when the ITL/RIC work I have to do puddles out over the course of a day due to poor planning

All of this comes out of a conversation with Jen last week about time management and big ideas. It's been two months and by now things need to get organized and stay organized to make sure everything stays on track. Jen even recommended deliberately setting time aside for relationships, sleep, etc to make sure all needs are being met and not just the job stuff.

Tomorrow I get picked up at 6:30 am to go to my first employer workshop in New Kensington. This is an opportunity to observe the flow of the workshop (helping employers develop internship programs) with the future goal in mind to lead one of these things myself.

Wednesday I'll be working at Garden Dreams, an urban garden & seedling operation in Wilkinsburg. I plan to work there on Fridays until the first week in June. It's great fun having a hand in the growing of nearly 30,000 baby plants of all varieties: tomatoes, peppers, basil and herbs mostly.

Thursday Mad and I head to the Southside for a filmed interview with Out TV, and then later that night I'll go to a Pitt Rainbow Alliance meeting briefly to share what's up with the new project to connect LGBT student groups with employers offering internships.

Friday brings a video interview with AHEADD (Achieving in Higher Education with Autism/Developmental Disabilities) to put on the RIC blog. Last week, Michael and I interviewed ABROAD (Advisory Board on Autism and Related Disorders). Then off to a nerdy Lord of the Rings-themed party at Cyberpunk Apocalypse in Upper Lawrenceville.

And Saturday--a "Make Jobs Not War" protest in front of Lawrenceville United, a meeting with Mad to continue our backwards planning work, and later, my first time dj-ing a big party at a friends house. Add a few hockey games to watch, a prospective Pitt student coming to visit, and, you know, sleeping, eating...it all makes for a busy week indeed. But now I know I can take it on.

Tah-tah!
Rayden