If My Weeks were Summed Up In A Slide Deck… |

This has become a thing it seems for me…where on Fridays, I feel the need to recap…kind of sort of what I do at work with a slide deck of where things are.

It almost feel like a series. Season 1, Episode 3 and so on. So with that said, here’s this weeks episode.

After a not-so-unplugged time-off last week, I jumped right into my days, doing what we all need to do at our workplace.

I pulled 12-18 hours days catching up and preparing for a Thursday morning presentation.

I know I was running on fumes and adrenaline all mixed up into one. Because just as I felt myself crashing, I turned to some form of caffeine to get me going again. At one point at nearly 2:30 in the morning, I got into bed and turned off the lights, thinking I would get a few hours sleep. But ended up on my phone sending emails and instant messages to our teams spread across the world before their day ended and mine -on-the-clock- began.

Crazy for sure.

The only thought going through my head the entire week was…some key points from the self betterment seminar I attended virtually last week. Where the instructor/coach tried to get us to understand the following:

We do things to ourselves and not because it is expected of us.

Because we were hired for being who we are. Why do we aim to become someone else in our roles?

I realized the more I replayed the two concepts in my head, the madder I felt. Sure in theory what the instructor/coach said made perfect sense. But we all know that in practice, we are expected to change to fit in with the work-culture. We are also expected to not-so-willingly agree with everything to be considered part of a team. To do above and beyond in order to succeed and keep our difference of opinions and feelings to ourselves even though the opposite is encouraged in an organization.

Unless I am missing something, I simply do not agree with the coach. I’d love to hear your viewpoint on the matter.

On Thursday evening, feeling the need to decompress, I decided to watch television. So I clicked my way through Amazon prime and selected Clarkson’s Farm. A series about a British car enthusiast and journalist aiming to run a farm in the countryside-Cotswolds to be exact.

Right up my alley I thought, considering I’ve always dreamed of owning a farm, preferably in England somewhere.

I watched 3 episodes so far and I have to say I highly recommend the show for like-minded people.

But if you’ve already seen it, I’d love to have a good laugh over your favorite or funniest bits and ponder over some of the realities of following your passion.

The show had me longing for The Cotswolds – one of my favorite destinations. A place I was fortunate enough to explore with a local, who showed me the best of the best. Bourton on Water was my favorite, where I visited every bakery possible to eat the very same pasties and butter cookies. I just couldn’t help myself. :).

Have you been?

If you haven’t been, put The Cotswolds seven best villages on your list of places to see, when the borders are open and travel is truly safe again.

In other thoughts, I am pleased to report we’ve had some long-overdue rain in California this past week. A hot muggy rainy weather, I have mixed feelings about. I mean don’t get me wrong. I do love the coziness of rain…but humid tropical rain is something I have not experienced in my part of the world. Are we thinking that global warming has something to do with it?

And finally, my favorite recipe for the week of eating mostly ready-made SHTUFF-I refer to things that are not good for you. This only occurs in my household when I am very busy with work and unable to cook a proper meal.

It was a Korean BBQ dish I threw together. Very easy. Tinley sliced beef tossed in a wok with a dash of sesame oil, ginger paste, olive oil, Worcestershire sauce or liquid amino if you happen to be allergic to soy sauce like me. Throw in the trimmings-bock choy, or spinach if BC is not avail in your part of the world. Shredded carrots, scallions and serve it over steamed rice. Delish!

Disclaimer: My cooking or recipes if you will are all about a pinch of that and a dash of this I learned from my grandmother. The formula mostly based on my taste buds. But if you are a full-on recipe follower, here’s a variation to consider.