Day 11 :: Nothing Planned - A Day of 'Smaller' Things

Now, it's not completely true that I had nothing planned. I had miscellaneous things planned, but nothing really that qualified for this post. As the day unfolded, and the other 'smaller' things came and went, a friend of mine made a great suggestion. He's an avid car 'assessor' (meaning he loves to informally formulate opinions and critiques on all the newest cars). His past assessments have often brought him to car dealerships, where he frequently test drives cars to measure their merit. Just for fun. And this was his suggestion for my activity for tonight... that he and I spend two hours testing cars, and then I blog about their value... perceived or otherwise. I loved the idea, and was ready to commit.

Until my drive home.

On my drive home, I started reviewing the 'smaller' things that occurred throughout the day, and quickly assessed that they indeed were really not that small. To the degree that I needed to call and postpone my flagship experience of being a car critic. Instead, I needed to shift completely into celebratory mode and take my wife out to dinner. This came as a result of one of those 'smaller' things.

Today, my wife, Laura, got a job.

That's no small thing. Don't misunderstand me...  in my opinion, she is highly qualified for many jobs, and has the personality that would lift the spirits of any work environment. So, her getting the job is of little surprise to me. What's 'big' about this, is what it is doing for her spirits. I, myself, went through a period of unemployment not too long ago, and it is safe to say, those were some of the darker days I've experienced in the recent years. She too, was feeling the weight of having to 'date' all over again. It's an awkward dance of questioning your own value as a valid contributor to the general workforce. Well, today, the question was swept away, when her new employer called her with excitement in their voice indicating that Laura, and only Laura, was the perfect candidate. No small thing indeed.

Another thing, not so small, has to do with Martha Stewart. Yes, that Martha Stewart. Recently, my employer, MindWare, received a call from the Martha Stewart Show, requesting we send a bunch of our product to their producers for consideration on an upcoming episode dedicated to all sorts of puzzles. As the Product Development Team (here's a shout out to Teza, Kristin and Tracie - whoop, whoop) was compiling product to send, we decided it would be fun to quickly create a customized Extreme Dot-to-Dot of Martha herself, to send with our product. Long story short, Martha's people selected the Dot-to-Dots that I illustrated as the feature give-away that day. In addition, they are taking the Martha Dot-to-Dot, blowing it up large, and will have the guest comedian on stage completing the dot-to-dot during the show. Also, they have requested my name and bio... not sure why... they may or may not make mention of my name. And, lastly, per my request, they reserved two tickets for Laura and I to be in the audience... tickets we will be using, because Laura and I are flying out to New York in a week and a half to take them up on those tickets. The show is on February 22nd. Again,... no small thing.

The final thing that was out of the ordinary today, was truly in the fashion of this 30-Day experiment. An opportunity has shown itself recently for me to get involved as a volunteer at my church. My previous job at a Las Vegas church had me deeply involved in the creative aspects of that church. And as much as I loved it, it was still my job... I was paid to do it. I wondered at that time if I'd be even remotely involved if it was on a purely volunteer basis. Well, today, I launched into a new journey that will quickly answer that question. I met with Jason, the creative director (not his 'official' title, but really true to all that he has taken on) of our current church. On a side note, he's officially the 'Worship Director,' and is an amazing musician. But, as mentioned, he also oversees ALL of the creative elements of the weekend services, as well as special services, such as the Good Friday service. And that was the subject we discussed.

Jason was gracious enough to take me out to Indian food (which I covet) for lunch, and we got to hear each other's background stories. Then, we got into the planning. He filled me in on the direction, and we had an official Creative Planning Meeting. It was great. I miss that from Las Vegas. I miss the comradery that comes out of that. I miss the purpose that bubbles to the surface in those moments. Jason is a kindred spirit. He would have fit in quite well with the Vegas crew. Today was good. And, with feeling, it was no small thing.


Laura Being Offered A Job Cost: $0
Being in Communication With Martha's Folks: $0
Going to Lunch With Jason: $0 (he paid)Total Budget: 
$31/$50