Resolutions, Reflections and Requiem


I woke up this morning a bit like a kid on Christmas Day.  

I had worked like a navvy yesterday to try and clean up my desk so that I could be prepared for the Genealogy Do Over.  

 I have literally put all my old research behind me.  


Look!



See!  There are all my old lever arch files.  I won't show you all the crap that is now lying in the hallway waiting to be chucked.  

Honestly - I am in heaven.  

This was my mother's desk.  And I've had that bookcase on top of it for the past 20 years. It worked well but I do love having all the desk space to work on rather than only half of it.

The way it is positioned now, I can talk to Robert in the kitchen face-on, if I need to....and if he can hear me, over the sizzling saucepans....see?  And I can also see people straight away when they come to the front door.  Yay!  

I can also see all the photo albums that need to be sorted...oh well... you can't have everything.




I decided that I'm only going to have genealogy and local history books in my nook from now on....wow!  Who knew I had so many?  It's been a great exercise sorting out all my magazines/journals and all my books....I'm a bit embarrassed how many I have....




Do you see any titles you recognize?  

So - I'm pretty chuffed.  Re-energized.  All that sort of stuff.

I even set up a Control Journal for goodness sake.  That took me all day but made me very aware of how easily I get distracted by the next shiny object.....hmmmm.

I looked at my New Year's Resolutions from last year.

Of course, I was completely over-ambitious and probably completed only 6 out of 12 of my resolutions.  

I did study and attend workshops regularly.

I kept scanning family photos and finding out as much as I could about them.

I corrected and tagged Trove articles where possible.

I created a Graves page on my blog and a bit more too!

I presented a talk to the family history group at the library where I work.

I participated in a genchat.

In my blogging I reported on genea-adventures, Trove discoveries, continued to contribute to Sepia Saturday and The Book of Me.

So for 2015 I hope to do all that AND.....

Review magazines/books on my blog.

Go on more genea-adventures.

Publish a journal article or equivalent.

Participate properly in a Google Hangout.


Catch up on Gene TV shows.

Report on study I have undertaken.  

This afternoon I went a bit mad at Officeworks and bought, amongst other things,  a Dymo labeller - I feel like a proper grown-up now with a label maker (they're probably soooo last millenium now).  

And yes, one of those drawer organiser thingys.



i also bought an Olympus Digital Voice Recorder to record some Oral History interviews.  I'll let you know how that goes.

Oh and did I mention that my daughter said she would give me a DNA test for Xmas?  So I ordered that a couple of nights ago too.  

Wow!  I'm really excited about 2015 already.

Having said all that, I need for you to know that I went to a funeral on Friday.  

It was for a friend with whom I had lost contact over the years.  

She was only a couple of years older than me.  

It was a beautiful ceremony and lovely to see so many "old" friends.  

But heart-wrenching to witness their grief.  

One of the memorial items given out at the church was a bookmark. 

It had a very salutary quote on it from Neil Gaiman....

"You get what anybody gets - you get a lifetime."

Indeed.


A reminder to all of us to get our skates on.

My happiest memories of my time with Megan were our jazz ballet efforts to the tunes of Michael Jackson in the early 80s - followed swiftly by collapsing in front of the telly and laughing at Joan Collins' antics on Dynasty.  Sad but true.  

Lots of giggles.







Dancing is the loftiest, the most moving, the most beautiful of the arts, because it is no mere translation or abstraction from life; it is life itself.
                                                                                       Havelock Ellis

Vale Megan Orchard.




Comments

Best of luck with your goals for 2015 Alex, and I hope we catch up at a library near you soon. We do only have one lifetime and that is why I am also tidying up my research and living the moment. Thanks for the motivation in all your blog posts.
GeniAus said…
You are putting me to shame. Great work, Alex.
ALEX! I'm very impressed! VERY impressed! Your newly organised space looks amazing! Chuckle chuckle.

So sad about your friend Megan. Must have been the day for funerals. We went to Richard's send off on Friday, our lovely neighbour of 13 years. Mesothelioma.

Happy New Year. Thinking of you.
ScotSue said…
Alex, - I enjoyed your humorous style of writing about your organizational make over. The memory of your friend was poignant and I feel I should put somewhere prominent that quote "You get what anybody gets - you get a lifetime." .Good luck in your "Do Over".
diane b said…
Wow you must feel great with all that reorganising, What are you on??? I want some. Still can't see why people liked Michael Jackson.
tony said…
HAPPY NEW YEAR X Work Well! The Idea about recording audio-Oral History is especially interesting.
Kristin said…
Your new office looks inspirational. I had bookshelves on my desk at one point and it opened things up when I put them on the floor. I love the lifetime quote too.
Joan said…
Alex, I have to ask--- how is your genealogy reset going? The desk looks wonderful -- and I enjoyed the homey genealogy talk.
Alex Daw said…
Dear Joan - Hmmm...New Year's Resolutions are always so easy to well....break - aren't they? I'm loving the new desk arrangement. I haven't been keeping it as tidy as I would like. But an untidy desk is the product of a creative mind yes? I'm glad you enjoyed the talk.
Alex Daw said…
Thanks Kristin. Now if I could just get back to blogging!
Alex Daw said…
Dear Tony - Happy New Year to you too. Yes that certainly proved a challenge. More to come.
Alex Daw said…
Thanks Shauna. I shall look forward to seeing you again soon.
Alex Daw said…
Thanks Jill. You always set a very high benchmark my dear genefriend.
Alex Daw said…
Wow - I'm pleased to have caught the attention of the very busy Queen of the tea cosies. Yes, very sad beginning to a new year. Hugs.
Alex Daw said…
Dear Sue - Thank you for your good wishes. Yes - I need to put that quote up in big writing somewhere too xx
Alex Daw said…
Dear Diane - Yes it's a great feeling. Didn't last long though ;) Fell back into the usual bad habits !

Popular posts from this blog

31 Things to do in August for National Family History Month

NFHM Blogging Challenge - Week 1

Merry Month of May Movie Meme