The Weekly Wrap-Up: January 22-26, 2018

Busy weeks are good. Busy weeks keep me distracted from the tin can I'll be flying in for 12 hours.

Mostly.

I'm getting there. I'm probably 70% packed, and I've got the whole weekend to get the rest of it around. It'll be good. I just hope I don't forget anything. I'm trying not to overdo it, but my list-making brain is trying to ensure I have everything for every possible eventuality. It'll be fine, though. I'm only going to the other side of the planet.

Moving on.

I'm done with the first group of Korean. I've started the second, but no way I'll be done until I get back. I wish I knew a little more of these languages. I don't even have to speak it, really, I just need to know the grammatical structure and punctuation rules. It would help a lot.

Lots of little side projects this week. Another email out to our organizers so they know to send in their reports. Editing documents for various uses. Trying to keep my organized mess a little more organized and a little less mess. Like that will ever happen.

If you happen to think of me over the next couple of weeks, say a little prayer, yeah? I'd appreciate it. And keep an eye on Facebook. I'm hoping to post some updates on the trip.

Bon voyage!

The Weekly Wrap-Up: January 15-19, 2018

Let's just be honest from the get-go. We might as well call this one "Jessica freaks out about going to the Philippines." It's trying extremely hard to be the only thing on my brain right now. I'm trying to ignore it (as much as feasible) because I have actual work that still needs to be done. Along with making 15,000 lists of stuff I need to do in the next week.

Moving on.

Of course the week started with a staff (not-so) briefing. I honestly can't remember anything that was talked about. It was longer than usual because we had IMAC meetings this week. This has little to no impact on my life at OMS. I just see people I don't usually see wandering the halls. (What does IMAC stand for? Good question. Uh... International Missionary Action Committee? Advisory Council? No idea. It's field stuff. Not HQ stuff. Unless it is. Who really knows?) It's also Board week. Which, again, has very little to do with me. Despite my best efforts.

Estonian is done. I finished it up pretty quickly. So I moved on to Korean. It's a bit of a brain freeze to go from a Latin language to a character language. Everything just works differently, yet the template remains the same. Fortunately, I was able to make the switch pretty quickly. It's a much shorter language, though. I might lose pages instead of having to add them. Weird.

It was my birthday this week! I know it's tradition for me to have some big existential post around this date. And you might get one in a few weeks. Or next week if I'm feeling like it. It was a good birthday. It's been a lengthy celebration, which is always nice. I have high hopes for a good year ahead.

But first, I have to get through this trip. I am looking forward to it, really. But I'm also feeling some serious anxiety. It's been five years since I left this country. That's way too long. I don't know how to do this anymore. Guys. My lists have lists. Here's hoping my parents will be an adequate distraction this weekend. 

The Weekly Wrap-up: January 8-12, 2018

Let's recap, shall we?

Monday: Subzero temperatures and snow on the ground
Wednesday: 56 degrees and all snow melted
Friday: 20s and snow

Joy.

It's been a full week. More computer problems, which is annoying. It's better now, but I feel like I'm just biding time until it craps out again.

I'm still working on that survey. Most of the other language stuff is a copy/paste job, but I still have to make sure the right text is in the right box. Plus, we're still trying to figure out who all it needs to go out to. For years, we've said we need a database, and for years, we've been promised one. Supposedly, it's in the works now. Call me Thomas, though, because I seriously doubt we'll see it anytime soon.

I'm also putting together an email to T&M license holders. Technically, they agreed to send a yearly report in when they signed the agreement. We never get very many, but I still have to give them the opportunity. Besides, we need stories for the annual report, which is also in the works.

I also, like the sap that I am, have been doing some editing for other departments. Mostly small stuff, but it does take time.

I'm nearly done with Estonian. This second group has had more errors than usual, though. Not sure what the deal is, but I've put a finer tooth comb to it than normal.

It was a prayer rally week. We had it off site this time, which was a nice change. We all plonked over to Community Church of Greenwood and spent some time praying on our own. It was a good experience, though I spent more time thinking through some things than I did praying.

It wasn't a waste. I decided that I'm tired of being on my own. So I guess that this is me officially announcing that I'm back on the market. I don't know that I really announced I was off the market. And I don't know why anyone would be interested. But for the sake of posterity, let it be known that this is the week Jessica decided to be more proactive about things.

Not that anything will come of it.

Ugh.

The Weekly Wrap-Up: January 2-5, 2018

Happy New Year!

I'm trying to figure out how we're nearly two decades into this century when my brain still thinks we're somewhere in the 90s. It's slowly easing into the naughts, but the process is quite slow.

It's always a challenge coming back after a long holiday. Especially when you're coming off the New Year. All these expectations and whatnot for the next 360-odd days. Plus, I've been getting regular sleep for a couple of weeks. It's difficult to get back into the swing of work after that.

Alas, swing we must.

Fortunately, this week wasn't too difficult. I've been taking down decorations and doing a bit of cleaning. I had a project all lined up and ready to go. I'm doing the next two groups of Estonian. I wasn't sure if I'd even remember how to do this stuff after being away, but I guess it's just like riding a bike.

Also, it's not work until you have a long conference call. Thankfully (natch), I was able to squeeze that in this morning. Out of that, I get to create a survey in three languages. Lucky me.

Not much else going on this week. There are still quite a few people out of the office. Plus, it's freezing. I have my heater, and it's barely doing the job. I'll be thrilled to make the trip to the Philippines. I have no taste for the cold.

Hopefully I'll have more exciting tidbits for you next week. In the meantime, don't do anything I wouldn't do. (Please recognize the leeway for what it is.)