The Weekly Wrap-Up: November 29 - December 3, 2021

Well, we're officially in the season of madness. Doesn't matter what year it is, the month of December is a madhouse. I don't know why it surprises me - I get caught off guard every year. Part of me is annoyed by the concept of Thanksgiving, because it's like this arbitrary wall between talking about Christmas and actually doing things for Christmas. Personally, I like decorating as early as I can because I enjoy the lights and everything, and also, if I don't do it early, IT WON'T GET DONE. Ain't nobody got time for putting up a tree after Thanksgiving. I'm barely keeping everything together even with my lists. I've got the ECC retreat coming up, ECC planning meetings, the OMS Christmas party (which I'm helping plan), my wife to murder, and Guilder to frame for it. I'm swamped.

Seriously, though, I can't remember the last time I was just able to sit back and enjoy the season. It's like saying "Next year in Jerusalem" at the end of Passover when you know full well that next year you will not be in Jerusalem. Probably. But there's that little smidge of hope that keeps you going. Humans are remarkable beings. 

Anyway. 

I had a lovely week off and a very nice Thanksgiving with my parents. I indulged in a little holiday shopping, but I didn't go overboard. Now we're back in the trenches, in our perpetual quest to catch up to some unknown point at which we will miraculously have completed everything we've ever put off. 

This week, I've been working on Tamil booklets. They come with their usual issues, but I've grown quite used to those, so it hasn't been too difficult. I'm also working on the ECC retreat and the OMS Christmas party, as mentioned above. I like being creative, but I must admit, I will be relieved when these things are come and gone. 

I went to see the Christmas episode of The Chosen on Wednesday. I don't think I talk about it much on here, but I love that show. I watch all the livestreams and invest where I can because I think it does a phenomenal job of introducing people to a very realistic portrayal of Jesus and the disciples. I enjoyed the Christmas episode, and I would encourage you to download the app and start watching if you haven't already. 

That's what I have for you this week. I hope your holiday plans include a chance to relax and enjoy the season. 

Bye!

The Weekly Wrap-Up: November 15-19, 2021

Greetings, fellow humans! I have returned from my dark sojourn to the sick halls also known as my apartment. Yes, I was indeed laid low with a bad cold last week, and while I am indeed still feeling poorly, I was well enough on Monday to return to the confines of my office. Doesn't mean I have to like it, though. 

Last week, I was able to finish some urgently needed projects before I crashed out on Wednesday. I got the new Mozambican Portuguese booklets from the first group done and published, with the added bonus of configuring a volume for them. I also got some work done on the retreat, giving everyone their gift recipient assignments. We should have a nice time this year. 

This week, I've been working on end-of-year cards and gifts. I'm also working on Tamil booklets. Most of my week has been spent clearing up stuff I missed last week and trying to get stuff done since I'll be gone next week. Yes, I am taking the week off for Thanksgiving. It will be nice to have a break in which I'm not constantly blowing my nose or hacking up a lung. That's assuming this thing clears up. (It's not COVID. Just a cold. I'm annoyed that I have to clarify that now.)

So, the next time we chat, it will be December. Geez Louise. A lot of this year has dragged (and been a drag), but these last few months just are flying by. I don't like it. 

Bye!

The Weekly Wrap-Up: November 1-5, 2021

This week has been all about Mozambican Portuguese. Just like Spanish and Castilian, Portuguese has differences depending on where it is spoken. Since we're using Portuguese in Africa now, we've had someone go through what has already been done (based on what is spoken in Brazil) and make a few changes. This mostly effects T&M booklets since we haven't already translated VCP materials. But it's a quick turnaround because they want to start using the materials ASAP, so I'm doing my best to get it ready for proofs and publishing. 

I've had so many meetings this week, and while they have all actually been good and useful, they also make my head hurt. I'm on the team planning the OMS Christmas party, I'm planning the ECC retreat with Sarah, I've put myself in charge of working on some safety plans for OMS (also with Sarah), and I still have to do the development stuff for the app and download sites. I am ready for some downtime. 

I don't have a lot of side rambles today. Sorry. 

I will leave you with a riddle, though. What did the Gingerbread Man put on top of his bed?

Comment with your guesses.

Bye!

The Weekly Wrap-Up: October 25-29, 2021

Yes, you are crazy. But also, I did not do a blog post last week. After three days of editing a dissertation, training people how to do volumes, retreat planning, insurance meetings, etc., I took Thursday and Friday off to do a deep clean of my apartment with my lovely mother. It was badly needed. But hey, I have a floor now!

This week has been quiet again. I think everyone is realizing they have vacation days left and are scrambling to use them. I've been dressing for the season this week, with my Renaissance Faire dress and a few other themed outfits. Why not have a bit of fun?

I've been doing quite a few small projects this week. We've had some projects that require small edits now that they've been in use for a while. I've been letting them collect, and this week has been the week for starting on them. I still have a few more to do as I've also been publishing more Portuguese booklets. 

I don't have any words of wisdom for you this week. I'm tired of all the political junk floating around, tired of seeing the news, and just fed up with the world in general. I'm going to watch some videos of baby animals and read some soothing Scripture. 

Bye!

The Weekly Wrap-Up: October 12-16, 2021

I am definitely a cat person.

I don't mind dogs. Really. But were I to officially own a pet, it would be of the feline variety. Dogs are exhausting.

Yes, I'm pet/house sitting again. Sonny is sweet and also still in the puppy phase of life. He is a useful exercise tool, but he also barks at random things at 5:45 AM. (Oh yeah, and for half the week, I was also cat sitting, but cats are much easier.)

This has been a productive week! I was able to publish group 7 of Portuguese in both European and African art. It's good timing, because we are going to start using Portuguese in Africa. To that end, I'm continuing work on the Portuguese Camel Method. I also managed to complete my prayer letter, so that will be out shortly. And with some excellent help from several people at OMS, we now have updated evacuation plan maps! Exciting stuff, let me tell you. We now know where to go in the event of a fire. (Outside. Get outside if there's a fire.)

That's about it for the week. I have Sonny until tomorrow, and then the cat again. I don't know how people travel so much, but it works out well for me, so I don't question it. See you on the flip side!

Bye.

The Weekly Wrap-Up: October 4-8, 2021

Have you ever had one of those days when everything seems to go wrong from the get-go? This week had at least three of those days. I'm just in a funk, I guess. I'll get over it.

I made some good progress on publishing a group of Portuguese booklets this week. I'd hoped to have them done, but we had some weird tech glitches that kept slowing me down. 

We had an OMS family meeting on Wednesday. Did your family actually ever do family meetings? Because mine didn't. Information tends to trickle the parental filter, and I can't think of a time when we all sat down to discuss something. Anyway, we talked about how the last few years have effected things at OMS. Fact is, we're shrinking. We have fewer resident missionaries and fewer donors than we did before, and with inflation, our dollars aren't going as far as they used to. It's a fact of life, but it's one that we need to overcome if we want to continue to be effective in our ministries. Will you join us in praying about this every day from 12:00 - 12:10? You can pray longer, of course, but we decided to use that time over the next 40 days to really focus on this one thing. 

Other than that, I've been updating some graphics and doing quality control. We had our team meeting on Thursday, which went really well. We got through some housekeeping items, but what I try to focus on is how things are going personally, not just at work. We all have lives outside of what we do for T&M and OMS, and I want my team to know that I'm there for them for that stuff as well. 

And that's it! I'm going to go home, take a nap, and get ready for a dog-sitting gig next week. Fun times!

Bye!

The Weekly Wrap-Up: September 26 - October 1, 2021

Greetings, fellow humans!

I felt quite productive this week. I was able to complete or work on lots of little things (and one big thing) that have been on my desk for a while. I like weeks like this.

Sarah, Mike, and I have started talking about the ECC Retreat. I doubt it will be a lollapalooza, but it will certainly be better than our completely online celebration last year. It always amazes me how much time it takes to plan these, despite being part of planning for the last couple of years. Thankfully, Sarah is much better at the details, and I can be there to talk to people on the phone when she doesn't want to. 

I FINISHED THE PORTUGUESE CAMEL METHOD. Yes, all 108 pages are in the proofreaders hands, and hopefully, there will be very few changes. After a while, I did find myself putting the wrong text in the wrong place just because my eyes started swimming from all the text. But I'm pretty sure I fixed all of those wrong'uns. 

I fixed a Tagalog booklet that needed to be republished, and I published all of the booklet formats for Castilian. We use a particular program for that because Adobe wants you to do it one file at a time. I'm not doing that for 85 files. But Lynae, who published the rest of Castilian, doesn't have the program, so I finished that for her. (We're trying to get a different program, but it's slow going. Technology is great when it works, am I right?)

The rest of the week has been decent. Lots of meetings as usual, and only a few of them could have been an email. My mom is in town so we can work on stuff for her church, and I am quite pleased to spend time with her. 

Give your loved ones a squeeze this weekend. They deserve it for putting up with you.

Bye!