Chuck Norris Approved

Just a quick post tonight to officially make the change I've been contemplating for a few months now.  Yes, I'm officially changing one of my Operation 30 items.  Why?  Because in hindsight I realize this one wasn't really something that I should have set out to accomplish in less than a year and a half.  Which one am I changing?  #20. Sit on the Board of an Organization I'm passionate about.

While I'm not scratching this as a life bucket list item, I recognize that it will take longer to establish myself in the two organizations I've chosen to commit myself to:  Young Friends of Children's Hospital and Young Variety.  (Both are charities that dedicate themselves to sick and mentally or physically challenged children, which I'm excited to try to do my part and make a positive difference in supporting.)  

Sure, I could have scrambled to find an organization that would have let me sit on their Board simply to be able to check this one off my list, but I feel that would have been missing the point of why I originally put this one on my list in the first place.  For me this one is all about being in a position to make a positive difference in an organization whose values and mission support those less fortunate than me.  I can't begin to imagine what having a serious illness or disability must be like for the children and families who have to deal with it everyday.  So any time spent as a volunteer to help plan events that support such people feels like an extremely worthwhile effort and something I already have a lot of enthusiasm to do.  (So maybe look for this one on a rumored Operation 40 Before 40 list.)

What am I replacing as #20?  After much consideration (and bouncing this off more than a few friends), I've landed on something that I've always wanted to do but never really taken the time to learn.  Here it is (*insert drumroll sound effect):

#20.  Learn how to french brain my own hair

 TA DA!  (*Insert game show consolation music, as I know this lacks a certain pizzazz quality in comparison.)  BUT - I have to say that I'm extremely excited to take this on (with the help of YouTube), and develop a practical skill in the process.  I've been growing my hair out for about a year now, so it's finally starting to get to a good length to be able to do a lot with it, which is exciting.  Granted, I'm the furthest thing from a hair pro, but would love to be able to do more than my standard side low braid that's become a part of my regular hair rotation.  

So there it is.  I changed my list.  The good news is that I ran it by the Operation 30 Steering Committee first (me, myself and I), who gave it universal approval.  I have no qualms about the change, but wanted to formally blog about the rationale behind my decision rather than simply changing it under the radar.  

Oh, and if approval by the Steering Committee isn't enough for some of you, Chuck Norris also gave his stamp of approval on the change, so I don't want to hear any lip about it.  :-)    

PB (Post Blog) - Derby hat procurement is coming along!  Went shopping today with my friend, Ann, to get a sense of style, size, color, etc.  Much more to blog about on the subject at a later date!

Fighting Tooth and Nail

A quick update on progress with #17 - Stop biting my nails.  I realize that I never really set a baseline of where I was starting from when I set this as a part of my list.  Let me clarify...

I've been biting and picking at my nails for as long as I can remember.  (It's a not-so-awesome habit I'm quite sure was learned by watching my dad who is also a chronic biter/picker.)  Growing up I always had short, jagged nails.  I recall once in fourth grade my mom was able to get me to stop for a period of time.  There was some form of a positive incentive involved (as would be typical for my mom's style of motivating others).  However, thinking back I cannot remember exactly how she motivated me to stop for that short time, only that she helped to reinforce my efforts by painting my nails often for me.    

Never since have I even attempted to stop biting or picking my nails.  I came to simply accept it as a part of my fidgety personality.  Throughout high school and college I would get my nails done with acrylics for special occasions like dances and formals, but it was never more than 2-3 weeks later when they had grown out and I had picked them off to return again to an even more jagged and weakened state.  

For the past four years or so I've been going regularly to Star Nail in South County to get acryilic nails put on, filled, and refilled every 2-3 weeks.  (Yes, I drive the 23 miles from the city because I've never found anyone who can do them so consistently well and fast as Tammy.)  I always ask that they be filed "very short" so as not to bother me as they grow out over the coming weeks.  Somewhat sad that nails just barely visible over my fingertips are fake, but that's been my reality for years now.  

With fake nails I haven't been able to pick my real nails to their former ragged status, but perhaps I deserve some creative credit for the ways I've found to mutilate them despite the acrylic barrier in the way.  Peeling and picking away my natural nail underneath the acrylic nail has been a regular activity.  Utilizing paperclips and mechanical pencils as tools, I have many times been guilty of fidgeting with my real nails (to the point of bleeding!) in meetings and work.  In fact, I happen to think I've developed a high tolerance for pain in my fingers simply due to all of the self-inflicted damage I've done to them over the years.

Biting has remained a problem too.  Many times I've become obsessed over "getting" that flagging piece of skin or cuticle around my nail bed.  I have regularly gnawed at my thumbs and fingers until only a nasty, bleeding mess remained.  If you'd like a visual of what I'm talking about, here's a picture from February of last year:  

So there - baseline set.  I'm a chronic nail picker and cuticle biter and have been for as long as I can remember.  What motivates me to pick and bite as I do?  To this day I haven't been able to figure it out entirely, but know that it's at least partly to do with nerves, boredom, anxious energy, and my fidgety tendencies.  Why did I put this on my Operation 30 list?  Because I was tired of having bloody nails and cuticles and viewed it as a good mental challenge to tackle.  

How am I doing so far?  Despite some procrastinated efforts in starting on this one, I'm making progress.  Seven out of ten of my formerly mutilated phalanges are looking beautiful.  The other three?  Honestly, not bad, but still showing signs of healing from a recent attack.  If you don't believe me, here's proof:

  

Like my new nail polish?  (I do!)  It's different for me, but I saw something similar in my Women's Health magazine this past month and decided to give it a try.  Something fun for the upcoming St. Pat's festivities, I suppose.  It's also part of my strategy to overly focus on how much I like my nails and don't want them to look like a bloody, jagged mess.  So far, so good, but I'm still trying to do some psycho-analysis on when I actually start to fidget.  It's become such a part of my subconscious that it's harder than I thought to catch myself in the act to trace back why I started in the first place.  Therefore if anyone sees me picking or biting my nails in person, you officially have permission to stop me using gentle but firm tactics (meaning flicking, not slapping).  

I'm also considering picking up pen twirling as a substitute outlet for my fidgety energy.  Apologies in advance for anyone I throw a pen at as I build my expertise.  :-)

Donkey Pride

Disclaimer - this blog post is about politics.  HOWEVER, I'm going to purposely avoid any background or passionate discourse about the stance I have on key issues or why I feel the way I do on certain matters.  I'm going to simply say that I feel strongly enough about the subject and my party of choice that I felt the need to make giving my time to it a part of my Operation 30 journey.  (For anyone who likes to engage in intelligent conversation on the subject, know that I'm almost always game provided the discussion goes beyond the typical rhetoric of the mainstream media.)  

Over the years I've given my financial support to the Democratic National Committee and the 2008 election inspired me to give specifically to our current President, but somehow the donations here and there seemed too easy to really feel like I was making a meaningful difference.  Although, I do enjoy the "Thank You's" I get from the President and Vice President themselves... ;-)

But seriously, when all I have to do is click on a link, fill in a few cells online and boom - I've "contributed", I feel a little lazy.  It's like buying a new coat online from Victoria's Secret...but without that new coat feeling you get from trying it on once it arrives.  (And who doesn't love that feeling?!)  So when I decided to put this one on my list over a year ago it obviously wasn't about putting my money where my mouth was, but putting my time (a very precious resource) where my money was.  And so I did...

#28.  Volunteer for the Democratic Party - check!

Even though I had only signed up the weekend prior to volunteer, I had mentally started much earlier.  In the same spirit of my "go big or go home" approach to most on my list, I had sought and found apparel that I thought would be fitting for my volunteer efforts:  a screened Obama bowling shirt and Democratic donkey and "VOTE" necklace (which I fashioned together through a couple of Etsy purchases).  I was ready to do my duty for the DNC.  

So apparel donned, I showed up to my area Obama Headquarters in downtown St. Louis at about 11:45am (characteristically late for the 11:30am start).  Once there I was guided to a sign-in sheet and then to John who gave me training on how to effectively call my list of names.  I have to admit, I would have much rather done just about anything than call random strangers to see if they'd be interested in helping at future support events, but I figured, 'Hey, if this is what the campaign needs to me to do, then I'm in.'  

And call I did with about eight or ten other volunteers.  In a little over two hours I called 77 people from my seven pages of names.  Disappointingly, many of the numbers on my list were disconnected.  Many were also either unanswered or unavailable.  That's why I was grateful when I was able to talk with Gregory from South City who committed to help at the upcoming Voter Registration on Saturday.  SUCCESS!  Sure, one out of 77 isn't a good percentage any way you slice it, but at least I had gotten someone else involved and who knows how many people he might get involved and how active he might end up being in the campaign ahead.   

Before I left I shared my DNC volunteer item on my Operation 30 list with Karen and James, the two leaders present at the phone bank.  They were both very supportive and excited, and James even gave me his personal Obama pin off his jacket.  (Yes, that's it in the picture.  Of course, I politely tried to decline, but he insisted.)  I also decided that my contribution to the DNC or President Obama's re-election campaign won't stop at calling 77 people.  I'm signed up to volunteer again in a couple of weeks.  :-)