In a slump

[pegkerr]

It's been very difficult the past few days, and I'd be hard pressed to say why. Winter slump/doldrums. The house and my office are messy, swamped with papers, which always makes me wild with irritation. It's been extremely difficult to get the girls to do their homework, practice their violins, pick up their rooms, etc. Cooperation is at an all-time ebb. I whacked away at piddley stuff today, balancing my checkbook, but feel overwhelmed with all the life-maintenance stuff I need to do. Have been weaseling out of doing my workouts lately; went out and bought new aerobics shoes today and am renewing my determination to get up and do workouts, at 5:15 a.m., God help me. Tomorrow for sure, I promise.

Sometimes life is both so uninteresting that there seems hardly any point at writing journal entries and so loathsome that one can hardly bear the dreary details. Ugh.

In a funk,
Peg

Comments

[kishmish.livejournal.com]

Awww. I'm sorry, but don't worry, all you need is one ray of sunshine to spread and light up everything else. I know, corny, but one good thing basically colors everything else. Watch a good movie or read a good book, always a good pick me up (Chicago is lovely btw). I'm impressed that even in the doldrums you manage to to find the will to work out. Even on my good days, that kinda will power is scarce:D And I'm sure your kids will surprise you, they always do.
Cheer up^_^ When all else fails, look to your Aragorn action figure:D

Thanks

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Your last line, in particular, about my Aragorn action figure made me laugh.

Actually, it's quite funny: I've noticed that when I'm working out on my aerobic step in my office, and I do one of the more energetic turns, Aragorn starts shimmying because the bookcase shakes a bit. It cracks me up every time.

Re: Thanks

[kishmish.livejournal.com]

ha ha! Who says Kings can't get down?^_^ Now I'm laughing; I have this mental image of an ickle Aragorn shaking and shimmying. Who knew he had a secret clubbing life?:D So that's what the side door is for...
Glad you laughed though^_^

[pameladean]

"Sometimes life is both so uninteresting that there seems hardly any point at writing journal entries and so loathsome that one can hardly bear the dreary details. Ugh."

I know exactly what you mean. In such moods, I feel I simply cannot stand this or that a moment longer. The things themselves are irritating, but they aren't tragic or tortuous. I just feel I want to pitch them all out the window, whether they are in fact pitchable or not.

I take Vitamin C for it. I have no idea if that would do you any good. But it seems to make things more bearable. I didn't expect this effect; I started taking it after reading about some studies that purported to show that people suffering from the "don't-wannas" about exercise had low blood levels of Vitamin C and felt more like tackling their programs after taking supplements or drinking orange juice. But it seems to do for the "I can't stand this" mood too.

Pamela

[skg.livejournal.com]

A little Aragorn icon to brighten your day.

I vote that you not weasel out of your workouts if you want to beat the winter doldrums. I too am an early AM workout person (5:30 EST), and I find it helps me to avoid SAD-like depression all winter. Good to do it near a window too, if you can.


Hope things start looking up soon. :o)

Sarah

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

I did do my workout this morning. FIRM: Total Body Sculpting. My legs will kill me all day.

Thanks for the icon.

Cheers,
Peg

[porcinea.livejournal.com]

The sun will return! Every day, minute by minute, for a little bit longer each time.

<nekkid sun dance>

<shiver>

[papersky.livejournal.com]

There are two things that help me a lot when I feel like that.

The first is imagining the interest that the fascinated people in the future will find in the loathsome details. So it's worth making the effort, if you can imagine someone wanting it. This is mostly for writing things.

The other, which has been called "avoiding depression by inviting dissociative disorder" is to get my characters to cope with my mundanity. Dirty laundry is much easier to sort when you have people accustomed to washing with stones in streams considering the ingenuity of a washing machine and sternly taking me to task for not appreciating it properly. (And oh my god, the beauty of that china, it must have taken some mastercraftsman weeks to make, and you're prepared to scratch it with a sponge?) Making messy piles into neat piles is easier with a comment like "Earth people are so lazy. They rely on gravity to keep things tidy."

The other thing I did that worked when Zorinth was small, was that I always got up at 5am. The thing is, nobody would do houswork at 5am, nobody would expect anyone to, and anyway, you'd wake people up, it would be antisocial. And because of the times other people had to start the day, nobody else had to be up before eight. Indeed, nobody else was allowed to be up before eight. Before eight other people were allowed to read quietly in bed without disturbing me, and that's all they were allowed to do. At eight, we all got up and had breakfast and went to school/work whatever, that's when the day started. So I had three hours there before the day started in which I could write and answer email and read usenet without guilt -- guilt? The day hadn't even started yet! Yes, I went to bed earlier, but wasn't I entitled to go to bed? I was tired! And I'd get up rested and refreshed and write before the day, children, work, all that stuff, had a chance to frazzle me.

I heard of this method of writing with small children from Rumer Godden's autobiography A Time to Dance, No Time to Weep.

[aome.livejournal.com]

I would guess part of the reason for the slump is the Return To Reality, after what sounded like a lovely, largely responsibility-free weekend.

As for the 'life is so uninteresting' thing -- I think it sometimes is good to record those days as well as the days Where Things Happen because it all helps create the sense of your life, the ups and downs, the daily feel. And if some of those days are just "well, nothing in particular happened" days, that's something in itself in a way, isn't it? Besides, you can always come to vent about the things which frustrate you, just to get it out of your system.

I hope you can find some sunshine, or some good lightbulbs, and perhaps buy a pot of crocuses or something to help cheer you a bit. Small treats can sometimes go a long way. :)

Cheers

[kijjohnson.livejournal.com]

I've been feeling the same way, too. I'm sure that the exhiliration of our weekend has made everyday life seem just that much less interesting and satisfying. Maybe if the sun comes out....

Poor honey.

[anoisblue.livejournal.com]

Hi Peg - I thought I'd come to introduce myself and have a look around. Your ice sculpture photograph was lovely, but I had to comment on this. I was just in a class this past week where we took a little test to determine our "learning style." The choices were visual, auditory or tactile. Of course, most people are a combination of all of them to differing degrees. I was primarily visual and the one question that sticks out in my mind is that really illustrates that particular style is the need to have a work area clear of clutter to work. It sounds like you must be the same way. I can tune out voices, no problem, but not clutter around my desk. It irritates me, too.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Thanks for stopping by to say hi. Congratulations on getting your first book back in galleys. Very exciting!

You are probably right about clutter. Yes, it drives me mad. Unfortunately, I do have to deal with a lot of clutter in my life because that's my husband's personal style. He just cannot bear to get rid of anything, so it's a continual struggle. I plan to take some big whacks at the papers in my office in the next couple of weeks; undoubtedly that will help.

Peg