Do It Myself Blog – Glenda Watson Hyatt

Today marked Week Three of being cooped up inside during the worst Canadian winter in my lifetime. The decorative strips in the windows are feeling more like prison bars.

Thankfully Mom brought in a load of groceries last Sunday. We have plenty of food for a few more weeks. And, we do have neighbours we can call on should we need anything.

Others with disabilities, particularly with physical disabilities, and seniors may be more isolated, even if they live in the city. Meals on Wheels haven’t been able to deliver every day, leaving many seniors without hot meals. HandyDART doesn’t run in some areas when it snows. Sidewalks and curbcuts are impassable, further restricting people from being out and about in their community.

Even though the tinsel and garland have been put away, please extend the Christmas spirit by checking in on your neighbours, especially those living alone. Let them know you would be happy to:

• shovel the driveway and walkways,
• fetch the mail,
• take out the garbage and recycling,
• pick up groceries (and prescriptions or medical supplies),
• run urgent errands, and
• prepare a few meals.

Talking over a cup of tea or watching a movie together can make the long winter days less lonely and isolating.

Last year I followed Christine Kane’s lead in choosing one word to guide me through the year. Focus was my word for 2008. What I discovered about finding focus was interesting and quite helpful.

While 2008 was drawing to a close, I began thinking about my word for 2009. Should I stay focused to truly master it or should I move onto a new word?

I went about my daily stuff: checking my email, tweeting, responding to Facebook comments received via email, deleting email notifications of invitations to Kiss the Frog or Toss the Vampire and then declining them on Facebook. I remember screaming in my head, “This is bullshit! There has to be a better way.”

Being in these communities and using these tools is great. Friends, readers and even stalkers can reach me via the method they are most comfortable with: a Facebook comment or message, a tweet or DM on Twitter, a blog comment, or a good, old-fashioned email. Talk about accessibility!

I love being this connected and interacting with people from everywhere. However, there is only one of me; only one left thumb! I find it impossible to keep up, plus do the work that I actually do. I don’t like having 1376 emails in my inbox alone (of which 620 are unread), many of which deserve some kind of response; another 447 Twitter followers yet to follow and Facebook messages in my Bacn “emails I want but not right now” folder; and the list goes on.

There has to be a better way, I say!
A way to mash together
Facebook, Linkedln, Flickr,
YouTube, Viddler, and Twitter.
Please say its so!

This year I will search every
Megabyte, gigabyte, and terabyte
On blogs, wikis and tweets,
I’ll be emailing, DMing and PMing
My people, peeps, and tweeps
For wazoodles, widgets and gidgets
To follow, connect and friend
Friends, readers, robots too!

To be the best connector,
Inter-actor and communicator
With one left thumb
I will, I must streamline,
I say, in 2009!

With snow piled up outside, making it impossible for Darrell and I get beyond the front gate, this afternoon was a great time to reflect upon this past year. 2008 was quite a year. I feel like I didn’t have a chance to slow down at all!

Here’s a brief review of my goals for 2008:

My Contribution to the Blogosphere

The blogosphere is all about building relationships. One great way to build those relationships and to contribute back to the blogosphere is to comment on other blogs. My goal was to comment on ten blogs per week – five comments on blogs I had previously commented on to further strengthen those relationships, and five comments on new-to-me blogs to expand my network by forming new relationships.

This year I left 153 comments (make that 154) in the blogosphere, excluding the ones I left during Liz Strauss’ Open Mic Nights and the ones left on various Disaboom blogs. The result wasn’t what I had envisioned. However, part way through the year, I realized leaving comments isn’t the only way to contribute to the blogosphere (or the only measure of success of a blog post). Using Twitter has become a major tool in contributing to the blogging community – and I did my fair share of tweeting this year!

My Word for the Year

I chose FOCUS as my word for 2008. To me, FOCUS entails minimizing my technologically-induced ADHD, decluttering and simplifying my surroundings, multi-tasking only when appropriate – tasks requiring my full attention will receive it.

During my year’s journey, I found being able to focus means setting up the right environment, externally and internally. Having the right tools to complete a task made the single

most difference. I also discovered eight other strategies for finding focus.

My Bucket List

Let’s see what I cross off of my bucket list for 2008:

• Spend more time with my kitty purring in my ear. – That is one of the most soothing sounds I know.
• Listen more to my husband’s beating heart. – His beating heart is the other most soothing and reassuring sound I know.
• Write love letters to him. – Oops! I would like to say right here that Darrell is one of the wisest and most patient people I know. I am honoured to be his wife. 
• Find a way to get to the north shore to watch the eagles soar. – I didn’t get to the north shore. But, I did receive a most spectacular framed photo of an eagle as a surprise birthday gift. (Thanks so much Nance and Damien!)
• Meet more of my invisible friends. – Yes! 
• Be in the ‘real’ world more. – This really depends on the season. At the moment, Darrell and I are unable to get beyond the front gate. We have been cooped up inside for more than two weeks now due to snow. 
• Connect with more of my invisible friends in a real way, if I can’t meet them in person yet. – An ongoing effort. 
• Become more physically active. – Again, depends on the season. 
• Finish selling the first print run of my autobiography. – Autographed copies are still available!
• Continue searching for a cp-friendly bra. – Why the heck did I include this here!
• See Anne Murray in concert, finally! – She was fabulous!
• Get organized for when I do kick the bucket. – It’s a good thing I haven’t kicked the bucket yet!
• Make a positive difference or impact on people’s lives. – I hope I have. You, my readers, can decide.
• Reconnect with my penpal Paivi and my Brownie friend Karen. – Yes! I have made initial contact with both of them. Now to follow up and fill in one another about our lives and such. 

Blog for a Year

In 2007, I was vying for first place in the Blog for a Year contest and the opportunity to be paid to blog for one year. Although I didn’t win the contest, I did land a contract to blog at Disaboom.

I have enjoyed my year at Disaboom and have formed a few more relationships. Learning the Community Server blogging platform was definitely challenging. To be honest, I much prefer WordPress – a lot less frustrating to use.

However, yesterday I was notified my contract was being terminated due to budget reallocation. Not the best news for beginning the New Year. I will miss that bit of income. But, strangely, the contract turned out to be for one year and I made slightly more than I would have had I won the contest. Hmm, a universe thing?

Onto to the next opportunity!

Let’s Feed 100 People Christmas Dinner

This was definitely a moving highlight for me! Thank you to everyone who made this happen.

And thank you for making this a wonderful year! I’d like to wish you health, happiness and love in 2009!

Dear Santa,

Christmas cards are mailed. Most presents are wrapped. Christmas dinner plans for nine have been downsized to two due to the eighteen inches of snow outside (and its still snowing!). About all that is left to do is to write your this letter.

I have left this to the last minute not because I am disorganized this year, but because I wasn’t sure what to write. You see, except for a few bumps, I have had a good year. I am feeling very blessed and content. There is nothing specific I would like to ask for. There are, however, things I would like to give to others, but they are beyond my means at the moment. Hopefully those things will find their way to the individuals by other means.

The one gift that I would like to ask for is that my family and friends, near and far, receive the one thing that they truly need at this point in their life’s journey.

Wishing you and the reindeer a safe trip. Merry Christmas!

With love from, 
Glenda 

My first video message to you, my readers and friends: