What day is this?
One of my good friends, Mason Gamble, starred in a movie called Groundhog Day. Now, in the movie as many of you know, the main character gets up every day and it is the same as the day before, but he does a bunch of little things based on the previous “day” to affect the outcome.
Every day for the past 2 weeks has seemed like this.
Get up, go to work, come home, do … something, go to bed, rinse repeat.
Nothing spectacular, nothing memorable… just a sense of “being.” Part of the problem is that I have a hard time saying “no” to people who ask me to do things. Oftentimes I just say yes and then get angry that they asked me to do something. Things at the theatre are not going the way I thought they would, and it is always the same people doing everything. So much so that I snapped the other night at somebody who asked me to help out with ushering at a performance this weekend.
The same people who volunteer for everything are always asked to do more things. Because they can be depended upon. While that is a compliment, sometimes it is frustrating. “Would you PLEASE find somebody else???” I felt like screaming. When, in fact, all I needed to say was no.
No.  That has a nice ring to it. No. No No No No.
This past year and a half I have become more involved in other activities than I ever have. And it has put a strain on all of the activities because I can’t give 100% to each one any more. I lost count how many Monday meetings and campouts I missed this past year.
Another side effect is that I haven’t taken any vacation, and my anniversary is coming up at work, where I will get 2 weeks next year. I think some well-needed rest and relaxation are going to be needed over Christmas and New Years this year. Maybe a weekend trip to Vegas? Something.
Oh yeah, and why won’t technorati index my pages anymore? 
Technorati Tags: technorati, theatre, saying no, outside commitments, volunteer burnout
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I know all about the volunteer “snowball”…
Don’t be afraid to say no. The person who asked probably did so with “the worst they can say is no” in their mind, and were already thinking of the next person they could ask. This weekend’s campout is close, so if you feel like popping over to go on a five-mile hike with us in the morning, or just goofing off in the afternoon (leaves+river+trees=fun), drop on by.