(San Juan Surf)

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JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: On the mend finally. This cold just doesn't seem to want to let go.
CALLIOPE: What's up today?
JOE: Plenty. I have a full schedule and hope I have energy for it all.
CALLIOPE: For example?
JOE: I have yoga class at 10:30, lunch with a writer friend at 12:00, my daughter coming for help preparing her taxes at 2:30 and a funeral home to visit tonight.
CALLIOPE: Is that it?
JOE: No. I have some calls to make in between.
CALLIOPE: Any time for writing today?
JOE: I might be able to work on our book for a while.
CALLIOPE: How far are you?
JOE: I have finished our conversations through July.
CALLIOPE: That sounds good.
JOE: I'm glad I am this far. I try to work on one month each day. It should be finished next week, or at least the draft should. Talk with you tomorrow after I catch my breath.

(Exercise in Astoria Park, New York)

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JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Relieved.
CALLIOPE: On what account?
JOE: Because I finally decided I was spending entirely too much time on web site development. I was interested in web site optimization but everything else took a back seat including writing and editing. I realized I have other priorities.
CALLIOPE: Sounds sensible. What did you work on yesterday?
JOE: After I realized my morass, I worked on editing Marital Property.
CALLIOPE: And today?
JOE: I will be out for a while today. However I have a column to write and plan to make it a priority today.
CALLIOPE: What are you writing about?
JOE: I found a newspaper article about dirty tricks college applicants and their parents use against their competition, quite reminiscent of recent political ads. I thought I would write about the implications of such tactics for the author as well as for society and maybe some alternatives.
CALLIOPE: Sounds like a good topic. Good luck with it. Anything else going on?
JOE: I plan to continue working on editing Marital Property.
CALLIOPE: Is you website functional for now?
JOE: I think so. Why don't you take a look. Talk with you tomorrow.

(Mini Conservatory)

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JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Fine. I'm ready to get going on my writing.
CALLIOPE: What did you accomplish yesterday?
JOE: Less than I hoped. I wrote my journal entry, posted our blog and finished my newspaper column for Saturday. I was ready to get going on marketing but decided to check my calendar first to see if I missed anything. I almost did. I had fifteen minutes to get to Rochester for an arthritis study appointment. Needless to say I was a bit late.
CALLIOPE: When you got back did you get to work?
JOE: Sort of. I had some shopping to do in Batavia and decided a bedroom wall needed to be painted before our new bed was delivered.
CALLIOPE: Sounds like distractions.
JOE: I suppose so. But I at least took a little time to think about writing priorities even though I did not make any concrete progress.
CALLIOPE: And your plans for today?
JOE: Fortunately I have nothing on my schedule. My first task will be to develop a list of tasks, priorities and time lines for my marketing activities (once again.)
CALLIOPE: Do you have any general plans.
JOE: Yes. My marketing efforts have been sorely neglected with the exception of sprucing up my web site. I plan to lay out specific marketing videos and get them recorded and posted by the end of next week on My Space and You Tube at a minimum. I am also thinking of posting them on my Sliding Otter website. I would like them available but don't want to slow down my Commonsense Wisdom website. That's my current plan.
CALLIOPE: Sounds good. Keep me posted.
JOE: I will. Talk with you tomorrow.

(My new work space)

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JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. I've missed you.
JOE: I've missed talking with you as well.
CALLIOPE: Is your move finally completed?
JOE: It is. Yesterday I finished cleaning my old apartment and handed in the keys.
CALLIOPE: And your new space?
JOE: Also fully functional. Tuesday the cable people people came to hook me up to the Internet, VOIP phone as well as television, such as it is.
CALLIOPE: So, back to work?
JOE: Yes. I'm ready and have been a little restless during my hiatus.
CALLIOPE: Where do you plan to start?
JOE: By getting specific. I know the general commitments I have made to myself- blog, newspaper columns, marketing and working on Marital Property as well as Commonsense Wisdom for Teens.
CALLIOPE: How do you plan to get specific?
JOE: By laying out objectives, tasks and time lines.
CALLIOPE: Do you feel that is necessary?
JOE: Yes. Lately I have felt like I have been spinning my wheels with all the balls I'm trying to keep in the air. I often don't know what to do next. I need to get organized. That's one of my goals for today. Talk with you tomorrow.

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JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. I thought we were to talk on Saturday.
JOE: We were. However it turned out to be a nicer day than I thought it would be and I decided to go the air show with my son.
CALLIOPE: I guess I can't compete with family. What's going on in your writer life?
JOE: I continued the theme I started last week, evaluating where I am with my life, including my writing life.
CALLIOPE: Have you reached any conclusions yet?
JOE: Not really. I don't want to rush the process. There's no hurry.
CALLIOPE: I guess not. Any work on your writing?
JOE: Not this weekend. I have been busy with people- Air Show, church, visiting friends.
CALLIOPE: It's good to be with people. As I recall that was one of the areas of your life you wanted to expand.
JOE: Correct. I also had a chance to do some reading- Poisonwood Bible and The Power and the Glory.
CALLIOPE: I don't recall you mentioning the second book.
JOE: I haven't. It is about the abuse of power in the reign of Pope John Paul II, whom many people revere as a saint.
CALLIOPE: What does the book say?
JOE: Despite the reputation, he ruled with a conservative iron fist. That was not a surprise. The papacy certainly has had a checkered history. Talk with you tomorrow.
(Rocky Mountains- Estes Park, CO)

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JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Fine. I'm off to a good start.
CALLIOPE: Tell me about it.
JOE: I have been thinking that it's time to consider where my life is headed and whether I'm satisfied with my direction.
CALLIOPE: How far did you get?
JOE: Not very far other than having the idea. I thought about it this morning and remembered the guided journal, What Really Matters to Me by Robyn Conley-Weaver.
CALLIOPE: Did you complete the assignments?
JOE: No. I just started the journal. I think that was when I switched to a regular journal and eventually to our conversations.
CALLIOPE: So now what?
JOE: I will review the journal. I think it might give me a framework for re-evaluating where I stand right now and where I'm headed.
CALLIOPE: Sounds like a good idea. Why now?
JOE: Several reasons. I am planning a move fairly soon and I have been weeding out the detritus of my life- deciding what to keep and what to discard. That has brought to mind reconsidering my life direction. I also feel a little unfocused and sometimes overwhelmed by my daily activities. Time to get organized.
CALLIOPE: I'm all for it.
JOE: I plan to start this morning. I'll keep you posted. Talk with you tomorrow.
(Original Erie Canal Lock- Lockport, NY)

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JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Okay. I am coming to some resolution of my video camera mystery.
CALLIOPE: How so?
JOE: I visited the dealer yesterday and learned that the camera is working fine. The problem seems to be with my computer.
CALLIOPE: Does that surprise you?
JOE: Not really. I have been having some other problems lately and think it might well be difficulty with an outmoded operating system.
CALLIOPE: And the solution?
JOE: Replace it with a more up to date one. It is rather a bother however since I will have to reload all my programs.
CALLIOPE: Is that such a big deal?
JOE: Not really. It just takes time, and time is something I have been thinking about lately.
CALLIOPE: In what regard?
JOE: I am beginning to realize I won't live forever. I can keep sailing on or decide how I want to spend whatever time I have left.
CALLIOPE: Do you need to make a decision?
JOE: Probably not. But I feel I am drifting lately and would like to be more focused. I will give this issue some thought in the next few days. Talk with you tomorrow.
(Ernestina- New Bedford, MA)