Five Things Friday Vol. 15

Five Things Friday: just five things I’m thinking about or things that made my week, or things that I otherwise feel like sharing.

five things

As mentioned in my “Currently”-post, NaBloPoMo is upon us. Every year, I think I’ll drum up some excitement and find participants early and make it a “thing again”, and every year, November sneaks up on me as if I didn’t know that after October comes November. As always, I’ll take the challenge and will post 30 blog posts in 30 days. As always, you’re invited to join me (via the above link). It’s a totally casual, no-pressure invitation, but I’d love to read more from you this coming month if you’re up for it. Come on, what else do you have to do. It’s not like you’re going anywhere this holiday season. (Ha. Not funny, I know.) 

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I had my annual performance review this week and it went really well. I am glad to hear that my supervisor – and the other project managers that I work for – are happy with my (remote) work and what I have accomplished in the last year (especially considering the situation we’ve all been finding ourselves in since March). It was reassuring to know that progress was made, deadlines were met, and things were accomplished, and that everybody was able to stay productive during these trying times.

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4 days until election day. I know I sound like a broken record, but please vote. I think I know that many of you already have, but we need every last person to participate in this election this year. It’s too important to sit this one out. Here’s a reminder on how to vote in every state. At this point, you’ll have to make sure to find your local election office and vote in person. Stand in line, if you must. Bring a chair, bring a book, bring breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If you waited until now, this is what you’ll have to do to make your voice heard. Don’t let them turn you away.

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Here’s your reminder that we’ll change clocks this weekend. I am always on “alert” for that because Germany usually changes clocks one or two weeks earlier than we do (which temporarily “throws off” the phone FaceTime schedule I have with my family), so I am always prepared that it’s coming. At least, we gain an extra hour of sleep. I don’t know anybody who doesn’t need this right now!

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Are you “doing” something for Halloween? I am not expecting any trick-or-treaters (or, should I say, I am not planning to participate in any activities) and I am hoping that our neighborhood (which is very popular for Halloween) will not be crowded with people. I understand that it sucks for kids, but I also hope people stay sensible and find some other, more socially distanced activities closer to their home.

Happy Halloween!

  1. Happy Weekend!! My boys wanted to trick or treat so we were going to just walk the block. Our community doesn’t get to crowed. But then they changed their minds. It is hard. They have been stuck inside since pretty much spring break but we have to stay safe too. I got my vote it too! There was no line and I heard one of the volunteers say that I was only the 2nd person in an hour! OMG! I always say I want to try a post every month thing, but I fail miserably. Is there prompts for each day or just whatever you feel like posting?

    Have a great weekend!!

    1. Yay, so happy to hear you voted already… and I hope there was no line because many people have voted already! ;)
      I hope you guys will still have a fun Halloween tomorrow.

      There are no prompts for NaBloPoMo. I should have been more prepared, but I will post some post ideas in my first post on Sunday… if you feel like it, give it a go. If you skip a day or two, no big deal :) it’s just a fun way to connect!

  2. yes yes yes I will give NaBloPoMo another try this year. I think it’s the fourth one. Last year didn’t go well because of my arm injury. This year I have only lots of work stuff to blame it on. I really hope I will write post upon post and even if I miss a day I will write more than if I didn’t participate.
    I am not a Halloween Person and I haven’t opened the door for kids ringing the bell – I guess I am the mean neighborhood lady. However they know not to show up here so I am save – for tonight.
    Congrats on your work evaluation and that it went well. So good to have some positive news these days.

  3. I’ve never heard of NaBloPoMo! I’ve been thinking about taking advantage of NaNoWriMo this year – I haven’t done it since I was trying to recap all of my study abroad adventures! I feel like NaBloPoMo might be a little more manageable!

    Congrats on your review! That has to feel good good and be such a relief! I know I have a lot of friends who are really stressing about their evaluations this year.

    Our neighborhood was very quiet last night. I missed the trick-or-treaters, but I’m proud of my neighborhood for staying safe.

  4. Congrats on a good review! I have mine Wednesday – I was like, what was I thinking having this the day after the election? LOL.

    Did you see many trick-or-treaters outside? We live in the woods and saw 0, but I was surprised by some of the numbers I heard of treats handed out from people I know (but then some people said they had 0!).

    1. Oh no, you have your review on Wednesday? I am not sure what kind of mental state I’ll be in on Wednesday… ha! I hope it goes well!

      We didn’t see any trick-or-treaters on Saturday at all, but it could be, because our street is pretty quiet in a normal year, because the kids all go to the bigger houses a couple of blocks away LOL

  5. We just got a reminder that we will start the self-review process on the 4th, but we have until the 18th to write our review. I’m planning to do mine early so my boss can give me my review before I go out on mat leave. It sounds like he is willing to do mine early so it will be good to get it out of the way!

    We did not trick or treat or hang out candy. Our block organized a treat hunt for the kids which I personally think was more fun than trick or treating – at least for our super shy little guy. He had a blast running around in his costume and looking for eggs and cauldrons. Each kid got 5 eggs or cauldrons and a treat bag. It was a fun set up! I think/hope we’ll do it again next year even if things are more normalish. We then shut off our outdoor lights and laid low. We barely saw any kids on our block so I don’t think many were out trick or treating. So all in all, it was still a fun holiday!

  6. Congrats on a great annual review! That must have felt so great. Woohoo!

    I went to my mom’s for Halloween to hand out candy. (We wore masks and sanitized between each “treater.”) We saw around 27 kiddos, which apparently is way less than previous years. And no crazy crowded streets, at least where we were. What a weird year!

    I honestly do not know how I’m going to make it through the next few days (since I’m assuming we won’t have any official projections for some swing states later in the week). The anxiety is KILLING ME.

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