I’ve spent a lot of time learning how not to worry. The below is what I know after a close-to-forty-year study of the subject. As a child, I took worrying very seriously. I routinely worried about topics ranging from the death of my little finger (long story) to the probability that California would break away from the rest of the United States and float out into the ocean to sink (with my older sister aboard). When we learned to write letters in school, I eschewed the offer of a traditional pen pal. Instead, I promptly reached out to President George H. W. Bush to detail a short list of my…
Tier 3 Activities: Test Yourself
A few weeks ago during a trip to Maine, I was sitting outside a backcountry hut in Baxter State Park, talking to some hikers. I was there to attempt to climb Mt. Katahdin (spoiler alert-I made it. See photo.) and we were comparing route tips and other adventure stories. Somehow we got on the topic of fly boarding, one of my very favorite outdoor adventure activities. (For those of you that are not familiar, fly boarding consists of hooking a platform with a water spout on its underside up to a jet ski, then using the spout to push the platform up into the air above the water so you…
What Next?
Happy May! Spring is in the air and it’s a great time to ask the all-important questions: What next? The question provokes a change in mindset. It’s a perspective I’ve been adapting mostly due to my fancy, new, goal-oriented planner. My planner (which I love-buy one here!) has pages for reflection scattered throughout. Two questions that inspire ‘What next?’ reflections Are you continuing to progress, redirect, or facing unexpected challenges? What were your most significant accomplishments in the last thirty days? The bulk of what I wrote about for April centered around an activity called Camp NaNoWriMo. There is lots of great information about the event available here, but for…
What I Do During An Airport Delay
I’m flying to Madrid tonight to see my boyfriend, which would be a very happy occasion if I were currently on my airplane. However, the airplane had some sad, vague problem that prevented it from leaving (or possibly from landing? The stewardess was a little unclear.) So I am currently stuck in an airport delay, wishing for the thirty-seventh time that I hadn’t packed my book in the checked luggage. But stay positive, they say! So here is a fun little list of activities you can participate in the next time you find yourself stranded delayed at the airport for an additional five hours. Airport Delay Activities 1) Buy the latest…
More Monday Ideas
The beginning of the week always fills me with what I like to call Monday Ideas. (See evidence here and here) On this very special, post-Oscar Monday, I was inspired by Lady Gaga’s acceptance speech (there is normal-level Lady Gaga inspiration and then there is Oscars-level Lady Gaga inspiration, you know?) to come up with some fabulous, business-possible Monday-level ideas. If you have a dream, fight for it, they say. Monday Idea 1: Post-Oscar Pop Up Movie Theater. The only film I saw that was even mentioned in the Oscars this year (besides Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure) was Free Solo. It was stunning and everyone should go see it…
The Big Questions: What Color Were the Walls?
With my students gone into their IB exams, spring is a time for exploring the big questions. The first one: Why do I spend so much time on minutia? I go through whole days focused on small moments: “Where are my keys?”“Did I turn off the stove?”“How many rides do I have left on my train pass?”“What is my password for the Iberia Miles program?”“Do I have enough money for coffee?”“Do I have a lesson plan for class tomorrow?”“Where are my keys?” (This comes up a lot) The answers to these questions are relatively simple. -My keys are in my bag. (They always are.) -Yes, I turned off the stove….
Call me Home: To Sum Up a Year
Hard to believe how much time has passed since my last post. It’s hard to sum up a year. In no particular order, I have: 1. Undertaken a terrace gardening project2. Learned to play a simultaneous harmony and melody on the keyboard (hmmm…sort of)3. Seen a pair of mating lions in Zimbabwe4. Hiked the Eastern Coast of Mallorca (GR 221)5. Attended a wedding in Old Lyme, Connecticut6. Attended a funeral in Amherst, Massachusetts7. Watched my boyfriend pet a very friendly horse in Sardinia (see photo. Que guapo!) 8. Caught several sizable catfish in the Okavango Delta9. Taken two advanced fiction writing classes through Gotham Writers Workshop10. Read and graded…
International Women’s Day
In the light of International Women’s Day, I have a confession to make. I’m kind of old-fashioned. Even in my Boulder, Colorado heyday of hippie-inspired activism, I could never really get behind the feminist movement. Environmentalism? Great!Parity in education? Totally reasonable!Universal access to health care? What a lovely idea! I could corner strangers and harass them about the importance of those topics with the best of them. (Seriously. I used to canvas for Greenpeace.) But when people would try to get me talking about feminism, I would muster up and lackluster smile and say, “Mmmhmmm!” as enthusiastically as possible before making up an excuse about needing to hit the 5-day-old…
I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud
In my young adult life ‘I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud’ was my favorite piece of poetry. Even though I teach science, sometimes I find a way to wander back to it during the course of a workday. For example: In a particularly brilliant moment of lecture in one of my science classes today, I asked my students what they were reading in English class. I wanted to make the point that analogous structures in biology are similar to analogies. (I know! My students were all super impressed and interested.) Sidenote: For those of you who have not been exposed to high school vocabulary in the last 20 years:Analogous Structures:…
Mindfulness at Work
The mindfulness topic has stayed on my mind through the day, leading to an important subcategory: Mindfulness at Work. Here are some continued thoughts. Mindfulness At Work 1) I feel like am more mindful in my private life than in my professional life.2) That’s probably because it’s difficult to be mindful (ie aware and present for what is happening in the moment) when someone is dictating the parameters of what is important and setting the deadlines for work to be completed3) Maybe I should stop caring so much what the administrators that set deadlines think of my professional performance. To bring mindfulness into my professional life… I think I need…