Monday, December 30, 2013

End of 2013

I love odd years and feel a sense of dread as an even year approaches. I'm not sure when I made that connection... but some how odd years are less bumpy. I mean bad things happen and good things happen all the time... but some how in the odd years those negative situations are never as bad. I have a very good friend who has synesthesia and she tells me that odd years are more calm when she views those dates. I believe her.

So, as 2014 approaches... I prepare myself for a roller coaster of a year. I hope this one isn't going to be hectic but I know in my heart that there are sick relatives and broken cars and lost dogs ahead and I hope for happy endings. Perhaps this will be the year that changes my mind about even ones.

Happy New Year!

Friday, December 27, 2013

Connecting my Tumblr account

I'm new to Tumblr. Wanted to connect a few things and discovered that they no longer connect rss feeds. I am using IFTTT to create a work around for this problem. I love IFTTT, you create recipes and they respond for you.

So, if this works, this post will automatically go there. And I'll be one step closer to solving as issue at work.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Connecting Pinterest

So, I'm slowing connecting all my social media channels together. Today I'm focused on Pinterest. I enjoy spending time on the site, so I'm going to start adding new content there. I have some creative moments (when I have time) and I've gotten fun ideas from the site that I've used.

If you're on Pinterest, let's connect. http://www.pinterest.com/cpd623/  My most recent board features my birthday cakes. I will slowly upload all my photos from over the years.


Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Christmas Ice Breaker

I was asked to come up with an activity for a holiday party at work. There were going to be around a dozen people in attendance.  So the 12 Days of Christmas seems like a logical solution. Here are the questions I developed (I work at UB which is why there are a few work related questions included):

  • On the first day…. Tell us about any memorable first day…. Of work, of school, at UB? 
  • On the second day…. What is your favorite duo? Batman & Robin, PB&J? 
  • On the third day…. Since “tri” means 3, tell us your favorite food or place to eat and why we should “tri” it. 
  • On the fourth day…. Imagine it’s the 4th of July. Where are the best fireworks? 
  • On the fifth day…. What’s your favorite memory of a golden summer day? 
  • On the sixth day… There are 6 foreign campuses affiliated with UB (Singapore, Japan, Canada, Poland, China and India). Which one would you want to visit? 
  • On the seventh day…. What’s a perfect weekend like? 
  • On the eighth day … 8 looks like infinity…. If you had all the free time in the world where/what would you do with it? 
  • On the ninth day… The niners are in San Francisco. How far west have you traveled in the US? 
  • On the tenth day… Remember 5&10 stores? What’s your favorite candy? 
  • On the eleventh day… Honors (and hobbits) enjoy elevenses…. Are you a coffee or tea drinker (and if tea what kind)? 
  • On the twelfth day … What is your favorite part of December and why? 
Here is how I presented the questions:
 
I wrote the questions in the font Harrington, printed them to be the size of the holiday themed tape, taped the question around a candy cane and added the number. We went in the order of how they were selected. It sparked a lot of conversation among staff ranging from their teens to adults with over 30 years experience at UB.

I thought it went well anyway :)

If you decide to use this idea, please let me know. I'd love to know if it got used someday!

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

2013 end approaching

I love odd years. They are the ones that just seem to go more smooth. Bad things happen all around, but somehow in the odd years I can handle the bumps in the road. 

Sad to see 2013 speeding to an ending. Been a good one. Didn't cross everything quite off my list, but I moved along in a positive way. I think I've got at least 5 more years of time insanity with the kids growing and my elders aging.

I mean the last time I wrote here was May when I was starting my summer reading list. I managed to read quite a few books but then school started and life took off and bam, here it is Thanksgiving. I didn't manage to even hit 5000 words in NaNoWrMo this year. But I have a new idea.

I only managed to knit scarves again this year, but I made four and can give them away.

The kitchen reno went really well (now we need to finish before 2014 starts) and I think overall this year was good. One more month to wrap things up and then cocoon myself as best I can til 2015 rolls around.

Hoping not to be gone for so long next time.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

American Lit

So, I got into a discussion on twitter about American Lit (note, I work in higher ed, so intellectual discussions are possible 140 characters at a time). I hated American Lit in high school, managed to talk my teacher into letting me read War & Peace instead. Yes, Russian fiction in lieu of three American lit novels. The page count was greater and she was excited to be able to tell people one of her students read that book. I was excited to skip the whiny novels.

So, as an adult, when I could not contribute to the discussion about which American authors are better, I asked for suggestions of what to read. I was told these novels:

Invisible Man (already read)
Angle of Repose
Sound and Fury
Absalom, Absalom
Death Comes for the Archbishop
Slaughterhouse Five (already read)

My dad's favorite book of all time is the Old Man and the Sea (already read). Another suggestion outside of twitter was Of Mice and Men (already read).

Since the twitter exchange I have read two of the books (Angle of Repose and Death Comes for the Archbishop) and I discussed Slaughterhouse Five with my son.

I went and looked for a list of great American Novels, I've read 25 of them. Was surprised to have so many. 

I will go get the Faulkner novels from the library and attempt them. But I'll be honest. As beautiful as some of the descriptions of the wild west, I still find these novels whiny. My issue with American Lit 30 years ago and still today is that we don't have enough history here to claim any understanding of the world. We are only a few generations removed from people who believed in miracles and came here. The disappointment these authors report is inevitable. Reality is always harsh. I find that these characters are so busy being disappointed in their lives that they miss the beauty being described around them. And I want to shake them.

Do you feel differently about American Lit? Why? Help me see the other side. 


Friday, May 10, 2013

Books

I've noticed people commenting about how many  books they've read or how many books people read in a year. I'm not sure I could ever count how many I've read. If left alone I could probably read a book a day. With three kids, work and a new puppy I am lucky to finish one book a week. My kindle got me back to this average... it is easier to carry that around with me and I can read a few pages when picking up from sports etc. I remember summers reading a book a day and spending every allowance to buy new books. Conservatively I have probably read over 1200 books, assuming an average of 30 books a year times 40 years (been reading since before Kindergarten but only counting since then). If you think that number is high, I'd like to point out that I won the reading contest in 4th grade for the month of October (how many mysteries can you read?) with 31 accepted books. I read more but the teacher would only credit me with one a day and my mother had to write a note that yes I really did come home from school everyday and sit down and read. Plus more than half of those books came from the school library and the librarian had to attest that I did check out a different book everyday and could answer questions about each one.

My kids don't read nearly as much. Aside from their overall increase in homework, they have activities I never could do (my Mom didn't drive) and they have multi-media entertainment to consume. They all do read, but not nearly as voraciously as me. The sad part is that they watch a movie and think they understand a book... and yet Hollywood uses book titles and themes with no regard for the real material. Even when they are motivated to stay true to the material, ie, Harry Potter, they still change things just because (the 7th movie with Snape, Harry and then Harry with the elder wand). No reason to change it but they did.

I have a new rule with my kids that they cannot see a movie without reading the book first. That way they have their own vision in their minds eye and can compare as opposed to a two hour synopsis that may or may not be right and then to get frustrated when the book is different. This helped our family enjoy the Hunger Games and I hope the future ones as well.

Monday, May 6, 2013

Leaving Empire Avenue

So, I just deleted my Empire Avenue Account. I decided that with the recent changes to the tool that there was nothing more I could glean from it. I did send a note to them, but I don't think it matters, I am sure that they have reasons for what they are doing and I'm not the target audience.

I decided to delete the account so that all my investors would get the max eaves possible. I peaked today at 123+ which is higher than I ever thought possible. I maxed out everyone I could today too so that they would benefit from my purchases. I am hoping I left the best way possible. I met some interesting people on EA and will continue to follow them on twitter and on G+, but the time needed to participate was growing and with less and less ROI for me.

If you read this and ever were a shareholder, thank you. I learned a lot from you and appreciated your willingness to invest in me.

Monday, March 18, 2013

Happy 2013

Yep, so I dropped off the blogging bandwagon again.

After the conference I came home to a ton of things going on... and then the holidays... and all the birthdays... and relatives in the hospital.... and a new puppy.... and on and on.

Since this is one of those activities where I don't get paid.... this one doesn't happen regularly. But I know I should do better.  Will try again :)

Here's the puppy: Morgan!
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