My Girlfriend is Gravely Ill, and Sadly...She Won't Shut Up About It!!

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisrNQI883EpnurPThl9UoQ8WTYRGWM1oMpf9lvBWkeZgo0ayiWsFw_sGY6H9tNtWbQ0uihAFYc1sLiNkvHTfLI7J7x2iHBPBVdoV8zooUXpuRNuY1pfqgBbWGVOCKzZkgEHT8MT0Y0X80/s1600/Schmoop+Sleeping.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisrNQI883EpnurPThl9UoQ8WTYRGWM1oMpf9lvBWkeZgo0ayiWsFw_sGY6H9tNtWbQ0uihAFYc1sLiNkvHTfLI7J7x2iHBPBVdoV8zooUXpuRNuY1pfqgBbWGVOCKzZkgEHT8MT0Y0X80/s400/Schmoop+Sleeping.JPG" width="400" /></a>Many of you, yet some less frequent readers and listeners of the IWS website and radio show may not, know that my girlfriend, BFF, and OSP Schmoop, is quite ill.<br /><br />Yep, she has developed some type of mass in her bile duct.  It could be cancerous, but…maybe not.  We won’t know until they go in to remove it in a couple of weeks.<br /><br />She has been under medical house arrest for two weeks and let me tell you…IT’S BEEN HELL!!<br /><br />I know…she has turned yellow…Has already had one procedure to temporarily open her blocked bile duct, may have cancer, and will definitely be losing not only the bile duct and her gall bladder, but perhaps parts of her liver, stomach, and pancreas as well, but c’mon?<br /><br />Does anyone recognize what <i>I </i>am going through, and how this affects <i>ME</i>?<br /><br />I didn’t fucking think so, and let me tell you, it hasn’t been easy on me, because well…The Chick Won’t Shut Up About It!!<br /><br />I know…I know…She is very ill, but come on.  It’s not like she is in pain.  It’s not like she isn’t ambulatory. It’s not like her bodily functions don’t, well…function.<br /><br />She can get around just fine.  She’s very coherent.  She has no pain, and yet, what do I hear all damn day?<br /><br /><i>“Honey could you make me some toast?  Honey could you get me some water?  Honey, I know you are trying to write a post, but I think I want a grilled cheese sandwich and peas for dinner…could you get on that?”</i><br /><br />Yes, I know you have a tube running from your liver and it juts outside from the inside of your body and the aforementioned liver organ, but it’s not as though you are a quadriplegic.<br /><br />It’s not like an innocent stomach tube and the potential of having cancer should prevent an otherwise able-bodied woman from making her own God Damned grilled cheese sandwich!!<br /><br />My God woman, step up your game!!  I cannot fight your possible cancer on my own!!  But…<br /><br />I don’t necessarily blame you entirely…for perhaps, maybe it was I who fucked up, and unknowingly enabled and unleashed your sense of ego-centric neediness by buying flowers for you the other day.<br /><br />I think I regret that…no…I know that I regret that, especially because I didn’t go ahead and pick up that pound of hamburger that was on sale when I went to the grocery to get your flowers.  So?<br /><br />Okay…that one is on me, but anyhoo…<br /><br />Let me just say…It’s not like you can’t help out around the house during the day instead of laying there watching TV while you fail to collect a paycheck.<br /><br />Yes I know…You tell me everyday that you will be having surgery in order to remove what could possibly be cancerous material, but until then, it wouldn’t hurt you, and in fact, it would be therapeutic for you to tidy up around the house while I am working at the Beer Mine.  After all, you don’t want your muscles to atrophy.<br /><br />You could start by cleaning the bathroom.  You keep telling me it’s disgusting and that I should clean it, but seriously, when you clean out you’re your stomach tube every day, the bile goes everywhere but the bathroom sink, so when I think about it, that mess is all on you.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii8GxbQ9mxXFUN7VR1vwSsgyFOOAUMm85LKFjE103zImMsFN4M7j39VnFgUF-VAsNniTyNgpuiZUrXpxHZ_pvGV3ieHtKSanaSyiHIdDt3Cid6CNwwatcJ2gJN4rJKPXdfasLRZkaCqRk/s1600/Superman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii8GxbQ9mxXFUN7VR1vwSsgyFOOAUMm85LKFjE103zImMsFN4M7j39VnFgUF-VAsNniTyNgpuiZUrXpxHZ_pvGV3ieHtKSanaSyiHIdDt3Cid6CNwwatcJ2gJN4rJKPXdfasLRZkaCqRk/s400/Superman.jpg" width="266" /></a>Another thing…You aren’t working.  You aren’t drawing an income.  Are you expecting me to find an additional job?  Of course you are, and that’s okay…I can work the Beer Mine, a part-time job, AND do the website and radio show…no problem.  It’s not like I’m not Superman!!  Unbelievable!! Thoughtless at the least.<br /><br />Lastly, and this is directed to all my friends on Facebook, Twitter, through the show and the website, and my family…<br /><br />It’s nice to hear from you every day asking me how Schmoop is, but seriously?  Could you once in awhile ask me how <i>I</i> am holding up?<br /><br />Schmoop’s potential cancer is turning me into a wreck, exhausting me, and it’s not fair. I suffer too y’know!!<br /><br />I mean sure…She may soon be losing parts of 4-6 to internal organs, but man, as you can see…<br /><br /><i>I’m</i> the one who is hurting.<br /><br /><i>Cheers!!</i><br /><br /><i>Matt-Man</i><br /><i><br /></i> <i><a href="mailto:mattmaniws@ymail.com">mattmaniws@ymail.com</a></i><br /><i><span style="color: blue;"><a href="https://twitter.com/MattMan_IWS" target="_blank">@mattman_iws</a></span></i><br /><i><br /></i> <i>And by the way folks...Jayman and I did another great radio show yesterday as we broke the 2012 Presidential election down and made lots of fun of Dick Morris.  If you missed it, you can catch it here:</i><i><br /></i> <br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.adobe.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0" height="105" id="143577" name="143577" width="210"><param name="movie" value="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/btrplayer.swf?file=http://www.blogtalkradio.com%2Fplaylist.aspx%3Fshow_id%3D3989447&autostart=false&bufferlength=5&volume=80&corner=rounded&callback=http://www.blogtalkradio.com/flashplayercallback.aspx" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="menu" value="false" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/btrplayer.swf" flashvars="file=http://www.blogtalkradio.com%2Fplaylist.aspx%3Fshow_id%3D3989447&autostart=false&shuffle=false&callback=http://www.blogtalkradio.com/FlashPlayerCallback.aspx&width=210&height=105&volume=80&corner=rounded" width="210" height="105" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" quality="high" wmode="transparent" menu="false" name="143577" id="143577" allowScriptAccess="always"></embed></object></div><div style="font-size: 10px; text-align: center; width: 220px;"></div></div>

My Girlfriend is Gravely Ill, and Sadly...She Won't Shut Up About It!!

Many of you, yet some less frequent readers and listeners of the IWS website and radio show may not, know that my girlfriend, BFF, and OSP Schmoop, is quite ill.Yep, she has developed some type of mass in her bile duct.  It could be cancerous, but…ma…

Read more »

Half Dose #110: The Drawing Center

This morning I visited <a href="http://www.drawingcenter.org/">The Drawing Center</a> before its grand reopening reception this evening. (The reopening was postponed due to Hurricane Sandy, but unfortunately today's Nor'easter is hitting New York City with wind and snow.) The Soho-based institution's home was "reinvented" by <a href="http://www.wxystudio.com/">WXY Architecture + Urban Design</a>. Below are photos and impressions from my visit.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/archidose/8164685448/" title="The Drawing Center by archidose, on Flickr"><img alt="The Drawing Center" height="455" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8488/8164685448_ae14fb44cf_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br />Like many tenants in Soho's historic cast iron district, it is easy to just walk right by The Drawing Center, not realizing what is inside. Four corinthian cast-iron columns frame the entrance and large pieces of storefront glass on the side that are labelled with the name of the institution and the current exhibitions. Aside from the necessity of dealing with the landmarks commission, this subtle presence seems appropriate to me, given that the subject of The Drawing Center—drawings, of course—situates the institution somewhere between the purely historical and the new constantly striving for attention.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/archidose/8164650285/" title="The Drawing Center by archidose, on Flickr"><img alt="The Drawing Center" height="800" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7128/8164650285_acb13e8d18_c.jpg" width="600" /></a><br /><br />Movement from the street to the galleries is via a lobby with a ticket counter and some books on display. Many of the titles displayed on custom shelves are the fantastic <i><a href="http://www.drawingcenter.org/pub_books.cfm">Drawing Papers</a></i>, which are inexpensive titles focused on particular exhibitions or topics (I had to resist purchasing #94, <i><a href="http://www.drawingcenter.org/pub_books.cfm?fid=167">Paul Rudolph: Lower Manhattan Expressway</a></i>). The lobby is a good space for the transition from the public realm to the private realm (in terms of personally experiencing the artworks) beyond. Compare it to many galleries in Soho and Chelsea where visitors are confronted by the art directly upon entering. Here, the gallery is through some glass doors and around a wall that blocks views into the space (you'll have to take my word, since I don't have a good photo of that, at least not from the lobby side).<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/archidose/8164685818/" title="The Drawing Center by archidose, on Flickr"><img alt="The Drawing Center" height="480" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8062/8164685818_7f7f9e18f1_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br />The main gallery is an open space that is Soho-like in the way the cast-iron columns march down the middle of the space. The walls of the main gallery are currently occupied by Guillermo Kuitca's <i>Diarios</i>, in which the artist "has taken failed and discarded canvases, stretched them over an abandoned table from his parents’ garden, and then spent periods of time ranging from three to six months creating intentional and accidental doodles, drawings, and recordings on their surfaces." Not surprisingly, I'm drawn to one that has what looks like a floor plan as its canvas:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/archidose/8164651653/" title="The Drawing Center by archidose, on Flickr"><img alt="The Drawing Center" height="800" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8058/8164651653_6c36fac5fc_c.jpg" width="600" /></a><br /><br />The photo below is another view of the main gallery, but this time looking in the direction of the lobby. Note the partial-height wall in the center—the one I mentioned—around which people maneuver after walking through some glass doors. The latter are particularly important, because they further cut down on the sounds (and other things) of the city, helping to create a quiet and relaxed environment for experiencing the art.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/archidose/8164687116/" title="The Drawing Center by archidose, on Flickr"><img alt="The Drawing Center" height="480" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7258/8164687116_b5d0c42516_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br />At the rear of the building, just beyond the main gallery, is the "drawing room." The door leading to it is visible in the photo below. What is also apparent in the shot is the cove lighting that combines with the track lighting to brighten the walls on the sides of the space. This cove is the first of a few really nice details that I noticed.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/archidose/8164686214/" title="The Drawing Center by archidose, on Flickr"><img alt="The Drawing Center" height="800" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8345/8164686214_d728f7044f_c.jpg" width="600" /></a><br /><br />Below is a close-up of the end of the cove light. The high ceiling appears to curve down to meet the edge of the wall below the low ceiling, which is articulated like a James Turrell Skyspace, where the edge looks like it doesn't have any thickness to it. Combined with what I'm guessing are small LED strip lights, the cove detail has the appearance of being all surface and light, though it's safe to say that a lot of complicated detailing and construction went into it.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/archidose/8164687358/" title="The Drawing Center by archidose, on Flickr"><img alt="The Drawing Center" height="640" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7120/8164687358_63b8108a14_z.jpg" width="606" /></a><br /><br />The drawing room (below) is similar to the main gallery—white drywall, wood floors, perimeter lighting—but smaller. The appropriately petit artworks on display are José Antonio Suárez Londoño's <i>The Yearbooks; </i>some are shown in cases, but most are pinned to a wall below more cove lighting.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/archidose/8164653051/" title="The Drawing Center by archidose, on Flickr"><img alt="The Drawing Center" height="800" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8201/8164653051_f4552a2c8a_c.jpg" width="600" /></a><br /><br />But the light on this back wall is actually natural light coming from a skylight that is out of sight. The curve of the main gallery's cove is here reversed, as the high ceiling curves down to the rear wall. Two or three feet below the high ceiling is the low ceiling with another knife-edge. Again, surface and light conceal the facts of construction.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/archidose/8164652873/" title="The Drawing Center by archidose, on Flickr"><img alt="The Drawing Center" height="800" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7118/8164652873_9afa400004_c.jpg" width="600" /></a><br /><br />One reason that the drawing room is its intimate size is that a stair is located between it and the main gallery. This straight-run stair leads down to the "the lab," where <i>In Deed: Certificates of Authenticity in Art</i> (a very meta and kind of odd topic) is on display. The wood stair is like a special object that is inserted into the drywall-lined opening:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/archidose/8164651939/" title="The Drawing Center by archidose, on Flickr"><img alt="The Drawing Center" height="800" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8484/8164651939_111eb985a9_c.jpg" width="600" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/archidose/8164651255/" title="The Drawing Center by archidose, on Flickr"><img alt="The Drawing Center" height="800" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8337/8164651255_a9dc223199_c.jpg" width="600" /></a><br /><br />Near the lobby, but tucked to the side by the elevator, is a second stair. Instead of wood, this one is steel, with concrete treads. It is a more utilitarian stair, but this does not mean that it is not as considered as the wood one, or like the coves for that matter. The guardrail is especially nice, made of one piece of roughly 1/2-inch-thick steel finished with a gray coating.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/archidose/8164685602/" title="The Drawing Center by archidose, on Flickr"><img alt="The Drawing Center" height="800" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7127/8164685602_7c0532b0d3_c.jpg" width="600" /></a><br /><br />What is interesting about the stair is the way the pickets between the code-compliant 4-inch openings vary, going from narrow at the bottom to wide at the top. Like The Drawing Center itself, it's easy to miss this rhythm, but once you discover it (and The Drawing Center) you're better off for it.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/archidose/8164650471/" title="The Drawing Center by archidose, on Flickr"><img alt="The Drawing Center" height="480" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7259/8164650471_0515ececfa_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>

Half Dose #110: The Drawing Center

This morning I visited The Drawing Center before its grand reopening reception this evening. (The reopening was postponed due to Hurricane Sandy, but unfortunately today's Nor'easter is hitting New York City with wind and snow.) The Soho-based instit…

Read more »

smiley360.com—Be Heard. Be Happy.

I'm a member of Smiley360 and I get to test out products for free and then keep them!<br /><br />I have been a member for quite sometime now and have been on great product missions.<br /><br />If you love trying out new products before you buy you can!<br /><br />Sign up today to become a member!<br /><br /><a href="http://smiley360.com/?refid=79791#.UJqu00KsIb0.blogger">smiley360.com—Be Heard. Be Happy.</a>

smiley360.com—Be Heard. Be Happy.

I'm a member of Smiley360 and I get to test out products for free and then keep them!I have been a member for quite sometime now and have been on great product missions.If you love trying out new products before you buy you can!Sign up today to becom…

Read more »

The myth of the passive job seeker

<br /><div class="RXart" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; padding-right: 20px; text-align: left;"><div class="ArticleHeadline" style="margin-top: -30px;"><div class="hdr_org_bld" style="color: #ff6600; font: normal normal bold 18px/normal arial, helvetica;"><h1 id="articleHeadline" style="color: #000066; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span id="cbArticle_lblHeadline">The myth of the passive job seeker</span></h1></div><b><span id="cbArticle_lblByLine">By Mary Lorenz, CareerBuilder Writer</span></b><br /><div class="cb_share_more_wrapper"></div></div><br /><div class="ArticleContent"><div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" class="media-image" src="http://art.icbdr.com/sites/all/files/styles/large/public/passive%20job%20seeker.jpg" typeof="foaf:Image" /></div>"We need to get rid of the words 'active' versus 'passive,'" says Kassandra Barnes, research and content manager at CareerBuilder. "They just aren't relevant words in the job-search landscape anymore.'' Barnes is referring to the findings of <a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;">CareerBuilder's</a> and <a href="http://www.inavero.com/" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;">Inavero's</a> 2012 Candidate Behavior Study, which highlights the behaviors and perceptions of today's job seekers.<br />One of the survey's major findings was that, employed or unemployed, the vast majority of workers are almost always seeking new opportunities. Of the 1,291 workers nationwide who participated in the survey, 77 percent said they were either actively searching for a new job or open to new opportunities, and 35 percent said they begin preparing for their next job within weeks of starting a new one. When it comes to frequency, 71 percent of workers said that searching for new opportunities is part of their regular routine, whether or not they're employed, with 27 percent searching as frequently as once a week.<br />These findings weren't unique to any particular demographic segment. Workers of both genders and across various income levels, generations and backgrounds reported similar attitudes and behaviors.<br /><br /><strong>How employers should treat all job candidates</strong><br />Given these findings, employers should stop thinking of job seekers in terms like "passive" and "active," since a majority of workers are constantly on alert for new job opportunities. Instead, employers who want to hire more effectively should focus less on finding passive job seekers, since most workers are casually browsing opportunities and employers at any given time.<br /><br /><strong>Why employers run into hiring roadblocks</strong><br />The other danger in using these labels is that it can inadvertently derail the employee search, causing employers to miss out on perfectly qualified workers. "Employers tend to think of active and passive candidates in terms of bad and good," Barnes says. "Yet passive candidates are not necessarily better than active candidates. If anything, they might even be less ambitious or willing to leave their current company." Employers do themselves a disservice by ignoring the active candidates who have shown interest in their companies.<br />"Think of recruitment in terms of running for political office," Barnes says. "Why would you try to sway a Republican to be a Democrat -- or vice versa -- when you should really focus on re-energizing your base population?" For hiring managers, their base is active job seekers, so it only works against them to ignore or discredit this group.<br /><em>Mary Lorenz writes for </em><a href="http://thehiringsite.careerbuilder.com/" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;"><em>The Hiring Site</em></a><em>, </em><a href="http://msn.careerbuilder.com/msn/" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;"><em>CareerBuilder.com's</em></a><em> community for hiring professionals and other curious-minded individuals to discuss the attraction, engagement and retention of their #1 asset -- their people.</em><br /><br /></div></div><div class="clear" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; height: 1px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; text-align: left;"><h2 style="color: #c7560a; font-size: 18px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">Related Articles</h2><ul style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 15px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 5px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li><a href="" id="mxsrRelatedArticles__ctl1_cbhlRelatedArticles" style="color: #000099; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;">INFOGRAPHIC: How to make a resume shine</a></li><li><a href="" id="mxsrRelatedArticles__ctl2_cbhlRelatedArticles" style="color: #000099; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;">5 career paths for retail workers</a></li><li><a href="" id="mxsrRelatedArticles__ctl3_cbhlRelatedArticles" style="color: #000099; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;">Can you switch careers and remain financially stable?</a></li><li><a href="" id="mxsrRelatedArticles__ctl4_cbhlRelatedArticles" style="color: #000099; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;">9 jobs that pay $95,000 a year</a></li></ul><iframe class="Ad" frameborder="0" height="240" hspace="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="NO" src="http://ads.adsonar.com/adserving/getAds.jsp?placementId=1266420&pid=617757&ps=-1&zw=326&zh=240&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.careerbuilder.com%2f%3flr%3dcbrockl%2fJobSeeker%2fcareerbytes%2fCBArticle.aspx%3flr%3dcbrockl%26ArticleID%3d3207%26%26strcrit%3dQID%3dA6659272956687%3bst%3da%3buse%3dALL%3bCID%3dUS%3bSID%3dCO%3bTID%3d0%3bENR%3dNO%3bDTP%3dDRNS%3bYDI%3dYES%3bIND%3dALL%3bPDQ%3dAll%3bPDQ%3dAll%3bPAYL%3d0%3bPAYH%3dgt120%3bPOY%3dNO%3bETD%3dALL%3bRE%3dALL%3bMGT%3dDC%3bSUP%3dDC%3bFRE%3d30%3bCHL%3dal%3bQS%3dsid_unknown%3bSS%3dNO%3bTITL%3d0%3bOB%3d-modifiedint%3bRAD%3d30%3bJQT%3dRAD%3bJDV%3dFalse%3bHost%3dUS%3bMaxLowExp%3d-1%3bRecsPerPage%3d25&v=5" vspace="0" width="326"></iframe></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial,helvetica; font-size: xx-small; text-align: left;"><b>Article Reprints</b></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial,helvetica; font-size: xx-small; text-align: left;">Permission must be obtained from CareerBuilder.com to reprint any of its articles. Please send a request to<a href="mailto:reprints@careerbuilder.com" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;">reprints@careerbuilder.com</a>.</span>

The myth of the passive job seeker

The myth of the passive job seekerBy Mary Lorenz, CareerBuilder Writer"We need to get rid of the words 'active' versus 'passive,'" says Kassandra Barnes, research and content manager at CareerBuilder. "They just aren't relevant words in the job-searc…

Read more »

happy blog birthday

This is a glimpse into me, and I perfect example of my non-blogging life. I forgot my blog birthday. It was two weeks ago (better late than never). I am not at all good with dates and not big on birthdays.<br /><br />But I DO want to take a minute to thank all of you. I had small but specific plans for this little blog - a chance for me to get back to writing and a photo album of this house that I love so much. I know everyone says this but it is true - I really didn't expect anyone, except my mom, to read this. <br /><br />However it has turned into far more. I have made some great friends and met so many wonderful and TALENTED people. You all keep me inspired and I thank you.<br /><br />So happy blog birthday to us! May the next year be full of great ideas, fun projects and all things wonderful.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHQwsligQhRagnQqAPaRLCW5BpjLESPEohQPIC8DlMNVqWZnPC3_ry6AAxkeazp1gogvOmsG9E83AWySql3pXkJhOtm5OW5d88faBmEe0_fFxF0yDedK34MaYhk-dqIqEz0HVYoRvV3VXv/s1600/page13.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHQwsligQhRagnQqAPaRLCW5BpjLESPEohQPIC8DlMNVqWZnPC3_ry6AAxkeazp1gogvOmsG9E83AWySql3pXkJhOtm5OW5d88faBmEe0_fFxF0yDedK34MaYhk-dqIqEz0HVYoRvV3VXv/s400/page13.jpeg" width="333" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">via <a href="http://www.realsimple.com/" target="_blank">Real Simple</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />

happy blog birthday

This is a glimpse into me, and I perfect example of my non-blogging life. I forgot my blog birthday. It was two weeks ago (better late than never). I am not at all good with dates and not big on birthdays.But I DO want to take a minute to thank all o…

Read more »

Your Personal Decision 2012: Whose life is it anyway?

Living for someone else is to abdicate the role you were born to play.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg934JA1By9SIzYXZgIyv8jSjE-hPP4wBYYChqoGxkoHTd-NBPCo-GsU-CHKWhQlAB9XmYxIdO62tKRUmnV3ak3GGhgKfEyUxNMpneLFxuQOqIRxYT4lL7gjTRqkyagFCPoVsO_mdEbjcbv/s1600/bigstock-Time-Management-2623974.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg934JA1By9SIzYXZgIyv8jSjE-hPP4wBYYChqoGxkoHTd-NBPCo-GsU-CHKWhQlAB9XmYxIdO62tKRUmnV3ak3GGhgKfEyUxNMpneLFxuQOqIRxYT4lL7gjTRqkyagFCPoVsO_mdEbjcbv/s320/bigstock-Time-Management-2623974.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />You have decisions to make this day about YOUR life. Call this your own personal Decision 2012.<br /><br /><b>We all have to take account of our lives.</b> Good coaches review game film with their players, likewise, it is healthy to review the game film of our own lives to determine how things need to change or move on.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq7hdg9Ea2UpC-ijr_H-_x-1GZTHrvSF18w9IBX81pkc_qdHxD166cfSVlSt8RsIEHil0bMB7nd3Mu2UF6J6G7Y5IOdSvQfhoVI1mjgOGMkC1fKMK5yV_dwwZIXRpbg5OBTT8SR1WwQDdO/s1600/bigstock-Dirty-Laundry-942807.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq7hdg9Ea2UpC-ijr_H-_x-1GZTHrvSF18w9IBX81pkc_qdHxD166cfSVlSt8RsIEHil0bMB7nd3Mu2UF6J6G7Y5IOdSvQfhoVI1mjgOGMkC1fKMK5yV_dwwZIXRpbg5OBTT8SR1WwQDdO/s320/bigstock-Dirty-Laundry-942807.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Feelings are like laundry - when you've got too much, the<br />only way to sort it out is to dump it out.215</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Feelings are kind of like laundry - <b>when you've got too much, the only way to sort it out is to dump it out</b>. But, <b>where </b>you dump those feelings should be well selected. Some people use their blog or Facebook page or Twitter account as some sort of therapist. Social media has its uses but it is a God-awful therapist. Do you realize that it is inclined to agree with you, even when someone needs to look you in the eye and tell you to go down a different path? Sometimes I am WRONG and so are YOU. On social media it is way too easy to be "liked" all the way down a path to the incinerator.<br /><br />So, when you choose to dump your laundry of feelings out on that table and sort it out - I, personally, think face to face with a friend or someone who can help you is better than doling it out piecemeal upon your timeline or status update.<br /><br />Personally, I take great caution during these times when I sense I'm overtired, overstressed and overemotional. I take your eyes very seriously - some of you read what I write and that is a gift of your time. I want to be honest and transparent but also to be helpful. Not everything belongs out there, particularly because exhaustion causes your emotions to not line up with reality and dirty laundry is always pretty gross.<br /><br />I also know, however, that as I travel this life, the most helpful posts I write are from the fray. A captain who has weathered a storm has more credibility than a new recruit from the academy setting sail for the first time. As I live through my son's senior year and the mixed emotions is brings, these are things many of you identify with or will identify with very soon.<br /><br />Like a person approaching the end of the best milkshake she's ever tasted, the last sips are often savored and are the sweetest -- growing full, she still wants to enjoy those last drops. That's me. I sat yesterday at the state One Act Play competition and while the play tied for fourth at state, my son won one of the best actor awards at State. I was there for the whole thing. I didn't blog. I didn't tweet. I didn't even read my latest Mitch Rapp novel. I just watched plays and enjoyed the last sips at the bottom of this cup of my son's high school career.<br /><br />It is far too easy to worship others - that includes children. I will make no pretense of worshipping my own children at the expense of my health, but I am thankful for the time to savor these moments.<br /><br />There are a lot of technology things to share with you and those are coming, but today, I feel inclined just to encourage you to live your life well. Enjoy those students. Enjoy your family. Rest sometimes so you can functions. Take time to have an emotional laundry moment with your God or dear friend who is close enough to want that sort of load dumped on their table. This is a time of year with many mixed feelings and emotions and you'll want to take care of yourself so that you'll have something left to take care of those children in your care whether you are a parent or teacher.<br /><br /><h3><b>Living for someone else is to abdicate the role you were born to play.</b></h3><br />Take time today to make a list of the roles you were born to play. Replay in your mind how you are playing those roles right now and put things on your schedule NOW that need to happen - phone calls, visits, and time spent living this life you were born to live. Teaching is a noble calling but we have enough martyrs to the cause. Right now education doesn't need any more martyrs who quit because they are emotional wrecks, we need livers -- not chicken livers but live-ers -- people who can live as successful, healthy, happy functioning teachers who make a difference in this world.<br /><br /><h2>L<span style="font-weight: normal;">iving for someone else is to abdicate the role you were born to play.</span></h2><br /><br />- Written on my iPad using Blog Press by Vicki Davis, author, Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds

Your Personal Decision 2012: Whose life is it anyway?

Living for someone else is to abdicate the role you were born to play.You have decisions to make this day about YOUR life. Call this your own personal Decision 2012.We all have to take account of our lives. Good coaches review game film with their pl…

Read more »