Monthly Archives for November 2010

My Lucky Day

Every year at this time I consider, at least briefly, whether I can handle the Pathways holiday gift drive again.  This is the 6th year I’ve decided that even though my life is perpetually crazy and some of my own family’s gifts don’t get wrapped until Christmas Eve, organizing the Pathways drive is one of my favorite parts of the holiday season.

If you’re new to my blog, Pathways is the local family shelter, and I organize a small army of family, friends, and coworkers to help make Christmas happen for the kids who live at Pathways, and those who have recently moved to permanent housing.  I get a wish list from the shelter and divvy it up between the enthusiastic volunteers, and then host a brunch at my house on drop-off day.  It’s complete chaos, but so much fun!!

Anyway, one of the things on my to-do list for Saturday was to buy 45 Christmas stockings at the Christmas Tree Shop.  On my way there I remembered that last year someone had offered me a coupon but I had already bought the stockings.  I didn’t have a coupon this year either, but figured I’d have to just bite the bullet.

Norah and I had made a full circuit around the store and I had the cart overloaded with stockings, stocking stuffers, gift wrap, etc., when one of the moms from Aliya’s soccer team came up to us and asked if I had a coupon.  I swear, I got a little misty!  I was able to save almost $50, which equates to a gift and stocking stuffers for one extra kid.  🙂

As I was driving Norah around the store in the carriage, she entertained herself and the other shoppers by singing one of her favorites, “From This Moment.”  It cracked me up because it must have been so funny to hear it coming out of a carriage of stuff.  Usually she just makes up her own words but I think she was distracted by the camera.  Here’s a short clip:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjNeqm9VV78&fs=1&hl=en_US]
 

My (Little) Man

To some of you, this may look like a random collection of letters, but if you sound some of the consonants out as the letter names (B= “be”, R = “ar”), flip over the M in the second line because it’s actually a W, squint, tip your head to the right, and concentrate, it’s actually a note of apology from Adlani to his gal-pal Madeleine (you can just hover over the note to see the translation).  Why is Adlani apologizing to Madeleine?  Well, because he hit her.  Why did he hit her?  Because she (allegedly) told him to “try it.”

Ok…so he doesn’t always use the best judgment, has more energy than a litter of golden retriever puppies, and has a very short attention span unless he’s talking about Pokemon, but he’s really a good boy.  A little naive, yes…this morning I heard him singing “Hey Soul Sister, ain’t no banana-kisser…” which he apparently learned at school (he has no clue that it’s not a literal reference to fruit).  Last week he asked me if he was half Moroccan and when I said he was, he confirmed, “So I’m half Moroccan and half Spanish.”  I could NOT convince him that he isn’t half Spanish.  I guess he’ll figure it out someday.

Then there was the report that came home from school about his fixation on pirates killing Indians.  I decided to get to the bottom of it.  Well, I tried anyway…


Paradigm Shift

I try to live with the assumption that people’s actions may be affected by something I’m not aware of.  The person walking slow and holding up the line may have a health problem.  The cashier who’s not being friendly may be carrying a burden that I can’t see.  Sometimes it’s easy to forget this when people don’t meet our expectations, so this video is a good reminder.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlRK1vqcuvg&fs=1&hl=en_US]

Public Speaking Success

A few weeks ago I went to see a public speaking coach, and today was my first presentation since starting meditation, yoga, and the other techniques she recommended.  I had high hopes that I would be able to speak comfortably, but I was still a bit apprehensive.

Today’s presentation was in Washington Depot, Connecticut, which is way out in western CT.  I was training 31 building inspectors, and it’s always hard to know what to expect with a group like that.  They typically have varying levels of experience and interest in what I’m there to talk about, and they had just had a big meatloaf lunch.  Keeping them awake was my main objective.

One of the recommendations from my coach was to connect with my audience as individuals, and think of it as a conversation, not a presentation.  This is supposed to remove the instinctual discomfort with the perception of not being part of a group.  So I went around to each table as they were finishing their meatloaf and explained that we would be playing a game and I needed them to think of a team name.  I’m pretty sure they thought I was an idiot.

Honestly, though, I have been teaching about building codes for at least 15 years, and learning about them for 20+.  When you take it one step further and narrow the code information down to just what pertains to doors, it’s really hard to get people excited about it.  I developed a Code Jeopardy game about 10 years ago, as an interactive way to.  Everyone who has taken the class has loved it, but I sensed that these guys would be a hard sell.

I didn’t let that stop me…I just acted enthusiastic and hoped that it would rub off on them.  It sort of broke the ice when one of the guys asked me for a place setting and a glass of water.  I wasn’t even wearing my apron!

So I just took a deep breath and jumped in.  I was a little nervous at first but I got over it.  This particular presentation is a little easier for me to feel comfortable with because it’s more informal and fun.  Long story short, they all stayed awake, they all learned something, and I think they were all pleasantly surprised (I was even asked to repeat the presentation for all of the Connecticut Building Officials at a separate meeting).  And I didn’t faint, die, or pee my pants.  Success.