J.D. Salinger died today at the age of 91. By all accounts he lived the last half of his life in self-imposed exile of sorts, in a tiny town whose residents made it a point of helping him to keep his privacy. Many people say that he is the most influential American writer since Hemmingway; I won't argue that point. But it marks the death of a great writer...one gifted with the ability to craft a thought, a dream, on paper. I begin today's blog post this way because I have observed today's college students, and am saddened by their overall lack of skill in communicating their thoughts and ideas. When I was involved in a class today that taught "soft skills" and demanded a bit of participation to breathe life into the class as well as to help reinforce a point, the students sat mute with heads down, slumped in the chair. No prodding could get them to speak.
I know I'm not stating anything but the obvious when I say that the internet, PCs, IPods, SmartPhones, Cable TV, on-demand movies and entertainment, and yes...social networking and blog sites....have all succeeded in helping us grow a generation of people who simply have no use for, nor skill with, the written or spoken word. No Salingers among them, that's for sure. But I was encouraged a week or so ago when a young man who works at my company told me that he, too, has a love for writing with fountain pens, of all things!
There is hope for us yet.
Cheers!
Ima
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
How Time Flies
Sorry to be away so long. Between studying, work, and an occasional all-important day off, the calendar has whizzed past me! I'm sure it's that way with all of us, but I cannot help but believe that there is a conspiracy at work to keep entire weeks so full of activity that before you know it....it's next month.
I have done well so far this term. Got an "A" on my first examination, and have another test coming up in two days. We are studying this amazing system: the brain, spinal cord, cranial and peripheral nerves. Not just the physical bodies of each, but the amazing choreography that happens each time we have a thought, and transmit that thought to action - like typing this blog post. When you consider the minute biochemical processes that must take place in sequence, within milliseconds, it is truly a miracle that we "work." I may be the science experiment that charts whether these same biochemical processes work just as well (or as quickly) in a 50-something body as it does in one half the age.
I guess an "A" tells me that my synapses "synap" just fine......for now, at least.
Cheers!
Ima
I have done well so far this term. Got an "A" on my first examination, and have another test coming up in two days. We are studying this amazing system: the brain, spinal cord, cranial and peripheral nerves. Not just the physical bodies of each, but the amazing choreography that happens each time we have a thought, and transmit that thought to action - like typing this blog post. When you consider the minute biochemical processes that must take place in sequence, within milliseconds, it is truly a miracle that we "work." I may be the science experiment that charts whether these same biochemical processes work just as well (or as quickly) in a 50-something body as it does in one half the age.
I guess an "A" tells me that my synapses "synap" just fine......for now, at least.
Cheers!
Ima
Friday, January 15, 2010
And now a story that illustrates one of my new resolutions: Be happy with the things you have, not pine away and waste time on that which you don't....
CINDERELLA was now 95 years old. After a fulfilling life with the now dead prince, she happily sat upon her rocking chair, watching the world go by from her front porch, with a cat named Bob for companionship. One sunny afternoon, out of nowhere, appeared the fairy godmother. Cinderella said, 'Fairy Godmother, what are you doing here after all these years'? The fairy godmother replied, 'Cinderella, you have lived an exemplary life since I last saw you. Is there anything for which your heart still yearns?' Cinderella was taken aback, overjoyed, and after some thoughtful consideration, she uttered her first wish: 'The prince was wonderful, but not much of an investor.. I'm living hand to mouth on my disability checks, and I wish I were wealthy beyond comprehension.' Instantly her rocking chair turned into solid gold. Cinderella said, 'Ooh, thank you, Fairy Godmother'. The fairy godmother replied, 'It is the least that I can do. What do you want for your second wish?' Cinderella looked down at her frail body, and said, 'I wish I were young and full of the beauty and youth I once had.' At once, her wish became reality, and her beautiful young Body returned. Cinderella felt stirrings inside of her that had been dormant for years. And then the fairy godmother spoke once more: 'You have one more wish; what shall it be?' Cinderella looked over to the frightened cat in the corner and said, 'I wish for you to transform Bob, my old cat, into a kind and handsome young man.' Magically, Bob suddenly underwent so fundamental a change in his biological make-up that, when he stood before her, he was a man so beautiful the likes of him neither she nor the world had ever seen.The fairy godmother said, 'Congratulations, Cinderella, enjoy your new life.' With a blazing shock of bright blue electricity, the fairy godmother was gone as suddenly as she had appeared. For a few eerie moments, Bob and Cinderella looked into each other's eyes. Cinderella sat, breathless, gazing at the most beautiful, stunningly perfect man she had ever seen. Then Bob walked over to Cinderella, who sat transfixed in her rocking chair, & held her close in his young muscular arms. He leaned in close, blowing her golden hair with his warm breath as he whispered.......'Bet you're sorry you neutered me..'
Ah, the decisions we make in life we're sorry for later!
Hope you enjoyed the chuckle.
Cheers!
Ima
CINDERELLA was now 95 years old. After a fulfilling life with the now dead prince, she happily sat upon her rocking chair, watching the world go by from her front porch, with a cat named Bob for companionship. One sunny afternoon, out of nowhere, appeared the fairy godmother. Cinderella said, 'Fairy Godmother, what are you doing here after all these years'? The fairy godmother replied, 'Cinderella, you have lived an exemplary life since I last saw you. Is there anything for which your heart still yearns?' Cinderella was taken aback, overjoyed, and after some thoughtful consideration, she uttered her first wish: 'The prince was wonderful, but not much of an investor.. I'm living hand to mouth on my disability checks, and I wish I were wealthy beyond comprehension.' Instantly her rocking chair turned into solid gold. Cinderella said, 'Ooh, thank you, Fairy Godmother'. The fairy godmother replied, 'It is the least that I can do. What do you want for your second wish?' Cinderella looked down at her frail body, and said, 'I wish I were young and full of the beauty and youth I once had.' At once, her wish became reality, and her beautiful young Body returned. Cinderella felt stirrings inside of her that had been dormant for years. And then the fairy godmother spoke once more: 'You have one more wish; what shall it be?' Cinderella looked over to the frightened cat in the corner and said, 'I wish for you to transform Bob, my old cat, into a kind and handsome young man.' Magically, Bob suddenly underwent so fundamental a change in his biological make-up that, when he stood before her, he was a man so beautiful the likes of him neither she nor the world had ever seen.The fairy godmother said, 'Congratulations, Cinderella, enjoy your new life.' With a blazing shock of bright blue electricity, the fairy godmother was gone as suddenly as she had appeared. For a few eerie moments, Bob and Cinderella looked into each other's eyes. Cinderella sat, breathless, gazing at the most beautiful, stunningly perfect man she had ever seen. Then Bob walked over to Cinderella, who sat transfixed in her rocking chair, & held her close in his young muscular arms. He leaned in close, blowing her golden hair with his warm breath as he whispered.......'Bet you're sorry you neutered me..'
Ah, the decisions we make in life we're sorry for later!
Hope you enjoyed the chuckle.
Cheers!
Ima
Monday, January 11, 2010
A New Year, a New Quarter
Well, my second quarter in college began this past week, and it felt a lot more in control than the start of last quarter! First of all, I now know where the buildings are located, where my parking lot is relative to them, and that I do have two A&P lectures weekly - not one. Now, for those of you who haven't been with me since the beginning, I must go back and share how Mr. Murphy danced and pranced all over me during the A&P I course that started my college experience off. You know...Mr. Murphy? The one with the Law???
I signed up for class rather late last quarter because I did not get the official word that I had been accepted into the nursing school until very late in August, 2009. At the same time I started a new job and prepared to set out on vacation. I finally got to enroll, bought my text books, and printed out my courses...A&P-I Lab, meeting on "M" (Monday) and the lecture meeting on "TH" (Thursday.) No problem. I can handle a new 40 hour job and a couple days of class. Not so fast, Sherlock!
Five weeks into the quarter, our lecture professor scheduled his first Exam, worth about 15% of the grade for the entire course. As I left lab the Monday prior, one of my lab partners said "I'll see you tomorrow!" I blinked...and corrected him. "You mean, you'll see me Thursday for our test." Oh no. He explained that the test was in fact on Tuesday. I quickly pulled out my class schedule, and pointed out that our lecture was on "TH"...so the test was on "TH", not "TU". Well, guess what? At this college, a class that meets on "TH" means "T" for Tuesday, and "H" for Thursday! I had managed to miss half of my first ten lectures!!! And, worse than that, I discovered that I had not three days to prepare for the exam, but about 15 hours.
Now, maybe it's me, but doesn't "TH" stand for Thursday in the rest of the world? What a bad way to start my class. I did poorly on tat test but I pulled up the grades before the end of the quarter, and am now comfortably positioned to get an "A" this term. After all, I'll be at all of my lectures this time!
Until later....Cheers!
Ima
I signed up for class rather late last quarter because I did not get the official word that I had been accepted into the nursing school until very late in August, 2009. At the same time I started a new job and prepared to set out on vacation. I finally got to enroll, bought my text books, and printed out my courses...A&P-I Lab, meeting on "M" (Monday) and the lecture meeting on "TH" (Thursday.) No problem. I can handle a new 40 hour job and a couple days of class. Not so fast, Sherlock!
Five weeks into the quarter, our lecture professor scheduled his first Exam, worth about 15% of the grade for the entire course. As I left lab the Monday prior, one of my lab partners said "I'll see you tomorrow!" I blinked...and corrected him. "You mean, you'll see me Thursday for our test." Oh no. He explained that the test was in fact on Tuesday. I quickly pulled out my class schedule, and pointed out that our lecture was on "TH"...so the test was on "TH", not "TU". Well, guess what? At this college, a class that meets on "TH" means "T" for Tuesday, and "H" for Thursday! I had managed to miss half of my first ten lectures!!! And, worse than that, I discovered that I had not three days to prepare for the exam, but about 15 hours.
Now, maybe it's me, but doesn't "TH" stand for Thursday in the rest of the world? What a bad way to start my class. I did poorly on tat test but I pulled up the grades before the end of the quarter, and am now comfortably positioned to get an "A" this term. After all, I'll be at all of my lectures this time!
Until later....Cheers!
Ima
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Humility... and the Art of Biting One's Tongue
So, I had a new experience this morning. I have a job as the telephone operator at a large retailer, and I am part of the customer service team. The job is very easy, and affords me a lot of perks (studying while at work, etc.) I also truly enjoy talking to our customers, helping others, and handling questions. I know that I'm an important first impression, and I take that job seriously. I also know how frustrating and challenging customers (and employees) can be, from a service perspective. But after thirty years of handling serious problems, griping, complaining, and sometimes sheer stupidity, I know that 1) your attitude is everything, 2) each complaint is an isolated instance, and you cannot (or should not) allow the accumulation of handling other issues affect your emotions. You cannot wallow in negativity, because it becomes self-fulfilling, and also can give you heartburn!
Today I sat in as a participant at our first department meeting. I watched my young manager as she failed to lead, and allowed the meeting to become a gripe session with seemingly little attention to our role as service-providers. I listened for quite a while, and then made a statement about "checking our demeanor"...that it could cause us make the problems worse by worsening our relationship with the sales force...that each person - no matter how frustrating - was an opportunity to teach...(yadda yadda yadda.) I was quickly told (nicely, as I'm the department senior citizen at 54) that until I had "experience" I really didn't understand.
WOW. I wanted to fire back that thirty years of personally laying people off, handling conflicts in the court room, presenting bad news to a hostile executive committee, calling over three hundred customers to explain that our restaurant may have given them foodborne illness, etc., etc., gives me all the experience with "difficult situations" I need. But my tongue got a biting, and I decided to let my actions speak for themselves. When I have that opportunity to demonstrate what I've learned over years in the trenches I can make a much more powerful point. And if my colleagues value it - great. If not...I've done my work with excellence. And had time to study for my Anatomy test, too!!
Ahhh...youth!!
Cheers!
Ima
Today I sat in as a participant at our first department meeting. I watched my young manager as she failed to lead, and allowed the meeting to become a gripe session with seemingly little attention to our role as service-providers. I listened for quite a while, and then made a statement about "checking our demeanor"...that it could cause us make the problems worse by worsening our relationship with the sales force...that each person - no matter how frustrating - was an opportunity to teach...(yadda yadda yadda.) I was quickly told (nicely, as I'm the department senior citizen at 54) that until I had "experience" I really didn't understand.
WOW. I wanted to fire back that thirty years of personally laying people off, handling conflicts in the court room, presenting bad news to a hostile executive committee, calling over three hundred customers to explain that our restaurant may have given them foodborne illness, etc., etc., gives me all the experience with "difficult situations" I need. But my tongue got a biting, and I decided to let my actions speak for themselves. When I have that opportunity to demonstrate what I've learned over years in the trenches I can make a much more powerful point. And if my colleagues value it - great. If not...I've done my work with excellence. And had time to study for my Anatomy test, too!!
Ahhh...youth!!
Cheers!
Ima
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