Spectacular

Isn't this spectacular? Once again from the Boston Globe's "The Big Picture". A merry work-week to you all!

Never say never

#173027975 / gettyimages.com

Yesterday, a friend and I went to visit my daughter at her university a few hours drive from here. She started there in August and this is the first time we have been there since delivering her to the university gates during orientation week.

My friend rented a chic car to transport us and a huge amount of "goodies" for my daughter and a few gifts for her newly acquired friends. The absurdity of filling up a whole station wagon full of produce my daughter could, with a bit of effort, buy herself, was not lost on me.Thirty-two years ago, when I first came to Germany, I stayed for a few months at a friend's parents place. Their grown son, who was only a few years younger than I, came home every weekend from where he was studying and let himself be pampered by his mom.

She'd make him all his favourite dishes to eat, bake him cakes, and do his dirty laundry. By the time he was ready to leave on Sunday evening, she'd also have this care package for him to carry him over during the week.

Needless to say, my feminist emancipated soul was aghast. It took all of my muster not to make scathing comments to him as he was leaving the door with his duffle bag filled with freshly laundry clothes and the “muesli package” tucked under his arm. (I was after all a beholding guest in his parents’ home.)

I could only cope with the situation by saying to myself, “I will never indulge in such a wanton act of pampering once my children leave home! No, I will honour their well-earned independence. I will not practice such blatant and, let’s face it, easy appreciation-seeking practices. I’ll stand tall.”

Ha! The joke is on me. Yesterday proved I am perfectly capable of ridiculous levels of pampering. You know what? It was fun!

Touchingly hopeful

As an engineer, every time a new technology is developed I take some convincing as to its "worth", as well as it's potential for meaningful, appropriate usage. Up until now 3D printers were interesting and I could intellectually see their potential, but emotionally my heart didn't flip. This video outlining the social experiment Touchable Memories made this connect for the first time.

It is not necessary for a technology to make some sort of socially sentimental connect in order for it to be socially relavant, but it sure does help. There are some amazing applications for this technology. It's odd it has taken me this long to catch up.

Edge of Sanity

Just wanted to share this video. Don't know what is more stunning the idea of what the surfers are doing out on the water or the way the film was put together. 

It's been far too long since the last time I wrote a post. This year has been marvelously crazily busy. What a blessing! What a challenge! (And I am not substituting "challenge" for "having problems".) 

Being self-employed at my age is fascinating and sometimes quite frightening. I worked for nearly 30 years in international corporations or large universities. The transition to one-woman-show has been educational. Who would have thought it possible. 

Our children are both off studying now. Nomad Son is doing a co-op program in computer sciences. Nature Girl is off studying international relations. It is amazing to stand on the periphery and watch them stride on.

Game well played

The final game last night of the WM was wonderful to watch. For all you non-pulsed scoccer fans, it must seem an odd thing to say, since the score was 0:0 at the end of the normal playing time. Nevertheless, what a game!

(note: to google... if I am doing something wrong by placing the google doodle in this post today, please be tolerant. It was done in a sleep deprived state of jubilation.)

Good cup of tea

When I went into my blog dashboard today, I discovered this text. I wrote it, just before a whole avalanche of work landed on my desk! 

#147523924 / gettyimages.com

The weeks and months of this year have so far been exhilarating ones. Lots of work, which is encouraging.

Yet thankfully the next weeks are going to be more relaxed. So I can sit quietly over a new book or listen to a podcast or two.

Milestones

We reached another milestone in our family. Our daughter has graduated from high school and she is off in a few weeks to start her university career. Very exciting. Monumental. Both children now grown up and on walking on their own path now.

I have special feelings of wonderment and pride mixed with astonishment: did it really happen: is it really over: what comes next.

Thinking of you all.

Every day is filled with feelings

I just loved the ideas and thoughts these people share with us about how they define beauty.

When I was a young woman, there seemed to be so much attention on beauty. Usually, it was about how women should try hard to be beautiful. The measures of beauty were determined by outer forces; mainstream media, fashion industry, and, at that time, the femminist movement. I was never very comfortable with any of it. Neither was I familar or comfortable about the concept of "my inner beauty". I navigated my way through my 20s, 30s, and 40s doing as best I could do, though never feeling truly beautiful.

This video does well in showing what beauty is and how to feel it. It says we can be beautiful showing momentary strength of character or by feeling the beauty of a breeze on our skin. Inward. Outward. It's all one.

Now that I am older, maybe it is time to redefine and rediscover my beauty. What do you think?

Looking through a pin hole

There is something about the explanation and visuals which allowed me for perhaps the first time to really understand how it is we see. It is strange when something like that happens; when what was ony half understood becomes clear.

Hope you are all enjoying a lovely spring.

Letter of Inspiration

This video realisation of Kurt Vonnegut's letter to high school students brings joy to the heart. I originally saw this on The Guardian site and wanted to share it with you.

The days and weeks flow by and I am skipping happily from one stepping stone to the next. Lots of work to do, a fair share of it even billable. Halleluiah. These last three years of self-employment has brought many challenges and yet, I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

Serious about recycling

I went with a friend to place flowers on her mother's grave. It was really interesting to look at all the floral arrangements and mini gardens loved ones of the deceased have planted on the graves.

We were there quite early, yet still there were numerous candles burning next to grave stones (they are contained in glass laterns) and new flowers had been placed artfully in amongst the bushes and heather.

We turned a corner and there were these two recycling bins next to a compost container. The red one has a hole on the top and is for empty candle holders and discarded flower pots. Now that is taking recycling seriously!

Call you Home

A tip of the hat
A deep bow
A quirky cursey
To Kelvin Jones
For your gift
And glory

Mauve Lace

These are the moments of mauve lace

When the soles of my bare feet balance

On the monastery tiles worn smooth

By the endless footsteps of 

Mothers and sisters and others..

The elders, once young and 

Unpretentious, except for their

Coloured dreams of religious wonder

The start of a very long adventure.

Love Letter To Yourself

Having lived 50 years and more,
Having explored numerous corners of the world,
Having looked afar, down deep, between the lines,
There is only one love, a universal truth,
That starts with self-love and kindness and faith
In ourselves. That no matter what, "I am enough"
The bottom line, the exit point, the point of no return.

You Can Only Multitask In One Way

To multitask or not to multitask... that is the question these days... January has been an amazing month work-wise and so, now that I am officially a long time freelancer (survived those first 3 years!), I go with the flow.

Flow (noun, verb): to accept joyously all work contracts that come in, while working seven days a week and not bothering to count the number of hours per day. This is, after all, what you were hoping for!

When I read the title on the video above, I thought, "So at least there is one way to multitask". If you see the video to the end though you realise there isn't any way. Oh, well, back to the "doing one thing at a time".

 Some rights reserved by Uli Hard

All's well here in marzipan land. The rooftops have a sugaring of snow and the sky is blue today.

Only the tree left

Holidays are for some
A spectacular theatrical production.
There is much that shines and glitters.
Certainly much to remember about
The fantastical shows of generosity.
Still, to those who venture on this 

Precarious path, let you be(a)ware
Of the hysteria and dampened
Disappointment waiting for you 

In the muffled darkness of your
Bedroom, as mayhem rules below.

For others it is a goodgood feeling
Coming from an excess of food, 

Gift giving, shared laughter and faith 

In the repetition of family rituals;

Based on the infallible belief 

That This Time we will get it right. 

Even though what is right

Is often the unexpected.

Then there are those few of us who
Wholely wish to throw it all aside...
Who prefer to spend our time with
A good book or the cat. It is hard
To explain to others how very
Mundane but deliciously joyous
Such times are: an escape 

From all the burdens such times

Bring to each and everyone.

And then there is Us. A family
Un-seeped in tradition, but still
Looking for decorative spirited 

Bobbles to brighten our holidays. 

We stumble willy nilly into various
Gatherings: unprepared, with no
Exceptions, nearly always surprised
That it works and relieved when it's over.

My thanks to everyone in my family and friends who have made this Christmas and New Years Holidays a true delight. There is only the tree to take down and then we can plunge into making this 2014 a year of growing prosperity, good health and welcomed change.

My Discoveries 2013

2013 was a year of discoveries. I wanted to write a list of some of the good stuff I discovered, without explanation or order of preference. Just thought you might not know of them and would like to give them a try.

MOOCs

EdX

iversity

Books

Painter of Silence, Georgina Harding

The Last Samurai, Helen DeWitt

Movies

(sorry, I can't think of any)

TV Series

Elementary

Games of Thrones

Podcasts

You are not so smart

TWIT

Apps

Jiffy

Notes

RSS reader

Press

Feedly

If you have some suggestions of your own, please feel free to put them in a comment.

I wish you and your families all the veryvery best in 2014! A friend of mine is just celebrating it in Shanghai and she says all will be well in the Prosperous Year of the Horse!

Something small, every day

I'm not sure when it is that I "found" Austin Kleon. It probably was years ago when I discovered a group of people talking about the necessity for each of us to develop our own "visual language".

Austin is a writer and artist. In his lastest post, he writes about his practice of writing a poem each day. I created the poem below in the way he so often creates his own. Try it. It's a lot of fun.

my poem today

He says the only New Year's resolution should be "something small, every day". Think I might give this a try.

True Stories

Working as a trainer and coach has its perks. One of them is the collection of stories I get to hear from my clients. No matter what topic we are discussing, from “multilingual development of immigrant children” to “user-centered usability processes” to “information and communication communities”… all we really do beyond establishing some basic guidelines is share stories.

It is my belief the moment someone starts telling a story is the moment they become completely engaged. It is that “Did I ever tell you about…” which presents endless possibilities for surprise, delight, connection, and just maybe a change in perspective. A good story can gives us insight into past events or into the storyteller’s soul.

Most of the stories I hear are told in confidence, but the one I wish to tell now I have been given permission to pass on.

A very settled and staid manager told it, while we discussed different aspects about how to hire young professionals. We started with the question, “If you were giving a job interview to your younger self, would you hire him?” To which he answered, “Absolutely not!”  This led to several twists and turns in our conversation and somewhere along the way, he told this wonderful story:

Did I ever tell you about the night I spent in a Glasgow prison? Well, my girlfriend and I decided to hitchhike around Scotland for a few weeks during our school vacation. We started on the east coast and made our way up north and then west to the Orkney Islands and finally down to Glasgow.

We didn’t have much money to start with and what little we had ran out at the city border. We wre completely broke. Our backup plan was to take an overnight train to London, where my girlfriend’s uncle lived and he said he would be willing to lend us enough money to ferry back to Germany.

When we got to the train station we discovered there was a train strike on. There we were without a cent to pay for room and board.

At that time, I don’t know if it is still so now, but if you were caught sleeping in the parks you would be arrested for public loitering. Since the only option we had was to sleep in the park, I decided to go to the police station and give ourselves up right up front. We walked into the station and I told the officer at the front desk about our predicament and asked him what we should do.

He talked on the telephone with his superior and then made another few calls with other colleagues. He then asked us whether we wouldn’t mind spending the night in jail. Their holding cells were full, but the local prison had two cells we could use for the night. Seemed good to me…

So, an officer transported us to the prison in a police car where we spent a pleasant night in jail and he kindly came back and picked us up the next day and brought us to the train station to catch our train to London.

After note: The storyteller tried the same thing a few years later during a trip to Norway. He and his (new) girlfriend were turned away from the police station. They said they didn’t mind the occasional person sleeping in the park.

Your next boss

Dear Obnoxious Teenager,

Hello. We have not be formally introduced, so let me do so now. I am the woman sitting next to you in the cinema yesterday. The middle aged woman looking forward to watching the movie in peace and quiet. You might remember... the person you kept on hitting your elbow with every few minutes while you noisily ate your nachos. Then you decided it would be fun to shine your cell phone screen in my face while you texted your friends.

You might have thought it an act of cowardness when I moved my seat to the row infront but, was it neccessary to act upon this by continually kicking the back of the seat so we in the row all felt your spitefulness?

As a pretty teenage girl, you might believe such obnoxious behaviour inspires awe amongst your peers. You also might feel as if there would not be any consequences for your actions. It is perhaps important for you to know I chose not to make a fuss over the matter since I didn't want to disturb the other people in the cinema. To you though, I can only say, "I am not your mother, but I might be your next boss. So, beware!"

Your sincerely,

Still Somewhat Miffed