I’ve been thinking lately…and frankly, not a whole lot else other than sleeping as the Cold from Heck has knocked me out for a few more days.
Near the top of my thinking list has been what to do with my life. I’m leaving teaching (again – since politics won’t allow me to use my new textbook in my classes, I simply can’t afford to stay at that job) and have a few options before me. I have one programming job lined up immediately, and another I can probably pick up within a few months at most. The pay is good, the companies are good, and I may enjoy it, but…is programming what I’m meant for?
This morning I was noticing that deep urge to be great. To make life a meaningful adventure. To make a difference. I googled the topic, watched a short video, read an article, and followed a link to the book displayed above – Do Hard Things. The title alone inspires me. It makes me excited to do hard things. I ordered the book. Continue Reading »
After class today, I ran an errand on the motorcycle. Two little girls sitting outside Sonic smiled and waved to me. I picked up some groceries and another 2-year old kept her eyes glued to the bike as I rode away. Children inherently know, it seems, that motorcycles are exciting.
<– Here’s a recent photo of Stacey & I on the road to Squaw Peak. We agree with the children.
During a class discussion today, we briefly discussed the fact that critical thinkers view problems as “exciting challenges” rather than just hassles and headaches.
If only we inherently knew THAT.
Update: I took 7 year old Sarah for a motorcycle ride up the canyon for her birthday. “This is the BEST day of my life!” she gushed. She meant it, too.
Oh, look, nearly another month gone by without a blog post. Here’s a quick overview of what’s going on.
1. Teaching. I got another class 2 weeks ago when another instructor got a better job and quit mid-semester. Overall, the new students seem sharp and hard working. This is now the norm – UVU has come a long way!!! Adding all those 4 year degrees I think has had a very good impact on the school. Right now I have a 3″ pile of papers, of which I’ve graded just over 1″. As long as I chip away a little every day, it gets done. Good papers are EASY to grade! A pleasure, I can almost say (and sometimes say quite sincerely). Bad or rather undeveloped papers take 5-10 times longer since I have to pay much closer attention. That’s why I try to be as helpful and motivating as I can. Well, that’s one reason. I ran into a student from last semester this week who told me that not only is his opinion of English greatly improved due to my class, but he now enjoys *learning* from his education rather than just checking things (assignments, courses) off. Imagine that! It make me think I should maybe keep on teaching, but…
2. I may end up getting a job with Adobe this year. Omniture, actually, which Adobe bought. Advanced web analytics stuff. Designing systems companies to track how effective their web pages are. That would triple my income, which I desperately need.
3. My “final” revision of my textbook arrives this week, and I’ll see if I can get it approved for use. If so, I’ll get marketing it to other instructors, too. If that works, then I may be able to afford to teach after all. We’ll see how it goes. Continue Reading »
Dave M just forwarded me an article about publishing on Amazon Kindle which inspired me to drop all my book prices there.
I’ve been making more from ebooks than regular books for a few months now and it makes sense. After all, I don’t have to pay for the printing, I don’t have to deal with shipping, I get a higher % of the retail revenue, and people obviously like their Kindles. Another book “expert” talks a lot about charging the same amount for e or paper so as to not devalue your work, but that sounds like old-school thinking to me.
So I changed. My vampire book now goes for $2.99, and my Christmas books (which, in all honesty, are barely Christmasy enough to call them Christmas books) go for $4.11 for the first one and $6.45 for the sequel. Maybe I’ll drop those later. We’ll see how it goes.
If you don’t have a Kindle – click one of these – choose from the $139 wifi version for uploading books on your home network, or the $189 wifi + free 3G version which gives you free internet anywhere it gets service. Pretty cool!
It’s been a while since I posted so it’s time for me to say something. What you get is a handful of good quotes & ideas I’ve run across lately. Along with assorted news tidbits. In no particular order.
“Doubt yourself and you doubt everything you see. Judge yourself and you see judges everywhere. But if you listen to the sound of your own voice, you can rise above doubt and judgment. And you can see forever.”
- Nancy Lopez
In Spanish, the verb “to hope” also means “to wait.” It implies an expectation which is a nice perspective while you hope. And wait. No matter how long it takes. Continue Reading »
Watch this awesome video from Ted.com! Ms. Brown is a superb speaker and makes excellent points about connection, authenticity, vulnerability, and joy.
Many smart people think with their brains. They perceive, analyze, compare, join disparate ideas, theorize, and experiment. They often reach quick conclusions that sound reasonable as the information falls into place inside their head.
Thinking – depending on how careful the thinker is – can have weak spots, too. Thinkers can get sloppy. Like reaching conclusions too quickly and then clinging to them rather than continually seeking new information and adjusting opinions accordingly. Just because something sounds reasonable doesn’t make it correct, and opinions may gravitate toward previous experience and perceptions, which may have little or nothing to do with new information and situations. Continue Reading »
In the past few weeks I’ve run into a couple of those magical people whose presence alone seems to shift reality to a higher plane. Everything suddenly feels lighter, easier, more clear. I laugh more easily. Ancient wounds stitch together and heal effortlessly. Life seems worth living.
I’ve known a few such people in my life. I met the first one, Laura, when I was 16; though it took many years to fully appreciate her influence on me. Continue Reading »
Lately I’ve been more keenly aware of human suffering. Another neighbor came down with cancer and it’s not a gentle thing. I ran into an old friend today who told me she got diagnosed with some disease that will turn into cancer in ten years if she ever eats anything white again (okay, not quite that extreme, but close). I see kids struggling to figure out how to just be okay, adults with anxieties they can’t quite shake, tons of people wondering how they’re going to pay the bills for the next year, and today, when the ad for my Christmas books went out to 200,000 people, the web page it drove people to was down almost ALL DAY. I was gone, ironically, at a book signing at the university book store, or I might have noticed.
Way to put that in perspective, eh? My little problems are NO. BIG. DEAL. That’s what I wanted to say today.
Sure, I was disappointed. That glitch probably cost me hundreds of dollars which I could certainly use. Or not. I’ll never know. All I can do is sigh, maybe say “Darn it,” and continue on. Seriously, it’s no big deal. Continue Reading »
