"At least there are no dead horses outside" Hold on, I came across a book that I want to read.and it left me with THAT thought. It’s about a heat wave in 1896 in NY...imagine 110 degrees for 10 days straight. BUT since it is 1896 - no A/C, no electricity, no refrigerator and no cars. It was so hot that the horses were dying in the streets and left there.
The book, “Hot Time in the Old Town” is written by historian Edward P. Kohn (an Asst Prof of American History & Chair of the American Culture & Literature Dept. at Bilkent University, Turkey). It is a historical and political account of the NY heat wave during a summer in 1896. I love listening to podcasts about books and authors (big surprise) one of my favorites is “NPR Book Notes” - at the end of this entry you’ll find the 20 minute conversation with the author about the book as well as an excerpt.
Ok, back to the heat wave - Let’s add the immigration flow of the time, the poor economical era, plus living in brick and stone tenements of the lower east side. These buildings were pretty much converted into ovens in the sweltering heat. People slept on rooftops and fire escapes, which ended in them falling to their deaths in their sleep. The death toll was about 1,300 and the coroners could simply not get there fast enough to remove the bodies nor could the city remove the dead horses from the streets. Imagine the stench.
The city workers hosed the streets down to try to cool them off and wash away the smells and waste. But, Theodore Roosevelt, chief of police at the time, championed the idea to purchase and give away free ice to the city's poor. This simple and cheap measure may have saved many lives, and marked Roosevelt as an urban reformer. This bridged the gap between privileged Republicans and the immigrant working-class AND catapulted the Harvard graduate to begin his political career. I really enjoy history and all this caught my interest and since this era shaped a lot of our government - I can’t wait to read all about it!
I absolutely love smart phones, the technology, the cool apps that make both your work and personal life easier, the sleek design, etc. As much as I am totally into technology, I am not real big on cell phones. I guess it’s more like what we have made cells phones to be. I for one do not the like expense attached to them and the fact that they make us be so AVAILABLE that they take away our freedom. And I so love and treasure my freedom.
We seem to give those who call on our cells priority, interrupting those who made the effort to be there is person. It is so rare when a cell call interruption is truly something important. I do not understand why we HAVE to be so available ALL the time – we can let the call go into voicemail you know….
Photo thanks to Roberrific's photostream on Flickr
An average contract (because darn them, they make us sign one) averages $2,300 - $2,900 for two years – stop for a minute and do the math. As much as I like everyone, I’d rather go on vacation with my husband for that kind of money!
I have a prepaid phone where I spend pennies a day – it’s cheap and I use it for basic necessities. I use it for - emergencies, to call when I am running late, when I need help (I’m lost, can’t find someone, etc) or to call home and say I am leaving my late evening networking event. I don’t chat on it and I don’t give out the number very easily. I usually tell people I don’t have a cell phone – now THAT is funny. Try telling that to someone and watch the look on their face! LOL
I will admit that because I am addicted to technology, I do have an iPod Touch – BUT - I LOVE smart phones and the many wonderful conveniences they provide us – texting, twittering, ebooks, podcasts, apps, videos, etc. I’ve yet to break down and get one, for now I just longingly sigh when I see one. If you have one, I’m sure I am jealous of you, happy for you, nonetheless, jealous. How I wish the cell phone company prices would come down…
Please consider NOT answering THAT next phone call when you are enjoying time with someone who is ACTUALLY there....it's gotta be good for our wellbeing...don't you think?
I LOVE learning but I know some of you DON'T – but I MUST share THIS - when I went to the conference in AZ a speaker included this in their presentation and it was hilarious! Some of you (ok, us) are old enough to remember. (Click here for the AZ story.)
The 5minute University
You gotta love that!
So, now I can segue into my own university experience - Guess what? I am so excited, I am taking my 1st on-line class! – it’s been 1 week, so far so good LOL. A few people have told me they are surprised that I am taking an on line class because I’m chatty (talk too much) and outgoing (in your face). One of the reasons I don’t take classes anymore, but instead devour iTunes U, OCW etc is because I can’t stand stupid people!
Remember, those people that in class ask the questions that take up ALL the class time with stupid questions? The annoy me! BUT hold on, I did not avoid these characters – in my on-line class, there is a forum for questions to the professor and HERE is where the stupid questions live…
A few samples? OK - here you go;
“Home work is due on Sunday, what time exactly?”
“You gave an example of a company to be reviewed – is that the company we should review?”
“You gave an example of a company to be reviewed – should I review that one and another one too?”
“In the syllabus you gave us the dates of when we should have read the chapters – are those the due dates?”
Grrrrr – at least is does not become a 30 minute discussion and I can read them and laugh at the poor fools!!
YES, there are also some very clever and sharp people that have already posted some thought provoking ideas and comments – I hope I'm on this side when I make a comment - LOL
Last week I attended a conference in Scottsdale, AZ and had a terrific time. It was conference about “workforce development for educators” I know, for the casual observer …yawn…but what can I say? It was fun – REALLY!
Let me explain a bit – Besides the learning (which I loved) it made me think about my job and opportunities I can create within it – I like that. But the icing on the cake was that I shared time with the most amazing group of women; smart, creative, funny, they enjoy life and they like wine! I also got to see an ex-co-worker and I loved seeing her again – she was as witty as always – all in all, my kind of peeps!
Wellbeing at its best!
What I am about to share (I must admit) was during the “hosted bar” reception, but keep in mind that the next day I still thought WE were all phenomenal women!
On the 2nd day of the conference, at the reception, a delightful group of women started to chat, nibble on some food and drink a little wine. I was lucky to be part of that moment and that group of women. The conversation led to a few of them actually admitting to liking their jobs, having fun at work and laughing through the day - ENJOYING work! (Finally, I find people who WANT/LIKE to work!) How refreshing to be positive about work. Imagine that!
One very funny woman shared a story that someone asked her, “Really you don’t stress about your job?" and she said, "No, not at all, should I?" And then that night... she laid there wide eyed, in bed thinking “Should I be stressed? What am I NOT stressing about?!" LOL
In my opinion, if you are not having fun at work, make it fun, re-work it somehow or GO find another job– you just HAVE to be happy and excited when you get up and go there!!
THIS to me, is WELLBEING, so I will finish the story in a couple of days, I want to “sit in the pause” of this thought...
It’s been good to remember funny moments shared among women who just met, but have a common thread of…enjoying life…
Here is the rest of the story:
A most charming and bubbly woman shared with us that she had been married for 25 years (congrats to her) and that she and her husband, go in their vintage Miata convertible, to wineries in Missouri, and spend the day wine tasting. That is fantastic for 2 reasons – ONE - after 25 years of marriage they gallivant together – outstanding! And TWO I had NO IDEA there were wineries in Missouri - did you? We had a big discussion about that topic, as well as Norton wineries! LOL
A speaker was part of this gathering – she was a fantastic speaker, I learned a ton from her but she also made me come up with creative ideas while I was listening to her presentation – it was great! During the reception she invited us all to her home in La Costa, CA to stay in her guest room – I hope she remembers when we all show up on her doorstep – LOLLa Costa is gorgeous by the way!
I found out that that Cheyenne has a rodeo in July and that we (in CA) have one in Mission Viejo in OC – Why do I need to know about rodeos, you ask? No, not the wine! My brother-in-law, a veterinarian from Argentina who rides on horseback with his cattle – he is dying to go to one. Yes, there was a reason!! Who knew I would find this nugget of information here at my educational conference!
I discovered that I was NOT the only one who ate yummy food while watching “Biggest Loser” – several of us seem to eat while we watch others suffer! One woman said that she “toasts” with a glass of wine and says "Here is to you Jillian!” – Gotta' LOVE that. (I later asked my friends and they do it too!!!)
We laughed, chatted, had a bit of wine - but in between laughter (and more wine) we actually exchanged business cards and one very clever woman had a fantastic idea that was immediately shared with the organizers for next year’s event.
I think this was a great start for 2010 don’t you?!
To those fantastic women I shared time and laughter in AZ: “It was a pleasure to be in the company of such positive, smart and amazing women – I hope we meet again!”
You either like social media or you hate it. Another way to say that could be “you either get social media or you don’t”. So if you don’t get it, the safe and easy thing to say is “I don’t have time for Social Media”
No time huh? Ok here is a simple, to the point video of Social Networking(less than 2 min). A good friend, Vicki Brannock told me about it, she is a Social Media expert and instructor – click on her name and please visit her blog - it's full of ways to "Think. Act. & Succeed". She uses this YouTube video as a beginner’s tool in her classes. It’s fantastic!
Cool huh?
Ok, here is a more advanced version of Social Media – it’s a really an excellent presentation of the raw power of Social Media. The presentation is very powerful. Here is the answer to "What The F**K is Social Media?"
I love it! Isn't it awesome!? This was created by Marta Kagan, Managing Director, US, for integrated marketing agency Espresso – her site is full of other great presentations I just discovered her and she is terrific!
I’ll be sending this post to people when I’m asked about social media. I invite you to please forward this post when you need to explain to those that "don't have time for Social Media".
When people tell me they are bored, I don’t get it, there is so much out there to learn – how can anyone be bored?
There are 3 places that will keep you entertained for months and for free. Now when we are all trying to be more frugal this price is perfect – right?
This is free education for self-learners across the globe! I am a self-learner and have been one most of my life and love it because of the freedom it provides me. I know most of you have heard or know about these places but I encourage you, nudge you, and invite you to spend time and feed your mind and explore what is out there.
YouTube Edu – Yep, YouTube - it has "Channels" from Harvard Business, Stanford, UCTV and so on – you have topics such as Health, Fine Arts, Literature, Science, etc. Knock yourself out!
There is no link for this – you have a download iTunes – but here are screen shots of where to find it, once you are in iTunes.
Open Courseware - (OCW) free and open availability of college courses from major universities - it was started in 2002 at MIT; the goal is to make available high-quality educational material for use to the general public. OCW gives access to materials created by faculty and used by students - it does not require registration and it is self-paced.
- and here is 
