I don't know what I was so afraid of anyway. Yes, it is super awkward to hear people talking about personal issues in front of me. I don't know if I am supposed to try not to listen, ask clarifying questions, or just accept that in some weird way this "stranger" feels safe sharing something personal in my presence. And if that is at all true, what an honor!
When I started this blog I wasn't really sure of what to put on my list of things to do before turning 45. I wasn't sure how to keep score of my accomplishments or what to write about when I was done with an item...other than tell the adventure (if there was one) and then write DONE next to that.
All this to say that this is my most updated list and I know that working on being a better listener is something that goes hand in hand with meeting new people. (#23) Since I have no background with who my new coworkers are and how they came to be, I am really working hard at this! I don't know people's names (first or last...but sometimes only first...and some other times only last), their kids, their husbands/wives, where they come from, how long they've been teaching, what subject they teach, or really anything at all. And then, the students! I'm going to have to learn all of their names too! And their stories. And their siblings and parents.
I feel like I'm playing an old fashioned pinball machine! I'm working really hard, bouncing around, on my toes, having a great game... I may even reach a "high score". Trying not to let the ball slip between the flippers, I twitch and tense myself. But then...TILT! The lights go off, the flippers stop working, and the game is over. Grr!!! My brain just shuts down.
So, I'm going to actively work on #23...Be a better listener. HOW? Take notes? Mnemonic devices? Word associations? Lumosity? I'll have to do a little research on how to best accomplish this.
I feel like I'm playing an old fashioned pinball machine! I'm working really hard, bouncing around, on my toes, having a great game... I may even reach a "high score". Trying not to let the ball slip between the flippers, I twitch and tense myself. But then...TILT! The lights go off, the flippers stop working, and the game is over. Grr!!! My brain just shuts down.
So, I'm going to actively work on #23...Be a better listener. HOW? Take notes? Mnemonic devices? Word associations? Lumosity? I'll have to do a little research on how to best accomplish this.
My updated list is as follows:
The List
1. Lose at least 45 pounds. I've lost about 10. But then, this summer I put on about 15!
2. Finish reading Dante's Divine Comedy. It's been so long, I had to restart! But I did listen to eight hours of the book being read to me, which was "Part One".
3. Finish reading the books on my nightstand: A Land Remembered, Follow the River, Winning at Losing, Cigar City, Sea Glass, Who Let the Dogs Out, and all of the magazines and catalogs I've hoarded. Magazines: Check. (But new ones are now taking their place.) I did start and finish a whopper of a bear of a chore of a book though! I had to read the book with a dictionary app and take notes AND reread each page multiple times. With great pleasure, I passed on River of the Golden Ibis by, Gloria Jahooda. Ah! Free at last! And now I have a new book that I've started: Follow the River
4. Finish the Dalmatian quilt I started about 10 years ago. I've not done even one stitch.
5. Swim with manatees at Crystal River. No, but I did have SEVERAL awesome manatee encounter in the waters near our house.
6. Stand up paddle board launched from the shoreline in front of my house. I did it! I own my own SUP!
7. Kayak in Tampa Bay. Done. (See the Picnic Island blog entry)
8. Give up coffee, sugar, artificial foods for a certain period of time. (Done. I gave up coffee for almost an entire year and I no longer use sweetener in my coffee now.)
10. Shoot a gun, bow and arrow. Gun: Done
11. Be binge free for a certain number of days Maybe. I've not kept very good track.
12. Go to OA and get a sponsor. OA, yes. Sponsor, no.
13. Floss daily for a certain period of time. No
14. Go without TV for a month. No
15. Visit my grandparent's graves. No
16. Roller skate down Bayshore Blvd. No
17. Do a piece of stained glass. No
18. Learn how to French braid. No
19. Do the splits. No
20. Do a head stand. No
21. Have professional photos made of our family. No
22. Ride a Segway. No
23. Be a better listener. Some
24. Do the NASCAR Experience or at least have my dad do it. No
25. Complete the Sudoku, word search, and crossword puzzles I started but never finished. (See blog post called "Goodbye Old Friend"
26. But there were other "possible items to add to my list" like:
2. Finish reading Dante's Divine Comedy. It's been so long, I had to restart! But I did listen to eight hours of the book being read to me, which was "Part One".
3. Finish reading the books on my nightstand: A Land Remembered, Follow the River, Winning at Losing, Cigar City, Sea Glass, Who Let the Dogs Out, and all of the magazines and catalogs I've hoarded. Magazines: Check. (But new ones are now taking their place.) I did start and finish a whopper of a bear of a chore of a book though! I had to read the book with a dictionary app and take notes AND reread each page multiple times. With great pleasure, I passed on River of the Golden Ibis by, Gloria Jahooda. Ah! Free at last! And now I have a new book that I've started: Follow the River
4. Finish the Dalmatian quilt I started about 10 years ago. I've not done even one stitch.
5. Swim with manatees at Crystal River. No, but I did have SEVERAL awesome manatee encounter in the waters near our house.
6. Stand up paddle board launched from the shoreline in front of my house. I did it! I own my own SUP!
7. Kayak in Tampa Bay. Done. (See the Picnic Island blog entry)
8. Give up coffee, sugar, artificial foods for a certain period of time. (Done. I gave up coffee for almost an entire year and I no longer use sweetener in my coffee now.)
10. Shoot a gun, bow and arrow. Gun: Done
11. Be binge free for a certain number of days Maybe. I've not kept very good track.
12. Go to OA and get a sponsor. OA, yes. Sponsor, no.
13. Floss daily for a certain period of time. No
14. Go without TV for a month. No
15. Visit my grandparent's graves. No
16. Roller skate down Bayshore Blvd. No
17. Do a piece of stained glass. No
18. Learn how to French braid. No
19. Do the splits. No
20. Do a head stand. No
21. Have professional photos made of our family. No
22. Ride a Segway. No
23. Be a better listener. Some
24. Do the NASCAR Experience or at least have my dad do it. No
25. Complete the Sudoku, word search, and crossword puzzles I started but never finished. (See blog post called "Goodbye Old Friend"
26. But there were other "possible items to add to my list" like:
"Traveling: I've done a lot of that (luckily) but I would like to go to Alaska (Done: June and July, 2013), Antarctica, see the "Roaring Forties", and spend some more time on the Appalachian Trail. Those are not necessarily things I intend to do before 45 though."
New Additions:
28. Watch "classic" movies. (This was something that I had wanted to include initially but didn't. I think it is "important" to watch some of these really famous and lauded movies. There is so much junk on TV...I really should try to watch something that is going to make me better in some way, not remove points off of my IQ.)
29. Learn to do a really loud whistle. (The kind of whistle that people use to get a room to stop dead in their tracks. Using my fingers or some funky way of folding up my tongue.)
30. Bike ride across the state of Florida. (My sister and I talked about doing this. We weren't really serious about it, but just said that it was actually possible. She said she'd follow me in her car while I rode my bike. Now that she's gone and now that as a family we are riding our bikes, I do think that is something that we can and should do.)
New Additions:
28. Watch "classic" movies. (This was something that I had wanted to include initially but didn't. I think it is "important" to watch some of these really famous and lauded movies. There is so much junk on TV...I really should try to watch something that is going to make me better in some way, not remove points off of my IQ.)
29. Learn to do a really loud whistle. (The kind of whistle that people use to get a room to stop dead in their tracks. Using my fingers or some funky way of folding up my tongue.)
30. Bike ride across the state of Florida. (My sister and I talked about doing this. We weren't really serious about it, but just said that it was actually possible. She said she'd follow me in her car while I rode my bike. Now that she's gone and now that as a family we are riding our bikes, I do think that is something that we can and should do.)
And now I'm off to figure out how to be a better listener...
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