Every time something annoys me, I take it as a learning experience. For example, Darling Daughter Number Three has been remiss at getting back to me lately, with the lament, “But I’m SO busy!” I understand she just finished filming a TV show and has people line up for hours to get her autograph, etc….
In her dissertation on African-American leaders, Dr. Shanetta Robinson has a couple of memorable quotes on this topic. One executive she interviewed urged women leaders that have reached the top to “leave the ladder down”. Another admonished that if you reach the top, you should bring someone else with you. Michelle Obama, in her beautiful…
When I started dating my late husband, I was a 26-year-old engineer and he was 44-year-old manager. In addition to forever losing any possibility of criticizing age differences for any boyfriends our daughters might bring home, it also means that he had a view on life that I often did not appreciate until years later….
Five more things I have learned in almost 55 years. Jealousy is bad for you. Scrupulous honesty about your motives will pay off. Much negative criticism stems from jealousy. Yes, employers ARE right to turn you down because you are over-qualified. Don’t take it personally but DO take it seriously. I am on a roll…
I travel A LOT for business. This occurred to me today as I realized I knew where to find an outlet in the one restaurant in the Grand Forks International Airport. (It is international because the have a couple of flights two and from Canada, which is about 80 miles due north and it is…
I’m not perfect. God am I ever not perfect. I’ve been working on the Spirit Lake Game beta on and off for the past several weeks, adding, fixing, changing. In most of these cases we knew months ago as we wrote the game that we needed documentation or that we would need to come back…
Many people have commented how ironic it is that I’m writing computer games these days because I’m one of the least playful people you’ll meet. I have a confession to make, although confession is perhaps the wrong word because I don’t feel the least bit bad about it. Playing with small children bores me. Don’t…
Here are four more of Dr. De Mars 55 things I have learned in (almost) 55 years, and that is that there are four thing students should have learned in school but often didn’t. 1. Say what you mean. I don’t know who those teachers are who reinforce students for using longer words, longer sentences…
There are, or so I have heard, people who are energized by parties, meet-ups and social events. I am not one of those people. If I had my choice, I would never go to any gathering larger than our family dinners for the rest of my life. It’s not that I don’t enjoy talking to…
I highly recommend, The Dip, a short book by Seth Godin that lauds the value of quitting. I wrote about this at greater length on my other blog on judo and life, under the topic, “Know when to hold ’em and know when to fold ’em.” where, being the horrible mean old woman that I…