A taste of two worlds. And a time honoured lesson. I was trying to put soya sauce on my sushi the other day and having a devil of a time. The little package of soya sauce didn't have a small pre-cut in it designed to make it easy to open. While yesterday my taste buds were watering in … [Read more...] about Start small & think big; creme brulee over soya sauce
Myles Horton & the Olympic Flame
Myles Horton was a famous adult educator in the Appalachian mountains. He rode the rails with the hobos and learned valuable lessons from them, lessons that I'm applying during my volunteer work at the 2010 Olympics. Fire was valuable to the vulnerable men who hitched a ride by train. Fire kept … [Read more...] about Myles Horton & the Olympic Flame
Old men who wear hats are really bad drivers
Say what?!?! Those exact words came out of a participant's mouth during a training I was giving. The entire group agreed. Wholeheartedly. Emphatically. Vehemently. As strong as the moon's pull is on the tides, their belief was unshakable. Seeing patterns in the waves of information we process … [Read more...] about Old men who wear hats are really bad drivers
Why do we (need to) travel?
I love to travel. Really love to travel. And now I know why. Jonah Lehrer in his post called 'Why we travel' says travel puts distance between who we are and what we know. When we're surrounded by the familiar we're surrounded by associations and assumptions that are as hard to get rid of as … [Read more...] about Why do we (need to) travel?
Are you using all your strength?
You can be sure the people in Haiti are. Using all their strengths that is. Sometimes we are oblivious to our most obvious strengths. A little girl was having difficulty lifting a heavy stone. Her mother came along just then. Noting the girl's failure, she asked, "Are you using all your … [Read more...] about Are you using all your strength?
Cookie dough & the delicate balance of today & tomorrow
Before I can blink, with a shake of his shaggy head, my teen inhales food. All the food. All the time. Hence I hoard. (Much to his shock, horror and dismay.) "Moooooooooooooooom!" (drawing out the vowel as only a kid can do) "Where is the cookie dough?" (Confession time; I love to make … [Read more...] about Cookie dough & the delicate balance of today & tomorrow
Stress relief a la country music & dill pickles
In my last post I talked about my first day on the job, doing job training for developmentally delayed adults when I was 17 years old. I learned a lot about expecting the unexpected there. From helping an elfin older lady named Cookie do up her bra to customizing stress relief. Stress. It's a … [Read more...] about Stress relief a la country music & dill pickles
Job training, elves & bras
"Hey you! Come here, come here!" Her voice, intense and commanding, sounded like it was being stretched taught across a gravel pit. It was my first day on the job. I was 17 and working in a centre that provided jobs for developmentally delayed adults. When I stopped and looked for the owner of … [Read more...] about Job training, elves & bras
My extended quirky to do list part 7 – to'odle
My last 6 posts describe an extended, quirky to-do list tool that I use in my corporate training (click here to download a copy for you to use). It has 5 parts: - to do, to continue doing, to stop doing, to not do, to done (no, the last one's not a typo) (here's a description of each) I thought … [Read more...] about My extended quirky to do list part 7 – to'odle
