Shift happens

I was at a conference yesterday, and a keynote speaker ran the following video which was developed last year by a group of students at a school in the mid-west (if I remember correctly). Very cool stuff -- makes you think!

"Shift happens"

Last lecture

If you haven't already, you need to read or watch Randy Pausch's last lecture. It's an incredibly optimistic view of a life lived well by a Carnegie Mellon professor who has pancreatic cancer and only a few months left to live.

One of my favorite parts of his talk:

"So my next piece of advice is, you just have to decide if you're a Tigger or and Eeyore. [shows slide with an image of Tigger and Eeyore with the phrase "Decide if you're Tigger or Eeyore"] I think I'm clear where I stand on the great Tigger/Eeyore debate. [laughter] Never lose the childlike wonder. It's just too important. It's what drives us. "

I don't think there's any doubt in anyone's mind that I'm a Tigger. Several of my posts have included lists of things I want to do when I have time. But it's a bit more than that -- everyone should have a list of the 101, 1001 or million things they want to do before they die -- have something to aspire to!

Women Don't Ask...

Great NYT article today entitled: "Women, Repeat This: Don't Ask, Don't Get."

Heeeeeeee'sssssss baaaaaaack!

Tom made his triumphant return to road races today, running the R.J. Crowley 3 mile road race with me to benefit Dana-Farber. We took it easy, running 11 minute miles, and were pleased that we beat the puppy division (including a brutish yellow lab and a frisky yip-yip dog), several within the stroller division, an older gentleman with all sorts of keys and what-not jingling away at every step, and a race walker who looked like he was recovering from a serious knee injury. :) Hey, two years ago this month, Tom was laying in a hospital after a serious car accident, so I was "happy as a clam" to have him running next to me (although starting around two miles he was swearing a storm....).

Congrats, honey!

Oil

Oil. Just mention it, and people with oil heat just cringe.

Like a lot of folks, we're on a monthly budget plan. The oil company charges our account roughly $175 a month, it goes into our account, and whenever oil is delivered, the expense is held against the balance we've built. Pretty simple.

Oil prices have been going up dramatically, but my budget plan has stayed the same. Then today I discover that without warning, the company has charged me $550. Yikes -- this must be yet another accounting mistake (there have been a bunch with this company, but I digress...). When I called to check, however, I learned that in fact it wasn't. We owe $550 this month and next to pay off our oil for the year, then a new budget charge will begin in July.

Usually when rates change for any other utilities or even our student loan accounts, we get a 30 day notice. None here. Dozens more found out the hard way when they went to the ATM and couldn't withdraw funds -- the customer service rep I spoke to had been fielding calls all morning, and it was only 11am. How on earth is the average person supposed to stay afloat when oil goes up several hundred dollars a whack?

Our latest mischief....

So Tom and I are taking a pistol class. Yup, we're going to learn how to shoot guns..hopefully at a bulls-eye, not at each other. :) For those not familiar, MIT has a pistol range on campus and has had a number of students nationally ranked in marksmanship. Tom's wanted to take a class for years now, and it just so happened that the timing was right for both of us. Plus we get a small discount as Wellesley alumna and spouse, part of the greater MIT community.

Wish us luck!

More things to do when I have time....

The list just continues.....

Re-learn how to play the piano. Ah yes, twelve years of piano lessons and I barely remember a damn thing. My teacher and I were constantly at odds. She wanted to teach classical; I wanted to learn current music. She wanted me to learn how to read music; I would write in the note names, memorize, then erase before the next lesson. My mother, who does not play, used to point out to me how my father continued to play as an adult and that I would regret someday not being able to play at a party with friends. At 15, I thought I knew better, but sure enough over the past few years, I've found myself wishing I had paid more attention. Tom bought me an amazing keyboard for my birthday last summer; now I need to make some time to re-teach myself!

Figure out all those bells and whistles on our cameras. I used to love taking pictures and was the back-up photographer for our yearbook in college. One of the first things we did when we got married was to invest in both a digital and regular camera. We've since upgraded to yet a newer digital, and I'm embarrassed to say, I don't know how either works beyond "push here dummy." Tom's much more knowledgeable than I, but we could both use a remedial class.

Garden with success. So when we lived in Somerville, we had what I jokingly referred to as a "city boy garden." Tom bought huge pails, cut holes in the bottom, and planted tomatoes and peppers. Our deck boxes were filled with easy-to-grow flowers and a few herbs. We actually did pretty well. Fast forward to buying a house: one would think that with plenty of land, we'd do even better. Well, our garden last year was a disaster. Tom tried to start plants inside, and we both lost interest fairly quickly. Few survived. Lesson #1: just buy the starter plants, don't bother with growing from seed. Then, we did a half-assed job digging an expansive garden. Result: weeds everywhere. Halfway through the summer, I dug everything up, lost a few less hardy plants in the process, but refilled the plot with garden soil and replanted what I could. Lesson #2: Invest in a timer for your spigot and water daily. The sun was so strong and our days commuting so long, we pretty much lost everything. Sigh.....I think we should revert to container gardening!