Six months into 2011…
June 2nd, 2011
June 2, 2011. Another beautiful day in paradise. Rather than write a narrative, I believe I’ll follow the lead of my friend, Mary Wise, and share a list! This is my list of 10 cool things I’ve done so far this year:
1. Visited the coastal redwood forests of northern California and drove the Avenue of the Giants (with multiple stops for tree-hugging) with my heart-sister, Cheryl Smith. These trees are beyond any words I might have to describe them. You have to go and FEEL them! The peaceful energy emanating all around these wonderful beings was palpable and powerful. I’m still able to close my eyes and see and smell these seemingly prehistoric forests and feel the slowing of time and the inconsequential nonimportance of me.
2. Co-taught a 7-week online certificate class for STC in Technical Editing Fundamentals. New experience for me. Never taught a full class without seeing the lovely faces of my students. This format allowed me to talk to them and hear them talk to me if I opened the phone lines. I think the class went well. Thanks to my dear partner in crime, Michelle Corbin, who kept us on time, on schedule, and on point, we pulled it off! And, thanks to our first class who were our beta testers, we promise our next class (if we’re invited back) will be even better!
3. Taught a completely online 10-week class for UCSD Extension in Copyediting for Technical Communicators. This one was a bit more rough. Probably because I didn’t have Michelle as my partner! Prepping for this class overlapped the final teaching weeks of the class in #2, so my plate was definitely full. This class had EVERYTHING done electronically. I not only never see my students, I never talk to them except on a prerecorded set of PowerPoint slides. Very strange experience, but I believe it’s the way of the world now and I hope to be asked back by these folks, too!
4. Took a quick weekend trip to Houston. One of my best friends, Tessa, has had some medical issues, which at first seemed to be quite severe. I felt it was important to go see her myself, so I did! I stayed with my dear friends Connie and Lin Richard for 2 nights and with another dear friend, Deb Silvi, for 1 night. I visited Tessa 2 days of the 3 I was there and managed to grade papers and visit with my friends for the rest of my weekend. I’m glad I went because it helped me understand Tessa’s malady. I just wish the timing had been better and I had had time to see more of my Texas friends.
5. Attended the 2011 STC Summit in Sacramento. My 28th consecutive STC annual conference. It was delightful and I had a chance to room with Judy Glick-Smith, one of my best STC buds from my Texas days. Going to conference is so different for me these days, but it is nice to attend sessions, give presentations, and visit with folks without darting back and forth doing Board of Director things. I do miss the days of yore and so many of my dear friends who no longer attend conferences. But, all things change, and embracing that change makes us who we are…so I embrace it and move on!
6. Gambling! I know that it’s probably not in my best interests, but I do love those slots! I am doing pretty well at keeping it a hobby and not an obsessive-compulsive addiction…but I sure see how it would be easy to cross the line. Nonetheless, it’s fun and it is a mind-numbing escape for me. Thanks to another best friend of mine, Connie V, for putting up with me for the past four decades and for being my casino companion!
7. Going to work. Yup. I still like it. I am writing more on this job than I have written in many years. I think folks value what I do and I’m hoping that things work out so that I can stay here for a good, long time! (Of course, I have my backup plan ready in case things don’t work out that way…refer back to my comment about change in #5.)
8. Spending time with my daughter. Connie Oestreich is my pride and my friend. She has recently begun designing, creating, and selling jewelry and being altruistic in many little ways. I’m amazed every day at the talent, creativity, and compassion that she shows. Even the name of her little company, SeviBeau, is perfect. It’s something she made up and it means Sexy, Vibrant, Beautiful. Her passion is helping other women be recognized for their talents and abilities and I think she’s hit upon a wonderful way to show it. And, of course, this is her hobby; she still works for the Feds full time!
9. Visited Vic & JM Cercley and Louise & Terry Briggs. Part of the road trip home from those lovely redwoods noted in #1, was that Cher and I visited long-time, special friends along the way. Vicki and JM live in Santa Rosa and Louise and Terry live in Santa Maria. Both families treated us like royalty and to make things even nicer, they both had dogs to help entertain us!
10. Lived and loved and laughed. And, the list ends with the mundane, but wonderful everyday events that come with living each day in as positive a way as I can. Life, of course, isn’t all pleasant, but we all have the power to respond to it in a way that won’t sap all our energy. My sister is still in a nursing home; my brother is still unemployed. Cheryl had to put her lovely shepherd-mix, Dudley, down because of cancer, and several of my dear women friends are quite ill from various things–cancer being the main player. Each day is a surprise package. I do my best to be grateful for whatever it is.
