musings as 2016 comes to a close

Have you ever found yourself at the close of a year thinking, I feel like something big is going to happen next year ...  The last time I had one of those feelings, I was sitting in my room struggling through an assignment while the not-yet-ex drank and gamed the night away. I'd wanted to go …

wffe: week one reflection

For me to learn effectively, I need ... ... distractions. I know this sounds completely counterintuitive, but I cannot focus on a task at hand when parts of my brain are not otherwise occupied by something. This isn't to say that I work best in a bustling cafe (though that can work from time to …

what future for education?

I've been looking for alternative ways to attend "school" and finally bit the bullet and enrolled in a MOOC through coursera. Each week I'll have a couple of activities that I need to complete and, by the nature of this course being quite reflective, we've been encouraged to use social media, blogs, and the like …

gearing up to Kondo the condo

I can't have nice things; I have cats. They are horrible little beasts who scratch everything. Footstools. Low-pile floor rugs. My mattress. But especially my couch. In a short year and a half, they have annihilated my couch. (The cushions are still in pretty good shape, but the couch itself, ouch!) I was convinced that I …

anxiety

The night before my thirty-second birthday, I lay in bed trying to fall asleep. You're driving to Kamloops in twelve, ten, eight hours. You need to sleep. But I lay there, heart pounding, body aching, skin simultaneously feverish and clammy. Chest tightening, breathing changing, heart pounding. Body aching, stomach gurgling, throat closing. What's happening? Google is going …

parallelograms and leadership

Earlier this evening, I attended a free lecture hosted by the Peter Lougheed Leadership College at the University of Alberta. Tonight's lecture was delivered on the topic of Disruptive Leadership and Innovation by Dr. Brian Goldman, host of the CBC's White Coat, Black Art. I'd like to say that I attended solely for work purposes (training …

health

/helTH/ Old English hǣlth, of Germanic origin; related to whole. noun noun: health the state of being free from illness or injury. "she was restored to heath" synonyms: well-being, healthiness, fitness, good condition, good shape, fine fettle antonyms: illness a person's mental or physical condition. "bad health forced him to retire" synonyms: physical state, physical shape, condition, …

wealth

/welTH/ Middle English welthe, from well or weal, on the pattern of health. archaic well-being; prosperity. noun noun: wealth an abundance of valuable possessions or money. "he used his wealth to bribe officials" synonyms: affluence, prosperity, riches, means, substance, fortune antonyms: poverty the state of being rich; material prosperity. "some people buy boats and cars …

wonder

/'wəndər/ Old English wundor (noun), wundrian (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch wonder and German Wunder, of unknown ultimate origin. verb verb: wonder; 3rd person present: wonders; past tense: wondered; past participle: wondered; gerund or present participle: wondering; desire or be curious to know something. "how many times have I written that, I wonder?" …