As is so often the case, I was on fire (in a good way) last night for the entire evening. And, again, I always wonder what regular people do to get their batteries charged. The entire evening was a hit for me. From the drive over in a co-worker's Prius (not driving myself to events is a very rare occurrence) to the dinner to the talk, it was great. I had a great table at dinner. I liked the event's approach of not seating people from the same school together, but for some reason I ended up at a table of all host school people and me. We did have two empty seats, so I guess they would have been the other mixers, but it was great for me. Their familiarity and my love of hearing myself talk...made for easy conversation. And you can tell from the picture that this author was my kind of guy.
The host school did an incredible job and this annual series is a work of art on so many levels. With the tangible "work of art" being the print that is commissioned to commemorate the event. The build up had me in tears as it was unveiled. I do get a bit of a "less than" feeling when I see the meaningful work teachers do from sun up to past sundown in a very caring way. I am sure there are always loose links in any school "chain", but I did not see one last night at the host school. It also gave me a lot to think about as I consider the charge and setting of my position and how could my small pebble make a ripple in our pond. I also had to come home last night and email sisters #4 & 5 to tell them how in awe I am of their dedication to what they do.
But back to Mr. Matthiessen - "an American naturalist and author of historical fiction and non-fiction"; "Zen practitioner and Buddhist priest"; "Along with George Plimpton Harold Humes, Thomas Guinzburg and Donald Hall, he founded the literary magazine The Paris Review in 1953". Some of his titles: The Snow Leopard, At Playing the Fields of the Lord, Killing Mr. Watson, Lost Man's River, Bone by Bone - a reading from The Snow Leopard was read as part of the pre-dinner opening, Mr. Matthiessen read from Bone by Bone at the lecture. I was in heaven.
But I will be balancing my literary experience of last night with a night of NFL playoff football tonight. And then I wonder why I can't find my "north star" - I can't decide to go Zen or ESPN.
Beside football, I am thinking I should try to find a suitcase for Thursday and do some wash. I got a call yesterday from my old college roommate that she is trying to decide between a couple Martin Luther King, Jr. Day events for Sunday - I told her I would be up for any and all of her choices. I am also thinking about a manicure...we will see about that. My nails have not been this long for quite awhile - very good sign for me!
I also need to call the ACNielsen people about my dormant membership to the Homescan Consumer Panel (I used to scan all my purchases to give them buying information like Nielsen ratings do for TV). But I have gotten lazy and now they are threatening to turn me over to a collection agency about my not sending my scanner back. I will deal with that today.
I dreamed I got a "call me" text message from my son last night. He will think I am nuttier than usual if I call and tell him that today, but I might just have to.
Overthinking last night's event will of course be on my "to-do" list. My behavior (I think my "enthusiasm" takes me back to yesterday's bubblehead reference); what I should carry over to my work life; what I should carry over to my non-work life; what to internalize/externalize. I better take a long walk today - even if it is raining a bit.
Have a great weekend. Anne
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