Category Archives: passion&play

Nudging: Book 4 hikes/walks with 4 different friends

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Backstory: What a great way to kick off the new year! Exercise, catch up with friends, get outside.

Although as I type this, I imagine Nudgers in other parts of the world looking out their windows and thinking, “Oh, HELL no!” (Hello, Canadians!)

Maybe this isn’t the right season for you to be out walking, so, as always, figure out which part of this nudge speaks to you and go forth. Maybe this is the week you schedule that free session with the trainer at your gym. Maybe this is the week you schedule coffee and catch-up dates with four old friends. Maybe you commit to four “dates” over the next month with your treadmill or stationary bike. Make it your own.

 

Nudged: Thank a writer, artist, or musician

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Backstory: I’ve been doing this for a while, reaching out to writers I love and thanking them for sharing their stories, their gifts with me. What’s been really fun is every single one of the people I wrote to–even people with big names and intimidating presences–replied to thank me for writing to them! I know what it’s like to be a lone woman with a computer, who works hard to create something beautiful and hopes–but rarely finds out–if her work has made any kind of difference. It feels good to feel appreciated.

But this nudge not about hoping to get something back. It’s simple gratitude. What was my favorite read of the year? I can look up the author’s website (or maybe find them on goodreads) and send a quick note via email. Which band’s CD has lifted my spirits during long commutes? Did I see some art recently that blew my mind?

Acknowledge. Appreciate. Celebrate! And bonus points to anyone who sends a handwritten note. 🙂

What Happened: It’s a busy week, so I got on this. I thought about who had lifted my spirits recently with their creativity, and the team at the The Great Dickens Christmas Fair came to mind. This is an annual event held in San Francisco where people dress up in Victorian-era costumes and transform a huge warehouse into the streets of London circa 1843. There are shows and shops and meat pies and mulled spice wine! Artisans, actors, musicians, and characters abound and entertain. You can even visit a club dining room and listen to Mr. Dickens himself read excerpts from his latest work, A Christmas Carol. It is delightful, and I am completely de-hum-bugged as soon as I step out of my “real” world and into theirs.

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert greet their subjects at The Great Dickens Christmas Fair.

And so, with a short email to the head office, I thanked them.

The Ah-Hahs: No great revelation on this nudge. Just lots of warm fuzzies.

Happy New Year!

 

 

Nudged: Learn something new about my city’s history

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Backstory: It’s embarrassing to admit, but I have now lived in my “new” city for over a decade and there’s still so much I don’t know about her!

So this week, I am nudging my inner history geek to do some research. I might look into a walking tour (something that I do regularly when I travel, but that languishes on my to do list here), pick up a book, watch a documentary movie, visit our library’s photo archives, or search for old maps.

If you and your city are already well acquainted, take this opportunity to research a city you’ve always wanted to visit. Do a little armchair traveling, and maybe it will inspire your next adventure!

What Happened: This nudge completely tickled my curiosity. Monday morning I thought about what I might like to learn, and started by googling “famous writers in San Francisco”. And down the rabbit hole I went! I learned Robert Frost was born here; the wonderful Lemony Snicket (real name Daniel Handler) is a current resident; Isabelle Allende, Anne Lamott, and Amy Tan live in nearby cities; and Mark Twain (who I knew had visited) worked here as a journalist (the first and last time he was ever fired from a job) for 19 months.

As I read more about Twain’s connection, I learned he stayed at the Occidental Hotel, a luxury hotel that was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake+fire. Robert Louis Stevenson was another famous guest.

Occidental Hotel, San Francisco

It’s also where bartender Jerry Thomas claimed to have invented the martini. There’s a huge debate about who shook or stirred the first martini. Thomas, though, is considered the “father of American mixology”. In 1863, he was earning $100 a week, which, I learned, was more than the vice president of the United States made at the time.

But back to Twain. While staying at the Occidental, he made frequent visits to the Turkish baths just down the street. It was there that he reportedly met a man named Tom Sawyer.

Cool!

The Ah-Hahs: As I skipped around from link to link, learning new tidbits about my beloved city, I gasped, I oohed, I laughed. And I planned. I want to walk in some famous footsteps. So, next date night, I’m going to suggest we visit one of the classic old bars downtown and raise a couple of martinis–to writers and innovators and people who make history. Fun!

To my readers who celebrate, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy Kwanzaa!

Nudging: Learn something new about my city’s history

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Backstory: It’s embarrassing to admit, but I have now lived in my “new” city for over a decade and there’s still so much I don’t know about her!

So this week, I am nudging my inner history geek to do some research. I might look into a walking tour (something that I do regularly when I travel, but that languishes on my to do list here), pick up a book, watch a documentary movie, visit our library’s photo archives, or search for old maps.

If you and your city are already well acquainted, take this opportunity to research a city you’ve always wanted to visit. Do a little armchair traveling, and maybe it will inspire your next adventure!

To my readers who celebrate, I wish you a Happy Hanukkah!

Nudged: Go to coffeehouse with educational book; learn something new

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Backstory: The full title of this Nudge is “Go to a coffeehouse with an educational book and learn something new.” I’m laughing as I type this. It made for a looong strip of paper for my Nudges jar. But I knew when I included it on The List, I wanted it to be more than simply “Learn something new.”

The inspiration for this Nudge came from a client project I worked on early in the year. It involved a topic–an industry, really–I knew nothing about. I requested a couple of suggestions for books from the client and immersed myself in study. For a couple of intense days, I read, took notes, thought deeply, and then applied what I’d learned to the work.

It was…fun.

I’m looking forward to challenging my brain this week. This is also an excuse to get out of my office, and away from the distractions, so that I can again practice focusing on just one topic at a time.

What Happened: My original plan was to get something at the library, but I found myself at my favorite neighborhood bookshop on Monday with a little extra cash in my pocket, so decided to treat myself to something new. I browsed several sections, including art (maybe), gardening (um, no), cooking (already have too many cookbooks), philosophy (too intense), and U.S. history (I think I know most of this). I ended up in world history, where I briefly considered learning more about the kings of France (cop out!), but instead selected Searching for the Amazons: The Real Warrior Women of the Ancient World by John Man.

Omg, what did I get myself into? Would it be dry and boring? Would it be cheesy or sexist? That afternoon, I cracked it open over lunch and was relieved to discover Man’s writing is approachable, engaging, and delightful.

On Wednesday, I had an appointment with one of my doctors. I left home early and tucked myself into a cozy corner at a bakery across the street that I’d noticed on previous visits. I dove into the book and started taking notes. I was introduced to the long nomadic human history in the “steppes“, the grasslands of Asia. I mumbled “Wow!” (sometimes louder than etiquette dictates) over trivia such as how humans learned how to ride horses sometime around 3500 BC, but the first iron stirrups weren’t introduced till about the 2nd century AD “because a rope looped round the toe did the job.” (Wow.) Back in my office, I googled to learn more about what I’d read, including the famous statue of Athena that once stood in the Parthenon, and the temple to Apollo in Skliros, and the Bassae Frieze, which can now be seen in the British Museum. And Pentheslia, the Amazon warrior who was killed by Achilles….

I am completely geeking out, in the best possible way. 🙂

The Ah-Hahs: One of the aspects I love about my job is I’m constantly learning new things. One of the drawbacks is those topics aren’t always of my choosing. Picking up something pretty random and diving in this week was really fun. I felt…challenged, energized, reawakened, inspired. I enjoyed being a “student” again. So, maybe it’s time to take a closer look at the upcoming class schedule at city college. And then I need to start saving for trips to Greece and England and….

 

Nudging: Go to coffeehouse with educational book; learn something new

2 Replies

Backstory: The full title of this Nudge is “Go to a coffeehouse with an educational book and learn something new.” I’m laughing as I type this. It made for a looong strip of paper for my Nudges jar. But I knew when I included it on The List, I wanted it to be more than simply “Learn something new.”

The inspiration for this Nudge came from a client project I worked on early in the year. It involved a topic–an industry, really–I knew nothing about. I requested a couple of suggestions for books from the client and immersed myself in study. For a couple of intense days, I read, took notes, thought deeply, and then applied what I’d learned to the work.

It was…fun.

I’m looking forward to challenging my brain this week. This is also an excuse to get out of my office, and away from the distractions, so that I can again practice focusing on just one topic at a time.

 

Nudging: Say “yes” to something new

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Backstory: When I was putting together The List, I almost pulled this nudge off. It feels kinda vague. But on final review, I kept it because it forces me to be in the moment, to be open to whatever may come.

Will I be invited to a social event that feels outside my comfort (or fashion) zone? Will I see an opening in a class that’s just a little outside my (financial or intellectual) reach? Will I get an opportunity to experiment on something that’s always looked like fun but had me doubting my ability to even try?

We’ll find out! 🙂

Have fun with this! If you need inspiration, check out Shonda Rhimes’ book Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand in the Sun and Be Your Own Person.

Nudged: Schedule a game night

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Backstory: Fun! I love game nights! It’s friendly competition and improv and creativity and laughing till you feel you’re about to burst. Also a great excuse to get friends together for an easy, inexpensive meal.

For inspiration, I cracked open our games cabinet. Monopoly? Trivial Pursuit? Charades? Definitely Charades. So many possibilities!

What Happened: When did I stop having fun? When did I cease being fun? Despite my initial enthusiasm, I wrestled with this nudge all week. I looked at possible dates, I considered possible players. I was tempted to “cheat” and pull out a deck of cards for a game of Gin Rummy with just me and my guy. I followed through on nothing. It all felt like too much effort.

The Ah-Hahs: I’m sitting here feeling disappointed in myself and incredibly discouraged. It’s been ages (years?) since we have hosted a full-blown game night. At previous gatherings, we and our playmates had a fabulous time together and wondered out loud why we didn’t do this more often.

Why? I still don’t have an answer. Except that life is busy, and I’m tired. I know having a game night could have been exactly the pick-me-up I need, but I just couldn’t get it done.

I want to brush myself off and start fresh, and maybe I’ll do that. The holidays are just around — oh, geez, they’re here! — so maybe I won’t need to coordinate anything. Maybe when we’re sitting around with family and friends we’ll break out a game and dive in. Maybe the “lesson” with this nudge is to not worry so much about the planning and simply remind myself to stay open when inspiration strikes.

That being said, I do hope you had more success with the nudge than I did.

Nudging: Schedule a game night

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Backstory: Fun! I love game nights! It’s theater and improv and creativity and laughing till you feel you’re about to burst. Also a great excuse to get friends together for an easy, inexpensive meal.

For inspiration, I cracked open our games cabinet. Monopoly? Trivial Pursuit? Poker? So many possibilities!

Nudged: Learn how to sign a fun phrase in American Sign Language

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Backstory: The seed for learning American Sign Language (ASL) was first planted with earlier nudges, learning fun phrases in French (“What do you want for dinner?”) and Italian (“I would like a glass of prosecco, please.”). Those nudges were both really fun, and they challenged my brain in new ways.

This nudge goes a bit deeper. It was also inspired by a barista in a coffee house and a Lyft driver I met on separate occasions last year, both of whom were hearing impaired. I was struck by the realization of the effort I make to be polite and respectful when I visit foreign countries, but here, with my own people, I’ve only managed “Hello” and “Thank you.”

I’d like to do better.

What Happened: My initial Google search presented me with a wealth of learning tools. I started with a four-minute video created by Signed With Heart, “25 Basic ASL Signs for Beginners”.

  • Yes
  • No
  • Please
  • Nice to meet you

Mastering these was enough to ignite my curiosity and send me down the rabbit hole of online research. From Wikipedia, I learned ASP was created in the early 1800s at the American School for the Deaf in Connecticut, but has origins in French sign language. I discovered British sign language is not directly translatable to the American version, and there are even dialects. And did you know many American colleges now accept ASL study for foreign language credits? Cool!

With renewed motivation, I moved to a fingerspelling chart and worked on learning the alphabet.

© William Vicars, sign language resources at Lifeprint.com.

Then I put everything together and practiced.

Hello

My name is

K-A-T-H-L-E-E-N

I squealed with delight the first time I signed it fluidly.

Oh, and P.S.:

“I love you.”

 

Ah-Hahs: Maybe I’ll learn sign language and become a teacher—or one of those cool signers at live concerts! I entertained that dream for just a few minutes, because when I looked closer, I had to acknowledge: ASL is hard! It’s complex, there are lots of variations, and the grammar rules differ from written and spoken English.

I ran this by Thor, my darling husband, after I demonstrated my new skills, and his immediate response was, “No, you need to get back to learning French.” He’s right. That’s where I had an affinity and where I have a passion. As much as I enjoyed this small experiment with ASL, I truly love learning French. So I made a note in my journal to explore my options for future French lessons.

But I’m glad I took time to learn some of the basics, and I hope I’ll have an opportunity to use them.

Meanwhile, there was one more gift that came out of this nudge. For some reason, I read the quotes under the video. I almost never read comments, because so many we see today are ugly, hateful, unnecessary. The ones I read on Signed With Heart’s forum, from people sharing why they want to learn ASL, are lovely. “There’s a new girl in our school…I have a crush on a boy who is deaf…I want to communicate with my newly adopted brother….” I was a puddle reading all the heartwarming messages.

So in addition to gaining a couple of small skills, I gained a renewed hope in humankindness.

If this has inspired you to learn more ASL, there is a wealth of resources available on Amazon. I found books, flashcards, games, and DVDs, and most are quite reasonably priced. Here are a few you might find helpful:

Sign Language Conversations for Beginning Signers by Stan Collins (paperback)

Barron’s 500 Flash Cards of American Sign Language by Geoffrey S. Poor

American Sign Language Made Easy (Amazon Prime video)