Don't you hate the commute to work? People always ask.
But it's not too bad. Not too hard. If you follow this map.
Turn left, and left, and left again to hit the interstate
Where trucks drive soooo slow,
especially when you're running late.
Take the loop on Cornhusker.
Warning: There's construction now,
but if you wave to the workers on the roadside
sometimes they wave back.
You'll drive by McDonald's, Runza, Amigo's, Burger King, KFC, Raising Cane's...
Why am I always hungry???
You'll gain a lane on your right, so try to merge that way.
STOP.
There's a train. Guarantee it.
So sit there and watch cars inch closer and closer to the tracks in front of you,
as if proximity will make the train move faster.
But after this the route gets scenic
with trees and homes with brick and fences.
I wouldn't follow the arrows on 48th
that suggest a used furniture store has been running for 30 years
in the garage behind a yellow house.
Instead drive by Don Bob's Plumbing on your right
and then the house with mannequins in the window.
Yeah, they freak me out too.
On your right a husky might be playing in the snow,
while his Brittany friend watches from the back step.
Soon you'll get to meet the house that loves all holidays
including Thanksgiving with a giant inflatable turkey
as well as the "museum yard" with displays of
motocycles, boats, and ATVs right there on the grass.
Look out for the community center
where bouncy castles on summer days
turn to Trunk or Treat
and Christmas food drives.
You're getting close when you see the football field,
high up on its throne.
Right on Cotner, Left on Huntington.
Bike racks, street parking, and a lone yellow school bus
mark your destination.
(This was just a random thing I was thinking about on my drive to work the other day and thought I'd write it down. Just for fun. Thanks for reading.)
Thursday, November 27, 2014
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Different Kinds of Patience
It is said that patience is a virtue. But what kind of patience? You can be patient when waiting for the right job to come along or patient when waiting for the bus. You can be patient with a dog that is disobedient or patient with someone who talks too much. You can have patience to go over your paper five times before turning it in or patience to explain something five times to a student. You can have patience when recovering from a surgery or patience with a screaming baby. It's really a very broad term with so many applications.
From a personal standpoint, my patience has a lot to do with age for some reason. I have no patience with young children. Crying, whining, fighting just once can put me over the edge. Even if it's kids I know well, I can't be patient with them at all and just grow incredibly frustrated. But for some reason, when it's older people like a friend or grandparent, I have no problem with any of these same things. Friends can fight and I can patiently mediate the situation. Someone can cry or whine about something and I can listen for hours. My grandmas can make me move the glasses that aren't in the exact right spot or make me drive her all around town and I will calmly do these things without agitation at all. And I have no idea why this is. I know many people that are the complete opposite and can deal with much more from children than adults.
This is just something I've been musing over this week and thought I'd share my thoughts. What is patience? Why do I have more in some situations than others? This is what my crazy mind does during the day haha.
Sunday, November 9, 2014
What It Means to be an Extrovert
Recently, I have seen a large amount of links on Facebook to articles about introverts. "Do You Know What It Means to Be an Introvert?" "23 Signs You're Secretly an Introvert" "10 Myths About Introverts." I even read a book (a good one) for class called Quiet: The Power of Introverts. It's like we're some kind of rare breed that people want to read about in science magazines. The truth is the world is about 50/50 introverts and extroverts. Nothing rare about us.
I understand introverts just fine because I am one. And yes, sometimes I feel judged because want time alone and at a disadvantage because I am not as social, but I don't think I'm any more "misunderstood" than an extrovert. In fact, I have misunderstood extroverts for most of my life. Why does my dad have to have someone in the room with him all the time? (I'm judging him.) Why can't my students work in silence by themselves? (The "social" ones don't have the advantage here.)
I still don't always know how "the other side" works. But because I'm trying to balance out the playing field, I am going to make my own list. Here's to the extroverts. What does it mean to be you?
1. Extroverts recharge from the energy of others. I heard this metaphor once that we are all phones but we are divided kind of like androids vs. iPhones with different kinds of chargers. Introverts need to be alone to charge and extroverts need to be with others. This doesn't mean that extroverts are weak, or needy, or can't do things themselves. It just means they like having others around and that's not a bad thing.
2. Just because someone is quiet doesn't mean they are an introvert. I think lots of extroverts aren't all that chatty. But when they've had a bad day, they want to hang out with friends or go out somewhere, not sit alone at home. That would just drain them more.
3. Extroverts sometimes just want to talk on the phone. We have come to an age in which we do most of our communicating without our voice at all. To me, that's just fine because I can express myself in words, but this can be frustrating to some extroverts. I had a friend who used to call me all the time and I'd she'd talk and talk and talk. I used to wonder why she didn't just text me, but when I think back I realize she probably went to classes and hadn't talked to anyone all day and she needed that connection.
4. Extroverts don't use small talk just to make introverts uncomfortable. I have read several times in these articles I mentioned that small talk drives introverts crazy. I agree and feel very uncomfortable in these situations, but I really do believe that the guy on the bus that was asking me about what music I was listening to and what class I had that day was genuinely trying to be friendly, not awkward. Extroverts LIKE to get to know new people and they are better at it and I think that's a great quality (even when I'm embarrassed as my dad talks to a random stranger at DisneyWorld.)
5. "Extroverts are commonly found to be more easily bored than introverts on monotonous tasks, probably because they require and thrive on high levels of stimulation." That came straight from a research article people. So when my students are bored to death with an activity that I thought was interesting, it might just be a difference in personality types.
6. Extroverts aren't always great public speakers. Talking "with" people and talking "in front" of people are two very different things and I know lots of incredibly outgoing people who freeze up in this kind of situation. Public speaking is a performance of sorts and not a social encounter and therefore very different.
7. Extroverts are definitely not any less intelligent than introverts. The brooding intellectual stereotype that introverts have is not true either obviously but just because a person is more social and less into quiet study time does not mean they are stupid or don't care about their education. At all. This is a stupid stereotype.
And most importantly, it doesn't matter which side you're on. It's better to work together. In fact, according to Psychology Today, the majority of marriages are between one extrovert and one introvert. We each have different skills and personalities and we can strengthen each other.
I understand introverts just fine because I am one. And yes, sometimes I feel judged because want time alone and at a disadvantage because I am not as social, but I don't think I'm any more "misunderstood" than an extrovert. In fact, I have misunderstood extroverts for most of my life. Why does my dad have to have someone in the room with him all the time? (I'm judging him.) Why can't my students work in silence by themselves? (The "social" ones don't have the advantage here.)
I still don't always know how "the other side" works. But because I'm trying to balance out the playing field, I am going to make my own list. Here's to the extroverts. What does it mean to be you?
1. Extroverts recharge from the energy of others. I heard this metaphor once that we are all phones but we are divided kind of like androids vs. iPhones with different kinds of chargers. Introverts need to be alone to charge and extroverts need to be with others. This doesn't mean that extroverts are weak, or needy, or can't do things themselves. It just means they like having others around and that's not a bad thing.
2. Just because someone is quiet doesn't mean they are an introvert. I think lots of extroverts aren't all that chatty. But when they've had a bad day, they want to hang out with friends or go out somewhere, not sit alone at home. That would just drain them more.
3. Extroverts sometimes just want to talk on the phone. We have come to an age in which we do most of our communicating without our voice at all. To me, that's just fine because I can express myself in words, but this can be frustrating to some extroverts. I had a friend who used to call me all the time and I'd she'd talk and talk and talk. I used to wonder why she didn't just text me, but when I think back I realize she probably went to classes and hadn't talked to anyone all day and she needed that connection.
4. Extroverts don't use small talk just to make introverts uncomfortable. I have read several times in these articles I mentioned that small talk drives introverts crazy. I agree and feel very uncomfortable in these situations, but I really do believe that the guy on the bus that was asking me about what music I was listening to and what class I had that day was genuinely trying to be friendly, not awkward. Extroverts LIKE to get to know new people and they are better at it and I think that's a great quality (even when I'm embarrassed as my dad talks to a random stranger at DisneyWorld.)
5. "Extroverts are commonly found to be more easily bored than introverts on monotonous tasks, probably because they require and thrive on high levels of stimulation." That came straight from a research article people. So when my students are bored to death with an activity that I thought was interesting, it might just be a difference in personality types.
6. Extroverts aren't always great public speakers. Talking "with" people and talking "in front" of people are two very different things and I know lots of incredibly outgoing people who freeze up in this kind of situation. Public speaking is a performance of sorts and not a social encounter and therefore very different.
7. Extroverts are definitely not any less intelligent than introverts. The brooding intellectual stereotype that introverts have is not true either obviously but just because a person is more social and less into quiet study time does not mean they are stupid or don't care about their education. At all. This is a stupid stereotype.
And most importantly, it doesn't matter which side you're on. It's better to work together. In fact, according to Psychology Today, the majority of marriages are between one extrovert and one introvert. We each have different skills and personalities and we can strengthen each other.
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