Enjoy, and thanks again for joining me here this year!
1) Indecisive? This Tip Will Help | originally posted April 4, 2016
In a moment of desperation, yesterday evening I texted a friend who's a professor at another university. My message: "Well, it's 6:45 and I've graded 0 minutes today. Fail."
Moments later she wrote back, "Also 0 minutes. Aaaaahhhhhhh!"
In my defense, I changed the sheets on all the beds in our house, which has to count for at least one check in the day's productivity column. In her defense, she cleaned her sink of dirty dishes and watched three episodes of Downton Abbey on Netflicks.
Sometimes a human simply cannot function beyond this on a Sunday.
As we fired texts back and forth debating the cost-benefit analysis of starting to work versus throwing in the towel for the remainder of the night, she sent this gem of a text: (Keep reading here.)
2) Chronicles of an Indecisive Online Shopper | originally posted July 9, 2016
Once, while I was in the hospital, a nurse asked how severe my pain was on a scale of 1-10. My brain nearly exploded. I wasn't dying (at least, I didn't think I was), and I could probably tolerate more pain without dying (although I didn't want to), and I was coherent enough to understand what she was after (which indicates some presence of mind), but the question was enough to push me over the edge.
What if I answered too low and they offered to give me a measly Tylenol? What if I answered too high and revealed a laughably low pain threshold? What in the world did these numbers correlate with, anyway? Was 4 even worthy of being in the hospital? Would 10 indicate that I was actively being mauled by a bear? Could I offer a fraction of a number, like 7 and 3/4 degrees of pain, because 7 just didn't seem to cut it, but ratings of 8 and above seemed like they should be reserved for childbirth or broken femurs? Was it permissible to answer, "Stop pelting me with questions! Just help me!"
If, like me, your mind responds in this fashion when a nurse prompts you with a standard question, you're probably an over-thinker. It's doubly troublesome if you're indecisive and waver in your response by answering the question with another question -- 6, no wait, maybe it's actually a 7?
I've noticed that the combination of over-thinking and indecision is particularly troubling when you're attempting to buy something, anything, online. (Keep reading here.)
3) Heal the Land | originally posted November 13, 2016
Like millions of fellow Americans, I watched election results and listened to commentary until the early morning hours last Wednesday. In the days that have followed, I've had many conversations with friends, family, neighbors, colleagues, and students. I've read dozens of articles by authors with multiple perspectives.
Only one thing is remarkably clear: our country needs healing.
This weekend, my head hurt from thinking about all the things that are grossly wrong in America: the racism, the discord, the aggression, the pride, the unproductive methods of problem-solving, the inability to listen, the entitlement, the divisiveness. Collectively, we're not doing too well. (Keep reading here.)
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