The theme this morning is Cricket, or rather the 20/20 version.

With £2.5 million pounds up for grabs for teams qualifying for the new 20/20 Champions League, the 4 teams who make it to the Rose Bowl in Hampshire will be feeling the pressure.

The potential to change the county fortunes (in both senses of the word) are immense as only the 2 finalists will qualify, leaving 2 semi-finalists totally downbeat.

With all that is going on in cricket over the last year i.e. The IPL and the £10 million pound winner takes all game between West Indies (Stanford Superstars) and England, I can most certainly say the wind of change is here.

At domestic level, the players now realise how much money can be made from 20/20 cricket and are constantly breaking records of achievement during games.  This will continue for many years to come and I am sure that new generations will start to think about cricket as opposed to the mainstay for many years, football.

Let's hope that domestic cricket does not turn out like the football Premier League in the UK and be dominated by the, quote, big four.

Alas, I feel it is inevitable and the two finalists at the Rose Bowl will no doubt be high on the list of contenders to form the top teams for years to come.

Why do I feel homesick? Or more so on why do people feel homesick too? I think it’s because we never got to/get to say goodbye. I think that why I miss. Goodbyes mean a lot to me even if it’s the last thing I would want to do at times. I’ve moved recently and it was abrupt. I mean I knew I was leaving but I didn’t know it was as soon as it was. It is hard and still is

I went back in 2007. Everything was a bit surreal. but that trip home made me realise that everything I've known it is in the past. Everything was different. It had a sense of familiarity and yet, surreality. It was.. different yet the same. People still had their personality traits but it was still different. I refused to let go and I refused to say goodbye. Yeah, I did know i was moving but i didn't think that it would be this hard. Like in my head, it was just a phase for a bit. That i'll return home soon. But going back, I realise that home isn't home anymore. It was home. But now home is here.

And it's okay.

I'm not saying that I'm cutting ties with everything I've known. I've just accepted that that would never be my home, things will never be the same and friendships are simply different. There were still the whole 'deep-meaningful conversations' but there isn't a necessary 'need' to talk constantly. It's like fading friendships but when like someday you cross paths with your old best friends, and you discover you could still talk about anything with that person. But there isn't a necessary need to keep in contact.

And then there are friendships here. (there's one exception:J)

Different sort of friendships. Not necessary close. Not many heart to heart conversations. But (certain) shared opinions, and different likings. Not a very deep foundation. More courteous and polite heldback (certain) opinions. Topics of conversation surrounds the weather, the news, random facts, trivia knowledges, random daily happenings to so-and-so, going to parties together, sports (maybe), politics. but nothing personal. Well, Not often. Maybe bits and pieces.

What I'm saying is that, sometimes there just moments in life where you need to let go. God, knows I've been through so many arguments in my head about letting go. And if going back and sorting what's left to be sorted, the things that keep you awake at night, then going back and saying goodbye is probably going to be the best possible solution for you to move on.

Which is my reason for not being able to let D go.

P.S: I know this post is worded pretty crappily and that i rambled on and on (as usual). But I'll try again later. Elena just interrupted my thoughts with a very interesting story. Hm.

A lot of unfortunate and unforeseen things have happened in my life over the past couple months. Things you can't really plan for. Some work related, some not. I've been really struggling to stay on top and tie up what seems to be never ending loose ends... but lately I feel as though I have been playing against a stacked deck and Lady Luck is not at my side.

After a lot of consideration I have decided to stop taking new orders. I plan on this being a temporary decision and hope to come back to work with a bunch of fresh ideas. I think I just need some time to figure life out right now.

Don't worry! I will be fulfilling all my current bag orders. So, if your knee deep in the order process/have a deposit on a bag, don't stress! I will be filling your order as planned. You know who you are.

Thanks for all the love and support!

-Elias Grey

Did ya get that?  I barely did.  But, somewhere in my head, it makes sense.

All of our lives are moving forward daily, and though we see changes - some we can barely fathom - we know that nothing remains constant except...change.  Well, freakin' duh.  

On July 2, I called Lea for one of our many morning calls, and she was standing in front of Fantasia, the coffeehouse where we spent so many hours talking, drinking coffee, and waiting for Owen to show up.  He most often did.  She said, "Fantasia is closed."  I replied, "Well, what time do they open?"  She said, "No.  They're closed, as in out-of-business."  I was devastated.  We both started crying.  Neither of us could say the words immediately.

"We spent so much time there.  Owen's Bellingham memorial service was there."  I spoke those words (or something close) and our pauses were evidence that this thing that had changed was yet another visible reminder that we would never revisit our communal haunts in the same way.  She spoke in broken sentences, talking to passersby, while I remained on the phone, listening for some indication that what she'd told me wasn't what she'd told me.  But, she did.  She said, "Fantasia is closed."  

A reporter from the Bellingham Herald greeted her on the sidewalk, and I heard her talking about what the place meant to her.  Just the Sunday prior, Lea had hung her artwork on those walls, had arranged for a month of wall space - for interested folks to view her work.  She had 16 paintings hanging on those walls where so many of us had spent early afternoons, early evenings, talking about what's next.  And, so often, we'd met Nat and Owen there, so often, we'd congregated on the sidewalk out front to smoke a cigarette or two, and talk about just that...what's next? 

After Owen's memorial service here in California, I traveled north to spend an afternoon with his friends in Bellingham, to say our collective goodbyes - at Fantasia.  I'll never forget the feel of the place.  I'll never forget the days and nights when we drove by to see if he was there, gathered with his friends in search of caffeine and conversation.  And, I'll never forget that on July 2, 2008, 13 months after his body was found in the Petaluma River, Fantasia closed.

Everything changes.  Everything that is, but our memories.  Maybe someday our memories will change, too. I hope not.  I hope our memories of the old days will remain forever emblazoned on our brains, our hearts, and scorched into the long dissent of Northwestern summer sunsets, drenched with the smells of brewing coffee, the familiar sounds of shared laughter, the picks and strums of acoustic guitars, and the soft glow of candles lit for a lost friend, a brother, a godson, a son.

Song for the night:  Change, Tracy Chapman

http://youtube.com/watch?v=s448Vvx2J7w

Dalam bahasanya R Kasali, hal itu disebut perubahan (change). Bahkan secara agak ekstrim, dia mengatakan "Tidak peduli di manapun posisi anda saat ini, turn arround". Manusia selalu berubah (bukan berubah-ubah) sebagai respon atas gerak dinamis lingkungan dan situasi yang melingkupinya. Namun perubahan yang berarti adalah perubahan yang digerakkan oleh kehendak hati dan kesadaran. Ibarat pepatah, hanya ikan yang mati yang terbawa arus. Manusia yang 'hidup' akan mengevaluasi arus dan menempatkan diri pada posisi yang benar sejauh persepsi dan keyakinannya.

Dalam bahasa agama kita mengenal istilah hijrah, retreat, dan seterusnya yang dalam bahasa sederhanyanya mungkin bisa disejajarkan dengan proses 'mengambil jarak' dengan realitas. Mengapa perlu mengambil jarak? karena dengan hal itu akan memudahkan kita melihat keseluruhan persoalan secara obyektif. Bukankan bumi hanya kelihatan bulat apabila dilihat dari jarak tertentu di langit sana? Dengan kacamata obyektif, setiap persoalan akan terlihat jernih sehingga solusi yang diputuskan akan bersifat menyeluruh dan mendasar.

Pertanyaan klasik : mengapa kita harus berubah? hanya karena lingkungan berubah saja tidak cukup untuk memutuskan kita harus berubah. Hanya karena desakan kepentingan tertentu saja pun perubahan akan mental karena hanya bersifat reaktif. Apalagi hanya karena kita bosan. Satu-satunya jawaban adalah karena tanpa perubahan, jalan menunju sangkan paran itu akan kabur dan menyesatkan.

Tetapi tidak mudah untuk melakukan perubahan. Banyak hal harus ditinggalkan, banyak kepentingan jangka pendek harus disisihkan, serta perhitungan resiko yang bakal terjadi.

Secara instingtif, kita tahu kapan saatnya harus menyingkir dan kapan harus mendekat. Jadi, DNA yang berisi informasi mengenai perubahan sudah built in. Tolok ukurnya sudah ada. Hanya saja, karena manusia harus hidup 'berbagi' ruang dengan orang lain, maka orang lain kemudian menjadi salah satu faktor penting. Kalau orang lain tidak berubah, mengapa kita harus? Apalagi kalau orang lain itu adalah sosok yang menjadi tumpuan.

Disadari atau tidak, iklim dan budaya (kerja) telah turut membentuk pola budaya yang memberikan posisi orang lain dalam kesadaran kita sedemikian penting. Alih-alih kita mendesakkan fikiran kita, kita justru menunggunya. Subyektivitas, kita korbankan. Dan kita 'menyerahkan' hidup kepadanya, sadar atau tidak. Orang lain yang sejatinya adalah obyek dari masing-masing kita, mendadak menjadi subyek dalam diri kita yang menentukan kehendak kita.

Kemauan mengambil resiko. Sudah menjadi harga mati bahwa perubahan pasti membawa resiko. Biaya finansial serta resiko sosial yang tidak selamanya mengenakkan harus siap ditanggung. Kalau tidak siap menanggung resiko, perubahan tidak mungkin bisa berjalan. Kecuali hanya slogan dan lip service belaka.

Pertanyaan retrospektif yang hendak saya ajukan adalah : dengan posisi kita sekarang sebagai pribadi, komunitas kerja, komunitas lingkungan, dan warga negara (bahkan warga dunia), apakah kita cukup puas dan percaya bahwa jalan ini akan membawa kita menuju sangkan paraning dumadi tadi? atau kita hanya menjadi ikan mati? Wallahua'lam...

With the beginning of high school the summer may seem different with more to worry about the upcoming school year. The anxieties of perhaps going to different schools than friends and meeting new people combined with the dreaded summer reading are enough to keep anyone occupied for a time. Yet that is not the dominant mood of the summer and there are still many adventures to be had, though they may be different from the kinds that one would have as a smaller child, and summer camps and sports teams to take part in. By that time kids may feel too old to go out and pretend to be on some great adventure in a far away place. I think most people go through this phase and it is only the lucky ones who get it back.

As high school progresses the summer still holds a sacred place in the minds of the students, and perhaps the teachers as well (though it might be for different reasons), but still things change as jobs must be found and therefore more responsibility is taken. Responsibility takes on another meaning as well when they learn to drive and receive their license. At that point the world is opened for exploration, trial and error. But the beginning of another school year is still an unwelcome prospect for most people.

All things seem to change in the transitional summer between senior year of high school and freshman year of college. Freshman orientation takes each person away for a day or two and then friends begin moving away to various cities and states as the summer progresses. The worries of new classes, new people, and really a new way of life set in and may not be relieved until a week or two after the beginning of classes. Despite the fact that classes and daily schedules may never again be the same that they were in high school and despite not having only a few classes for nine months at a time the anticipation of summer vacation and finishing finals is still significant. But that summer, again, is different. Friends from high school move back home at different times and college friends are left behind or move back home and a real effort has to be made to keep in contact with those left behind.

In addition to having different friendship dynamics than before there's the added pressure for most of finding a summer job. Probably a job was held in high school or the summer before this, but it had to be let go, like other things, in order to move away from home and to a new city. That is, of course, if one moves far enough away from home to make that a necessity. But apart from looking for a summer job the one thing that I have found that characterizes the summer after freshman year of college is everyone's impatience to get back to school. What irony! Before this year hit the prospect of a new school term was almost depressing, but now most people I talk to are ready for the fall semester to start, to move back to school. Still, I know that at the end of next spring semester it will be a relief to start summer vacation again, but still with an eye on the fall semester in August.

I can't say what will happen after college, but I would assume that some of the same excitement comes with taking a vacation, especially since there is no three or four month period off from work. So despite growing up and donning work clothes for play clothes in the summer there still comes, I would imagine, a kind of childish excitement when the weather begins to warm.

"...use their blog, podcast or vlog to raise awareness, build community, and/or facilitate readers, listeners, and viewers taking action to make the world better."

On her blog, Britt developed a working list of 40+ Changebloggers, events and other online lists. Then a facebook group was created. Now, we are organizing our list further. I have created a Changeblogger Wiki that is being used to gather blogs and their author's names, Twitter contact names, locations, create a shared list of Changeblogger meetups and events while also being a live idea-swapping forum.

The first idea pitched is develop a changeblogger logo. Thus, we are launching a Changeblogger logo contest! Check out the wiki for more details.

Currently, Britt is planning a Changeblogger meetup to correspond with the BlogHer conference in San Fransisco. At that conference, Britt is facilitating the Birds of a Feather session for Green, Social Change & NPO/NGO bloggers, Friday, July 18th from 10:30-11:45 AM. And, I plan to add a Changeblogger meetup to correspond with BlogHer's Reach Out Tour in Washington D.C later this year in October.

So join the wiki and stay tuned for more ways to take online communications --> offline.

i feel like i'm meant to be a voice in the world.
a force like Oprah,
like an effing tornado, u know.
like a halo over the evil world.
like a bright light in the midst of a blackout.
like "Lights out, niggas,"
but time is transforming,
lives are reforming, souls are rejoining,
art is dominant,
present in the lives of many.

pearls from pain, blood in veins,
refrain after verses of hurt.
the stopping of thinking and beginning of living,
bringing truth to the masses,
making families for bastards,
becoming a global pastor
reaching the congregation of the unreachable in the past,
reaching my hand thru the glass of prison visitor rooms,
taking over the lies told in classrooms,
i see it.
and it's not for the spotlight
but so i could sleep at night,
so i can turn what was wrong before in my life to right.

i wanna effect change,
enter brains and leave feelings of un-same.
enter the lives of many, show them a way,
show them hope, show them love,
show them them--the beauty that they already have.
i want to mirror the beauty of the world.
these dreams seem outlandish but they exist in me
meaning that they are me-landish
not he-landish or she-landish
cuz i am the sole passenger on this mental plane.

i was once afraid to dream.
thinking that the thinking of it would
make it disappear, no longer be real.
i was afraid to fly, only taking trains on land
and limiting my visions.
why is it that we hold the keys to our own prisons?
that we are voluntary convicts to our hopes,
voluntary ropes to tie nooses around our own throats?
why do we sabotage ourselves?
run espionage on ourselves
allowing doubt and warnings from others to dictate how we live?

oh i feel like a speecher or a preacher
but i'm merely speaking what's on my mind.
oh my mind is like a marathon, like a 5k
cuz it stays runnin like Jackie Joyner or
Marion before the steroid confession,
it's on top of it's game.
taking care of its frame,
observing all that goes on around me like security cameras
my mind is surveillance.
my body is surveillance.
my life is surveillance cameras on display
so that customers could see,
stay away from me
or be influenced,
be taught, be brought to reality.
be exposed to truth.
come by and never leave the same
once you join me
on my mental plane.

The Learning Circuits Big Question this month is about learning professionals, leadership, and literacies. Tony breaks it down as several questions, but the Learning Revolutionary summed all the questions up nicely:

Should learning professionals be leading the charge around new work literacies such as social media and informal learning?

Because I'm outside the corporate world, I'm going to look at this from the perspective of 21st century literacy skills rather than "work literacy." Granted, I think there's a lot of overlap between the work literacy ideas and the Framework for 21st Century Skills. I see this as similar goals but different contexts.

Let's start with the idea that K-12 students should be supported in learning 21st century literacy skills. This should not be a controversial starting point; after all, 80% of American voters agree that the skills students need now aren't the same as the skills needed in the past.

If students need to learn these skills, then their teachers need to have them too, right? Granted, some students will learn the skills outside the system, in spite of whatever the schools teach. But we're looking at what we want to happen, and I want these skills to be supported by the schools. That means teachers need to have the skills. They have to be able to model the skills for students.

Where will the teachers learn the skills? I don't think there's a single answer here: professional learning communities, workshops, conferences, university courses, and mentoring all play a part. Since I work in the higher ed realm though, that's where I'm going to focus. I think our instructors should have 21st century skills. These are the people who are teaching the teachers, who pride themselves on being the "best of the best" in the field of education. They're the next group of people who need the skills.

But where are they going to learn? From me and the other people on our team. We have to lead by example for these skills. Our team is leading the charge, and we are making progress. It isn't nearly as fast as I'd like, but when I look at how far we've come in our little corner of the world, it does give me hope.

I want the K-12 students to learn those 21st century skills, but I don't have access to them directly. Therefore, my responsibility is to work on my own sphere of influence, starting with our online course development team leading by example for our facilitators. When the facilitators have strong 21st century skills, they'll pass those skills on to the teachers, who in turn will be leaders for their students. If I want others to lead in these skills, I have to do my part to lead by example too. It would be hypocritical to ask them to teach technology skills without practicing what I preach (that is, after all, why I started this blog in the first place).

If I had to focus on one single skill, it would be lifelong learning. Perhaps this isn't a skill so much as an attitude. It drives me crazy to see educators who think they've learned all they need to learn and aren't willing to even try to learn anything new anymore. Cultivating a culture of learning, where people expect and enjoy continuous learning, is the underlying solution for everything else. We're never going to get teachers to use technology if they're determined they don't need to learn anything anymore. Until they accept their role as learner as well as teacher, we won't get the changes to happen. Creating a culture that supports lifelong learning needs to start with the professionals who lead by example.

If you had to focus on one skill for this leading by example, what would it be? What's the underlying skill that supports all the rest, the one where you will concentrate your efforts first?

Technorati Tags: workliteracy, learning+circuits, leadership, changemanagement

I was among the many Americans angered by September 11, 2001.  That day was the beginning of my life--I was to begin teaching school.  It was supposed to be the happiest day of my life, but instead it became the most infamous day in history.  I was angered by the innocent lives that perished over a violent evil that is spread throughout the world.  A silent evil at times that may wake us up from sleep without any warning.  I believed in President Bush when he said we had to go into Iraq.  I believed his word, since it was so ardently put into his speeches.  There was a silent killer out there in Afghanistan, and we had to win.  "Iraq must also be invaded," I thought, "we must win!"

However, when the evidence was placed in front of the American people, and the war in Iraq was unveiled as a war of interest; I felt betrayed.  I began to realize that we must begin to take care of our country and that we needed to amend our ways with our global neighbors.  Instead, the U.S has alienated allies, destroyed ties with friends, created more terrorists, and helped to strengthen the Taliban.  Afghanistan has transformed into a serious mudslide just waiting to thrust over its people and burying what progress we had made over the first years in the country.  We have spent so much time, money, and effort in Iraq, that we have allowed the Taliban to regroup and regain their pre 9/11 strength.

Many Republicans including Bush and McCain, destroyed John Kerry's campaign in the 2004 election, and now attack Barack Obama for taking a stand against having troops in Iraq.  Barack Obama has remained solid in his views against the war, and yes, he has always been clear that he will listen to both sides for advice in his decision making process. Throughout his speeches, Obama has been called, a flip-flopper, and a typical politician for speaking what the people want to hear.  Hum, let's see.  Obama was called a "typical politician" for stating that there needed to be a timetable to begin withdrawal from Iraq?  Obama was "surrendering" for demanding a plan to bring our troops home?  What's wrong with this?  Well, the Iraqi government has stated today, that The United States of America needs to develop a timetable listing the plans to begin pulling out of Iraq. Hum...  What now?  One Republican on Hardball With Chris Mathews tonight stated that this was great news.  "We did everything we had to and now Iraq is finally stable."  I feel I am a tired reader in an Ironic Political Satire!   

A strong president needs to be open to ideas, views, and critical response. A strong president does not dismiss individuals if they disagree with his administration.  A strong president does not close his doors, and does not dismiss the Constitution. 

Thank God the name George W. Bushwill not be on the ballot this election !  This man has completly demolished the State of the Union.  He has completely chiseled appart the excellent sculpture that our country has been for us to enjoy through the years.  He is by far going to be recorded as the worst president that this country has ever had!  And people voted for him at first because many said he would be a "cool guy to drink a beer with at a bar."  The beer may had been great, but swallowing Bush's words has choked all of us.    

I warned eveyone in 2004, "If you vote for Bush, don't complain later!"  I will say this again, "Don't complain, just vote for change."  VOTE OBAMA!                

I want change. Something drastic.

I want to move to Pampanga where the air, i hope, is still fresh. I want to buy a house there. In my bathroom I'll put a bigass tub where I can just get in and enjoy being not quite submerged until my skin starts to crinkle.

There is much I regret about the way my life has been playing out, and more so the fact that I look back at the last 30 years and reflect that I have squandered many opportunities that would be to advantage now, if I had only changed my course.  Of course, they say hindsight is 20/20, and I guess I'm understanding that saying more these days.  I'm coming to the realization that I really should have listened to all of my elder's advice.... or at least some of them.

There are a lot of things about myself that I seem to have forgotten, over the last 13 years. When my brother in law passed away in May, at the age of 27, it made me start paying more attention to the little details of life, and realization of how short life is, has begun to sink in. With 30 looming on 8-8-08, there are a lot of improvements that I'd like to be working on in my life.  Not necessarily have accomplished a specific set of goals, but rather, I'd like to know that the person I am at 30, is the same someone that I know I can be.

I am 5'11'', 336 lbs. That is a big problem. I am definitely not happy with myself. But I haven't tried at all to help myself with this situation. I've quit on numerous dieting practices over the years and continued to climb in the weight category.  And this problems definitely defines the basis for my depression, tiredness, etc..

So as of tomorrow the 9th of July, I have 30 days of my 20's remaining.  So, excuse me Morgan Spurlock, but I am going to be trying something different for my next 30 days. My plan is to try and get some things on the right track going into my 30s. And I'm not going to set a bunch of unreasonable goals, but rather treat it like a scientific experiment, and just make generalized expectations, and follow my heart, and listen to my brains. I figure, by making daily entries into this blog, I can keep myself honest. SO, I will be using this public forum to keep accurate detailed track of this open experiment. I am beginning the experiment 1st thing in the morning. Anyone that would like to comment, or keep track of this for some reason, feel free to comment away.

-Jadarite08

We had to write as if we had gone into the future, found our future selves, and then told them what not to change about us/them. I went more on the story route, lost track of what I was doing, and never finished. Oh well, I like it anyway! (ISH!!)

 Alos, to help you read this thing, you may want to highlight what you are reasing and then move down line by line to keep your place because it ended up so spaced apart! Just an idea!

Journal Entry #3

            So. So so so so so…well, here’s the dealeo: I found this time thing-er-ma-bob. It was just sitting there. In the backyard. Steaming. I think it fell from the sky. Or something. I’m really not sure. But, like…I figured what the heck or hay or whatever it is you people still say and thought, “Ooh! Let’s go… to the future!!” and all that jazz. So…yea. I went. And…whoa. WHOA. I uh…well, I found me. Myself. I. All those people but they were…me. I, like, saw…my future self. And let me just tell you what: whoa. Today in our age (as in 2008, I think; depends on how long I was gone or how much I screwed up time by cheating it) we really don’t think about change in the sense that it is coming inevitably no matter the diverse opinions of our population. Like, we see it’s coming but we don’t realize the impact of the change in ourselves. The journey is changing us so fast and yet we don’t see it, that’s the problem. So, like, when I saw the future me it was like, whoa. This can’t be right. No no no no no…and...yea, all that stuff. It showed me how the journey changed me. The journey in that time altering machine was so fast that I saw the changes going by. I saw it all. I went 25 years into the future. 25. Years. Whoa. And now, for impact, I will say that again: Whoa. See, this little time thing came from the future, I think; like it was an attempt to go back in time, just like we in this year of 2008 think we want to – go back in time that is. And, low and behold, it worked. Whoa.

            Here’s what the little “tyme” machine looked like, and what I was thinking before I decided to get into the supposed piece of junk: It was big. And plue. I know this was its color because it said so; on the outside of the machine it said: “Tyme Machine, plue colored edition.” I was hoping this was a typo, er…painto considering the words were painted onto the thing in big black letters, or ‘time’ was really spelled ‘tyme’ in the future and not that this thing was built by a retarded scientist-wanna-be who reinvented the word ‘time’ and made up a new color just to be unique. That would be…different. Plue is kind of like a turquoise color but in neon, therefore I think ‘glue’ as in ‘green + blue’ would have made more sense because ‘plue’ just resonates ‘purple + blue’, right?! Anyway, that random wack-job scientist can just have it their own way…making up stupid nonsense colors and such!

            Ok, so, so far in my life changing day you have heard how I a) found the tyme thing, and b) decided that it was build by a crack-smoking freak. Pretty great, huh? So, I’m sure you’re wondering where the whole “let’s go to the future” idea popped into my head if I was thinking the machine was a piece of junk. Well, I think the only honest reason is that…I was bored. Pathetic, I know, but it’s the truth. And, like, when I’m bored I tend to do the most random and sometimes the most problematic things imaginable. So…yea; I got into the plue tyme machine.

            Inside was a lot less complicated- it had 4 buttons: one said go and had a turn thingy that showed a year, one said stop, one said reset, and one said self-destruct, which only led me to further believe it was built by a wack-job, but, hey, I had nothing better to do and nothing much to lose, no? So into the future I went.

Hope you enjoyed! (I might even finish it later...who knows?!) And, yes, it was supposed to be written strangly like that, with all the "like"s and such! Bear with me - my writing style can be different (unique)!

~Airolyn

P.S. Sorry it was so hard to read! The magic-less-ness of the somtimes-ness of compy and paste!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLVN3Trs5VQ

Nike made such hay with their ad - Just Do it!   It's true.  So often we spend so much time thinking about doing what we want to do that we never get around to doing it!

I have a process that I explore with my clients - dream, courage, action!  You'll see these words all over my Web site, startingfreshcoaching.com.  Some people need help clarifying the dream or the direction they want to follow.  Many need help with the courage it takes to pursue that direction.  All of us need support for getting into action.

But the littlest actions can pay off.  I'm in the process of interviewing subjects for my new book, Scrappy Startups, How 15 Ordinary Women Turned their Unique Ideas into Profitable Business.  In my conversation with one of my subjects, I heard account after account of how when she stepped out and took some sort of action, even if it wasn't the "right action," time after time call it fate, the Universe or what, something was there to match her!  It was uncanny! 

Years ago, I wanted to have a radio show - so I marched over to the local public radio station and suggested to the director of the local station that I have a show to feature local projects and people in my area.  It didn't hurt that he had heard me on radio many times as a continuous guest on my friend, Jean Feraca's radio program.  (Today she hosts a show called Here on Earth  - Radio without Borders)- great show!) .  He agreed to give my idea a try.  This was in the early '90's.  My show ran several years - until I gave it up because I was traveling so much with my job.

I've wanted to get back into radio, but haven't had the time or the inclination to go to a radio station to see what I could cook up.  But now with Podcasting, it's much easier to become one's own radio station. :)

So when a friend of mine started talking about creating a Podcast - we got into action.  We recorded segments about our favorite subject, books!  We chose the first book we wanted to talk about - Jack Canfield and Gay Hendrick's book, You've Got to Read this Book:  55 People Tell the Story of the Book That Changed Their Life!  It's really a great book - chock full of inspiring stories!

I posted our first Podcast segment on itunes - should be up there any day.  But if you'd like instant gratification, you could listen to our Podcast right here - here's the link:

 Certified Bookaholics Podcast (If you want to listen to this, double click on the Certified Bookaholics Podcast link and open up a window where the podcast link is found.)

What's something you've been thinking about - no longing about doing that you could get into action about?  I challenge you to take some steps towards it - can't help it - I'm a coach - that's what coaches do - get people into action!

That reminds me - I have a client who was single and thinking about going on a cruise.  I challenged her to book it.  Now she's celebrating her second anniversary with the wonderful man she met on the cruise!

So for your own sake - take some action - TODAY!!!

Dennis J. Kucinich of Ohio
In the United States House of Representatives
Monday, June 9th, 2008
A Resolution

Resolved, that President George W. Bush be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors, and that the following articles of impeachment be exhibited to the United States Senate:

Articles of impeachment exhibited by the House of Representatives of the United States of America in the name of itself and of the people of the United States of America, in maintenance and support of its impeachment against President George W. Bush for high crimes and misdemeanors.

In his conduct while President of the United States, George W. Bush, in violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, has committed the following abuses of power.

Article I
Creating a Secret Propaganda Campaign to Manufacture a False Case for War Against Iraq.

Article II
Falsely, Systematically, and with Criminal Intent Conflating the Attacks of September 11, 2001, With Misrepresentation of Iraq as a Security Threat as Part of Fraudulent Justification for a War of Aggression.

Article III
Misleading the American People and Members of Congress to Believe Iraq Possessed Weapons of Mass Destruction, to Manufacture a False Case for War.

Article IV
Misleading the American People and Members of Congress to Believe Iraq Posed an Imminent Threat to the United States.

Article V
Illegally Misspending Funds to Secretly Begin a War of Aggression.

Article VI
Invading Iraq in Violation of the Requirements of HJRes114.

Article VII
Invading Iraq Absent a Declaration of War.

Article VIII
Invading Iraq, A Sovereign Nation, in Violation of the UN Charter.

Article IX
Failing to Provide Troops With Body Armor and Vehicle Armor.

Article X
Falsifying Accounts of US Troop Deaths and Injuries for Political Purposes.

Article XI
Establishment of Permanent U.S. Military Bases in Iraq.

Article XII
Initiating a War Against Iraq for Control of That Nation's Natural Resources.

Article XIIII
Creating a Secret Task Force to Develop Energy and Military Policies With Respect to Iraq and Other Countries.

Article XIV
Misprision of a Felony, Misuse and Exposure of Classified Information And Obstruction of Justice in the Matter of Valerie Plame Wilson, Clandestine Agent of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Article XV
Providing Immunity from Prosecution for Criminal Contractors in Iraq.

Article XVI
Reckless Misspending and Waste of U.S. Tax Dollars in Connection With Iraq and US Contractors.

Article XVII
Illegal Detention: Detaining Indefinitely And Without Charge Persons Both U.S. Citizens and Foreign Captives.

Article XVIII
Torture: Secretly Authorizing, and Encouraging the Use of Torture Against Captives in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Other Places, as a Matter of Official Policy.

Article XIX
Rendition: Kidnapping People and Taking Them Against Their Will to "Black Sites" Located in Other Nations, Including Nations Known to Practice Torture.

Article XX
Imprisoning Children.

Article XXI
Misleading Congress and the American People About Threats from Iran, and Supporting Terrorist Organizations Within Iran, With the Goal of Overthrowing the Iranian Government.

Article XXII
Creating Secret Laws.

Article XXIII
Violation of the Posse Comitatus Act.

Article XXIV
Spying on American Citizens, Without a Court-Ordered Warrant, in Violation of the Law and the Fourth Amendment.

Article XXV
Directing Telecommunications Companies to Create an Illegal and Unconstitutional Database of the Private Telephone Numbers and Emails of American Citizens.

Article XXVI
Announcing the Intent to Violate Laws with Signing Statements.

Article XXVII
Failing to Comply with Congressional Subpoenas and Instructing Former Employees Not to Comply.

Article XXVIII
Tampering with Free and Fair Elections, Corruption of the Administration of Justice.

Article XXIX
Conspiracy to Violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Article XXX
Misleading Congress and the American People in an Attempt to Destroy Medicare.

Article XXXI
Katrina: Failure to Plan for the Predicted Disaster of Hurricane Katrina, Failure to Respond to a Civil Emergency.

Article XXXII
Misleading Congress and the American People, Systematically Undermining Efforts to Address Global Climate Change.

Article XXXIII
Repeatedly Ignored and Failed to Respond to High Level Intelligence Warnings of Planned Terrorist Attacks in the US, Prior to 911.

Article XXXIV
Obstruction of the Investigation into the Attacks of September 11, 2001.

Article XXXV
Endangering the Health of 911 First Responders.

The kind I can believe in.