A friend and colleague here on the coaching team has a daughter who's hooked up with a rising-star-type rock band. So last night I found myself with backstage passes to a Kid Rock / Puddle of Mudd concert at a local outdoor music arena. This is not generally my first choice of how to spend a free Saturday night, but it was a pretty cool experience. I enjoyed what there was to enjoy, overlooked what needed to be overlooked, and had a good time. We were seated by the guys running the sound board, lights and pyrotechnics, so it was even more fun.

I still have my backstage pass, if anyone thinks I should auction it off on e-bay.

For those of you who might be worried about whether my life is in the process of taking an abrupt turn to another course, it may be reassuring to learn that I came home and listened with great delight to the Saint-Saens Organ Concerto before I went to bed.

I'm helping staff an executive development program here at the Leadership Center. It's somewhat unusual that we have five high-ranking international executives in the group of 52. Today all five offered a panel discussion including general introductions and Q&A from the other executives.

One story, in particular, was worth the price of admission. The President of the German part of the company had a long career at high levels of the German government before moving to private industry. He was involved in national security at the time that Ronald Reagan gave his famous speech in Berlin in which he exhorted Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall." The general reaction inside the German government was (1) dismay that the U.S. President was employing a provocative and confrontational tone with the Soviet Union, and (2) disbelief that such a thing would ever happen. Well, to his surprise, his office is now just east of the Brandenburg Gate in the former Russian sector. On his first day at the office, he called his wife from his cell phone and told her "Guess what? I'm actually walking to work through the Brandenburg Gate!"

It was wonderful to see the tremendous impact this had on him. It was also wonderful to see expressive emotion from a German executive. Truly, life is full of surprises.

I'm very busy again - deep into another executive program which will suck up most of my time and attention for a couple of weeks. I enjoy being this busy doing something I like, but it's going to be important to take care of the sleep and sanity needs.

My father visited STL last weekend, and we had a very enjoyable time. We heard a good symphony concert featuring pieces that even even my relatively lowbrow self can appreciate -- not an atonal composition on the program, thank you. (It's so nice that there are events for which men still dress up in a jacket and tie.) I'm grateful to still have my Dad with me, something for which I'm increasingly thankful since losing both my Mom and my husband within six months of each other. We never had that much of a one-on-one relationship while I was growing up, but we thoroughly enjoy each other's company now.

We visited St. Raymond's church which serves as the Maronite cathedral for the western half of the United States. The Maronite Rite is the Lebanese rite of the Roman Catholic Church in which my father was brought up. I'd visited several times while I've been in St. Louis, and I thoroughly enjoy it. Dad got along famously with Fr. Andre who greeted us before Mass and was pretty impressed by the story of the monk whose recent canonization was highlighted during the sermon. Whenever you get more than one Lebanese together, you talk about the old country (it doesn't seem to matter whether you've ever visited) and the food. Mmmmmm, makes me want to go find some tabouli right this minute.

Ave Maria University is moving, they tell me, to Naples, Florida. All well and good (although I hope they leave a solid remnant behind in Michigan). They recently revealed preliminary design plans for some of the campus buildings that raised quite a ruckus. See this humorous treatment of the proposed chapel design, and this interesting proposal drawn up independently by some bright architecture students at the University of Notre Dame.

This moving piece of truth can be found among TSO's latest amalgamation of worthwhile blog quotes at Video meliora, proboque; Deteriora sequor

The last word is not “Cancer,” or “Absence;” it is not “Loss,” or “Death.” The final word is Christ crucified, that most foolish of words which is simply, as Paul says, the “power of God unto salvation.” Christ crucified is, to the ears of the faithful, the ultimate word of hope, for it is nothing less than the King of the Universe defeating death by death. Our beautiful King refused to meet the world of sin and death on its own terms, refused to fight in a tit for tat struggle for supremacy. Instead, he simply died bearing our iniquity, that deathliness of sin. No games, no struggle with death, for death is not worth the effort. Instead, he died with nothing but love for us and the whole of creation. And, having borne our sin and folly into hell itself, it is in the power of that love that he was raised on the third day, with death behind him. - Thomas of Endlessly Rocking

That would have been enough for us. But, as I paged down, I saw that I'm quoted there as well. Thanks, Poncer, for the honor.

I've reformatted my blog. I was in the mood for something simpler and gentler. All the comments will have to start from scratch, but there haven't been any lively debates going on at present. The new Comment utility should make it easier for you who have pop-up blockers, since the "comments" field won't be popping up in a separate window.

So, what do you think?

I just came across a very articulate blog by Amy Ridenour (not sure that it's the Amy Ridenour many of us already know and love) which discusses the Iraq war, politics and government policy from a conservative point of view. Here's a perspective on the human side of the war that had never occurred to me before:

"The kids... It is like they are in denial. No one talks of our leaving, but they know. Instead, they play and play and play w/ us. But, the one thing, hugs and 'I love you' and stuff like that all the time. They are going to be so lost w/out us."

We've shared thoughts on this blog about how much our soldiers abroad miss their families, and how much their families miss them. There's another side, though. The above quote is something Joe Roche wrote about the Iraqi children his unit must leave behind.

Dave Barry doing what he does best - making me laugh in spite of myself. Not that I'm ever unwilling. This time, he takes on Outsourcing.

When you order a hamburger at a McDonald's drive-thru, the person who's taking your order is actually located in the Philippines. Your hamburger is physically cooked by workers in China, then transmitted almost instantaneously to the United States via a high-speed Digitized Beef Patty Line (DBPL). All of this happens in less time than it takes you to pick your nose. (And soon even that will be outsourced.)

*Rabelais

One of the most helpful things I've learned by being a business coach is the power of recognizing when I'm in "towards" or "away" mode. Towards is the state of being motivated by gaining something, leaning into it, wanting, desiring, seeing the benefit. I'm going for something, I want that job, here's where I want to be in 5 years, I have hope for something positive, I want to see loved ones flourish, that will be fun, etc.

Being in an away state, on the other hand, is avoidant. I might be motivated by fear, distaste, caution, risk aversity. I don't want to feel guilty; I'm afraid of what might happen if I don't do something; I don't want to get to retirement without enough income; if I let my daughter do that, someone might think I'm a bad mother, if I'm not careful I'll lose that and feel terrible. You know the drill.

Negative motivations aren't all bad. They remind me of real downfalls that poor decisions might bring. The problem is, they're just not particularly invigorating. I don't bring energy, zeal, enthusiasm, or joy to a negative goal. If I'm stuck in "away", it can often be that I'm trying, probably with limited success, to adopt someone else's goals, values or standards. Try as I might . . . no, chances are that I simply won't "try as I might". I try hard and really put my back into something only when I've found some way to own it myself.

That's why the question "What do I really want?" isn't necessarily selfish. It's a diagnostic tool. Trying to bear down harder on something that really isn't mine is a recipe for wasted energy and frustration. If something is important yet doesn't show up on the "what I really want" scale, it's a signal to slow down, reflect, and line up my values and what I know about myself. Getting help shifting around to the "towards" orientation is always worth its weight in gold for me.

There's been a lot going on with me, but it's been happening on the more introverted, intuitive, reflective side which is more real but less easily articulated than the smart, snappy, witty side. And I do have so much fun being snappy/witty/feisty. That's fine, but as the commercial says, "But, wait! There's more . . ."

It's good. It's mostly about God. It's about Holy Week and Easter continuing, enjoying prayer, enjoying solitude, seeing my "wants" for what they are and learning to distinguish them from "needs", and living a full interior life. It's about loving, caring, being loved and known, and becoming (at least temporarily) less annoyable. It's about finding out that people have more dimensions and beauty than I usually pay attention to. It's learning to not being afraid of what I might discover about myself if I take an honest look inside. I may not like it, but God gently serves as either surgeon or scrubber, depending on what's called for.

It's also about spending this time temporarily self-focused, like a hothouse plant. It's where I am for now; I can't count on (nor do I really even desire) staying here indefinitely. What comes next? Who knows? As I'm fond of saying, "Make God laugh. Show Him your five-year plan." For me, I'm thinking my six-month plan might be equally amusing to Him. There are too many people I care deeply about for me to really successfully live a withdrawn life. (And those of you who know me are free to guffaw at the fact that I'm even talking about this. I, among the most affiliative of women.)

So, enough about me. What's new with you?

Somewhat sheepishly, I admit that I have not yet been struck by deep love and enthusiasm for the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I know it deserves my devotion. But I'm just not there yet.

However, I submit to you as evidence of my good intentions this link that will enable you to discover your Elvish name.

I myself am "Órelindë Narmolanya". Apparently. But I don't think I'll be very quick to answer to it, so you may want to stick with "Roz" or "Mom" or whatever has worked for you in the past.

Some of us wonder what you did in graduate school. Well, now we know.

The Nature of the Universe

"Duct tape is like the Force. It has a light side, a dark side, and it holds the universe together..."
Carl Zwanzig

"There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened."
Douglas Adams

"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
Albert Einstein

"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot- proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning."
Rich Cook

"In answer to the question of why it happened, I offer the modest proposal that our Universe is simply one of those things which happen from time to time."
Edward P. Tryon

"Technology is a way of organizing the universe so that man doesn't have to experience it."
Max Frisch

"I'm astounded by people who want to 'know' the universe when it's hard enough to find your way around Chinatown."
Woody Allen

"There is a coherent plan in the universe, though I don't know what it's a plan for."
Fred Hoyle

"My theology, briefly, is that the universe was dictated but not signed."
Christopher Morley

"I'm worried that the universe will soon need replacing. It's not holding a charge."
Edward Chilton

"The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us."
Calvin and Hobbes (Bill Watterson)

Thanks to Oren Levin at Inbox Humor

Well, this is distressing. And false, I hasten to add.


Italic- You are quite popular, but whether it is
because you are pretty or easy is up for
debate.


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