Moab, 2009

Jess and I went mountain biking and climbing in Moab this weekend. We road slickrock and Porcupine Rim with Mike and Lauren on Saturday and Sunday. There was a little Potash Road climbing, and then Nate climbed Moses Tower with Scott Schumann on Monday. A great little getaway. Enjoy the pics.

Reynolds Peak Tour

Jess and I cruised up to Reynolds Peak this afternoon. The snow is really thin for this time of year...it feels like mid-April, not the first of March. It's great to be back in the SLC.

Puerto Natales

One of the things that I (N) love about this country is it’s no-nonsense approach to a sandwich. Every restaurant we’ve been to has “Barro Luco” on the menu, which is a winning combination of meat, bread, cheese, and mayonnaise. The meat is pounded flattish and the sandwich served hot. Delightful, drippy, and inexpensive, the Barro Luco has turned into my go-to meal.



Puerto Natales is a three-hour drive north of Punta Arenas, through kilometer upon kilometer of sparsely populated pampas. About 15,000 folks call it home, most making their living off of tourism somehow. It too is a coastal town, but the mountains in the distance loom large. It seems a much cheerier place than Punta Arenas, and brightly colored houses line the streets. Tourists are everywhere, as is the Milodon, the official town mascot.

The Milodon, we eventually figured out, is a giant, prehistoric sloth. A cave with Milodon fossils was discovered about 15 minutes north of town, and ever since the sloth has been proudly displayed all over Natales. The silhouette graces every street sign, a 20-foot tall statue greets people entering the town, and the Milodon namesake is a part of numerous Natales’ businesses. Milodon Taxi, Milodon Ferretaria, Milodon Hostal, etc.



And so it comes as no surprise that I find myself eating a Barro Luco at the Milodon Cafe, reminiscing on Natales highlights. They include:




Teresa—the woman who greeted us as we got off the bus from Arenas. She drove us to her hostel, set us up, and helped us get our bearings. But the nice thing is how sweet she was. She treated us like grandkids, and was affectionate and sweet like a grandmother.

The Elementary School—it has a UV Warning System. There is, of course, a hole in the ozone layer here and UV is a big problem. The school has a system similar to our homeland security terror alert system, but it seems much friendlier. Probably a heck of a lot more useful and accurate to boot.

The Chuchos—are everywhere. None as good as Taxi, though.

The Views—there are a couple of hills in the city that you can summit, and the views of the ocean and mountains are amazing.

The Quaintness/Remoteness—other than the weather (Oy Vey, talk about wind!), Natales is just a charming little town. As Jess put it, it’s the “million little things that come together that make you really like a place”.

The r2d2 trash cans- charming.

Punta Arenas

The next day (the 18th) we were back at the airport. We took a flight that we thought would take us directly to Punta Arenas from Santiago, but little did we know that we were traveling on a puddle jumper and ours was the last stop. We touched down in Puerto Mont, and Balmaceda before reaching our final destination. Nate calculated that he’d been on 10 flights in the last 10 days. It was neat though, to see the span of Chile from above and also to receive two airline-portioned typical Chilean meals of meat and bread, pudding(?) and cake. Nate and I do not like Chilean bread products so it left us hankering for a real meal.

In Punta Arenas, we found a taxi and informed the driver to take us to a “hostel economico”, which is how we ended up at hostel Victoria welcomed by a man named George and his yellow lab Chickie. Chickie made the place instantly endearing to me (missing Gus so) despite the fact that we paid $40 US to stay there.
We hit the town on foot. It was a nice sea-breezy ten minute walk to the Plaza De Armas and we found a little place that had chacarero and carne con queso on the menu. Awesome. This was the place I first tasted a pisco sour (archetypical high-octane beverage of Chile) and it was surprisingly frothy (egg) and served in a wine glass. We had fun chatting and people watching and eventually headed back to the hostel.

Punta Arenas is in the extreme south of Chile, in the heart of the jigsaw archipelago that is southern Patagonia. The weather is coastal, meaning gray and misty, much like Nate’s parents’ home in Humboldt County. The terrain, flatish. In the winter, it turns bitter cold, and, as Galen Rowell put it, “The wind sweeps the land like the broom of God.” It’s the only city of size in the area (130,000) and is a hub of shipping, ranching, and, it seems, strip clubs. It’s known for having a nice cemetery, which is probably better than being known for having nothing nice at all. But barely.

Nate already mentioned the stray dogs. In Guatemala they were called Chuchos, so that’s how I refer to them here. I read in a guidebook that chuchos (the ones with balls and no collars) as well as dogs who have owners (plumper with collars and no balls) roam the streets at will. I think they have learned to hang out by restaurants and wait for portly tourists to come out with leftovers for them. I think they also know they will get sympathy from people like me wielding huge backpacks indicating they are not locals and that they might have a shot at some sympathy and a snack. Anyway, on our walk, I spotted one or he spotted me (I’m not sure who spotted who first) and I started talking to him (“hola perro! El Chuuuuucho…”) and he seemed to like my tone or could smell that I’d recently been around meat (one of the two) and he began to follow us around every corner. We talked to him along the way and noted that he was easily distracted by passing cars. He seemed to be specifically on the look out for taxis at which time he would abandon our gait and tear off into the street barking and trying to bite the front wheel of the taxi traveling at 35 miles per hour. The taxis would not break or even slow down. It seemed like a game (Taxi drivers vs. Chuchos). We were laughing so hard and affectionately started to call our friend “Taxi”.



When we got back to the hostel, I ran upstairs to find something for him to eat. I unwrapped a peanut butter granola bar and tossed it on the ground. I hoped he would enjoy it but he stiffed it, left it where it was, and looked up at us wagging his tail as if to say, “I can find better shit in the trash, would you come back out and play with me?”
We snapped a few photos and said goodbye. After ten minutes or so I went to see if he’d taken the granola bar but it was still there on the sidewalk…In the morning though, it was gone.

Santiago

Previous to touching down in Santiago, Chile, I (Nate) had been flying around the east coast doing interviews for professor-type positions in Vermont and North Carolina. The interviewing had been a bit nerve-wracking, and my anxieties and thoughts often kept me awake through the quiet hours of the night. One solace was being able to talk to Jess, and prattle on about events and hopes and dilemmas. Each time we spoke, the conversation concluded with, “See you in Santiago” because it sounded so silly and dramatic and kinda romantic, like something long-separated lovers might say in a old black and white movie. It was also true: we were flying separately to Chile and meeting in Santiago. Jess from Salt Lake via Atlanta, and me from Miami after touring Vermont. She would arrive a day earlier, and let me know of her accommodations via an email.



On the afternoon of the 16th, our proclamation came true when she poked her little head out of the second story window of the hostel I stood in front of. We were in Santiago, together, and on our way to a neat little vacation in Chile.



We had given ourselves about 24 hours in the capital city before flying south. Not much time, of course, to see a large city (6 million; about 1/3 of Chile’s gente), but it was enough time to get a sense of the place. We walked through the city center, up on a hill to see an old castle, and through the bustling downtown area. Stray dogs ran about the sidewalks, competing for territory, or a bit of empanada dropped by a passerby in a business suit. Business suits abound; downtown Santiago is full of well-groomed people walking from one place to another, checking watches while being important.

A couple other things about Santiago: the man-mullet is hot, and public groping is all the rage. Chileans love to cuddle in public, and everywhere we went folks were gettin' frisky with one another. Everyone in the parks were coupled off on benches, tables, or a patch of grass, and rapped in some sort of embrace. Jess and I were a bit surprised, but, well, when in Rome…

That evening we had dinner in Barrio Brasil, a somewhat hip neighborhood with a hoppin’ nightlife. Jess fell in love with her dinner, a sandwich called a Chacararo, and made such a big deal out of it that the waiter ended up showing her the kitchen and how the sandwich was prepped.


Afterwards, sitting in the open air on the rooftop of the 3-story hostel, we played some sort of drinking game with dice and a large bottle of Escudo (not a particularly good beer) and watched the nightlife below. Tomorrow we’d go to Punta Arenas, and experience another bit of Chile, a much rainier and grayer bit.

Wendover Wednesday

It was a Wendover Wednesday. Jess, Gus, and I pointed the Focus west on I-80 for a overnight getaway to a Utah's arch-nemesis and geographical anti-crist, Nevada. The quickest sip of sin city is Wendover, a true butt-hole of a town. People actually live here? Oh my God.

Quickly, we struck fear into the buffet at the Peppermill Casino. It was mostly Jess. I was partially satiated from a couple fried chicken legs and a pocket-sized eclair pie from several hours earlier, so I had the first-person perspective on the stages of Jess' buffet experience. It began with anticipation, then led to elation, then determination, then remorse.

Afterwards, the remorse was all the Peppermill's, as we laid waste to their most complex mechanisms of heathen gambling. First, Jess attacked the quarter slots for a net gain of 20 dollars. Then I brazenly took the video poker machine for another 5. Finally, it was the penny slots that gave out, and dumped another 10 bucks into our severely swollen pockets. Like taking money from a baby.

Just to prove that the pillaging wasn't over, the next morning we ate lots of waffles at the Day's Inn for free! Well, they come with the motel room, but nonetheless, they felt a little free because we didn't have to buy breakfast anywhere else.

Oh, yeah, the photos are from the Bonneville Salt Flats, just outside Wendover. We hung out there are played ball with Gussy until his paws bled. Ouch! He had fun, though, and is pretty tired right now.

Arm and Hammer!

Beckner was in town, although for unfortunate reasons. Darcy Deutcher was prepping for a contract in Lander, and as he was going through a drive-thru teller at a bank, he badly crushed his hand in the door of his car. Both Darcy and Josh are two of the folks I went to Greenland with.


He required immediate surgery, so Beckner drove him on down to Salt Lake to go to the hospital here. Darcy is in good spirits and anticipating full, if long, recovery. The doctors are concerned about the circulation in his hand and keeping him in a warm room with his arm elevated. He's such a good man and it's sad to see him in pain.


In the meantime, Josh had some time to kill. So we cruised up Bell Canyon to climb Arm and Hammer (III, 5.10, AO) on Middle Bell Tower. We didn't get to climbing until 4:45, so we had to go quickly.

The climb was beautiful. The rock on the lower 2/3rds of the climb is bomber, flawless granite. The highlight pitch is the "Zion Curtain" pitch, which is an offset flake that splits the middle of a blank buttress. The flake is less than 1/2 an inch thick at times and resounds like a drum when you tap on it. Eerie. On the previous pitch there was some difficult, thin face climbing that added a little spiciness to the overall experience.


The climb went well. We got to the top at around 7 p.m. and rappelled for half an hour, drank a Miller High Life, and hiked back to the car for an hour.

Darcy is supposed to go back to Lander today with Josh and his girlfriend Alli. The doctors don't seem to be giving him a ton of good attention, and he's frequently surprised with new information. It's possible that they'll surprise him anew, and he won't be able to leave for another day or two.

Tribute to Dad

My dad got hurt.

A few days ago, Dad was cleaning the gutters of their house and fell off of the roof. He tumbled 12 feet, hit a railing, flipped upside down, and came to rest on the grass next to the deck. The hose he was using to clean out the gutters with remained on the roof, and showered him with water while he laid unconscious.

Mom heard a low moan outside as Dad came to. She went outside to find him struggling to get up. He couldn't. She turned off the water, ran inside to get blankets to cover his drenched body, and called 911. The ambulance came and carted him to the hospital in Fortuna, where the doctors could do nothing but call an airplane to take him to San Francisco. He went to the VA hospital, and was diagnosed with three badly broken vertebrae in his lower neck.

Mom drove down there the following day and Aunt Lynne came in from Chico. Dad was in pain, and the meds they gave him did little to offset the agony. Over the next day or so, doctors changed their plan from surgery to no surgery, then to surgery again. His operation took nine hours, and they used bolts and nuts and plates to screw things back together. The lack of movement in his arm was supposed to go away, but at this time it has not. We hope that it will return as swelling subsides.

I love my father very much and am hoping that he has full recovery, and a painless one at that. Take care, Dad. I'll see you soon.

Howard Gardner

The Multiple Intelligence Theory of Howard Gardner and it’s (mis)Applications for Wilderness Education

By Nate Furman, NOLS Instructor

Introduction

I’ve got a bone to pick. I’m not going to hide it, and I’m not going to try to eloquently talk around it. I’m going to address it head on, and this paper is the manifestation of my bone-picking. I don’t much like some of the discussion I’ve heard at NOLS recently, and in wilderness education in general, about trying to utilize the idea of “learning styles” in our curriculum delivery. What follows is a discussion of Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences (MI) Theory and corresponding learning styles. At the end of the paper, I’ll offer an alternative that I think is much more useful for NOLS and much more important to our students than attempting to teach to individual leaning styles.

Many people involved with wilderness education are familiar with MI theory and learning styles. The theory expresses that humans generally have eight different intelligences: linguistic, mathematical, spatial, kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic. Each of the intelligences, he contends, corresponds with a particular learning style. The implication is that each of us is differently talented in each of the eight domains and that each of us tends to learn best when information is presented in a way that corresponds with our intelligences. Fair enough.

Not surprisingly, the concept has garnered a substantial amount of attention. I will not deny that there is an intuitive attraction to a theory that says that educators need to consider their students as differently-abled, and to teach accordingly. There are schools that are founded on the premise, such as the New City School in St. Louis. Many curriculums have been developed around the idea and teachers have developed techniques to teach to different learning styles. Many parents have identified which intelligences their children are gifted in, and even children themselves often have an awareness of what their learning style is.

What does this mean for wilderness education? Well, mainly nothing.

This paper will explain why. There are primarily four reasons. First, the theory contends that we all have natural, separate intelligences, but this is largely incorrect. Second, the theory itself has very little empirical data to support it yet there are numerous studies that refute it. Third, it is highly impractical. Fourth, and most central to us, its primary application is the traditional classroom, and NOLS excels in a non-traditional classroom.

Separate Intelligences?

As noted before, MI theory contends that there are eight separate intelligences. This is largely a reaction to the idea that intelligence, as explained by the g-factor, is an inheritable trait that is resistant to change, and correlates with abilities to solve complex problems, marry models, have beautiful children, and die rich. The implication is that some lucky individuals are gifted at birth and that the rest of us end up wallowing around in the muck while working NOLS courses. An attractive alternative is to acknowledge that people are differently-abled and excel in different areas. Gardner took this path, and used the label “intelligence” to do so.

However, there are a number of difficulties with this stance. As it turns out, most of the eight intelligences are correlated with each other. That is, those of you who score high in a couple different intelligences are likely to score high in most of them—and score well on general intelligence tests to boot. This lends support to the idea that a high g factor is indeed the governing source of intellect and that the eight multiple intelligences are simply different parts of the g.

Empirical Evidence?

There are a good number of theories out there: the theory of gravity seems to work well, although rarely in our favor when we’re trying to send the sick new proj. Self-determination theory also works, stating (roughly) that when people have good relationships, have some control over their lives, and are good at what they do they’ll generally be happy and well-adjusted individuals. What these two theories have in common, and other useful theories, is a preponderance (yes, preponderance) of evidence to back them up, and very little that contests it.

If only this were the case with MI theory. Most of the evidence surrounding MI theory refutes it. Dr. Lynn Waterhouse, Professor Emeritus at the College of New Jersey adequately summarizes in Educational Psychologist:

To date there have been no published studies that offer evidence of the validity of the multiple intelligences. In 1994 Sternberg reported finding no empirical studies. In 2000 Allix reported finding no empirical validating studies, and at that time Gardner and Connell conceded that there was ‘little hard evidence for MI theory’ (2000, p. 292). In 2004 Sternberg and Grigerenko stated that there were no validating studies for multiple intelligences, and in 2004 Gardner asserted that he would be ‘delighted were such evidence to accrue’ (p. 214). (Waterhouse, 2006a, p. 208).

You’ll have to forgive me if I pulled that off of Wikipedia (I did—but at least I did pull up the primary sources afterwards), but when a Professor Emeritus does the research for me, who am I to think I could do better?

MI theory is not practical

Allrightythen, let’s do a scenario. Pretend you’re instructing a rock camp, and let’s say you have either a) the psychological training to assess the learning style of your students or, b) you administered a standardized test to them prior to leaving the field that told you which learning style each of your students are. What you found out is that all of them are musically intelligent. How are you going to teach them rappelling? “Alright, when I rap M.C. Hammer, you do a Munter rappel. When I sing Celine Dion, it’s a dulfersitz. Everyone got it?”

Okay, so it’s not a realistic scenario, but it illustrates the problem. Largely, NOLS instructors are untrained to accurately assess learning styles and we haven’t invented the techniques to teach with that consider them. It’s possible to tweak our curriculum to suit the needs of an individual student, but we already do that and more. I’ll explain how in a bit.

NOLS is Not a Traditional Classroom

You knew that one already, right? But that’s where Gardner’s theory is most applicable. Lets look at the reality of the traditional classroom: large class sizes, limited time, overwhelmed/underpaid teachers, pressure to have students succeed on standardized tests, dealing with disciplinarian issues on a daily basis, and not having much time to form meaningful relationships with students.

Now lets look at a NOLS classroom: we have really small classes and there are at least three instructors on each course. That’s a 4-1 ratio! We typically have plenty of time: if we need to teach more or revisit something, we can hike fewer miles that day. And if we really need to make those miles and it’s going to be a rough one for the students, then we’re teaching tolerance for adversity instead of VOEMPing. We aren’t really that overwhelmed very often. We’re still underpaid: the plight of the educator. We don’t have pressure to have students to do well on standardized tests, and rarely do we deal with disciplinarian issues the way a typical teacher does. We have oodles of time to get to know our students and frequently end up friending them on Facebook afterwards and exchanging YouTube videos. These are but a few of the differences between a NOLS classroom and a traditional classroom.

All of this means one thing: we have the opportunity to provide outstanding educational experiences for our students in a way* that regular teachers do not. I don’t need to know if one of my students has a naturalistic intelligence or a kinesthetic intelligence. There are certain educational principles that transcend learning styles: the ability to engage someone in a close-knit learning community, to look in eyes and be able to see if they understand. To plan and enact engaging learning experiences. To have plenty of time for questions and dialogue and reflection. To build rapport with students during a long day of sea kayaking or rounds of hot drinks. These things will go far further than trying to reach out to someone’s innate specific intelligence, especially considering these intelligences have never been shown to exist.

Alternative to Learning Styles

Because it’s a cruel thing to cast a stone and not proffer a different way, I’ll end with an alternative to learning styles. These aren’t things I came up with; they’re what outdoor educators have been doing since the time Socrates sat in an open square and posed a bothersome question, and probably before that. If you can do these things, you don’t need to worry about what learning styles your students present.

1. Build rapport and trust.
2. Create engaging and active learning experiences.
3. Provide ample time for reflection.
4. Invite questions.
5. Engage in dialogue about curriculum.
6. Provide time for practice.
7. Meet students on their level, not the level you wished they were at.
8. Offer opportunities for challenge.
9. Support when needed.
10. Invite fun.

And yes, in case you were wondering, there is plenty of empirical evidence to support the pedagogical value of each of these ten things.

September Bliss

September is by far the best month of the year. The scorching temperatures of summer are on their way out, the mosquitoes have died down, tourists are dwindling, the leaves are turning color, there is limited rainfall, and alpine climbing is at it's best.

In celebration of September 2008, Nick Storm and I went to Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite National Park. The base elevation of the meadows is around 9,000 feet, and the peaks rise in excess of 13,000 feet. I flew out on September 15th; Nick picked me up in Reno and we headed South.


The climbing in Tuolumne is amazing! There are dozens of exposed granite domes that begin somewhat steep at the base and round out as you climb higher. The rock is peppered with crystalline knobs that make for good hand and foot holds. But the best part is that there is easy access to the peaks of the high sierra. We climbed one of those peaks, Mt. Conness, despite the four hour hike in.


This is what we climbed:
West Crack on Daff Dome (5.9, III, 5 pitches)
Southwest Face of Mt. Conness (5.10c, IV, 10 pitches)
South Crack on Stately Pleasure Dome (5.8, III, 6 pitches)
Aqua Knobby on Pywiack Dome (5.9, III, 4 pitches)
Bear's Reach at Lover's Leap (5.7, II)

Climbing with Nick was awesome. He's getting ready to go to New Zealand to work for NOLS for 9 months. This little trip was a way of getting some climbing in before he departs. We enjoyed each others' company, talked about what it would be like to be Ron Kauk, what the difference between a fruit and a vegetable is, and reminisced about college years.


On Thursday night we headed to Lovers Leap near South Lake Tahoe. Friday morning we climbed Bear's Reach, which is one of my all-time favorite climbs. The climbing is a slightly physical and extraordinarily positive. All sorts of jamcracks and liebacks. I wish there was a 5.10 version of it somewhere.

Have fun in NZ, Nick! We'll miss you!

Thought Salad

Last week I re-labeled two six packs of Pacifico with my own label called, Back to School Brew. I didn't have any extra time on my hands, I just wanted to make myself laugh. It only took 5 minutes to make the labels out of scratch paper and tape them on. I guess I thought the beer and the extra laugh would come in handy at the start of the year. I felt pretty stressed about going back. To my surprise it is week 2 and it's flown by. My teaching has become intuitive in some ways and I seem to float around observing all the learning that's going on in the classroom. I still have a few Back to School Brews in the fridge. I hear this is one of the last summer-like weekends we can expect so I bet I'll finish the beers in my hammock on Sunday afternoon.

I went on a really great ride the other day (early, before the storm came in). I didn't step off the bike start to finish...a very satisfying ride. I was so psyched -partly because I was listening to a sweet tune on my shuffle, and partly because my bod just felt good, but I rode around the last bend too quickly, hit some gravel and smacked the ground hard on my right side. I put my head between my legs before I could fade to black and waited for my heart rate to slow. I heard a huddle of voices around me asking, "are you ok?" Gus didn't seem to care...he was off in the near-by stream lapping it up. I limped away cursing the injuries and wishing I had some hard alcohol. An oatmeal bath and 800mg of IBU later, I was feeling alright. Now I've got sweet scabs and bruises to show my students which always increases my stock. (I think I started my first year at Realms with similar injuries due to a skateboarding accident!)

I am so looking forward to fall. The smell changes, the light changes, the air is crisp so you throw on a cozy scarf and drink coffee bundled on the front steps in the morning. You kick leaves and collect a few really gorgeous ones. You begin to see your breath when you exhale. I'll make stews and drink wine on Sundays. The weather is cool enough to go on rides mid-day. Yes!

Looking forward to having Nate home. I've missed the man so much.

Jess

Wind River Mountaineering Seminar

In late August I taught a mountaineering seminar for NOLS in the Wind Rivers with Josh Beckner. Nick Storm was able to come in for a couple days to help teach as well. It's a dream working with two folks on this contract.


Seminars are designed for NOLS instructors to increase their technical skills in different arenas. This one, being a mountaineering seminar, gave folks a chance to practice ice, snow, and rock climbing skills. There were 10 participants.


Over the 11 days, we climbed many different routes, from snow couliours on Fremont Peak to rock routes on Ellingwood Peak to a whole-course ascent of Gannett Peak.

The seminar was rescue-intensive, and nearly every day we were able to focus on rescue skills to some extent.

Cardiology and Pork Fried Rice

I just ate a 32oz. container of pork fried rice and I'm enjoying this side of my three day weekend. It's finally cooled down to 80 degrees. Tomorrow morning I'm going to broga and farmers market. In the afternoon I'm going to swim in a lake with a bunch of friends. I love the feeling of open swimming. I've been a swimmer all my life but it's never felt so good...therapeutic. I went last weekend and I'm hooked. The rest of the weekend I'd like to spend in the backyard, in the hammock, on my bike, or painting the attic space.

Nate is working in the field and having a great time. I spent all summer with him and got used to it. This last separation has felt like a lifetime and I've found myself feeling pretty lonely at times.

School has started and I am enjoying what comes with experience. I am more organized than I've ever been. The kids are great. The other day we made hula hoops and after finding circumference, diameter, and radius, we headed to the park for some hoop Olympics. It was too much fun. I reverted back to third grade for a few hours.

Lots is going on with the house. We are re-doing the bathroom, painting the outside of house, and getting up to code in a few more places. I can't believe that in a year we will be thinking about leaving Salt Lake City.

Today I went to the cardiologist to get to the bottom of whats going on with my ticker. I saw a wonderful doctor who explained to me at length the magic of the heart. I had an ultrasound which was a very touching experience. I've taken my heart for granted. I had the best intentions of giving myself a heart healthy dinner afterward, but there were too many errands to run and Sampan was there when my stomach demanded food.

I read a quote recently: "what are you doing instead of living your dreams?" That is so inspirational to me that I want to repeat it 10 times a day, everyday. I tried to answer that question but instead got stuck on the fact that I just might be living my dreams. The feelings that I may not be, only come up because perhaps society trains us to want more and more. The fact is that I love my job, my friends, my husband, the lifestyle I lead...what more do I want? I'd like to be able to travel without money worries, explore a new career, and maybe have some kids down the road. It's also interesting to explore what fear will do to a dream.

I was teary-eyed listening to the speeches at the Democratic National Convention. I actually felt some love and pride for my country. America might be getting it's shit together!

That's all for now.

Jess