My Adventures in Writing

I have added a special page to this site, called "Special Stories". I will post my feature stories not published elsewhere here. Tonight I posted a story about my visit to a Mennonite Farm in Pennsylvania this past July. Here is the link: PA Mennonite Farm Story

I've been as busy as ever this month with my first term at Pacific in full swing now. I am really enjoying my studies in leadership and strategy. We've had some great discussions in class, posing challenging and intriguing questions about the status of our healthcare system in the U.S. and asking what we can do about it. I'm now facing the start of a challenging class in healthcare finance. It's hard for me to wrap my mind around financial issues sometimes. I've read the chapters for class but I feel I might just have to read them over to actually start to begin to understand them. There are so many terms and acronyms that I need to learn just to be able to do the simplest problems. It will take some work but it's one area I can improve my skills in. After my lunch with a family friend who just happens to be a physician, I have learned that financial skills are a must. So, I'm trying to have a better attitude towards finance and accounting, even though they involve math. I've managed to write several articles on winter travel in Oregon but I wish I had more time to write. I know that once my classes end this term I will have some time. But it's hard for me to not have time or energy for creative writing. At least I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It was a beautiful weekend, with glorious sun and fall colors. We took a nice walk, in search of some fall foliage but were not lucky in our search around the neighborhood. Driving home from church, the variety of colors we saw was amazing: red, orange, yellow, and green all over the place. It was beautiful, especially with the bright sunlight.

My Flight to the East on July 22, 2008

Flying above the central portion of the United States and the Mid-west seems like endless miles of crops, outlined by roads, creating a checkerboard of squares. Every so often a town will appear but they are sparsely scattered.

It’s amazing to me how inhabited this region is, as it contrasts with the miles of forests and deserts in the West. Flying over Oregon, Idaho and Utah give you a sense of nothingness as no signs of civilization appear for minutes, if not hours by plane.

Here in the Mid-west, even though towns are scattered, the mark of the human hand can be seen from above in the never-ending squares.

Where are we? I may not know what state we’re flying over at the moment but I’m sure we are over the Mid-west. Gone are the acres of wilderness and uninhabited land. Throughout Utah and our journey east, I was able to follow the interstate headed east. It seemed our flight plan followed the same direction as the road below.

Now, I see a myriad of roads, both paved and not. They intersect at towns, boarder farms and indicate important places.

Thunderheads tower massively above the cloud layer, as fluffy cottonball clouds float below. I wonder what it looks like fro below, as the land lay dark in its shadow. Is the thunder booming or lightning flashing below? Our captain tells us of several storms over Baltimore, which may cause a bumpy ride.

Now I see hills and treed areas which makes me wonder if we’re near the Appalachians, nearing the east coast. From my previous flights to St. Louis, I can only remember the miles of squares. This hilly landscape is new to me. From the air, this region reminds me of a multitude of golf courses, all lined up; grasslands framed by trees. Roads carve through treed areas and rivers are lined with industry. An interstate appears brightly white, contrasting with its green surroundings. The signs and marks of civilization are still clear.

Yet it makes me happy to see the wind turbines lined up on the hill below. I’m glad to see us harnessing the free and natural power of the wind.

As we begin our initial approach to Baltimore, I see a river curve with S-shapes through the trees. The hills shape waves of trees and slope down, as cities encroach up their sides. Now more cities and suburbs can be seen, with interstates and roads. Baltimore is just ahead and we’ll be on the ground in 15 minutes.

Someone I know had posted her goals for the year on her website, in order be more accountable. I told her I wanted to do the same. It’s been a few months now but I finally found the time and commitment to get mine down. I will update these in a few months.
So, here they are, in no exact order:

Lose weight
This will boost my self-confidence and make me feel like I have more willpower to shape my future. This is something I’ve wanted to do for awhile. It’s also something I have tried to do but been unsuccessful at for a few years now. I seem to try a new approach and give up too soon. Then I gain more weight. The times when I actually try, I tend to at least stay at the same weight. This is also a goal I get very defensive about and turn to denial.
So, my specific goal would be to lose 10 pounds by Christmas. That doesn’t seem too hard and if I lose more, then all the better. My next goal would be to lose 20 more pounds by May and then another 10 before our family reunion at the end of July.

Succeed with my graduate studies
This would include staying caught up with my classes and being able to finish all the readings. I want to get the most out of my classes that I can. Writing out a list of things to complete for the week seems to help with this overwhelming task of staying on track.

Implement Leadership Development Plan
As part of the assignment, I will need to implement my plan by Feb. 2009. I have already begun doing this. This goal includes increasing networking and becoming a better speaker. I am looking into joining a Toastmasters group to learn how to be a better public speaker. As for increasing networking, I guess I can just introduce myself to more people at work and try to get my CEOs involved in my studies.

Figure out what I want to do with my career
This could be a long term project. But for now, I just want to narrow down my areas of interest, with help from my professors.

Continue writing travel articles
I want to continue as the Feature Writer for NW US/ Alaska travel. This means that until December, I will have to focus my attention to writing at least 1 article per week. After my classes end in December, I will be able to write more often and write drafts to save for my next term of study.

Updating my websites
One thing I haven't done well lately, is keeping my websites up-to-date, whether this one or NWTravelOnline or AdventureSisters.net. I know this takes times but it could be worth it. I am working on getting this website updated to include a front page, rather than just going straight to my blog entries. This will take the cooperation of my husband to use his skills and the time to do it.

Strengthen marriage and other relationships
We joined a small group at church and are doing a marriage study. I want to continue this and continue to be involved at church. I think this is one area that will strengthen our marriage. Also, it is important to talk with other couples who have been married longer – like a marriage mentor. We can continue our reading on our own.

I want to continue keeping my family in touch with each other, whether through letters, e-mails or my website. I would like to develop a new version of the Radiant Times but I know my time is limited. I would like to brain-storm new ideas on how to do this. One possibility is to start a circle letter like my husband’s family does, or an online version.

Organize office and rooms
This is an ongoing project and frustration. I haven’t unpacked everything from when I moved in last year! I need to go through all my boxes and make sure I want to keep everything.

Get yard ready for winter and then spring
Weeding, weeding and more weeding. I want to plant some garlic after I take out the tomato plants. I would also like to build another raised garden if possible. We are trying to complete a woodshed right now.

Be happy at work
This is a tough one for me. I need to learn that the work I do is important and worthwhile. I will ask for help from my supervisor with this one. This is an ongoing problem for me. One challenge for me is being open with my boss, and being able to express myself verbally instead of writing a letter. This one will work better if I better my public speaking skills.

Find a volunteer project
I’ve been looking for a volunteer project for a long time. I don’t have much extra time but I want to be able to do something, even if just a small task. So, I will continue to look for volunteer opportunities. I might try asking around at church.

Work on debt
This is another ongoing project. I brought a lot of debt to my marriage from before. We are working on this. I think we're doing a pretty good job. My student loans for graduate school have added to this but actually using some of this money to pay the higher interest rate debts might be a good idea, since these loans have lower interest rates. We'll see how this works. I am still looking for more scholarships for next year.