In Case You Missed It: the Newsletters Blog¶
2023, June 27th¶
Last week, Jim gave a speech to cap off his experience with the Presentation Mastery pathway. He did a great job speaking frankly and humorously, and incorporated some fantastic vocabulary and colorful turns of phrase. We got to know him a little better and learned from his experiences with this pathway.
Table Topics was fun, led by Susan who curated some Chat Pack questions on the fly for some especially nice prompts. We learned that Anna might choose to inhabit a chocolate factory all by herself, if only to cure her chocolate habit by overindulging, and that Michele's morning radio show would feature 30 minutes of rambling with no music, and the entire world would listen without judgment. Sarah shared that, if she were given the chance to travel 50 years into the future, she'd be curious to see how we're doing in terms of food, energy, and all the other things present-day humans are resistant to reform. Jim reported that the best $100 he ever spent might have been on a stereo, and he remembered how scarce money was as he was growing up, raised by a single mom who had been widowed young. Jenn was asked what "one fact" she'd like to know about everyone she meets, and she replied that she was touched to learn about Jim's childhood struggles and thought that knowing about everyone's early-life adversities would help us understand each other better.
2023, June 19th¶
Last week, we practiced our extemporaneous speaking skills with two cycles of "Round Robin" Table Topics.
We learned about Sarah's childhood in a small village in upstate New York, where she had numerous childhood adventures (and injuries). She recounted the many times she's broken a bone, including falling off a motorcycle while looking for her dog, falling off a beach ball while watching cartoons, and riding a skateboard behind a bus.
Susan also talked about growing up in a small town in upstate New York (nowhere near Sarah's hometown, though). While she still does go back to visit family, she wouldn't want to live in a small town again because there's not enough to do other than gossip about everyone else's business.
Anna talked about a vegetarian "BLT salad" she recently made, which didn't have any meatless analogue for the "B" so she put in fake bacon anyway. Later, she reflected on the Eleanor Roosevelt quote "Do what you feel in your heart to be right, for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't."
Jim remembered teaching both of his daughters to drive stick shift, and said that while there may be some danger involved during the learning phase, once you learn, it's "like riding a bicycle." He also thought of an Eleanor Roosevelt quote he likes: "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
Last but not least, Jenn remembered a vacation to Turkey that overlapped with Ataturk Day, one of the country's most important holidays, and wondered what's going on there now that its current dictator is consolidating power. When asked about her favorite article of clothing, she said that she tends not to wear her favorite things out of fear of wearing them out faster. Perhaps, she said, this is a logical fallacy and she should instead wear her favorite things while she can, since styles and bodies and life circumstances change.
2023, June 12th¶
Last week, Jenn practiced a Grand Rounds presentation that she (successfully!) gave the following day, providing us with an overview of the intersection of mental health and chronic pain. As always, her speech was well-composed with excellent data visualization. We learned how the perception of pain can be amplified in people with mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and trauma, and how they can all enter into a feedback loop to exacerbate each problem. We learned more about Jenn's research goals and how she hopes her discoveries will be used to improve the lives of people living with depression, anxiety, and chronic pain.