Creeping up on 50....

Ah, so time ticks away... and I find it is less than a month until I turn 50. I am ok with that, but I am still amazed and I don't know how life has flown by so fast. My brain still thinks of me as about 30.

It's leaving me reflecting on "50's" of things.... Like 50 things I still want to do, 50 great memories from the first 50, stuff like that.

Some intial thoughts (and I may return to add to this list....)

50 THINGS I STILL WANT TO DO...

1. See Rome
2. See Led Zepplin live
3. Sell a piece of my art
4. Visit Ottawa and our national museums
5. Visit the Artic
6. Take the train across Canada
7. Learn another language
8. Take a transatlantic crossing
9. See Gaudi architecture in Barcelona
10. Go to the Rock of Gibralter
11. See Moscow's awesome subway stations
12. See a rock concert at Madison Square Gardens or the o2 in London (or both ;-)
13. Make a difference in this world
14. See the Bay of Fundy
15. See Michael Angelo's David - to witness what the amazing efforts in WWII to save it gave us
16. Visit Amsterdam
17. Go to the Sydney Opera House
18. Visit Normandy and the Canadian memorial
19. Take an overnight train in Europe - lie in bed being rocked by the train...
20. A carriage ride around Central Park
21. Have nude portraits taken
22. Get a tattoo of my own art
23. Show my art at a show or in a cafe or something
24. Go through the Chunnel
25. Visit Checkpoint Charlie

50 GREAT MEMORIES.(or some just interesting...)...

1. Paris - sitting outside on the 1st level, journalling and reflecting on all that got me to that point - and just enjoying BEING IN PARIS!!
2. Celebrating my 30th and Carol's 40th in San Francisco...
3. One especially sexy man
4. Breaking a board with my bare hand
5. Seeing Aretha Franklin at Radio City Music Hall
6. The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh
7. Discovering that I have an amazing talent for doodling (who knew?!?!)
8. Waiting for the Dalai Lama to speak in a stadium when the audience broke out in spontaneous singing of "Oh Canada!"
9. Going back to Kamloops for my 20 year high school reunion
10. My very first record album: George Harrision - All Things Must Pass
11. Listening to Who's Next as a teenager, the volume blasting, and me sitting outside on the curb trying to look cool
12. The jade ring my mom gave me as a teenager -- I had received the stone as a young tyke when I wrote a letter to the man who came to town to show off his jade saddle
13. The experience of producing Tommy in Grade 11
14. Having my picture taken with an elephant when I was about 6 (ok, I don't remember, but I remember the pic!)
15. Going to my very first film festival in my 40's - I think I saw 20 films in 2 weeks!
16. Hurling over the handlebars of my sister's bike when I was about 8, knocking out my front teeth
17. The first time I felt flattered to be asked for ID
18. Having lunch with Sophia Loren
19. Going to the Live Earth concert in New York
20. Visiting Chamonix - and getting light headed at the top of the Gondola
21. Summers in Whistler with Kelly
22. Speaking at a conference in Geneva - not so much the "accomplishment", but it was such a great experience - being flown there for free, and such a small and interesting group of delegates -- out for dinner with two dozen people from a dozen countries
23. My very first apartment
24. My first car
25. The day I sold my last car and decided to never own one again
26. Housesitting the cat from hell
27. The 3 months I spent in Halifax
28. Being in Queen Elizabeth Park when a man began singing (practicing?) opera at the top of his lungs
29. The 1888 house I lived in: converted attic with skylights, sunken floor, tin roof and totally private balcony
30. My first university class - a mix of 18-88 - discussing ethics - I loooved it
31. Expo 86
32. The time I wore 2 different coloured shoes to work
33. Seeing the Who - wow... and ZZ Top, and The Rolling Stones ... and Stevie Wonder... and Eric Clapton...
34. Getting picked up on a street corner - and going for it!
35. When I proved to myself that I could flirt
36. Getting my first tattoo
37. Street lights around my rice crispies

50 THINGS I APPRECIATE

1. Patti's art
2. Patti
3. My mom's huggles
4. My mom
5. My brother's generosity
6. My brother
7. Sweet memories of Carol Leigh
8. Grey Goose
9. Avacados
10. Art
11. Being a Canadian
12. Kakuro
13. Purple
14. Kindness
15. Really good coffee
16. All the people who have touched my life
17. My sense of humour
18. Learning to like hockey
19. Swimming
20. Books
21. The awesome Vancouver Public Library - it lifts my spirits
22. Bucky Beaver!
23. That I actually did write a book
24. That Vancouver is my home
25. My creativity
26. New York City!!
27. That I like my own company
28. The CBC
29. 2nd hand book stores
30. Being comfortable in my own skin
31. Documentaries
32. That life is a learning process that never ends
33. Having my assumptions shaken up
34. Learning something new
35. Smart people
36. History - and I appreciate that I appreciate history!
37. The breakwater in Victoria
38. Coincidences
39. The Starbuck's team in my building - who make my drink without me saying a word
40. The Sunday New York Times
41. Doodling

To be honest, thinking about these things also has me thinking about the saddest moments in my life, and difficult times that I somehow got through. I'll save those for a private journal, but this is a GOOD process to go through.
;-)

a fresh look for my blog

and maybe some fresh thinking too.... I love all the gadgets can get now, trying them out...

Also setting up a "beepdoodles" blog to do something with all these wonderful doodles I am creating these days... http://beepdoodles.blogspot.com/















;-)

Interviews with Malika

I have just finished reading "La Prisonniere" by Malika Oufkir. It's also titled "Stolen Lives". I'm about to read her second book, "Freedom".

It was an interesting coincidence (or was it??) that when in NYC recently buying shoes, the salesperson helping me was from Morocco and knew the story, but had not read the book, so we had quite the interesting chat about it, and her life in Morocco.

Also found these audio interviews with Malika, worth holding onto for me, as it seemed important to me to hear her voice: http://www.eyeonbooks.com/ibp.php?ISBN=0786886307

http://www.npr.org/programs/wesat/features/2001/010421.oufkir.html

Travelling the world through books

Stumbled across this today, a woman who is intentionally travelling the world through the books she reads. I love the idea and wanted to hold onto the link while reflecting on the idea more. http://laura0218.livejournal.com/

My continued reinvention...

... of my blog, and of my life.
Made even funnier by the fact that when I tried to post this, somehow my settings had changed to Hindi and I couldn't read what I was posting! Got that figured out... lol

On my mind:

• I have lost 95 pounds


• I have achieved another personal goal I have been working towards for 5 years


• I am going to NYC in a week!

This NYC trip includes:

• Aretha Franklin at Radio City Music Hall


• NY Rangers vs Pittsburgh Penguins at Madison Square Gardens


• A seat on the stage for Xanadu (what was I thinking??lol)

Somehow I have been thinking of spring, but I figure I'd better check the NYC weather forcast...

Now, I gotta go buy some jeans that aren't falling off me!

I am still rockin' from ZZ Top on Thursday night.

I went to my first ZZ Top concert in the mid 70's -- and I think it was probably my first "big city" rock concert and it blew my mind (well, my mind had a little help that night!!). So it was awesome to rock to the Top again!


The Vancouver Sun review was ok, but incomplete:
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/story.html?id=8f8f1d9d-5f52-471d-a765-c158a574dad9&k=18578


Let me guess, Corden left early and missed the final tunes... how else could she say: But ZZ Top best known for their '80s hits, and it wouldn't be a 'Top show without "Gimme Your Lovin'" "Legs" and "Sharp Dressed Man". The group saved 'em for last, and the hyped audience sang along at the top of their lungs.


Um, the last songs were La Grange and Tush, done in classic ZZ endless renditions that went on and on - frigging AWESOME!!

My fav video at the moment is the same combo recorded in 2005 -- watch this clip and enjoy -- esp. the women crawling up on the stage:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=xwpajCyAO7A

no more bad boy blums in Atlanta?

I forgot I was reinventing my blog... so talk about a topic to shift gears: Read this while having coffee in public this morning and laughed out loud -- good thing I didn't sputter coffee all around me:
Atlanta declares war on hip-hop-style trousers

hilarious! Though I did see a guy lose his pants here in Vancouver the other week....

A new year, a new blog.

Happy New Year 2007!

I hereby officially retire my old blog, which was mostly focused on business. The stuff I was tracking and commenting on just doesn't jazz me anymore to the point where I feel compelled to blog them (though I still have interest in the subjects).

My new blog, well, it will be something more focused on me and who I am and what interests me and what I think -- and not caring what anyone else thinks about that. More of a personal journal.

What I've come to recognize is how much my inner self has changed these last few years. I lost my sister a little over 2 years ago, and her final 18 months were pretty painful, so I find that who I was 4 years ago is a lifetime different than who I am today. What mattered to me then means little to me now. I haven't really figured out what matters to me now, but I feel like I am continuing to shed my old skin. Eventually, the new one will emerge.

I have always liked new years, because they represent new beginnings. There is something symbolic in a new calendar year that always resonates with me.

For the couple of months I have been thinking about what the next year means to me. It's not clear, but it's coming into focus.

This year is about health.

This year is about travel. Not so much doing, but laying foundations for travel in 2008. I have begun planning a trip to Europe, maybe a month, maybe two. But where do I want to go, what do I want to see, what type of experience do I want? These are the questions I've begun to explore and will shape my inner world in 2007.

The first focus - health - is deeply connected to the second focus - travel. I've pushed my luck on my health and it's time to get real with myself -- and I'm not going to be able to travel well, or freely, if I don't have my health. It's all interconnected.

Support Roberta Westwood in the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure.

I am participating in the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure, on Sunday, October 2, 2005, and I am asking for your support.

I will be walking in memory of my sister, Carol Leigh McCarron. Carol Leigh fought for 19 years, most bravely through the last 2 years of her life, and touched many. We lost Carol Leigh on October 12, 2004. She is sadly but fondly remembered every day.

I am one of more than 170,000 participants who will all be walking or running on October 2. The money I raise will go to fund breast cancer research, education and awareness programs across the country.
I need your support because with it, the Foundation can continue to fund the research and programs that are helping improve the quality of life for families touched by breast cancer.

Donating online is quick, easy and secure! You can pay by VISA, MasterCard or American Express. Within 20 minutes, you will receive a tax receipt for any donation that has been successfully received.
To donate click here https://www.cibcrunforthecure.com/html/p.asp?t=1212544&l=1

If you are interested in participating in this year's Run, there is always room for one more! The event takes place in more than 40 communities across Canada. You can search for Run locations by visiting www.cbcf.org.

Thank you. I appreciate your support!
Roberta Westwood

Interesting story in Information Week today on blogging: Blogging About Work? Play Nice. This one tells the story of 27 employees who were fired for making negative blog posts about their employer (AAA in California) in a public blog.

To quote the author, Patricia Keefe:

Simply put, corporate HR and legal departments have been caught napping on this one. Even among companies that actively encourage employees to blog, most of them, as recently as six months ago, lacked blogging guidelines for their employees.

Keefe goes on to explore the issues, and does a good job.

Free downloadable books

My slightly stale and inactive blog... my perspectives on life must be changing, this isn't drawing me the same way it did before, but perhaps I shall reinvent or... ?

Anyways, here's something cool:

Elliott Masie has put together a free downloadable Digital Book, based on your "confessions" of the problems and challenges that keep you awake:
"What Keeps YOU Up at Night?".

He did another one last year, "701 E-Learning Tips".

Tsunami Locator - www.tsunamilocator.com

Happy New Year. Though it's a subdued one. So hard to be celebratory while the recovery effort for the devastating tsunami disaster continues...

I've been helping out a bit online, to help the work of groups that are helping to locate missing persons, though I am awed by the efforts of those who are doing more than I. But every bit makes a difference, and it helps to do something.

Through this process, I've compiled this list of resources to support the work of Locators Online and others searching for missing persons as a result of the devastating tsunami. It's online at Tsunami Locator (www.tsunamilocator.com).

Take care, and wishes for healing and peace in the world.
Roberta

Note added August 11/05: I've since taken this site down, but glad to have made a difference for a period. In truth, as I look back now, this probably had more to do with my own sense of helplessness and the desire just to 'do' something - a common urge during grief. This has been my story throughout my life in general since losing my sister, and am only now beginning to see how powerfully it's impacted me.

Tsunami: you can help with just your telephone

LOCATORS ONLINE (www.locators-online.org) urgently
needs volunteers who can dial international numbers.
If you have access to a phone where you can dial an
international number, or have a satellite phone,
please email david@locators-online.org

Back to blogging

I've had a long break from blogging, it's been a tough year, and my focus has been elsewhere. For those of you who read this blog, my sister that I mention in my previous post, Carol Leigh, passed away in October. Thank you to all who have given me support, and to all who make efforts to support breast cancer research.

Roberta

Run For The Cure sponsors welcome!

I'm participating in the CIBC Run for the Cure in support of breast cancer again this year on October 3rd. I'll be walking for my sister, Carol Leigh McCarron.

If you are interested in supporting me, just click here (you can also learn a bit more about my sister there).

Thanks in advance for any and all support!
Roberta

new stuff on blogs and learning

Found some new stuff today on blogs...

How to use weblogs to create engaging learning experiences

ASTD presentations on orientation

Stumbled across a couple of ASTD conference presentations on new employee orientation:

I'll Take Orientation For $100! Or, Keeping Employees Out of Jeopardy. It's from the City of Peoria (I don't know where that is!) and it's for a new employee reception concept.

On Location: Moving New Employee Orientation From Ordinary to EXTRAordinary - this one is from Harley-Davidson Financial Services. Looks like a couple little gems in this one...

ASTD handouts are now online

The ASTD conference handouts are now available free online.

A couple articles by me on blogging

I realized today that I have been remiss on putting links to the pair of articles I wrote on blogging here... so, anyways, here they are:

Blogged for Business
I wrote these as a 2-part series, and this is the first on; it looks at blogs in corporate communications in general

Blogged for Learning
Here's the second one, which is what I'm really interested in, blogs in a the learning context

Free Stephen Covey articles online

Also found this page of free articles by Stephen Covey , looks like some good ones.... Ironically, most of them appear to be 10 or so years old. But his stuff lives on...

Cool T&D Programs Assessment Tool

I stumbled across this neat tool tonight, "Training and Development Programs Assessment: A Survey for Managers" - it's a free and pretty fast self-assessment for training managers/leaders, from the Jack Phillips Center for Research. 30 good questions.

Save Counterspin

Calling all Canadians.... CBC Newsworld is cancelling Counterspin, one of the absolutely best programs on TV. Counterspin was provocative, engaging, balanced, open, edgy and simply great! I usually thinks the CBC does a good job at making programming decisions, but this one stinks. Here's the story.

There is an online petition you can sign to bring it back, please take a minute to sign it.

Roberta

Note added May 22nd: I was pleasantly surprised to get a reply from the CBC Ombudsman on the email I sent. Actually, I sent it to just about every CBC contact I could stir up, so they all got a reply. Also heard back from the Counterspin producers, they are getting lots of similiar feedback.

Moi in Globe and Mail article on virtual conferences

Was quoted today in the Globe and Mail in this article, "Mix and mingle over the Internet - Virtual conferences can be easier, more convenient way to network, gain industry knowledge than face-to-face events" by Sandra Mingail.

I am a big fan of virtual conferences... here's a piece I wrote on the same subject: "Virtual Conferences: An Online Learning Tool". I love 'em!

New article on online surveys

There's a new article on Learning Circuits this morning, Web Survey Guidelines. This is so good to see, as there aren't enough articles on this topic.

Here's a link to an article I wrote awhile back on the topic, it does have a few other links coming off it.

That new bug in my computer

You know it's time for a break when: you notice that your computer is acting weird, cursor keeps flying across the screen at high speed, oh oh, what's that, I have the best virus protection possible, backup entire system (leave client project waiting), update virus definitions (they weren't out of date), run full scan (even though it's done nightly automatically), everything seems fine....

Next day, reading a website, and notice it happening again....... look down and see it's how my arm just touches the spacebar of my new keyboard/wrist guard when I'm not paying attention!

Life's a blast, isn't it?

How to Take a Long Working Vacation

Stumbled across an interesting article, "How to Take a Long Working Vacation" on PC World. While I'd rather slip onto a beach and take a total mental break, sometimes that's just not possible as a consultant. And the idea of intentionally planning to get awhile without turning work off is an option I have often considered. Because so much of my work is online now, this is becoming a more viable option. This article has good tips.

Also led me to:
Iomega storage online
Mobile Computing: Backup Strategies for the Road

Ah, "Space Tourist Plans Working Vacation", not quite my cup of tea, but intriguing....

Demo and slides on social networks

Good item included in this morning's elearning post:
ReferralWeb
This is not a new site, but well worth a visit if you are exploring social networks. The PPT slides are especially useful in understanding the theory and the need for social network analysis. "The ReferralWeb system lets you search and explore social networks - the networks of friends, colleagues, and co-workers - that exist on the WWW. It lets you find trusted information from trusted experts, who are likely to help because they are friends of your friends!"
http://www.cs.washington.edu/homes/kautz/referralweb/

Webinar on "onboarding" on March 25

Learned today about this free webinar on March 25, "On-Boarding: It's Not Just Orientation Anymore". The speaker is Joyce L. Gioia, co-author of: Lean and Meaningful: A New Culture for Corporate America. Sounds interesting, I've signed up.

Macromedia Declares March "Free Web Conferencing Month"

I thought this was pretty cool, and have just signed up:

San Francisco—March 1, 2004—Macromedia (Nasdaq: MACR) today announced that Macromedia will offer free Breeze web conferencing for the month of March. Starting on March 1, users in North America can sign up for free web conferencing via Breeze that will be available for the duration of the month. The account will allow a user to host free online meetings with up to five participants on the Macromedia hosted system. The offer is limited to the first 500 customers to sign up for an account. To sign up for a free account for the month of March, visit www.macromedia.com/go/meetfree.

Join me for a free presentation and online forum in March on online orientation

The University in Calgary here in Canada runs an ongoing best practices in e-learning series, with a few presentations every month. These are free to view and to participate in the discussion forums.

For the month of March, I am hosting one of the presentations, "Online Orientation: Trends, Blends and Design Strategies". I invite you to view the presentation and participate in the discussions:
http://elearn.ucalgary.ca/showcase/presentations_monthly/pres_westwood.html