Today is a special day for Chemistry teachers and their students. I first heard about Mole Day from my favorite chemistry teacher, Wayne. He has created an entire program at the high school where he teaches to get the kids interested in chemistry. They do skits and play music and he ably plays the accordion. They eat food and have fun. I was lucky enough to be a small part of it this year.
Mole Day is a holiday celebrated among chemists in North America on October 23rd, between 6:00 AM and 6:00 PM, making the date 6:02 10/23 in the American style of writing dates. The time and date are derived from the Avogrado constant, which is approximately 6.023×1023, defining the number of particles (atoms or molecules) in a mole, one of the seven base SI units.
Mole Day originated in an article in The Science Teacher in the early 1980s. Inspired by this article, Maurice Oehler, now a retired high school chemistry teacher from Wisconsin, founded the National Mole Day Foundation (NMDF) on May15th 1991. Many high schools around the United States and in Canada celebrate Mole Day as a way to get their students interested in chemistry, with various activities often related to chemistry or moles.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
Men
Why are men so hard to be in a relationship with? I don't believe in any of that men are from mars, women are from venus crap but I have come to realize that my experience with men is one rife with frustration and sadness. Now understand that I do not mean my sons. I love my sons, they are 2 of the most honest and open men I have ever met. We have a great relationship and I respect them .
I am referring to my romantic relationships over the years. I love men, I do. The problem is that I don't really understand them. I have a relationship that was going along great for 10 years and all I needed was for this man to hold up his share of responsibility by keeping a job but during the course of the 10 years he lost job after job by getting fired. He is a smart man, too smart to keep getting fired so I had to ask myself why? What is his issue that causes him not to have a strong work ethic. Then I realised that no matter how much I thought about it or analyzed it, I could not solve it for him. He has to solve it for himself.
Another man that I loved could not commit to dating just me. I know he loved me. I could tell by all of his words and actions that that was true. I want monogamy. That is the only way I can trust and be open to love. I don't need marriage or commitment after a few months but after a certain period of time I want to be the only woman that he is sleeping with. My sister died of AIDS. I watched it happen. I know it exists in heterosexual relationships. It is a fact of life that a lot of people choose to pretend will never happen to them. The fact that there was another woman in the picture in this relationship did not allow me to be myself. I like to relax into a relationship, not feel like I am competing with some unknown.
I like nice men. I like a man to occasionally bring me flowers and to love me openly. I don't like games, don't play them myself and don't want to be in a relationship with those who do. I liked bad boys when I was young and immature but not anymore. I think most mature women like kind men. I asked a bunch of my girlfriends recently that very question and they all said yes, a man who you know loves you, who isn't afraid to show it that is the greatest apphrodisiac of all.
I am still hopeful that I will find happiness with one man. I love men, I do. I just don't understand them but I am not going to stop trying.
I am referring to my romantic relationships over the years. I love men, I do. The problem is that I don't really understand them. I have a relationship that was going along great for 10 years and all I needed was for this man to hold up his share of responsibility by keeping a job but during the course of the 10 years he lost job after job by getting fired. He is a smart man, too smart to keep getting fired so I had to ask myself why? What is his issue that causes him not to have a strong work ethic. Then I realised that no matter how much I thought about it or analyzed it, I could not solve it for him. He has to solve it for himself.
Another man that I loved could not commit to dating just me. I know he loved me. I could tell by all of his words and actions that that was true. I want monogamy. That is the only way I can trust and be open to love. I don't need marriage or commitment after a few months but after a certain period of time I want to be the only woman that he is sleeping with. My sister died of AIDS. I watched it happen. I know it exists in heterosexual relationships. It is a fact of life that a lot of people choose to pretend will never happen to them. The fact that there was another woman in the picture in this relationship did not allow me to be myself. I like to relax into a relationship, not feel like I am competing with some unknown.
I like nice men. I like a man to occasionally bring me flowers and to love me openly. I don't like games, don't play them myself and don't want to be in a relationship with those who do. I liked bad boys when I was young and immature but not anymore. I think most mature women like kind men. I asked a bunch of my girlfriends recently that very question and they all said yes, a man who you know loves you, who isn't afraid to show it that is the greatest apphrodisiac of all.
I am still hopeful that I will find happiness with one man. I love men, I do. I just don't understand them but I am not going to stop trying.
Today's Questions and Answers With Lee Ann
In an effort to answer the many questions from my loving friends and family about my crazy life I decided to interview myself. Well it was either that or take up needle point to keep myself occupied.
1. What gives with the Jamba Juice job?I am waiting on an offer. Apparently the agency is asking for so much money that I may not get one. I am cautiously optimistic.
2. Why did your parents name you after your uncle?I assume laziness and a wicked sense of humor came into play. Though Ann is a strange name for a boy I admit.
3. Why are you so short and your arms so stubby?God apparently has a wicked sense of humor too. Perhaps that is why he made my parents.
4. Why are you playing a male pirate in "Pirates of Penzance"?I am deeply in touch with my masculine side apparently. see question 2.
1. What gives with the Jamba Juice job?I am waiting on an offer. Apparently the agency is asking for so much money that I may not get one. I am cautiously optimistic.
2. Why did your parents name you after your uncle?I assume laziness and a wicked sense of humor came into play. Though Ann is a strange name for a boy I admit.
3. Why are you so short and your arms so stubby?God apparently has a wicked sense of humor too. Perhaps that is why he made my parents.
4. Why are you playing a male pirate in "Pirates of Penzance"?I am deeply in touch with my masculine side apparently. see question 2.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Creative People
Today I read a fascinating article on line about creative people. here are some excerpts that I found really interesting.
"Of all human activities, creativity comes closest to providing the fulfillment we all hope to get in our lives. Call it full-blast living.
Creativity is a central source of meaning in our lives. Most of the things that are interesting, important, and human are the result of creativity. What makes us different from apes--our language, values, artistic expression, scientific understanding, and technology--is the result of individual ingenuity that was recognized, rewarded, and transmitted through learning.
When we're creative, we feel we are living more fully than during the rest of life. The excitement of the artist at the easel or the scientist in the lab comes dose to the ideal fulfillment we all hope to get from life, and so rarely do. Perhaps only sex, sports, music, and religious ecstasy--even when these experiences remain fleeting and leave no trace--provide a profound sense of being part of an entity greater than ourselves. But creativity also leaves an outcome that adds to the richness and complexity of the future.
Creative people have a great deal of physical energy, but they're also often quiet and at rest. They work long hours, with great concentration, while projecting an aura of freshness and enthusiasm. This suggests a superior physical endowment, a genetic advantage. Yet it is surprising how often individuals who in their seventies and eighties exude energy and health remember childhoods plagued by illness. It seems that their energy is internally generated, due more to their focused minds than to the superiority of their genes.
This does not mean that creative people are hyperactive, always "on." In fact, they rest often and sleep a lot. The important thing is that they control their energy; it's not ruled by the calendar, the dock, an external schedule. When necessary, they can focus it like a laser beam; when not, creative types immediately recharge their batteries. They consider the rhythm of activity followed by idleness or reflection very important for the success of their work. This is not a bio-rhythm inherited with their genes; it was learned by trial and error as a strategy for achieving their goals.
One manifestation of energy is sexuality. Creative people are paradoxical in this respect also. They seem to have quite a strong dose of eros, or generalized libidinal energy, which some express directly into sexuality. At the same time, a certain spartan celibacy is also a part of their makeup; continence tends to accompany superior achievement. Without eros, it would be difficult to take life on with vigor; without restraint, the energy could easily dissipate.
Creative people trend to be both extroverted and introverted. We're usually one or the other, either preferring to be in the thick of crowds or sitting on the sidelines and observing the passing show. In fact, in current psychological research, extroversion and introversion are considered the most stable personality traits that differentiate people from each other and that can be reliably measured. Creative individuals, on the other hand, seem to exhibit both traits simultaneously. "
"Of all human activities, creativity comes closest to providing the fulfillment we all hope to get in our lives. Call it full-blast living.
Creativity is a central source of meaning in our lives. Most of the things that are interesting, important, and human are the result of creativity. What makes us different from apes--our language, values, artistic expression, scientific understanding, and technology--is the result of individual ingenuity that was recognized, rewarded, and transmitted through learning.
When we're creative, we feel we are living more fully than during the rest of life. The excitement of the artist at the easel or the scientist in the lab comes dose to the ideal fulfillment we all hope to get from life, and so rarely do. Perhaps only sex, sports, music, and religious ecstasy--even when these experiences remain fleeting and leave no trace--provide a profound sense of being part of an entity greater than ourselves. But creativity also leaves an outcome that adds to the richness and complexity of the future.
Creative people have a great deal of physical energy, but they're also often quiet and at rest. They work long hours, with great concentration, while projecting an aura of freshness and enthusiasm. This suggests a superior physical endowment, a genetic advantage. Yet it is surprising how often individuals who in their seventies and eighties exude energy and health remember childhoods plagued by illness. It seems that their energy is internally generated, due more to their focused minds than to the superiority of their genes.
This does not mean that creative people are hyperactive, always "on." In fact, they rest often and sleep a lot. The important thing is that they control their energy; it's not ruled by the calendar, the dock, an external schedule. When necessary, they can focus it like a laser beam; when not, creative types immediately recharge their batteries. They consider the rhythm of activity followed by idleness or reflection very important for the success of their work. This is not a bio-rhythm inherited with their genes; it was learned by trial and error as a strategy for achieving their goals.
One manifestation of energy is sexuality. Creative people are paradoxical in this respect also. They seem to have quite a strong dose of eros, or generalized libidinal energy, which some express directly into sexuality. At the same time, a certain spartan celibacy is also a part of their makeup; continence tends to accompany superior achievement. Without eros, it would be difficult to take life on with vigor; without restraint, the energy could easily dissipate.
Creative people trend to be both extroverted and introverted. We're usually one or the other, either preferring to be in the thick of crowds or sitting on the sidelines and observing the passing show. In fact, in current psychological research, extroversion and introversion are considered the most stable personality traits that differentiate people from each other and that can be reliably measured. Creative individuals, on the other hand, seem to exhibit both traits simultaneously. "
Love
I love a man so clearly and I see him for who he is. Not for who I would want him to be though I certainly could come up with some changes. Aren't we all geared that way? Please call more, come home when you say you are. Trust me, love me like no other. I choose for the first time in our relationship to stand back and possibly let him go. I don't want to.
For I am not the familar one. I am the new one. The untried, the strange. I have not manipulated him with silence when he wanted contact or words when he wanted solitude. I have been myself. The cardinal sin that I have committed is being whole and close and loving. Yet I sense I am not enough. He will not let me be enough.
He cannot trust my love. My love is open and warm. Affectionate and living. Close. I will be in his presence at his request and ask only for the joy of being with him. I do not need hotels or trips to see him. I am excited to come to him. Will this last forever, I hope so. Someday I may want more. But for now the joy of being is enough.
I do want his loyalty. I do because what is a relationship with lies between you. True love springs from true trust. To be vulnerable with anyone whether soulfully or in the flesh is to express our most childlike selves.
I deserve his love, he deserves mine but the pain of intimacy and the sirens call of familiarity may be too much. I hope not. I truly love him, I do.
For I am not the familar one. I am the new one. The untried, the strange. I have not manipulated him with silence when he wanted contact or words when he wanted solitude. I have been myself. The cardinal sin that I have committed is being whole and close and loving. Yet I sense I am not enough. He will not let me be enough.
He cannot trust my love. My love is open and warm. Affectionate and living. Close. I will be in his presence at his request and ask only for the joy of being with him. I do not need hotels or trips to see him. I am excited to come to him. Will this last forever, I hope so. Someday I may want more. But for now the joy of being is enough.
I do want his loyalty. I do because what is a relationship with lies between you. True love springs from true trust. To be vulnerable with anyone whether soulfully or in the flesh is to express our most childlike selves.
I deserve his love, he deserves mine but the pain of intimacy and the sirens call of familiarity may be too much. I hope not. I truly love him, I do.
Friday, September 19, 2008
First Blog
I have been wanting to write a blog for a long time. I have a lot of talented friends who are writers and many of them have been saying I should do this for a long time. Where to begin. I should start out by telling you a little about myself. I am a woman who works in the computer industry. A wierd and wonderful place where you get to work with some amazing people and some who are not so amazing. Tech geeks tend to be emotionally backwards. They love computers but people trip them up. They would rather sit in a room with machines than be forced to interact with humans. And of course my fellow employees are usually men. So you can see where communication, not to mention that old glass ceiling, could be problematic.
I love what I do though. I love the mystery of it. Fixing a computer is like solving a puzzle, a lot of the time you will know the answer right off the bat. Then there are those times when you get to really explore and search for a solution. Those are my favorite times. I also love people. I like talking to them, being with them and relating with them. So you can see that I am not your usual Techie.
I love what I do though. I love the mystery of it. Fixing a computer is like solving a puzzle, a lot of the time you will know the answer right off the bat. Then there are those times when you get to really explore and search for a solution. Those are my favorite times. I also love people. I like talking to them, being with them and relating with them. So you can see that I am not your usual Techie.
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