The cool thing about having one’s own blog is that it’s not a job. Nobody forces you to do it when you don’t feel up to it or like you have nothing to say – or when you get tied up with other things like I did yesterday. What I’ve struggled with, though, is something that vaguely reminds me of a big thing that contributed to my demise in my last semester at university: avoiding doing the thing because you’ve not been doing the thing and don’t really know how to get started again. My last semester was going to be my last semester no matter what – the college fund had run out two years early – so my level of commitment was low. So after missing a week of film class (looking back, how could I miss this?!?! It was a 3PM class, we learned about and often watched movies!), I was worried how it would feel to be noticed by the professor and possibly talked to about it.
I don’t feel like you all will say “Hey, why have you not been showing up to your commitment” but there is something about restarting after a long time of not doing something. So it’s really a matter of writing enough to feel it’s a thing I do but not feeling like I have to do it even when I work late or have a long training ride on the bike to do… ANYWAY – here’s today’s three good things:
In my life:
Many of you know I’ve been taking Hindi classes for a long time, first with someone in Toronto from about 2013 and then when they passed on, with someone actually in India. The weekend classes are long enough (2.5 hours each day) that my brain seems to fully switch languages. My thoughts are less in English and I’ve even tried to speak Hindi to family members accidentally. It reminds me of when Sage and I were with our Airbnb hosts in Delhi. They spoke only a little English so in addition to speaking with them, I translated for Sage as well. More than once they would want to ask her a question and I would just turn to her and repeat the question in Hindi. When I get into that state it doesn’t seem to distinguish between languages. I still have a long ways to go as my vocabulary is limited by what we end up talking about. So if a movie ends up being about something totally different – a documentary on factories, for example – I am lost. I’m also still quite lost in a movie when emotions get high and words come out loud, fast and smashed together. To be fair that can happen to me in English as well. Those are both something that will just require practice.
But there are some things I really love about speaking another language. Yes, there are definitely cognitive benefits to it. It’s also really great when traveling in Northern India – especially on my last trip when I cycled there. Being able to talk to anyone I met along the way, particularly in rural areas was so interesting. On the flip side it’s always fun to surprise someone by speaking Hindi. There are two common reactions. The first is to start off unsurprised as many people learn phrases in other languages. But when I keep going then they’re shocked and pleased. The funniest reaction though is when people don’t even realize I’m speaking Hindi. They hear the words, respond a few times in English and then look confused and say “Wait, you’re speaking Hindi!” Brains are fun that way.
Good in the world:
Hey – remember that charity auction I told you about to help folks in Minneapolis? Sage tried to bid on a few things, even setting an alarm for 11:30 PM last night so she could check and update her bids. The bad news is also the good news: Everything she was interested in was priced far beyond her range. The organizers of the auction, seeing how successful it was being early on raised their goal and even that was smashed. They raised a total of $216,298 for charity – 116.9% over their goal. You can see how the individual items did on their page here. Since Sage was already planning on making a donation for the auction anyway she went ahead and made the donation anyway – to a gofundme providing rent assistance to people who can’t pay theirs because they’re hiding in their homes. You can help that one out here.
Good you can do:
This one is something lots of people can do, and those who can don’t need money. There’s also usually free food and drink provided as well. Daegan and I are both going today to give blood. If you haven’t done it before, it’s a very simple process: after completing an eligibility questionnaire, they will check your temperature and iron levels. If all checks out you are taken to where a needle will be put in your arm (a little pinch when that happens) and then you sit, read, chat, watch a movie on your phone or whatever you like until the donation is done. My donation time is usually 5-8 minutes. You sit there for another minute to make sure you’re feeling good then go and have a snack and drink and once you’re sure you are feeling good (20-30 min) you are on your way. Easy peasy.
Canadians can find a location to give here. Americans can find a location here.
