2008

2008

Springfield, PA and

Carpenter’s Point, MD

My age: 52-53

Work-  Springfield School District, Springfield, PA

• I took a sabbatical leave as a public school administrator for the 2007/08 school year. I engaged in a variety of educational activities and but mostly I traveled. My intent for this leave was to see how I would occupy my time when I retire.  I had plans to retire in 2010 and this year forced me to work on how to find meaningful opportunities on my own. 
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• When I returned to work in July, I was the District Director of Students. This job was not as interesting as being a high school principal but I was tired of that job.  It wore me out.

Music

• I don't know any music anymore.  I used to listen to music for hours at a time.  But once I moved away from albums and CDs, I stopped playing music.  I listen to it in the car.  Mostly I listen to WXNP, an independent  Philly station that plays singer/songwriters who are well known and unknown.
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• My new vehicle does not have a cassette player.  So my acquisition of cassettes stops abruptly and I begin to get rid of the hundreds I have scattered all over my car trunk and house.  It is the end of an era for me.
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• I am slowly beginning to get rid of my CDs.  I went to a family reunion and gave everyone a CD of Irish music.  Everyone thought I was being so generous and kind.  But really, I was just trying to unload my burden of over consumption.

Movies- I love to go to the movies

• ·      Slumdog Millionaire- I LOVED THIS MOVIE and so did everyone else because the audience erupted in applause when the movie ended. I love movies about India and I love this actor. The movie was harsh but the Bally dancing at the end of the movie lightened my mood.
• ·      Milk- I never understood the campaign to “out” gay people until I heard Harvey Milk explain the need to let family members know that there are gays in every family.
• ·      The Visitor- I could relate to the main character: a middle-aged person in a rut.

Books:

• Rare Bird
• Shackleton's Boat Journey- 
• Desert Sojourn- a quiet read.
• American Shaolin- I have been to China twice since reading this book and have attempted to visit this monastery.  I am determined to see these monks.
• A Walk In The Woods- I love this book and I prefer to listen to this story rather than read it.
• Last Orders
• The Joy Luck Club- I've read and reread everything Amy Tan writes.
• Kitchen God's Wife-Amy Tan.
• The Endurance- another Shackleton book.  My recent trip to Antarctica is dictating my reading list.
• The Lost Men- I love stories about Ernest Shackleton's journeys.
• Blue Latitudes- an interesting story about Captain Cook.
• The Mutiny- I didn't realize this was a true story.
• I Feel Bad About My Neck- I had the opportunity to see Nora Ephorn weeks before she died and I missed the opportunity. I'm still mad about this.
• Notes on a Small Island- Bill Bryson- he is a great story teller.  I listen to his books rather than read them. And I wish he didn't narrate so many of his books.  He has an annoying voice.
• 12,000 Miles in the Nick of Time- Mark Jackson
• Saving Fish From Drowning- Amy Tan
• My Invented Country
• We Are the Ones We Have Benn Waiting For- Alice Walker- she is one of my favorite authors.
• Dark Wind- Gordon Chaplin
• Empress Orchid- Ache Min
• Snowbelly- Gordon
• I Lived in a Small Cabin In  The Yard
• Mohammad- Karen Armstrong- I don't understand this religion.
• A Zoo in My Luggage- Gerald Durrell- This author is quirky and I want to go to his zoo in Jersey.
• Morocco Rough Guide- I went to Morocco in July.
• What Am I Doing Here- Bruce Chatwin
• The White house Mess- Christopher Buckley
• On The Ice- Grethcehn Leghar- "Restoration of the self requires a strange combination of effort and non effort; fierce will and acceptance."
• All Fishermen Are Liars- Linda Greenlaw- I've read two other books of hers and they are all interesting.
• A Life on the Edge- Jim Whitaker- this was a good read.  There are lots of interesting people in this world of ours.- "I am a bit suspicious of comfort... I believe the key to a life well lived is discomfort. To my way of thinking, discomfort- the discomfort of stretching yourself beyond what you already know or know how to do, of struggling with adversity in what creates the pearls in a well-lived life, just as it takes an irritant like a bit of sand inside an oyster shell to produce a real pearl."
• In Harm's Way
• Tae Te Ching- Lao Tsu- a classic.
• Eat, Pray, Love- Liz Gilbert- I loved this book and I loved the movie but I loved the book more.
• The Death of Ivan Illachard- Tolvisky- a classic and a first read for me.
• Dark Shadows Falling- Joe Simpson
• The River of Doubt- Candice Miller- Roosevelt was an interesting character.
• A Cook's Tour- a good read.
• The Edgier Obsession- John Darlin- yet another book about another kook who climbs mountains and lives dangerously.
• Birds of a Feather- Scott Weinensaul- I love to read about birdsong birders.
• A Year in the World- Francis Mayo
• Sons of Heaven- Terrence Ching

Travels- I traveled to six continents during the course of my sabbatical (2007-08):

• ·      South Korea- Asia- my niece was teaching in Korea and I went to visit her. 
• ·      Antarctica, 
• ·      Morocco- Africa, 
• ·      Argentina- South America,
• ·      Poland- Europe, 
• ·      Czech Republic- Europe, 
• ·      Canada- North America

News events- Obama became our first black president.  I never thought I would see that day.  This was long overdue. In the primary race, he ran against Hillary Clinton which was also historical as she was the one of few viable female candidates ever to run for this office.

Family and Friends

• I became a great aunt for the first time.  There are now two generations behind me.  When I was born, there were three generations in front of me.
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• I attended my 35th high school reunion. How did those years pass by so damn quickly. Only six of the 45 of us showed up.  The turn out was disappointing.
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• My Kelly family had a cousins' reunion. About 30 of us showed up and it was fun to be with them.
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• I joined FACEBOOK.  I fought this move as I thought I was too old for this New Age Social Media Gimmick.

• I spend my weekends @ Carpenter's Point (MD) where I kayak, swim in the warm water and drink beer on the beach.  It's a little slice of heaven for me. I have lots of guests on the weekends in the summer.
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• I bought a blue Honda Element.  My intention was to remove the back seats and make this into a camper so I could travel around the country.  I never did that but I did get close to 250,000 miles on this car.