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WritingSession2006

During the writing session led by NaomiKarten and JohannaRothman, we did several writing exercises. This page is one place for the participants to enter their writings.

I will try to enter the exercises as well so that others who did not attend the session can do the exercise and then enter their writings.

DwaynePhillips 11-8-2006

During the session I suggested we form a "writing support group" - somewhere for constructive criticism and support. Someone (who was it?) suggested a Google or a Yahoo Group: here it is; it's a private group but everyone's welcome.

PaulWilson 2006-11-12

Exercise 1

We wrote ten words on the flip chart:

• serendipity
  
  
• goddess
  
  
• carefree
  
  
• sculpt
  
  
• restful
  
  
• toes
  
  
• ground
  
  
• verbosity
  
  
• excruciating
  
  
• ten

5 minutes - write something using the word "carefree" and three more words from the list.

I like carefree writing exercises. This exercise is half-of-ten-minutes long. Perhaps I should try to write something grand or monumental. Such would be excruciating on such a beautiful, crisp morn. I am loving this session. I find it restful. Already, the serendipity of the participants of the participants has filled my heart.

DwaynePhillips 11-8-2006

What a wonderful, carefree feeling we get once we've finished an excruciating task! It seems so simple at first; yet once we start, the grand struggle intensifies two, three, ten times. But, oh how joyful, how restful, how free we feel once the struggle is over.

EdmundSchweppe 2006.11.08

Serendipity, the Goddess of Verbosity, was having a carefree afternoon walking through the sculpture park. You could hear her gabbling from miles around; her topic today was the beautiful way her toes had been portrayed by Taciturn the sculptor. Taciturn nodded in a meaningful way. On Tuesdays she often ran out of thunder-bolts; the sky was restful.

PaulWilson 2006-11-12

Following an excruciating week of grand verbosity, Sam, overcome by a burst of serendipity, decided to take a restful trip to the beach via Carefree Highway to try to rediscover his ten toes as he strolled barefoot down the beach per chance he would bump into a grand goddess or at least sculpt one.

DaveHorecny 11/13/2006

I feel restful in the presence you bring to my life, thankful that we came together at such a wonderful place and when I was with you, as carefree as a child. Strength, tenacity, gentleness, wisdom, drive, playfulness, tenderness, you. Ten weeks, ten days, ten minutes, ten seconds seems excruciating without you here, without me there. Without “us”. The ground upon which I walk seems less steady beneath my toes. I was expecting many different things from this trip to the desert but never this sort of serendipitous bonus. I never expected to ever meet someone like you. But there you were, just like me, wondering what to expect – never realizing that at that very moment in time, our lives would be forever changed.

MarjieCarmen 12/08/2006

Exercise 2

15 minutes - write about something that is important to you.

Something That is Important to Me - My Sons

by DwaynePhillips

I value my sons. Each has a place in my life. Their places are different, but they are equally important to me.

Seth had a job this past summer. I had to deal with too much "conflict of interest" business about that job. Once that was done, I was so proud. Seth was working with colleagues of mine. He was working in the same industry that I have worked for 26 years. I felt new emotions; I had new sensation from what was happening. Because of the conflict of interest, I could ask too much or too often of his progress. I was delighted on the few occasions when Joe T. would come to me and say how well Seth was doing. The same feeling came when larry W. out of the blue told me about Seth.

Adam - the youngest - is a senior in high school this year. He is consumed with music. That reminds me so much of my own high school senior year. He brings his friends to the house on Saturdays and they play music. What has inspired him to do this? Why does he create bands? How does he know so many different kids?

Most of all - Adam reminds me of my father. I had to write an essay recently about Adam for some college or school thing. I wrote about my dad and wrote that to know what will become of Adam is to know something of my dad. I believe Adam will be the epitome of my dad.

Finally there is Nathan - the second son. I am have never written of Nathan before. Nathan is my favorite son, and I have told him and his brothers this. I pray that I have told them this is the right way. Nathan is the second son of a second son (me) of a second son (my dad). Perhaps I put too much into this second-son thing.

So what do I write about Nathan? Like I tell my wife, Nathan is a talented guy. I see him do things that amaze me. He would run up and down the soccer field for 90 minutes when he was not in shape. How can someone who has not exercised all summer be faint in five minutes, but still keep running for another 85? Normal people cannot do that. Natahn taught himself to play guitar. He plays in his "band" with his friends once or twice a week. Organization skills, social skills, musical skills; how and why?

Nathan rides a skateboard. Society often derides "skaters." That is pronounced "skaterzzzzzz" with the "z" sound grating and grinding, making the sound of the trucks scraping a metal pipe that us mortals use as a handrail. For the skater, that pipe is a device that allows them to defy gravity and be one millimeter from disaster. Side tip for parents: Never watch your children skateboard. Skateboarding requires balance, skill, and courage that I never had. My wife didn't have any of these either. Where did Nathan get those things?

Perhaps this is a major reason why I value my sons. They come from me, but they are not me and they are not my wife. .... OUT OF TIME

DwaynePhillips 11-8-2006

UNMADE DECISIONS

The project must be completed in 30 days. It is an absolute deadline. If it isn’t complete we’ll be in trouble. We’ll have to explain to the president. If it isn’t complete the world will fall off its axis. The sun will stop shining. We will surely die.

Day One – twenty people gather in a room and come up with an approach to creating the software. It is an agonizing meeting with much negotiation and many tradeoffs, but eventually we have a plan.

People leave the meeting and begin talking with others who have talked with others who have talked with others…

What’s that in my inbox? Someone is questioning the plan? They would like a week to reconsider the plan? They don’t agree with the approach. But the clock is ticking. The rotation of the earth is slowing down. The clouds are rolling in.

We get everyone together again. We take another run at it. We make the decision again.

And now there are 20 days.

It was a bump in the road. We lost some time. But we’ll make it happen. We have a decision.

The momentum builds; code is written; tests are running – it’s looking good!

The well-tanned executive returns. He hears the plan. He has ideas for changes. The rain begins to pour.

And now time is out. Why couldn’t you do it? You had 30 days!

DaveHorecny 11/13/2006

That's a strong statement. And I have empricial data to back it up. It's hard for software people to estimate their time to complete a task. And, as soon as a senior manager insists that the technical staff multitask, the estimate is wrong. Not by 10, 20, or 3v3n 30%, but more like 100, 200 or 300%. It's common--at least iat my clients, for a 3-month project to take 9 or 10 months--that's a 200% overage on estimates (note to self ask for help with math).

So why do senior managers or even unseasones managers ask people to multitask? Because they do. Because they don't know or can't decide on project priority. Because they don't know the cost of multitasking.

Why does mulktitasking cost so much?

There are three parts to mutitasking:

1. stopping the work you're doing.
2. swapping out what you're working on
3. swapping in the new task.

Each has a different cost. The stopping cost is the time it takes to mark your place, save your work, etc. If you're reading a book, it's the time it takes to put a bookmakr in the book.

The swapping out is the act of clearning your mind of the work you'd been do ing so you have room to swap in the new work. If you were in flow or concentrating deeply, this can take nywhere from 5 minutes to 30 minutes.

The swapping in depends on the complexity of the work and how long it's been since you last touched the task. The more complex and the longer the time since you last touched the task, the longer it takes.

End of time -- JohannaRothman 2006.11.14

Are You Living Your Highest Goal?

Are you living your Highest Goal? I sincerely believe that all human beings are born with some innate abilities that contribute to a better world. To live our lives from these innate abilities is to live from what drives you and your inner essence. It is to live from your highest goal.

At some point in our lives we have had some sense of our highest goal. We may have noticed it, felt it or even pondered about it. Some fortunate ones may already have realized what it is and are living a life that is completely fulfilling. For the others, there still is hope.

You must begin by understanding yourself completely. Pause to reflect on the moments that gave you joy, past and present, activities that lead to this joy, that continue to give us pleasure. Tune into yourself to seek out these experiences that made you happy. Distill these experiences and events into phrases or words that you feel best represent them. Identify the things that you love to do and how your essence makes them meaningful for you. Adopt these as your strengths and focus on them.

As you dive deeper and deeper into this and keep doing what you love to do, your purpose becomes clearer. The Highest Goal is not just a target to be reached, but a way of life. As your purpose becomes clearer and you continue on this path, you will live your life from your Highest Goal.

So, are you living your Highest Goal?

Jitendra (Jitu) Mudhol, AYE Conference 2006

(This is so much fun, w should definitely do some kind of BOF on writing in 2008. Or maybe we'll just post a WritingChallenge board somewhere, with a new challenge every day and a debrief every evening in the free bar.)