Week 1: Blog 2

Am I left brained or right brained? That is a tough question. I feel like by claiming one, I am saying that I am not the other, and for me that just doesn't seem to be the case. I feel like I have tendencies toward both. Meyers Briggs, I believe- says I am a introvert, thinker, intuitive, perceiver. Ultimately, I feel like I am a creative individual- but I hesitate to make the claim for fear that I will be grouped into the "ilk" that is the whimsical, flighty, type who arrives 20 minutes late to every party and is of course notoriously bad at math. I think I am creative- BUT the stereotype stops there- I think through problems rationally, I'm not driven by emotion and I've NEVER shown up to ANY occasion wearing my paint-stained overalls because I am too much of a free spirit to abide by convention.

I've noticed that I must have some kind of creative outlet- and this varies at different times in my life. Some of my favorites have been scrap booking, writing, poetry, quilting. home improvement and my current hobby which has turned into a side-business (can you call it a business if you spend all of your earnings, plus some, on equipment??)- photography. If I don't utilize one of these outlets- I feel like I start to lose part of myself. I have this urge to create something.

The readings were interesting this week because all of the authors referenced or encouraged some form of journaling as a tool to enhance creativity (A WUP I suppose....yes- during one of our lunch breaks during our long-yet interesting- weekend adventure that was"Project Management," I bought the book online after you mentioned it in class)

So, here I am- journaling in it's latest form! (No, it has nothing to do with the fact that my grade happens to depend on it- please- give me a little credit!) Many of the world's geniuses- from inventors to artists to composers- have kept notebooks- some have even written thousands of pages. I think it's a really interesting common thread that seems to be woven amongst the very most creative. In my real life, well, let's just say time seems to be in short supply. Many things get bumped from my to-do list- and in reality- sometimes spending an evening watching Prison Break or Scrubs with my last spare hour- seems a more appropriate use of time.

The extent of my journaling is my letters I write to my daughter. Each month, from the day I found out I was carrying that little bean, I sit down and write her a letter, describing what fascinating things she is doing, how she makes me laugh, and I even try to impart some piece of wisdom. It just seems like being a parent is such an amazing blessing and I hate to think of all of those wonderfully simple moments being gone forever.





PS- There was one other thing that I read was worth mentioning because it related so well to my first blog. (you know- the bitter I'm sick of taking classes part??) One of the authors mentioned that some suma cum laude grad students were given their finals a second time a month after taking them for real- and they all failed! So, the basic equation here is: pay money, take classes, pay more money for outrageously expensive text books because you can't use the 8th edition (which sells for $3 at Amazon) because only the 9th edition is capable of teaching you these amazing concepts (it happens to sell for the low, low price of $96.50 at Amazon), read the book, memorize the problems in the book, cram for test, get degree. I think that sums it up. BUT, the real kicker is that the learning doesn't really seem to be a critical part of the equation. (in most classes- of course some profs "drop-kick" this system for which students are eternally grateful for a new LEARNING opportunity!) If I teach some day, I wonder if I will be creative enough to buck the "spoon-feed-the-facts-and-figures" system??? The only spoon feeding I hope to be doing involves a jar of undistinguishable fruit sludge.

PSS- It used to annoy me when parents would share pictures of their kids to unsuspecting parties. Like, "oh, my kid is so wonderful- you simply must look at them!" Hmmmm.... funny how things change when you become one of them!

First Blog

Welcome to my first blog! I signed up for this class because frankly- it was the only class in a long list that didn’t contain any of the following terms in the title: financial, strategic, corporate, flows, applications, accounting or process.

Basically, I have been swimming in a mass of classes that all seem to be teaching the same boring “MBA-type” stuff and I desperately needed a change of pace. I’m sure some of this stuff is important-really, but how many times can you get excited about doing yet another group research project- building a PowerPoint with lots of pretty colors and shapes, and droning on to a class of your peers about whatever gem of information you have to give.

Heading into my 3^rd and final year of the program- my excitement is waning a bit. It’s Iowa, it’s January- therefore twice a week, I hurry to the babysitter’s to bundle up my poor child, stuff her little Eskimo-like self into a car seat- drive home- hurriedly feed her, give her kisses and head back out into the night. Where, as it turns out- the sun has already gone down and the streets are complete slush. I’m cold, I’m tired, I’m hungry and I have to sit for the next 3 hours listening to a professor fill my head full of reasons I should care about running a top-down beta verses a regression (no offense to said professor- I’m sure it’s useful to somebody). When the suffering ends- I trudge to my car- relinquish yet another $1.50 parking “dot”- and spend the next 20 minutes waiting for the heater to kick in. 35 minutes later I am home.

Now here’s the kicker- I am not usually the negative, cynical, jaded, half if class empty type. I mean, OK, I get it. I’m so lucky, there are starving children in Africa that could only be so lucky to be complaining about their graduate classes and mini-van. But, I do see traces of that ugly monster under the aforementioned circumstances. So, I am looking for a class that will truly TEACH me some. Something that will bring back that excitement I felt when I decided I was going to…(insert heavenly rays shining down and cue the robed choir here) “COMPLETE MY MBA.” The word MBA used to almost seem kind of sacred- (in a totally non sac religious way of course). I want to remember why I felt that way. Learn something useful, like, how to see the world differently. Maybe how to work more effectively. Maybe….. even… if the stars align just right…. Learn how to become a better person in some way.

OK, this rant is actually applicable to my view of creativity. I believe creativity can be fragile. It needs to be nurtured and protected. Too many “Theory of this or that” textbooks have squelched my academic creativity. Too many things can squelch it in the workplace. I believe it’s a shame and a waste to let creativity slip away.