First Week of Class (as a student again)

It was a busy and eventful week. I learned about my personality color, group dynamics and teambuilding. Very warm, fuzzy stuff, but sort of fun. I look at this like a support group, and that’s partly what it is. I will also learn more computer skills with Office, which should prove useful. It is kind of strange for me to be a student in this class, since I was recently teaching adults myself. The other students are interesting and I’m making some new friends. My homework is to take a couple of career interest assessments. I took one today and was having a little trouble over-analyzing my answers. They ask basically the same few questions 20 different ways with just slightly different wording. “Well, I thought I meant it when I chose the answer last time.” The biggest tensions were between practical or aesthetic and leadership/setting my own course or following others. I like to have it both ways. I want to include both aesthetic and practical values in my work, hopefully an equal amount of each. I don’t want to have to order people about and be the only leader, but I want room to control my own work and be involved in decisions. It is very clear that I want to work with people and like enjoy working in a collaborative, somewhat relaxed environment. I have known that all along. Those have been my best work experiences. We’ll see if the results come back weird. It has been a good, busy weekend. I went to the Western Washington State Fair, which opened yesterday. Highlights were the draft horse exhibition and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. I resisted the urge to buy things from the commercial vendors. There was some pretty silver jewelry, but I was strong. I learned about a rare breed of sheep, the only spotted one, as I walked through the barns. They are called Jacob Sheep, after the Biblical patriarch who watched Laban's flocks and bred his own herd of spotted sheep. See the website at Bide a Wee Farm.

Sunday Afternoon Matinee

I saw The Constant Gardener this afternoon with my father and brother-in-law. Based on the John Le Carre novel, it definitely has a political message and agenda. That said, the message never overtook the story in the way that sometimes happens, turning a well-intentioned film into a preachy bore. Equal parts nail-biting thriller and unconventional love story, I found myself mesmerized. The cast is wonderful! Well, I have admired Ralph Feinnes since Schindler's List, so I'm not objective about him. Rachel Weisz was fantastic in a brave and dynamic role. There were excellent veteran character actors in supporting roles, and I'd list some names, but they are more recognizable by face. Go to the IMDB if you really must know who they are.

I also finally checked out Technorati to find out what it was. I wish I had gone there earlier. It's a great way to search through the blogosphere for the latest posts on whatever topics you are interested in. You can also put tags on your entries and have your entries searchable in their topical database.

Technorati tags: Movies, cinema