Brrrrrrrrrrrrr

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In Anticipation of Our Trip to Green Bay

Early this morning, I had a sneak preview of how I'll feel all weekend. I went swimming at the YMHA in Clifton and the water was a lovely 82 degrees Fahrenheit, but the air was so cold that I kept warm only when doing the breast-stroke. Free-style and back-stroke were so chilly for my arms and swimming faster didn't help all that much; it was so breezy today.

Green Bay, Wisconsin is not its most pleasant in terms of weather around this time of year, but it's Pat's mom's birthday and we missed going there for Thanksgiving this year, since we were in Bangalore, and so we're going now. Bangalore had the world's nicest weather during the six months we were there.

Ugh, am I hitting some bottom with my blog entries, since now, I'm writing about the weather? Maybe. I've felt guilty lately that I've been less active out here, but then I recall the alternate writing activity I've been up to.

Over the past couple of weeks, I wrote my life story, i.e., what I've learned, for my life history and leadership course. The assignment was to write 10-12 pages, single-spaced.

Too Much or Too Little

I told friends about the assignment at a party last weekend. One asked, "Is the page-length too much or too little?"

"Both." I had written about 75 percent by then, but had trouble imagining completing the other 25 percent. Now that it's done, I feel like it's not at all as significant as I wanted it to be. I keep asking myself, What did the exercise teach me?

I've been writing about my life for years, and so I'm not sure that it was as revelatory as it was for a number of my classmates, probably. What did strike me was how my writing was a major theme; the number of times I wrote about how I value getting to write did feel like the key to some insight.

On Monday night, I'm trading my paper with the eight classmates, and each of them will give me a copy of theirs. I do need to celebrate that just several weeks ago, I was feeling anxious about taking the course and now, I've done the pivotal assignment....I'm done early again -- told myself it was because I won't have time to devote to it while in Green Bay -- so it might be sub-optimal, like my previous paper for a different professor, but I'm compelled to stop.

I wonder what my classmates will say about my paper. I wonder if my life history will be more interesting through their eyes.