Not sure if I mentioned it here, but I signed up to do a talk with a group in town called Ignite Fort Collins. They organize quarterly events where 14 people talk for 5 minutes on topics of their choice. The motto is "Enlighten us, but make it quick!" I volunteer for them, doing a bit of communication stuff, and think it's a great organization. I think I've been doing this for almost a year, so it was time to do a talk.
They'll put videos of the talks online, and I'll post it here when that happens. It talks a surprisingly long time to prepare for a five minute talk. I spoke about the human microbiome. The trillions of bacteria in us and on us that call us home. It was a good experience to speak in front of 200 people. I was nervous, but did my power poses, and doing them helped. The lights were such that I couldn't really see anyone, but they laughed at my jokes, so that was good.
Preparations for the talk took most of my evenings this week. Mr W had a band concert at school last night that I missed, but his dad took him, attended it and kept Mr W for the night. I took Mr W to his rehearsal the day before and heard the two pieces they played. They've improved since their first concert in December. I'm thinking of framing Mr W's percussion activity as something that he just does as part of school. As in, if he's liking it well enough, he'll do it through middle school.
And, it's Friday! I am going to make a big push to get rid of basement stuff this weekend. I've got bags of trash, boxes of recyclable paper, and bags of stuff to give to Goodwill that need to GO. With all that stuff out, I'll get a few more plastic boxes for the stuff that needs to be stored well, stack those puppies and get my finished room back. Yea!! I might not be able to resist getting an area rug and some new lights from Target, and then wait for good deals on a couple of chairs to go down there. We'll see.
Good for you! I find public speaking terrifying, although I am getting ever-so-slightly better at it. Not that I've done much of it recently. I'll be interested to see the video - the subject of human microbiomes is fascinating! That is a great group and a great idea.
ReplyDeleteIt amazes me how many little pieces there are to getting something like that to roll smoothly. It's been a good experience.
DeleteIgnite Fort Collins sounds like an extremely interesting organisation; it surprises me not at all that you're a part of it. Public speaking used to frighten me (okay, paralyse me) but then, many moons ago, I had to teach classes to large groups of men. Sink or swim!
ReplyDeleteYou've been assiduous about clearing out stuff; Jess will be moving out soon and with more room available I'll be doing the same thing.
J, there is a cathartic and therapeutic benefit of going through stuff, to be sure. It's been hard at times, though, almost like part of me knew this was coming and had to be done, and the other was clueless. Funny. Good luck with your clearing and sorting!
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