This month’s feature articles:

Regular monthly features:

Understanding Why Gifted Children Get Bored
(source unknown)

Gifted people can become bored easily in settings that average people find tolerable (like school or work). Imagine going into a learning situation where after a few sentences you could figure out what the whole lesson is going to be about. Imagine having to go through all the information you already know and fully understand at a pace that is designed for the average student in a class. Imagine that you are still expected to sit patiently, listen and participate in something that you consider way below your level of capability and understanding. Worst of all, others in the class don’t get it and slow things down as they ask questions and puzzle over what you consider simple.

This kind of boredom can lead to restlessness and irritability. It can lead to all sorts of other problems: daydreaming, tuning out, poor handwriting, errors in simple work, lowered motivation, disorganization and sloppy work.

Signs that a gifted child may be bored:

A surprisingly large number of people don’t know about Windows Explorer – not Internet Explorer. When activated, it gives a complete overview of what is in your computer – all directories, sub-directories, documents, programs, software and computer related files. It is the place where you can move files and directories, shuffle things around and rearrange things.

How to access it? Start by clearing all programs and having just the Desktop exposed. Click "Start", click "All Programs", click "Accessories". Find "Windows Explorer" and make it blue by hovering the cursor over it. Hold down the "Control" key and the left mouse button at the same time and drag "Windows Explorer" to the desktop with the mouse and then release both buttons. An icon should appear that allows access at any time.

Open Windows Explorer. Highlight a file and keep the cursor on it. While holding down a "Shift" button and the left mouse button, drag the file to other locations to the left or right of the vertical bar line. The target directory will turn blue to indicate you can drop the file. Rearranging directories and sub-directories is done between the right and left columns. The left column shows only yellow directories. The right column shows yellow directories and also individual files and documents. Dragging can be done in both directions but the easiest is from right to left or sometimes just above or below to other directories.

This is a major time and labour-saving window. Keep it open all day and open files from it at any time. No more going to a word processing program or spreadsheet first. Open documents directly from the Explorer. HINT: Label all yellow directories in capital letters to make them stand out from documents.

Jan 7 – Orthodox Xmas

Jan 11 – Sir John A. MacDonald’s birthday (first Canadian Prime Minister - 1867)

Jan 21 – Islamic Eid al-Adha Celebration

Jan 25 – Full Moon tonight

Jan 25 – Robbie Burns Day (Scotland)

This is also Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, March of Dimes Month

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• the world’s largest cookie bag at Loblaws Wonderland Market in London, Ontario, held 100,152 cookies. The record was set Sept. 6-7,2001.
• The first flight of a hot air balloon in Versailles, France on Sept. 19, 1783 involved three passengers: a duck, a rooster and a sheep.
• Rollovers cause about one third of the approximately 43,000 highway deaths in the USA. Rollovers, however, represent only 3% of all crashes. SUV’s typically score in the 20-30% chance range. In 2004, the Ford Explorer Sport Trac 2WD was assessed a 34% chance of rollover. Passenger vehicles – cars and vans - have the lowest chance (8-12%)
• Holland does not have garbage dumps. Land is too precious to use it for that purpose. Recycling is a very big issue.
• In one light year, light travels 9.5 trillion kilometers at a speed of about 300,000 km per second.
• In the 2004 baseball season, Jason Bay, of Trail, British Columbia and a player for the Pittsburgh Pirates, became the first Canadian to ever win the National League rookie of the year award.
• "Like a Rolling Stone" by Bob Dylan was selected in December, 2004, as the best rock and roll song of all time.

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Important and very busy people often don’t have the time or inclination to do a lot of the work, chores and errands that they would like to do. Thus the need for a personal concierge.

As a personal concierge, you might be involved with as many as 20 trades people each year. You will be assisting clients through your involvement in finding people to do their repairs, redecorating, renovating, installation of electronic equipment, laundry services and more. You might run errands, get a car licence renewed, find a chef for a party, offer to cook meals on a meal service plan, or do many of the things that busy people just don’t have the time to do.

The typical client that hires a personal concierge earns about $80,000, is an executive with little time to spare. The idea of the service is that it improves the quality and frees up leisure time for the clients.

Prices for services run from $40-$50 per hour and packages might start at 10 hours for $400.

If you are well organized, like to work with people and like to work with people, this might be just right for you. It is a constantly growing business for energetic people.

Photo journalism can be a very exciting area to work in. There are all kinds of opportunities for a photo journalist to find photos to sell: sports, news, war, festivals, special events, politics, weddings, etc. The object is to find candid moments that will make an impact by capturing the feeling, expression, tension, attitude or energy.
As to training, much of it will be a personal responsibility. Photography courses will give the basics of cameras, composition, lighting, angles, and the kind of shots to take. Instinct, awareness, courage, creativity and a good eye for opportunities will be most valuable. This takes practice. Start any time.
How busy would you be? At an average wedding, there are from 300-700 photos taken. Other events equally require that kind of dedication, sensitivity, and awareness.

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Interesting Reading

Clean Like a Man: Housekeeping for Men (and Women Who Love Them) by Tom McNulty. He dusts off old notions about cleaning and gives opinions on toilet-seat protocol and using baking soda.

      Top 10 Most Re-Read Books List
      J.R.R. Tolkien - The Lord of the Rings
      Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
      Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
      Shakespeare's collected works
      F. Scott Fitzgerald – The Great Gatsby
      Jane Austen - Pride and Prejudice
      J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter series
      Laura Ingalls Wilder - Little House on the Prairie series
      A.A. Milne - Winnie the Pooh
      Alice Walker - The Color Purple 

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Creating Your Own Personal Healing Rituals
(by O.S.)

You may be one of the many people whose life tends to be very busy and hectic. Winding down and healing may involve a nap, a drink, exercise/sport, a walk, shopping, or watching TV to take the mind off issues. These do work but there are other simple and meaningful rituals that can be set up to provide even greater healing.

There are different ways that we are regularly injured and hurt in the day from others and also by ourselves. There can be physical, mental and spiritual inner components that need healing. Some simple rituals may be helpful in bringing about a balance back into one’s life.

Healing through rituals - Develop and create a comfortable environment (quiet room, outside under a tree, on a park bench, in a car before turning on the engine, etc) where you can go through one or more of the rituals. Develop a personally meaningful physical position (hands in prayer, arms reaching out, eyes closed, hugging yourself, etc.) that is appropriate and naturally comfortable.

Boosting Self-confidence Ritual: "I’m special!" Perhaps on the bus, in your car on the way to work, or while walking to school, take yourself aside and say to yourself what you would say to a friend in need. Be your own best friend. Review your positive attributes and affirm yourself: "I am a good and worthwhile person and I deserve to do my best." Review your amazing gifts, skills, talents and abilities. Consciously be aware of the blessings in your life and how well off you are compared to other people. Perhaps at the end of a day, give yourself a physical and mental pat on the back for all your accomplishments. Give yourself a hug. Talk to yourself out loud. Develop a slogan or wise words that you can recite and live by each day. Pin some up so they are always visible.

Overcoming Suffering from Anger/Hatred Ritual: Each day, yell and scream as loud as you want in a place where nobody can hear you (in a car while driving, when home alone before others arrive, into a pillow, etc.). Turn your rage and anger into feeling sorry for who/whatever hurt you. Somebody/something didn’t have enough insight to realize they were going to hurt you. Assess what the message from the other was intended to do. Perhaps you do need to change something. A ritual might involve a pleasant scent or a chant to relieve anger/hatred. Fill your mind with loving, pleasant thoughts.

Countering Boredom Ritual: With billions of people around and endless things to do, how can anybody get bored? People often get bored when they stop thinking and instead wait for life to entertain them. Life is short and meant to be lived. As a ritual, you might want to learn one new thing each day – in areas that you have never explored before. It may be from the internet, talking to others, a bookstore, etc. Set up a special time when you will do this - lunch hour, before going to bed, when you first turn on a computer, just being alert each day, etc. Consciously acknowledge when your new learning happens. Pass it on to others, if desired. Say it out loud to yourself or to others when you learn it. Pretty soon you will marvel at the endless things to learn. Motivation to get more involved in life will increase tremendously. (Note: Writing this newsletter has taught me NOTHING is boring in the world!)

Grieving Ritual: People grieve for many reasons that involve a loss. It may be that you have had a particularly bad time and are feeling very sorry for a loss of a spouse, friend, job, pet, opportunity, career, or you might have had a generally bad day, confrontation, etc. We may also want to grieve more generally for the plight of others, the environment, pain and suffering in the world, sad situations we become aware of in the media, etc. It is important to open up and let the emotions out in whatever way they want. Each day there are things we can grieve for – big or small. Lighting a candle and saying special words to yourself or to the "other(s)" might be a way to do this. Let things pass naturally and be more involved in the present.

Mental Balancing Ritual: We get good and bad things thrust at us each day as a fact of life. A good way to have a mental balance at the end of the day is to look for one good thing throughout the day that will counterbalance all the crap. Acknowledge it by saying it to yourself or another person. For example, a phone call from a good friend comes spontaneously at a needful time. Just before going to bed, take a moment and reflect on the day. Tell yourself that someone has made your day in some significant way. Everything else negative doesn’t count any more because you found what made your day. Think only about the positive thing. With practice, this is very effective in "lightening the load." The "good thing" can be anything – a joke, a gift, something you see, something somebody says.