becoming better

this semester, i'm taking "practitioner inquiry." the course is being taught by susan lytle and matt hartley and being TA-ed by molly buckley. for our first meeting, we were asked to read "better" by atul gawande. the book was an amazing and inspiring way to start the semester, but it was also a surprisingly easy read. gawande writes really beautifully and uses an artful narrative style that plants the reader deep into the stories he tells.

my favorite part of the book was the afterword. in it, gawande encourages his readers to become positive deviants in their practice. this could be any practice, whether you're a student or cashier or scrub nurse or designer. he makes five recommendations to positive deviance:

1. ask an unscripted question -- he explains that this is a great way to get to really know people, including people you work closely with. it makes me think of the idea of "making the familiar strange," the idea that so much of what we know is shaped by our experience. gawande suggests that once you get a person responding to an unscripted question, you should try to keep that conversation going. he writes, "if you ask a question, the machine begins to feel less like a machine" (252). this is especially true when it comes to practice; working in a comfortable space, we sometimes forget that we don't know everything.

2. don't complain -- it's easy to complain about work, about school, about family and it's true that complaining can sometimes bring people together, but why dig ourselves deeper into angry, unhappy feelings? gawande writes, "you don't have to be sunny about everything. just be prepared with something else to discuss..." (253). in other words, try to put life back into work interactions.

3. count something -- according to gawande, "if you count something you find interesting, you will learn something interesting." i have recently adapted this to my own practice as a transcriptionist and i have to say that counting my work has put a completely new spin on it. it's funny sometimes how we do things without really having a sense of the impact and scope of the things we do. and beginning to learn the scope and breadth of my practice is strangely eye-opening; it's a new way of knowing the work i know so well.

4. write something -- blogs are actually a great way to practice this because we aren't being forced to write something interesting necessarily, but only to write what is interesting to us. writing can be therapeutic. it can also be a way to gain insight on ourselves, our practice, and our lives.

5. change -- as gawande suggests, it's always important to find opportunities to change, to talk to people about what they're doing, and to get new ideas about the things we're doing.

i can't wait to talk more this semester about my own practitioner inquiry work and about how i'm applying gawande's suggestions for positive deviance to my work and also to my life.

GSEcret

i'm taking this week's post as an opportunity to talk about the GSEcret project and especially about the upcoming gallery event.




above are four postcard that were submitted as part of the GSEcret campaign. the goal of the project is to get people talking and sharing about race in the academy, in their lives, and more specifically, at GSE. to kick off this discussion, we're holding a gallery showing, followed by a discussion.

GSEcret Gallery Opening
wednesday, february 24
6pm gallery walk
6:30-8pm food and discussion
GSE student sounge

for more info or to get involved, email: postagsecret@gmail.com

the clark park farmer's market

if you live around penn or in west philly, you should absolutely spend your saturday mornings at the clark park farmer's market. you can find everything there: bread, veggies, eggs and meats, yogurt, cakes, spices, chocolate, all kinds of stuff. all of it is local and most of it is organic.

if you want to get more for your money, you can also join a csa (community-supported agriculture). joining a csa is a great way to build a close relationship with a local farmer, eat local, and get more food for less money. right now, i'm a member of the keystone csa. you can read more about it here: http://www.keystonefarmcsa.com/.

when it's warmer out, clark park is also just a great place to hang out on the weekends. there are usually tons of people out (and lots of dogs and babies). there is also a flea market that happens every few weeks in the spring and summer. you can find more info here: www.clarkpark.info.

bottom line: you should check it out. and bring some friends.

snow day?

so, there is a big snow storm brewing outside and i'm so hoping that school/work will be closed tomorrow. there is truly nothing better on a snow day than curling up in bed with my hubby and cats and reading a good book.

in any case, i think it's important for you (whether thinking about applying to penn, new to penn, or seasoned) to know these couple of things about snow storms and the university:

the bad news: i've been to all the college campuses in philly at snowy times and penn is by far the safest during and right after a storm. why is this such a bad thing? if you work or attend school at penn, you will rarely ever get a snow day.

the good news: if we do have a snow day, you can find out two ways. first, penn puts weather and safety updates on its main website (http://www.upenn.edu) ASAP. you can also check out its public safety site for more detailed information (http://www.publicsafety.upenn.edu/). finally, you can call here: 215-898-MELT.

lessons for 2010

unfortunately, the only thing about grad school that remains consistent is that it breeds inconsistency. and i know... this is a horrible excuse for why i haven't blogged since november 19 (eek!), but it's the only excuse that i have! once finals roll around, i can't be bothered with anything else and then once they're over, i'm too worn out and busy trying to put my life back in order. and now that it's back in order, i've not blogged for eleven weeks. so, i'm sorry!

i'm going to try and be a little more consistent this year.

and that starts today. it starts with a couple of lessons i've learned that i think will help me get through 2010:

lesson # 1: get ahead. yep, it's a lesson i'm learning. i don't always follow it, so "get ahead" is not a rule, but it definitely works when i do it. "get ahead" can apply to anything. one example: finished your readings for the week early? read ahead and save future you from falling behind. in that same mind, i've got a few different things to say to whatever faithful readership i've got, so i'm going to try and blog them ahead of time to get it all out there while i'm in my right mind and then time release it for your reading pleasure.

lesson # 2: take care of yourself. this seems so obvious, but it ends up not being that way once i'm in the swing of things. i'll come home from work determined to get some reading done and in the process, i'll forget to work out or eat dinner, or i won't get enough sleep at night. i definitely want to finish my program "on time" (this doesn't mean THAT much to a part-timer, but still), but i know that i want to get out of my program feeling healthy and happy and loving myself. what that means is that sometimes, i just have to prioritize my health and wellness, whether it means skipping my readings for a night and doing some yoga instead, or opting to get 8 hours of sleep and hoping to wake up early the next morning to write before work. this year is teaching me that i have to prioritize me, no matter what.

lesson #3: take care of your relationships. this kind of goes along with lesson #2. in my first year of school, i barely made time for myself. i also didn't make much time for my friends and husband. i'm not making that mistake again. not having time with friends and family can really make life hard and it's important to nurture your support system and to give support just as much as you want to get it. this year, i'm going on a date with my husband at least once or twice a week. plus, i'm hanging out with friends almost every day, even if it's just a quick coffee break or meeting someone to study together.

so, that's where i am right now. i hope i can make it last.