on my mind...

I'm listening to the audio-book of Freakonomics and it's so fascinating! It's about, essentially, how people get what they want ("economics"). It talks about incentives, cheating teachers and gangs and whether the real estate agent selling your house really has your best interests in mind. And all kinds of things. Really makes you think. Good stuff.

I'm listening to blink at the same time (well not literally at the same time). What can I say, Malcolm Gladwell has a bit of a monotonous voice! I love what his book says though. I think the most interesting think about blink is how we can make these snap decisions that really are valid, and it's actually based on real information, but just information collected on a semi- or subconscious level. That fascinates me because I do know how important it is to trust one's gut instinct. I've learned that darn lesson! When we overanalyze situations we can actually undermine our intuitive abilities and make bad decisions. This counts more when making quick decisions, because if we have the luxury of time gathering more information can be helpful. He uses real examples from situations in war, with cheating card players, with firemen, and docs in the ER.

On another note, I just booked my flight to go visit my dad in Oregon, and we'll drive straight to Glacier National Park in Montana, spending a few days there. I'm very excited because this place is very special to him, so it will be fun to go on a road trip and see a place he cares about. I've never been there either, and he says it really brings him peace. It's an international peace park, so of course! ;) We went on another road trip some years back to Rocky Mountain National Park. I enjoy traveling with him and talking about all kinds of things. I hope to record some stories about my childhood, which I will use for my memoir which I'll write one of these darn days... I'll also get to see a couple of friends (my next door neighbor from 7th grade, Elissa, who I still keep in touch with) and family members (cousin Holly and her husband Ross and my "niece and nephew" (really 3rd cousins technically), which will be great. And it looks like I will be going to Nepal in November, which is super cool. I'm still investigating on that one, but I'm about 95% sure. Got an assignment and everything. I get excited to have adventures on the horizon. What would life be without adventures, and things to look forward to?

I've had a lot on my mind lately. Time goes so fast, and I feel sometimes like I'm not passionate enough about what I'm doing. I tend to multi-task and lose focus. I want to learn how to channel out unnecessary distractions and really find my focus and my passion. I miss that feeling I had when I was alone in New Mexico in Nov 2005. That was just brilliant. I've read that you can close your eyes and just bring those good uplifting inspired feelings to mind. Maybe I just need to do that more often.