05 March 2011

SAMB: Lent, again.

Lent is sneaky.  

I wasn't expecting it again so soon, but there it is.  I had not even reflected on what I did last year, I had to go back and read about it refresh my memory.  Perk to blogging, reading about things I would have normally forgotten. Perk to reader comments, responding with what item I had actually given up.

This year, I am more intentional that last year. I'm thinking about Lent a whole 4 days in advance, that is planning right there.  I'm already sugar-free and thought about continuing that.  I also thought about bread again but that didn't really get me excited either.  Talking to the hubs this AM, he asked "what about adding something?" Brilliant.  Sometimes I'm so focused that the simplest thoughts do not even occur to me. So for this lent, I'm going to add something. And that gets me excited. The addition will be a practice of some sort.  An activity that will draw my attention to the state of my being. 

There are a lot of mindfulness practices like yoga, mediation, prayer, relaxation, devotion, silence & solitude, breathing, and according to the Mindfulness Practice Center at the University of Missouri sometimes bells are involved. Bells seem like too much for me and might lead me to punch someone in the face, which would be opposite of mindful.

I guess I'll just wait and see what the universe choses for me by Wednesday and go with that. 

02 March 2011

You can't make this stuff up

On Saturday I write a mini-manifesto about my profession while sitting on my couch drinking coffee. 

On Monday I get an email from the National Academic Advising Association inviting me as part of a underrepresented (AKA not old white guys) population of academic advisors, to consider applying for the Emerging Leaders Program.  

The ELP partners current members with various NACADA leaders in a mentor/mentee relationship for 2 years of intentional professional development with the express goal to groom aspiring NACADA leaders.

I thought about it for all of a minute and knew I had to apply. 

I'm totally okay with being groomed. One step closer to world domination.

Here's a sneak peak at what I'm thinking about for the intro to my statement of intent:

"In the fall of 2006, I attended my first National Academic Advisor Association annual conference in Indianapolis, Indiana with a colleague from my office. I had recently taken on the role of professional academic advisor and thought attending the annual conference of the national association would be a great way to learn more about the standards of the profession.  Five years and four national conferences later, I grow even more passionate about advising and have found my place in a life-long profession."

It's kind of mushy. I kind of like that.

It's kind of wordy. I do not like that.

At least I have some initial thoughts down and time to think about this some more.