LoL Yes indeed we have bonded:) I only spelled it correctly as I worked in a health food store for 14 yrs and sold tons of it! I was impressed that the German Commission approved its use. They are like our FDA. Years ago it was touted as a cure but in the USA they had to stop saying that. Made from homeopathic duck liver. I have always felt it worked like a cure!
Undergrad public speaking. I went from HATING having to speak in front of others to being very comfortable with it. I really think it is the single class that gave me the biggest benefit.
I'll bet. I didn't know you were athletic. Pretty cool, Welb. Swimming to me, wears one out faster than anything but running. So I get it.
This post was edited by WM BARR . =ABSOLUTE TRASH at October 30, 2018 7:22 AM MDT
US Army SERE (Survival,Escape, Resistance and Evasion) School. Three weeks of stress, mud, battle skills and intensive survival training (think: playing GI Joe for big boys).
At the time, it was a welcome departure from the bookish academic courses that filled earlier years in college. I truly enjoyed it, a fact not lost on the mostly humorless instructors.
To this day, I still benefit from the life “hacks” I learned there over 30 years ago.
This post was edited by Don Barzini at October 30, 2018 9:41 AM MDT
I cannot imagine, Mr. B, any age (and I have been in fairly good shape my whole life) where I would have passed a class like that. I have endurance, but that would have killed me, probably even if I attempted that in my prime.
I envy you your experience, but I also know it probably would have done me in.
Thanks for good slice-of-your-life memory.
This post was edited by WM BARR . =ABSOLUTE TRASH at October 30, 2018 9:15 PM MDT
I took two woodworking classes at the local high school and loved both of them. Too bad they stopped the night school program for lack of funds. When I was in high school, girls couldn't take shop class even as an elective.
I love woodwork and I'm quite good at it now....I never did it at school...but was always in my dads joinery workshop that was far bigger than Norms.....Lol
What a bummer. I understand that longing for those few good classes I enjoyed like you did that woodworking class you talked about.
My obstacles were of my own making in school as I look back. I was so stuck in what I thought things were (dumb, cool, impressive, stupid, etc.) when I was in high-school, that I missed golden opportunities. Like you, if I was not thrown into something and trying it out regardless of my preconceived notions, I wound up loving much I would have missed. So, I should have been in art, I should have been in drama, I should have been in debate, I should have been in ….. you get it. I didn't have a clue.
I hope I learned a little bit of a lesson, but I still think fear keeps me away from things that throw me out of my comfort zone. The Universe proved that to me when I had to go to Massage School. I had no idea how mortifying each day would be. But it was. Each and every day. I was so stressed, I wanted to disappear.
It was SO INVASIVE. I am a loner. I had everyone ignoring me when I needed a partner, making me feel like I sucked when I was learning, you name it. It was a very hard way for an egomaniac like myself, to learn a skill.
Oh yeah. And I thought it would be a breeze because I love school and class. It is (was) my element. I learned a lot from that class. I am still going to therapy over it.
This post was edited by WM BARR . =ABSOLUTE TRASH at October 30, 2018 9:17 PM MDT
I think many of us fear leaving our comfort zone. How many of us remain in jobs we hate because we are afraid to move to a new company or start over in some other field? True, many of us stay for financial reasons.
I'm not sure why massage school was such a stressful class for you and why you have needed therapy because of it. However, if that is what you needed, I'm happy that you sought help and, hopefully, you're on the right track to getting better.
I'm not sure either. You have to be able to form a group and work with a group and I was not connecting to these people at all. It was hard because I needed them and nothing worked.
Being a loner is a lot of work. No one likes me for a long time and I cannot rush the process.
I'm a loner as well and don't like having to be part of a team. One of the reasons I like the fact that my boss doesn't work with a team which means that I don't either. :)
A college course called 'The Great Lakes.' We explored the Northwestern shore of Lake Erie and the Bass and Kelley's Island. I learned many things I had never heard of or knew. We also worked with research scientists at Stone lab on Gibraltar Island. Truly an excellent class.
It sounds like a vacation and an Indiana Jones movie all rolled into one. In other words, action-packed adventure. You have that forever. Thanks for sharing. I would like to hear more.
It was a lot of fun. And the professor, Charlene, was hot. We went to Marblehead lighthouse. I went an hour early to fish. Then a famous lighthouse artist came and we all drew the lighthouse. I'm not very good at drawing and just sketched it in a storm. The artist asked me if I had an art background and said my work was excellent.
It was actually a seminar which led to my home-study of air-traffic control and eventually my test for the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) on which I scored 95.9%. Doesn't that 4.1% that I got wrong make you want to just run out and grab a flight? :P
Benedict Arnold 