It’s up there with those other ugly childhood taunts, like “I know you are, but what am I?” and “Kindergarten baby, stick your head in gravy…"

It’s said with a sneer, emphasis on you. “What do you know?”

The implication being that whatever you could possibly share (right now, whenever, forever) has no value. “Just shut up. No one cares.”

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When I first started rowing, there was a heavy amount of exertion with little result.

I was stressed, frustrated, tired, and I had blisters on the palms of my hands — and after all that work, my strokes were sloppy and weak.

Now, my stroke is harder, cleaner, and more effective. I have some handy calluses on my hands to help me along. I have better stamina because my work is more targeted — I engage specific groups of muscles instead of desperately trying to maneuver the oar with my whole body. And I no longer feel overwhelmed and about to cry.

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A friend is in quarantine for COVID-19.

Her husband tested positive, so her family has to be isolated not only from the world, but also from her husband.

The circumstances are difficult. She’s not sure how she’s going to make it to the end. But if she keeps moving through her days, hour by hour, she will eventually come out the other side.

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These days, I’m learning how to manage projects.

This is not a well-developed skill for me. I’m good at managing a process — something repeatable that can be refined over time — and I’ve had a lot of experience dealing well with novel situations and improvising on the fly. My weakness is one-time, short-term endeavors with a beginning, middle, and end. Projects. Yeah, those.

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Béla Bartók’s Mikrokosmos is a collection of over 150 progressive piano pieces, meaning that each one introduces a new element, making it slightly more challenging than the one before it. I guess Bartók wrote the first couple of volumes for his son, who was learning to play the piano.

When I first learned of Mikrokosmos, I was intrigued. I love progressive educational material in any subject, even though the pacing usually needs to be adjusted by supplementing with additional resources. It’s satisfying to think that someone has carefully curated a learning program and created something that flows easily from concept to concept, skill to skill. Plus, I enjoyed the Bartók pieces I played myself as a child — bold, memorable, and full of surprises. This could be great!

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