A Letter to Christina

Dearest Christina,

The speech is lovely, well done.  I can hear your voice when I read it and it is a comfort to know that the duty of it came to a person of such admirable quality.  I must say however, that the experience of your speech (for me) was different and, in a way, far from comforting.  It may be nothing more than envy and a special kind of sadness that brings this about, and while that is perhaps unfortunate; I believe, and I think that you will agree, that my emotions are valid.

The imagery in the speech is, in part, what does it.  I am jealous that you got to be there.  I am homesick for that sky, and that earth, the adobe, and those mountains, and the air that can be sharper than a knife.  Santa Fe is such a rooted and soulful place that so many of us shared together, that it just doesn't feel right not taking that final step as one, not finishing the dance; having the final note fall silent and the last word on the page gone missing.

Pre-Graduation: A review based on common sense

I don't understand the difficulty in having everyone on the same page.  Here are some steps:

1.  Shut everyone the-fuck up.  If everyone's talking all at once, then who is listening?  If you catch yourself yelling over everyone else, close your trap, get up, and start blinking the lights on and off.  When one sense becomes overloaded, switch to a different sense; audio to visual.

2.  If one person thinks that they are doing the most important job in the room and they're running on a single track mind, cut them from interaction with anything else going on.  Put them in time-out in the hallway and let them do their work there, where they won't be interfered with.

3.  Take a breath.  When silence comes, you only have a split second of actual attention.  Formulate the most concise way to express yourself and get ready to deliver.