21 Nov 2011
Community • Events • Personal Wisdom

Finding value in the local newspaper

I always loved reading the newspaper while growing up in Upstate NY to keep abreast of all the local happenings. This was, of course, before the internet. Over the past decade I’ve turned from a newspaper junkie into a web junkie.

After giving the newspaper a try again, however, when my husband ordered us a 4 day/week subscription of The Arizona Republic, I’m finding that I’ve been missing a lot of local news by relying on websites to supply me with current information.

For example, here are some interesting things I learned from yesterday’s Republic Valley & State section:

  • 330 orphaned children in Maricopa County were adopted by permanent families Saturday as part of the county Court’s participation in National Adoption Day. The event was staffed by 60 judicial officers who volunteered their time for the hearing. In addition, they had informational stations for families interested in adopting in the future. What’s not to love about this?
  • The City of Chandler is replacing 340 aging Tasers for their police force at a price of $471,028. Their current models are 8 years old, out of warranty, and are having battery issues. The average life-span of a Taser, according to the company, is only 5 years. It’s interesting to note that the devices are rarely used by officers, and one officer reports only using his four times in his decade of service.
  • The new Arizona Senate leader, Steve Pierce, is a Republican, a rancher on long-held family property in Tucson, married 38 years, and sounds like a pretty down-to-earth, hard-working person. “I have lots of new friends,” Pierce told attendees at the Arizona Tax Research Association’s annual conference last week. “They all want to come in and see me. I don’t know most of them,” he admitted.
  • Ready Pac salad mixes with a sell by date of Nov 18th have been recalled for E Coli contamination.
  • The Arizona International Auto Show is this weekend at the Phoenix Convention Center, and the Republic has coupons for $3 off admission.
  • A job with Maricopa County Child Protective Services starts at a meager salary of $33,000, alleges editorial writer Steven Kars of Phoenix. If he’s correct, that is indeed sad. “Why would anyone take a job with CPS?” Kars asks. For the love of children, I hope.

And this is just a small sample of the news printed in the section, which I’d likely not known about otherwise. Some of it may have been on their website, but I’m guilty of headline-skimming online. It’s just a different reading style on paper.

Now, mind you, some of the reasons I was missing out before are my own fault. I’ve lived in several states around the US in my adult life and got used to reading more on a national level. It usually takes me a while to get into the local culture of a community, which a local newspaper usually heavily reflects. The Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin is small town and somewhat kitschy, while the Columbus Dispatch definitely reads more like a large city paper, but one studded with college football fever, something which took me some time to understand. I’ve now been in the Phoenix area for over two years. I’m beginning to feel settled and more interested in things outside of my current community and comfort level. I think I’m finally ready to call the area my “home.”

Please note that while I highly advocate the use of local newspapers, local news on the networks is an entirely different thing. I often find the broadcasts to be cheesy and melodramatic, likely going for ratings than any sort of mission to educate or inform the public.

Where do you get your local news? Why?

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wconeybeer | 2 comments
18 Nov 2011
Human Behavior • Personal Wisdom

The Remembering Names Dilemma

I’m terrible at remembering the names of new people I meet and I feel bad about it (hell, half the time I don’t even remember seeing the face before, and that has gotten me into hot water with people). Even when I do think that I remember the name, I often question myself because I’ve been embarrassed in the past when I’ve called someone by the wrong name.

So, what’s a person to do when faced with such a dilemma? Gretchen Rubin, the author of The Happiness Project, published a blog post this week addressing this very issue. She has “Tips for Faking It,” not all of which I find very effective. They are:

  • You thought you knew, but you don’t

“I keep wanting to call you ‘David,’ but I know that’s not right.” – I’ve done this before, but I don’t think it’s the most graceful way to handle the situation. If someone said this to me, I would get the impression that they were actually recalling someone else. Not terribly offensive though.

  •  Fish it out of ‘em with flattery

“Hey, I’d love to get your card.” – The premise for this is stalling until you can see the person’s name on the card, and flattering them while you ask. A bit underhanded, IMO. I like to ask for a card at the end of a conversation.

“Wow, you have a terrific memory. I can’t believe you remember my name from that meeting six months ago. I can’t remember the names of people I met yesterday! So of course I have to ask you your name.” – Fine, tell ‘em they have a terrific memory and that you are flattered that they remembered yours. Leave all that other self-deprecating crap out though. It makes you look bad.

  • Claiming you know but have a temporary memory block  

 “I know I know your name, but I’m blanking right now.” – I really don’t like this one. I think it just sounds tacky, though I know I’ve said it to people before. Just say that you don’t remember.

 “Remind me—what’s your last name?” – The premise here is that if they say their first and last names in their reply, problem solved. This is kind of silly. Just ask what they like to be called in casual conversation.

  •  Let intros take their own course

“Hey,” you say to the person whose name you can’t remember, “let me introduce you to Pat Smith.” You introduce the two and say the name of the person whose name you remember. Almost always, the nameless person will volunteer his or her name. – I have to admit that I’ve done this too, especially when someone comes up before I can admit to my memory failure. But I don’t like it. I like to do introductions properly. It’s the polite thing to do. Ask the person their name and intro them first, then follow with the people you know. It’s less awkward that way.

Why all the games? Is it so terrible if we cannot remember someone’s name after a first meeting? I tend to meet several people per week and not see them again for several weeks or months. It’s natural to forget when you don’t have that interaction from day-to-day.

Though I do feel a bit bad when I forget a person’s name, however, I’m not offended at all when people don’t remember mine (unless, of course, we’ve known each other well for some time, in which case I’ll probably wonder what’s wrong more so than taking offense).

I’m curious, my readers, about what you do and feel in such situations?

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wconeybeer | 2 comments
15 Nov 2011
Personal Wisdom • Writing

The Happiness Journal

It can be quite a challenge, especially if you’re battling chronic pain on a daily basis like I am, to concentrate on the positive aspects of your life rather than the negative. About a month ago, my husband Chris handed me a Moleskine notebook that he had begun writing in nearly three years to the day before. In it were two statements about things I had done that had made him feel good the day before, but then he had tucked the notebook away somewhere and it hadn’t resurfaced for use throughout our move to Phoenix from Columbus. As soon as I saw what was in the Moleskine with the Tom Bihn sticker on the front, my Happiness Journal was born.

I snagged that notebook from him and have been making daily entries about the joys in my life ever since. The point is to shove all of life’s bullshit as far away as possible and concentrate on only the good. Every day I think back to the day prior and find at least one thing that provided me with some happiness and record it under the date. There is always something.

The point of the Happiness Journal is to have something that I can turn to whenever I am in a funk or downright depression, those times when I think everything sucks, and be reminded of the good things that life has dealt to me. The notebook sits on my coffee table all of the time so that it is easy to remember to write in and read. It’s simple, only taking a couple of minutes per day to do, and it works.

This is a great time of year to start your own Happiness Journal with Thanksgiving right around the corner. A friend embarked on a similar project at the beginning of the month tracking daily the things that she is thankful for. According to her, the practice of recording the positive things has lifted her spirits as well.

So if you’re in need of a little reminder that good things do happen to you once in a while, start your own Happiness Journal in a notebook or online. If you do, please let me know how it works for you.

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wconeybeer | 2 comments
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