Good News In Small Doses

Today, I took my car in for a check-up and used the service center bathroom. As I was washing my hands, I wondered, “Does it really take 20 seconds to kill all the germs, or does it take 10 seconds but scientists knew they had to double the number to be sure people washed for 10 seconds?” I decided not to risk it at that moment. I had already wondered if the elderly Chinese lady waiting in the Customer Lounge would roofy my coffee if I left it while I went to the bathroom, so I was obviously paranoid this morning.

Not so anymore. I’m feeling good. I just finished writing a decision in a case that has been vexing me since November 2022, which was the first of nine hearing days held over a year. I’m not at liberty to say anything about it but I am just relieved in a way that makes my body feel lighter.

Because I have spent most of my writing time this month on that decision and my newsletter(s*), I haven’t been able to devote much energy to the other stuff I want to write. I’m not beating myself up over that because instead, I’ve been doing a 30-Day Drawing Challenge by Wendy McNaughton of Draw Together. The drawing above is from an exercise where we were limited to drawing an object using (first) only our fingers, then only our wrists, and then only our shoulders. And we only get 10 minutes to do each drawing. I’m on day 24, and I’m a little bummed it’s almost over. I have two free one-month gift subscriptions to Wendy’s newsletter if you want to go back and start from the beginning. First two people who want to try it, email me and I will send you the gift subscription link. (*I started a second newsletter about labor arbitration that I’m not even going to link to here because it’s a purely work/nerd endeavor and unless you are working in HR or a union, you will find it boring.)

Some other good news I just read, and which is far bigger and more profound, the New York Times is reporting that the Energy Department is going to reassess the process of evaluating and granting permits to export Liquified Natural Gas. Bill McKibben explains why this is such a big deal: “This is the biggest thing a U.S. president has ever done to stand up to the fossil fuel industry.”

Finally, my 50th birthday is next month, and the good news is, I’ve lived this long. There are lots of other good things about it, and I will write more about them in the coming weeks, but if you are over 50, or you are celebrating a milestone birthday, please share with me some of the rituals of life passage you have done to make the most of your important day. I am compiling ideas to create a midlife transition ritual.

Talk to you next week!