Tracie's World

Whew! The last quarter of 2018 was a whirlwind! But I hung on, and am back for more in 2019. So to catch you up, here's a quick update: I completed the capstone project for my master's degree. It was a major challenge, and I admit I was at times fearful that I wouldn't be able to do it. But do it I did, and I was thrilled to come out of it with a solid grade. I was given some new opportunities at work. I was handed the company's most critical technology project, and tasked with getting it back on track, and delivered on time. While we did miss our deadline by a couple of weeks, the business signed off on the project and it is ready to go live. BA World Chicago. Our team went on a quick trip to a conference in Chicago, where we got some great information from some prominent business analysts. We also had some Giordano's pizza, got to visit the 96th floor of the Hancock Building, and attended the musical "Hamilton". Nephew #2 received hi

There's been a new show on PBS recently called "Equus: The Story of the Horse". In it, the host takes us through the history of the Horse in many different cultures and locations. One of which was a visit to a "Horse Whisperer" fellow, who specializes in breaking and training horses. He describes his method as less about breaking the horse's spirit, and more about making a connection with the horse's mind. It's a much gentler method, that helps the horse get to the point that it chooses to do the thing it is being asked to do, because of its connection with the trainer. This got me to thinking about the concept of "having a broken heart and a contrite spirit". I guess previously, I'd thought of this concept mostly as the breaking of a spirit. Say if you're watching an old movie western, and the cowboys jump on the back of the horse, and ride it until gives in and just stops bucking. But this comment had me thinking about it differ

If you've been watching Netflix much lately, you've probably seen the new series "Tidying Up", with Marie Kondo. She's an expert in cleaning, tidying, and storing stuff, and her method is quite inspiring. I enjoyed the show so much that I ordered her book "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up", and spent several days trying to get my house more in order. Not that I'm a hoarder - I have a basically tidy home. But the Kon-mari method teaches you to look at your belongings and ask yourself if each particular belonging brings you joy. If it doesn't, it's time for it to move on. I went through all my clothes first, followed by my books and DVD's, followed by the office, followed by the kitchen and laundry room. Whatever didn't bring me joy or a happy memory went into the pile. And when all was said and done, I ended up taking an entire car full of stuff to the local Deseret Industries, to hopefully be re-purposed for someone else to find