Life is a Project

  When a massive storm swept through the Michiana area, I found myself facing a challenge I hadn't anticipated—power outages that threatened to disrupt finals week for my students. As a displaced federal employee and author of Life is a Project , I knew I had to act quickly to ensure they wouldn’t be negatively impacted. Having recently moved from Arlington, VA, to Gary, IN, I hadn’t yet stocked up on emergency supplies. At first, I worked out of a local café and a McDonald’s, grading discussions and keeping up with my responsibilities. But as the outage stretched on, I realized I needed a more sustainable solution. Thinking strategically, I turned to my Marriott rewards—mindful of my strict budget—and booked a hotel with full-size refrigerator, allowing me to take my food from home and prevent it from spoiling while maintaining a functional workspace. Fortunately, I had already purchased a pink igloo cooler. This experience reinforced everything I believe about life as a proj...

I love going to modern coffee shops like  Starbucks . There are so many amazing choices!  When I go out for ice cream, I am sometimes overwhelmed by the amazing options and flavors at establishments like  Baskin-Robbins .  The United States of America is a country that strongly identifies with a concept of being unique and different.  The rights of the individual is more important than the rights of the collective.  So, why do we only have two major political parties to choose from?  Really??!?!   Democrats  or  Republicans ?  I have more choices for coffee and ice cream options. If you feel strongly that one or the other of these parties reflects your core values, that is great.  If like myself and many other citizens in the USA, you feel that you need more choices, I agree.  When I tell people that I have only voted for a major party candidate once for President of the USA, they are often offended. They claim my choi...