Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Take a Hike

How you handle a wilderness challenge can tell you a lot about your ability to cope with life. Voyageur Outward Bound School (now part of Outward Bound Wilderness) offers a Life Career Renewal program that's designed for those seeking renewed energy and a new direction. The course runs from seven to 14 days at locations in Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, and Texas.

A recent check of OBW's website showed a list of many other available locations (including Alaska, Colorado, Utah, and Florida, as well as the Caribbean and South America). Call toll-free 866-467-7651 or check http://www.outwardboundwilderness.org/index.html.

[Source: "25 Ways to Reinvent Yourself" originally published in Modern Maturity January - February 2000, transcribed by Greg Olszewski.]

Monday, October 27, 2008

Unleash Your Inner Artist

Live Art, a two-week creativity spa located in the village of Soreze in the south of France, offers personalized daily art instruction amid breathtaking sunflower fields and vineyards. Visit http://www.artfully.com/. (Alternate URL www.artfully.com/soreze). [Source: "25 Ways to Reinvent Yourself" originally published in Modern Maturity January - February 2000, transcribed by Greg Olszewski.]

Monday, October 6, 2008

Reinvent Yourself: HAVE A LAUGH

GTO's Thoughts:

Laughter can be great medicine. I'm not usually very political, but this spoof of the Vice-Presidential debate between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden (as done by Saturday Night Live's Tina Fey and Jason Sudeikis) had me rolling with laughter. The characterizations are dead-on, and neither side escapes skewering. Enjoy!


HERE'S THE LINK: http://www.hulu.com/watch/37730


I've been thinking for a couple days about "Having a Laugh" and I remembered that some of the most enjoyable, most laughter-inducing times I've experienced have been game-nights with family and friends. There's nothing quite like it. Talk about great medicine!

Have you ever played Balderdash? Oh my gosh, it's as close to perfection as a game can get! Unlike trivia games (where unevenly-yoked players fight a desperate battle to get a single correct answer, even as their more well-read counterparts are crossing the finish line), Balderdash is a bluffing game where players make up definitions to words they've never heard of, and earn points when other players choose their bogus definitions as actual definitions.

It's a pretty level playing field if you ask me. But bluffing is only one aspect of the overall entertainment value in a game like Balderdash.

One of the things I enjoy about the game is seeing a side of your family and friends that you rarely get to see. Hidden talents bubble to the surface. Family members begin to show facets of new personalities. And the room begins to feel a lot smarter than you remembered!

Just try to keep a straight face as you collect everyone's definitions and read them aloud to the other players, I dare you. You can't. It's impossible. Balderdash insiders know what I'm talking about! I'm not even playing the game and I'm cracking up at the comedic tension that fills the room during this stage of the game. (Oh, Dasher, your stifled yet gut-wrenching giggles betray you!)

It's a feast of amazing cleverness, unexpected creativity and uproarious laughter - all shared with people you know and love. And you won't even care who wins! I love it!

Play Balderdash and have a laugh. Or watch Saturday Night Live.
What makes you laugh? Let me know! GTO