You’ve Got to Turn In Different Directions. Weekly Wins with Your Mind in Bloom, LLC 1/16/2022

I’ve been reading Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch series and right now I can’t put them down. I’m trying to read them in order as much as possible. Books first and maybe then the T.V. series.

I don’t usually recommend or rave about many books. People often ask me what I recommend and I know these will be added to the list. I was actually turned off to detective fiction for years after a class in college where we read a sampling of different detective fiction. 99% of the books I hated, found them boilerplate, and hated the fact I had to pay for these books that the professor was trying to stretch a three hour discussion out of when five minutes would have been sufficient. One night I actually walked out of class on the break because I was exhausted and had to work the next day and just couldn’t take it any more. Maybe if Harry Bosch had been included, I would have stuck around.

Also these past few weeks owls have been a main topic of conversation. Locally two snowy owls, one who subsequently died after being injured by a vehicle, have come to Town following food. Owls usually don’t migrate, yet snowy owls do. The more food an owl can find, the more eggs they lay. I feel bad for the female snowy waiting for her partner that is never coming back.

And why am I talking about Harry Bosch and snowy owls? What do they have in common? Due to the anatomy of owls’ eyes that their eyes are fixed in one direction, owls’ necks must make up for this. Owls can turn their necks in 270 degrees around them (a full circumference of a circle is 360 degrees) while humans can only turn their heads in straight lines at 180 degrees. Owls always have a wide range of vision. Harry Bosch is the kind of personality (real or imagined) people love to hate yet can’t get enough of. Bosch pushes the limits all around himself.

I had one client this week who helped me push my own limits in a good way and helped me turn and look in other directions, so to speak. They want to leave locally for either Florida or Tennessee. After compiling their resume, I set up a sample cover letter and then they sent me the positions they are looking at. I posted on social media and sent out emails to people I don’t know asking to connect and possibly send their resume to. People who have known me for a long time know I am very out front about asking. This was even a leap for me. Usually when I ask, I already have a connection. This time, out of the four reach outs I sent, I have no connections. I haven’t received any responses. I’m taking everything I’ve learned and everything I tell my clients and pushing it to the next level. I want my client going in with a name on their cover letters, that’s the goal.

It’s a salvage yard in the cosmos. Weekly Wins with Your Mind in Bloom, LLC 11/12/2021

Yes, we’ve been missing, incognito, silent from our website here. Slowly going through what needs to get done for our clients. Before another week goes by, we want to let you know we are still here.

This autumn saw a huge upswing in students applying and taking high school placement exams for private high schools. Some application cycles remain open, the individual school needs to be checked with. Don’t forget your vocational and agricultural schools as well.

We also saw a huge uptick in students who are struggling with the in-person back-to-school mode. Many students, of all ages, fell into the habit of waiting until the last minute with Google classroom. Many were locked out of assignments and/ or couldn’t catch up on what was due from the beginning of the year.

A third trend the last couple of months has been open positions “in house” for many companies. This is why maintaining of list of contacts remains ever so important. If someone is trying for an open position, another position has now opened up. Let them know you’re interested in applying.

Wondering about the title of this post? This relates to assisting with high school and college entrance essays. Not sure what to say? Connections remain key. Talk to us for more about this. Also, this does happen in other media as well. I caught up on a couple of episodes of “Reservation Dogs” on Hulu. (I highly recommend for something different, watch this show.) In one scene, the main police officer had an observer with him. They went to ask someone about the theft of a large amount of copper. The officer said that the man owned a “junk yard” and the man replied it is a “salvage yard”. The English language has enough vocabulary to connect things in different and crazy ways.

And “cosmos”? “Cosmos” is the Latin word for “universe”. We are taking a class on Nature Education through Cornell and had to come up with a concept. We are all part of the cosmos, even in our own little areas we inhabit and our connections to the cosmos begin there.

Speaking of cosmos, with leaves coming off of trees, lichen now has become more visible. The picture here shows some growing on a broken tree branch. Lichen serves as an environmental indicator and also produces oxygen.

Show Up, Show Up, Show Up. Weekly Wins With Your Mind in Bloom, LLC 8/13/2021

So where to begin this week? The heat has been blowing through and summer has begun to wane. Summer camps are wrapping up or have wrapped up. Some schools have already started going back. Even in the middle of everything, sweating and praying Zoom will hold on and the power won’t go out, people still need help.

Today was one of those days where almost everything recently ordered arrived either in the mail or on the front porch. Something I needed replaced, the replacement showed up today as did the theme and benefits of showing up.

People think I’m nuts when I talk about my schedule and one thing I need is a scheduler with the hours in front of me. I refuse to use my phone as it has hit the pavement more times than I care to admit. I use a paper planner or notebook to write everything down by the hour. Bear with me while I go back and check my planner at home. Family members going to two different day camps? No problem, we’ll figure it out and the days special coverage may be needed.

Yet this also goes back to the showing up. Life doesn’t happen unless you plan and unless you plan to show up. The two camps was a last minute change. However, even that was due to showing up at events and the opportunity arose. Yes, I missed out on some other things yet there are 10 more months in the year. I just let people know I’ll be back in September.

This week I had the opportunity to try out a Mom and Pop store I’d never been in before, even though I’ve walked and driven by it for almost 2 decades. As I sat and drank their nectar of the gods (aka coffee), several people I knew walked in. I had the opportunity to actually have a conversation with someone I’ve known for years, yet never actually talked to directly. They gave me some very useful information that may even benefit my clients someday.

Sometimes, even on bad days, you just have to throw your hair in a ponytail, jump in the car, and show up.

Your Mind in Bloom, LLC Will Help You From Eclipsing Yourself. Weekly Wins 6/11/2021

So yesterday brought the solar eclipse. Humanity has always been fascinated by this unique phenomenon. “Eclipse” even came into the English language meaning something along the lines of blocking out or obscuring. It can also mean to do better than someone or something else or hiding in the shadows.

Each one of us has a part that hides in the shadows. Part of working with my clients consists of finding out and often dealing with those “shadows”. Ironically, this was one of those weeks dealing with a lot of “shadows” along with the academic and writing side of what I do.

Life is more than a pro vs. con list sometimes. Why is this concept a trigger? What makes you think this concept is beyond your reach? Why are you spending thousands on a Master’s degree that may or may not bring you “somewhere”? These are a couple of the questions we asked.

We worked on fractions, pre-algebra, basic graphing and plotting, percentages, the concept of negative numbers, and spelling. We also listed out some different options for continuing education and trying out different career scenarios based on what the individual was looking for. We also talked about ways to search for listed job openings, of which there are plenty right now.

We also posted in out weekly column about Piping Plovers.

Have a great week!

Start Paving Another Road With Your Mind in Bloom, LLC Weekly Wins 6/4/2021

“If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.” Dolly Parton

A huge thank you to my client who shared this on social media this week:

I would like to give Angela a SHOUT OUT !!! Angela Capinera has been the Math tutor for my kids for less than three months and their grades in Math have increased up to 100%. Thank you for everything that you have done. You have helped them so much, morally and academically. As their grades in Math have increased they feel more confident in that subject. Thank you for your patience and thank you for your support. We really appreciate you and looking forward to have you again on Saturdays starting on August of 2021.

Even with the shortened week due to Memorial Day, we are currently working on helping people with math, test prep, study habits, and beginning the process of learning value for money and time in different regards.

Have an awesome week!

What is your Job from Heaven? What is going on? 2 of many questions asked this week 5/28/21 with Your Mind in Bloom, LLC

One of the most common questions I ask people, clients or not, is “What is going on?”. Another question I stumbled upon this week comes from the late author and speaker Barbara Sher. I go through a lot of career books, videos, and other information as I never know when I’m going to need something. Ms. Sher wrote several books and this week I picked up her book “I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was”. One question she asks is, “What is your Job from Heaven?”.

What is your Job from Heaven? Feel free to comment here on the blog or text me 203-414-5176 (WhatsApp as well).

With several of our clients we’ve been running through the basics. Several of them missed information they now need with the lockdowns last year and others are finally beginning to understand how the information is relevant. Everyone is unique. We did tens placement, liquid measurements related to multiplication and division, basic algebra, basic geometry, data sets, percentages, compound words, writing, fractions, and test taking skills. We also discussed the importance of sleep and nutrition with relation to studying and retaining information.

We also wrote about male and female horseshoe crabs.

We also referred a client for a position.

Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend if you’re in the US.

Thank you for all of your support this past month.

Today’s picture is in honor of the anniversary of Babe Ruth’s 714th and final home run anniversary on May 25.

Eyes Are Not the Only Jewels: Weekly Wins for May 14, 2021 with Your Mind in Bloom, LLC

This week for our nature column for a local group, we dug out the quote by Henry David Thoreau about comparing an eye to a jewel. Thoreau wrote, “The eye is the jewel of the body”. We wrote about the 9 eyes that horseshoe crabs have on their carapace, or outer shell. Yet reflecting on this, learning begins with the combination of our 5 senses. When working with our clients, we try to include sight, touch, and audio as much as possible. Touch has been difficult being on Zoom. Taste and smell usually doesn’t into play with what we do with a few exceptions here and there over the years.

This week has brought the rush of college classes ending and K-12 beginning the ending phases.

We’ve worked on adding and subtracting with borrowing/carrying. We’ve worked on fractions, basic algebra, and number lines. We’ve continued with data sets. Our biggest frustration was with clients inputting answers into electronic tests with no clear guidance how the answer should be formatted. (Yes, it does happen.)

We also continued work and skill history conversations.

Have a great week!

Lord Edward Thurlow Wrote: May! Queen of blossoms, / And fulfilling flowers, / With what pretty music / Shall we……

charm the hours?

We can’t believe it’s already the first full week in May. The fulfilling flowers are here along with the pollen, poison ivy and baseball. We got our first bit of poison ivy for the year as we cleaned out some overgrowth. Baseball season is also in full swing.

Our hours are charmed with our clients. We completed 2 resumes and sample cover letters. We spoke with 2 other parties about updated their resumes and relevant skills and skill sets.

We went over pharmacology basics, anatomy and physiology, infectious diseases, electricity basics, multiplication, order of operations, exponents, clocks, data sets, writing opinion pieces, reactionary pieces and setting goals.

We also submitted a column about horseshoe crabs and their telson/tail. Would anyone like the information or know someone who would? Please let us know.

Enjoy your blossoms and fulfilling flowers, as some are only here a short time.

What is your favorite pretty music or what music makes you think of May?

Strong Winds Don’t Blow Accomplishments Away with Your Mind in Bloom, LLC April 30/May 1, 2021

The month of April ends like the month felt with winds blowing constantly and in different directions.

One client graduated with a machine operator certification today. Another pulled his average into the 80’s after getting 100% on an assignment. We went over handling those tough interview questions without sounding desperate. We went over clocks, Roman Numerals, sales math, anatomy and physiology, history with math, percentages, and basic algebra.

We also wrote a column for a local Facebook group regarding the physiology of trees in honor of Arbor Day today.

Have an awesome May!

Weekly Wins: Brushing Up on Moses April 16, 2021

We will get to Moses momentarily. This past week took a few interesting turns with several very interesting and very intense, revealing conversations.

When someone asked me what I have done all week, my first answer was trigonometry. One of my clients is going through a job retraining program and we covered everything from the limits of the scientific calculator on iPhones to finding a free scientific calculator app in the Apple Store. That was just before going onto the practical applications for their program, setting up problems, revising problems, and then checking calculations.

We also went through anatomy and physiology, fractions, subtraction, opinion piece essay writing, trauma, data sets, and business writing.

Part of what we do is have those tough conversations. We may write this every week, all of the time, and may even forget we write this every week. Yet one aspect of what we do and stands out remains having those tough conversations.

This week was full of tough conversations. We had to have a tough conversation about why my client wasn’t told they were going to need a scientific calculator in the beginning and now we were closing in on the end of the course with none readily available. We had a tough conversation about being realistic with a resume and how human resource personnel get bored reading them if they all look the same. We had a tough conversation about writing an opinion piece on a very controversial topic and how to word and handle the topic while addressing personal concerns.

We also had a tough conversation about Moses. Yes, The Moses from the Bible. Why did Moses come up?

This past week two local former government officials were sentenced to relatively short sentences for a cheating scandal involving a promotions exam. When the story first broke last year, I put out a meme after a conversation I had with someone about this. I see cheating, clients trying to cheat or at least try to trick the well entrenched system of passing the government mandated exams all of the time. My response to the conversation was paying a tutor to help saves a lot of money with defense attorneys later on.

The next day after the sentencing I had someone I help telling me they were “trash” and had to deal with a meltdown. Later, when all heads were much clearer, I brought up two things. First, two people are going to jail, have lost their jobs, possibly their pensions, and untold unknown lives have been affected by this. Why all of this? Because help was not asked for in the ethical, standard way. Second, remember Moses?

In Exodus Chapter 4, Verse 10, according to the version I referenced, Moses tells God that he cannot speak to Pharaoh due to “impeded” speech. Other versions use the words “slow” or “maimed” and follow it by “slow of tongue”, depending on the translation they are using.

When I asked the person what they knew about Moses, I received the stock answer of Moses led the Jews out of Egypt to the Promised Land. I reminded them most people don’t know or dwell on the reference to the “impeded” speech. Our culture remembers Moses for his heroics, not for his having to ask and drag his brother Aaron along to speak to Pharaoh on Moses’ behalf. I reminded the person that even Moses had to ask for help.

Asking for help is not a negative thing. Asking for help is a necessary part of life. We all have things we need help with. We can’t do it all, not even Moses.