Rob's Blog

Retirement: Take 2

It's been about a year since I've been retired, and a lot of people have asked me, many with their own impending retirement on the horizon, what it's like. For the most part, very good. It's actually been less of an adjustment than I, and others (like my spouse!), thought it would be. I've always been a fairly active and busy person and it's definitely a slowing down process. However, I have enough hobbies and interests to keep me busy and keep me from getting bored. I've been playing guitar at open mics and hearing more live music. My two favorite new artists, who I've really enjoyed and seen multiple times, are Lera Lynn and James Maddock. I've been back on the tennis court, and so far I'm alive to write about it. I have binged on serials (and sometimes cereals) like True Detective, House of Cards, Annika Bengzton and now Foyle's War, a British detective series taking place during WWII. Also seeing a lot more movies, particulary after the Director's Guild sent me all the Oscar-nominated films on DVD. Sweet! This is even before NCAA Basketball and the baseball season starts. How am I going to ever fit everything in?!

I recently had a conversation with a friend of mine about my age, (not ABOUT my age per se, but who happens to be approximately my age), curious about how I structure my days. I was trying to explain how time seems to expand after you're retired. Incidental chores and activities, like doctor's appointments, dropping off laundry, trying to unsuccessfully pair your socks, picking up groceries at the supermarket, going to the gym, meeting people for lunch or dinner, now become the focus of your day. Whereas before, you'd squeeze these things in before or after your 10 or more hour workday, you now have the "luxury" of having those activities as your new daily goals and planning around them. "Hmmm... should I go shopping first and then walk the dogs?. But wait, I want to get new sneakers and to get the car washed. Oh and I almost forgot, I'm supposed to meet someone for lunch. What a day! It's exhausting just to think about, I think I need a nap!" Actually afternoon naps are a guilty, but wonderful pleasure, particularly with the dogs at your feet keeping you company. And speaking of dogs, I think ours are actually model retirees. They play, sleep, eat, go for walks, have a meaningful job guarding the house and keeping The Watchtower people away, and sleep some more, always finding the most comfortable spot available. Of course the postman doesn't seem to especially care for them, but I gather the feeling is mutual.

I guess the main thing I miss about work is the people. I miss the personal interaction and the satisfaction of working collectively on a project. I also thought I'd be doing a little more consulting. I'm doing some volunteer work, which I enjoy, but think I'm ready to do some "work, work." NOT that I'm soliciting, BUT if you, or someone you know needs a YouTube expert, Video Producer/Director and generally nice guy to work on a project (or alternatively, to have lunch with), please do let me know! :-) So that's about all I have to say for now. I've been SO busy, I haven't blogged in a while, maybe I'll wait until year 2 of retirement for my next post. But I am very active on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, not to mention Scoop.it, Spotify and other black holes of time. And all that email! At least I've given up Candy Crush, thank God! Anyway, I have start thinking about what I want for dinner and what time to start watching Foyle's War. Hmmmm.. maybe I should go out to eat. Oh, but that would screw up my TV schedule. Or should I should wait until tomorrow to watch Foyle's War? But then what time would I go to the gym? I don't know WHAT to do...Oh, the humanity!

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LATISM and social media

July 28, 2011

I’m in a small, impoverished village in Haiti, just over the border of the Dominican Republic. The heat is sweltering, and there’s no electricity or running water. Dozens of pregnant women, many of whom are in their teens and already mothers, are attending a free pre-natal health clinic staffed by volunteer doctors from the U.S., found via Facebook and Twitter. The women are advised to get regular checkups, though this is problematic as they are so isolated. The doctors perform a routine examination, and if they suspect any serious conditions they are referred to a hospital in the Dominican Republic, where they will be treated for free. One frequent condition is fistula, a serious medical complication that sometimes occurs in pregnancy, particularly in younger girls.

One of the young mothers at the makeshift clinic

This is part of a month long sustainable development project set up by Ana Roca Castro and her LATISM (Latinos in Social Media) organization. Ana, with a seemingly inexhaustible supply of energy, is shuttling us (myself, a video producer and a cameraman) from one location to another, so we can document the project. Back across the Dominican border in Monte Cristi, another isolated, but beautiful village on the northwest coast, we visit a “cyber room”, set up with dozens of computers donated through Latism.  Here, local “trainers” help educate artisans, and hotel owners, to use social media to connect with potential customers and organizations. The trainers will stay behind after LATISM departs, thus fulfilling the promise of sustainability, and ”using social media for social good.” We were able to meet the local artisans, mostly all women, who were visibly excited about taking pictures of their beautiful handmade pieces, and enthusiastic about sharing them on line. Many of the crafts will be sold at the upcoming blogging event, BlogHer.

Local artisans with their wares

Finally, the last aspect of the program is a summer camp, attended by the children of both the LATISM volunteers and cyber room participants, where they get to work on their English, Kung Fu skills and to generally have fun. It’s amazing how a relatively small, but extremely focused organization like LATISM can achieve so much in so little time. What they will leave behind are practical skills, knowledge, the promise of economic sustainability, and most importantly, increased self-worth and hope for a population too often ignored.

Ana Roca Castro and "gringo"

Where have I been?

Been a long time since I've posted. But social media is becoming hyper-social. You could spend all day on Twitter , Facebook , You Tube and I guess plenty of others. I think all those aforementioned platforms have become more popular than blogging, due to our obsession with multi-tasking, achievement, competition and measurement. You can only use 140 words in Twitter, and Facebook entries are similarly short. You can measure tweets, retweets, followers, likes, and now even your Twitter ranking on Klout. And of course you don't have to write at all with You Tube. And it's insidiously fracturing our lifes. It turns the riddle of "If a tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound?", to "If I don't tweet about it, is it real?"

But what have I been doing? Working a lot. Producing video from a series of "Mom blogger" conferences for J&J, asking Moms, and some Dads, "How are you using social media for social good?"  See highlights below. The last one, Mom 2.0, was held in New Orleans, where the weather was warm, the bread pudding superb and the mint juleps perfect!  I even tried an interview myself with comically horrific results. It was good to laugh though. I promise that I will blog some more. In fact, I'll try again after I tweet the fact I blogged, post the blog entry on Facebook, pinged Technorati, and had my third cup of coffee!

  

1000 Women Bloggers......and me!

July 18: First impressions of BlogHer 08, in San Francisco. Fantastic conference. And I'm just exaggerating, there are a bunch of us guys, but we are definitely a tiny minority. A new concept for white males! In many positive ways, this conference is unique by dint of its population, but on the other hand, a BlogHer is a blogger, is a blogger. And I'm finding there is ample common ground, information sharing and interests. One thing that you can't help noticing is the amazing positive energy here. It's palpable. It's also extremely well organized, and boy (or girl), do they know snack food - danish, Snickers, popcorn, chocloate, even Swedish Fish at the Sesame St. booth. It is also striking how non-commercial this is. Even though there are sponsors (J&J is here through the Safe Kids Worldwide organization, of which we are a founding sponsor), there is surprisingly little "pitching" going on. Maybe I'm stereotyping, but it seems that there is a female sensibility for "sharing" and connecting, as opposed to a masculine one of "selling" and deal making. Speaking of which, I'm reluctantly being impressed by Twitter, which the participants here seem to love. While it seems a bit like "social stalking" to me, it certainly is an interesting way to keep in touch. I noticed a twitter from BlogHer yesterday which read: "I'm amused that there are men here at BlogHer..............they're smarties! ;-)" I was kind of amused by THAT! But I think she may be right.

Katie's blog

Before I collapse tonight, I wanted to link to my niece Katie's hysterical blog
Halpyourself . Good work Katie. Keep up the Halper tradition of humor, sarcasm and disbelief!