I didn’t expect to put my thesis to the test so soon.

Here was post 1. Explaining what 52NEW was all about:

Life can toss you curve balls on occasion, and those curve balls can sometimes clock you in the head and leave you on the ground and gasping for air.

Not fun.

That is when the “who” you are kicks in. How fast will you get back up, how long till you can breath deep again?

I’m a big believer that the “foundation” you have laid combined with the “team” that you have put together over the years can play a big part in how quickly you get up, dust off and march on. It’s never too late to develop either of those things and I often talk to groups about doing just that.

But over the last couple of years it has come to my attention that being in a “state of mind” that is always moving forward and embracing new ideas and lessons can also play an important role in how you walk, skip, and at times stumble through life.

So I am putting it to the test!

Over the next 52 weeks I will learn 52 new “skills.”  I will blog and vlog about my experiences, I will share what I am learning and how it goes. Plus keep track of how this constant learning effects my attitudes in life.

I’m kinda scared.

I have read the blogs of others who have tried similar experiments and they mysteriously just stop….

That won’t be me! I’m committed to this experiment and hope you are along for the ride! I am using a few headings.. Sports, Arts, Culinary, Academic, and Random. This will help me choose what I will be doing, have any ideas? Please share! Up for the next 5 weeks we have an “edgy” photo shoot, turning a napkin into a decorative chicken, learning to drive heavy machinery, popping a wheelie on my bike with bunny hops, and mastering the Rubik’s cube!

Ready? Let the adventure begin! It’s time to go Back to School!

It has been a great adventure so far and those curve balls keep getting thrown my way! What does thrill me is that it is working, keeping my mind engaged and my spirit in a state of forward momentum I am adding to my already strong foundation and when I found out that my on air shift was about to go through an unexpected change I put all of that to the test.

I was part of the team that did mornings on SUN FM Kelowna.

Now…

I am the midday announcer (10A-2p) for SUN FM that is heard in Penticton, Kelowna and Vernon.

Since late December I have learned that part of me will always miss getting up before you in order to get you ready for the day, but another part of me is loving getting up and having time with my husband over breakfast!

If I ever do morning radio again I will be better at it because of this time, you forget what the morning rush can be like, how busy traffic gets when you are not heading into work at 4AM and how long the line up can be at your local coffee shop when everyone is heading out the door at the same time!  Being on the other side of the radio while getting ready for work I now need the time checks and weather forecasts and any other information that will make the start of my day better and more efficient. The trick of doing a morning show is the balance between music, necessary information and entertainment.  It’s not easy.

Neither is this midday stuff..

Talk about a focus switch! Now my balance is about you at work, getting through the day, keeping you smiling, moving the day forward and keeping you in loop of life all the while presenting it in away that reflects my values, humour and insight.

It’s been a lot to take in!

But being surrounded by an awesome team at work along with family and friends has made this transition, while not without bumps, fun and exciting.

So I have relearned how to do a show on my own, learned how to execute some new features and how to run a show that is heard through out the Okanagan! I have learned how to not annoy my darling husband by endless chatter when I first awoke, the poor guy has spend the entire time we have been married having his morning routine to himself, now he has to share! I have had to reorganize my entire life because all the “life” things, working out, going to the doctor etc I did formally during the time I am now working!  Perhaps it doesn’t sound like much, but it has taken me weeks to get my feet back under me! I learned that working out at 5:30am is easier than trying to make a joke or writing a newscast and that not worrying about getting enough sleep takes considerable pressure of your physic.

As a side note I did learn a new skill:

Thanks to Howard in the AM1150 Newsroom I can now, almost always, get a lid off any jar that has one stuck! I always thought it was a myth.. but it turns out if you just tap around the edges of the top with a knife it changes the pressure inside and volia the lid is off!

I also learned this interesting tidbit from Haley, also in the newsroom:

“Itis” is Latin for “inflammation of.”

Hence: “arthr-itis,” “tendon-itis,” “burs-itis” etc..

It appears I might be spending too much time in the newsroom!

Next week back to the fun, as I learn how to “Dougie!”