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Monthly
Lifestyle Newsletter November 2009
Is It Time For A Family Reunion?
These days, it's a rarity when an extended
family resides in a single city. In many families, brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents,
aunts, uncles, and cousins live in cities across the country (or even the globe),
and don't spend time together day-to-day. Instead, they rely on electronic
communications, vacations, weddings, and other events to catch up. If you would
like to have everyone together in one place for a short period of time,
consider organizing a family reunion.
Planning a reunion is not easy, but it can be
rewarding. Whether you invite one branch of your family or everyone in all
branches, the effort is likely to take months of preparation and communication.
Here are some of the basics of reunion planning:
·
Establish interest. Send out a group
e-mail. Propose your idea for a reunion and offer some specific reunion
location ideas. Remember, the choices should suit the budgets of everyone who might
want to participate. You could rent houseboats on the Lake of the Ozarks, go on
a swamp safari in the Everglades, camp in Glacier or Yosemite, or rent
inexpensive rooms at a college dormitory in your home town. Ask those who are
interested in attending to select "Reply to All" when indicating which type of
reunion most appeals to them. Compromise and consensus-building will be
essential to a harmonious reunion.
·
Choose a date, time,
and location.
Summer may be an obvious choice, but don't forget that a long weekend may be an
option, too. In your initial e-mail, ask family members how long they would
like the reunion to last and which time of year would suit them best.
·
Enlist volunteers. Even if you are
organizationally-minded, you do not want to be responsible for everything. Once
a date and place have been chosen, ask for volunteers to manage invitations, travel
and accommodations, events and activities, food and drink, and keepsakes or
t-shirts. The more help you have, the less likely it is that you'll be too busy
to enjoy the big event.
·
Plan activities. If the reunion will
span several days, it's a good idea to have planned events, as well as free
time. Early on, you may want to have some ice-breaking activities (match baby
pictures to adults or have people line up by age, birthday, number of family
members, etc.). These can help get everyone talking. If you travel to a
vacation spot, set up a tour or two, visit an amusement park, or participate in
other local activities.
·
Debrief. If you plan to make
your reunion an annual or semi-annual affair, make sure you discuss what people
enjoyed and what they would like to try in the future. Write it all down so you
can pass it on to the family member who volunteers to organize the next
reunion.
A family reunion is a time to rekindle old
relationships and develop new ones with the people with whom you have the most
in common - your relatives! If you decide to accept the challenge, keep a
journal that can guide future planners. Most of all, once the reunion is
underway, savor your time together.
Relish the Holidays
The Thanksgiving holiday often includes
a family feast. If you're looking for a way to include the grandchildren with
Thanksgiving dinner preparations, try this easy-to-make cranberry relish. The
older children can peel and chop. The younger ones can wash berries and push
buttons on the food processor (with supervision).
Cranberry Relish
1 pound raw cranberries, washed
2 tart apples, cored and peeled
2 large seedless oranges, peeled and
cut into small sections
2 cups white sugar (adjust to taste)
Combine fruit in a food processor. Hit
pulse repeatedly until you have a fine texture. Add sugar and mix well.
Refrigerate until dinner time.
What Do You Know About Water on the Moon?
Did you know that scientists recently
discovered water on the moon? It turns out that the moon is wetter than anyone
thought, although it's still drier than the Sahara. By some estimates, one ton
of moon dirt would yield about 32 ounces of water.
1.
What caused scientists to think there
was H2O on the moon?
a.
The Moon Mineralogy Mapper orbiting the
moon on India's Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft picked up wavelengths that are only
produced by water.
b.
Samples collected by Japanese
astronauts and analyzed on the International Space Station contained tiny bits of
ice.
c.
A Centaur robot developed by NASA
collected samples of rock and ice.
d.
NASA photographs showed deposits in two
gullies on the moon that suggest water carried sediment through the gullies
thousands of years ago.
2.
Why were scientists surprised to find
indications of water on the moon?
a. The rocks brought to earth by Apollo astronauts were thought
to be completely dry.
b. There is no apparent source for water on the moon.
c. The moon's atmosphere is too thin to prevent water from
evaporating.
d. There is no life on the moon.
3.
Which of the following statements is
true? Water on the moon:
a. May be present as ice in shadowed craters which are some of
the coldest places in the solar system.
b. Looks as though it is most abundant near the poles of the
moon.
c. May be produced as solar wind hydrogen interacts with rock
on the moon's surface.
d. All of the above.
4.
How do scientists plan to learn more
about water on the moon?
a. They plan to use NASA's Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing
Satellite to blast a crater in the moon's surface and gather data.
b. The next NASA space shuttle will drill for samples and
return them to earth.
c. The Indian Research Space Organization will send a Moon
Surface Robotic Penetrator to gather additional information.
d. The ICESat mission will provide data about the moon's ice
sheet.
A Really Good Interview
Unfortunately, unemployment is high and it
isn't expected to improve until economic recovery is well underway. That makes
it important for job seekers to ace each and every interview. Basic
interviewing skills haven't changed much over the past couple decades. You still
need to be on time, dress appropriately, and be polite. In addition, you
should:
·
Be prepared. Learn as much as you
can about the company you're interviewing with, as well as the position you
hope to gain. As you prepare, think about the position you are applying for
from the employer's point of view. What would make someone a good candidate for
the job? You should be able to clearly describe your skills, experiences, and
strengths, as well as the reasons they make you perfect for the position.
·
Clean up your online
act.
Social networking has become an easy way to stay in touch electronically. It
can also provide potential employers with information about your personal life,
online behavior, political views, and more. Before you begin interviewing - and
as a general rule - be careful about the ways in which you communicate online. Clean
up inappropriate information and consider boosting your online presence with
recommendations and referrals from colleagues or professors.
·
Avoid obvious
mistakes.
Don't chew gum, send or receive text messages, answer your cell phone, engage
in nervous behaviors, act arrogantly, be presumptuous, or eat snacks during the
interview. Reading through "interview don'ts" online may provide a laugh or
two, but you should take the advice to heart.
Remember, no matter how good you are, you
will not be a perfect fit everywhere. When you are not invited for a second or
third interview, contact your interviewer and ask politely if he or she could
provide feedback to help you improve your interviewing skills. Learn from each experience,
improve your skills along the way, and keep a positive attitude.
Answers: Water on the Moon
1.
a. The Moon Mineralogy Mapper orbiting
the moon on India's Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft picked up wavelengths that are
only produced by water.
2.
a. The rocks brought to earth by Apollo
astronauts were thought to be completely dry.
3.
d. All of the above.
4.
a. They plan to use NASA's Lunar Crater
Observation and Sensing Satellite to blast a crater in the moon's surface and
gather data.
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