NEW TECHNOLOGY AND OLD BRAIN CELLS

What a beautiful New England late spring day.  After three days of thick overcast skies it was wonderful to wake up to sunshine!  My clients were in the morning so by noon I was free to go and DO NEW.  Today was a rather normal DO NEW.  I needed to crack open that NEW Garmin GPS and figure out how it worked.  I am still figuring out how it works.

I managed to set it well enough to take it out on the bike but but I have not mastered the set up.  I hooked it into the computer but the computer tells me I have not fully finished DOing something. This was not the day to waste at a computer so I downloaded the PDF manuals for later, chose the closest state park from the ATTRACTIONS option on the device, wrapped it in a napkin to keep from marring it and I put it in the zippered mesh pocket of my camel-back.  It was time to hit the road already!  As for figuring out how to code in the bike rambles that I copied from a library book I have no clue.  That will take NEW brain cells.  The old ones are worn out.

 

So that's it.  It is a short DO NEW day just trying to figure out this NEW (for me) technology.  Over the next few days I will get this GPS figured out and personalized.  Right now I have the voice of Michelle guiding me along my routes.  She has a slight tinge of VG (Valley Girl) in her inflection.  I may need to switch voices soon. O M G !

Why are there no sexy male voices to select?  I would be quite pleased being ordered around by the OLD SPICE MAN or  better yet Antonio Banderas.  "Let's Go."  :0)

NEW DO IT UP THIS WEEKEND.  Start planning fun NEW things to DO now.  It is Thursday. I think. :)

H. H. RICHARDSON AND PEANUT BUTTER BUGS

Today the friend that I am staying with in Massachusetts had to take off for work early leaving me to wait for the MATAG repairman.  There is nothing NEW there except that after living in Argentina the fact that any service technician would actually show up as scheduled is well... a MIRACLE. I was happy he arrived and finished up by noon as I had a client appointment at 2pm and this left me the time I needed to make two quick stops en route to two NEW places I have never seen.

The first was the Old Colony Railroad Station in North Easton.  The station was designed by Henry Hobson Richardson, famous for several buildings including the Trinity Church in Boston.  I had seen many of the structures here in North Easton but not the station.  It now houses the Historical Society.  The offices were closed but that was of no matter as what I wanted to DO was shoot some photos of the exterior.  Before finishing up a gentleman involved with the historical society drove up and asked me why I was measuring the rails.  He had seen me from afar bending over them. "No I wasn't measuring them.  I was taking photos from a different angle".  He said he was born in North Easton and could tell me a great deal of history.  It was a pity that I did not have the time.

 

 

After taking photos I headed off to my client's house passing a chocolate place that I have heard about from way too many of my clients,  WATSON'S.  Back in 2004 I held a weight loss study on 10 women as I was working with a new technique.  After doing one of my quick craving elimination sessions one client wrote me a testimonial of its incredible effectiveness. In brief she wrote that she was amazed that as it was Easter and she needed to buy gifts she went to WATSON'S and she had no urge to taste any of the chocolate.  GREAT.  I love it when my treatments work so well.  Just last week another woman in the study that I am still in touch with also said that ever since I took her chocolate cravings away they have never reared their ugly head(s) again.  It is now eight years and holding strong.  I am pleased. :) I don't have a sweet tooth anymore but I did want to stop in and see WATSON'S.  I decided to try the peanut butter bugs.  EH!

And the GPS?  I researched, found one at a great price and picked it up at BEST BUY on my way back.  Now the DO NEW will be reading the instruction book and figuring how to mount a 5" car GPS onto a racing bicycle.

Look around you.  NEW things to DO are everywhere.

BAD BOYS, BERRY BOGS AND RECALCULATING

I awoke this morning wondering what shall I DO NEW today.  I had a client scheduled for 2:00pm so I relaxed knowing that I had time to think, but when we decided to meet 2.5 hours earlier I had to think fast. I was going to be heading to Walpole.  The first thing that came to my mind was the WALPOLE STATE PRISON aka CEDAR (not Petticoat) JUNCTION.  This is where they put the very, very BAD BOYS in Massachusetts. I had never been by there so I googled the directions.  It turns out that the prison is very close to the BAY STATE CORRECTIONAL CENTER, a lower level security center. It is hard to believe that it is less secure with all the barbed wire on the fences. These two facilities are about a mile from one another.  I guess it is easier to put all the BAD BOYS in the same neighborhood.

When I got to Bay State it was forbidden to take any photos.  I also figured that there wasn't a guided tour.  People seemed a bit grumpy.  I decided not to try to get an interview.  Cedar Junction looked much more welcoming but I opted not to park. Large signs read that all vehicles were subject to search. Ok. Time to look for an additional NEW DO for the day.  What's nearby? 

OCEAN STATE CRANBERRIES. At one end of Patriot's Place on RT 1 by the Gillette Stadium there are cranberry bogs and a trail open to the public.  It is a lovely path with self guided tour information all about the tart little red berry, its history and cultivation.  The bog is so peaceful. I spotted several large birds, perhaps a type of vulture, as they hunted over the berry plants.

Back in the car I did my third DO NEW for the day.  I have been researching GPSs as I would like to have one for my road bike so that I don't have to stop, put on my reading glasses and look at a map.  Sunday a GEEK SQUAD fellow at BEST BUY spent about 20 minutes educating me on devices. I went back to the house and researched GPSs for bikes. I didn't like any of them.  I also don't need many of the features.  I just want someone to tell me out loud where to turn so that I don't have to stop pedaling. Memorial Day (yesterday) as I pulled out of the drive I thought, "Patt, Comparing how much time you drive your car to how much time that you ride your bike, isn't it just better to get one for the car and adapt it to the bike when necessary?"  I then proceeded to drive to Rhode Island and get LOST.  Yup.......

Today I explained to my client that I was researching GPSs so she gave me hers to play with for a few days.  After the cranberry bogs I turned the GPS on and coded it with the address of the house.  I left RT 1 and it kept RECALCULATING as I refused to go where it was telling me.  Each time I went past where I was to turn (the wrong way in my opinion) it recalculated and steered me back to RT 1.  "Turn here."  NO !  This dialogue went on for several miles and was wasting my gas until the yellow indicator light came on.  I was ready to go back to the prison and ask a corrections officer if I could borrow his gun and shoot the darn thing.  I have been living in Argentina without a car for several years.  This was my first time coding a GPS.  I thought maybe, it was possible, that I pushed a wrong button.  Perhaps I pushed a button for an address that was pre-coded into the device, some place south on RT 1.  I got off the road, started from square button pushing one and... no more arguments. :)  I am so SMAHT.

The day is not over yet.  What DO NEW sounds good to YOU?  Do you need some ideas or have some ideas to inspire others?  Leave a comment.

UP UP AND AWAY !

On this first day of the DO NEW CHALLENGE I did several NEW things that I have never done before. I started by getting lost in Rhode Island (well that isn't a NEW thing as I have done that a few times in my life). What was NEW about it is that I stopped at the RI State Police facility to get directions.  The Trooper manning the desk didn't have a clue as to how I could get to the North Central Airport in North Smithfield. I teased him, "Come on. You are a Statie and Rhode Island is a little state. You should know."  He called over to the trooper with the impressive German Shepard.  Officer Dog Guy routed me just up the street and to the left until the end. It was simple and less than 5 miles.  I guess on Memorial Day they put less seasoned troopers on desk duty. I wondered why neither of them were wearing cool SS State Trooper boots but I was late for my meeting and didn't have the time to ask if the boots were just Massachusetts Statie fashion or regional. When I got into my car I realized I had stolen their pen.  Whoops !  Sorry guys.  Another NEW DO for the day - ripping off the RI State Police. :p

Finally I arrived to the airport for the BIG "DO NEW" -  Flying around Massachusetts in a 4 seater plane.  FUN!

It wasn't a great flying day in terms of weather so we didn't buzz the coastline and land in Martha's Vineyard for lunch which was the hoped for plan.  Instead we flew west flying over lakes and trees and highways.  I got to see the tornado damage from earlier in the year from above. Yikes.

I would DO it again.  :)  And a helicopter ride would be really fun too!

And how about YOU?  What did you DO NEW today?  Let me know.

INTRODUCING THE DO NEW CHALLENGE

THE DO NEW CHALLENGE IS SOMETHING NEW TO DO

What is it??????
THE DO NEW CHALLENGE is pushing yourself every day to DO something that you have never done before.  That's right, each day find and DO something completely NEW.

Why??????
It sparks creativity, adds spice to life, breaks up the routine and stops you postponing so many of the big and small adventures awaiting to be experienced. In brief, it pulls you out of a rut.

Well isn't that like a BUCKET LIST??????
No.  Bucket lists are different.  First of all they're lists. Some of us are really bad at making lists and/or we have enough TO DO lists.  Also bucket lists are usually for the BIG "check off" items before you DIE.

THE DO NEW CHALLENGE is more spontaneous although some DO's can be planned.  Some days the DO NEW will be small, something as simple as taste a new food or travel a new route to work.  Some days the DO NEW will be medium such as taking a NEW class, trying a NEW restaurant, seeing a NEW sight in a nearby town.  And some days the DO NEW will be BUCKET LIST BIG such as climbing a volcano, swimming with the dolphins or witnessing the birth of a baby.

Well let's get real.  I am too busy for that.  I can't DO more!!!!!!
It is not always about doing more.  Sometimes it is just about doing things differently.  For instance, let's say you wake up on a normal weekday knowing it will be busy and perhaps the perception is that doing something NEW just can't fit into the schedule.  Just change something small like the radio station in the car, your choice of lunch place, the part in your hair - something.  DO NEW will spark your creative thinking.  Once sparks ignite then more creativity flows into your life, new ideas pop up, out of the box thinking abounds, VOILAs, AH-HAs and EUREKAs dangle like ripening fruit waiting for the picking.

If you are having a bit of a challenge thinking of DO NEW ideas just relax and let them flow in.  It gets easier over time and with practice. Trust me.  If you have ever felt the need to break set just DO SOMETHING NEW TODAY.  Life is a wonderful adventure.

Join me.  Let's inspire each other.  Post me a comment with your own NEW DOs.


So what did you DO NEW TODAY?

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