Month: October 2024

Solvitur ambulando; figure it out while walking

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Recently, I had some technical issues to figure out at work, and I was struggling to find a solution. I took advantage of a day off during Fall break to go on a long walk, and voilà! the solution to all the little issues that had been bugging me, magically appeared in my mind. Coincidence? Of course not, walking in nature gives you the clarity you need to figure things out!

Although walking in Florida is not a lot of fun, it is flat, straight, and boring, the odd alligator, or other critters can add some excitement to an otherwise dreary walk. I am lucky to live a few miles from a massive park, the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, so a few times a year I manage to escape for a nice long walk.

For years I have written about walking to connect with nature, to clear your head and/or your spirit, but also to get inspiration and to solve problems. This is not new; I am not that original. In fact, the solvitur ambulando quote which roughly translates to “it is solved by walking”. is attributed to St. Augustine, so the early 400s.

But even before St. Augustine, Spanish (but Roman) philosopher Seneca said the same thing:

“We should take wandering outdoor walks, so that the mind might be nourished and refreshed by the open air and deep breathing.”  Seneca

So, if you are stuck with a problem, go for a walk. You are welcome.

The Guadarrama mountains, la Sierra Madrileña and a great new bar: La Gamberra

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About an hour’s drive North of Madrid are the Guadarrama mountains. I have talked about them often, but never quite dedicated a blog to it -and this is not it. But a recent outing prompted me to write this.

Of course, the main reason to visit the mountains is nature and nature sports: hiking, cycling, or skiing (sorry, camping is forbidden except in designated campgrounds). But there are also great villages and buildings, like El Escorial (read about that here) or El Paular monastery (click here for more).

Spending my Summers there since my youth, we would, of course, take advantage of all the natural resources, but we also wanted to find places to hang out and party.

My cousin Quique recently opened a bar, La Gamberra, in nearby Alpedrete. My sister and I were invited to the opening night. We had a blast! La Gamberra has a simple but delicious, straightforward menu with a heavy beach vibe -lots of fresh seafood[1]! Obviously, a full bar, this is Spain after all, a huge “terraza” outdoor seating, “Beer garden” style, and best of all awesome great live music, most nights. They also have a prix fixe lunch menu for weekday lunches based on homemade traditional stews. The mood was enjoyable! Laid back, with the live music playing, people spending time together, having fun. If you are in the area and looking for a place to eat or to have a fun drink and enjoy some live music, I could not recommend this place enough!

[1] Remember that Madrid has the second biggest seafood market in the world after Tokio, despite being over 200 miles away from the nearest ocean.

Magic in the Magic Kingdom, revisiting Disney World

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When you finally convince your girlfriend to visit you after four years working abroad and her only condition is that you go to Disney World? You arrange it.

We had a great time. I had not been to the Magic Kingdom in a loooong time, so it was nice to revisit childhood memories and to see Disney from an adult perspective; understanding everything I had learned about Disney as a business, after reading In Search of Excellence when I had my own business, (knowing that the magic was happening under my feet and everything above “ground” is a set – actors or “cast members” cannot take their masks off above ground, only when they go down “secret” stairs to the “backstage”), the cleanliness, the friendliness, the whole experience.

We stayed at one of Disney’s hotels, so we got the full Disney experience, the bus, the meals, the swimming pool!

I was recruited to be one of Belle’s knights in shining armor -although all I got was a handheld mask, we met Ariel, we rode a handful of rides, saw a few shows, and had a great time!

We only had one day, so we have a lot to see in future visits!

Hanging out with Ariel

If you don’t use it, you lose it, Welcome to French Club! Le Cercle Français

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French is a beautiful language; I miss teaching it (you can read about me teaching French at UNC here). The other day I was talking to a dear friend and volunteer at school, whose mother was a French war bride and instructed her daughter so they could chat in French.  We realized we both missed speaking French. Solution? Start a French Club, a Le Cercle Français. Our first meeting was just the two of us in the school dining room, but we hope there are more Francophiles at school waiting to come out of the woodwork!

The topics of conversation are not that important, the important bit is to exercise the language of Jean Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, Eiffel, De Gaulle, Joan of Arc, Voltaire, Renoir, Simone de Beauvoir, Zinedine Zidane, Marie Curie (well, she was Polish, but you get the idea!), and so on, the list is endless…

Allez, viens parler français avec nous !!

On the importance of time management -Bonus Power Point!

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It is all about priorities

Time management is a myth, you cannot manage time, time passes inexorably. What you can do, is manage what you do with your time.

Are you tired of always running around doing a thousand things, feeling like you are on a merry go round?

I used to have this problem, especially when I had my company -Inter Tape- in the 90s and early aughts, with the accompanying physical expense: stress and all that. Tired of the chicken without a head feeling, I hired a great team to give us a Time Management workshop during a company retreat. My life was changed! I loved the idea of being able to control my environment as much as possible, all very Stoic. I did further research, and my life became considerably more livable.

Fast forward a few years and a change of career. I was teaching at the University of North Carolina when I noticed my students were freaking out about homework, assignments, life, parties, etc. So I gave them my time management workshop (a shorter version, adapted to a class period). They must have liked it since they asked me to do it at many of their fraternities and sororities. Eventually my Dean of Students found out I was giving this workshop to my classes and last week he asked me to do this presentation for the whole school. It was a bit overwhelming, but a lot of fun. I hope the students got something out of it…

The main points are to figure out your Long-, Medium-, and Short-term goals, write them down and put them where you can see them. Second step is to find out how you are spending your days, with the objective of finding out your “time thieves” (Tik Tok videos? Call of Duty?). Then prioritize your work into four quadrants, what is important and urgent, important, and not urgent, urgent, and not important and not urgent nor important. Another key is to write down absolutely everything you must do so you can see it and get it done. For more information check out the attached Power Point presentation!

You are welcome.

Time management presentationDownload
Making a point