Monthly Archives: September 2019

“It’s Just A Little Town Of People Trying To Be Good.”

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Bon Iver’s creativity, as detailed in this article and video, 5 Years, 28 People, 1 Song: No One Writes Quite Like Bon Iver, is a marvel.

Listening to extremely creative people talk about their process is one of my favorite things en todo el mundo. I just find it imminently fascinating. Never more so than when watching that New York Times vid.

It’s hard to fathom that twenty-eight people spent five years making one song. Equal parts creativity and persistence.

Inspiring stuff.

Here’s the finished product.

Cultural Globalization At Its Best

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Thanks National Public Radio for the A-WA introduction. A-WA mixes Yemenite and Arabic traditions with reggae and hip-hop. I dig the parallels with East Indian Bollywood soundtracks. After the “Hana Mash Hu Al Yaman” vid, give their Tiny Desk concert a whirl. The English language subtitles are nice, but as they say, music is the universal language.

 

U.S. Health Care Is Not Affordable

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If a country is the “greatest” in the world, what kind of health care system would we expect at minimum?

I spent 15 minutes with a dermatologist recently. She examined my skin; froze one spot; and scraped another small, suspicious one on my upper back; and sent that to the lab. Fortunately, as per usual (so far), it came back as another basal cell carcinoma. 

I am very fortunate to have health insurance through my employer. I pay a small amount of the monthly premium, but in exchange for that I have a high deductible, and I am limited to docs in my network.

The bill was $1,058. I owe $812. 40% of Americans can’t afford a $400 emergency. So, what are people doing in light of run away health care inflation? In many cases I’m sure, they’re choosing not to seek care. Which, of course, is more costly in the long run.

This case study may shock international readers, but not my U.S. friends who no doubt have their own depressing stories, some I’m sure, that make mine laughable by comparison.

 

 

The Deleterious Health Effects of Sedentary Work Cultures

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One aspect of my privilege is my education which has enabled me to make a living without sacrificing my body. Roofers, welders, plumbers, farmers, house painters, construction workers, tree cutters, often aren’t as fortunate.

But I’ve noticed a pattern even among my fellow white collar egghead professors. A majority routinely sacrifice their health for the sake of their work because of a deep-seated intellectual bias that prioritizes the mind at the expense of the body. 

Simply put, most of my colleagues have been sedentary for decades. On top of that, generous people take turns providing unhealthy office snacks*. Most professors don’t make time to walk, hike, run, play tennis, swim, cycle, or lift weights because there’s always another lecture to plan, or syllabus or grant to write, or set of papers to mark, or conference presentation to prepare, or faculty workshop to attend.

I like my work and my university, but not nearly enough to sacrifice my health for it. One colleague of mine retired in May and died in July. I didn’t know him so I don’t even want to pretend his lifestyle played any part, but I fear too many of my colleagues will not get to enjoy as many post work years if they do not prioritize their health more than is the norm.

Today marks the end of the world’s longest academic sabbatical, mine. I normally work summers, but I took the summers of 18 and 19 off, the book-ends to my 2018-2019 academic year sabbatical. 15 months, huzzah! Someone call the Guinness Book of World Records**. I won’t be telling any of my colleagues what I’m going to tell you in the next paragraph because the sedentary nature of faculty life is so pervasive my athletic self lives deep in the closet***.

Besides the traditional, publishing a couple of articles, reading a bunch, and updating my syllabi, I also turned the knob up a bit on my regular swimming, cycling, and running volume. Por exemplar, I joined a Masters swim team and so far this year have already swam about the same distance as last calendar year. And SO WHAT if I did stretch and chill in the jacuzzi after some practices! Also, I’m on pace to cycle 5,000 miles this year and maintain my 1,000 mile a year running streak. I was fit when I began my record breaking sabbatical, today I’m a little more fit****.

Am I overcompensating? Maybe, but I don’t think so. I’m under no illusions that my active lifestyle will guarantee any kind of post-work longevity because life is fragile. That driver on their cell phone could wipe me out on tomorrow’s ride.

But as long as I work as an egghead professor, I will dare to be different by making time to swim, cycle, and run. In particular, I will not sacrifice the quality of my life to the pervasive work culture of which I’m apart. Please, just don’t out me to any of my colleagues.

*Decent chance I have my first donut in a long time today. #glazed

**Could an educator-reader please tell me if teaching is like riding a bike, I’m afraid I may have forgotten how. Any tips?

***Except for one colleague-friend who follows my workouts on Strava. I should probably get him to sign a non-disclosure agreement.

****No, I haven’t just opted to not write about racing triathlons, I have in fact sold my time trial bike and stopped competing for reasons I’m not entirely sure. As I age, given the attrition of my peers, and my consistent training, I would do quite well. But when I envision best case scenarios, like winning races, I’m still not sufficiently motivated to toe the line. Is there a sports psychologist in the house?

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