Power of Connections : My Desk

This was supposed to be the first post but somehow I am still jumping around #NTPoC course trying to figure out what I'd missed and how to find my way around the platform.

So....

My Temporary Work-Space

this is my work-space which as you can see is a total mess and not a desk. I am still using the dining table as my "temporary" work-space, something I have been doing since I returned home a year ago after around 23 years of living abroad.

As you can see this was my second attempt with the first one appearing on the screen of the laptop. I decided to take another one to make sure I capture the messiness. It is not usually as messy but  having so much space makes it harder to stay organized, if that makes any sense. :) One item that is always present is a headset that I use a lot and another thing that I have to have all summer is the fan that appears in the background on the top left side of the picture.

As for books and bookshelves, well, my books still live in boxes and every now and then I have to rummage through a box to find a book that I want (thank God I made a list of each box' contents).


A Virtual Work-Space

I would love to be able to work outdoors but haven't found a way to do that yet. So, when I need a bit of nature around me while working I log into a Virtual World, sit my avatar in one of my favorite spots in a forest or on the beach and work. I can look in on her every now and then if I need a break but I can keep the sounds on all the time so that I am listening to some relaxing nature sounds. I also teach in-world at least once a week where I can sit with learners from around the world.

A 25 Words Language

The second improvisation challenge (part of The Power of Connection Course from Next Thought) is to select only 25 words to take with me as my new language, as I go into space on a mission to colonize a new planet. The challenge was to choose the words that my new language will consist of in only 10 minutes.

I knew this was not going to be easy as soon as I read the instructions but didn't realize how difficult it was going to be. We take language for granted and I am not particularly known for being succinct. :) .

One of the things that I kept thinking about is how some of the online spaces/tools force you to communicate in as short a form as possible. Sometimes it's a hard restriction by the space/tool itself, e.g. Twitter's 145 characters, and sometimes a restrictions created by the circumstances and general norms adopted by the users, like while you're communicating with a fellow player during a video game. However in those instances I usually still have a full language with hundreds of words to choose from, abbreviate, shorten, omit etc.

Any way, back to my new created language, for which I will have no one to blame except myself if it doesn't work for me in outer space, and how I selected it.

The words are:
need, food, help, bad, good, thanks, feel, cold, heat, why, how, when, come go, must, time, contact, earth, planet, new, old.

One of the main assumptions on my mind while frantically trying to find good useful words was "many things can be easily mimed". With that in mind, I find that some words I like and some I think could have been replaced by more versatile ones.