Alternatives to Valentine’s Day

Posted on February 12, 2016 by Kim Kishbaugh

Valentines-Day-Antiques Do you have a love-hate relationship with Valentine’s Day? I’ve always been at least a bit conflicted about it. I’m all for love, and showing people that you love them, but celebrating a single day when that’s expected is problematic for me in a couple of ways:

It leaves too many people feeling left out—and probably many of the people who most need to know they’re cared for.
What about the other 364 days of the year (365 days in a leap year)?

Rather than celebrate Valentine’s Day, I’d prefer to fill the world with random acts of kindness every day of the year—kindness both toward the people we love and toward total strangers. Here are some ideas: Continue reading →

Give Credit. Take Blame.

Posted on February 10, 2016 by Kim Kishbaugh

StopSign-Old Seth Godin recently wrote of the importance of owning responsibility for your mistakes and sharing credit for successes. He focused on use of the pronouns “I”, “you” and “we,” and when each is most appropriate. Example: Instead of saying “I” when announcing a success, he suggests using “we.” Continue reading →

The Ever-Growing Book List

Posted on February 7, 2016 by Kim Kishbaugh

A portion of the book stack that awaits me next to my bed.

I just finished reading a marvelous book of essays about Chicago and Chicagoans, Neil Steinberg’s You Were Never in Chicago, recommended by a friend. It was educational, engaging, and made me think a lot about what makes Chicago unique and what makes someone a Chicagoan. It also left me further behind in my planned/desired reading than I was when I started it. Continue reading →

Community, Literature, Snow

Posted on January 24, 2016 by Kim Kishbaugh

The happy little snowman I walked past in my ‘hood a couple of weeks ago.

Snowmageddon hit the East Coast this week, and judging from my social media feed I think at least a few people took the opportunity to immerse themselves in books they’d not previously found time for.

I live in the Midwest, and we saw only an inch or so of accumulated snow throughout the entire week, which is nearly nothing by our standards. We also saw the end of a cold snap, with temperatures rising from the single digits, which even we consider cold, to the upper 20s, which in January constitutes a virtual heat wave. We took advantage of this very moderate weather by getting our dogs out for longer walks, which makes both them and everyone around them happier.

Despite the moderate weather, I still found myself immersed in books throughout much of the week and weekend: reading, thinking and talking books. Continue reading →

Saturday Distraction: Google 201

Posted on April 18, 2015 by Kim Kishbaugh

Image by AlphaZeta (Own work) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons

Looking for some distraction on this fine Saturday? How about a fun little learning tangent that will leave you better able to search and find what you want on the Internet? Behold: Google 201 (or, as it’s technically called, “Get More out of Google.”

This nifty infographic is far from new, but still has in it a whole lot of Google tips that many people don’t know. Things like: how to search Google for a specific type of file; how to limit your search to a specific website; and how to search for a word only in titles.

Continue reading →

I love my public library, and I’m not alone

Posted on November 23, 2014 by Kim Kishbaugh

I grew up going to the library every week. My mom would load my sister and me into the car, drive us into town, and we would read and search there to our delight. I’ve no memory of what my mother did while we were there – whether she came in with us and went off hunting for her own selection of borrowed treasure, or (probably more likely) took the opportunity of an hour or so without any kids to do shopping or other errands that would be easier without the pair of us than with us.

But for me, there was an hour or so of exploration and quiet discovery, and I’d leave with a stack of books, and then I’d be back again for more the next week. Continue reading →

kkish: My Spot

Category Archives: Personal growth