Here's a submission for English 201, Non Fiction Writing.   A Wide Birth I found the article, “Technology and the College Generation” by Courtney Rubin, perplexing.   First, I find it odd that so many students have difficulty figuring out their class assignments simply because they are located via email.   Am I missing something here?   How is this a thing?   Maybe it’s because as a student at Boise State University, I have been well trained to check my student email for correspondence from my professors.   The article states that, “some of them didn’t even seem to know they had a college e-mail account”, and this from a junior level class.   Again, this seems perplexing to me. I certainly understand that students prefer social media, which is also the point of the article.   But the fact that many don’t seem to even know how to write a proper email seems bizarre.   Being older, I know that I have a different experience t...

Let's stoke this fire!  What was it that I posted last semester, about three blogs?  And she calls herself a blogger. I watched myself wither as a writer last semester.  By some fluke, none of my classes for fall semester 2016 required writing.  Honestly, ask me how many papers I wrote:  Zippo, nadita, not a single one.  And while my memorize/regurgitate skills got honed, it was as if my writing brain slowly withered away.  The question loomed, would it ever return?  The answer to that is still unknown.  This will be a semester of writing, to be sure.  I have made a few stabs at it so far, but writing now feels rather unfamiliar.  Flexing old muscles that haven't been used in a long time, awkward and somewhat painful. One thing that went away in my life was the joy of waking up in the wee hours of the morning with a nearly fully formed idea for a blog, jumping out of bed in a groggy, pre-awake stage, and groping for the lapto...

I have a new job on campus.  After a year and a half of getting shitty shifts - when I told them it wouldn't work with my school schedule... once again - and deciding I really want to dip my toe in the big wide scary world outside of nursing - and spotting a job in a department that looks like something I might want to do post graduation (Public Safety) - I ventured out. I'm cross training two very different jobs.  One in HR and the other in the Transportation and Parking office.  I'm enjoying it, though it's sort of like picking up two new classes mid semester.  It may not be the global job for peace I envision for myself some day, to help change the world for the better but I do help change the world for disgruntled parking citation owners.  And that feels good. What also feels good is a little something I have been missing for nearly three years - a work community.  Having had it all my life, I didn't really know how great it was.  And frankl...

I played Red Rover last night.  How many decades has it been since I've played that game?  A conservative estimate would be 45.  My friend publicized this gathering before hand saying, "We all say we want to play more so let's get together and have fun.  And let's play Red Rover."  And so we did. For those of you who may not have had the privilege of playing this game, I'll explain the rules.  Two teams line up facing each other some distance apart.  One team calls someone from the other team to "come right over" (see the above title for exact wording).  The team joins hands and tries to prevent that person from breaking through their line as the person comes across the divide running full force. I had some trepidation about this whole venture.  If you have been reading my past blogs you know that I have been struggling to remember how to play.  And I have been wanting to remedy that deficit in my life.  In the past, I was n...

Here is a piece that I wrote in spring of 2003.  I read it on my radio talk show last week along with playing the concert, "Earth Chant" by Aurora Chorus, which I sang with for a year or so.  Preparing for and singing in this concert was a marvelous and healing experience.  Enjoy.   Link to the Radio Show pod cast All Things Woo Woo Dress Rehearsal for Earth Chant By Susan Fullmer I find myself standing on risers on a stage of a large, darkened, empty auditorium, surrounded by 100 beautiful women ages 15 to 70 something.   I am at the onset of what promises to be a panic attack.   I am breathing and thinking, “How did I get here and why, oh why did I tell anyone about this concert?”. I know how I got here.   It’s because of The List.   My, “Things I want to do before I die” list.   Now, it does not say parachute jumping from a plane as one might suspect.   But it does include, “Sing in a choir”. I haven’t sun...