Elevator Manifesto: Part 1

This manifesto is a response to a general lack of consideration and presence of common sense that I have witnessed while riding the elevators in the hospital where I work in the maintenance department.  Maybe these things are indicative of changes to society on a larger scale and just become more obvious in the microcosm of the elevator ride.  Maybe my place of work has been overrun by the inconsiderate and the oblivious, and the behaviors I see on a day to day basis aren’t the norm.  I doubt this is the case though.  While this is a manifesto about elevator rules, it is also a guide to living in polite society.  Having some consideration for others can go a long way to making the world run more smoothly.

Before addressing topics like, Space Invaders, Up Downs, Down Ups, Door Holders, Elevator Operators, and more I think I should address the most common source of my elevator frustration. 
Rule #1 Exiting passengers have the right of way.
Such a simple rule. 
So simple I will use an analogy to explain it.  Lets say you were filling a jar with red and blue marbles and you mistakenly fill it to the top with the red leaving no room for the blue.  You have to get the blue ones in there somehow.  What do you do?  Do you try to cram the blue marbles into the already full jar like a dummy, or do you take some of the red ones out to make room for the blue?  Most people would choose the latter rather than the former of the two options.  Why then do so many people rush onto the elevator as soon as the doors open?  Is it because they lack a basic understanding of common elevator rules of etiquette, or do they think the world revolves around them and we should all step aside and let them do whatever they want.
This simple rule and its violation is what finally lead me to writing this manifesto that I have been threatening to write for years.  It was a Thursday, a day not unlike any other day.  I was pushing a cart with some supplies and had to bring them to the the third floor.  I boarded the elevator with another person and we both got off at the third floor.  I motioned for him to disembark first because the room I was going to was next to the elevator bank and he would have had to walk around me had I exited first (consideration: it’s easy).  I followed directly behind him not wanting to leave a gap allowing someone to jump on before I could make my exit.  Seriously I was right on his heels, but that wasn’t enough to stop the woman who had been waiting for the elevator.  Without looking she tried to walk right on as in her peripheral vision she saw the first guy exit.  When she finally noticed I was coming off with the cart she had to do a jump back maneuver that almost made the guy behind her trip.  As the elevator door was closing I could hear her mumbling to the guy whom she almost tripped that it was rude of me to not have announced I was coming off the elevator.  I was rude?  Really?  I don’t believe I was, but if I was please tell me.  She said some other stuff too that was hard to make out.  My first thought was to abandon my cart and run up the stairs to explain to her the error of her ways but I knew better than to leave the cart unattended.  It was a teachable moment, and I had to let it pass, very unfortunate.
Rule #1 is simple, easy to follow, and is applicable 100% of the time.  If you have been waiting “forever” for the elevator to arrive at your floor, exiting passengers still have the right of way.  If you are only going up or down one floor, exiting passengers still have the right of way.  If you are pregnant or suspect you may be pregnant, if you are in a power chair, if you are rich, if you are poor, if you suspect you may have gotten that lady pregnant when you hooked up at your ten year high school reunion, remember Rule #1 and let the people off the elevator before you make things difficult for everyone.
Stay tuned for part 2 and until then be sure to put rule #1 into practice. 

Who Is?: Super Kate

I actually tried to write a post like this a few years ago and failed miserably. Back then pretty much everything about me was defined in terms of others…my roles in life and the things I did. Jeff’s wife, Daniel/Nathan/Jacob’s mother, my students’ teacher. If you asked me what I did outside of those roles, I’d tell you, “Um….I read a lot.” I didn’t have my own “thing”. We watched a lot of sports and movies. We camped. While I liked to do all of those things, I was just fitting myself into what my husband enjoyed. I can’t blame him; when he’d ask me what I wanted to do I didn’t know. I wasn’t so much an individual as a mirror.


We subscribed to National Geographic Adventure and Outside magazines. I read them cover to cover, dreaming of a life of adventure that seemed as out of reach as a date with Brad Pitt. Back then, I saw life mostly in terms of what I couldn’t do. I was afraid to try new things. Without someone to lead the way I hung back, bored but comfortable with the familiar. And then, at 35, I fell in love. Yes, I was already married, but it’s ok because I fell in love with bicycling.

Thanks to a lousy sense of direction I accidentally rode my new bike 15 miles, a distance that seemed astonishing to me at the time. That ride – to another town! – was the first time I ever understood the sense of accomplishment that comes with the journey. 15 miles turned into 30, then 60 and later 100. Later came the decision to train for a 5K with my sister-in-law. I didn’t even like running; it took almost a year before I’d call myself a runner, but I did love the challenge. Running friendships led me to adventure racing and a whole host of new things: orienteering, mountain biking, paddling, bushwhacking, racing through the night.

Somewhere in all of this, I made a shift that has truly changed me life. Instead of saying “I can’t”, I started wondering, “Can I?” And for me, the process of answering that question matters infinitely more than the actual answer.

Can I run a marathon? Yes.
Can I race for 24 hours straight? Yes.
Can I rappel for the first time ever at night? Yes.
Can I ascend a 100-foot rock wall? Eventually.
Can I ride my bike 200 miles in a day? Not yet.

I don’t like to fail, but I’m no longer so afraid of failure that I refuse to try things that call to me. My circumstances haven’t changed, but my world is much bigger. I’m still a wife and a mother and a teacher and a reader…and a runner and mountain biker and adventure racer. I like a good challenge, can often be found jumping in over my head, and can probably be talked into joining your hairbrained scheme. I’m living the same basic life, but now it’s filled with adventure and adventurous people, and when I say “I can’t”, it’s most often to tell you “I can’t wait!”

I’m Kate. Who are you?
You can read more about Super Kate on her blog by clicking here.

One project finished as another begins

I actually finished a project! 
It was an easy one but I finished it just the same.  Beth wanted to install some lights on the mirror behind the dresser.  My first instinct was to schedule it for some later date that would probably never arrive, but instead I decided to make it happen.  After all being married to me is a lot of work so installing some lights is the least I could do.  She told me what she wanted and I immediately knew what to do.  Off to our local home supply superstore we went.  We grabbed a light, power cord, and bulbs, checked out and headed home.  I gathered some tools and realized that I forgot to grab some wire nuts, but luckily I found some in the back of a drawer.  With everything ready to go I realized the part of the mirror on which I was planning on attaching the lights was not made of wood but instead a masonite material.  Not cool.  If I didn’t have any nuts and bolts to go through I would have to make a run to the store again.  I know that sounds like a small thing but I was determined to not let anything derail this project.  Fortunately I scrounged up something that worked and I got the light installed.  The 60W bulbs we bought were overkill, so as they go out they will be replaced with 40W bulbs.  Finishing the project made me happy, because it was something for Beth.  I was glad to bring a little light into her life, she deserves much more but it will have to do for now.  If you read my Who Is? feature you know finishing this project is a big deal regardless of how small and easy it was.  As one project is completed another begins.

Finished the Berryman marathon.

A new beginning!
The training cycle for Run100+ has officially begun.  Run, run, run.  The Kettle Moraine 100mile trail run will be here before I know it, and I have miles and miles to run.  In order for me to cross the finish line I will have to work harder and be more serious about running than I have ever been.  Riding high off the light project I feel like I am up to the task but sustaining the momentum has been problematic in the past.  One thing I know for sure though is that the trail doesn’t care if I skip training runs and slack off, likewise it doesn’t care if I train harder than ever.  To the trail I am insignificant.
I know what I need to do.  All that is left is for me to do it, and do it according to plan for the next 6months.  I haven’t failed in a 100+Project challenge yet, and I don’t plan to start now. 
The END!

Who Is?: Ness Knight

I have just woken up to the rustling noises of some fat geese waddling through the leaves right by my tent, gabbling on at one another (rather disconcerting when you are still half asleep and have no idea what is going on, mind) whilst making their way to a bubbling creek just a few meters away. The morning sun is glistening through a multitude of condensation droplets all around my tent, making me feel like I'm surrounded by a thousand little suns. This is why I am an adventurer. This is why I do what I do. It is quite likely that those stuck in the traffic and fumes on a highway just 200 meters away have absolutely no idea that this idyllic little haven even exists. It reminds me of some lyrics from a Cat Empire song I listened to yesterday which really struck a chord, "Do you ever look around and find what is here to be found?".

I'm Ness. At the moment you will find me cycling 2000 miles across the USA. Everything I need to get me across this distance fits on my bicycle.
Many have asked me why I decided to be an adventurer. There are 3 reasons, 1.) I get to challenge myself physically and mentally through endurance expeditions, pushing my limits and finding the depths of what I am capable of. 2.) I want to make sure that in 50 years time I can look back and say that I truly lived, having gathered thousands of brilliant experiences to show for my achievements, and not just a house full of stuff. 3.) We live on a phenomenal planet. My expeditions allow me to see the world from a very unique perspective. As I cycle these 2000+ miles I am taking in every single brilliant aspect, meter by meter, mile upon mile.
Next year sees me SUPing the length of the Murray River in Australia source to sea with the brilliant Em Bell. A Thames River source to sea swim is on the cards and plans are in the pipeline for a Pacific Ocean row.
I'm Ness, a dorky geek who found her passion in adventure and is living every single minute to the full. Who are you?

Find out more about Ness on her website NessKnight.com

Accumulation: It’s a real problem

Lately I’ve been realizing that the accumulation of stuff isn’t making me happy.  I have accumulated loads and loads of crap that I rarely ever use.  On a recent TEDx talk I watched on collaborative consumption the speaker, Rachel Botsman, asked the audience how many of them owned a cordless drill.  Most of the audience raised their hand.  Then she said the average lifetime use of a cordless drill is only 13minutes.  Clearly if you are a contractor or avid do-it-yourselfer you drill usage will be much higher, but for the average person that might be pretty accurate.  The speaker went on to say, it’s the hole that you want not the drill itself, and wouldn’t it be great if there was a way to conveniently source a drill when you needed one.
The story of the drill is relevant because we accumulate so much stuff because we think we need it, again we need the hole, not the drill.  I currently own three pneumatic nailers for no reason whatsoever.  If I ever decided to build an addition to my shed or house, I have the nailer for the job.  On the off chance I felt an urge to redo all of the trim work in my house, I have a nailer for that job too.  While we are at it if I wanted to do some more detailed trim work, you guessed it I have a nailer for that also.  I bought all these for small jobs I did years ago that would have been just as easy to complete with a hammer.  At the time though, I convinced myself that a pneumatic nailer would be something good to have just in case I ever needed to use one.  That makes no sense to me whatsoever but at the time I thought I was being smart. 

Lately I have been trying to get rid of a bunch of stuff that I have accumulated over the years.  Beth and I have been selling things on E-bay, and Craigslist to recoup some of our wasted money.  Today I sorted through all of my clothes, and was shocked to discover the full extent of my wardrobe.  If anyone is paying attention to what I wear, they know that I only have a few items of clothing that I actually wear on a day to day basis.  What I found was I had 30lbs of clothes (apologies for the odd frame of reference, I didn’t realize I would be writing this post before they were already bagged up and sorted according to their fate.) that I just don’t wear for one reason or another, and another 30lbs of old race shirts that I have been saving to have made into a quilt one day (not likely to happen, quilts are expensive to have made, and I have been saving them for years).  Sixty pounds of clothing sitting idle in closets and dresser drawers, crazy right?
The stuff I have gotten rid of already is only a small dent in the amount of useless crap I own, but with every item I get rid of I feel a little better.  Happiness is an empty shelf! 
What have you accumulated over that years that makes you wonder what you were thinking?

Who Is?: Dave Cornthwaite

I am Dave Cornthwaite, and this is the strangest thing I've ever been asked to do. How can I sum up who I am in just a few words? I'm not sure it's possible but I'll try, because that's what I do.
Although my life, my personality, my lifestyle, my ambitions and my temperament (which wavers) intertwines completely with my work I hope I'll not be defined by the things I have done, so I won't mention them here. I am not an adventurer nor an author, a motivational speaker or a world traveller. I am simple. I travel light as often as I can, although I will always carry too much. Where once I talked and didn't do, now I do things and then I talk about them, but usually only when asked to.
I find myself funnier than others think I am, although sometimes people laugh at my jokes out of sympathy. My worst habit is tickling my nose hair with my tongue. Yes, I can reach my nose with my tongue. I'm still trying to work out the meaning of life, but have got as far as understanding that my interpretation will belong to nobody else. I struggle with the value of what I do because my life is unconventional, but shards of light appear when I see folks embarking on adventures for which they claim a meeting with me was the catalyst. If that's all I can offer it's enough.
I dislike doing something I don't enjoy just for money - happiness is more important. I become impatient when people believe in something enough to preach or vote for it based purely on inherited expectation. We live in a time where sitting on the fence is unnecessary, we have no excuse to base our opinions just because we read or heard somebody else's.
If I had to sum myself up in three words, they would be Say Yes More. I am Dave Cornthwaite, who are you?
To find out more about Dave go to DaveCornthwaite.com.

Sunday Fear

As each weekend draws to a close I always find myself stricken with Sunday Fear.  I have suffered from this condition for as long as I can remember but it wasn’t until recently that I learned it had a name.  Sunday Fear is the anxiousness that builds with the approach of the coming work week  as the sands in the hourglass of the weekend run out.  The symptoms include restlessness, irritability, depression, nervousness, and  helplessness among others. 

Every Friday we are presented with two days of freedom from the workplace.  For those suffering from Sunday Fear this can mean two things, it can make you want to jam pack as much activity into those two days as possible or, it can make you want to do as little as possible because as we all know ‘Time flies when you are having fun’, and the last thing a person suffering from Sunday Fear wants to do is hasten the approach of the coming work week. 

For me the Sunday Fear begins with a feeling of dread.  Then the mental list of all the things I wish I had done over the weekend that I tell myself that I will do the next weekend begins.  It is not uncommon for me to complain of boredom.  I am often heard saying “I want to do something”.  These last two symptoms directly led to me going kayaking for the first time.  Beth got tired of my self-pity and pretty much forced me to go and I had a great time.  Resisting the Sunday Fear is not impossible but it takes so much effort that sometimes it is just easier to give in to it.

"Only the rush hour hell to face"

There are thousands, dare I say millions of sufferers.  A simple solution would be to quit our jobs and find something we love.  Unfortunately some will never discover this simple solution and go on thinking this is the way life is supposed to be, work at an unfulfilling job until most of your life is gone and if you are lucky have a modest retirement.  There are even common sayings that are meant to reinforce this idea.  “That’s why it’s called Work, it’s not supposed to be fun”.  I think work can and should be fun.  Spending most of your life on toil and drudgery is no way to live.  How many lives do we get anyway?  That’s right just one.

Others, like me, see the answer clearly enough but because of the decisions that led to this point are stuck until they can dig themselves out.  Some are fortunate and see things sooner and therefore have an easier time finding a way out.  Whatever stage you find yourself in, know that there is a way out.  Everyone’s path is different but there is a path, you must however, make the decision to take it.

I am moving down my path with an end in sight but I still struggle with the Sunday Fear.

I was firmly locked into the career path with head down moving day by day toward my retirement age.  With 15years to go I had a countdown clock running on my desk top ticking away the seconds until it was time to be free.  One day I realized the absurdity of being a square peg in a round hole for the next 15 years and decided to make a change.  I am still at my job for now and for how long is a difficult question to answer as I get some affairs in order, but there is one thing I know for certain it won’t be another 15years.  It is an extremely frightening decision but living the next 15years with the Sunday Fear is far worse.