Blog Hop and Shameless Plugs!

Hello Loyal Bad Shakespeare Readers. And, of course, non-loyal bad Shakespeare readers. Also hello to any of you Googling Breaking Bad and Shakespeare and winding up on this website. As many of you know, I strive to participate in Nanowrimo, National Novel Writing Month, because I eventually want to be a writer and I enjoy challenging myself. So, yes, I’m working on it this year with YA High, a satire of Young Adult Novels, and it’s going to start tomorrow, nice and early because that’s when I like to get things done. 

By getting things done early, I mean, I’m going to be up early anyway, so I might as well spend the time writing. 

In any event, I wondered a lot what my last post was going to be before I start. I could write about Halloween and my favorite Halloween movies. (You should watch Tucker and Dale vs. Evil.) I could write a synopsis. I could write another thing about rah-rah Nanowrimo. Then my lovely and talented mother, Maria Hock, who can be found at her website, asked me to participate in the Blog Hop, which is where a bunch of art blogs discuss their process and then post it to their blog as a way to drive people to their website. And I was all like, “score, now I don’t have to find a bunch of movies to go along with Tucker and Dale vs. Evil.”

So, now..

Shaun of the Dead. Shaun of the Dead would go along with Tucker and Dale vs. Evil.

Anyway, so here are my responses to the Blog Hop and my creative process.

1. What are you currently working on?

I’m currently working on my Nanowrimo Novel, YA High, along with finishing up the edits to my previous novel, Mars Kaplan Saves The World, which was my previous project. I hope to the latter self-published towards the beginning of next year. 

YA High is a satire on the Young Adult Novels that are really big nowadays. Don’t get me wrong… I love them. I just got into the Maze Runner novels, and I think they’re great. But only someone who truly loves them and has studied them can write a successful comedy novel. I believe I’m that person.

2. How does my work differ from others in its genre?

I try to show how much I love what I’m working on, rather than just writing a satire that makes fun of all it’s conventions. In my previous novel, Mars Kaplan, I tried to play to the idea that the chosen one is chosen in these books, and thus wins. My protagonist, Quint, in YA High, really doesn’t want anything to do with the novel, despite the fact that it involves magic and corruption at the highest levels of the Student Council. Also the Student Council may rule the world. 

3. Why do I create what I do?

Because I have a billion characters in me, all fighting to see the light of day, and it would be a shame if they never came out. It sounds a bit glib, but I really enjoy what I do, and I really enjoy creating. I think it’s important. I don’t sit down and create, the characters come to me and tell me their stories. Secretly I hope I have some kind of psychic connection with people, and this is their way of getting it out. 

The World’s End. That would also fit in with Tucker and Dale vs. Evil and Shaun of the Dead.

4. How does my creating process work?

I prefer the Neil Gaiman method of putting a word down, then another one, and eventually you’ll have a sentence. Then you’ll have a paragraph. And so on. 

That’s about it for me from the Blog Hop. It’s recommended I like to at least one other blogs, since I’m an overachiever, I’m going to recommend you check out the very talented blogger and part-time Bad Shakespeare, The Island of Mistfit Toys, and you take some time to check out my very good friend who just started her Blog over at Anna Joie.

In the meantime, check out YA High, starting here tomorrow, and tell your friends. I want big numbers on this one!

I'm not a Master Criminal, I just have a Cold.

Howdy regular Bad Shakespearers...

Today you're having a substitute, so be nice... Erin Garland usually blogs over at the Island of Misfit Toys. Today she's blogging here, and I'm blogging there. So go ahead and read her wonderful post about Breaking Bad, then head on over to the island as  I talk about Gilmore Girls!

http://theislandofmisfittoyseag.blogspot.com

The time: 2004

The place: Shoppers Food Warehouse


I had just begun my first fall travel season as an admissions counselor. I was in Virginia for some high school visits and college fairs. After a few days of shaking hands with germy teenagers, I could feel a cold coming on. On my way back to the hotel from a day of visits, I stopped at Shoppers Food Warehouse to get some cold medicine. After grabbing some bottled water, Kleenex, and a Colossal Donut (it’s a state law in Virginia that you must buy a Colossal Donut every time you go to Shoppers), I made my way to the cold medicine aisle. When I got there, there were no boxes of medicine just rows and rows of cards and a large, glaring sign hanging above them:


“YOU MUST SEE THE PHARMACIST TO PURCHASE THESE ITEMS.”


So accusatory, so many capital letters. The sign was so odd to me – this isn’t how things worked in New Orleans. My head was already throbbing and this just made me feel worse. I picked up the card for my medicine of choice and went to the pharmacy counter. The pharmacist got my Advil Cold and then asked for my driver’s license AND made me fill out a short form that included questions about why I was buying the medicine and who would be taking it. I asked her why I had to do all of this since I didn’t have to back home. Her reply was simple, “You might use this to make crystal meth.” I must have made a horrible face at her since she went onto explain that it was a new state law (and would be across the US) that all purchases of certain OTC medicine had to be registered because the ingredients contained alcohol (cough syrup) and/or could be used to make meth. She also wouldn’t let me pay for my other purchases at the pharmacy.


I contemplated this conversation as I waited in line to pay for the rest of my stuff. Now everyone with a cold or sinus infection was a suspected meth dealer? Is this really how the world works today? It seemed harsh and somewhat accusatory. I just had a cold; I wasn’t a master criminal.

Flash forward to January 2008. The cable station AMC debuts a new show called Breaking Bad starring the dad from Malcolm in the Middle as a high school chemistry teacher who finds out that he has terminal lung cancer. Worried about how to provide for his family, he decides to start cooking and selling meth with a former student of his. He turns to a life of crime to provide for his family. And he uses science. Five seasons later, lots of people have died, bad things have happened, there’s Shakespearean level intrigue, and some damn fine writing and acting.


Here’s the thing: I don’t watch Breaking Bad. I tried to get into the show TWICE but I just couldn’t. It doesn’t really appeal to me. I’ve seen all of the first season (because I wanted so badly to get it like the rest of the world) and part of the second season. But then I just gave up. I moved onto to other shows and stuff that I did/do like. I had a hard time getting past how depressing the show was and how unlikeable almost every character is. Do I like Walter White? Do I hate him? What about his wife? Or Jesse? I thought Jesse would be killed off in season one but I guess that didn’t happen. I even hate-watch other shows like Girls so I am capable of watching a show that has mostly unlikeable characters but awesome writing. But I couldn’t do it with Breaking Bad.


Just because I don’t like the show doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate what it is – inventive, unique drama on tv. The show is considered, by many, to be one of the greatest dramas of all time and has won many Emmys and lots of critical praise. I can’t go a Sunday night without my Facebook feed being taken over temporarily by posts about the show. Bryan Cranston, who plays Walter White, is amazing. Even though I didn’t commit to the show, I can still see the awesomeness in his portrayal of Walter. And it was such a dramatic departure from Hal on Malcolm in the Middle. I don’t know that I’ll ever watch that show the same again.


Breaking Bad is significant because it’s part of the ever-growing group of creative and exciting television shows being produced by cable tv networks. This has been going on for years now – HBO, Showtime, AMC, A&E, and IFC have all added their own unique shows into this mix. I’m partial to Girls, Treme, Top of the Lake, and Hell On Wheels and have casually watched other shows like The Wire and OZ. Their network counterparts have a hard time keeping up and usually don’t do as well when they do come up with something more interesting that the bland sitcoms and soapy dramas that seem to dominate tv these days (Parks and Rec excluded). Or when a network does have an inventive show, it gets taken away from us too soon (I’m talking to you Fox and you ABC Family – you know what you did with Firefly and Bunheads). Shows like Breaking Bad give me hope – hope that the entertainment industry isn’t totally bankrupt of creativity and focused on feeding us recycled plots and characters. It’s important to keep watching and talking about shows like this even if you don’t like them personally.


My favorite AMC show is Hell on Wheels now in its third season. It’s a show about post-Civil War America and focuses on westward expansion through the building of the transcontinental railroad. It’s smart and interesting and the characters aren’t always likeable either. For the history nerd in me, it’s an interesting look at the idea of American invention. So much of what the characters are dealing with are still things we deal with today as we think about society, culture, and politics. One could make the same argument about Breaking Bad. It’s definitely a window into a part of society that most of us don’t think much about.


Unless we have a cold and have to buy cold medicine. Then Walter White is all I think about.
For all my fellow non-Breaking Bad brethren out there, here’s a little funny from our friends at Buzzfeed.

A Very Special Record Day Post: Now with 100% more References to David Bowie

This all began as most conversations begin these days - on Facebook. I posted something about Billy Joel on my friend Anita's FB page (in response to a conversation we had while out at karaoke the night before) that was not particularly complimentary. Bad Shakespeare (or Michael as some of you know him) was shocked. It was as if in my post I had admitted to not liking puppies or happiness. I happen to love puppies and happiness but I don't like Billy Joel.

And so in honor of Record Store Day, Bad Shakespeare and I decided that we would settle this discussion musically. We would each prepare our Top Ten Life Changing Songs list and respond to the other person's list. For the record (ha!), this is one of the hardest lists I have ever had to make. I felt like I was hurting other songs' feelings by not putting them on the list
Head on over to the Island (http://theislandofmisfittoyseag.blogspot.com/) to find see Bad Shakespeare’s list and my response.

Bad Shakespeare: Thank you Erin. Or TIOMT, as I will call you. No... no I’m going to stick with Erin. Because that's your name. I'm glad we get this opportunity, because even if we may disagree over one of the greatest singer/songwriters of all time (and your feelings on puppies, which we may have to discuss at some point.), I think it's important that we have the discussion. Music is important. Music drives our life. No one reading this can point to a song or a poem that didn't change their life in some profound way. I throw poem in there because music is poetry, and my list focused mostly on the words. As Erin mentioned, make sure you go over to her blog to see my list, and to read her response. Anyway, I've rambled on enough. Let's take a look at what Erin has to say about the songs that changed her life...

                                         Erin’s Top Ten Life Changing Songs

1. Rock N Roll Suicide by David Bowie. This is one of my favorite songs of all time. I’d like it to be played at my funeral, not because it’s sad but because it’s insanely comforting. We’re not alone and David Bowie will always be there for us all.



BS: You know, it's always hard to argue with David Bowie. It really is. No, I'm afraid to really argue with him. He's not only King of the Goblins, but he's also the leader of the Guild of Calamitous Intent! No, I enjoy David Bowie, and I really like this song. It is sad and comforting and a good "walking the streets while contemplating life" song. I can understand why it's on this list. Even if David Bowie still freaks me out.

2. Kick Out the Jams by MC5. MC5 was one of the most political punk bands to come out of Detroit. I was floored the first time I heard this song. I went through a bit of a hippie phase before I got into punk and this was the song that changed it for me. It wasn’t all peace and flowers – it was explosive and loud. I wanted to live in the percussion of this song.

BS: You didn't really "switch" from hippie to punk with this song so much as punch it in the face, spit on it a few times, and then go dance with punk after hippie's bought you drinks all night. Love it.

3. Venus in Furs by The Velvet Underground. I went through a Warhol phase at some point and that’s when I started listening to the Velvet Underground (and I really liked it when Nico was with the band). I didn’t realize rock music could sound like this. Listen to the guitar and the viola together – it’s perfect. John Cale and Lou Reed are amazing musicians and I remember thinking “what just happened?” after I heard this the first time. And I wanted to hear lots more.

BS: I enjoy The Velvet Underground. They're trippy and deep and so many other things I could spend a blog post on them alone. I think everyone should be required to listen to them in literature classes in high school. This isn't just the first time rock could sound like this... this is the first time I think I ANYTHING could sound like this. Ever. It's amazing.

4. Gimme Danger by The Stooges. I love punk music – it’s aggressive, political, and playful all at the same time. People have a misconception that it’s just shouting and loud guitars. For me, this song is about the power of good writing in an aggressive genre. It’s like the guitars are daring you to love Iggy. I love the phrase “kiss me like the ocean breeze” – so not punk but it totally fits. This song led me directly to Nick Cave and I’m grateful for that.

BS: Ah, Iggy Pop. The thing with Iggy Pop and the Stooges (despite the fact that Iggy Pop may be the greatest name on the planet, and the name of my future son) is that they were punk in the way they played their music, but they'd always throw you for a loop in their music. Gimme Danger is the type of song you want to blast while you're wheeling down the road in your hot rod with your girl by your side (in a 1950's movie apparently... get it together Bad Shakespeare, you've got guests today) but when you're alone, you're going to pay attention to those lyrics. And they're going to blow your mind.

5. Thirteen by Big Star. Despite my punk rock tendencies, I’m a big, sappy love song kind of girl. Isn’t this what love is like? It reminds me of passing notes in class. This song has my favorite lyric of all time in: “Won't you tell me what you're thinking of? Would you be an outlaw for my love? If it's so, well, let me know, if it's no, well I can go” – crushes me every time I hear it. I’ve said it on the Island, if a guy seriously sang this to me, I would marry him.

BS: Ah, Erin. You big softie. You hit us with some great punk songs, then you show us a great love song. I've never heard this one before, but you're right, it's extremely beautiful.  No further comment is going to be needed on this one, because I'm hoping you're not mocking Vienna too much right.

6. Little Earthquakes by Tori Amos. This was the first CD I ever bought and there are lots of really great songs on it; this is the last song on the album. I’m glad I had to wait until the end to hear it for the first time. Tori Amos is an interesting voice in music – she’s playful, artful, religious, and not particularly shy about anything. This song is so complex and full of imagery. I thought she was a total punk with a piano. Tori Amos is the reason I became a feminist.

BS: I'm so torn on Tori Amos, because she was always an artist I wanted to love, but one I never really got because everything she does sounds so sad. Also, I had an ex that swore by everything that came out of Tori Amos' piano, so I got to hear a lot of it.

This is a good time to take a quick break and talk about music's impact in life, while we're discussing life-changing songs. I'll never forget that the day that things really started to go bad with me and this ex (whom I loved), it started over Tori Amos. I swear on a stack of Billy Joel albums the following story is true. One day, this ex of mine started blasting a bunch of Tori Amos songs on repeat. We were working on a few things at her apartment at the time, so I didn't think anything about this. It's like "hey, you like the album. Good for you." And I continued working on whatever it was I was working on. I think I was putting up a shelf of something.



Then, things went south, quick. I started getting screamed at because I didn't ask her why she was listening to Tori Amos on repeat so much. I don't mean a cold shoulder, I mean "you just hit my car after knocking the groceries out of my hands" screaming. I mean turning it up to 11. (And I land the Spinal Tap reference. I just won record store day.) She was listening to Tori Amos because she was sad, and wanted to talk. Apparently I didn't pick up on the psychic vibes given out by a Tori Amos CD. To this day, I can't even hear the name Tori Amos without thinking about that entire sequence, and about how that day was the beginning of the end. You may be great, Ms. Amos, but I'm only associating you with a bad relationship that ended badly, but at the same time fueled many of my characters in things I write. So I guess it says something about the circle of life, and how we all have moments that are bad, and we take what we can from them.

Or just the bad memory of the time I dated that crazy chick. Your call, readers.

7. Because the Night by Patti Smith. I don’t even know where to start with this song. This is a classic love song and I wanted someone to sing it to me when I was a teenager (and in my 20s and now). Patti Smith was the first musician I ever wanted to be and it’s because of this song. I saw her live for the first time in December and it was the best concert I’ve ever been to.

BS: You can't mess with the classics, and you can't mess with Patti Smith. I feel in putting in a love song as classic as this one, you've BS proofed at least one response on this list as something I can't argue with. Well played, Erin... well played....

8. How Soon Is Now? by The Smiths. My older brother introduced me to The Cure. I took it one step further and started listening to The Smiths. Johnny Marr is an awesome guitar player and Morrissey is just Morrissey. It starts with “I am the son and the heir of a shyness that is criminally vulgar” and ends with lyrics about being on your own and wanting to die (literally for Morrissey, figuratively for me). If this doesn’t describe high school, I’m not entirely sure what does.

BS: Interesting pick. I don't know that I'd pick this as a great song of theirs, but at the same time, it's a list of songs that changed our lives, not a list of songs that are really, really good. (Although I'd hope they would be the same. At least good to us.) You can't argue with the fact that they are awesome at what they do. I can see how this would speak to a high school student. Not like today's music with their autotune and their Justin Biebers. Before I go onto the next one I'm going to go outside and shake my fist at a cloud.

9. Tipitina by Professor Longhair. When I was growing up in Louisiana, I had little to no concept of all the great music that existed around me. I went to Jazz Fest as a child but didn’t fully appreciate the music until I was older. I love the piano – how can you not? Mostly it’s just ‘Fess bringing the funk and soul into your life. And we all need funk and soul in our lives – that’s what New Orleans music has taught me. Any time I listen to this song I’m immediately transported to a bar in New Orleans.


BS: Ok, before, I had at least a passing reference to the people on your list, even if i haven't heard the song. "Professor Longhair?" Now you're just messing with me.


Ok, I'll play your game. I took a quick listen, and this is an interesting song. And I do like that this is tied to your memories of Jazzfest. I've been to Jazzfest, and what impressed me the most, other than a bunch of musicians were able to perform in a city that manages to have 100% humidity 11 months out of the year, was the fact that you could walk away from one band and just as you got out of range to hear them, you'd start to hear another. I can see being dragged into Professor Longhair's magical musical journey. I can also see that I'm happy I went with "Bad Shakespeare" as opposed to searching for "Professor Longhair."

Seriously, you'd better not be making fun of Vienna right now.

10. Fell In Love With A Girl by The White Stripes. I have an affection for The White Stripes for a lot of reasons and I will talk about all of their albums for hours if permitted. I had gotten very bored with rock music until The White Stripes came along. They renewed my faith in rock and roll. I must have listened to this song a hundred times when I first got this album. There’s beauty in a song under that’s less than two minutes long and nails it completely. 

BS: Have you ever seen a movie called Coffee and Cigarettes? It's a weird movie, and Jack White and his sister are in it. Jack White builds a Tesla Coil, and hilarity ensues. (Bill Murray also serves the Wu-Tang Clan at a diner.)  I can't see them without thinking that. Again, we have something that's difficult for me to argue with: The White Stripes rule. They brought back a sound that was missing for years. And Jack White may be one of the most talented artists to come around in a while. This is a song that manages to pull off a great song, but nails everything that's great about the band in under two minutes. This is another one that should be required listening for literature students.

I hope you all enjoyed this. Now put down your computers, look up your local record shop (there aren't many left) and go out and support them. Then come back here and read back through the Bad Shakespeare and Misfit Toys Archives.

Pay No Attention to the Person Behind the Glasses

Howdy and Happy Groundhog Day! I hope that everyone is enjoying Groundhog Day and didn’t wake up to relive the day over and over again. Because if that happened, you probably have some sort of lesson to learn and well, that’s no way to spend a Saturday. Also, none of us are Bill Murray so you know it wouldn’t work out anyway. 

So it’s that time again – The Island of Misfit Toys visiting Bad Shakespeare. We like to keep things interesting. If you’re looking for Bad Shakespeare, he’s over on the Island doing something awesome (http://theislandofmisfittoyseag.blogspot.com). I’d thought we’d spend this Groundhog Day talking about something very important. 

Glasses.

Yes, glasses. I wear glasses and have since the 4^th grade. For much of my life, I’ve had sort of a complicated relationship with my glasses. We moved to Louisiana around the same time I started wearing glasses so it was a lot of adjustment all at once. Being the new kid is something I can deal with. Being the new kid who also looks like a bug in her glasses is another thing completely. I was the only kid in my class that had to wear glasses (at least in my memory). Being a 4^th grader with glasses is terrible. My glasses were those plastic ones that aren’t flattering for anyone. You know the ones I’m talking about. I wore them to school and then would immediately take them off once I got to my classroom. I would keep them off until my teacher made me put them on again. Usually because I was squinting. That’s why I needed glasses in the first place.

No one likes to be different when you’re a kid. In elementary and middle school, being different is basically social suicide. You tend to find kids who like the same things you do (unicorns, Jem & the Holograms, Lisa Frank folders, and New Kids on the Block) and that’s how you make friends. If you have the newest Lisa Frank folder someone is going to want to hang out with you. Don’t even get me started on Lisa Frank unicorn Trapper Keepers. We’ll be here forever.

Unless you wear glasses. When you wear glasses you’re the nerdy kid so it doesn’t matter if you have the greatest collection of unicorn themed Lisa Frank folders (aren’t all of them unicorn themed?) and every episode of Jem & the Holograms on tape, there’s not cool about you. I spent the majority of my preteen and teen years wearing terrible glasses and hating them all the time.

Here’s what I failed to realize: glasses are very powerful method of creating an identity. If I were a superhero, glasses would hide my superhero identity from everyone. Because obviously glasses make a person look totally different than they do without glasses so it makes sense that wearing glasses would be the front for a secret identity. There was a point in my life where I wanted to be Wonder Woman. I’m fairly certain that lots of people share this desire/fantasy and most aren’t even 10 years old. Anyway, Wonder Woman’s alter ego, Diana Prince, wears glasses (both in the comics and the tv show). I have to point out that my entire experience with Wonder Woman as a child was based on the tv show starring Lynda Carter and she rocked some amazing glasses as Diana Prince. I mean, it was the late 70s. These were the kinds of glasses that hipster girls wear now when they’re trying too hard. However, didn’t want to be Diana Prince. I wanted to be Wonder Woman and she didn’t wear glasses. 

Since I was way too focused on being Wonder Woman I failed to realize that the real power might in fact lie in the concept of secret identity not in combat skills, flying an invisible plane or mastering the Lasso of Truth. What I should have done in the 4^th grade was to create a secret identity for myself. I didn’t necessarily have to be a superhero since I’m not entirely sure what my superhero power would be (maybe sarcasm or 80s movie trivia) but I’m pretty certain that I could have come up with something pretty great. I mean, aren’t all little kids wickedly creative when it comes to making up stories? Weren’t we all particularly gifted in the art of fibbing? Creating a secret identity would have just been an extended fib or a slight embellishment of the truth. I would call this “telling stories” now. I should have just told a story.

I could have incorporated the fact that my family moved every few years into the story (military family). That would have totally supported the need for a secret identity. I’m not entirely sure what the glasses would have had to do with this but I could have come up with something. Anything would have been better than being “glasses face” and “nerd girl.”

As I got older, I could have pulled from Shakespearean secret identities since this was the time that I stopped watching superhero tv shows and started reading plays, specifically Shakespeare. My favorites are As You Like It and Titus Andronicus. Exile and war are totally things that high school students could get behind. The instance of disguise in Titus Andronicus is maybe not the stuff of teenage secret identity stories unless you’re interested in directing or writing horror movies. Or wanting to make a career out of baking people into pies. I still think I could have made it work. Kids will believe anything right? And it would have been totally normal to make up a fantastical story that included super powers, lost kingdoms, exile, and cannibalism. That wouldn’t have been weird at all. Or landed me in therapy for the rest of my life.

Now I’m a grown-up and I have embraced my glasses as part of me. Not wearing my glasses seems weird and unnatural. I don’t even think I need a secret identity – I just really look good in glasses. Hipsters pay lots of money for fake versions of the glasses I wear on purpose. Somehow this makes me think I won. 

Thanks for reading. If you like what you’ve read, visit me on the Island of Misfit Toys (http://theislandofmisfittoyseag.blogspot.com

Crossover Extravaganza: Let Me Entertain You!

I promise that a squirrel overlord has not captured Bad Shakespeare. (Although this could totally happen one day. Seriously, he shouldn’t tempt them.) He’s just over on the Island of Misfit Toys, sharing a little Bad Shakespeare awesomeness. I’m Erin Garland and usually I’m the Misfit Toy. Or the Island. Or something. We thought it’d be fun to mix things up a bit and switch blogs this week. I promise he’ll be back next week – same bat time, same bat channel.

Michael and I go way back. In fact, we’re old enough that we’re allowed to use the phrase “back in the day” without immediately being punched in the face. (For the record, you have to be over 25 to use that phrase.) Anyway, we were in the theatre department back in the day. Theatre nerds are the best nerds ever.

I manage staff professional development for an educational technology company. I’ve been with this company forever and have had more job titles than I care to count. Some people would say that being a trainer has absolutely nothing to do with what I studied in college (theatre arts management – for real) and I should be doing something more creative with my life. Well, those people are insane and have clearly never trained a high school counselor let alone their colleagues on anything. Training is 10% teaching and 80% entertainment. Ultimately, I spend my days making people comfortable with the technology they have to use. Basically, I make technology into a kitten - something cute and fuzzy that a person can cuddle with.

But what I really do most days is tell stories. Some might say that I tell very specific stories that involve exaggeration or slightly skewed versions of reality (some would call that lying – those people are lazy and not creative at all) but I like to think about more like painting a picture that is appealing to just the people in the room. I like to use humor and 80s movies to make what I teach/train more interesting. I like to reward my students/colleagues/clients with praise and compliments and stickers. I like to bake cupcakes/cookies/pecan pie bars on Fridays.

Regardless of the praise and stickers, most of the time what I would really like to say is “Stop saying crazy things and asking insane questions.” For real, what is so hard about being normal in a training situation? When did it become okay for a group of professionals to play an online game when I’m trying to train them on how to do something that will help make their work lives better? I think it comes back to entertainment. Learning is hard so we’d rather be entertained.

Learning should be fun and engaging. So often when I conduct trainings the session starts off with “this is going to be terrible” or ends with “I thought this would be so much worse.” I’m never quite sure to respond. I’m pretty certain that saying something along the lines of “I’m glad that I met your expectation of mediocrity. At least I didn’t make anyone cry” would not be taken well by anyone.

I’ve decided that I’m going to use the following to gauge whether I’m successful in my work:

1. How many times did we laugh? Laughing is a way to personally connect with one another and an important part of learning is making those connections.
2. Did anyone share a personal story that we can relate to what we’re discussing? If a person can take one thing they’ve learned and apply it to something in their daily life (a pain point, something they can't/don't currently do) then they day has been well spent.
3. Has anyone told me one new thing they learned today? It doesn’t matter what it is as long as it’s new and they can apply it to their work.

I’ve just completed training the largest class of new hires my division has had in a long time. It’s been a very, very long seven days. My connection of career exploration to Lloyd Dobler’s “I don’t want to buy, sell or process anything” speech did not go as well as I would have liked. (Why don’t people find this as amusing as me? Has the world gone mad?) However, we’ve laughed a lot and the pieces seem to be coming together for everyone. So we’ll consider that a win. And of course, there were cupcakes on Friday. And you know cupcakes make everything better even if it’s not Rex Manning Day.

Thanks for indulging in our little experiment. I hope to see you on the Island of Misfit Toys (http://theislandofmisfittoyseag.blogspot.com/) real soon.