Sometimes, when I sit down to write, it feels like I'm trying to break into a heavily guarded fortress.

All of the times that was able to write so easily, when the ideas and words flowed smoothly, are no help. They didn't prepare me for this situation.

However, having now experienced the challenge of an elusive muse a number of times, I've got some better tools for dealing with it.

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It would be nice to escape right about now.

The trouble is, there's nowhere to escape to. And even if there were, they'd probably cancel your flight out.

So here we are, dealing with a reality that is once again not cooperating with our wishes. My heart goes out to anyone whose plan—whose life—has been upended by the new variant, along with all those who were already suffering before Omicron came to town. It's really hard.

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You know how we all have gifts that we take for granted because they're our gifts and therefore invisible to us?

Well, I'm starting to think that one of my gifts is reframing negative stories—particularly the ones people tell about themselves.

High-achieving people have a tendency to look only at their room for improvement. This focus on growth is a positive quality, but being unable to see or acknowledge the skills and strengths they've already gained is a distortion of reality that will prevent them from having the clarity they need to make decisions.

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I am trying to collect on a debt of almost $2,000.

I trusted a family to settle up the bill for their child's education, and they have not done so. Call it an "accidental scholarship." They're not responding to my emails.

A situation like this is the result of a breakdown of systems. After years in business, I should know better than to let things get this point, but accounts receivable has never been my strong suit.

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You may have heard that a University of Georgia professor resigned on the spot when one of his students refused to wear a mask properly.

The professor, Irwin Bernstein, was a “retiree-rehire,” who had officially retired in 2011 but has been teaching on a part-time basis.

I can’t blame him for deciding, at 88 years old, that life is too short to argue with an undergraduate about masks. And I certainly can’t blame him for attempting to enforce a mask mandate in his classroom due to the ongoing threat of death.

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