Author Archives: evagankiewiczmerkel

One of the interesting things about living in a tropical paradise is that fact that lizards make their way into your home or car.  I’ve had anoles surprise me in the shower, scurrying on my car floor mat, and hitching rides on the outside of my vehicle.  We once had a very small gecko hidingContinue reading “Gecko stowaway”

It’s been obvious for way too many years that Americans lack decorum when it comes to dressing out in public.  Combine that with living on an island chain that has more tourists than the land mass can handle during certain times of the year and what you see gets really interesting.  I’ve already shared myContinue reading “Letting it all hang out”

The latest self-help trend seems to be the embracing of the Let Them Theory.  It’s a no-brainer – we all know we can’t control others.  We can’t make people do what we want them to do or what we think they should do.  You just let it go – let them do what they’re goingContinue reading “The “Let Them” Theory”

I guess it’s been a while since I last posted.  Time flies even when it doesn’t.  I had been pondering writing a piece about the overwhelming desire to do nothing while at the same time wanting to do everything.  It almost happened until a “chat” got in the way. My hairdresser is an interesting guy. Continue reading “Chatting”

I’ve spent a lot of time in elevators and crosswalks the past 23 days.  It certainly allows for interesting people experiences.  As with most things related to people, some experiences are good and others aren’t. I won’t lie, mornings are best when I can get from the seventh floor of the hotel to the firstContinue reading “Elevators and Crosswalks”

Mornings and evenings lately have been a trek to and from hotel to hospital. So many interesting things to experience – Muscovy Ducks, Egyptian Geese, and Ibises that think you are carrying a free meal; the Egyptian Goose couple that guard the main hospital entrance; dude on a scooter almost getting decapitated as he zipsContinue reading “Random Stuff”

Time marches on.  What seems like an eternity may be a fleeting moment.  I had been gathering “journey” quotes hoping they might spark some interesting piece of writing.  It wasn’t the quotes but a project that I have been putting off that stimulated a need to put fingers to the keyboard. Like many people whoContinue reading “Thanksgiving”

Feelings travel faster than thoughts.  If you’re paying attention, it’s obvious these days. If you’re not, it’s easy to get sucked into conflict. We can have enthocentric responses to others and, if we don’t analyze them, it’s easy to get sucked into bias. Completing a course on managing emotions and finding common themes in aContinue reading “Feelings travel faster than thoughts”

I saved this quote from Venkatesh Rao not knowing why it spoke to me: “I used to think of resourcefulness as a kind of practical intelligence, but I’ve recently started thinking of it as a combination of an energy state, an attitude, and an unexamined philosophy. A lived and embodied, but rarely articulated, Weltenschauung. Rarely articulatedContinue reading “An unexamined philosophy”

I am always amazed at the power of language and the messages that are conveyed through another’s perception and interpretation of what they hear.  It’s interesting to find out what sticks.  And, there’s definitely proof to the fact that, if you say it enough times, it does stick. On two separate occasions recently, I hadContinue reading “Legacies”