I have seen the future and it is exciting!

Hello everyone,

As Associate Chair of our new Doctoral program and JIU, I get to have the fun of proposing new permutations for the field of online education. Friday, I got to test a platform for synchronous discussion that can have up to fifty people, all of the globe if need be, in a synchronous real time classroom – just like if they were in the same room together. One is in the center of the screen and four others are live at the corners. Then the remaining group are in the wings, and are easily slipped into one of the spots by the facilitator when they raise their hand. As a group we can watch power point presentations, see videos, etc. This is a version of webinar, and while they are not new – they are to me!

Very exciting. As someone who earns my living typing comments in asynchronous meetings, this offers a chance to augment that with live conversation. I am thrilled.

Other things that are equally exciting in our lives are my co facilitating retreats for people who want to reinvent their lives. Margie is reinventing hers through ongoing property management with our apartment (www.kinsaleapartment.com) and through working with kids in Kinsale making games out of recycled materials.

Our lives continue to evolve in new ways.
All the best,

Alana

54th birthday

Hi everyone,

This week I turned 54, and in truth I hardly noticed it. I took a luxurious day, starting with my first canoe trip on our bay. The photo above was shot by a nice German lad who had camped on the beach the night before. Other than that, and a few laughs with my fellow Rotarians in Cork it was lovely and low key. Margie and I will celebrate more the week of her birthday (April 28th) as we go to Trim and visit the ancient sites of Tara (soon to be a highway) and Newgrange.

This month has found us recouping from a trip to the US. It amazes us that the break in routine takes two weeks to reinstate once we are home. Its kind of an ongoing culture shock. Our Tidy Towns committe was extremely excited by the two garden vacs we brought back for them. This year picking up the cigarette butts in the streets goes high tech! But it is confirmed that the smoking ban in the pubs has made for more litter on the streets, all over Ireland.

Our work has been time consuming as I finish up a class I am writing on how people learn for our beginning Masters of Ed students. My university is beginning to mount a new doctoral program in K12 eduation and I get the fun of being associate chair - in other words, I get to seriously help steer this ship towards success. I am loving it. Margie is property manager for the apartment and rentals have taken off.

For fun, we play cards or board games every Friday night at our local pub. This is a women's game which balances the poker which men have played there the same night for years. We tease each other across the room. Come join us some Friday won't you? The Dock Pub, Kinsale, Co Cork 7:30 pm.

Lots of love to all,
Alana

The two Alana's

Hi everyone,

Meet little Alana, now three years old and more acclimatized to living in the US than I could have believed possible when she first arrived at the McKay Epps house two years ago. Does she keep her older brothers in line or visa versa? No little girl could want for better brothers than Carter and Nevin, as was evidenced throughout Margie's and my recent visit to their home. Pictured here are the two Alana's in the main room of our resort lodgings in Estes Park where we experienced a lovely day of snow and three great days of sun.

Big Alana thinks this is the perfect mixture of weather (smile).

Now 54 years old, having just celebrated my birthday this last Wednesday, I would have to say I find life near perfect. We have created the lives we envisioned, forging new and deep relationships in our new country, yet still able to maintain both the vibrant work life of the US mixed with friendships that have stood the test of time. Although I am still perfecting the challenge of whizzing across the globe, landing, working and coming home without serious slow down on the far end, everything else seems to have settled in nicely.

Much like the challenges of little Alana as she transitioned from life in a orphanage in China to an active US household, we both stand for the resiliency of the human spirit as we create the lives and world we want.

Clowning around over Easter

Hi everyone,
Isn't this a great picture of Margie? She and I spent Easter Monday in town centre at a street fair. I was her colorful sidekick, face painting for hours as she ran four games she had made out of recycled materials. A great time was had by all of us.

Love to everyone,
Alana