Monday, January 07, 2008

A Year in the Life of a Scanner

Barbara Sher coined the term "Scanner" to describe Renaissance types who like to do and try many things rather than specialize. I decided I must be one after seeing her on a PBS special and then reading her book, Refuse to Choose! A Revolutionary Program for Doing Everything That You Love. According to Sher, a Scanner is "a very special kind of thinker. Unlike those people who seem to find and be satisfied with one area of interest, [the Scanner is] genetically wired to be interested in many things." I was quite relieved to hear this, because it provided a positive explanation for my less-than-straight-line career path. I'm not "shallow, lazy, eccentric," I'm a Scanner!

So, I thought I would take a look at 2007 to create a record of a year in the life of this Scanner. Below is a list of things I tried, by department.

Physical
Jazzercise (Feb.)
Belly dance (April)
Tai Chi (Aug.)
Pilates (Oct.)

Metaphysical
Episcopal church (Feb.-April)
Buddhist sand mandala ceremony (May)

Artistic
Pottery painting (Oct.)

Educational
"Mood and Food" class, Women's Health Resource Center (April)

Vocational
New job as a Donor Engagement and Stewardship Coordinator (Sept.)

Avocational
Started reviewing books for Library Journal (mid-year) and ForeWord magazine (December). (I don't know if my ForeWord review will be printed; the book wasn't very good.)

Other stuff of note:

Travel
Atlanta (Feb.)
Denver (June)
Bonaire (July)

Reading & Writing
42 books
24 book reviews

No comments: