A while ago, I stumbled across MasterClass.com, and after browsing their catalog, of course, I decided to check it out for a year. By the way, I am neither an affiliate of theirs nor connected to them in any way — I’m just a fan.

What MasterClass is, is a collection of video courses taught by experts in their field – A-List celebrity instructors. For instance, R.L. Stein teaches writing for children, Neil Gaiman teaches storytelling, and Dan Brown and David Baldacci teach writing thrillers and many others. Many of the courses include a downloadable class guide to which you can refer later and which I found super handy. But, what really impressed me, was the knowledge and enthusiasm of the instructors, which makes learning a joy. They also do a fantastic job at motivating the student.

I mention the writing courses first because that was my main reason for subscribing. But there are courses in many other fields as well. For example, Annie Leibovitz teaches photography, Steve Martin teaches comedy, Gordon Ramsay teaches cooking, and Ken Burns teaches filmmaking.

So far, the courses that I’ve taken have filled with excellent information, helping to empower and inspire the student. I have several more that I plan on taking in the coming months. It’s also worth mentioning that the video quality is Hollywood-level, which added to my enjoyment of the courses.

So if you want to learn from the best, you may wish to give MasterClass I gander.

Though I’m enjoying the courses and am learning a lot, I’m not sure I will continue my subscription as the $180 yearly subscription fee is a bit steep. However, if I finish by taking all of the courses that interest me, then I’ll most likely let my membership lapse for the moment.

Or maybe I won’t.

Who knows what else might pop up there in the coming year?

I leave my house for a walk once or twice every day, usually at the same time. During these little outings, I inevitably encounter many of my neighbors, and I often stop and chat with them for a few moments. Many (if not most) of my neighbors are dog walkers. Thus, there is plenty of “pooch-petting” during my jaunts as well.

Yesterday I was out walking and saw one neighbor with Chuckie, their Labrador, another neighbor with their dog Milo (not sure of the breed), and another with Tucker, a Border Collie. It was then that I realized that while I know the names of all of the neighbors’ dogs, I know the names of only a few of the people. This struck me as being so strange.

Often, when I meet new people during a walk, the first thing I ask them is, “What’s your dog’s name?” as people love to talk about their pets. Plus, I’m a huge dog lover myself so stopping to pet the neighborhood canines is a massive highlight of my day. I’m sure many of the dog owners have told me their own names in the past, but for some reason, I recall their pet’s names but not the names of the people. Though now that I think about it, only a few of the neighbors call me by name, so I’m assuming they don’t know my name either.

I think it’s time to begin introducing myself to the folks I see on my walks — especially the regulars. It’s a bit silly knowing only the names of their pets.

Earlier last month, I received a postcard in the mail with the most dreaded sentence in the English language:

It’s time to renew your driver’s license.

All you need to do is mention “DMV” to elicit a shudder from others. Years ago, I had some pretty heinous experiences at the DMV. On two occasions, I spent a good part of a day there, being shifted from line to line by often surly employees. I was hoping that I’d be able to renew my license online — which is an option these days. But I was dismayed to discover that I need to convert my license to a Real ID, and you can only do that in person at a physical DMV location.

Obtaining a Real ID is not required — I could have simply renewed my license online without getting one. But without one, I would be unable to fly in the US. Supposedly, a Real ID will be required by airlines beginning in October of 2021, I do believe.

A few years ago, when I was getting reading to obtain a motorcycle license, I mentioned to a friend how much I was dreading going down to the Milwaukee DMV office. He said, “Oh, I always go to the one in Saukville. They’re friendly there, and it’s rarely ever busy.” Saukville is a much smaller town than Milwaukee, about 25 minutes away. I decided to take his advice, and sure enough, the employees were delightful, and there was hardly any wait.

So I chose to go the same route for my license renewal and drove up to Saukville on a Tuesday morning. I walked in, and I was the only customer there. I filled out my renewal form, brought it to the first open window, and I was in & out with 15 minutes. Maybe even more like 10. That has to have been my fastest experience at a DMV ever.

Perhaps it’s not fair of me to assume that the Milwaukee DMV is still a nightmare. After all, the last time I was there was well over a decade ago (maybe closer to two?), and things certainly could have improved since then. But since I had such good luck with the Saukville office prior, I stuck with them.

So the next time it’s time for you to visit the DMV, maybe try an office in a smaller city/town, even if it’s out of your way. It might be worth it.

Photo by averie woodard on Unsplash

Quote for the New Year:

New Year’s Day. A fresh start. A new chapter in life waiting to be written. New questions to be asked, embraced, and loved. Answers to be discovered and then lived in this transformative year of delight and self-discovery. Today carve out a quiet interlude for yourself in which to dream, pen in hand. Only dreams give birth to change. ~ Sarah Ban Breathnach

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Last day of the year….kind of crazy how quickly the past few months time flew by.

Today, I spent the majority of my day planning for 2019. Not making resolutions, mind you, but planning.

Resolutions are to be broken. Goals/plans are to be achieved. Says who, you may ask? Says me…or at least this has been my experience.

So today, I put together a list of my business goals and personal goals for the coming year — things I hope to accomplish in my professional and personal life — and then I scheduled it all on my calendar (faithfully adhering to my “calendar-based productivity system”). So it looks as though 2019 is going to be “the year of writing’ for me as I have many, many books planned, some fiction, some non-fiction, and some courseware (though these are better classified as manuals rather than books — 400-page manuals mind you, but still manuals nonetheless).

And several video courses too.  But these will be for techie stuff like Lightroom and Photoshop.

Speaking of books, one of my fiction books will be published in January (fingers crossed). This would be Book 4 in my Ghost Oracle series in which Nick once again gets himself in a whole heap of trouble. Huh…I just realized that I don’t have a title for the book yet. I guess I better get on that.

Book 5 is also nearly half written so you should be seeing this one pop up in the coming months.

Oh — and there is also a new series that I’m working on that will hopefully see the light of day this year (But shhh! It’s a secret!).

Some of the stuff I’m planning for the coming year was stuff that I should have done in 2018. But two surgeries delayed me a tad and pushed me off schedule. A lot. But now I’m back on track and ready to face 2019 with optimism (and no surgeries!).

What are your goals for 2019?

Image courtesy of Vijay Kiran