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Bronwyn Swartz

~ Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

Bronwyn Swartz

Monthly Archives: June 2017

An auspicious find!

24 Saturday Jun 2017

Posted by Bronwyn Swartz in General

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So like…look at me!, look at me! look at me! ..Just look at me go:) I just did a little jig now – like only I can swing my hips 🙂

By chance this YouTube clip was brought to my attention today. And I had no idea this was  recorded. In fact, I am so glad that I did not know because that was actually the first time I was in the role of webinar presenter and I really was so so very nervous that day. It happened when I recently co-presented a webinar for e/Merge Africa from UCT on open educational practices and blended learning. In the clip I am telling the rest of the participants about what I did during #FeesMustFall

Not just a pretty face uh…

 

🎈🎂🎉Happy Birthday to Me🌸🎁🦋

18 Sunday Jun 2017

Posted by Bronwyn Swartz in Family and Friends, General

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So I truly had a unexpectedly beautiful 40th birthday. The past few months have been a tad challenging and initially I thought I’d just let the birthday go. 40 is a milestone but with all that was/is on my plate I didn’t think I’d be in a celebratory kind of mood. So I was playing ‘dead fish’ trying to ignore the impending day.

I am indeed blessed that my friends and family did not let me get away with ‘dead fish’. Two weeks before the date they informed me that it’s a day we’re going to celebrate.

So what transpired was the day started with a beautiful breakfast picnic on the beach with my two best friends. One of my besties made the most amazing pre-packed breakfasts for us. Also tucked into croissants and ham and cheese. We ignored the healthier food which we brought… muesli and yoghurt, and opted instead for champers and chocolate cupcakes. My other bestie bought balloons and spoilt me with a specially made 40th birthday mug, with symbolic gum balls and lollipops. And this could all happen on the beach because God gifted me with a lovely sunny day in the middle of Cape Town’s rainy season. This was the first part of a truly blessed day.

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My brother also told me about two weeks before the birthday that he was going to make lunch reservations for the Femilyum on the day. So after breakfast, I had a quick pit stop at home to change clothes, and pick up the minions before heading to a wine farm in Stellenbosch to join the Femilyum for lunch. Here too I was just humbled being on the receiving end of So Much love. Indeed blessed. Thank you Jesus.

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Finally back home, the minions and I agreed beforehand to have a movie night to end my birthday. So we made popcorn, snuggled up with blankies and pillows and watched the Breakfast Club. No better way to end the perfect birthday than with my two favourite peeps.

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I am grateful too, for the gazillion messages and also birthday calls I received from friends, extended family, colleagues and even students. Humbled, touched by kindness and so appreciative it left me.

Reflecting on the day, besides the immense gratitude I feel, I am thankful that I was prompted (not given the choice really) to not do anything to celebrate my 40th birthday.

As we drove to the beach that morning, one of my besties shared shared a poignant thought with us. He said we don’t stop enough to celebrate the seemingly little things in our lives, because we are usually chasing an objective still far off – and celebrating smaller achievements seems too trivial to bother with. However in doing this – or rather not doing this we deny ourselves the ‘joy of the journey of life’. How true!

With to-do lists and lists of bills to pay that are as long as an arm, 1001 things we are still busy attending to or have not even started but we know we need to attend to, it’s easy to shrug off the little positives in lieu of the greater goal, but then we are not living. We lament over little failures but we do not acknowledge little victories.

‘Just Get On With It!’ is something I recently often told myself, a motto of sorts. It is as a mechanism to just cope and deal with my to-do lists and 1001 things. At the age of 40, my lesson from the day, is celebrating or at least acknowledging the small victories made along the way, is actually the critical and essential fuel that is needed for the journey. I might not reach my final destination or goal in the timeline I originally intended, but I will get there as long as I keep going. And I will not be able to sustain myself to the end, and reach my final goal without refuelling. I’m gonna try not to forget that.

Heads up Forties…. Hotness has just entered the building!

 

Hi my name is Bronwyn and I’m an ENFP

12 Monday Jun 2017

Posted by Bronwyn Swartz in General

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Does anyone remember the time I was randomly invited by someone I worked with to the social of a biking club – The Knights of St Christopher Motorcycle Club? Didn’t have a bike but dang it, I then joined the biking club … thereafter I bought a motorcycle and then I only learnt how to ride the thing and finally after that I got my motorcycle licence? – exactly in that order. Or the time I said yes to be the stats lecturer but couldn’t remember the difference between the mean and standard deviation? Or the fact that I can surf but I can’t swim? That’s what this blog is about.

I’m standing on a ledge, at a look-out point of my life again, and I’ve been thinking….”Oh dear Bronwyn :), what have we managed this time?!”  I am not unhappy. Thankfully, I’m amused. Actually I am happy amused because my life makes perfect sense.

Life is BEAUTiful.

This weekend we had great rainy weather Cape Town weather, perfect for staying under the covers and reading. I was reading a little about my personality type.  I don’t have ADHD and I’m not bipolar, but I am an ENFP. I am not for one second suggesting that I (or anyone else for that matter) had or have no or little control over what happens in our lives, but am saying it does influence your life. I accept that I have a distinct ENFP personality… my life story is evidence. The explanation of how the ENFP brain works comforted me and by golly…I frikking think I am evener cooler than what I was before. I love the way that God made me.

My quick background will hardly do justice so if you have time, do read more about this. I found it fascinating. Keeping in mind that my view is simply that – my view, here goes – one of many different theories. There are 16 personality types.  Basically it relates to the way you naturally see the world we live in, then also the way we process information and ultimately make decisions (or respond to situations and events around us).

Some people perceive the world from an introverted perspective (they take in), and others are more extroverted (they project). Then after this, similarly the way we process information about the world is different from person to person. Some people are pragmatic and down to earth – keen on facts (they observe), while others are more imaginative, open minded or idealistic (they look for hidden meanings). Then there is also the way we cope with emotions – some people prefer to feel, others prefer to think and apply logic. And finally there are two other things to consider, namely the way we approach decision making. Judging individuals are decisive and organised while prospecting individuals are better at improvising and tend to be nonconformists.

As you read this I hope you have started thinking about yourself… if you interested I would recommend http://www.16personalities.com as a starting point to read more. I know you’ll be as excited to discover about you, as I was to discover about me.

Anyway, so back to me. My personality type ENFP is a true mixture (half extrovert and half introvert) although extroverted nature (E) dominates. Then I am intuitive (N) meaning I act before I think. I rely on my feelings (F) before logic and I am prospecting (P). This personality type is not as uncommon or unique as I would like it to be. ENFP are regarded to be the “champions of causes”. They always have a cause that they are driving. They are naturally curious and enthusiastic. They idealistic and have bright visions of the future. They naturally ignore ‘facts’ most of the time – and won’t stop trying. But then they get bored precisely because they ignored the facts – or sometimes hurt. Luckily they are natural optimists so they get over themselves. They might seem confused to you. But that’s only because they consider every aspect of a situation and they sometimes need time alone to process information (#RunningWorks). Ditsy uh? True story though, I don’t know many others who quite crazy as I am – maybe I’m vain. Basically there are four significant cognitive functions that take place in my (and every other ENFP’s) brain in a very particular order.

Firstly I am extrovertly driven by my intuition. I don’t blerrie think things through! Yes, that is me, much to my mother’s dismay. It’s not that I don’t actually have the brain capacity to rationalise – I just don’t feel like it, and so I don’t. If you have spent time with me, you would know this is true about me. I just jump in. (#AwesomeAdventures)

Next,  introvertly I process information and start making decisions using my feelings  and principles on a matter. Only thereafter do I extrovertly apply logic (or think about it) to make a final decision. If you are in the vicinity you might hear me think… and people close to me have told me they can’t believe how I change my mind in the same sentence – midsentence. That is exactly what an ENFP personality does. This is because when they get to the third level they look at things from all angles and every perspective.

Finally, if I allow it…. I can also introvertly sense, to consider the facts the details and use my memory to perceive the situation (which is different to my instinctive use of intuition)….. This is the reason I am still alive today. Because the times that it mattered, this underdeveloped function came through for me. This is also how I managed to get myself out of the trouble I got into so many many many times in the past. I don’t naturally use that fourth function – but it’s there thankfully to bail me out. So I am almost 40, and I feel more balanced than what I did in my twenties, so I think I’m using it more.

Hopefully now that I am more acutely aware of how “I tick”, I can stop myself from doing too many crazy things. (Hopefully… Big smile….I have done some crazy stuff). Thank you Jesus I survived myself. My God loves me. I’m happy today, because I hear the voice that says…”Take your time, don’t be so impulsive Bronwyn – you don’t need to be impulsive”…. Aggggg – But who am I kidding, I’m an ENFP, Some crazy is good:)

Why don’t you take that free online test too…..it’ll be fun. Promise

Put your energy where your power is…. In You.

06 Tuesday Jun 2017

Posted by Bronwyn Swartz in General

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