At work, we have an employee newsletter. Recently, the editor changed, and the new one has been changing things up a bit. She has been writing a story each week about random stuff that happens in her life. Well, anyways, her husband had apparently told her this story:

Apparently, back in the day, NASA astronauts informed their R&D team that they needed a pen that could write upside down, so that when they are floating around in zero gravity, they can write easily from wherever they are. The R&D team spent big money creating prototypes, testing and retesting until they came up with the Zero Gravity Pen. It solved their need, and eventually it was even featured in a Seinfeld episode!

Now, here’s the funny part…when the Russians were faced with this same need from their astronauts, do you know what their solution was? Use a pencil.

The moral of this story? Sometimes the best answer is the simplest one. Don’t overthink every issue you face…sometimes the answer is just sitting on your desk.

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I’m telling lies.
I say,
It’s in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It’s the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can’t touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can’t see.
I say,
It’s in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I’m a woman

Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

Now you understand
Just why my head’s not bowed.
I don’t shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It’s in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
‘Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

by Maya Angelou