The Last Frontier

We made it back from our week cruise in Alaska last Thursday! We had a fabulous time. I mostly spent time in the spa, in the hot tub and sauna, ate food, and looked for adventure on land. I also met a handsome, amazing man on board the ship whose identity must remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of his job! (How's that for a little mystery?!) Unclassified details of the cruise will now follow in the form of pictoral narration:

I am aboard the Carnival Spirit with a breathtaking view of Alaska behind me:

This is what our ship looked like in port:

Here we are striking it rich in Juneau. Panning for gold is painstaking and addictive (rollin', rollin' at the river!):

In port, the rugged Alaskan terrain brought out the raw adventurer in us:

Time on the ship was spent doing a variety of things like towel folding!! This is a dog:

Even a big ship like us had to be careful of Pirates!:

New

For those of you who do not yet know (thanks to my mother that leaves mighty few of you), I got a job teaching in Holland! I'm not a full fledged teacher thanks to the over abundance of candidates and scarcity of available positions, but there is room for growth and I have my foot in the door of my choice school! I will be working with struggling students many who qualify for special education. There is a high school and an elementary. I will work with the 4th/5th graders. Here is a picture of the main building and high school:

I will be working in a smaller building wich houses the upper elementary:



I have also been cruising around in a new car which, we (Katie, Mary, and I) have named Summer Girl (as an ode to our summer days together):



Of course when anything new comes about, there is always a death of the old. That is why change is so difficult. My life is changing, has been changing for some time. I am in transition, which is at times depressing. I am missing a lot:

I miss Barak, he was my friend
I miss my girls, whom I have 4 days left with
I miss my cousin
I miss my band, and singing, and leading worship (at times)
I miss having friends I can call up at any time, they are all gone
I miss having a hopeful picture of my future
I miss believing good things will always happen to me
I miss my dreams and expectations, they are shattered

The hardest thing is moving forward.

A Funeral, and a Resurrection

For the sake of old times, a subtle pang for nostalgia, a hint in the breeze of simpler, more carefree times, I have decided to post. While I doubt that there is anyone out there anymore, or anyone who cares, I do it for the sole purpose that I Can. I am learning again how to do things because I simply want, to for pure enjoyment, rather than Should...Have to. I emerge from the confining restriction of the college cocoon to find I am no longer the same person. It has not been without struggle or price.

I have stepped down from leading worship. It was a hard decision, but a necessary one. I found myself doing it mindlessly, dronelike. It was simply expected. I also find myself looking ahead to my future and realizing my need to re-prioritize. I have severely neglected my Self in the past year and I suffer daily in mind and spirit because of it.

I have been busier since graduating than before! I have been preparing for interviews, creating a portfolio, working and re-working my resume, writing cover letters, organizing, purchasing materials and things I need (I was unable to shop during my last semester, for anything...except gas). I did have one initial interview, which will hopefully result in a second one for a school in Holland.

Charlie is dead. He drown, dying a hero's death. I really liked Charlie. I didn't want him to die. We now have a long wait, until February, for LOST to return. There will be three more seasons, 48 episodes, 16 episodes each season, and every mystery will be revealed. Finally. I won't know what to look forward to after that. My new favorite website is www.stationzer0.com. It has really great easter eggs from episodes, theories, and is easy to comment on. I visit it at least once a week for LOST info.

Alvar Hanso Exposed!

Here is some shocking insider knowledge of the Dharma Initiative revealed by Alvar Hanso himself!

Hanso Exposed

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A Blogger's Rules

I have been blogging for some time now and, while I’m no expert, I have learned a few things along the way. I have compiled what I have learned from my experience, and also from reading other various blogs, into a list of what I think are some good rules of blogging, which I try to follow.

Variety- A good blog is one that offers variety to its readers. Let’s face it; people will be much more interested in your blog if you aren’t always talking about the same thing in every post (particularly yourself). The style of posts can also be varied for effect.

95% Lighthearted- Most people can’t handle very much to think about at one time. Especially while reading a post. People like to read about something that is entertaining, not something that makes them think. It is important to make people think, however, so I reserve about 5% of my blogging to do so. If you are going to write something heavy, try to keep it short.

Randomness=Ratings- Generally, the more random the post, the more comments it gets. People love random because they don’t really have to think about it. Random is more entertaining and…lighthearted. It’s also usually funny and people like funny.

Create Community- This is one of the most important aspects of blogging. Blogging is about the readers not the author. If you can create a place that people love to visit, are entertained, and feel valued, they will keep coming back. And they will become valuable contributors to your blog making it much more than you ever could by yourself.

Frequency- The best way to lose readers is to rarely make posts and then do so sporadically. Even if your schedule is incredibly busy, you can still find time to make one post a week. I have posted one liners before while in the grip of finals! If you have to, start a post in Word and work on it whenever you can. Your readers will be grateful.

Length- Another big turn off are extremely lengthy posts usually made to make up for infrequency. It is better to make frequent short posts than long novellas posted few and far between .

Add Ons- Add Ons are like hidden treasure! Shout boxes, links to interesting websites, links to other bloggers (community) are invaluable to a good blog.

Wit and Sarcasm- While writing a post these two things will make the most boring detail sound interesting and funny. Ultimately, if you find what you are writing about interesting and write about it in an interesting way, others will be interested too. No one has a perspective quite like yours, so let them have it!

Pictures- Pictures connect the reader to you and what you are saying. Pictures are like windows into the mind and life of the author. This aspect of blogging should not be underestimated. I also like having a separate picture blog so that my readers can get to know me better.

Integrity- Most importantly your blog should be a true expression of yourself. Find what you love, what you find interesting, and share it with others. Whatever you blog should also be your own creation unless you properly cite who you are borrowing from. Borrowing should probably be kept down to 5% too.

Politics Schmolitics

My family prides itself on its political aloofness. Some would call it ignorance, but the truth is we just protect ourselves. We don’t subscribe to any newspapers, listen to much of any radio, and have never had a television (we’re movie people). The news we hear is usually second hand from someone else who takes it upon themselves to fill us in on all the details. The world could go to war and we would barely know about it. As long as we have food, water, guns, and ammo, we’re ok. We’re happy people.

College has changed me some. I see the need to know what’s going on in the world around me. I try to help my family see that too. When I do though, I usually get a speech on how “they” are trying to take away our rights and most importantly our guns or I am met with ambivalence. This explains my own ambivalence toward politics. I often see both sides of an issue and then exhaust myself by going in circles. The result is that I am not confident of any thoughts I may have politically and therefore try to stay away from discussing such things.

It is a wonder then how I came to work for one of the most politically active families in my city. They are active in campaigning and in the community, practice law, and now one presides as judge of the 60th district court! They have had a positive influence on my political weakness. I benefit from their political savvy by reading the paper (ok, mostly Dear Abby) and even Newsweek on occasion.

In fact, I read an article recently in Newsweek that talked about the Democratic Party’s 2008 Presidential candidate nominees: Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, an Illinois Senator. The amazing thing being that one is a woman and the other is black. The question posed was; is America ready for such a president? Are we ready for a woman President? Are we ready for an African American President? It will certainly be a momentous election in 2008 no matter what the outcome of the Democrat’s nominations. I’m not sure what the Republican Party will do as I have heard nothing of their candidates for the upcoming election. I find it interesting in a sensational way. And now as my political insecurity begins creeping up on me, I end this post.

My Cup Runneth Over

You may remember that on my To Do list, Dec. 8th was when things wrapped up. I am so lucky and blessed that it is not the case for me. I get to spend one last day with my students on monday as my cooperating teacher was absent Dec 8th. I also have not even begun writing my research paper, so I can work on it throughout the next week. I will work madly today, which will hopefully result in a rough draft. I'm not an English major for nothing you know. Then I get to present my findings to an enraptured audience on thursday. I also get to meet once more with my reading assessment class to "go over anything we didn't have time to do over the last 14 weeks". I also get to take on the full responsibility of leading worship twice this sunday without my two main musicians! What a great opportunity to stretch my faith and trust in God. I have taken note that life stress has caused me to gain weight this semester also. Yes, I can say without a doubt, "My cup runneth over."

Snow Day!

Today is the first Snow Day of the year! We have officially left warm weather behind and are heading into the blinding white of an another endless winter. Our world is changing. Ahead there is snowboarding to be done, snowmen to build, and goodies to bake. There are holiday get-togethers, memories to make, and celebrations to participate in. We may witness the closing of chapters, let go of things we hold dear, and embrace change to our inner worlds.

For now, we seize the season. Let it Snow!

...and Inhale!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I spent most of The Day frantically preparing to meet the numerous deadlines of next week. We had good food though.

I finally got my hair cut!
You may notice it is slightly shorter. Most of you will notice no difference at all. I'm just glad for my own sake that it is done.

I got my winter placement! I will be teaching in a Kindergarten class. It will be a big jump from 5th, but I am looking forward to it.

That is all.

Exhalian Proverb

An ancient Exhalian Proverb says, “It is better to see a goose than a swan”. Spoken by a 21st century philosopher, it is a phrase of timeless wisdom, which should be heeded by all. As the story goes, the philosopher, observing nature from a quiet country road, spied a glassy calm pond surrounded by fowl. Among the fowl she noticed beautiful white birds of serenity. Thinking they were Swans to be admired and cherished she cried out in wonderment, “Swans!” Having a mind of keen scrutiny, however, a closer look revealed that the birds were not Swans, but rather Geese. The philosopher said to herself, “Ah! It would have been better to see the Goose as it was and accept it than to see a Swan only to realize the truth and be disappointed”. This brought about a profound revelation to the philosopher: In life it is better to see things for what they are than to see them for what one would wish them be.

The experience drove the philosopher into a period of seclusion from which she emerged and opened her own monastery. She called the monastery “The Way of Nature’s Realism”. On a plaque above the door was written: This world has no room for the idealist or the dreamer. Even nature has its way of kicking the idealist to the curb and delighting in it. Only the realists survive.

The monastery attracted many followers who, like the philosopher, had finally been crushed by life’s repeated mockery and disappointments. They devoted the rest of their days to living realistic lives free from the poisonous venom of idealism.