Coming back to life

I'm not big on new year resolutions. Yes, it is good to have goals, and yes, another trip around the sun could be a good time to start them, but I think that the best time to start something is generally as soon as possible, unless there is a really good reason to wait. I do like to make a general outline of things I'd like to do in the next year. For example, last year I decided that I wanted to start learning how to cook different kinds of food and I wanted to start exercising regularly, two goals that I certainly met this year.

Blogging, however, was not high on my priority list. Obviously. This will change in the next year, I hope. I'm not going to call it a resolution because I want to give myself wiggle room, but I am going to try to blog about something at least once a week. There will be some similar postings as I have done in the past, but also some very different ones as I am no longer a student and I have my own house and some new hobbies now.

2009 changes:

• Graduated from graduate school in May!
• Started work as a middle school teacher in September
• I teach American history to 7th graders and Civics/Economics to 8th graders ... very different from the whole teaching world history life plan
• Moved back to Northern Virginia
• Attending "adult" church, and some "young adult" church
• Living in a new HOUSE with four other girls
• Picked up running as a hobby

Topics that will stay consistent:

• Writing/fan fiction (still have to finish "Heart of Gold" anyway!)
• Worship drabbles
• Public schooling thoughts
• General state of the world drabbles
• General Christianity drabbles

We'll see if this happens. :) Like I said, not a resolution, but certainly an intention. Here's to 2010!

The day is finally here

Yes, I am going to echo the sentiments of many others: I'll be glad when this day is over. So much has happened during this election that makes me a bit ashamed to be an American. Honestly. Regardless of your political beliefs, there are things going on here that should never happen.

1. The blatant undermining of female candidates ... specifically, Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin, and really, you can take it back to Geraldine Ferraro, too. Why is it that whenever a strong woman comes forward for office, she is attacked several times more than the male candidates? I do not understand. Despite what I think about any of these women, I'm just glad that they're taking the initiative. How does being a woman make someone unfit for office? I doubt that any of these people would directly state that sentiment, however, their actions speak louder than their words. What they've done to these women shows what's really in their hearts.

2. A campaign that lasts two years ... the first time I heard about Barack Obama was about a year and a half ago. Again, that should just not happen. The presidential system was never designed for two year campaigns. When did the presidency become about who can spend the most money and beguile enough people? I'm not pointing fingers at either campaign, either. John McCain is just as guilty of these as Barack Obama. Historically, campaigns like this are a very recent blip on the radar. Fifty years ago, the campaign started after the nomination. Can you imagine what a two month campaign would be like? I think it would be heaven.

3. Total underpining of the issues ... despite what anyone would say about Obama and McCain, they're only talking about half of the issues they are covering because of minor candidates who add accountability to the system. If this were just the Obama and McCain show, I can guarantee that we'd have a much shorter list of issues on our plates. The problem that I have run into with this campaign is that I have such little trust in the president to do what he says he's going to do anymore. Actually, it's not just the president, it's really any political figure. Because of the nature of the campaign beast, candidates will say anything to get elected. Will they actually follow through? Who knows. I'd like to believe that they will, but I'm trying not to be that naive.


Regardless of all that negativity, there is one thing about this election that has been incredibly heartening: the response of the American people. Never before has there been such an incredible movement to get Americans to vote. The Student Assembly at W&M conducted such a vibrant campaign effort to get students to register in Williamsburg that we actually have to help out at the polls so that they don't become overwhelmed by extra people. Facebook is asking everyone who signs in whether or not they have voted today, and tracking it here. Organizations like The Leaky Cauldron and HP Alliance have taken advantage of the fact that they have a wide fan base and planned events like Wrock the Vote to encourage their fans to register, if they have not already.

That is just fantastic. As a government teacher (and former student) I know all of the excuses for why people choose not to vote:

• the weather is bad
• they feel that their vote will not make a difference
• apathy with the system
• do not align with either candidate
• too busy
• they forget about election day
• they cannot get to the polls in time
• among others

To those, I give this:

• so what? Yes, it's raining outside ... a little rain never hurt anyone
• clearly, your vote DOES make a difference
• I'm apathetic with the system too ... and I voted
• I also don't align with either candidate ... this is about your duty as a citizen
• I have a job, a teaching internship, I'm taking 13 credits, I attend church multiple times a week, I have mentoring appointments, I serve on the Student Assembly ... still think you're busy?
• Anyone who forgets that today is Election Day is clearly hiding under a rock
• The polls are open today from 6 am - 8 pm. You have time.

Truly, I will be glad when this day is over. But it's here right now. So, take advantage of it. And if you're looking for a little humor, here are some articles my dad sent to me:

• Bush: "Can I stop being president now?"
• Obama Undertakes Presidential Internship

Autumn

Things I love about fall:

1. Fall colors ... they just started coming out in Williamsburg this week! The trees around William and Mary are beautiful. Growing up in California for such a prolonged period of time really made me appreciate having all the seasonal changes. I've been watching for good fall colors for a couple weeks now, and I'm so glad that they've come out in full force.
2. Football ... I've watched almost every VT game this year and most of the UVA games, as well as some of the other games, too. I've enjoyed watching football for several years now, but this is the first year I've really invested time in watching it regularly. It's a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon (while lesson planning, of course!)
3. Fall food ... pie, turkey, cornbread, chili, soup, mashed potatoes, stuffing, all of it. I can't wait for Thanksgiving.
4. Cooler weather ... the days have started getting especially cooler this week, and I'm so excited to be able to wear sweaters again, and use my brand new red peacoat from my parents for my birthday.
5. My birthday! and my sister's ... she just turned 21, heavens ... that makes me feel old!
   

Back to school

I've probably thought of about fifteen different things to blog about in the past two weeks, but as I've been busy with school work and life in general, that hasn't happened.  I've been considering blogging about general technology use in classrooms, the inquiry method of social studies instruction, content reading and writing, and classroom management strategies.  I've also been considering blogging about worship, Philippians, 1 Samuel, and relational evangelism.  Still further, what I have been up to.  It's been a busy two weeks.  Here are some highlights.

1. Student teaching  I got my student teaching placement!  To protect anonymity, my students, W&M, and the high school I am in, I am not going to reveal which high school it is or my cooperating teacher.  However, I will say that I will be teaching government, both regular and AP, come spring time.  I am mostly doing observations this semester.  Of course, the school is somewhere in the Tidewater area, within an hour's drive of Williamsburg.  That's about 10 plus possible school districts.  ;)  Naturally, I am very happy with my placement, and I think that this will be a great year.  I will meet the kids for the first time next week.

2. Christian life  I have been attending services at New Town UMC since June, and I still really like it there.  I also started going to their Wednesday night Bible study with some friends in the end of July.  We are doing an expository study of the book of Philippians, and we're still in chapter 2, haha.  Seeing as we only discussed one verse this week (2:25), this is not surprising.  I really admire NTUMC's commitment to fellowship, doctrine, worship, prayer, and the needs of the congregation.  The church really feels like a family to me, and I've only been there a short while.  I'm seeing God's blessings everywhere I look, and it's just amazing.  I've been attending the Bible study with a couple friends and we're hoping to get more people to join us as the year progresses.  The great part is that we don't just see each other for Bible study, we try to get together outside of church, too, so that we're involved in each other's lives.  This is so important in Christian community.  I have also started singing at Bruton Parish on Sunday nights.  A friend found out that I sing and invited me to sing in the student choir, and it's been really interesting and fun so far.  Definitely a different experience, but one that has been beneficial for me, especially considering my experience with TFC.  I'm glad to have this opportunity to be in open dialogue in that setting.

3. Working hard  I'm working for a different professor during the school year, and I'm having a lot of fun so far.  One project I worked on a few weeks ago was to create screen capture videos as an explanation for how to use Wikispaces.  W&M education students use Wikispaces to create electronic portfolios of their progress throughout the year.  I had a lot of fun creating these videos, so check them out.

4. Reading ... not for pleasure  My month of pleasure reading has ended.  While I have been finding some time to read through the last book in the Twilight series (Breaking Dawn), I have mostly been reading for my various classes.  I'm hoping to write a blog about the Twilight series once I finish it.  :)  I will likely offer some thoughts on other reading materials for my various classes, but I do have a lot to do, so those may be more infrequent.

5. Time for play  Despite the work, I'm still a social person.  The C&I bunch has become even closer than we were over the summer, and I think we're starting to scare some people because we know each other so well.  It's fun.  :)  I also went to UVA this past weekend with a friend for my first Cavalier football game.  I really like Charlottesville, and thankfully we managed to avoid Tropical Storm Hanna!  The rain stopped an hour before the game started.  Fantastic.  I'm going to Virginia Tech this weekend with my friend Laurie and her family, and I'll also get to see Jesse and Caelah!  So, I'm really just having an orange identity crisis between Tech and UVA.  Who do I cheer for?  ;)  There have also been Wii game sessions, dinners, bowling, poker, movie nights, and endless conversations.

Needless to stay, I've already built a life here, and I love everything about it.

A future hope

"I want to talk to you about the subject of plans, life plans and how we all make them, and how we hope that our kids make good, smart, safe plans of their own.  But if we're really honest with ourselves, most of our plans don't work out as we'd hoped.  So instead of asking our young people, "What are your plans?  What do you plan to do with your life?" maybe we should tell them this: Plan to be surprised." ~ Dan In Real Life

Anyone who spends any length of time with my immediate family will quickly come to recognize my father's love for movies.  So, the time I spent at home is generally colored by which movies I watch while I am there.  Lexington was not really a prime location for seeing new movies as our theater only showed three movies at a time and the next closest theater was a 30-45 minute drive.  I really haven't gone to the movies much in the past four years, except when I was at home.  However, whenever I do go home, my family is always discussing some movie that they've all just watched and have a million inside jokes for, and then we usually watch it together.  Dan In Real Life was one of those movies this time.

The movie documents the family vacation of recently-widowed Dan (Steve Carrel) and his three daughters, all in various stages of moving through life.  Dan has tried to rigidly control their lives and his own, and this has become even more apparent since the death of their mother.  Much to Dan's surprise, the reunion turns his life upside down, and he has a completely new perspective on the future by the end of it.  This is when he writes the aforementioned quote on plans.

I used to plan out every detail of my life.  I had this idea that by a certain age I would graduate from college, get my first job, be married, start having children, publish my first book, etc.  I think part of that was wanting to give myself something to dream about when I was bored.  Now, I think that it is a good idea to have goals.  We should be encouraging our young people to have an idea of where they want to go and what they want to do, and I think that it can be good to say that we would like something to happen by a certain date.  BUT only if we have the control to make that happen.

In the movie, Dan's problem is that he is trying to control things that he cannot possibly control.  I think that is the major problem with the planning that we do in our lives.  I have had a lot of people ask me in the past couple months where I think I will be teaching next year.  My answer is that I would love to be back up in Northern Virginia with my family, and hopefully a good number of my cousins, but I know that my life is going to be completely different eight months from now.  Everything about my life can change in a day, for better or for worse, and a single event can sometimes have the intensity to alter my views on where I want to be.  There may be a compelling reason for me not to be in Northern Virginia, and I know that I need to stay open to that.

I like the idea of planning to be surprised, because this gets at the idea that the future is hopeful and something to be experienced and embraced, especially if we don't know what is going to happen.  This is something that we need to instill in young people, especially our students, and in "old people" as well.  :)

Happy birthday (to my blog)

My blog turns a year old this week!  I'm proud of myself that I've kept it relatively up to date for the past year.  I posted 55 entries, which is roughly one per week, so I'm satisfied.  We'll see what the next year holds.  I expect that I will end up posting more because it appears that my entries on schooling are engaging and have led to more readers finding my blog, and I'd like to encourage that discussion.

Since my last posting, I have finished coursework for my first term of graduate school, spent a week in Maine, run a lot of errands at home, and almost finished the first book in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series, entitled Twilight.  I really like it so far.  She is an extremely engaging writer and I can tell from her writing what she considers most important as an author -- characterization.  Perhaps I'm a bit biased because that is the most important thing to me as an author, too, but the best thing about her stories, and the reason I think so many people have fallen in love with them, is that her characters are very real.  She has thought long and hard about who her characters are, how they react, what matters to them, etc and she does not deviate from that picture.  Of course, she confirms that this is the most important thing to her on her Web site, but I guessed that it was before I went searching.

It's good to have a break, and great to be reading for pleasure again.  I told my family that if food is what keeps us physically sustained, then books are what keeps my soul sustained, if that makes any sense.  Along that analogy, Twilight is like candy.  Fast, easy read, and sweet.  I went to get the next two books at Barnes and Noble yesterday, and I'm trying to space out reading them.  Mostly because I know that I have other things that I need to be doing.  Self-control is key.

That said, they're great books, and I highly recommend them.

Forward motion

It's cliche, I know, but the coming of spring has always been one of my favorite times of year (despite the inevitable sniffles that accompany the pollen). Spring came in March in California, but in Virginia it doesn't come for real until April, and even then, you still get some winter weather. :) I think I like spring because it doesn't last very long. Everything is in full bloom for only a few weeks, but it's a lovely few weeks while it lasts. I haven't blogged much this spring because I had finals, and then spring break, and I've been back at school for the past two weeks but have been pretty busy with six spring term credits, registering for grad school credits, and arranging everything to move to Williamsburg.

My Caribbean cruise was everything I expected it to be. The seventeen of us had a delightful time, and we most certainly because "those kids." We were really the only college students on the cruise. I read through two books, ate way too much food, went swimming, saw some shows, and just generally had a great time. Could not have had a better senior year spring break.

Every day closer to May 26 and the start of grad school makes me anticipate this change more and more. I'm just really excited to see what God has in store for me in Williamsburg. I'm really excited about my classes, my jobs, my flat, my roommate, and just living in this historic area, and it's hard because I am not really that "into" either of the classes that I am taking right now. But I know that I will miss everyone here terribly.

Today was a good day. It was good to spend time with some of the people whom I will miss the most after leaving school. My past two weekends have been fantastic also, both at home. This past weekend I went home to support my Mom in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer and the weekend before I went home for my grandfather's 80th birthday party. I got to see a LOT of family, so that was fantastic.

Things I am hoping to blog about in the near future:

1. Latin American environmental history
2. Remembering acts of God and Christ in worship
3. Anthropology and violence
4. Global church as the hope for the world
5. Jim Wallis' new book "The Great Awakening"

Musings, podcasts, and spring!

There is someone playing guitar outside of my window.  I love it!  He or she is pretty good, too.  It's pleasant background music to go along with writing my last mini ethics paper assignment.  This week we're supposed to analyze our "personal ethical dilemma" from the first assignment and say if our views have changed at all from before.  Mine really haven't.  :)

The flowers are coming out all over campus, and they're beautiful.  I'm going to miss Lexington, but I hear Williamsburg is just as lovely!  I can't believe I'm moving there in pretty much exactly two months.  Absolute craziness.  Ashley and I are working on the flat situation so hopefully that gets finalized soon.  It should be fine.  I also found out today that the masters' project is being cancelled for C&I majors, so that's rather exciting.  I get to save about $800 off tuition!

Okay, so the real reason I'm writing a blog is because I discovered the wonderful art that is podcasting today.  I had listened to a few podcasts before but I hadn't ever really been absorbed by them.  My dad introduced them to me about a year ago.  He's fascinated with them, loves listening to sermons and other theological stuff, which is cool.  I had signed up for a couple of them, ones from our home church and also a Harry Potter one, but hadn't ever really listened to any of them.

Today I decided to listen to a couple while I was stuffing envelopes at Hill House and I really enjoyed them.  I listened to a couple from The Falls Church and a couple from the PotterCast and they were really interesting.  I learned about:

1. James 1 and hypocrisy: we need to be doers of the Word and not just listeners; the Word shows us who we are and if we hear it and understand but then turn away from it, we're like someone who sees themselves in the mirror and then forgets what they look like
2. James 2 and judging: placing judgment on others based on how they appear renders our faith ineffective and hurts our witness for the Gospel
3. PotterCast 131: Interview with J.K. Rowling: mostly stuff about horcruxes and wands
4. PotterCast 132: Interview with J.K. Rowling part 2: Neville!
5. PotterCast 138: SnoggCast: well, I'm still in the middle of it, but they're talking about Chapter 7 of Deathly Hallows and it's really interesting!

So podcasts are awesome.  :)

Brian Littrell

Rachel and I were listening to my iTunes library today while doing homework and the song "By His Wounds" just so happened to play.  If you don't know, the song is by a group called Glory Revealed, made up of Steven Curtis Chapman, Mac Powell of Third Day, and Brian Littrell (yes, of the Backstreet Boys).  They were all on tour together last year, and I assume that the group was made up when they were on tour.

Rachel and I got to talking about Littrell and his emergence into Christian music, and how we really loved Backstreet Boys when we were in middle school because of Littrell -- he always thanked God first on his CD thank-yous.  Well, Rachel mentioned that some of the songs he had written for the Backstreet Boys were glaringly Christian songs, and I was curious.  She claimed that "The One" from the CD "Millenium" was totally a Christian song, and naturally, she was right.  Observe:

"The One" by Brian Littrell

I guess you were lost when I met you

Still there were tears in your eyes

So out of trust and I knew

No more than mysteries and lies

There you were, wild and free

Reaching out like you needed me

A helping hand to make it right

I am holding you all through the night

I'll be the one (I'll be the one)

Who will make all your sorrows undone

I'll be the light (I'll be the light)

When you feel like there's nowhere to run

I'll be the one

To hold you and make sure that you'll be alright

Cause my fear is gone

And I want to take you from darkness to light

*bridge, chorus*

You need me like I need you

We could share our dreams coming true

I can show you what true love means

Just take my hand, baby please

I'll be the one, I'll be the light

Where you can run to make it alright

I'll be the one, I'll be the light

Where you can run

*repeat*

This makes us really happy.  :)  More evidence of Littrell's awesomeness:

"Welcome Home (You)" by Brian Littrell

When I left home to be who I am

Some people said no way

But I laid it all down, gave everything

In my head rang the words that my Father said

You're never far, I will be where you are

And when you come to me

I will open my arms

And welcome home you

I know you by name

How do you do?

I shine because of you today

So come and sit down

Tell me how you are

You know, son, it's good just to see your face

When I look at you holding my heart

I will give to you all that I am

Son, I know there'll be times

You will feel all alone

I will share with you the words my Father said

You're never far, I will be where you are

And when you come to me

You can bet I will open my arms

*chorus*

I wish I was here...

I miss London

Music, movies, and mountaintops

I've thought of quite a few things to blog about in the past week and a half, but I've been a little too busy to write about them all. I saw "Juno" with a couple girls from the pledge class and, like "27 Dresses," I thought it was fantastic, but for different reasons. For one thing, it has an excellent soundtrack. I've been listening to it for the past week. I also really like the humanity of the characters. They really feel like real people and not like fake, perfect chick flick characters. There are some definite twists in the movie, and it didn't end the way I expected it to end. I also really like some of its observations about relationships and family. It's my pick for best picture, I think, though I haven't seen "Atonement" yet and I really want to.

Speaking of good music, I also saw the movie "Once" with a few friends. It's an independent Irish film about a guy and a girl (named Guy and Girl) who become fast friends and push out a demo CD in a week so that Guy can go to London and become a music artist. There's not much that happens physically, but there's a lot that happens emotionally. I liked it for it's analysis of human behavior; it explores the idea of putting off an idea for so long that eventually you just never do it, but "once," you wanted to. There's also a whole lot of song writing, that's the bulk of the movie, and I really enjoyed that. Another good soundtrack that is now in my iTunes music library.

Lest you think my life is all about movies, the new worship team met for a planning meeting last Thursday night. I am so excited about everyone who is interested. Paul and John played guitar for a while afterward and I sang, and it was so much fun. I can't wait for a full practice tomorrow night. My first batch of quizzes have come back with good marks, and I'm getting ready for my first batch of essays/tests.

I spent Saturday hiking with Rachel, Robert, and John. We went up Mt. Pleasant and Mt. Pompey, both located in Amherst County between Lexington and Lynchburg. We had a great time talking about all sorts of things, ranging from Scripture study, to family, to classes, to God. The views were amazing -- we were very high up, and we could see the clouds resting on the mountains across the valleys from us. It was quite windy, but it was a warm day so it was fine. We were all inspired to go hiking more often, and we spent some time planning our next challenges. :)

Updates

For all who are interested, I finally posted Chapter 12!!!  Very exciting news.  A link to my stories can be found under the links on the right sidebar of my blog.  Please read and review.  :)

I'm mostly on top of my work for this week.  I have an editing quiz and a macroeconomic quiz, but I think they will both go well.  Happily I have no editing classes this week because my professor is out of town.  This will add more time to my day on Monday and Wednesday, though I do enjoy the class so it's a little sad.  The macro quiz is on GDP calculations.  I'm finding that I enjoy macroeconomics more than microeconomics.  I find it easier to understand and apply, though I am also finding that I understand microeconomics more with the addition of macroeconomic concepts.  They support and build upon one another.  I'm also really enjoying the system of macro homework online.

I did some copy editing for the Ring-Tum Phi after GCF tonight and got the most wonderful comment from Jacob.  I walked in with my guitar and asked if he needed any help and he was very grateful, and then commented on the guitar.  I said that I was the lead worship person for GCF and told him that I could serenade them if they wanted (jokingly) but then he said that he had already heard me play.  Apparently the Phi office can hear all of the music we play at GCF.  This wasn't much of a surprise as they are right down the hall in the Commons, but I had never really thought about it.  Jacob commented that he knows all is right with the world when he hears "the Christians singing" on Sunday evening.  This really made me smile.

Also, went to see "27 Dresses" with the girls last night.  LOVED it!  I'm continually impressed with Katherine Heigl's acting, and the story was fantastic.  Very funny, and good delivery from all actors/actresses.  I highly recommend it.  It's not just a chick flick, it actually kind of turns traditional romance on its head, which is really amusing in itself, but there are just such good one-liners.

Lastly, Jenny booked cruise tickets for a bunch of us for spring break last week.  We're going to go to Passion in Atlanta to spend a couple days worshipping God, and then we're going to go on a cruise with Carnival, haha.  A little ironic.  But it so matches the kids that are going.  The cruise leaves from Jacksonville and will go to Key West and Nassau, Bahamas.  Should be an awesome time!

Mock Convention 2008

I am currently watching the final session of Washington and Lee's 2008 Mock Convention on Channel 18 (Lexington's public access channel), and taking notes on what the speakers are saying to write up a full report later.  Va. Sen. Jim Webb is speaking right now and he'll be followed by Harold Ford, Jr., chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) and West Va. Gov. Joe Manchin III.  Speakers yesterday included Va. Gov. Tim Kaine, Charles Wilson, Jesse Jackson, and others.  I only heard Tim Kaine.

W&L hosts a mock presidential convention every four years, in accordance with the democratic primaries.  Since 1948, the only nomination we've predicted incorrectly was in 1972.  We chose Ted Kennedy for the Democratic nomination.  Our picks don't always get elected, but they usually get nominated at least.  ;)  And it's understandable, since we're always picking a non-incumbent nominee.  It's a generally-known fact that incumbents tend to win over nominees that are new to the position.

To cut to the chase (I'm writing this background after the close of ceremonies), W&L chose Hillary Clinton for the presidential nomination and Harold Ford for the vice presidential nomination.  A lot of people don't think that we'll get it right this year because the race is so close, but we'll see.  There's still some time before the official conventions in August.

The convention is held over a period of two days.  Happily, our classes on Friday were cancelled for the festivities.  ;)  Over 90% of the school participates in some fashion, usually by joining a state delegation.  I was a member of the Virginia delegation...state pride, ya know?  Each delegation does research to figure out how their real delegates are likely to vote in August, raises funds to support the convention, tries to find good speakers, and designs a state float to be trailed in the parade on Friday morning of the convention.  I'm sure they do more work than that also, but those seemed to be the most important responsibilities to me.

As for the convention schedule, there's the parade Friday morning.  The floats were pretty good -- I watched from the warmth of my office.  The convention officially convenes at 1 pm on Friday for a series of speakers.  I went to the first hour and a half or so of this, and saw Tim Kaine.  That was really cool.  He's a very dynamic and engaging speaker.  He spoke about voter participation and his support for Barack Obama...his speech compelled me to call up the Virginia voter registration office and order my absentee ballot and nearly compelled me to vote for Obama.  Nearly.  I didn't attend any of the other Friday speeches because I had things to do, and I wanted to call my Mom.  :)

This morning I would have attended, but it was cold, and I didn't want to get all dressed up, so I have been watching the proceedings on TV, while sitting on the couch in my pajamas.  It would have been cool to have actually been there, but...I'm still happy with my decision.

My impressions on this morning's speakers:

• Jim Webb: not as engaging as I had hoped, however he had some interesting points; tendency to ramble and to jump from topic to topic; was surprised by his statistic that the Republican party filibustered 62 times last year; agreed that the current administration doesn't have an exit strategy for Iraq and that's really not acceptable; some quotes: "You don't take out a hornet's nest by sitting on it, it's time to do something else;" "This issue is not going to turn around until we have new leaders...we have these leaders, we will work toward solutions;"
• Harold Ford: very dynamic and engaging, a lot of people I have talked to liked him; I felt that he mostly talked about things I already knew, so I actually didn't pay very much attention to most of his speech; did like his point that we're the only generation that has ever financed two sides of a war (we support our "enemy" with our dependence on oil); memorable quotes: "We have asked our military men and women...to go fight while at the same time you and I subsidize those who seek to kill them day in and day out." "Pick a Democrat who the nation will wrap their arms around, pray for, and believe in...a tall one for the world."
• Joe Manchin: talked a lot about blessings and being thankful for what we have, and giving back; really emphasized his West Virginia roots; pointed out that a good leader has to look past party lines and unite groups of people; we have to be careful to preserve the nation for future generations; every child should have a safe place and a healthy start; on 9/11, did it matter what was in your bank account?  did your house or car matter  did your race matter?  or were you more concerned about your family, friends, and fellow Americans?  that's what you need to think about today; memorable quotes: "If you think you can come from right or left and govern, you're wrong." "We as a nation came together as a country for this one day like never before, as Americans." "We need a change from the top to the bottom, and the change starts here...the greatest generation sitting before me now has the power to do that...not only for this nation, but for the world."

I feel extremely empowered.  This was an interesting and fun experiment, and I'm looking forward to seeing how this all pans out over the next year.

Choose your own adventure

If you were a teacher, would you fudge scores to encourage an underperforming student? Would you call that student out if you found out they were cheating?

If you had a friend in prison for something that you did, too, and you could reduce their sentence, would you turn yourself in? What if it was a matter of life and death, meaning you could save them from execution if you agreed to a prison sentence?

Would you risk the lives of eight men to save one?

Well, you could think about all of that, or you could just watch "The Emperor's Club," "Return To Paradise," and "Saving Private Ryan."

My journalism ethics class has been discussing these movies this week as a means for discussing the points of view of key moral philosophers.  We're looking at 7 key philosophers and their views of morality:

1. Aristotle: virtue-based; judge an act based on the virtues of a good person; a good person will act virtuously and seek to attain happiness, which is the final good; virtue is making choices guided by reason in accordance to the doctrine of the mean --> harmonization of the soul; you recognize virtue in other people and are naturally drawn to them
2. Jesus: care-based; the Golden Rule --> do unto others as you would have them do unto you; exemplified in the parable of the Good Samaritan, in which we learn that we must even do good unto those who are abhorrent to us because everyone is our neighbor
3. John Locke: rights-based; morality will extend and protect individual rights; respect for the government is tantamount to morality; the government exists to protect rights; moral behavior fully respects the rights of others
4. Immanuel Kant: duty-based; conduct conforms with universalisable rules; anti to situational ethics; can't use people as a means to an end; it's not what you do, it's what makes you do it --> your duty matters the most, not the results you are trying to achieve; do something if you could in good conscience tell everyone else to do it too
5. John Stuart Mill: consequence-based; morality is based on effects (utilitarianism); greatest good for the greatest number; minimize pain and suffering
6. John Rawls: justice-based; morality as actions that conform to principles of fairness that we can all agree on; very interested in social equality; if Rawls had his way, morality would be drawn up by a group of people who anticipated being placed in a stratified society but didn't know who they would be in the society (e.g. rich or poor), so they would have to agree on moral rules that would benefit themselves and everyone else before knowing how they would fit in; the idea is that people in this situation will seek the best solution that minimizes inequality and harm
7. Baier: trust-based; morality strengthens trust to constitute society

We haven't actually discussed Mill and Baier yet, so I don't have notes for them.  It's really interesting to consider the aforementioned ethical dilemmas in the context of these philosophies, though.  Some various thoughts we have discussed about morality in general:

• ethics is not just restraint, you don't avoid wrong by doing less or doing nothing
• ethics is not the brake pedal, it's the way that you drive
• the challenge with ethics is to create institutions that cultivate morality
• we are driven by sentiment, the nobility of the soul
• we could agree on the right thing and still be unwilling to do it
• morality generally has to do with assigning a value to people

So what would you do?

May the force be with you

Thank heaven, I have finally finished Chapter 12.  It's been a long time in coming, but it should be up on PS within the week.  A lot of rehearsal went into this chapter.  ;)  It does a lot of setting for the rest of the story, kind of like Chapter 6.  Hmm, I think chapters that are multiples of 6 are harder for me to write.  We'll see if I still feel this way when I get to Chapter 18.  Things to look forward to: Regulus and Voldy have a heart to heart, Liam comes closer to finding out about the man from the foggy night, and Regulus is given two tremendous responsibilities.  Poor kid.  He's only eighteen!

This weekend was fantastic.  I spent Friday afternoon sledding at John's house with Julie, Courtney, Allison, and John (naturally).  I have only been sledding a couple times in my life, and never on a hill so steep!  That was a little frightening.  But John is a good teacher, and quite good at talking us all into taking risks.  At one point we connected all three of the sleds, doubled the girls up on two of them, and all five of us went down the hill.  It worked for a whole fifteen seconds.  ;)  I spent the rest of Friday night, and also Saturday night, with Rachel and Christine.  Christine has never seen Star Wars, so we've taken great delight in showing her the movies, in numerical order.  She discovered the true identity of Darth Vader and the fact that Luke and Leia are twins last night.  It was quite amusing.  Our favorite and consistent joke:

Character from movie: May the force be with you.

Christine: And also with you!

Me: Let us pray...

*peals of laughter*

Steve talked about Eph. 2 and reconciliation tonight.  It made me think back to Urbana, both because of the Bible passage and the topic in question.  I know that I need to do a better job of recognizing that Jesus breaks down every barrier and sets us free.  As Steve said, I need to remember to live like I believe the gospel.  Because I do, and that should always be apparent.

Breaking News!!!

Va. Attorney General supports ADV churches

That's right, folks.  Remember my three article series?  Yup, the Va. Attorney General just said that the Virginia Division Statute is valid.

I'm going to go bask in the sun.  Check out some of the comments on the article, too.  They're fantastic.

Rush Week is nearly over!  Time to return to normal, and we get our babies tonight!  I've some really interesting discussions this week in class.  I'm going to try to be better at keeping a blog this term and writing about things that I'm learning and am interested in.  Issues to look forward to include:

• Latin American environmental history
• Ethics of journalism
• Copy editing
• Working in a newsroom
• Macroeconomic theory
• Waiting for graduate school applications
• What to do with my life if I don't get into graduate school
• Continuing coverage of the ADV vs. TEC situation
• Commentary on the book of Acts, which we are studying in my small group
• Updates on my PhoenixSong stories

Hopefully this will actually happen ;)

Christmas break fun!

Grades are in...and I'm pretty stoked. :) Looks like my teachers liked my term papers and the TFC articles. It seems like most of my senior friends had similar experiences with getting better grades as an upperclassmen. I guess you get better as it as you go along. The moral of the story is that I'm so glad that I worked really hard this term. It definitely paid off! It makes me feel less nervous about grad school and I'm fairly confident now that everything I am sending in makes me look like a really good candidate. I've finally finished my essay, so I should be able to send everything in today or tomorrow, and then I just have to wait until April.

I've been at Georgetown for the past two days visiting with Caelah while she's been finishing up her finals. Her roommates are really sweet and it's been fun to chill in a college dorm again. We went and got Ben and Jerrys last night (which kept me up for hours) and I felt really nostalgic for freshman year, going to the Co-op with Rachel and Christine for ice cream runs around 10:00. Good times. :)

Jesse and I played squash yesterday at the gym. Neither of us are particularly good, but we had so much fun. We didn't keep score and just rallied back and forth, switching the serve when we would have otherwise. It was a good way to get the essentials of the rules down and to practice hitting good shots and returning them. We also went to Jana's apartment on Monday night for a party she was hosting and to meet some of her grad school friends.

So, all in all, I'm having a relaxing and rewarding break. I think it might be time to give back to it and do a little more writing than I've been getting done. ;) Perhaps "Something Brilliant" and "Heart of Gold" chapter 12 will be finished this week! That would be brilliant. ;)

Something Brilliant

It's good to be home. :) It's 10:36 right now and I'm sitting in bed with Kirby (the family Sheltie) who is curled up in delightful slumber with his head resting against a paw, but I know he's not completely asleep because his ears are perked up, listening to my fingers pattering across the keyboard. He sort of looks like a little fox.

I haven't done much of anything in the past two days, mostly because I haven't been feeling well. I was actually told that I wasn't allowed to do anything productive by Mom and Mike, heh. Well, I was still a little productive around the house and such. But I did follow their advice and spend most of my time in front of Nick Games and Sports (Legends of the Hidden Temple, GUTS, and Family Double Dare anyone??), ABC Family (Full House), and watching movies. I do feel better, which is nice. Still waiting for my voice to return.

I've also started a new story, "Something Brilliant." Here is an excerpt...

“I’m a failure,” Ron groaned.

“You’re not a failure,” Harry
reassured.

“I’m too dense.” Ron threw his wash rag on the
floor.

“You’re not too dense, you’ve had some very inspired
moments,” Harry countered.

“I’m an idiot!” Ron insisted, jabbing
his thumb into his chest.

Harry considered this. “Erm, well,
you might be an idiot. Sometimes. But usually you’re
not.”

Ron slumped against the counter of Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes
and held his head in his hands.

“She’d be daft to accept me.
There’s no point.”

“For heaven’s sake, Ron, you’ve already bought
the ring!” Harry exclaimed. “What have you got to lose?”

Ah, dear Ron and Harry...hopefully Harry will help Ron get his act together. ;) Chapter 12 of "Heart of Gold" is also coming along swimmingly, and should be up sometime soon. I hope. I'm also hoping to go to Georgetown and visit Caelah within the next few days, and I have a whole mountain of books that I want to read! Break is looking to be awesome. :)

Free Rice

Quote of the Day:

"Each act of procrastination can become a time of planning and preparation [when writing]. The writer can say with conviction to the skeptical parent, teacher, or editor: 'I am not procrastinating, Minion, I am rehearsing.'"
~ from Writing Tools by Roy Peter Clark, Chapter 41 "Turn procrastination into rehearsal," page 202

Above quote is an excerpt from one of the writing books my opinion writing class has read this term. Great book, I highly recommend it. One thing that I'm passionate about is that everyone can learn how to write. Seriously. It's true, if they would just believe that they can. Clark agrees, and does a great job about making writing accessible. I might just use his book when I teach writing in my future classroom. ;)

The quote is also a great response to all critcism regarding the fact that I have not posted here for two months. And it's just funny.

Ok, so the real point of this post is that I found the coolest thing today, www.freerice.com. It was launched on Oct. 7 as a way to boost vocabulary and combat world hunger. It's a game that tests your vocabulary with quite challenging words (GRE anyone?) and for every word you get right, the company donates 10 grains of rice through the United Nations to developing nations.

It may not sound like much, but it adds up. My sister and I donated around 4000 grains combined today. ;) Go forth, rehearse, build your vocabulary, and feed the hungry!

Lexington love

I'm back!! and it feels really good. :) I arrived back in Lexington this afternoon and did some unpacking/rearranging/waiting for the cable guy to show up and hook up my television and internet. Well, he still wasn't here by 6, so Jenny and I went to dinner and then came back when he called us at 7 to let us know he was on his way. An hour and wonderful high-speed internet later, we headed over to Alice's house for a little hanging out fun.

Today was a great day. I was reminded of why I love being here while Jenny, Alice, and I were sitting on Alice's deck staring up at the sky. It's so great to be able to go meet a friend who lives less than 10 minutes away...and most of my friends do!! And then we just sit outside and talk and laugh and share stories. Even our trip to Walmart, though normal, was exciting.

I love Lexington because I love the way we live here. I love sitting under the stars and talking about plans. I love that I can be at my best friends' houses/apartments in under five minutes flat. I love how silly grocery shopping can be.

I love this life. :)