what, what?

apparently the filters no longer view blogspot as a dating/networking site because I am still able to access it at all times of the day, from anywhere in the building (at least anywhere that I have been). Sweet.

I have lately been consistantly amazed at the intricacies (I think that is spelled correctly but something about it just doesn't look right to me) of the human body. I was reminded yesterday in a health class that the body has 20-23 feet of small intestine. and 5-6 feet of large intestine. It's like they took 5 of me, laid me end to end and shoved a 1-in diameter version of me into someones gut. crazy huh? but amazing! And the brain. I realized that I am able to sing all the words of "Always" by Bon Jovi along with good ol' Jon. Now I have never made a conscious effort to memorize said song nor do I listen to Bon Jovi every day but yet, it is etched into my long-term memory. I read an article recently about how educators can make kids more interested in school and the author argued that since the human brain was not designed to think it is up to teachers to create opportunities that play on the human desire to meet and overcome [accessible] challenges. It was designed to remember things so that we don't have to think. Long-term memory exists so that our short-term (or working) memory is freed up for more immediate cognitive functions such as the processing of external stimuli. If too much of your working memory is occupied your brain will get overwhelemed and you will tend to forget things more easily. I am continuously amazed by how it all works. Some of my brain is telling my fingers to type, where to go on the keyboard and I don't really have to think about it. My knowledge of typing is stored in my long-term memory so that my working memory is free to think about the words I am going to type. Crazy huh?? It's a little mind blowing to me.

I know what the psalmist meant when he said that we are "fearfully and wonderfully made"

square one

Something made me think of this the other day. How about a little nostalgia to start off your Wednesday. Enjoy!

I would do anything for love...

Well, after a fairly long, though unintentional, hiatus I have returned to posting something. Life has been pretty full. It's strange, now that Dan is finished with school, it seems like we are busier than we were when he was still in classes. I think it has to do with the fact that we feel like we have more freedom to do things because there is no homework or required reading to fuss with. Whatever the reason, it's been fun. Granted, it isn't always fun because, while this freedom allows us to be more social, it also means that Dan isn't working yet and that does have somewhat of a sobering effect at times. It's not awful, but still a reminder that we are in a period of waiting.

I'm back working again. Next week will be my first 5 day week since coming back from Christmas break. Wonder how that will go. I'm going to be starting a CNA class next month which is exciting. It marks the beginning of a whole new career direction for me. It also means that we will be in Chicago at least until the end of February. Or at least I will be for sure. I love Dan and all, but I would be glad to send him some place else and be without him for a few weeks if it meant he had a call.

Otherwise, things are good, I think. We've both been sick over the last few days but it seems to be getting better. I also think we might have new neighbors downstairs but we're not sure since they seemed to be moving in last night at about 9:00. They could have just been looking around too but again, we're not sure. I suppose we'll probably figure it out sometime during the next few days. Or at least I hope we will!

One final thing that I did not know before this morning: the song "I would do anything for Love (but I won't do that)" by Meatloaf is 12 minutes long! Who knew?

book thoughts

I recently (and by recently, I mean this morning) finished reading White Oleander (check out the summary link) by Janet Fitch. It was amazing. Not because it was necessarily uplifting or inspiring but because of the incredible crafting of words that brought you into the world inhabited by Astrid and her mother, Ingrid. Fitch has created characters who expose the world of mother-daughter relationships for what it often is--a minefield, a battle of wills, a connection so deep it cannot be severed regardless of how it may have been abused or twisted. I connected with Astrid, despite growing up in circumstances completely different from hers. I connected with the way mothers can manipulate you without you even knowing. I connected with feeling like you are finding your own way in the world, without much needed guidance. In spite of the direness of the situations Astrid finds herself in, she finds a way to persevere. She carries on. She fights. And in the end, she seems to have overcome, though not in a way that causes her to be completely happy. It speaks volumes about the intricacies of human relationships and about the resiliancy of the human spirit and I encourage you to give it a try.

musings

As of late, I have felt pretty satisfied with where I am in terms of understanding my calling. I am a teacher. I am passionate about history. I want to help young people realize their value. However, as much as I feel content with that and as much as it sounds nice to be able to state all these things, I have recently been confronted with another question. Now what? It's great to know all of these things but what do I do with them? What will my life look like? Does my call include specifically being a history teacher or does the history part happen separate from the teaching? Can I feel fulfilled if my teaching takes the form of working with a church youth group or something like that? How deeply intertwined are the two? How deeply intertwined should they be? Where does my job search begin? What is the focus?

How do I even begin to figure this out? I need a quiet heart. I need open ears. I want direction. I want to find the balance between waiting and acting. How far does patience go before it becomes stagnation? I'm afraid of waiting too long, of being too patient. I'm also afraid of acting rashly and of jumping the gun. Unfortunately, that usually (for me) results in inaction on my part. Not patient waiting, but just doing nothing. Not thinking about it or doing anything about it. And that is not what I want.

This is my challenge.

we have a winner!

I finally got to vote yesterday after work. With no line. Of course. I could have saved myself the trouble of going in the morning, made coffee at home, and gotten to sleep a little bit longer if I had known that. It was fun though. For the first time, (out of the two national elections I have ever voted in...this being the second) I felt like I made an informed decision and played a part in last night's outcome.

As a history nerd, I was so excited about Obama's win. Think about the historic implications of his win. The first African-American president. Think about where we were as a nation less than 75 years ago. How amazing! I haven't fully processed through all of my thoughts on this topic but I'm excited. I'm looking forward to 20 years from now when I can look back and see how things changed after Obama's election. I'm looking forward to being able to talk to my children about what it was like to be in Chicago for this occasion. Awesome.

all that jazz

Happy Election Day!

Today is the first time I feel like I've had any real interest or concern about the outcome of an election so I was all excited to get up, vote, get my free coffee from Starbucks and then head off to work. That was the plan anyway. As it happened, I got up, got in line to vote, left the line without voting because I was going to be late for work (which I was anyway), paid for coffee at Starbucks and came to work, annoyed at everything that had transpired. Not quite how I pictured it. So now I have to go stand in line at the polls after work instead of going to the gym. That isn't really the work out I was hoping to get but oh well. There really isn't much I can do about it now.

Currently, I am sitting in a classroom, listening to 14 guitar students practice one of two different songs all at the same time. Quite the experience, I must say.

Anyway. I'm looking forward to finding out the results of the election and hope the day does not crawl by as a result of having to wait.

Today could shape up to be an interesting day.