First class!  Okay, they’ve only offered that to me once, when they cancelled my flight.  I was 17.  Yeah, they definitely don’t do that anymore, unless you’re a dignitary or something.

Seriously though, I like to sit as far front as possible (last on, first off).  I prefer seat “A”, the window on the left (when you are sitting down).  I’ve done a lot of experimenting, and I’ve determined that that’s the best seat for me to feel like I have room as my left side is not against some stranger (I’m left-handed).

I also have a trick of changing seats at the last minute.  I frequently fly without someone beside me by doing this!  I have the best of luck…if there is one empty seat on the plane, there’s about a 50% chance it’ll be next to me.

And no, I don’t think it’s because I smell.  Thanks for asking.

2.  What sound irritates you?

Tapping and buzzing noises.  I don’t like the sound of fans in bathrooms.  Any buzzing sound will set me on edge and I will be unable to concentrate on anything else.  And no, I haven’t always been like this (thankfully!), but it would be distracting while trying to concentrate in class the last few years I was in school.

3.  What’s something in your life that just isn’t colorful enough?

My car. Unfortunately, all my options really ran the spectrums of grey, so I went for more of a graphite.  I like my car, but it lacks the zest of my last car that was electric blue.  I’d also love to drive a purple car one day.

4.  What’s a film you were sure you would dislike but ended up liking?

Get Smart.   Saw it with the family when we were on vacation, and I thought it’d be super stupid.  Turned out to be quite funny.

5.  What kind of grades did you get in school?

All A’s until AP Calculus. (Wow, I realize how pretentious that sentence sounds.)  And then in college and seminary I had a good mix of As and Bs (and that one C in a freshman-level class in my major in my last semester), trying to get no more than 1 B a semester.

I’m less than 10 posts away from my 1,000th post. There WILL be something big and never-been-done-before here on the Ignorant Historian on that day. Stop by Tuesday or Wednesday next week (which day depends on whether I post quotes this coming Sunday or not)…I promise that you do NOT want to miss it.

This fall, I’ll be helping to lead a book discussion over on Offering Hospitality. The book? Women’s Ministry in the Local Church by J. Ligon Duncan and Susan Hunt. I’m looking forward to this opportunity. Want to join the discussion of the book? That’s easy enough…enter to win it!  The contest will be open until Sunday, August 15th.

Now that school is starting (I’m not a teacher or student, but I still think in school years), I hope to bring some more thought-provoking posts here to the Ignorant Historian.  They’re rolling around in my head, I just have to let them out!

On that note, what’s your favorite school supply to shop for?

Photo by Caro Wallis

Saturday, July 16, 2005

I went to the mall today and actually ran into people I know.  I wasn’t expecting to do that this quickly!

Tuesday, July 25, 2005

I need to lay off the Pepper. I don’t feel good after drinking it…but it tastes so good!

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

I’m excited for classes to get started. Can I start this Thursday instead of next Thursday?

[And now, the story you want to hear:]

Friday, August 12, 2005

Sorry I’ve been posting so much recently, but this story I really can’t pass up. I don’t want to draw attention away from the more serious elements of my blog (wherever they exist) but I really got a kick out of this. One fact that might help you understand the story is that I really don’t like being around animals of any kind, though in high school I did do nature events where we had to identify different species and stuff.

Yesterday, as I was going out to my car (I park in a parking garage) from a glance at a distance I saw something in front of my car. I thought, “great, a cat. I don’t like cats.” Well, it wasn’t a cat. Guess what it was? When I asked that to a couple of friends, I got various responses including a beaver and a dead body, both wrong. A turtle! Okay, so that’s not that exciting necessarily, but this was a particularly clever turtle, and rather large too, about 10 inches in diameter.

So, as I contemplated this turtle, I thought about what turtles are known for: their cowardice. Okay, so if I start backing out, the turtle is just going to go inside his shell, so if I can just stradle him with my tires, I’ll be okay. Not that big of a problem, since he was about halfway between the tires. So I back up just enough to where he would almost be under my car, and got out to look to make sure that he didn’t move to where I would run over him. Like a turtle, he hadn’t moved. Well, I just didn’t feel comfortable with trying not to hit that little sucker, so I decided to try to move him. “Be brave, Ronnica!” I thought. So I tried to grab the turtle to move him to safer spot with my bare hand. I wasn’t about to touch him anywhere except on his shell, but with one hand I couldn’t lift him like that because he was too big. However, I did scare him so he started running away (pretty fast for a turtle)…right under my car. He’s smart too, he went right in the middle where I couldn’t get him and couldn’t scare him out the front (which I can only assume he thought I planned on eating him: turtle soup anyone?). So, knowing that he now was deathly afraid of me I got in my car quickly (in case my moves turned him into a fighter) and drove out of the parking space successfully without the slightest crunch.

This is not Christmas.

Christmas is cozing up with your family by the fire.

This is not Christmas.

Christmas is finally being free of the bonds of schoolwork.

This is not Christmas.

Christmas is a home decorated in tinsel and green.

This is not Christmas.

Christmas is a mailbox full of Christmas cards.

This is not Christmas.

Christmas is the celebration of God humbling himself, taking on the flesh of sinful man, being born a baby.  The greatest gift I could ask for on this or any holiday.  The incarnation that made our salvation possible.

Indeed, this is Christmas.

Photo by funkyshapes

If you follow politics (or listen to any of a number of talk show hosts), you probably have heard the controversy of Obama’s speech tomorrow to school children.  To be honest, I’m quite surprised at the outrage over this matter.

This is what the White House is saying about it:

“The President has spoken often about the responsibility parents have for their children and their education, but in this message he’ll urge students to take personal responsibility for their own education, to set goals, and to not only stay in school but make the most of it.”

While a speech admonishing parents that it is their responsibility to educate their children is probably more in order, I think this is something that children and teens in particular need to hear.  From what we know thus far, I don’t see/hear anything political about it (though a transcript will be released Monday, and I might join the detractors then based on what I read).

My surprise really comes from the response’s quickness to jump on this as a problem.  I see nothing inherently wrong with the president addressing an encouraging, challenging message to students.  He’s not doing it behind parents’ backs…he’s releasing a transcript prior to so that parents can choose to talk to their children about it or have them exempted from the speech.  He appears not to be foisting his partisan agenda on the students, unless challenging oneself and taking advantage of educational opportunities is considered a political viewpoint.

On this issue, Vicki and I had a bit of a Twitter discussion, as followed.  I’m sorry if at times it’s not quite sequential as most conversations of this sort often aren’t.  In the interest of full disclosure, Vicki and I share many of the same political view points.

Ronnica: Yeah, Rep. want more dropouts. (?) RT @La_Shawn Hadn’t realized Obama’s gov’t school speech was so controversial…http://tinyurl.com/mn436y

Vicki: Concerned parents don’t want more drop outs. We don’t want the invasiveness of Socialism either, that’s why he scares us.

Ronnica: I agree with concerns about prez, but not this address yet. Once we see the transcript Monday, then we can judge.

Ronnica: Basically, I don’t think Obama is the enemy. *shock*

Vicki: Why would that be a shock?

Ronnica: It just seems that so much of what comes out of other conservatives mouths is vilification of those who they don’t agree with.

Vicki: You’re right but why is that not acceptible if what we have found out seems villainous to us? When can we speak our minds without reproof? We’re no louder or more obnoxious than those on the left vilifying what they don’t agree with.

Ronnica: I have no problem w/ppl saying, well, anything. I just think that the enemy is Satan and sin (and Dems aren’t the only sinners).

Vicki: To me his ideals go against my ideas of Christianity, of life, of liberty and of pursuit of happiness. I will speak against that.

Ronnica: I just find it surprising that some conservatives don’t even want their children to hear Obama, period.

Ronnica: Totally, I will/do, too. But I don’t disagree with everything he says, and he’s still the president, regardless.

Ronnica: And I guess I get more frustrated with ppl on “my” side acting like this than those I disagree with.

Vicki: I will let my daughter here him when I am there to guide and “interpret”. Kids @ school don’t have that. And it’s more than that. It’s a political/social message saying we understand where you’re coming from and we’re not going to sit idly by. (sorry for spelling errors, I’m dealing w/ many things…kids…at once) :)

Ronnica: That’s def. a big plus w/homeschooling (parents need to be more involved in their child’s ed when it’s not the prez speaking).

Ronnica: LOL kids: isn’t that what this is about? I’ll have more to say when transcript is released. Might blog this conv, if that’s ok.

Vicki: Yes, he’s the president and we are to respect that office, but I’m fine with being angry and honest. And protective.

Vicki: I know this is God’s will. My hope is that it’s bringing us closer to His Kingdom.

So, what do you think?  If you’re a parent, will you let your children watch this broadcast?  Are you going to read the transcript and then decide?  Will you discuss this with your children/youth?

I get this primarily from parents of children I have or have had in the past in my Sunday school class.  They’ve seen my passion for the children and may know about what I do behind the scenes as well, and have reasonably assumed that I do this professionally as well.  I don’t–I don’t have an education degree–but I love getting this question, because that means that my passion is visible to others.

I love the opportunities I get to teach now, both at church and occassionally through my job.  It’s an area that I’m constantly growing in…I still have so much to learn.

I do hope to teach more full-time some day.  My first preference would be to teach my own children, but if God doesn’t have that for me, then I’d like to teach in a public classroom likely teaching math.  I’d already be working towards this goal if it weren’t for the fact that I’m not ready to give up my current job (teaching isn’t the only thing I’m passionate about!).

So for now, I’m thankful for the passions that God’s given me and the opportunities I have to exercise them.  Will I be a full-time teacher one day?  I don’t know, but I sure hope so.

Photo by S Baker

Another favorite time of year is May, as everything is ending.  That’s when there’s more fun to be had at end-of-the-year bashes and the days are starting to get long and warm.  When I think of this, I picture myself leaning over the side of our backyard play area fort as I’m eating ice cream with my Girl Scout friends.

A third favorite time of year is definitely back-to-school time.  When I was in school, it was preceeded with my favorite type of shopping: school supply shopping.  Everything was fresh and new, from the clothes I was wearing to the pencils and notebooks I was using.  Then there was the difficult night-before sleep, delayed with anticipation and excitement.  As I got older, school supply shopping was less important, but book-shopping and syllabus-reading filled those first few days with joy (I don’t think I need to add the disclaimer that I’m a nerd, do I?).  When I worked at Walmart, I enjoyed checking out school supplies because they were so small and usually organized.  I could always get the best items/minute count during those days.

When I graduated for the last time, I knew those days were behind me.  I really thought it’d be hard to not be a student, but it suprisingly wasn’t.  Since it’s been 8 months, it shocked me that I finally reacted emotionally yesterday, and was at the point of tears.  Just for a moment…and then the moment was gone.

I’m thankful that I still get to participate in small ways in this time of year.  I get the new beginnings in Sunday School and AWANA.  A teacher friend lets me help her shop and make posters for her classroom (and rumor has it she’ll even let me help her set up her paper organization system…a treat for me, really).  And I even went on a small shopping spree for clothes (more because of the raise, than the time of year).

So, whatever your role in this time of year: student, parent, teacher, parent/teacher, I want to wish you a Happy Back-to-Schooling!

Photo by D. Sharon Pruitt

I once thought following the rules defined me.  Then I broke them and found out I was wrong.

I once thought being a teenager defined me.  Then I turned 20 and found out I was wrong.

I once thought being a Kansan defined me.  Then I moved and found out I was wrong.

I once thought being smart defined me.  Then I failed a test and found out I was wrong.

I once thought going to OU defined me.  Then I graduated and found out I was wrong.

I once thought being a student defined me.  Then I left academia for good and found out I was wrong.

I once thought that the God I found and my love of Him defined me.

Then He showed me that He found me and that His love — not mine — defined me.

Photo credits (in order): Manish Bansal, me, libertyslens, Aaron Escobar, osbornb, Wohnai, Hamed Saber, and tomsaint11

When I graduated, I really thought that this whole not-a-student thing would be really hard for me.  I’ve always defined myself as a student, and a good one at that.  Turns out, I can learn just as much out of the classroom as in.  I don’t need classroom deadlines to make me do the learning and writing that I want to do, like I feared.

I guess the biggest surprise for me as a non-student is that I don’t really miss it.  Sure, I’m mildly contemplating going back to school, but that’s only because I would need to in order to be certified to teach, if that’s what I want to do.  That hunger I once had for classes, I now have (doubly) for books, which I want to devour. 

photo by austinevan

But the true test is how you grade me on my answers to these questions…

Rebecca Jo asks, “How old were you when you came to Christ?”

I was 10.  You can read my testimony here.

 Also, “What is your favorite childhood memory?”

Favorite?  Yikes.  I had a wonderful childhood (Amanda, this touches on your question, too…I’ll try to incorporate more stories of childhood in the weeks to come), so it’s hard to say what my favorite is as it’s not like I had one glorious trip to Disney World in the midst of an otherwise dull childhood.  Everything was great.

The memory that I always say is my favorite–though I don’t know that it is–is one time my dad was showing my brother and I a funnel cloud, pointing out where a funnel would start to drop from the sky as we were watching from our garage.  Sure enough it did, right when my mom started yelling for us to go inside.  Ahh, to grow up in Kansas.  It was this memory that prompted me to pursue meteorology, a thought I abandoned after realized I wasn’t that passionate for it after all.

And,  “What does the perfect life look like to you?”

Oh, I think mine’s pretty much there.  Just add in a smidgen more discipline, and probably a man (okay, definitely a man).  I suppose I should work on what I can do about the first…

I still plan on writing what my 1 year, 5 year, and 10 year outlooks on my life look like, and I’ll talk more about where I want to be heading (and yes, ideally it would have a man in the picture).

“…& let’s see… what’s your favorite smell?”

Apple pie.  Yum yum.  That said, I don’t really have a strong sense of smell, and there are few things I can identify without someone saying, “Hey, don’t you smell ________?”  Because of that, I’m somewhat afraid that I smell.  Recently, on two different occasions two different people said that I smelled good after hugging me, so that’s reassured me that perhaps I don’t have some major B.O. issue.

Jewel asked, “What books make you cry? Laugh?”

Several books have made me cry.  Recently, I’ve bawled at Richard Russo’s Empire Falls, Chitra Divakaruni’s Sister of my Heart, and Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns (those links are to my reviews).   Books can move me to cry either when the main characters face a loss or come to some heartbreaking personal realization.   If a book makes me bawl (and not just shed a tear or two), I know that it’s really touched me, therefore kudos to the author.

As for laugh?  Oh, several books make me laugh.  Probably the all-time funniest book I’ve read is Henry Fielding’s Tom Jones.  It’s a classic that I hadn’t heard of before I picked it up at a used bookstore, but it’s hilarious.  I don’t really recommend it unless you already are used to longer, more difficult books like classics, as it certainly isn’t an easy read (I believe I have a pretty good vocabulary, but there were many words in there I had to look up!), but his sense of humor is right up my alley.  Dickens and Austen have also been known to make me laugh.

The book I’m reading right now, Special Topics in Calamity Physics is also definitely a humorous read.  I’ll give a full review when I’m done!

Joy asks, “What is your decorating style?”

Uhh, whatever looks good to me.  I like flowers and pastels, but not really into the shabby chic thing.  I also don’t like knick knacks.  Here’s pictures of my bedroom decorated in colors that never grow old for me, which’ll give you a sense of what I like.  I’ve never posted pictures of our living room as we’re still improving it (yes, we’ve lived here a year), but it’s done simply in a dark blue and brown.  My roommate likes darker, gloomier things (yes, that’s my opinion), so it’s hard to come up with a happy middle.

And, “What is your favorite food?”

I’d say Diet Dr. Pepper, but I don’t know that that’s technically a food. I love chocolate and ice cream, especially Coldstone’s cake batter with chocolate chips (or Edy’s chocolate chunk with chocolate syrup if I’m more economical). I also love Mexican (cheese enchiladas are my favorite) and Chinese (sweet and sour chicken and crab rangoon in particular). When I’m cooking for myself, I like to make fried rice (again with the Chinese), quesadillas (again with the Mexican), or casseroles.

Also, “When you were little were you a tomboy or a girlie girl?”

A girlie girl, but not overly so. I always have enjoyed wearing dresses and skirts, and loved wearing a hat and gloves as a girl. In fact, my first memory in fact was playing with my gloves at my uncle’s wedding when I was a flower girl (I would have been 2 1/2). I wasn’t really one to go outside and get dirty, and often my mom would have to make me go outside, where I would play school on our play set, ride my bike, or read while swinging (some things never change).

And again, “Do you listen to talk radio?”

What gave me away? I hope I don’t exude “talk radio junkie/nutjob.” Yes, I do, though not a ton. I really enjoy listening to a local show, Brad and Britt. They definitely take different positions on a lot of issues than I do, but they think through the issues more than pretty much anyone I’ve listened to on the radio, no matter what side they stand on politically. I can appreciate that more than listening to someone I basically agree with using inflammatory language and asserting their case rather than presenting it. I also enjoy catching a few minutes of Boortz or Savage if I happen to be in car when they’re on, but not when they’re in their ranting moods. As for the giants Rush and Hannity, I’d rather pass.

Julie also mentioned podcasts. I’ve never listened to one, but they’re really not my thing. I’m a visual learner, so I prefer to read (thus the blogging instead). I only listen to talk radio because I can’t read while driving, and I have no practical way of listening to podcasts while I drive. Believe it or not, I’ve survived without an iPod (though I do have an old mp3 player that I use occasionally on trips).

She also asks, Did you go to public school or private school?

Public. I went to a good public school, but I know that many weren’t as fortunate as I was. I had many teachers that truly cared about me and pushed me, and more importantly, I had one at home that laid all the groundwork and pushed me all the more.

And finally, “Do you recycle? (sorry,it’s earth day so I thought I would throw that in)”

I SO wish I could pass on this one, but this is all about being open and honest, right? Uh, I’m embarrassed to admit that I don’t recycle, even though I grew up with it. I’ve never had the facilities to do so, which is really a shame that they don’t have that for apartment dwellers here like they do for house dwellers (they get it picked up with their trash). You know it’s a big deal when someone as anti-big-government as I am thinks that the government should do something (though I am talking about the city or county, not federal)…

Earlier today I was just thinking that maybe I’ll take in the fifty bazillion plastic bags we have falling out from under our sink to the grocery store (I try to remember to bring my reusable bags to the store so I’ll stop accumulating them) so I’ll have room to store all the aluminum cans I generate (I go through two a day). I think there’s somewhere nearby that’ll take them. I’ll blog it when I do, so feel free to pester me until you see it, k?