I am finally caught up with everything. I read countless chapters, completed four online quizes, one take home test, one in-class test, created a word wall, observed Jordan and wrote a six page paper about her cognitive, physical, and psychosocial development, designed a cognitive appropriate game for first-graders, and wrote a two-page reflection about the observation and game. Whew! I don't have any assignments that are due for a couple of weeks so I'm taking a breather and finally getting to blog some.
So, I had to get the majority of that finished by the end of spring break because I went to New Orleans for the Banner Summit during the following week. It was fun and it was nice to get a break. I had a lot of experiences there.
On Saturday I walked a million miles. Okay, maybe not a million, but enough that my feet really, really hurt. Kelly Simon and I were together and we were supposed to meet everyone for a dinner jazz cruise at 6:00 pm. At 4:30, we registered for the conference, dropped our books off and then thought we would ride the trolley to the garden district and back. Several stops later, we were on the right trolley. It was already around 5:15 pm though and I thought maybe we should think about getting off and going the other direction. But we didn't see any more trolleys going the other way. We rode for another five minutes and finally got off. We waited. I was about to start walking, when we saw a trolley. Yahoo! It was already 5:30 by now and we were pushing it for time. You know what the trolley did? It stopped to let people off and then went on! It was so full, he wouldn't even open the doors for us. So we waited some more. Another trolley came by and the same thing happened! It's about a quarter til now so we started walking. Kelly sees a cab and asks him how much. It would be around $8 to take us there - but he's already booked! He's just waiting on some people that went into the hotel and are coming right back out. So we waited and flagged down another cab. It won't take too long to just go a few miles! WRONG....There is a parade going on that just started and the majority of the streets are blocked off between us and them. We finally got to the cruise, $15 later, and with barely enough time to get our tickets (which we had already reserved) and eat before they pushed us out of the dining room for the next seating time. Good grief. Oh well. That's what travel is about, right??? It was a nice cruise though. It's beautiful going down the Mississippi in the evening.
Sunday, I went to Catholic Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral. I had a nice discussion with my coworker Angie on the walk there (yes, more walking). We talked about the difference in what we call "saved" versus "conferring." I really think that the basic belief of the Catholics is very similar to other Christian denominations. I like all of the emphasis that they put on Easter and the weeks leading up to it. It seems like we just have a one day celebration and that's it. They have forty days of celebration and meditation. I like that they have a class that teaches you about what you're going to say you're committing to. Too often in Baptist churches, people go forward to make a commitment but never really did. They just said a few words. But that can happen in Catholicism too. It's easy to say words. I think that's my biggest hang up about Catholicism - just saying words. The entire service seemed to be scripted. Here's the words you say, here's the words the priest says. Even the prayers. I like how our services are more spontaneous. We do have an order of service, but when we pray, it's just words from the heart right then. It seems more real. Am I saying that Catholics aren't saved? No. I believe that Angie has a relationship with Jesus and she strives to please Him and become a better person. She's happy with her church and would probably feel totally out of place in my church. Just like I felt in hers. Everyone's different. While there is definitely only one Way to heaven, I think there are as many ways to worship Him as there are people.
On a totally opposite sphere, we walked down Bourbon Street Sunday night. If I thought I felt out of place at St. Patrick's, I REALLY felt out of place on Bourbon Street. It stunk so bad. There were photos of things I wish I'd never seen and I didn't understand how they could be in store fronts. What was worse, is there were families with children as young as ten or so there. No way would I take my children down there. I was very happy to finally turn off and head away. I would be happy to not go there again in my lifetime. The horse-drawn carriage ride we took around the French Quarter afterwards was much more pleasant.
Monday night, we finally took that trolley ride down through the Garden District. It was relaxing and we just sat and looked at the houses go by. We rode to the end of the line and headed back where we got off to eat at The Cheesecake Bistro. I had white chocolate raspberry cheesecake with strawberries on the side. Delicious!! We were going to get back on the trolley but I wanted to get some of the Mardi Gras beads that were still around from last week's celebration. They looked like they were low enough to get in the trees but we really had to work at it. Next thing I know, Angie is climbing on top of somebody's bike next to a tree with Kelly supporting her and Angie is throwing beads down. We didn't stop there. We'd jump up enough to grab a branch and pull it down for the beads. I climbed on a gate near a tree to get some. We just laughed and laughed and kidded that we expected a policeman to show up at any moment. Of note, we did ask the trolley driver when we got on with a good ten or so beads each if it was okay and he told us it was. So, my children got real Mardi Gras beads, free conference mugs, pens, and other vendor items from New Orleans!
Tuesday night, I was by myself. The rest of the group had paid registration to include a jazz dinner. I didn't feel like that was good use of university funds so I just paid the regular registration. It was nice to have a night to myself anyway. I ate at the mall and ambled through the stores. Then I got one of my Reading textbooks and sat out on the Riverwalk while reading it. It was relaxing and I spent a lot of time thinking about the conference. I felt so out of place the entire time at the conference for two reasons. First, I wasn't connected technically. At past conferences, you went in for the session, sat down and chatted with those around you. At this conference, I sat down and everyone around me had their head in their phone or laptop. Very few people were talking. It was kinda sad. The second reason was that I felt like everyone was just talking another language. The next version of luminis is built on new technology and I don't know any of it. I felt so lost. The biggest problem is that I really don't want to know it.
It would be a great time to quit my job. The university is at a place where it will need a new web design, possibly a new content management system, and will need to upgrade to the next portal version. Everything is new and it would be beneficial for them to have some new kid who knows some of that technology instead of a dinosaur like myself. It would be a good time for me to quit because I would be able to finish my degree faster. I mapped out my degree plan and I don't graduate until Fall 2014. Depressing. I sat on the Riverwalk and cried. I felt out of my element. I prayed a lot for direction and guidance. I felt like God was telling me it was time to quit.
Greg agreed. He thought I should be a day trader and invest. I laughed and said that was his dream and definitely not mine. Mine revolved around doing things like substituting or maybe running a website that highlighted events in and around Lawton and sold ads. We crunched numbers... and there is no way whatsoever for me to quit my job. We need to buy a new car and we'd like to pay off the mortgage in the next 7-8 years. We have too many expenses and we don't even have that many expenses. We don't have cable; we don't have cellphones. In addition, I would have to make enough money to pay for medical insurance and the amount of money the university pays towards my tuition. It's just not feasible right now. But after hearing that, I felt at peace. It's like God knew that I just needed to know that this is the path right now instead of wondering about it. It's not exactly what I would have chosen, but now I know it's what it is. So I will learn the new technology and do my absolute best at my job. At the same time, I will continue learning to be a teacher. I probably couldn't have survived more than six hours a semester anyway. Then, when I graduate, the economy will be back on the upswing and I'll have a better chance at a job anyway. As my psychology professor says, "It's all good."
So, I had to get the majority of that finished by the end of spring break because I went to New Orleans for the Banner Summit during the following week. It was fun and it was nice to get a break. I had a lot of experiences there.On Saturday I walked a million miles. Okay, maybe not a million, but enough that my feet really, really hurt. Kelly Simon and I were together and we were supposed to meet everyone for a dinner jazz cruise at 6:00 pm. At 4:30, we registered for the conference, dropped our books off and then thought we would ride the trolley to the garden district and back. Several stops later, we were on the right trolley. It was already around 5:15 pm though and I thought maybe we should think about getting off and going the other direction. But we didn't see any more trolleys going the other way. We rode for another five minutes and finally got off. We waited. I was about to start walking, when we saw a trolley. Yahoo! It was already 5:30 by now and we were pushing it for time. You know what the trolley did? It stopped to let people off and then went on! It was so full, he wouldn't even open the doors for us. So we waited some more. Another trolley came by and the same thing happened! It's about a quarter til now so we started walking. Kelly sees a cab and asks him how much. It would be around $8 to take us there - but he's already booked! He's just waiting on some people that went into the hotel and are coming right back out. So we waited and flagged down another cab. It won't take too long to just go a few miles! WRONG....There is a parade going on that just started and the majority of the streets are blocked off between us and them. We finally got to the cruise, $15 later, and with barely enough time to get our tickets (which we had already reserved) and eat before they pushed us out of the dining room for the next seating time. Good grief. Oh well. That's what travel is about, right??? It was a nice cruise though. It's beautiful going down the Mississippi in the evening.
Sunday, I went to Catholic Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral. I had a nice discussion with my coworker Angie on the walk there (yes, more walking). We talked about the difference in what we call "saved" versus "conferring." I really think that the basic belief of the Catholics is very similar to other Christian denominations. I like all of the emphasis that they put on Easter and the weeks leading up to it. It seems like we just have a one day celebration and that's it. They have forty days of celebration and meditation. I like that they have a class that teaches you about what you're going to say you're committing to. Too often in Baptist churches, people go forward to make a commitment but never really did. They just said a few words. But that can happen in Catholicism too. It's easy to say words. I think that's my biggest hang up about Catholicism - just saying words. The entire service seemed to be scripted. Here's the words you say, here's the words the priest says. Even the prayers. I like how our services are more spontaneous. We do have an order of service, but when we pray, it's just words from the heart right then. It seems more real. Am I saying that Catholics aren't saved? No. I believe that Angie has a relationship with Jesus and she strives to please Him and become a better person. She's happy with her church and would probably feel totally out of place in my church. Just like I felt in hers. Everyone's different. While there is definitely only one Way to heaven, I think there are as many ways to worship Him as there are people.
On a totally opposite sphere, we walked down Bourbon Street Sunday night. If I thought I felt out of place at St. Patrick's, I REALLY felt out of place on Bourbon Street. It stunk so bad. There were photos of things I wish I'd never seen and I didn't understand how they could be in store fronts. What was worse, is there were families with children as young as ten or so there. No way would I take my children down there. I was very happy to finally turn off and head away. I would be happy to not go there again in my lifetime. The horse-drawn carriage ride we took around the French Quarter afterwards was much more pleasant.
Tuesday night, I was by myself. The rest of the group had paid registration to include a jazz dinner. I didn't feel like that was good use of university funds so I just paid the regular registration. It was nice to have a night to myself anyway. I ate at the mall and ambled through the stores. Then I got one of my Reading textbooks and sat out on the Riverwalk while reading it. It was relaxing and I spent a lot of time thinking about the conference. I felt so out of place the entire time at the conference for two reasons. First, I wasn't connected technically. At past conferences, you went in for the session, sat down and chatted with those around you. At this conference, I sat down and everyone around me had their head in their phone or laptop. Very few people were talking. It was kinda sad. The second reason was that I felt like everyone was just talking another language. The next version of luminis is built on new technology and I don't know any of it. I felt so lost. The biggest problem is that I really don't want to know it.
It would be a great time to quit my job. The university is at a place where it will need a new web design, possibly a new content management system, and will need to upgrade to the next portal version. Everything is new and it would be beneficial for them to have some new kid who knows some of that technology instead of a dinosaur like myself. It would be a good time for me to quit because I would be able to finish my degree faster. I mapped out my degree plan and I don't graduate until Fall 2014. Depressing. I sat on the Riverwalk and cried. I felt out of my element. I prayed a lot for direction and guidance. I felt like God was telling me it was time to quit.
Greg agreed. He thought I should be a day trader and invest. I laughed and said that was his dream and definitely not mine. Mine revolved around doing things like substituting or maybe running a website that highlighted events in and around Lawton and sold ads. We crunched numbers... and there is no way whatsoever for me to quit my job. We need to buy a new car and we'd like to pay off the mortgage in the next 7-8 years. We have too many expenses and we don't even have that many expenses. We don't have cable; we don't have cellphones. In addition, I would have to make enough money to pay for medical insurance and the amount of money the university pays towards my tuition. It's just not feasible right now. But after hearing that, I felt at peace. It's like God knew that I just needed to know that this is the path right now instead of wondering about it. It's not exactly what I would have chosen, but now I know it's what it is. So I will learn the new technology and do my absolute best at my job. At the same time, I will continue learning to be a teacher. I probably couldn't have survived more than six hours a semester anyway. Then, when I graduate, the economy will be back on the upswing and I'll have a better chance at a job anyway. As my psychology professor says, "It's all good."