Close to Invicible

I sat down with Rachel Phillips, wife of successful orthopedic surgeon Dr. Blake Phillips, over a cup of hot chai tea, her all time favorite drink, at Starbucks last week. She looked like any other thirty-year-old Dallasite in a white tunic, jeans cut in a capri style and Haviana flip flops. Currently, she is taking a break from her eight year teaching career to raise her nine month old daughter, Carly Rose and three year old son, Bryston Lee. She says she misses teaching and interacting with her brilliant students, but also loves being home with Carly and Bryston and the extra time she gets to spend with Blake. Although her career is on hold, the humanitarian and mission work she and Blake participate in is just taking off. They run a clinic and tutoring center in downtown Dallas for underprivileged children and families. Rachel says God has given her a heart to serve people, and next to being with her family, the center is her favorite place to be. "Our mission is to show people to Christ through a holistic approach," she says about the clinic. The center also encourages students to go to college and helps them with the resources they need to get there.

Rachel is also a world traveler. She and Blake are planning to go to Botswana, Africa next December and Rhodes, Greece the following summer. "I just love to experience many different cultures, learn their histories, and of course, try their food." Art and creativity are never far from her mind either. Rachel has already started a scrapbook for Carly and Bryston. When her children are sleeping she paints pottery in the studio behind her house. She also keeps in touch with many of her friends from high school and college throwing parties for every holiday, and writing letters on a weekly basis. One of her favorite ways to relax is to cuddle up on the couch with her husband to watch the seasonal Aggie sports games; basketball is her favorite. "I don't know how relaxing it is for him because he gets so into the games, but I enjoy just watching."

Although I wasn't invited to her home, I was curious to see where she lived. Last week, before my interview with her, I spotted Rachel leaving the grocery store so I decided to follow her home. I knew she wouldn't mind. As I casually drove passed her house, I noticed it was a modest two story on about two acres with beautiful gardens surrounding all sides. When I asked her if she likes to garden, she looked at me with childish curiosity, as if to say, "how did you know?" She smiled and answered that gardening was a hobby her grandmother taught her to love when she was a child. They would go into the garden and smell all of the different herbs she planted. Rachel took a horticulture class at Texas A&M and found that she also had a green thumb. She takes 30 minutes every day to tend to her gardens, which helps her to feel in touch with nature, an admirable trait to say the least. She said the only problem she has right now is that her puppies and rabbits keep getting into her flower beds. Although most people might be perturbed by this, Rachel finds it quite amusing and laughs to herself. "I absolutely love animals. I am so lucky because my husband doesn't mind that sometimes our house feels like a zoo. We have ducks, pigs, rabbits, dogs, and guinea pigs right now."

It might seem like Rachel would have a hard time keeping everything together, but she is extremely organized. When asked how she does it all, she says, "through prayer, patience, love and laughter."

A Scrumptious Occasion

Maddie looked at the cake. It was white with pink icing, and she knew it would be oozing with strawberry filling. As she slid her fork into the moist cake, brought it to her mouth, and took a bite, she was as giddy as a bride on her wedding day. As she swallowed, her taste buds were satisfied and soon her stomach would be too.

"It's like rain on your wedding day..."

It's kind of ironic to read quirkyalone (QA) when I just got engaged last weekend (Ahh! I know!). I don't really feel sorry for the QA's because it sounds like they choose to be alone. They like being alone. I think it is admirable that they are waiting for the right relationship and not just dating the first guy who gets off the bus. I can't blame people for wanting to be alone and not pursuing relationships. They are painful in a lot of ways. Fortunately, I am blessed to have been dating the same wonderful guy for a little over 4 years, and I am thrilled at the idea of spending the rest of my life with him. But I know that relationships cause pain because my parents have been divorced since I was 3 years old. Although it was my parents who got divorced, not me, I still feel the pain of their broken relationship to this day. Before I met my fiance, I didn't think I would find the guy I was going to marry my sophomore year of high school. Now, I can't imagine dating around and having to deal with the ups and downs of meeting and going on dates with new guys all of the time. I am very thankful I don't have to go through that. I don't think I would be one of the QAs because of it, but I can understand why they don't mind being alone.
Honestly, I think a lot of it comes down to how much a person is willing to sacrfice for another person. Some people are just made to be single and that's cool, but some people just don't want to change for someone else. That is why they're single. I think everyone has that tendency to some point, but when a person finds the one they're willing to change those little bad habits for that is the one to keep. I don't think anyone wants to change because that takes a lot of time and energy, but anyone who wants a long and happy relationship has to change a little. I would say I'm a bit quirky and I would say that being alone for hours at a time doesn't bother me that much. But when I get to spend the day with the one who I truly love and who loves my quirks, I don't want to be alone anymore.

Beyond the Screen

"[...] Our atomized, alienated, transient lifestyles have resulted in our seeking community from those who share the same interests, or workplace, or some other kind of tribal loyalty." (Leonard, p. 155) I have to disagree with Andrew Leonard, author of You Are Who You Know, because I think that social networks have created more a more alienated society than less of one. I agree that we have more access to knowledge and the latest gossip about our friends and coworkers, but is that what creates more intimate friendships? I think spending hours in front of a screen, thinking you are "interacting" with other people is less meaningful than calling up the new friend you made in biology class to get some coffee.
Social networking is beneficial in that it helps keep track of a group of friends and where they are living and working, but it also seems very superficial; everyone can create who they want to be, not who they truly are. Uploading the best pictures of yourself, finding the coolest quotes, and putting the latest TV shows as your favorites does not explain what drives a person, childhood pastimes, or last night's wacky dream. Those are things a person tells to the people he interacts with and cares about. The question that needs to be asked is do I want to know a lot of surface level things about a lot of people or do I want to create meaningful relationships that will last a lifetime?
I have a facebook account so it would seem hypocritical of me to have this point of view, but I don't use it as a my social outlet or consider it my social interaction for the day. I don't seek to create a community through my facebook as Leonard might suggest. I think it's good for keeping track of friends, sending a message to them every now and then, and writing a friendly message on a wall. But I would much rather see my friends face to face or hear their voices on the phone. Computers just can't make up for hearing sarcasm in my fiance's voice, the laughter of my best friend, or tears of joy from my grandmother.

Barak Obama- correction

To my classmates,
Today in class when we were talking about Sen. Barak Obama Jr. I corrected Mrs. Small by saying his father was from Nigeria, but that was incorrect. His father, Barak Obama Sr. was born in Nairobi, Kenya. I apologize for misinforming everyone and just wanted to clear the air.

Secondly, I would like to pose a question that has been on my mind for a few days to anyone who bothers to read my blog...Should progression (as far as the race issue goes) be defined as regarding race as irrelevant altogether? Or are"diversity," meeting quotas, and recognizing "firsts" (as in first African American to fly into space or first Mexican American to play in the NBA) the true signs of progress in America. I didn't come up with this question on my own (I haven't quite figured out how to word it yet). Someone told me that Charles Barkley brought up the question in an interview when asked about the first two black coaches to be in the Super Bowl. I wish I could find the transcript of the conversation, but I've looked, and I can't find it. Please leave comments if you would like. I haven't come to a conclusion yet, but I might post my thoughts on it in a few days.

Not anti-Ipod; Anti-Isolationism

I got my first ipod for Christmas--a "shuffle" to be exact. I didn't ask for it, but I guess my dad thought I needed one so I could fit in; maybe as inspiration to start working out. I'm not sure, but it was nice of him. It has a matte silver finish, and it's only little bigger than a postage stamp—a far cry from the robust CD player that introduced me to the likes of the Beatles and the Spice Girls.

The problem is it's still in the box. I can't quite bring myself to use what I consider to be the end of interpersonal communication as we know it. For all intents and purposes, we'll call it the Conversation Impairment Device (CID). Everywhere I go I am confronted by people with tiny speakers in their ears, white wires slithering around their necks down to their pocket or inconspicuously into their large puffy coats (at the high school), where they are harboring this conversation killer and teacher annoyance. The bus is scene of the most frequent sightings of the CID. I guess they could be classified as one step above cell phones because at least you don't have to hear the girl next to you yapping about the pimple in the middle of her forehead that just won't go away. Then again, at least the cell phoners can hear me say "excuse me" as I squeeze through the sea of people crammed on the bus to get off at my stop. CID-users simply stand there like a heiffer in the middle of the road, despite the blaring sound of the car horn.
"Excuse me, can you please mooove?" "What? I see your mouth moving, but I can't hear you."
I find it especially embarrassing when I try to make small talk with the person sitting next to me on the bus, only to find my words rejected by the piece of plastic clogging her ear. I just never seem to remember that now bus etiquette requires me to check for tunes before opening my trap.

I think the real reason some people have this auditory-fixation is because they want to feel like they're the star of a movie. They download songs onto their ipod as their "soundtrack of life;" a unique expression of who they really are. Just imagine watching some poor soul chasing after the bus to the tune of Jojo's "It's just too little too late;" listening to the Verve’s “Bittersweet Symphony” on the days when you’re feeling cynical; or Vitamin C’s “Friend’s forever” buzzing in your ear as you walk across the stage, diploma in hand. Life just seems so much more glamorous when it’s put to music so go on and live out your favorite scene. Maybe some day I'll have the guts to download some itunes on my ipod and go for a jog. But until then, if you see me on the ibus trying to talk to the CID user next to me, remind me that extras don't have lines.

I wish she was my computer science teacher

I spent a lot of time looking at teachers' blogs on Sunday, and the one I found most interesting and insightful is coolcatteacher.blogspot.com. The author of the blog is Vickie A. Davis. She is a computer science teacher in Camilla, Georgia at Westwood School. I was very impressed by her because not only is she a teacher, mother, wife, active community member, and devout Christian, but she writes on her blog daily. She has a passion for helping her students to understand and use technology in meaningful ways. Her blog is an instrument for her to teach other educators to use innovative technology in their classrooms and also encourage them in their daily struggles as teachers.

Her audience is a combination of teachers, administrators, the technologically inclined, and parents across the nation. She is very aware of her readers and often asks for their input or comments about her posts. Interacting with them on a website called cocomment is a regular occurance. She has a large community of readers as seen by the number on her "feedburner" (it reads 602), but she doesn't appear to be in a specific community.

The appeal of her blog is that she genuinely enjoys her her job and she is constantly updating her audience on the latest technology. Not only that, but she teaches them how to use the technology she mentions with step by step instructions. In addition, she is very professional about it. She doesn't bad mouth her colleagues or students in any way, shape or form. As a future teacher myself, I think her blog is inspirational because it's positive and aimed at helping other teachers to be the best they can be. Most importantly, she is very humble. Her blog has numerous awards, and she has a vast number of readers, yet she doesn't claim to know it all or to be the best teacher. Her readers sense that, and it draws in more readers daily.

I am going to try to keep up with her blog because it has a wealth of information to offer. I noticed that she uses wiki pages in her classroom so I went to the website, and I ended up making my own because I thought it was so cool! At first glance, I was a little overwhelmed by all of the new vocabulary (skyping, podcasting, wiki pages, blogosphere), and I am learning new technology "lingo" with each one of her posts. But her class wiki pages defined the terms listed in parentheses above, which helped a lot.

Vicki's blog is one of the top blogs in her profession right now, and it is paving the way for a whole new era of teaching; a world where teachers are constantly being renewed and sharpened by one another; creative ideas are racing from one side of the globe to the other; and students are learning in ways that keep them engaged and connected to the world around them.