9 minutes until I am leaving to go do my law reading.
I was thinking today about countdowns. I love them. I love being able to plan ahead to something. 80 days until graduation (hooding). 22 days until Greenville College Softball gets to play some spring ball in Texas. 9 days until I leave for Boston. And now 7 minutes until I am leaving my apartment.
The problem with countdowns is that it makes me feel like there is always pressure on me to get a certain amount of things done prior to the deadline - whatever that deadline is. Right now, I have three days until my parents arrive in Texas. I am psyched about their upcoming arrival, but as I think about how I'm going to get all my work done, the pressure increases.
Then I think about how I have 9 days until I should have interviews scheduled at NASPA (right now I only have one - which is great, but do I want more? I don't know - I only have 9 days). And I only have about 14 days until I leave from Boston for LA (hopefully) and meet the people at UCLA. And I probably only have about 20 days until I have to make a decision about my future.
Yikes.
Well for now, I like to think that have a certain (undefined) number of days until I get to Heaven, and I get to be there forever. In hindsight, most of these countdowns will look pretty insignificant.
I'll try to remember that next week in my statistics midterm....
Monday, February 25, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
The Joy of Webcam Communication
Am I the luckiest girl or what?! Here is a screen shot of what my mom and I look like about twice a week, when we get to chat on Skype. Its free and we get to use our video phones. I am always relaxing on a couch or bed, and she is always in front of the computer at home – playing video poker or solitaire. It's pretty fun. I took a better picture of her – its posted below, along with a picture of what I try to look like to her – I keep trying not to look at her video, but instead look at the camera, so that its like I'm looking at her.
Mom – what a cutie!
Me… the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, they say. J
ALSO – I have learned a lot of cool stuff lately about Microsoft Office 2007 (some of it from my friend Melissa – check out her blog: http://mel-dyes-her-hair.blogspot.com/). One of the neatest things is this program called "One Note" – I saw Mel using it and was intrigued – its basically a "paper" filing and note system that you can just use on your computer – you type instead of writing (unless you have a notepad that you can use a stylus on). One other thing it allows you to do is take really quick screen shots of whatever you want (example: the skype pic above) and it pastes it automatically into OneNote – where you can make notes about it, etc. It's a pretty neat program! Anyway, tonight I wanted to get that shot, so I clipped into OneNote and now here I am. The next step was that I was trying to get it onto my blogger, but I couldn't figure out how…. SO – I was in OneNote with my clipping and when I right mouse clicked it, it said "Blog this" and so I clicked that…. Lo and behold, it threw me into Word 07, where it hooked me up with my blogger account and let me put in pics and everything. Hooray!
Well, I should be reading or doing laundry right now, so I'd better at least go change my sheets and get my laundry ready for the AM – and get into bed. I hope you give these functions a try (Office 2007 stuff) and that you also check out Mel's blog – she always has new stuff to say and things to discuss. Blessings, friend.
Postscript: I did have some problems after all... the photos that were in my original blog in MS Word did not upload to the blog. Something about where they were stored. I"m trying to figure it out still, but if there is no screen shot at the top... that is why. :)
Monday, February 18, 2008
contemplations
Well, its 9:30 on Monday night. I have not finished my law reading for class tomorrow at 1pm and have barely started my reading for capstone class on Wed. We have about 100 pages to read for that class and a quiz. yuk.
So it probably doesn't make much sense that I'm writing on the blog instead of reading, but two things:
1) I'm trying to be more "in the moment" about my decisions.
2) I want to keep those of you who were faithful readers-when-I-updated-frequently-but-may have-stopped-even-looking-to-see-if-I-have-updated friends guessing and interested. :) More than that, I want to really keep you up to date on my life.
I have created an outline of things I want to talk about tonight. I know I won't get to all of them by my self-imposed deadline, but perhaps they will come up again in future posts:
1) PhD stuff
2) Job stuff
3) School stuff
4) TV, and other technology
First things first.... I have been admitted to UCLA - to the Higher Education and Organizational Change PhD program in the School of Education (http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/oss/programs.html, http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/oss/heoc.html). WOW. It is a pretty compelling offer. The professor that would be my advisor, Dr. Linda Sax, called me to tell me just over a week ago. I was in shock and thus unable to post about it for you. I am waiting to make my decision until I can go out to LA and visit the school and the professors there. The paperwork has not arrived yet in the mail and so I feel like I am in a holding pattern - people here want to know what I'm going to do... and so do I.... others feel like the decision is already made - why WOULDN'T I want to go to UCLA and do this? it would be crazy not to - but I'm trying this new thing where I follow my heart (I used to do this much better than I do now).
So... stay tuned for updates on this process. You will know when I do.
In the meantime, I have been job searching. I have applied for about 5 jobs. There are a couple that I would really like to do, but haven't heard back yet regarding even phone interviews.... bummer. I know that it is sort of hit and miss, but because there is one job in particular that I have wanted since Christmas and I applied a couple weeks ago (right before I found out about UCLA, actually) and haven't heard it makes me nervous!
I'm also trying a new thing where I trust God better, so I'm being patient and believing in God's faithfulness.
School stuff has been crazy lately. So much work - way more than we've had before it seems like. I think that I often feel that way near the beginning of the semester, but this semester it is like we are on a roller coaster toward graduation and the brakes are broken... it is a fast moving train toward May 16th and its crazy! Less than 90 days until graduation. And only two weeks until we all get our best clothes packed up and head to Boston for NASPA. I'm excited that I may not have many interviews for that conference (I am officially only applying to jobs I really really want, because of the great UCLA offer) and I'm looking forward to seeing some old friends, learning a bit, and touring the historic city of Boston. Today we got a note saying we could tour Fenway park for $12 - awesome!!
Last thing for tonight (I have 6 minutes). I've been contemplating giving up recreational TV for Lent. I don't give up something for Lent every year. Its not a part of my background and so sometimes I do, and sometimes I don't, and I feel OK about it. Well, this year Ash Wednesday came around and it was busy and roller coaster-y and my ability to contemplate life was at a minimum, so I did not give anything up. I'd rather not give something up than commit to something without thinking and not be really committed to it.
So my friend, Karin, was talking to me about how she gave up recreational TV for lent - you know what I'm talking about - the "keep the TV on to be in the background" kind of TV - or worse (and more applicable for me) the "keep the TV on while I do homework" kind of TV. See, technology has seemingly invaded my life. I now own two computers and there are two TVs in our house. My roommate has her own computer and a laptop she uses from her work - that means that at any one moment in our home, we might have four computers running and two TV's on. Or one TV and a CD player. Yikes. What has happened? And I think part of my problem in getting things done for school is that I'm watching TV in the AM while I make breakfast, which turns into while I get ready, which delays getting ready, which delays homework, etc.
Here's the issue: I don't know if I can do it. I don't know if I can handle the quiet or the slowness of not having technology on.
So pray for me as I contemplate. Pray for me as I think of my future and what it looks like. And pray for me as I consider breaking my addiction to television, noise and technology.
And I'll be back soon with more updates. :)
So it probably doesn't make much sense that I'm writing on the blog instead of reading, but two things:
1) I'm trying to be more "in the moment" about my decisions.
2) I want to keep those of you who were faithful readers-when-I-updated-frequently-but-may have-stopped-even-looking-to-see-if-I-have-updated friends guessing and interested. :) More than that, I want to really keep you up to date on my life.
I have created an outline of things I want to talk about tonight. I know I won't get to all of them by my self-imposed deadline, but perhaps they will come up again in future posts:
1) PhD stuff
2) Job stuff
3) School stuff
4) TV, and other technology
First things first.... I have been admitted to UCLA - to the Higher Education and Organizational Change PhD program in the School of Education (http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/oss/programs.html, http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/oss/heoc.html). WOW. It is a pretty compelling offer. The professor that would be my advisor, Dr. Linda Sax, called me to tell me just over a week ago. I was in shock and thus unable to post about it for you. I am waiting to make my decision until I can go out to LA and visit the school and the professors there. The paperwork has not arrived yet in the mail and so I feel like I am in a holding pattern - people here want to know what I'm going to do... and so do I.... others feel like the decision is already made - why WOULDN'T I want to go to UCLA and do this? it would be crazy not to - but I'm trying this new thing where I follow my heart (I used to do this much better than I do now).
So... stay tuned for updates on this process. You will know when I do.
In the meantime, I have been job searching. I have applied for about 5 jobs. There are a couple that I would really like to do, but haven't heard back yet regarding even phone interviews.... bummer. I know that it is sort of hit and miss, but because there is one job in particular that I have wanted since Christmas and I applied a couple weeks ago (right before I found out about UCLA, actually) and haven't heard it makes me nervous!
I'm also trying a new thing where I trust God better, so I'm being patient and believing in God's faithfulness.
School stuff has been crazy lately. So much work - way more than we've had before it seems like. I think that I often feel that way near the beginning of the semester, but this semester it is like we are on a roller coaster toward graduation and the brakes are broken... it is a fast moving train toward May 16th and its crazy! Less than 90 days until graduation. And only two weeks until we all get our best clothes packed up and head to Boston for NASPA. I'm excited that I may not have many interviews for that conference (I am officially only applying to jobs I really really want, because of the great UCLA offer) and I'm looking forward to seeing some old friends, learning a bit, and touring the historic city of Boston. Today we got a note saying we could tour Fenway park for $12 - awesome!!
Last thing for tonight (I have 6 minutes). I've been contemplating giving up recreational TV for Lent. I don't give up something for Lent every year. Its not a part of my background and so sometimes I do, and sometimes I don't, and I feel OK about it. Well, this year Ash Wednesday came around and it was busy and roller coaster-y and my ability to contemplate life was at a minimum, so I did not give anything up. I'd rather not give something up than commit to something without thinking and not be really committed to it.
So my friend, Karin, was talking to me about how she gave up recreational TV for lent - you know what I'm talking about - the "keep the TV on to be in the background" kind of TV - or worse (and more applicable for me) the "keep the TV on while I do homework" kind of TV. See, technology has seemingly invaded my life. I now own two computers and there are two TVs in our house. My roommate has her own computer and a laptop she uses from her work - that means that at any one moment in our home, we might have four computers running and two TV's on. Or one TV and a CD player. Yikes. What has happened? And I think part of my problem in getting things done for school is that I'm watching TV in the AM while I make breakfast, which turns into while I get ready, which delays getting ready, which delays homework, etc.
Here's the issue: I don't know if I can do it. I don't know if I can handle the quiet or the slowness of not having technology on.
So pray for me as I contemplate. Pray for me as I think of my future and what it looks like. And pray for me as I consider breaking my addiction to television, noise and technology.
And I'll be back soon with more updates. :)
Saturday, February 09, 2008
"When sleep her balm denies, my heart awaking cries, 'May Jesus Christ be Praised!'"
This is the third morning in a row that I have woken prior to my alarm clock. At least an hour before my alarm clock. It is only problematic because I set my alarm about 7 hours from when I turn off my light - the minimum amount of sleep that I know still gives me enough to function at 100%..... so its the beginning of the third day where I have less than 100% value worth of sleep. Ick.
The title of this blog comes from an old Hymn that I love called, "May Jesus Christ be Praised!" It sings of the feeling that as Christians we have (or should have?) in all circumstances... including when the balm of sleep is denied to the believer. And so I praise God today that I am awake and alive, and I am grateful for an extra hour this morning - an unexpected bit of time to write in my blog, drink coffee, and think before heading to Alpha Delta Pi initiation.
By this point (6:24am) I have gotten dressed, grabbed a bag of homework and necessities and made coffee and have about 20 minutes before I have to leave for the ADPi chapter room to help get everything together for this morning's ritual and celebration.
There are so many things I need to post about:
* PhD news
* Job application status
* My life in general
* This semester and how its going
But in honor of this morning, I am going take a few minutes and write about Alpha Delta Pi! Alpha Delta Pi was the first secret society for women - it began as the Adelphean Society in 1851, later adopted the Greek letters: Alpha Delta Phi, but when it was discovered that there was a men's fraternity with the same letters, changed Phi to Pi and here we are today. Our open motto, "We Live for Each Other" we believe exemplifies the highest ideals of Christian womanhood (the sorority was founded by six christian women who were friends and classmates at Wesleyan Female College in Georgia).
My experiences in Alpha Delta Pi are numerous and varied. I was a collegian at Northern Arizona University, and it was my relationship with my Diamond Sister (ADPi does not have "big" and "little" sisters - choosing instead to have relationships which place the sisters on equal footing - not in a heirarchy. a diamond sister is a special sister who serves as a sponsor through your beginning experiences in alpha delta pi) - it was my relationship with my Diamond Sister that moved me toward a relationship with Christ. Her name is Chalea and I've told her this before, but her invitations to Campus Crusade, and the way that I could see a difference in the way she lived versus how other people lived caused me to realize that there was something missing in my life. So you can understand one of the special connections I have to ADPi.
My roommate, Terra, became a special friend to me as well. She was two years younger than me, but had some life experiences which had caused her to become a mature and thoughtful woman early. She stood by me as I made the decision to not get married to my college boyfriend - and I have always been grateful for her support through that entire experience! My other roommate, Amy, was a woman who could make me laugh and think depending on the day. I was priviledged to attend both of their weddings and joyfully watch them marry men who valued who they are as women.
Another sister, Liz, and I were good friends - I think mostly because she had tried out for Collegiate Jeopardy and I thought that was awesome. I drifted out of touch with many of my sisters but somehow Liz and I reconnected years later and found out we were both active members (and maybe both discussion group leaders) of a Bible Study Fellowship class. It was a blessing to me to have this friend from my past turn out to be a committed Christian and it deepened our bond as sisters! I was also able to travel to her wedding, which was a super fun reunion of sisters.
I had wanted to get involved with a Collegiate chapter for a number of years, but wasn't in a position to do so in Seattle (no time). And Greenville was really too far from any chapter (I thought) - plus football season kept me pretty tied down. Well, when I decided to attend Baylor I found out that they had an ADPi chapter there and was pretty excited. I thought, "maybe now I can get involved with some women and help them see the love that I have for ADPi and help them to cultivate it!"
See, the core of what Alpha Delta Pi is - which is revealed most fully during initation to our newest members - guided me through my life following my own initiation in 1994. I cannot begin to describe how our open motto: "We live for each other" and what ADPi stands for have helped me to become the woman I am today - hopefully a woman who values others, who serves others, and who tries to exemplify the highest ideals of Christian womanhood.
At Baylor, I have made so many dear friends from women who I only knew initially as sisters. Both collegiate (undergraduate) women and alumnae advisors are now in my sphere of friends who share special memories, jokes, and care for each other deeply. Danielle, Holly, Sara; Naomi, Michelle, Kristen, Alice, Bethany, Sammi, Katie, Ashley - these are only a small drop in the bucket of names - I could go on for about 200 names of women who have touched my heart! :)
As I prepare for this initiation this morning, (my second to last initiation as a member of the Zeta Chi advisor board (We will initiation 8 more women just after Easter and these will be the last until next spring)...... I am grateful to God for bringing me to Alpha Delta Pi as a junior in college. I'm grateful that I had the ability to see how our deepest shared values and meanings lined up with what it meant to be in Christ and how that helped me to become a stronger Christian and a stronger woman over the years. And I'm grateful for the opportunity to share that with women today at initiation. I am grateful that I had even two years to serve this chapter as an advisor - and no matter how much I wish it were more - I wouldn't trade these two years for anything.
To my ADPi sisters who read this blog: I love you. I live for you. Thanks for what you've added to my life.
To my friends who have not been a part of a sorority, but who I count as sisters of my heart: You have also touched my heart in many ways and I'm grateful for you.
To collegiate women who read this story and think, "I want a sisterhood like that" - then may I please encourage you to consider Alpha Delta Pi?
Blessings to you all - another update coming. But for now - Love, Tiffani
The title of this blog comes from an old Hymn that I love called, "May Jesus Christ be Praised!" It sings of the feeling that as Christians we have (or should have?) in all circumstances... including when the balm of sleep is denied to the believer. And so I praise God today that I am awake and alive, and I am grateful for an extra hour this morning - an unexpected bit of time to write in my blog, drink coffee, and think before heading to Alpha Delta Pi initiation.
By this point (6:24am) I have gotten dressed, grabbed a bag of homework and necessities and made coffee and have about 20 minutes before I have to leave for the ADPi chapter room to help get everything together for this morning's ritual and celebration.
There are so many things I need to post about:
* PhD news
* Job application status
* My life in general
* This semester and how its going
But in honor of this morning, I am going take a few minutes and write about Alpha Delta Pi! Alpha Delta Pi was the first secret society for women - it began as the Adelphean Society in 1851, later adopted the Greek letters: Alpha Delta Phi, but when it was discovered that there was a men's fraternity with the same letters, changed Phi to Pi and here we are today. Our open motto, "We Live for Each Other" we believe exemplifies the highest ideals of Christian womanhood (the sorority was founded by six christian women who were friends and classmates at Wesleyan Female College in Georgia).
My experiences in Alpha Delta Pi are numerous and varied. I was a collegian at Northern Arizona University, and it was my relationship with my Diamond Sister (ADPi does not have "big" and "little" sisters - choosing instead to have relationships which place the sisters on equal footing - not in a heirarchy. a diamond sister is a special sister who serves as a sponsor through your beginning experiences in alpha delta pi) - it was my relationship with my Diamond Sister that moved me toward a relationship with Christ. Her name is Chalea and I've told her this before, but her invitations to Campus Crusade, and the way that I could see a difference in the way she lived versus how other people lived caused me to realize that there was something missing in my life. So you can understand one of the special connections I have to ADPi.
My roommate, Terra, became a special friend to me as well. She was two years younger than me, but had some life experiences which had caused her to become a mature and thoughtful woman early. She stood by me as I made the decision to not get married to my college boyfriend - and I have always been grateful for her support through that entire experience! My other roommate, Amy, was a woman who could make me laugh and think depending on the day. I was priviledged to attend both of their weddings and joyfully watch them marry men who valued who they are as women.
Another sister, Liz, and I were good friends - I think mostly because she had tried out for Collegiate Jeopardy and I thought that was awesome. I drifted out of touch with many of my sisters but somehow Liz and I reconnected years later and found out we were both active members (and maybe both discussion group leaders) of a Bible Study Fellowship class. It was a blessing to me to have this friend from my past turn out to be a committed Christian and it deepened our bond as sisters! I was also able to travel to her wedding, which was a super fun reunion of sisters.
I had wanted to get involved with a Collegiate chapter for a number of years, but wasn't in a position to do so in Seattle (no time). And Greenville was really too far from any chapter (I thought) - plus football season kept me pretty tied down. Well, when I decided to attend Baylor I found out that they had an ADPi chapter there and was pretty excited. I thought, "maybe now I can get involved with some women and help them see the love that I have for ADPi and help them to cultivate it!"
See, the core of what Alpha Delta Pi is - which is revealed most fully during initation to our newest members - guided me through my life following my own initiation in 1994. I cannot begin to describe how our open motto: "We live for each other" and what ADPi stands for have helped me to become the woman I am today - hopefully a woman who values others, who serves others, and who tries to exemplify the highest ideals of Christian womanhood.
At Baylor, I have made so many dear friends from women who I only knew initially as sisters. Both collegiate (undergraduate) women and alumnae advisors are now in my sphere of friends who share special memories, jokes, and care for each other deeply. Danielle, Holly, Sara; Naomi, Michelle, Kristen, Alice, Bethany, Sammi, Katie, Ashley - these are only a small drop in the bucket of names - I could go on for about 200 names of women who have touched my heart! :)
As I prepare for this initiation this morning, (my second to last initiation as a member of the Zeta Chi advisor board (We will initiation 8 more women just after Easter and these will be the last until next spring)...... I am grateful to God for bringing me to Alpha Delta Pi as a junior in college. I'm grateful that I had the ability to see how our deepest shared values and meanings lined up with what it meant to be in Christ and how that helped me to become a stronger Christian and a stronger woman over the years. And I'm grateful for the opportunity to share that with women today at initiation. I am grateful that I had even two years to serve this chapter as an advisor - and no matter how much I wish it were more - I wouldn't trade these two years for anything.
To my ADPi sisters who read this blog: I love you. I live for you. Thanks for what you've added to my life.
To my friends who have not been a part of a sorority, but who I count as sisters of my heart: You have also touched my heart in many ways and I'm grateful for you.
To collegiate women who read this story and think, "I want a sisterhood like that" - then may I please encourage you to consider Alpha Delta Pi?
Blessings to you all - another update coming. But for now - Love, Tiffani
Monday, February 04, 2008
Gift Ideas
I love the "how to" wiki, and this idea is a really neat one. A person with some free time (which right now I define as many people, none of them graduate students) could make this chocolate portrait - and it seems pretty easy!
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Chocolate-Portrait
I also liked this one on makin a candy/chocolate bouquet:
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Chocolate-Bouquet
Enjoy your "valentine's day" projects. I will be posting soon with the latest on my life. Info from UCLA PhD program expected soon, and applications to various jobs on their way out! Woo hoo! Life continues to move forward and I have stats today at 1pm.
Blessings to you!
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Chocolate-Portrait
I also liked this one on makin a candy/chocolate bouquet:
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Chocolate-Bouquet
Enjoy your "valentine's day" projects. I will be posting soon with the latest on my life. Info from UCLA PhD program expected soon, and applications to various jobs on their way out! Woo hoo! Life continues to move forward and I have stats today at 1pm.
Blessings to you!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
