"Be found at one's post, living each day as though it were our last, but planning as though our world might last 100 years"
-C.S. Lewis
Monday, June 6, 2011
Thursday, June 2, 2011
An Edem Update
Here's an update of what I've been doing for the past couple of months:
The Play's the Thing
I auditioned for a local play. Though the rehearsal schedule conflicted with my school schedule, I figured the audition would be good practice. Much to my surprise, I got the part!
I played Miss Dearborn, the teacher at the one room school house, in Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. It was a wonderful experience – lots of nice folks, lots of learning by absorption.
For photos of my cast, click here. Despite never noticing a camera flash, I still managed to have my eyes closed in 97% of my photos. Go figure.
Thank you to all who were able to come to a performance. I hope you enjoyed the play as much as I enjoyed doing it.
Happy Birthday! Welcome Back to School!
The Spring Quarter started the week of my birthday. My classes were a tale of two cities – it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. One class was an intro to Entrepreneurship. We created our own curriculum, learned some history, ways to value a business, the variety in how businesses are born. Lots of good information, lots of things to chew on.
The other class was Marketing. Now, I had a bias against marketing – I saw it as using psychology to manipulate people into buying things they don't need. (Turns out that's advertising, to some degree.) But marketing is bigger than that, essential to a business and not normally an exercise in deception. Unfortunately, the nature and necessity of marketing was not made very clear in class. But on the upside, I don't have to take the final.
Moving to Part Time
A couple months ago, I requested to go part time during the summer and fall. Not only was it a good project for my negotiation class, the summer months are particularly light work-wise. The less time I spend in the office stewing toxic from boredom and busy work, the better it is for everyone.
So now I work half days on Mondays and Fridays. Yes, it's less money, but there are things money can't buy.
Not much else going on. Summatime is here, even if the weather doesn't know it yet. Time to relax and rejuvenate.
The Play's the Thing
I auditioned for a local play. Though the rehearsal schedule conflicted with my school schedule, I figured the audition would be good practice. Much to my surprise, I got the part!
I played Miss Dearborn, the teacher at the one room school house, in Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. It was a wonderful experience – lots of nice folks, lots of learning by absorption.
For photos of my cast, click here. Despite never noticing a camera flash, I still managed to have my eyes closed in 97% of my photos. Go figure.
Thank you to all who were able to come to a performance. I hope you enjoyed the play as much as I enjoyed doing it.
Happy Birthday! Welcome Back to School!
The Spring Quarter started the week of my birthday. My classes were a tale of two cities – it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. One class was an intro to Entrepreneurship. We created our own curriculum, learned some history, ways to value a business, the variety in how businesses are born. Lots of good information, lots of things to chew on.
The other class was Marketing. Now, I had a bias against marketing – I saw it as using psychology to manipulate people into buying things they don't need. (Turns out that's advertising, to some degree.) But marketing is bigger than that, essential to a business and not normally an exercise in deception. Unfortunately, the nature and necessity of marketing was not made very clear in class. But on the upside, I don't have to take the final.
Moving to Part Time
A couple months ago, I requested to go part time during the summer and fall. Not only was it a good project for my negotiation class, the summer months are particularly light work-wise. The less time I spend in the office stewing toxic from boredom and busy work, the better it is for everyone.
So now I work half days on Mondays and Fridays. Yes, it's less money, but there are things money can't buy.
Not much else going on. Summatime is here, even if the weather doesn't know it yet. Time to relax and rejuvenate.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Shopping Convenience
Luckys had no corned beef. That section of the was shelf completely bare, save the price tags. And, since it was the second time I'd encountered this, I left the store and went to Safeway.
Which had corned beef, but no Mrs. Smith's Deep Dish Apple Pie. In fact, there was no Mrs. Smith's any type of pie. I bought the shockingly expensive canned cornbeef and started back towards Luckys.
On my way, I stopped at Gene's Fine Foods and bought my pie. Which is probably where I should've gone in the second place.
sigh
Aren't super markets supposed to be convenient?
Which had corned beef, but no Mrs. Smith's Deep Dish Apple Pie. In fact, there was no Mrs. Smith's any type of pie. I bought the shockingly expensive canned cornbeef and started back towards Luckys.
On my way, I stopped at Gene's Fine Foods and bought my pie. Which is probably where I should've gone in the second place.
sigh
Aren't super markets supposed to be convenient?
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Come See Me in a Play!
I'll be making my stage debut in a local production of Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, performing at the Firehouse Arts Theatre on the following dates:
Fri, May 6, 7:30pm
Sat, May 7, 2:00pm
Wed, May 11, 9:30am
Wed, May 11, 11:00am
Sat, May 14, 7:30pm
Sun, May 15, 2:00pm
Tickets range from $6 - $12 for children and seniors, and $10-$18 for adults. Go to http://www.firehousearts.org/ to order tickets or for more information.
There'll be laughter. There'll be tears. Come out for a good time!
Fri, May 6, 7:30pm
Sat, May 7, 2:00pm
Wed, May 11, 9:30am
Wed, May 11, 11:00am
Sat, May 14, 7:30pm
Sun, May 15, 2:00pm
Tickets range from $6 - $12 for children and seniors, and $10-$18 for adults. Go to http://www.firehousearts.org/ to order tickets or for more information.
There'll be laughter. There'll be tears. Come out for a good time!
Friday, April 8, 2011
Out with the Old, In with the New (School Quarter, That Is)
Winter quarter has ended and Spring quarter has begun. School fees stayed stable (thankfully), but are likely to rise 10% for next fall and possibly another 10% for next winter .
My Supply Chain class, which was completely on-line but for the tests, was very well executed. And it's another direction (along with Finance and Accounting) I would shy away from.
That's right. It's heavy on the math-y element of business.
My Negotiation class was great. Lots of hands on, lots of learning about the different levels and types of negotiation. Not that I have the constitution to do it professionally (as a professional negotiator, that is), but now I know what I need to do to work towards the best possible outcomes. Good knowledge to have.
Now I'm in Intro to Entrepreneurship and Intro to Marketing. Thus far, neither has met my expectations.
In Entrepreneurship, we (as a class) made up the syllabus. The things we wanted to learn. The assignments we wanted to do. The grading system for the assignments. Crazy scary cool. I've left each session psyched and appreciative of the things I'm learning. A very cool class.
Marketing. . . We've only had one session, so the appearance of being a bit of a hot mess might be first day jitters. Hopefully.
In other words, I'll have to treat it like a show on Bravo and "watch what happens".
My Supply Chain class, which was completely on-line but for the tests, was very well executed. And it's another direction (along with Finance and Accounting) I would shy away from.
That's right. It's heavy on the math-y element of business.
My Negotiation class was great. Lots of hands on, lots of learning about the different levels and types of negotiation. Not that I have the constitution to do it professionally (as a professional negotiator, that is), but now I know what I need to do to work towards the best possible outcomes. Good knowledge to have.
Now I'm in Intro to Entrepreneurship and Intro to Marketing. Thus far, neither has met my expectations.
In Entrepreneurship, we (as a class) made up the syllabus. The things we wanted to learn. The assignments we wanted to do. The grading system for the assignments. Crazy scary cool. I've left each session psyched and appreciative of the things I'm learning. A very cool class.
Marketing. . . We've only had one session, so the appearance of being a bit of a hot mess might be first day jitters. Hopefully.
In other words, I'll have to treat it like a show on Bravo and "watch what happens".
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Loving the Distrusted
"How do I love (agape) those I don't trust?" I asked God.
About a month later, He showed me the answer. I was reading a pamphlet about patience(1), which pointed to I Corinthians 13:4-8 and noted, "…being patient is the behavioral way to say, 'I love you'."
The proverbial light came on and popped the bulb.
I had always seen those verses as describing love, the noun. But love is also a verb. I re-read the passage, paying particular attention to verses 4 – 6:
Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth (I Cor 13:4-6, NKJV).
So how do you love those you distrust?
1. Ohlman, Dean. What Does the Bible Say About Patience? RBC Ministries, Discovery Series. 2004.
2. So wide you can't get around it/So low you can't get under it/So high you can't get over it
About a month later, He showed me the answer. I was reading a pamphlet about patience(1), which pointed to I Corinthians 13:4-8 and noted, "…being patient is the behavioral way to say, 'I love you'."
The proverbial light came on and popped the bulb.
I had always seen those verses as describing love, the noun. But love is also a verb. I re-read the passage, paying particular attention to verses 4 – 6:
Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth (I Cor 13:4-6, NKJV).
So how do you love those you distrust?
- Be patient (long-suffering)
- Be kind
- Don't be envious, boastful, proud, rude, self-seeking/self-serving
- Don't be easily provoked (or in my case, easily angered and offended)
- Don't rejoice in injustice
- Rejoice in the truth
Agape is the love that Christians are to give to everyone. Jesus used it in His Sermon on the Mount, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matthew 5:44, NIV).
You don't have to like someone to agape them. Unfortunately, I also came to believe that you didn't have to see them as valuable. At least, not as valuable as your friends and family. A pat on the head and a small smile and you could agape anyone.
However
Agape comes from the word agapeo, which means beloved. As in, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17, NKJV), beloved. As in how people feel about their children or their favorite cousin, beloved. As in how a child treats their favorite toy, beloved. As in 'I would do anything for you', beloved.
What? God wants us to love our enemies like we love the people we would give our lives for? Is He crazy?!
**********
I noticed that nothing on the list was a feeling.
Sure, feelings may be at the root, but what are listed are all actions. Lord knows you don't have to feel patient to be patient (ask a parent or a teacher). Feelings of inadequacy are common reasons for envy, boastfulness, pride, self-centeredness, and rudeness. But a person with low self-esteem doesn’t have to be rude.
Love is not a feeling. It's a noun, it's a verb, it's One Nation Under a Groove (2). But it is not a feeling.
Thus, we are free to love as God loves; we don't have to feel loving. By the same token, we can't blame our feelings when we're not being loving. With freedom comes accountability.
And since beloveds are cherished and valuable, and we (Christians) are called to love as we would a beloved, those we agape become cherished and valuable. Even when we distrust them.
I know. It doesn't even sound easy. But that's the way to do it.
1. Ohlman, Dean. What Does the Bible Say About Patience? RBC Ministries, Discovery Series. 2004.
2. So wide you can't get around it/So low you can't get under it/So high you can't get over it
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Improv! Get Your Improv Here!
I took an improv class a couple weeks ago. 'Twas super fun. Who knew my city offered such cool classes?
Turns out the city has a teen improve troupe called Creatures of Impulse. For the second year in a row, they'll be representing California at the Teen Comedy Festival in Chicago. And like any youth group travelling to distant lands, they need a bit of money to help get them there. There will be two shows to support this effort:
Impulsive Short and Long Tales, starring Creatures of Impulse
Saturday, April 2, 7pm, Veterans' Memorial Building, Pleasanton, Tickets-$5
Act I will consist of games and short scenes, with the audience voting for what they'd like to see as a longer scene in Act II. The audience votes with cash, so bring extra bills and make it rain!
Improv Inertia
Friday, April 15 and Saturday April 16, 7:30 pm, Veterans' Memorial Building, Pleasanton, Tickets-$5, Ages 14 and up.
The grown folk will come out and play – and they'll be music, too! (on Saturday, at least.)
If you have questions or simply want to contribute, please contact Mark Duncanson at MDuncanson@ci.pleasanton.ca.us.
Turns out the city has a teen improve troupe called Creatures of Impulse. For the second year in a row, they'll be representing California at the Teen Comedy Festival in Chicago. And like any youth group travelling to distant lands, they need a bit of money to help get them there. There will be two shows to support this effort:
Impulsive Short and Long Tales, starring Creatures of Impulse
Saturday, April 2, 7pm, Veterans' Memorial Building, Pleasanton, Tickets-$5
Act I will consist of games and short scenes, with the audience voting for what they'd like to see as a longer scene in Act II. The audience votes with cash, so bring extra bills and make it rain!
Improv Inertia
Friday, April 15 and Saturday April 16, 7:30 pm, Veterans' Memorial Building, Pleasanton, Tickets-$5, Ages 14 and up.
The grown folk will come out and play – and they'll be music, too! (on Saturday, at least.)
If you have questions or simply want to contribute, please contact Mark Duncanson at MDuncanson@ci.pleasanton.ca.us.
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