So I had this whole post written on how much I love letter writing, how it's become a dying art, how it's such an intimate form of communication and how we should preserve the practice...and then tried to mail my application. While I still prefer letter writing to most other forms of communication (save face-to-face dialogue), I can definitely see how we (and, sadly, I am included) turn from manual to electronic correspondence in an attempt to simplify our daily lives.
I went to the mail room in my dorm, but the lady that was working was just a substitute and really didn't know much about sending anything. So I went to the Post Office downtown today, only to find that the window in the downtown branch is closed on Saturdays. I wound up having to get a manila envelope from the bookstore on campus. Now I would try to send it myself, but I have no idea what the postage is supposed to be on this thing. I tried looking it up on the USPS website, but the only price lists I found were for Priority and Express (plus, I don't know how much this weighs, so I can't really calculate).
Right. Fun stuff. No wonder people revert to click-and-send so much.
I still love good old-fashioned letters, nothing is going to change that. I still use an inkwell and quill for crying out loud. Which reminds me, I have some catching up to do...
Saturday, March 27, 2004
Friday, March 26, 2004
It's Spring!!!
Actually, I took this picture of the Mabry Mill in October, but it's still a good representation of how wonderfully green everything is around here...
On another note, that I've finally figured out how to add pictures is dangerous indeed.
Thursday, March 25, 2004
It takes all kinds...
"Why!" she cried, "good country people are the salt of the earth! Besides, we all have different ways of doing, it takes all kinds to make the world go 'round. That's life!"
"You said a mouthful," he said.
"Why, I think there aren't enough good country people in the world!" she said, stirred. "I think that's what's wrong with it!"
His face had brightened. "I didn't intraduce myself," he said. "I'm Manley Pointer from out in the country around Willohobie, not even from a place, just from near a place."
"You wait a minute," she said. "I have to see about my dinner." She went out to the kitchen and found Joy standing near the door where she had been listening.
"Get rid of the salt of the earth," she said, "and let's eat."
From Good Country People by Flannery O'Connor. Born this day, 1925.
Thanks to my 11th grade AP Lit & Comp teacher, Mr. Reynolds, for the introduction.
"You said a mouthful," he said.
"Why, I think there aren't enough good country people in the world!" she said, stirred. "I think that's what's wrong with it!"
His face had brightened. "I didn't intraduce myself," he said. "I'm Manley Pointer from out in the country around Willohobie, not even from a place, just from near a place."
"You wait a minute," she said. "I have to see about my dinner." She went out to the kitchen and found Joy standing near the door where she had been listening.
"Get rid of the salt of the earth," she said, "and let's eat."
From Good Country People by Flannery O'Connor. Born this day, 1925.
Thanks to my 11th grade AP Lit & Comp teacher, Mr. Reynolds, for the introduction.
What's that word again?
Right, one last post before I head to bed. I was reading through some journal entries of mine from a few years ago and they are wonderfully rich. Part of the problem was I used to use writing as a type of therapy, so a lot of my journal writing was done when I was depressed and looking back on them all now is downright entertaining. I particularly like this excerpt:
Clarity of thought hinges on precision in diction. To think of the confusion that would disappear if only people would learn and utilize the full potential of language. But most people don't care to know that bears don't hibernate or that butterflies do not come out of cocoons. [Best part:] Yet I refuse to dwell on "most people" for the actions, the irrationalities, and the ignorancies of the mass public frustrate me to no end.
Boy-howdy was I pompous (and yes, I just used "boy-howdy," get over it). Part of the problem was the academic program I was in at the time encouraged elitist attitudes. Most of it was just me. Yikes.
I will say that I still think we don't exploit language nearly enough. I have this annoying habit of wanting to make sure I express myself clearly; using the exact words to embody precisely what I want to convey. I can't stand it when I feel like I haven't expressed exactly what I wanted to how I wanted to. This is why it takes me so long to write things (or say things for that matter). I want to make sure I have the right words, the right phrases. Eventually, however, after grappling with something for a while, I will most often just give up, go with the best I can think of at the time, and then restrain myself from editing everything over and over again.
Right. I definitely babble incoherently when I am this tired. I'm not even sure what I've just written. I'm really going to go to bed now. Really...
Clarity of thought hinges on precision in diction. To think of the confusion that would disappear if only people would learn and utilize the full potential of language. But most people don't care to know that bears don't hibernate or that butterflies do not come out of cocoons. [Best part:] Yet I refuse to dwell on "most people" for the actions, the irrationalities, and the ignorancies of the mass public frustrate me to no end.
Boy-howdy was I pompous (and yes, I just used "boy-howdy," get over it). Part of the problem was the academic program I was in at the time encouraged elitist attitudes. Most of it was just me. Yikes.
I will say that I still think we don't exploit language nearly enough. I have this annoying habit of wanting to make sure I express myself clearly; using the exact words to embody precisely what I want to convey. I can't stand it when I feel like I haven't expressed exactly what I wanted to how I wanted to. This is why it takes me so long to write things (or say things for that matter). I want to make sure I have the right words, the right phrases. Eventually, however, after grappling with something for a while, I will most often just give up, go with the best I can think of at the time, and then restrain myself from editing everything over and over again.
Right. I definitely babble incoherently when I am this tired. I'm not even sure what I've just written. I'm really going to go to bed now. Really...
Wednesday, March 24, 2004
Who am I?
I know, it's been a week since my last post. I am such a slacker. Time to remedy that.
One of the reasons I've neglected things is I've been working on my application to work at FDCS this summer. I'm done now. (Well, just about. I'm still waiting on one of my potential references to get back to me, but my part is done.) I can't quite figure out why it's taken me a week and a half to finish. I mean, it's not like the questions were incredibly complicated, or there is some theological masterpiece that must accompany it. I think I had just been avoiding it because I don't like doing self-evaluations.
I hate reviewing myself, I really do. Yes, I'm an INFP and yes, I "internalize and reflect" a lot...but when it comes to defining or evaluating myself, forget it. I learn far more about myself indirectly (through random revelations or comments from others) than by pondering the what and why of who I am. So I avoid it. It also doesn't help that it is class registration time again. So not only have I been having to think of where I've been and where I am, but where I am headed.
You know, I thought I was done with the whole identity crisis thing. Evidently not.
Perhaps one of the reasons I'm not too fond of having to evaluate myself is I am afraid I'll go to the extreme that I have visited before. I definitely went through a stage where I was obsessed with defining myself. This was also about the time when I had been reading Chekov, Ibsen, Shakespeare (King Lear and Hamlet), James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, and other wonderfully depressing, where-is-the-meaning-in-life works. (It's tempting to post some of my journal entries from this era just for kicks; the melodrama is hilarious.) For a long time I questioned everything about my character, everything about my purpose, everything about my "journey" (warning teen angst). I stopped myself when I realized that learning who I am wasn't going to be something I could just sit down and do some afternoon I was feeling particularly poetic and that I should just learn as I go.
I've learned a lot about myself in the past couple of years. For example, God has definitely given me a heart for worship and a heart for service. My desire is to use the things that He has given me for His glory. I long for nothing more than to see His will done in my life.
Now trying to explain this to my advisor is going to be a challenge. She expects me to have some idea of where I am headed with my degree. I have to figure out a way to tell her "with grace, as though seasoned with salt" that I haven't the slightest idea what I am going to do with my degree, that I'm going to strive to do whatever it is God wants me to do and that I wouldn't be surprised in the least if what I wind up doing has little or nothing to do with Wildlife Science at all.
I've been listening to the cds from the fall Southern Regional Navigator Conference. The speaker was Fran Sciacca and, though I'm far from finished, he has been talking about identity. In fact, one of the foundational statements for his talks is "Identity leads to purpose. Purpose leads to function."
I love this. I am a bond-servant of Christ which means my purpose is, in all things, to bring glory to His name. This I can do by using the gifts I've been given (again: service and worship).
I think I've mentioned before that I love to serve, I am most fulfilled when I am filling a need, I long to be a laborer. Recently, I feel I've become more focused in that desire. I feel more drawn to ministries where I would be equipping others for works of service. Still vague, I know, and I'm not sure how this fits with my desire to get back up to Chester this summer, but I'm definitely cool with God knowing far more about what is going on in (and with) my life than me.
Again, now I get to explain to my advisor why I still have no plans for career, no desire to continue on to grad school (at least not in this major), and why I'm planning on spending my summer serving rather than working at something halfway related to my major.
My advising appointment is tomorrow. This should be fun...
One of the reasons I've neglected things is I've been working on my application to work at FDCS this summer. I'm done now. (Well, just about. I'm still waiting on one of my potential references to get back to me, but my part is done.) I can't quite figure out why it's taken me a week and a half to finish. I mean, it's not like the questions were incredibly complicated, or there is some theological masterpiece that must accompany it. I think I had just been avoiding it because I don't like doing self-evaluations.
I hate reviewing myself, I really do. Yes, I'm an INFP and yes, I "internalize and reflect" a lot...but when it comes to defining or evaluating myself, forget it. I learn far more about myself indirectly (through random revelations or comments from others) than by pondering the what and why of who I am. So I avoid it. It also doesn't help that it is class registration time again. So not only have I been having to think of where I've been and where I am, but where I am headed.
You know, I thought I was done with the whole identity crisis thing. Evidently not.
Perhaps one of the reasons I'm not too fond of having to evaluate myself is I am afraid I'll go to the extreme that I have visited before. I definitely went through a stage where I was obsessed with defining myself. This was also about the time when I had been reading Chekov, Ibsen, Shakespeare (King Lear and Hamlet), James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, and other wonderfully depressing, where-is-the-meaning-in-life works. (It's tempting to post some of my journal entries from this era just for kicks; the melodrama is hilarious.) For a long time I questioned everything about my character, everything about my purpose, everything about my "journey" (warning teen angst). I stopped myself when I realized that learning who I am wasn't going to be something I could just sit down and do some afternoon I was feeling particularly poetic and that I should just learn as I go.
I've learned a lot about myself in the past couple of years. For example, God has definitely given me a heart for worship and a heart for service. My desire is to use the things that He has given me for His glory. I long for nothing more than to see His will done in my life.
Now trying to explain this to my advisor is going to be a challenge. She expects me to have some idea of where I am headed with my degree. I have to figure out a way to tell her "with grace, as though seasoned with salt" that I haven't the slightest idea what I am going to do with my degree, that I'm going to strive to do whatever it is God wants me to do and that I wouldn't be surprised in the least if what I wind up doing has little or nothing to do with Wildlife Science at all.
I've been listening to the cds from the fall Southern Regional Navigator Conference. The speaker was Fran Sciacca and, though I'm far from finished, he has been talking about identity. In fact, one of the foundational statements for his talks is "Identity leads to purpose. Purpose leads to function."
I love this. I am a bond-servant of Christ which means my purpose is, in all things, to bring glory to His name. This I can do by using the gifts I've been given (again: service and worship).
I think I've mentioned before that I love to serve, I am most fulfilled when I am filling a need, I long to be a laborer. Recently, I feel I've become more focused in that desire. I feel more drawn to ministries where I would be equipping others for works of service. Still vague, I know, and I'm not sure how this fits with my desire to get back up to Chester this summer, but I'm definitely cool with God knowing far more about what is going on in (and with) my life than me.
Again, now I get to explain to my advisor why I still have no plans for career, no desire to continue on to grad school (at least not in this major), and why I'm planning on spending my summer serving rather than working at something halfway related to my major.
My advising appointment is tomorrow. This should be fun...
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