That's How You Know

by far one of my new favorite movies... and songs. A new addition to the DVD's to be purchased list.

This Week's Quote

"Here I am,

Where I ought to be."

- Louise Erdrich

Reflections on Feminism and Education

One of the most stimulating courses this year has been my Foundations of Education TAL 101 lecture. From the outside, one might ponder how intellectual a 101 level course could be. However, upon commiting your name to the attendance list that notion is immediatly lost. The course is set up to discuss a different contraversal issue in education each week. Over 12 scholarly assigned articles are to be read prior to class, so that instead of summerizing the issue we can focus on conversing it.

Last week's topic: feminism

Before last weeks discussions I would have never labled myself a feminist. I saw feminism as meaning a woman who tries to prove equality with typical male characteristics, denying the role of housewife and uptaking that of more male orientated postions, someone who is overly obsessed with her rights, and constantly evaluating whether she is being unjustly treated due to her gender. According to Patti Lather, feminism simply means acknowledging that gender plays a separating and organizing role within our society. More straight forward, gender -which is a socially constructed idea -effects and changes a persons life. I agree with these statments. Growing up as a girl has ingrained me with a number of natural God given characteristics. I'm still not quite sure though if, due to my aggrence with this fact, I would then openly consider myself a feminist.

Just interesting thoughts..... about what society is, how our ideas are constructed, and whether or not our perceptions and definitions are really true

Celebrating Accomplishments

While staying behind to ask my PSY professor, who used to be my statistics professor last semester, some questions about our upcoming test he randomly shared with me some encouraging information.

He asked if he ever told me before that I had the highest class grade point average in statistics. While crunching numbers a few weeks ago in his office, he noted that my performance in the class was the highest he has seen in all his entire 10 year teaching career here at the University and that he was blown away.

it's always nice to be validated and have your hard efforts acknowledged. For it's much easier for me to underscore my efforts than to really confirm that I am at the top of my class. Now, only if microbiology was the same as statistics ;)

This is the Day the Lord has Made

Products of hosting my very first holiday dinner.... Coloring/ Painting Easter Eggs the night beforeMenu: ham, cheesy scallop potatoes, asparagus casarole, cresants, corn, and german cake

Note, in my family we always make the holidays special by dressing up for them. Thus, a certain dress code was upkept and I couldn't have been happier.

The main masterpiece!

HAPPY EASTER!

Saw the sweetest billboard on US-1 while driving home from the beach today.. it resembled this

We fixed Sarah's heart so that in ten years she can break Jimmy's.

-Mercy West Hospital

FunnyMoments in Class

Intellectual highlights of the week. What an American Institutional College Education looks like....

• that the bacteria in your body account for 2-3 lbs
• occasionally some people show up at my professors lab and ask to be infected with a bacterial "teansis" worm. when my professor asks why, they responde, "because I heard it can be used as a dieretic." Yes, the worm officially causes one to lose weight. Anyone looking for a new diet? ;) nothing like having a worm crawling around inside you
• my psychology of sexuality professor comparing the vagina to a self cleaning oven
• the most common bacteria worm is from Jacksonville, FL
• on a more positive note, I was introduced this week to the idea of "white privledge" and racisim. Racism is about social structures and the fact that these social structures remain in place because whites are benefiting from them. White priveledge is that white Americans have the advantage of never having to think about race and how it affects their lives if they wish not to.

This weeks vocabulary words:

• insidious
• arduous
• atherosclerosis

"You can rest in God's sovereign timing."

Thank you.

Last Train Home

this song has caughten my ear and my interest. New artist on the rise possibly?

Tuesday Morning

• nothing like waking up and finding a centiped lying next to you, that got my blood pumping and muscle junctions activated very quickly, who needs an alarm clock
• found myself praying for a snow day today... missing the chicago cold
• sigh, it's only tuesday... that means we still have two more days left
• looking foreward to: thursday night and my sister flying in town

A Story

It had taken her a while to get aquainted with her new surrondings. The winds blew strong high up in the tree and every morning she had to work to spread her petals outwards. At times during the day, when the sky grew cold and shivers ran throughout, she would laugh at herself and ask why in the world she decided to emerge. She'd even gaze down at the ground so far below and ask out of all the places her little blossom could have ended up why did it have to be on a tree so tall in a land so unknown. Yet, after many months she finally felt at home. The tree no longer seemed like such a stark distant figure, but instead offered her a place of warmth and protection. She knew just the right position to open up in the morning so that the purplish color of her petals would glimmer in the near by pond. And she finally learned how to swing and play with the wind. She was happy.