Education

Live as if you were to die tomorrow.

Learn as if you were to live forever.

~ Mohandas Gandhi

- - - - -

Me:  Maddie, I think I'm actually going to finish my Ph.D. this spring.

Maddie:  Really?  That's good.  What's next?  A master's degree?

Me:  No.  Ph.D. is the end unless I study something different.

Maddie:  What does a Ph.D. mean?  What can you do with it that you can't do now?

Me:  (pause)  Um, I can apply for some jobs I couldn't before.  (pause)  And I can teach at a university.

(long pause)

Maddie:  It seems like you should get to do more than that after all that work.

(longer pause)

Me:  (quietly)  Yeah.

Support

 

Truth stands, even if there be no public support.

It is self-sustained.

~ Mahatma Gandhi

- - - - -

The other day I got to have lunch with my friend Terry.  He was celebrating my successful dissertation defense with me.  We talked about our doctoral experiences and the challenges we overcame and the support that we had through our processes.

I said, "You know, I actually found Facebook to be a place where I got a lot of support.  Sometimes it was positive comments on my posts about my progress.  Other times it was just seeing that someone else posted, 'I can't believe I'm in the library on a Saturday night working on a literature review,' and I would be relieved it wasn't just me."

He said, "That's great.  Of course in my day we didn't have Facebook, we just had carrier pigeons."

I then went on for about ten minutes about this story I had heard on NPR over the weekend about carrier pigeons in World War II and how they are monogamous.  And then I realized that communication is very, very important during your dissertation - and we all find our own way to access it and use it and figure out who is on our support team. 

And also that I might listen to too much NPR.

Artistry

Good is a product of the ethical and spiritual artistry of individuals; it cannot be mass produced.

~ William Rotsler

- - - - -

I love going to antique or salvage or retro or whatever you want to call them stores.  There are so many interesting items.  They are snapshots of our cultural past.  When I see family photos, it makes me sad.  It makes me feel like - as a society - we have an obligation to get those photos back to family members of that set of ancestors.  I feel like anyone else possessing them would not value them in the way that family members would.  Which may not be the case.  Not everyone feels about photos (or families, for that matter) in ways that would inspire them to retain those kinds of artifacts.

But there are other things in these stores, too.  Some people call these other types of items "folk art."  They are things made not by famous artisans, but by everyday people.  Things maybe anyone could create given time and inspiration and the materials involved.  The chair above is one of those items.  And how we value those types of items varies.  Some people are drawn to them while to others think these kinds of things are just a joke.

Again, the chair above is a good example of this.  When I saw the chair, I knew I wanted a photo of it.  I wasn't sure what the story or the blog entry about it would be.  I just knew there was something there.  And I didn't have to wait long for the story to present itself.  This is what I overheard shortly after taking the picture...

Man:  Duct tape chair?

Woman:  No.

That pretty much exemplifies how we differently value folk arts.  (pause)  And duct tape.

Sky

I am not a teacher, but an awakener.

~ Robert Frost

- - - - -

 

The other day Pamela shared something with us about classroom expectations.  A professor was trying to teach a student about respect and shared that not every rule can be spelled out explicitly - while it may not be stated, it would be inappropriate for someone to burst out into showtunes in the middle of class.

 

Debra responded, "I'm a little sad about the no showtunes policy."

So then I started a list of what I think some really good "middle of class showtune outbursts" might be.  Here is my list:

 

“Making Things Up Again,” The Book of Mormon

“My Big Mistake,” The Will Rogers Follies

“Defying Gravity” from Wicked (mainly for physics or Aero E classes)

“A Trip to the Library,” from She Loves Me

“My Friend, the Dictionary,” The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

 

“Bidin’ My Time,” Crazy for You

“I’m Here,” from The Color Purple (especially during attendance-taking)

“One Day More,” from Les Miserables (in asking for an extension on a term paper or other assignment) – also, same context, “Another Day,” from Rent.

“The Book Report,” From You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown

“Say a Prayer,” from Memphis (during final exams)

“What Do you Do with a B.A. in English?” Avenue Q

“Best that You Can Do,” The Boy From Oz

“Too Much Exposition,” Urinetown

“Be Prepared,” The Lion King

“When I Write,” Cyrano

“I’m Not that Smart,” The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

“How Long Must This Go On?” Beauty and the Beast

 

I'm sure there are more.  And I am not trying to encourage people to do this.  I am just suggesting that if someone were to choose to do this, I hope s/he would make a good and appropriate song selection.



Dawn

 

Change, like sunshine, can be a friend or a foe, a blessing or a curse, a dawn or a dusk.

~ William Arthur Ward 

- - - - -

When I was a little kid my favorite song was "Delta Dawn" by Tanya Tucker.  When Erik was a little kid his favorite song was "Hit the Road Jack" by Ray Charles.  That is probably why, when we got rabbits we named them Dawn and Tanya and Tucker and Delta and Ray and Charles and Jack.

Okay, that didn't really happen.  Our rabbits were named Snoopy and Linus.  At some point, they did hit the road when they - allegedly - went to "live on a farm." 

Sunday

 Do not let Sunday be taken from you.  If your soul has no Sunday it becomes an orphan.

~ Albert Schweitzer

- - - - -

I like Sundays.  Today, as I write this, it is Sunday.  It is cloudy and foggy out. A good day for thinking.

I have found that there are more reflective and philosophical Facebook postings on Sundays than many other days of the week.  Trying to gear up for the work to come, I suppose.  Or maybe people just have time to be reflective on Sundays that they don't have time to be reflective at other times.

And does it really count as reflection if you just see something someone else posted and then re-post it?  I would argue that it does if you engage with it.  There is existing knowledge out there that we can benefit from sharing.  Is a Facebook post knowledge?  Sure. Why wouldn't it be?  Maybe it is weighted differently than other types of knowledge.  Still, though, I think it can be of value.

My point is, I like Sundays.

Bridge

Let every man praise the bridge that carries him over.

~ English Proverb

- - - - -

I love bridges.  I think it is because they are shortcuts, and who doesn't love a shortcut?  And they usually are over something interesting - water, a canyon, something like that.  And they help you get from here to there.

A bridge is a great symbol for connecting things.  And that saying about "don't burn your bridges" that is a good saying.  Because if you burn a bridge, you destroy your connection.  I think it's okay, though, to tell some people that a bridge is closed if you need some distance from them.  You can always open it again later.

Godjuice

(art by Andy Magee)

It is not all bad, this getting old, ripening.  After the fruit has got its growth it should juice up and mellow.  God forbid I should live long enough to ferment and rot and fall to the ground in a squash.

~ Josh Billings

- - - - -

I think that if there was such a thing as Godjuice it would taste like grape juice.  And it would cause you to be able to fly.  It would also make you all-knowing.  I suppose it could be a like a cider from the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge.  Which might not necessarily be a good thing.  Be careful what you wish for.  And also be careful what you drink.

Self

 To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.

~ e. e. cummings

- - - - - 

We were talking about the song "Give me Everything" by Pitbull featuring Ne-Yo, Afrojack and Nayer.  Leslie said, "I'm all for enjoying tonight, but I'd kind of like to know you first."

I'm not sure that would work as a title.  It's kind of long.  I guess the label could list it as, "I'm All for Enjoying Tonight (But I'd Kind of Like to Know your First)."  They do that sometimes.

Fortunately, when it comes to the actual writing of the song, there are lots of words to rhyme with "first" like: knackwurst, interspersed, unreimbursed,and William Randolph Hearst.

Streets

All great deeds and all great thoughts have a ridiculous beginning.  

Great works are often born on a street corner 

or in a restaurant's revolving door.

~ Albert Camus

- - - - -

The other day a friend posted a thing on Facebook.  Actually, that happens a lot.  That my friends post things on Facebook.  But I digress.

Anyway, it read, "Gonna rock down to..."  then it had a photo of a sign which read, "Electric Ave. Closed."  And then it said, "well, damn..."  I thought that was hilarious.  And then the song "Electric Avenue" was in my head for the next two days.

I would love it if Electric Avenue ended in a cul-de-sac.  Then there could be a sign on Electric Avenue which would read, "No Outlet."

It really doesn't take too much to amuse me.  It doesn't even take real things to amuse me.

Happiness

Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn't know you left open.

~ John Barrymore

- - - - -

I think that if we are open to it, we can encounter happiness almost anywhere.  If you aren't looking to be happy, though, you won't be.  That's almost a guarantee, I think.  If you assume things are bad and people are mean-spirited, that's what you'll find.  Life can be a self-fulfilling prophecy that way.

If, however, you are willing to be receptive to kindness and miracles and the amazing wonders in life, you will find those instead.

The other day I encountered Joy in a check-out line.  (pause)  That doesn't really have anything to do with this blog.  I just was in line and then my friend Joy got in line behind me.

Craft

We are all apprentices in a craft where no on ever becomes a master.

~ Ernest Hemingway

- - - - -

I like thinking teambuilders.  I don't like teambuilders that require you to touch other people, but engaging mentally with others is okay to me.

For example, there is an exercise called "Life Craft."  In it, you have a list of about 12 people at a craft show.  You have to determine which people you let into the bomb shelter you've made.  There is only room for 6 people.  You have to make decisions based on what you know about each person.  I don't remember all the specifics, but I'll try to recollect the descriptors.

Alice - makes snowmen out of cotton balls                  Amber - Uses pages from old books to make origami
Alan - creates SPAM sculptures                                 Alfred - Paints Batman on coconuts
Ardyss - glass blower                                                 Abrahaim - whittles sticks into Lincoln Logs
Axel - paints farm scenes on old saws                         Arvid - does dry flower arrangements
Azriel - does paint-by-number pictures of kittens         Aphid - draws sad clowns
Andora - makes sweaters                                           Alex - draws happy clowns

The point is not to choose the "best" or "worst" people to let into the craft show bomb shelter.  The point is to see how the team works together to make decisions.  Plus it's clear that Aphid and Alex are the worst people to let in the bomb shelter.

Wait.  It might be called the "Bomb Shelter" exercise.  Or the "Life Raft" exercise.  Or the "Life Boat" exercise.  What it is NOT called is "The Human Knot."

Wind

Sometimes the beauty is easy.

Sometimes you don't have to try at all.

Sometimes you can hear the wind blow in a handshake.

Sometimes there's poetry written right on the bathroom wall.

~ Ani Difranco

- - - - -

I don't know that I agree with the idea that we want what we can't have or that the grass is always greener...  Sometimes I believe people really are happy and satisfied with what they have.  Sometimes when the wind blows, you really appreciate it.  Like on a hot day.  Or if you're flying a kite.

But other times, I guess it's true, you don't appreciate what you have.  Like when the wind blows over your Domino Rally set up just as you were about to knock down the first domino.  Or when the wind howls outside on a cold snowy evening after a series of cold, snowy evenings.  Or when you drop your ticket to the John Mellencamp concert on February 14th sometime in the 1980s and the wind blows your ticket probably all the way to Des Moines.  Or Indianola.

But then they let you in, anyway because your friend bought the tickets and she randomly has her credit card receipt even though she didn't bring her credit card.

Language

The language of friendship is not words but meanings.

~ Henry David Thoreau

- - - - -

Kids are smart and tricky.  I went out to visit my friends Laurie and Catrina about a year ago and was talking with their son, Jordan.  When I spent time with the kid, I realized he spoke Spanish, Hebrew, English, sign language and jibberish.  I couldn't really tell - when he was talking - when it was a real language.  I didn't even realize he spoke jibberish until late in the visit when Catrina pointed it out and encouraged him to stop.

Kids are smart.

And tricky.

Drinks

I like whiskey.  I always did, and that is why I never drink it.

~ Robert E. Lee

- - - - -

I love airports.  At least once I'm at the correct gate and just waiting to board, I love them.  They are places where you can eavesdrop easily and hear the most amazing and interesting things.  Some people are stressed or angry or rude.  Others are funny or curious.  On a recent trip I overheard this...

Man:  (scrounging through a travel bag of snacks) Want to keep out chips?  Or you like pretzels.

Woman:  Yeah.  I like pretzels.

Man:  With your margarita.

Woman:  Yeah, pretzels with my margarita.

I've never had pretzels with a margarita.  But that is not really my point.

My point is that I think it's funny when old married couples (this couple appeared to be old and married) repeat one another.  He clearly knew her.  She wanted to affirm his knowledge of her.  

(pause)

Or maybe she just hoped he was going to pull a margarita out of that travel bag of snacks.

Peeps

Each violet peeps from its dwelling to gaze at the bright stars above.
~ Heinrich Heine

- - - - -


This past Easter my mother took Peeps out of their packages, separated them and put them in a basket with chocolate eggs and the like.  Guess what happened?  That's right.  The peeps stuck to everything.

But you know, things like that are where brilliant ideas come from.  While the Peeps re-stuck to one another and to the foil on the chocolate eggs, the experience did give my mom a great idea.  Keep your eyes open for "Peephesive" in Walgreens soon.  It's not a very strong adhesive, but it's cute and adhesive enough for helping you pick up spilled chocolate eggs if they fall on the floor.  And it has multiple uses!  You can also use it if chocolate eggs spill on the table.  Or if chocolate eggs spill in a chair.

Trespassing

In less enlightened times the best way to impress women was to own a hot car.  But women wised up and realized it was better to buy their own hot cars so they wouldn't have to ride around with jerks.

~ Scott Adams

- - - - -

Sally provides me a lot of wisdom.  Sometimes I don't realize how wise she is at the time.  Other times I do realize it.  That is probably true in most cases - you don't always realize or appreciate what you're learning in the moment, but you catch it later on.

The other day, though, I KNEW the wisdom I was getting.  I knew when Sally said:

"I think I don't like her.  I don't know I don't like her because I don't know her, but I think I don't like her."

Lesson learned: trust what you know, but also pay attention to what you think you know.

And, yes, I think it's hilarious a put a photo of my own car on this post.  It's not particularly hot, but I get to decide who rides in it!

Gambling

Don't gamble; take all your savings and buy some good stock 

and hold it till it goes up, then sell it.  If it don't go up, don't buy it.

~ Will Rogers

- - - - -

I have no idea what the context of the following quote is.  It could have been a text message exchange with Leslie.  It could have been something that just popped into my head.  It could have been something I overheard part of and made up the other part.  Regardless, I think it communicates a lot about risk and connection and emotion.  Here it is:

I'm lost in the casino.  Come find me.  I'm next to the machine.  Come to where you hear the, "Ding-ding-ding."  
And the crying.

That kind of sums up Las Vegas, doesn't it?  Words that end in "ing?"  Gambling.  Ringing.  Playing.  Wedding.  Crying.  And other words that end in "ing."

It's a nice place to visit, but - no.  No, it's not really a nice place to visit.  It's a sparkly place to visit, but like glitter, it kind of gets on you and you can't get it off.  Even when you think it's gone, a little speck of it will show up on you randomly days, weeks, or months later.  You never really get free of it.

Man, I really hate glitter.  And if "glittering" is a verb, I'm pretty sure it's a verb I don't ever want to do.  Or have done unto me.

Introductions

The key to growth is the introduction of higher

dimensions of consciousness into our awareness.

~ Lao Tzu

- - - - -

Something I enjoy is a blueberry bagel with pineapple cream cheese.  I like it mainly because it tastes good to me.  However, the blue-purple (blurple?) of the blueberries combined with the yellow of the pineapple is really pretty.

I also like it because I don't think that the blueberry and the pineapple would have naturally encountered one another.  I don't think they grow in the same places.  It's kind of like when I put pineapple cream cheese on a blueberry bagel, I'm making the introduction.

Would I eat blueberry cream cheese on a pineapple bagel?  You bet I would.  I haven't ever had a pineapple bagel, but I bet it would be really, really good.  It would also be good with Canadian bacon.  Or regular bacon.  Or just by itself. 

Well, unless you accidentally tripled the amount of salt in the bagel.  Then it might not be that good at all.

To sum it up, I wouldn't like to be introduced as "The Bagel Lady."  I'd rather be called "Genius." 

Sky

We will not wait for the winds to quit blowing, 

we won't wait for the sky to turn blue.

~ Craig Fugate

- - - - -

The first time I flew after I defended my dissertation, I was reading the in-flight magazine.  In it I saw a reference to Warren Bennis whom I had cited several times in my research.  I thought that was very strange.  First, I don't always read the in-flight magazine.  Second, I don't always read the entire in-flight magazine.  Third, what are the chances that someone in a dissertation about organizational development and a teaching and learning conference would be in the in-flight magazine?

Also, the name of the magazine is "Sky."  So I kept having "Warren Bennis in the Sky with Diamonds" going through my head.  When I try to think of the actual song, I think of "Judy in the Sky with Diamonds."  But then I realize that I think it's really "Judy in Disguise."  And then I realize it's "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds."

Now John Lennon wrote the song.  It supposedly was a drug song since Lucy Sky Diamonds... LSD.  Later Elton John recorded it and it went to number one.  The thing I think people keep forgetting, though, is that if Elton John and John Lennon got married, Elton John's name could have possibly become "Elton John-Lennon."  Or "Reginald Dwight-Lennon."

So really, if you think about it, there is a lot of stuff to think about.