Earlier this week I had the privilege to see Elie Wiesel speak. I didn't really know that much about him, but figured it would be a once in a lifetime chance to see a Nobel Peace Prize winner speak. I knew he survived the Holocaust, and that was enough for me. I had few expectations, but I was overwhelmed with the life lessons he shared. These are the big three that stuck with me.
Hope. Each person's definition of hope is different, but hope is essential for survival. When he was in a concentration camp, his definition was a bigger piece of bread or thicker soup. Without that hope, he would have given up. Now his hope is much bigger, but still just as important.
Wasted opportunity. During the Holocaust, millions of children were killed. When arriving at the camps, if you were not big or strong enough to work, you were the first to be eliminated. (That just gave me chills to type.) Surely at least one of those kids could have become a great leader, or find a cure to disease. Our world would be a much different place if not for the decimation of a whole generation. This has truly saddened me since I heard his speech. I had been able to wrap my head around this when the Holocaust was a concept. I had never allowed myself to think of these people as individuals who were just living their life like I do every day, until one day they weren't. Just one more example of how life can change in a moment.
We must all bear witness. It is all of our responsibility to see what is going on around us. It is not okay to just live and let live like I have been. We must take an active part in being the change we would like to see in the world. We all know that this should never happen again, but it continues to happen in various places around the world. We must think outside of ourselves and do something. At this point, I am not sure what that is, but we, as people of privilege, are responsible for helping those that can't help themselves.
Needless to say, I am still absorbing what I heard and learned. I have been called to action. I am not sure what or when that action will be, but it will happen. Right now, my action is to share Elie's message with others so they will also hear the call. For now, that will have to be enough.
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Friday, April 12, 2013
10,000, the red marker and a few other things.
It is time to celebrate. While I was busy trying to get my life together, I reached 10,000 hits on this website. I haven't decided if I should be100% happy about this or not. It seems that I have as many visitors when I blog regularly as when I don't. It really is the little blog that could. Since they have recently announced that they are creating a sequel to Finding Nemo, it makes me want to say, "just keep reading, just keep reading...". Thanks to those of you that keep coming back.
Car conversation with Colin on the way home from guitar lessons....
Colin: I think I need glasses. I am having a hard time reading the white board in science.
Me: Is it just science?
Colin: Yes, just science, and now that I think about it, it is just red.
Me: It is just red, and just in science? Do you sit far away from the board?
Colin: I sit in the middle of the room. It seems like the red is not as dark as the other colors.
Me: Do you think that your teacher needs a new red dry erase marker?
Colin: hmmm, you might be right.
I was talking to my new co-worker as he was looking at his calendar. He said, "hey, did you know that Christmas falls on December 25th this year?" He said it like this should be ground breaking news. I was waiting for him to say something else, and when he didn't I mentioned that it falls on the 25th every year. He said, "hmmm, you have a good point." (He gave me permission to write this.)
I am really sad that Roger Ebert died . When I was graduating from high school there was nothing that I wanted to do besides be a movie critic. I loved movies, I loved writing, what could be better. The practical side of me said that I needed to prepare for a job that would set me up for a career that would let me live in a lifestyle that I would enjoy so I went into business and got a degree in marketing. I thought it would be a long time before Gene Siskle or Roger Ebert would leave and create a job opening, so I went in a different direction.
Also sad about Margaret Thatcher and Annette Funacello. Each are influential women in their own way, just polar opposite ways.
Finally, the same co-worker who told me about Christmas also sent me the following e-mail: (for those of you who are my Facebook friends, excuse the repetition.) Come to my orifice, I have some yummy pretzels. I had to reply, "No Thanks!!!"
Car conversation with Colin on the way home from guitar lessons....
Colin: I think I need glasses. I am having a hard time reading the white board in science.
Me: Is it just science?
Colin: Yes, just science, and now that I think about it, it is just red.
Me: It is just red, and just in science? Do you sit far away from the board?
Colin: I sit in the middle of the room. It seems like the red is not as dark as the other colors.
Me: Do you think that your teacher needs a new red dry erase marker?
Colin: hmmm, you might be right.
I was talking to my new co-worker as he was looking at his calendar. He said, "hey, did you know that Christmas falls on December 25th this year?" He said it like this should be ground breaking news. I was waiting for him to say something else, and when he didn't I mentioned that it falls on the 25th every year. He said, "hmmm, you have a good point." (He gave me permission to write this.)
I am really sad that Roger Ebert died . When I was graduating from high school there was nothing that I wanted to do besides be a movie critic. I loved movies, I loved writing, what could be better. The practical side of me said that I needed to prepare for a job that would set me up for a career that would let me live in a lifestyle that I would enjoy so I went into business and got a degree in marketing. I thought it would be a long time before Gene Siskle or Roger Ebert would leave and create a job opening, so I went in a different direction.
Also sad about Margaret Thatcher and Annette Funacello. Each are influential women in their own way, just polar opposite ways.
Finally, the same co-worker who told me about Christmas also sent me the following e-mail: (for those of you who are my Facebook friends, excuse the repetition.) Come to my orifice, I have some yummy pretzels. I had to reply, "No Thanks!!!"
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Kitchen Conversation
Me: Ryan, I got some granola bars for you to eat for breakfast.
Ryan: Are they the kind I like?
Me: Of course
Ryan: Mom, you are...
Me: What?
Ryan: I was going to say "you are the best mom ever!" but that just sounds so cliche.
Me: Are you really seven?
Ryan: Are they the kind I like?
Me: Of course
Ryan: Mom, you are...
Me: What?
Ryan: I was going to say "you are the best mom ever!" but that just sounds so cliche.
Me: Are you really seven?
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Happy Birthday to Me!
Once again, I am back and today is my birthday. It is one of the days that I like to reflect on where I am, where I have been, and where I would like to go. For the first time in a long time, I am at peace. Dave is doing well, Colin is happier in school than he has ever been before, and Ryan is developing a love for reading that is filling me with joy. If my family is happy, I am happy. Spring is on the way and the light at the end of the winter tunnel is getting bigger and brighter. I feel like I am moving in the right direction and a lot of uncertainty has been eliminated. I am starting to feel like a grown up.
There are several reasons why I have been silent. The first reason was that I was looking for a new job while trying to get out of my China situation. Most of the things I would have written about were about those things, and I didn't want to risk anything bad happening. The good news is that I got the new job. That was my first early birthday present.
As I have stated in the past, I do not usually write about my work. I am no longer working from home, but I have a job that I am loving and it is a great atmosphere. It is a good thing that I am getting out of my house more and talking to real people in person as opposed to over the phone. I am a much happier person and I think this is one of the reasons. I do have the blessing of my employers to talk about work, but I like to keep these things separate, so I will not be doing that at this time. Suffice it to say that it is where I am supposed to be.
The second reason that I haven't been writing is that we got an iPad. It is so much easier to sit in my recliner with Ryan or Max on my lap and read email or Facebook on the iPad instead of sitting at my desk on the laptop. I don't have a keyboard for it so it is too hard to type a whole post on it.
That is all for now, but I am making my blog a priority again. I will be talking to you soon.
There are several reasons why I have been silent. The first reason was that I was looking for a new job while trying to get out of my China situation. Most of the things I would have written about were about those things, and I didn't want to risk anything bad happening. The good news is that I got the new job. That was my first early birthday present.
As I have stated in the past, I do not usually write about my work. I am no longer working from home, but I have a job that I am loving and it is a great atmosphere. It is a good thing that I am getting out of my house more and talking to real people in person as opposed to over the phone. I am a much happier person and I think this is one of the reasons. I do have the blessing of my employers to talk about work, but I like to keep these things separate, so I will not be doing that at this time. Suffice it to say that it is where I am supposed to be.
The second reason that I haven't been writing is that we got an iPad. It is so much easier to sit in my recliner with Ryan or Max on my lap and read email or Facebook on the iPad instead of sitting at my desk on the laptop. I don't have a keyboard for it so it is too hard to type a whole post on it.
That is all for now, but I am making my blog a priority again. I will be talking to you soon.
Monday, November 5, 2012
My Reason to Vote
Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to go to China for my new job. While I am not in any hurry to go back, it gave me a better perspective on what is so great about America.
The first thing I did when I arrived at my hotel was to try to log on to Facebook. It didn't work, so I tried it again. When it didn't work the second time, I called down to the front desk to attempt to ask them how to log on to the network. Did I mention that nobody spoke English there? They came up to my room and got me on the Internet, but when I tried to go onto Facebook again, it didn't work. I skyped one of my co-workers and they told me that the government forbids it. I cried.
I then tried to log onto my blog, and again it was blocked because I go through blogger. I could read Dooce.com which has to be one of the most irreverent blogs I read, but couldn't write on my own. I cried harder. The feeling of total isolation was overwhelming and more than a little scary.
When a car is driving down the street, there are flashing lights. I asked what it was and the driver told me it was a camera taking a picture. I asked if he was speeding and he said no, it was just the way they kept track of who was driving.
All of this was odd to me, but the biggest thing that I still can't wrap my head around is the one child policy. I can't imagine living in a country where they can tell me how many children I am allowed to have. I am all for fiscal responsibility, but for a family to have a second child, they have to pay the state a fixed amount before the child is born that is roughly the equivalent of what it will cost to raise said child to the age of 18. Because this is so expensive, few people have more than one child. I can't imagine living in a world where nobody has siblings. It was strange to be out in public and you wouldn't see or hear kids at all. Some of the people I talked to expressed concern about how this generation is going to be able to take care of the older generations. It is a lot of responsibility for one child to make enough money to support both the family they create and their parents.
There were some amazing things about my visit to China. The food was not one of them, but Shanghai is one of the cleanest cities I have ever seen. Crime is almost non-existent because the punishment system does a great job of deterring it. The punishment for selling drugs is death. They are not fooling around. I felt very safe walking alone at night. Everyone that wants a job can have one. There were a lot of people doing jobs that were not the most productive, but they were working. After a few days I realized that people in China are really just like us. They are doing their best to live the best life possible. They have lived under these restrictions their whole lives, and they are okay with it.
I am not okay with it. I am happy to have my two children, and am grateful my parents had 4, seeing as how I am the youngest. I am thankful that I can have a creative, public blog without being shut down, and I can tell my friends that I am doing nothing on Facebook. I am glad to know that nobody cares where I am driving my car and no pictures will be taken unless I am speeding in a school zone. This trip to China underlined for me why America is such a great place to live, and why the Constitution is considered a living document. While I will be happy to go for a year without any political ads, I appreciate that I have a say in how I want my government to be run, and my vote will count in an election that is really too close to call. Now that I have seen an alternative, I will never take my right to vote for granted again.
The first thing I did when I arrived at my hotel was to try to log on to Facebook. It didn't work, so I tried it again. When it didn't work the second time, I called down to the front desk to attempt to ask them how to log on to the network. Did I mention that nobody spoke English there? They came up to my room and got me on the Internet, but when I tried to go onto Facebook again, it didn't work. I skyped one of my co-workers and they told me that the government forbids it. I cried.
I then tried to log onto my blog, and again it was blocked because I go through blogger. I could read Dooce.com which has to be one of the most irreverent blogs I read, but couldn't write on my own. I cried harder. The feeling of total isolation was overwhelming and more than a little scary.
When a car is driving down the street, there are flashing lights. I asked what it was and the driver told me it was a camera taking a picture. I asked if he was speeding and he said no, it was just the way they kept track of who was driving.
All of this was odd to me, but the biggest thing that I still can't wrap my head around is the one child policy. I can't imagine living in a country where they can tell me how many children I am allowed to have. I am all for fiscal responsibility, but for a family to have a second child, they have to pay the state a fixed amount before the child is born that is roughly the equivalent of what it will cost to raise said child to the age of 18. Because this is so expensive, few people have more than one child. I can't imagine living in a world where nobody has siblings. It was strange to be out in public and you wouldn't see or hear kids at all. Some of the people I talked to expressed concern about how this generation is going to be able to take care of the older generations. It is a lot of responsibility for one child to make enough money to support both the family they create and their parents.
There were some amazing things about my visit to China. The food was not one of them, but Shanghai is one of the cleanest cities I have ever seen. Crime is almost non-existent because the punishment system does a great job of deterring it. The punishment for selling drugs is death. They are not fooling around. I felt very safe walking alone at night. Everyone that wants a job can have one. There were a lot of people doing jobs that were not the most productive, but they were working. After a few days I realized that people in China are really just like us. They are doing their best to live the best life possible. They have lived under these restrictions their whole lives, and they are okay with it.
I am not okay with it. I am happy to have my two children, and am grateful my parents had 4, seeing as how I am the youngest. I am thankful that I can have a creative, public blog without being shut down, and I can tell my friends that I am doing nothing on Facebook. I am glad to know that nobody cares where I am driving my car and no pictures will be taken unless I am speeding in a school zone. This trip to China underlined for me why America is such a great place to live, and why the Constitution is considered a living document. While I will be happy to go for a year without any political ads, I appreciate that I have a say in how I want my government to be run, and my vote will count in an election that is really too close to call. Now that I have seen an alternative, I will never take my right to vote for granted again.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Things to Know for Your First Trip to China, Part I
Have I mentioned that I have a new job that requires a lot of travel? One of the places that I have gone was to Shanghai, China. Here are some practical things that I learned about traveling to this area of the world.
- You need a visa. It takes a while to get one, so plan ahead.
- If you are a woman, do some research on Turkish toilets or squatty potties. You do not want to be caught off guard. I didn't have to use one, but I was not prepared if I would have needed to.
- Contrary to many people who assured me that young Chinese people know English, they do not. Be prepared with a Chinese phrase book and the address of your hotel/destination written in Chinese for a cab driver or for help on the subway.
- You are not allowed to drive in China, even if you have an international drivers license. There is a reason for this. You will get killed. They have a whole different system that works for them, but it also explains why they are not typically good drivers in America.
- If someone honks at you in China, it really means, "Hey, I am here, please notice me." It is intended as a friendly announcement that there may be danger. Do not take it personally as they honk A LOT!
- McDonald's fries taste the same no matter where you are.
- Crime is virtually non-existent. Do not worry about walking around but still be aware.
- If you are not right in the city, take a napkin and fork with you as they do not have forks, and napkins are not routinely provided. For those of us that do not use chop sticks, this can be a messy situation.
- Social media is banned. There are ways around it, but I will leave you to find those for yourself. Also, you will not find American television and Netflix has not come to that area of the world. Please be prepared for evening entertainment if you like to fall asleep to the television. You will get tired of the Chinese CNN station which was the only one in English.
- Please be prepared to pay cash. Most places do not take Visa or MasterCard, etc as China has its own credit card. Most smaller places only take cash. If you do use your credit card, be prepared with your PIN number as it is required, even if you are using it as a credit card.
Saturday, October 6, 2012
My New Excercise Routine
I have started a new job. I am not going to tell you anything about it except for the following things:
*I work in an office building instead of my house for the first time in about four years.
*I am starting this office from scratch and currently work alone in said office building.
*I am alone all day and only really talk to a woman named Pam who is the person who works in the main office for the building.
Can you tell I am kind of lonely in my new office?
The first thing I found out about this building is that I have to park really far away. I mean really far. I will be walking in with several people, but nobody talks to anyone. I started to count how many steps it is to the building from where I have to park my car. Guess how many it takes.
Go ahead and guess. I can wait.
Okay, twist my arm, I will tell you. 350. 350 steps one way to my new office that I affectionately call The Palace.
There is one bathroom on the floor. I am lucky because I work on the floor with the women's bathroom. The men's room is on the next floor up. Guess how many steps it is to the bathroom. I won't keep you in suspense any longer. It is 65 steps one way. That is 130 steps round trip and that is a little less than 1/3 of the way to the car in the parking lot.
The elevator takes forever because so many people are lazy or can't walk up and down the steps to get to the respective bathroom, so I tend to walk down the steps when I need to get downstairs. I am on the 7th floor and there are 22 steps for each level plus three steps to get around the landings. That is an additional 175 steps each time I need to descend to the bottom. Sometimes I do this just to see what is going on with Pam.
The weather has been really nice so I have gone out for lunch. Since I am now working downtown I have gone to Subway quite a bit. I know what it is, it doesn't cause me undue intestinal distress, and it fits into my very meager budget. It is roughly 3000 steps round trip.
All told I am walking about 4500 steps just to get around at work.
With this information I have come to the conclusion that the recommended 10,000 steps a day is a ton of steps. I also think that we better hire our second person soon or I may just lose my ever loving mind.
*I work in an office building instead of my house for the first time in about four years.
*I am starting this office from scratch and currently work alone in said office building.
*I am alone all day and only really talk to a woman named Pam who is the person who works in the main office for the building.
Can you tell I am kind of lonely in my new office?
The first thing I found out about this building is that I have to park really far away. I mean really far. I will be walking in with several people, but nobody talks to anyone. I started to count how many steps it is to the building from where I have to park my car. Guess how many it takes.
Go ahead and guess. I can wait.
Okay, twist my arm, I will tell you. 350. 350 steps one way to my new office that I affectionately call The Palace.
There is one bathroom on the floor. I am lucky because I work on the floor with the women's bathroom. The men's room is on the next floor up. Guess how many steps it is to the bathroom. I won't keep you in suspense any longer. It is 65 steps one way. That is 130 steps round trip and that is a little less than 1/3 of the way to the car in the parking lot.
The elevator takes forever because so many people are lazy or can't walk up and down the steps to get to the respective bathroom, so I tend to walk down the steps when I need to get downstairs. I am on the 7th floor and there are 22 steps for each level plus three steps to get around the landings. That is an additional 175 steps each time I need to descend to the bottom. Sometimes I do this just to see what is going on with Pam.
The weather has been really nice so I have gone out for lunch. Since I am now working downtown I have gone to Subway quite a bit. I know what it is, it doesn't cause me undue intestinal distress, and it fits into my very meager budget. It is roughly 3000 steps round trip.
All told I am walking about 4500 steps just to get around at work.
With this information I have come to the conclusion that the recommended 10,000 steps a day is a ton of steps. I also think that we better hire our second person soon or I may just lose my ever loving mind.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)