Calloused?

I've been thinking a lot about what it means to be comfortable lately. I must admit that this blog is only an attempt to sort out some of the "half-thoughts" I've had so far. I think that the value of comfort is too high in our culture, comfort is, after all, some part of pleasure. But what happens when we mistake comfort for numbness? I question whether or not most people know the difference.
Today I picked up my custom-made shoe inserts, because it turns out I have these really crummy feet. "Crummy" meaning that I have high arches and it often feels like my weight is supported by about 3 square inches of foot. As a result, I have incredibly thick calluses. Big deal, right? Having a callus on your foot probably isn't going to hurt you too much, given its function. But, let's flip to emotional callousness. We become hardened as a means of protection, which is probably good at the time. Once the thing (person or situation) that caused the callus is gone, then what are we to do? That callousness is not going to vanish on its own and it may take some time before you're convinced that your hardened extra layers are unnecessary. Removing the physical callus is probably less difficult than removing the emotional kind. And, unlike band-aids, calluses aren't formed overnight and they cannot simply be ripped off, nor will the original surface conditions ever be fully recovered.
Comfort. It's strange to think that we become comfortable with our calluses. It might be more accurately called "protected," but what is the healthy amount of risk, or protection? On one level I think there are things everyone should do that are not necessarily going to be comfortable. There are some pretty incredible "Carpe diem" quotes involving the importance of taking risks in life. But I hesitate here, because sometimes being uncomfortable means that you're not cut out for something. There are times when we are reluctant to do something, not because we fear the uncomfortableness of it, but because it's just not right.
I'm sure more thoughts on comfort are forthcoming, but for now I must face another callus-rendering activity by finishing my paper(S).

Yesterday, I found an article about something, despite its enormous popularity, I knew very little about. Despite my lack of personal knowledge, the points made are right on. Check it out here: http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=78&aid=132272 Roy Paul Clark accuses J.K. Rowling, of crossing the line. I do not pretend to know anything about Harry Potter or any defensive reasoning its author might have, but ugh, how could she do this? Clark makes his point in relation to literature, but what if the same thing were to happen in film? If something is pertinent enough to mention later, it should have been included in the script/article/novel... or blog.

So I have this fear. . .

So, I've been wanting to blog, but I have very little inspiration. My problem, you see, is that this has been one of those weeks which has made today into one of those days. . . I'm well aware that "one of those days" may have a different connotation for you than it does for me. I once had a middle school (student) teacher proclaim in a dumb-blonde, valley girl-esque fashion, (with head bobbing from side to side) "I think I lost my brain today!" I'm not sure she ever knew how often my friends and I mocked her and laughed for years to come. But today, more often than not, I was oh so tempted to send out a search party for my own coherent thoughts lost in the dark abyss. My world is racing ahead of me, leaving my head spinning. I'm tagging along for the ride, and thankfully my planner is there to remind me that my birthday is two, not one week away. (Yes I really did have to check). The keys on my keyboard are in a seemingly different order every two or three words, but all is well. My brain will return just as Little Bo Peep's sheep did. (I never knew the end of this nursery rhyme until reading it to my daughter!)
Up until this point, my title shouldn't quite fit in. That's because. . . as I started writing the title, I was certain that I had used it for a previous post. Two or three times I began to etch in a title, and "uh-oh, no, I think I've used that one." Which, is apparently a fear of mine?
I did see a great movie tonight: The Brave One. I was really impressed! It is well made, and I found it's producing, acting and plot to be quite thought provoking. Perhaps tomorrow I will have assembled a few of those thoughts and place them here for you.

Here's hoping your day is filled with a few naturally flowing thoughts!

My fascination with "Ellipsis dots"

So... I've been reading a grammar book. Yes that's right, a book called Keys for Writers. Despite the fact that I seem to understand how to write, I still have a lot of questions and general insecurities about English grammar. Some people seem to think that I should have to take classes on grammar, punctuation, and editing, but I don't. It's scary to realize that the more I learn, the less I can clearly recall the basics.
A sentence must have a subject and a predicate. Check. (So, "check" isn't a sentence). I often know when something isn't right, but the agony of trying to explain it! Sentence fragments are often a pretty big problem, but then I'm informed that "advertisers and writers occasionally use fragments deliberately for a crisp, immediate effect." Hmmm. I read on, "you will also find fragments used intentionally in question form." Well, what do we have here? "By all means, use fragments to achieve a specific effect." Unfortunately, what this author forgot to say is: if you're writing for a grade, make sure the person grading your paper will know that you wrote a sentence fragment. On purpose.
Now on to today's title. I've overused ellipses for over ten years. If you've ever read a letter or an email I've written... you know how true (and understated) this confession is. Well, now... I know why. "Note: Use three dots to indicate a pause in speech or an interruption." Hooray! All these years, instead of using a comma... I've only been trying to show that I'm pausing... those are my "hold on a minute my brain is searching, sorting or interrupting" dots. That's the only argument I have for overusing those tiny little dots. . . yup. . . that's all I've got for today.
The end. (For effect).

fat lip or black eye?

So, in case you forget that children hear far more than you may realize...

After eating with some friends I was asking which of the two bags of chips they would like to keep. One was turned away from me so his response was "eh?" Thinking that I'm being pretty clever I say "fat lip or black eye?" Clever perhaps, but soon my two-year-old says in the saddest whimper "I want black eye"... and then she keeps whining to her daddy "fat-wip fat-wip." So I give her some chips and pray she doesn't say these words to anyone that might report me!

Be ever so careful, small ears may pick up the most!

Ring! Ring!

I did finally get a new ring tone. I'm not so thrilled with my choice. I picked one of my favorite songs called "story" or "the story" by Brandi Carlile. Great song- BUT- when the climax of the song is the start of the ring... the part where she's belting out the words and it's very scratchy... well, I feel like I'm being scolded to answer the phone!

I should have chosen the Veggie Tales Cheeseburger song. I would have smiled instead of jumping when it rang while taking Elseigh to the Doctor on Tuesday. Some days I wouldn't mind having the Wizard of Oz tones--- "If I only had a brain"--- but then my fear would be creating a self-fulfilling prophecy with every phone call!

Oh Really!?

I ran across an interesting article today. I love it when I just happen to glance at something that turns out to be intriguing. Tomorrow, we will have our vice-president stand in as president. Don't worry, it will only be for a few short hours. But in case you haven't heard the reason why... Mr. Bush is going to have a colonoscopy. WoW! It's pretty amazing to think of how powerful a man he is that we are entitled to know when and why this man is going to be sedated.

Honestly, this is not what I found interesting. The historical aspect of this article was much more interesting than the fact that Mr. "Prez W." had polyps in his colon before becoming our leader. Ha! A lot has changed since 1983, when president Grover Cleveland had surgery on his yacht! The article reports that the vice president was not even aware of it!

Well folks, I promise to let you know the next time I undergo anesthesia. And I must confess, it surprised me to realize that the thought of Cheney stepping in as President for more than just a few hours was terrifying.

Here's the link if you're interested. I'd like to note that my spellcheck indicates that colonoscopy is misspelled. Apparently either the NY Times is at fault, or it's not in this database, imagine that!

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/21/washington/21bush.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Where has the summer gone? I'm thrilled to announce that I have only 5 more days of summer school! Essentially that means I must wait one week before I will enjoy nearly 3 weeks of summer. I'm struggling to determine if I should be happy or sad. Fortunately I enjoy school enough that if I can afford to buy some new school supplies, I'll be all set when August 16th rolls around. Ugh. I think.

I've enjoyed my statistics class, at least to the extent that I find math enjoyable. However, my intro to teaching course has been far less purposeful. I only hope that my fall courses are somewhat more relevant to my prospective career. Thankfully, we had to read one book, which is probably the most valuable thing I will take away from the class. I read The Courage to Teach by Parker J. Palmer--- there are certainly some "hokey" parts, as I call them, but overall, Palmer brings up some worthwhile points. I'm unsure as to whether it was truly appropriate for a power point presentation, but never mind that.

Today I really wanted to lay in the sun, sip a pina colada, and read some books. Ha! The harder I try to get skin cancer/a tan, the more it rains, Elseigh sleeps for less than 30 minutes, or I have a truck load of homework!!! I suppose later on I will be grateful for a few less sun spots or wrinkles or skin that needs to be removed.

When my husband leaves for Mexico with the youth group, I have BIG plans! No, really! I'm going to visit a friend in big KC! My to-do list includes shopping, going to parks/museums, the zoo, reading, watching movies, and trying to be social!

I finally saw V for Vendetta. It was interesting. In general I liked it and I understood why my Brit-Lit prof continually referred to it. However, there were some very cheesy and dramatically silly/gory and just plain strange parts. The basis of the film was really good. It reminded me that there is a fine line between the freedom to find the truth for yourself and saying that truth is relative. Whenever we as humans try to impose our own truths and beliefs on others in a forceful manner, we are overstepping our bounds. Rarely does anyone benefit from this. Look at the problems that have sprung from attempts at religious conversion throughout history. Trying to make anyone conform to you precisely will not help them, or you. God has always given man freedom. He gave it to us wholly, otherwise He would have stopped Adam and Eve in the garden. God does not require us to love Him, and it is not my job to require others to share my convictions. However, this does not mean that truth is relative, what's right for you is right for you.
God is not offended by our questions. He is bigger than our fears, our doubts, He can stick up for Himself. He is not insecure, which is at least part of the reason He does not withhold from us the freedom of choice, freedom of will. I think everyone in this world is looking for something and I believe with my whole being that Jesus is that something. However, I can only hope, or even pray, that someday others would reach the same conclusion. If God is real, then He will let you know it. And maybe, just maybe, the life I live (not my instructions, not even the words I speak) might help to show how real He is.

Thanks for listening-
Ashley