I can't remember when the shift happened. The shift from absolutley hating snow and swearing at the sight of it, to, well, its not so bad.
Oh ya - when I started working at a location that easily gets snow days. As it has been snowing, literally, all day long, I am really hoping for one tomorrow. Not really because I want to get out of work (even though I do) but more because I really really don't want to drive all the way out to work in this crap. It's bad enough the DH has to drive all over Prosser tomorrow. There is really no good reason for me to go into work tomorrow. There is not a thing going on as it is a short week. So ya - wish me luck. Hopefully I will get to sleep in tomorrow.
On to other news. My class is finally done and I have a month off until the next one. I am so ready for this break. This grad school online thing is kind of interesting. Its not like this has been a HUGE time commitment on my part, but its like I always have this "thing" lurking in the back of my mind that there is always something to be done for school.
Nothing too exciting to report. Got all my Christmas shopping done, wrapped, and almost packed for the ride to Yakima. Looking forward to a nice holiday with the families. Of course, be it merry or not, at least I know it will be a while Christmas.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
sick day
I have not taken an actual sick day in like 4 years. I got sick enough last year that I should have, but I didn't. Well, couple getting sick with that fact that it is just NASTY outside with all the snow, getting up for work just didn't happen this morning. I am sure my co-workers appreciate it.
So I am taking a day to sleep, bake a bundt cake, wrap and hopefully feel a bit better. This is the wrong time of year to get sick but what's one to do? Other than that, life has been pretty boring. I finished my combat training and have been practicing to get ready for debut next month and I am finally wrapping up my current class. For some reasont this class seemed to kind of drag on. Maybe its because I have so much other crap going on right now, I don't know.
Anyway, just a short update. I think I am going to go back to bed now.
So I am taking a day to sleep, bake a bundt cake, wrap and hopefully feel a bit better. This is the wrong time of year to get sick but what's one to do? Other than that, life has been pretty boring. I finished my combat training and have been practicing to get ready for debut next month and I am finally wrapping up my current class. For some reasont this class seemed to kind of drag on. Maybe its because I have so much other crap going on right now, I don't know.
Anyway, just a short update. I think I am going to go back to bed now.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Last POSTMAN for class....Enjoy!
While not everyone will agree with his arguments, one can easily say that Neil Postman has a way of looking at media that will make most give their everyday habits a second thought. Most of us go about our days interacting with media without giving a second thought to how our lives came to be shaped by that media. Neil Postman definitely gives us something to think about in the way of how our life might be different if it were not for media. What makes reading Postman frustrating though, is this sense that we are supposed to be doing something different with our lives, but we are not quite sure what that is.
In the first few chapters of his book, Technopoly, Postman takes us on a little journey through time in which he marks major events where the introduction of technology significantly changed a society. The example of the introduction of the clock led me to think about what my life would be without one. And for what it is worth, I couldn’t draw the picture. There are just some things that are so engrained in our lives that we cannot imagine a life without it. The discussion of the clock is what led me to believe Postman makes some unfair arguments. “What the monks did not foresee was that the clock is a means not merely of keeping track of the hours but also of synchronizing and controlling the actions of men” (Postman, 1993, pg. 14). I don’t think it was the clock controlling the actions of men, I think it was the “routines of the monasteries, which required, among other things, seven periods of devotion during the course of the day” (Postman, pg. 14). The clock didn’t make the men worship. The monasteries did. The clock just gave a reference point.
Building from this point, Postman states that “the clock had moved outside the walls of the monastery and brought a new and precise regularity to the life of the workman and the merchant” (pg. 14) and further links the clock with greed. This point in particular makes me cringe. Perhaps it is my naivety, but I fail to make the connection between a tool that offers a way to tell the point of sun and earth relation, to the emotional drive for wealth.
While Postman attempts to excuse his way of relating all bad things in life to technology by declaring his defense of the written word, it seems to be the only provision he is willing to make for technology. Later in the book he writes of how the introduction of the factory mill destroyed the craft of the skilled spinner, and the introduction of the car destroyed the blacksmith. Postman talks time and time again about what is left behind when a new technology is introduced, but seems to fail to mention what is brought forward with the introduction of technology. This point I think speaks to the great society we are. Yes, our society has been changed by technology and somethings have been lost, but we have gained so much as well. For many of the skills that have been lost by the introduction of technology we have developed new. We may not have as many skilled blacksmiths, but we have more brain surgeons, electrical engineers, chemists, and many other professions built on the platform of technology that have greatly advanced our society.
Again, I fault Postman for not offering arguments as to how he thinks we are supposed to live. And perhaps that was not the point of his book. I believe it is just as unwise to argue that a society should not go forth and progress because of the loss of some skilled craft while not offering some arguments about how it has progressed. For example, Postman criticizes the computer in the classroom, suggesting that it will make us a less social society and nullify the use of teachers (rubbish!). What about the argument that a computer in the classroom can enable students to communicate with, and learn from other students in countries they would never dream of being able to go to? Or that computers may enable students who are not able to learn via the conventional methods the ability to progress beyond expectations?
Postman’s writing should be experienced by everyone. Regardless of whether or not you agree with his arguments, Postman gives a good means for re-examining a way of life that most of us probably take for granted. For the same reason we all study history (so that we many learn from our mistakes and our victories) we must do the same with technology. The more we know about any given subject, including the role of technology in our lives, the better prepared we are to manage the use of it.
In the first few chapters of his book, Technopoly, Postman takes us on a little journey through time in which he marks major events where the introduction of technology significantly changed a society. The example of the introduction of the clock led me to think about what my life would be without one. And for what it is worth, I couldn’t draw the picture. There are just some things that are so engrained in our lives that we cannot imagine a life without it. The discussion of the clock is what led me to believe Postman makes some unfair arguments. “What the monks did not foresee was that the clock is a means not merely of keeping track of the hours but also of synchronizing and controlling the actions of men” (Postman, 1993, pg. 14). I don’t think it was the clock controlling the actions of men, I think it was the “routines of the monasteries, which required, among other things, seven periods of devotion during the course of the day” (Postman, pg. 14). The clock didn’t make the men worship. The monasteries did. The clock just gave a reference point.
Building from this point, Postman states that “the clock had moved outside the walls of the monastery and brought a new and precise regularity to the life of the workman and the merchant” (pg. 14) and further links the clock with greed. This point in particular makes me cringe. Perhaps it is my naivety, but I fail to make the connection between a tool that offers a way to tell the point of sun and earth relation, to the emotional drive for wealth.
While Postman attempts to excuse his way of relating all bad things in life to technology by declaring his defense of the written word, it seems to be the only provision he is willing to make for technology. Later in the book he writes of how the introduction of the factory mill destroyed the craft of the skilled spinner, and the introduction of the car destroyed the blacksmith. Postman talks time and time again about what is left behind when a new technology is introduced, but seems to fail to mention what is brought forward with the introduction of technology. This point I think speaks to the great society we are. Yes, our society has been changed by technology and somethings have been lost, but we have gained so much as well. For many of the skills that have been lost by the introduction of technology we have developed new. We may not have as many skilled blacksmiths, but we have more brain surgeons, electrical engineers, chemists, and many other professions built on the platform of technology that have greatly advanced our society.
Again, I fault Postman for not offering arguments as to how he thinks we are supposed to live. And perhaps that was not the point of his book. I believe it is just as unwise to argue that a society should not go forth and progress because of the loss of some skilled craft while not offering some arguments about how it has progressed. For example, Postman criticizes the computer in the classroom, suggesting that it will make us a less social society and nullify the use of teachers (rubbish!). What about the argument that a computer in the classroom can enable students to communicate with, and learn from other students in countries they would never dream of being able to go to? Or that computers may enable students who are not able to learn via the conventional methods the ability to progress beyond expectations?
Postman’s writing should be experienced by everyone. Regardless of whether or not you agree with his arguments, Postman gives a good means for re-examining a way of life that most of us probably take for granted. For the same reason we all study history (so that we many learn from our mistakes and our victories) we must do the same with technology. The more we know about any given subject, including the role of technology in our lives, the better prepared we are to manage the use of it.
Body Combat training
Sucked and Rocked all at the same time.
You know, the funny thing about doing something truely challenging is the great feeling you have once it's done. Last weekend I spent 27 hours (yes, you read that right) at my gym training to become certified to teach this kickboxing-like program. It was a very hard and exhausting class (constantly moving, working on technique, chorey, etc) and I was doing something that I didn't have a lot of experience in.
When I went through this same type of training to teach my spinning class, I had already been teaching for 6 months. I went in acting like I knew everything and left humbled. This time, I walked in acting like I knew nothing (which was close to the truth) and left feeling like Rocky. I passed the training and as soon as my gym gets the program launched I am cleared to teach. I am so excited.
It is so nice when you can surpass your own expectations. I love that feeling.
Speaking of expectations - the DH lost his wedding ring. And I wasn't mad at all. Why? Because I expected him to do it. Every single married man I know has lost his wedding band at some point or another. He is way more pissed than I am. Which is probably good - because once we replace it, hopefully he won't lose it again.
You know, the funny thing about doing something truely challenging is the great feeling you have once it's done. Last weekend I spent 27 hours (yes, you read that right) at my gym training to become certified to teach this kickboxing-like program. It was a very hard and exhausting class (constantly moving, working on technique, chorey, etc) and I was doing something that I didn't have a lot of experience in.
When I went through this same type of training to teach my spinning class, I had already been teaching for 6 months. I went in acting like I knew everything and left humbled. This time, I walked in acting like I knew nothing (which was close to the truth) and left feeling like Rocky. I passed the training and as soon as my gym gets the program launched I am cleared to teach. I am so excited.
It is so nice when you can surpass your own expectations. I love that feeling.
Speaking of expectations - the DH lost his wedding ring. And I wasn't mad at all. Why? Because I expected him to do it. Every single married man I know has lost his wedding band at some point or another. He is way more pissed than I am. Which is probably good - because once we replace it, hopefully he won't lose it again.
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