Respect

What gives anyone the right to talk to strangers the way they do? When did society become so uncharitable as to act like it does on an everyday basis? "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" seems to be nothing more than a cliche.

Maybe it's road rage, a death in the family, loss of a job or sickness that has people in such a foul mood... giving them the excuse to curse and hollar at the cashier who is only trying to do his or her job and make a living. Maybe that person feels powerless in their own life and needs to dominate someone else, and put them down so that he or she can feel in control of life.... if only for a moment. Is this right? No.. it's not.

For all of societies advances in science and technology, our morality and compassion has taken a collective leap backwards. Perhaps someone, somewhere, will read this post or something like it in Dear Abby, and stop to give pause to reflect on their own actions. I hope that reflection is more than just a passing thought before returning to the callous world of human interaction.

Gay Education

This should seriously be shown in school classrooms so we can perhaps hinder raising more close-minded bigots who can only spout the same old rhetoric we hear time and time again. I think people in general need to be better educated on homosexuality... there in lies the REAL gay rights movement.

Diocese of Portland Controversy

Yes... I have read about the Diocese of Portland (Maine) asking it's parishioners to donate money to help repeal the allowance of gay marriages in the state... and YES, I disagree with their stance. HOWEVER... this is what I mean about my separation of Catholic prayer and Catholic politics. No where in Mass this morning (in the missal itself) was homosexuality condemned. If any one does say something negative about it, it is from individuals.. not from the Gospels.. or from the Roman Missal.

Also... let's not forget we live in a Democracy/Republic.. not a dictatorship. Those people who disagree with gay marriage have just as much right to lobby against it as supporters do for it. Otherwise, what rights would we really have?? You can't take away some one's right to vote, lobby, and petition just because it does not coincide with your political position. Be very happy my vote/opinion is not the only one that matters!

Enough said. Hopefully.

Thought Bubble

It's amazing how a simple tune brings back so many feelings and emotions.... and/or brings us back to another time and place.

It wasn't all that long ago really, but when I stop and think about it... it's seems like a whole different life time. Perhaps it was.

Bipolar Disorder

I have had some friends and even family members who suffer from Bipolar disorder. Like any mental disorder, it's not an easy thing to live with. Meds help, but there is still the daily struggle the person faces each day.

I personally am Bipolar II.. A less severe version. I still have the mood swings, but thankfully, not to the extreme of full blown sufferers.

In addition to the mood shifts, I have found the fixation aspect of the disorder to be extremely difficult. Did you ever hear the expression "once you get something stuck in your head, it stays there"? That would be me. Once I have a concept I'm interested in (good or bad), I HAVE to figure it out before I can really relax. This means loss of sleep, constant re-examining, and day dreaming trying to work the situation out. I can lead to being productive, but the real problem is when you can't turn it off. Talk about annoying.

The human mind is an amazing thing. No matter how we try to convince ourselves to think and feel one way, our minds tend to win in the tug of war of emotion.
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Back to School

I started back to grad school last week. I have two classes a week, both back to back on Tuesday. Ugh.. what was I thinking??? I'm in class from 4:10-9:45 at night. Talk about tedious!

I'm taking an African American Women's Studies course to fulfill one of my history requirements, and an Adolescence Lit class for the lit/tech/special ed. requirement. I'm not impressed with the African American Women class, as the syllabus was not completed past this first week (meaning she doesn't have the whole course planned out), she decided the books last minute IN CLASS, and all the many articles we will be reading are not on course reserve, which means we have to scour the Internet for the journals which each individual article is located. Some people just make things more complicated than they need to be. Still though, the topic of the course interests me, and should be enlightening.

The Lit course is a relief.. it doesn't seem to be high stress at all. It deals mostly with Children's books for an age level below what I am/will be teaching.. though she does try to angle aspects of the course to the secondary teachers in the class. It will be a bit outside the box, which may prove to be a refreshing change.

The little angels start back to school this week in the district in which I substitute. I'm still waiting to hear from the district closer to home which I applied to sub in three weeks ago. It would be nice to walk into a classroom without wondering if the kids (usually 6th grade) will cuss me out.