I have never been all that thrilled about Christmas. When I was younger my mom was not all that excited over Christmas. We didn't bake cookies for Christmas or do much decorating. I remember hearing Christmas Carols playing on the street in downtown Waterloo during the holiday season. I think it was piped in over some PA system right before Christmas. I remember being sort of annoyed by it, not every year though.
I bought my mom two gifts for Christmas. I feel kind of empty giving them to her though. It doesn't have a lot of meaning for me. It's just something I have to do each year or she'll get upset and think I don't love her. I do love her. It should be something special for me to think of something nice for her and go buy it. It's not. She buys me a gift for my birthday and for Christmas. They are ok gifts, nothing fancy. I don't feel particularly happy or excited to get them, though. I wonder if other people feel the same way.
I find myself preferring to be alone these days. I spend a lot of time online. I play games, listen to music, and chat with friends on Yahoo Messenger. I have a few things I do offline, like read books, go to coffeeshops and watch DVDs. I think it's because I am depressed. I probably could use an antidepressant for a while to get myself out of this rut. Maybe I should go and buy St. John's Wort and see if it will help.
Things are going to change in about a week though. I got a new job at a place called Reserve America. I will be taking phone orders for people buying tickets through Ticketmaster for concerts and sporting events. The training starts Jan. 3rd. I'll most likely be working days, so I will have less time online. I hope I can juggle that job, volunteering for Sherry, and minimal hours at the Survey Center. I definitely need the money.
December 21, 2005
November 22, 2005
Pandora's box
I experienced a fire drill of sorts at my humble abode today. It was about 8:30 am, when the fire alarm went off. It was a buzzing siren in the hallway with an announcement to leave the building, or if I have a disability to follow the procedure for persons with disabilities. I didn't really pay attention to what the announcement said. Something happened in someone's room on the 7th floor and the sprinklers went off. The fire department needed to go up there and check it then we could go back inside. I looked in the hallway and there was no immanent danger. I did sort of smell smoke, so I thought I should get out. But I took my time putting on my shoes, coat and grabbing my wallet. Then I went down 9 flights of stairs. There was a lady in the stairwell carrying her cup of coffee going slowly down the stairs so she wouldn't spill it. I guess it wasn't that much of an emergency! She finally told me to go ahead of her, so I continued down the steps. I probably ended up holding people up a bit. I am not speedy myself. I ended up sleeping this afternoon. I have been pretty tired today and my legs ache a bit after walking down all those steps. Thank God I didn't have to walk back up 9 flights of stairs!
On a different note. I realize that I have not put many pictures on this blog. The picture above is semi-random. I saved it on my computer from the Faith Community Bible Church website. I think it conveys joy in getting to know God the Father! Also I have been sitting here at The Journey coffee house for the past couple of hours listening to a website called Pandora. It is a music player where I input a favorite song or band and then it generates a radio station that plays similar music. My friend Chris H. suggested it to me. I made a Kenny Wayne Shephard station and listened to really good blues music, including Susan Tedeschi, who is awesome! I also made a Maxwell station which played R&B music that wasn't all that interesting. In terms of R&B music, I really only like Maxwell and maybe one or two other artists. I deleted the Maxwell station. Anyway I am glad Chris H. suggested Pandora!
November 14, 2005
Mighty Not even close
“Hola amigos, I know it’s been a long time since I rapped at ya…”
I am not sure if anyone noticed that I deleted my previous post about my job with Mitinet ("Mighty-net"). I deleted it after I was laid off that job after about 2 months. I called librarians around the country and tried to get them to download and try out the company’s software for cataloging books. They were giving away the basic version for free in hopes that the schools will buy the full version. The scripts we used to advertise the software weren’t very good. The first one didn’t say enough about what the software does only that it’s really great and it’s free. The second one said too much about what the software does. The third one was not “just right,” but at least it used the tactic of engaging the librarians in helping us out by filling out a survey about the user friendliness of the software.
Apparently librarians are very busy nowadays. They teach classes. They seem to be very brand-loyal to the software and automation systems the already have. Sometimes they oversee several libraries at several schools. Usually the librarians aren’t allowed to download anything to the school or district computer network. They are also quite wary of people calling them to sell something, or even give it to them free. I had one librarian ask me “Will you be sending me a box?” and I said “huh?” because I didn’t know what she meant. She asked if I would send a box of books (from a publisher) to preview and then later on charge her school for them. I said no. I think that maybe she gave me her email address in order to get the email link to download the freeware. Mostly I got told that they didn’t have the time to talk. I had a rather nasty principal of a school tell me that she wouldn’t allow me to talk to the librarian because she would not allow me to sell anything. People can be rude.
I thought it was pretty interesting that I called several one room schoolhouses in South Dakota. When I asked for the librarians, the person who answered the phone seemed to act stunned, like a deer in headlights. Then they said “we don’t have a library” and explained that they were only one room schoolhouses, as if I should already know that. At other schoolhouses I kept on asking for the same librarian who worked at the school “in town.” I guess the one room schoolhouses were in the middle of the country and they were affiliated with one town’s school district.
Last Wednesday I didn’t particularly feel like going to work, so I called in and my boss said “oh you missed the speech.” He told me that the scripts are not working. Even though it receives good reviews, librarians aren’t downloading the freeware or buying the full version. The company doesn’t have enough money to continue paying us “customer care reps” so we are all laid off. I still have my UW Survey center job. I can increase my hours now. I am going to look for another part-time, or maybe a full-time job. All I need is to quit or be laid off about 6-7 more jobs after working only a few months, buy a crappy car, listen to some “cruising music” like REO Speedwagon, and I’ll be just like Jim Anchower. (I quoted him at the beginning of my story. Unfortunately The Onion’s archives of Jim Anchower articles are now subscription based.)
I am not sure if anyone noticed that I deleted my previous post about my job with Mitinet ("Mighty-net"). I deleted it after I was laid off that job after about 2 months. I called librarians around the country and tried to get them to download and try out the company’s software for cataloging books. They were giving away the basic version for free in hopes that the schools will buy the full version. The scripts we used to advertise the software weren’t very good. The first one didn’t say enough about what the software does only that it’s really great and it’s free. The second one said too much about what the software does. The third one was not “just right,” but at least it used the tactic of engaging the librarians in helping us out by filling out a survey about the user friendliness of the software.
Apparently librarians are very busy nowadays. They teach classes. They seem to be very brand-loyal to the software and automation systems the already have. Sometimes they oversee several libraries at several schools. Usually the librarians aren’t allowed to download anything to the school or district computer network. They are also quite wary of people calling them to sell something, or even give it to them free. I had one librarian ask me “Will you be sending me a box?” and I said “huh?” because I didn’t know what she meant. She asked if I would send a box of books (from a publisher) to preview and then later on charge her school for them. I said no. I think that maybe she gave me her email address in order to get the email link to download the freeware. Mostly I got told that they didn’t have the time to talk. I had a rather nasty principal of a school tell me that she wouldn’t allow me to talk to the librarian because she would not allow me to sell anything. People can be rude.
I thought it was pretty interesting that I called several one room schoolhouses in South Dakota. When I asked for the librarians, the person who answered the phone seemed to act stunned, like a deer in headlights. Then they said “we don’t have a library” and explained that they were only one room schoolhouses, as if I should already know that. At other schoolhouses I kept on asking for the same librarian who worked at the school “in town.” I guess the one room schoolhouses were in the middle of the country and they were affiliated with one town’s school district.
Last Wednesday I didn’t particularly feel like going to work, so I called in and my boss said “oh you missed the speech.” He told me that the scripts are not working. Even though it receives good reviews, librarians aren’t downloading the freeware or buying the full version. The company doesn’t have enough money to continue paying us “customer care reps” so we are all laid off. I still have my UW Survey center job. I can increase my hours now. I am going to look for another part-time, or maybe a full-time job. All I need is to quit or be laid off about 6-7 more jobs after working only a few months, buy a crappy car, listen to some “cruising music” like REO Speedwagon, and I’ll be just like Jim Anchower. (I quoted him at the beginning of my story. Unfortunately The Onion’s archives of Jim Anchower articles are now subscription based.)
October 31, 2005
Allison is with Jesus
One more quick update today. I am sorry to say that the little sweet pea from Pennsylvania Allison Voight died on October 24. According to her Caring Bridge journal her parents took her to the ER after she had problems with her feeding tubes leaking on October 20th. When she was in the ER her heart stopped beating for 45 minutes! The doctors gave Allison a bunch of drugs to keep her heart going but she had brain damage. Specifically the parts of her brain that regulate emotions and personality were damaged. Her parents felt that Allison left them for heaven when her heart stopped, and they were just keeping her body alive. That made me sad.
On October 23rd Allison's kidneys were shutting down. Eric and Katie decided to remove the drugs that kept her heart beating. Allison's heart continued beating on its own for quite a while. Her parents, grandparents, pastor and some other people were there to say good bye. Her brother Josiah sang "Jesus Loves Me." Finally at around 1:30 am on the 24th her parents decided to have her ventilator removed and she died.
It's a sad thing that she had such potential. She seemed to be doing ok while at home! Her Caring Bridge guestbook still abounds with condolences from around the country, some of them were from people I emailed about Allison. I was especially proud to read an entry from my friend Erin which includes a quote from her daughter Elisa "Baby Allison is about to die, and we're going to miss her a lot, but we know that God will take care of her good."(Elisa is 4 1/2! She remembered to pray for Allison everyday.) I remember when Erin worked with me at the relay center and she was pregnant with Elisa!
Rest in peace, Allison! Jesus will take great care of you up there!!
On October 23rd Allison's kidneys were shutting down. Eric and Katie decided to remove the drugs that kept her heart beating. Allison's heart continued beating on its own for quite a while. Her parents, grandparents, pastor and some other people were there to say good bye. Her brother Josiah sang "Jesus Loves Me." Finally at around 1:30 am on the 24th her parents decided to have her ventilator removed and she died.
It's a sad thing that she had such potential. She seemed to be doing ok while at home! Her Caring Bridge guestbook still abounds with condolences from around the country, some of them were from people I emailed about Allison. I was especially proud to read an entry from my friend Erin which includes a quote from her daughter Elisa "Baby Allison is about to die, and we're going to miss her a lot, but we know that God will take care of her good."(Elisa is 4 1/2! She remembered to pray for Allison everyday.) I remember when Erin worked with me at the relay center and she was pregnant with Elisa!
Rest in peace, Allison! Jesus will take great care of you up there!!
September 18, 2005
Reflections
For the past couple of days I have been reading up on something I heard about on the radio last month. I heard Crosstalk on the conservative Christian talk radio station VCY America. It was a two-day show about the supposed "dangers" of contemplative spirituality. The hostess, Ingrid Schlueter, and her guests talked about how supposedly major mainline denominations are getting involved with the New Age. They claim that various church leaders have ties to New Age gurus.
The guests represented ministries called Light House Trails Research and Eastern Regional Watch (abbreviated "LHTR" and "ERW" respectively by me). On August 11th I heard them claim that contemplation and breath prayers were akin to Eastern non-Christian forms of meditation. Breath prayers seem to be simply short, spontaneous prayers of gratitude and praise to God. I see contemplation as a way of thinking deeply on who God is and how to apply the truths of the Bible to one's life. I do not think it is a bad thing, as long as it stays rooted in the Bible and the Christian trinity. I looked up the their email addresses and sent the hosts an email asking why contemplation and breath prayers are wrong. I admit that the email I sent had some smart aleck questions about the "proper" way to approach God. I have yet to receive responses to the email. A few days ago I became bolder and left comments on the LHTR guestbook and Ingrid Schlueter's Slice of Laodicea blog (abbreviated SL by me). To her credit, Deborah Dombrowski of LHTR responded by email to my comment and offered to send me more information. Ingrid Schlueter replied to my comment at SL as well.
I found even more intrigue when I discovered there is a weblog called SLice Of LaODicEa CHUrch that protests and parodies Schlueter's SL blog. Ingrid Schlueter has criticized Richard Abanes, author of SLice Of LaODicEa CHUrch. The crux of the matter is Rick Warren's "The Purpose Driven Life" book and church model. Ingrid Schlueter and the owners of LHTR and ERW are vehemently against Rick Warren. The mere fact that "The Purpose Driven Life" teaches breath prayers is enough for these ministries to say that the technique is wrong. (See the LHTR glossary entry about it.) Richard Abanes was once on staff at Rick Warren's Saddleback Church. This effectively puts Schlueter and Abanes at odds with each other.
Richard Abanes wrote three illuminating articles on his personal website about Schlueter's public criticism of himself and all things "Purpose Driven," so to speak. They are "Ingrid Schlueter: Blogging Blunders and Radio Rhetoric," "Alternate Reality, VCY America, and Ingrid Schlueter," and "Schlueterology: What Is Truth?" These articles show that many of Schlueter's Crosstalk statements are factually wrong, and that she takes many "Purpose Driven" ideas out of context. The contrast between her analysis of "The Purple Haze Incident" mentioned in "Schlueterology: What is Truth" and the facts provided by Abanes are pretty darn funny.
Ingrid and her associates at Crosstalk seem inflexible toward people, namely Richard Abanes, who present the facts in context and correct the errors. They do not seem to tolerate people with opinions different from their own. This whole anti-Rick Warren topic smacks of legalism to me. For the record, I have not read "The Purpose Driven Life" and I do not pay attention to the anti-Rick Warren rhetoric. From what I have seen on the websites cited here those who are against Rick Warren have a very specific view of Evangelical Christian values and practices. They seem to think that one is a Christian only if one practices non-Purpose-Driven Christianity.
Unfortunately Ingrid Schlueter's SL blog and the LHTR website do not present their views of what is "correct" Evangelical practice. The ERW website does have pages of links to other ministries which may define those "correct" Evangelical practices. I haven't gone looking for their perspectives. It is too bad that these groups seem to think that Jesus Christ plus "doing church" their way equals salvation. Richard Abanes quotes "A Resolution Worth Keeping" by Jon Walker, vice president of communications with Pastors.com, a Saddleback Church website with examples of "Jesus plus" legalistic views. Jon Walker points to Jesus Christ only as the source of salvation. I am for that. I hope that Saddleback Church teaches that itself!
I very much need to regain my perspective on THE LORD. I basically wasted $1.47 in printing the 3 articles at the computer lab. Even getting this article written and sent via email to Blogger has been a production! Reading the pro and con websites make me a bit agitated. I find my heart getting critical toward the side I do not agree with. I also want to pursue the opinions on each side, which takes up a lot of time. I emailed Richard Abanes and commented about his blog and articles. He emailed me a link to his article clarifying breath prayers. He said that he's concerned about Ingrid Schlueter and prays for her. That is what I lose perspective on when I get tied up in these things! Time to regroup and start looking toward the Lord, maybe even while saying breath prayers!
The guests represented ministries called Light House Trails Research and Eastern Regional Watch (abbreviated "LHTR" and "ERW" respectively by me). On August 11th I heard them claim that contemplation and breath prayers were akin to Eastern non-Christian forms of meditation. Breath prayers seem to be simply short, spontaneous prayers of gratitude and praise to God. I see contemplation as a way of thinking deeply on who God is and how to apply the truths of the Bible to one's life. I do not think it is a bad thing, as long as it stays rooted in the Bible and the Christian trinity. I looked up the their email addresses and sent the hosts an email asking why contemplation and breath prayers are wrong. I admit that the email I sent had some smart aleck questions about the "proper" way to approach God. I have yet to receive responses to the email. A few days ago I became bolder and left comments on the LHTR guestbook and Ingrid Schlueter's Slice of Laodicea blog (abbreviated SL by me). To her credit, Deborah Dombrowski of LHTR responded by email to my comment and offered to send me more information. Ingrid Schlueter replied to my comment at SL as well.
I found even more intrigue when I discovered there is a weblog called SLice Of LaODicEa CHUrch that protests and parodies Schlueter's SL blog. Ingrid Schlueter has criticized Richard Abanes, author of SLice Of LaODicEa CHUrch. The crux of the matter is Rick Warren's "The Purpose Driven Life" book and church model. Ingrid Schlueter and the owners of LHTR and ERW are vehemently against Rick Warren. The mere fact that "The Purpose Driven Life" teaches breath prayers is enough for these ministries to say that the technique is wrong. (See the LHTR glossary entry about it.) Richard Abanes was once on staff at Rick Warren's Saddleback Church. This effectively puts Schlueter and Abanes at odds with each other.
Richard Abanes wrote three illuminating articles on his personal website about Schlueter's public criticism of himself and all things "Purpose Driven," so to speak. They are "Ingrid Schlueter: Blogging Blunders and Radio Rhetoric," "Alternate Reality, VCY America, and Ingrid Schlueter," and "Schlueterology: What Is Truth?" These articles show that many of Schlueter's Crosstalk statements are factually wrong, and that she takes many "Purpose Driven" ideas out of context. The contrast between her analysis of "The Purple Haze Incident" mentioned in "Schlueterology: What is Truth" and the facts provided by Abanes are pretty darn funny.
Ingrid and her associates at Crosstalk seem inflexible toward people, namely Richard Abanes, who present the facts in context and correct the errors. They do not seem to tolerate people with opinions different from their own. This whole anti-Rick Warren topic smacks of legalism to me. For the record, I have not read "The Purpose Driven Life" and I do not pay attention to the anti-Rick Warren rhetoric. From what I have seen on the websites cited here those who are against Rick Warren have a very specific view of Evangelical Christian values and practices. They seem to think that one is a Christian only if one practices non-Purpose-Driven Christianity.
Unfortunately Ingrid Schlueter's SL blog and the LHTR website do not present their views of what is "correct" Evangelical practice. The ERW website does have pages of links to other ministries which may define those "correct" Evangelical practices. I haven't gone looking for their perspectives. It is too bad that these groups seem to think that Jesus Christ plus "doing church" their way equals salvation. Richard Abanes quotes "A Resolution Worth Keeping" by Jon Walker, vice president of communications with Pastors.com, a Saddleback Church website with examples of "Jesus plus" legalistic views. Jon Walker points to Jesus Christ only as the source of salvation. I am for that. I hope that Saddleback Church teaches that itself!
I very much need to regain my perspective on THE LORD. I basically wasted $1.47 in printing the 3 articles at the computer lab. Even getting this article written and sent via email to Blogger has been a production! Reading the pro and con websites make me a bit agitated. I find my heart getting critical toward the side I do not agree with. I also want to pursue the opinions on each side, which takes up a lot of time. I emailed Richard Abanes and commented about his blog and articles. He emailed me a link to his article clarifying breath prayers. He said that he's concerned about Ingrid Schlueter and prays for her. That is what I lose perspective on when I get tied up in these things! Time to regroup and start looking toward the Lord, maybe even while saying breath prayers!
September 17, 2005
Allison's Home!
I am very happy to find out that the little miracle girl Allison Voight is finally able to go home! Her parents and big brother must be thrilled! I have followed her story off and on ever since Erin K. emailed the link to her Caring Bridge journal her parents started for her. Allison was born with her trachea and esophagus joined into one big tube. She had several surgeries and quite a journey. She is still on a ventilator and has feeding tubes, but her insides have been reconstructed by her doctors. What a wonder!
I must admit I have not prayed for her consistantly, but I am sure God has used the prayers I did pray. Her guestbook is chock full of well wishes from friends and family around the nation! I remember seeing one guestbook entry that made me especially proud. Erin K. said that her daughter Elisa who is about 4 years old consistantly prayed for Allison. You see, I worked with Erin when she was pregnant with Elisa. Way to go, Elisa! I will pray for continued health for Allison also!
I must admit I have not prayed for her consistantly, but I am sure God has used the prayers I did pray. Her guestbook is chock full of well wishes from friends and family around the nation! I remember seeing one guestbook entry that made me especially proud. Erin K. said that her daughter Elisa who is about 4 years old consistantly prayed for Allison. You see, I worked with Erin when she was pregnant with Elisa. Way to go, Elisa! I will pray for continued health for Allison also!
September 03, 2005
Music Music
I have been meaning to report on how last weekend I ran into some interesting music. The first was on Friday when I was on the way to work. I had gone to Starbucks for a bit and when I came out I saw that there was a string quartet across the street on the benches in front of the empty Pizza Hut store. They were college age guys all wearing t-shirts and shorts. I heard the last bit of "Eye of the Tiger," by Survivor which made me think of the Rocky movies. Not that I have watched any of them all the way through, but I think that song is in one of them! Later on this string quartet played "Stairway to Heaven" and "Enter Sandman" which both translate very well to strings.
Then on Saturday I went on a whim to the Overture Center because I thought there would be an open house and pipe organ recital. I didn't know for sure if there was a performance, but I was right. There were quite a few older people there and most of the hall was filled. I heard Gary Lewis, one of the music directors of Bethel Lutheran church, play several classical organ pieces. It was a different experience for me. I don't have a lot of exposure to classical church music. Gary Lewis explained what a "fugue" is, how one melody line is played over and over in different keys. He demonstrated by playing it in one key with one hand, then later with the other hand and then later with his feet! I didn't know there were so many pedals on the console for him to play the lowest notes with his feet, quite a lot of footwork! So I could follow the melody lines in the fugue pieces when they recurred, but otherwise I kind of got lost in all the harmony. When played loudly the organ sounded kind of harsh to my untrained ears! I have things to learn about classical music.
But all of this seems pretty pointless to talk about considering what happened to New Orleans. I sort of wanted to visit that city someday. It seems that I probably won't be able to for many many years. I feel for the people stuck in the Superdome. I'm praying for them!
Then on Saturday I went on a whim to the Overture Center because I thought there would be an open house and pipe organ recital. I didn't know for sure if there was a performance, but I was right. There were quite a few older people there and most of the hall was filled. I heard Gary Lewis, one of the music directors of Bethel Lutheran church, play several classical organ pieces. It was a different experience for me. I don't have a lot of exposure to classical church music. Gary Lewis explained what a "fugue" is, how one melody line is played over and over in different keys. He demonstrated by playing it in one key with one hand, then later with the other hand and then later with his feet! I didn't know there were so many pedals on the console for him to play the lowest notes with his feet, quite a lot of footwork! So I could follow the melody lines in the fugue pieces when they recurred, but otherwise I kind of got lost in all the harmony. When played loudly the organ sounded kind of harsh to my untrained ears! I have things to learn about classical music.
But all of this seems pretty pointless to talk about considering what happened to New Orleans. I sort of wanted to visit that city someday. It seems that I probably won't be able to for many many years. I feel for the people stuck in the Superdome. I'm praying for them!
August 25, 2005
Quick and Dirty
So I have been toying with this little Blogthings site. They have some fun and goofy quizzes. I wanted to see if the little graphics and so on will actually post on Blogger. I haven't had much luck with them showing properly in Bloglines.
| Your IQ Is 100 |
 Your Logical Intelligence is Average Your Verbal Intelligence is Genius Your Mathematical Intelligence is Above Average Your General Knowledge is Average |
August 10, 2005
Caricatures
The other night at work I called somebody in Louisiana for one of our National health studies. One of the goals of the study is to interview people between the ages of 35-89 and focus on minority populations. Therefore we call larger cities in the south. Technically the lady refused for the second time but I ended up making it ok to call back. Sometimes when calling people at random we run into some colorful and unique people, shall I say! I have a feeling the woman that I talked to from Louisiana fit our description. I can't remember precisely what this lady said but it was something to this affect. (LA Woman means Louisiana, not Los Angeles, by the way.)
Me: (Reciting the canned introduction to the research study verbatim)
LA woman: (very loudly) WHAT???
Me: (I try to talk louder as I repeat the introduction)
LA woman: (loudly) WAIT A MINUTE, HONEY, let me interject this, I gotta get my hearing aid, honey.
(There's a pause while I assume the woman puts in her hearing aid and comes back to the phone.)
LA woman: (loudly) They say if I put this thang in my ear I will be able to hear what you're saying better, now what were you saying, baby??
Me: (I begin to say something about the study)
LA woman (as soon as I begin to speak): OOOH HOLD ON, baby, my phone is beeping, hold on, baby!
(I assume that the woman clicks over to the other line and leaves me on hold for about a minute.)
Eventually I just hung up and called her back and reached her voice mail. I thought it was pretty funny. The lady talked about her hearing aid in such an exaggerated way that it seemed like a caricature of naivete in the deep south. When I worked for the relay center we took calls for people in Louisiana and Kentucky as well as Wisconsin. I don't think I ever ran into anybody on those calls that was as colorful as this lady was! I'm sure she was a nice lady, but it all seemed funny in a weird way.
Maybe she just wasn't used to wearing her hearing aid yet. Maybe she was like some of the older people who began using the relay after they lost most of their hearing. They weren't quite sure of what to do when making relay calls but they muddled through it. When I worked at the relay I wished I could have explained how to do the calls, but I wasn't allowed to. Anyway, the cynic in me thinks that the LA woman was faking it all so she could get me off the phone! Who knows really.
Me: (Reciting the canned introduction to the research study verbatim)
LA woman: (very loudly) WHAT???
Me: (I try to talk louder as I repeat the introduction)
LA woman: (loudly) WAIT A MINUTE, HONEY, let me interject this, I gotta get my hearing aid, honey.
(There's a pause while I assume the woman puts in her hearing aid and comes back to the phone.)
LA woman: (loudly) They say if I put this thang in my ear I will be able to hear what you're saying better, now what were you saying, baby??
Me: (I begin to say something about the study)
LA woman (as soon as I begin to speak): OOOH HOLD ON, baby, my phone is beeping, hold on, baby!
(I assume that the woman clicks over to the other line and leaves me on hold for about a minute.)
Eventually I just hung up and called her back and reached her voice mail. I thought it was pretty funny. The lady talked about her hearing aid in such an exaggerated way that it seemed like a caricature of naivete in the deep south. When I worked for the relay center we took calls for people in Louisiana and Kentucky as well as Wisconsin. I don't think I ever ran into anybody on those calls that was as colorful as this lady was! I'm sure she was a nice lady, but it all seemed funny in a weird way.
Maybe she just wasn't used to wearing her hearing aid yet. Maybe she was like some of the older people who began using the relay after they lost most of their hearing. They weren't quite sure of what to do when making relay calls but they muddled through it. When I worked at the relay I wished I could have explained how to do the calls, but I wasn't allowed to. Anyway, the cynic in me thinks that the LA woman was faking it all so she could get me off the phone! Who knows really.
August 04, 2005
Homelessness
Truly I should thank God that I am not homeless. He was faithful to provide this place for me. On Monday night after I moved my stuff I took a city bus to the Subway store so that I could get some dinner. When I took the bus back home I ended up getting off at the wrong stop and having to walk about two blocks. I noticed three men lying on park benches. I saw that one was lying on a blanket on the ground and the other two were on the benches. It’s ironic that they sleep on park benches across the street from the Wisconsin state capitol building. It’s a stark contrast between the suited executive people with relatively cushy state jobs and houses or condos in the suburbs and the homeless who have to sleep on park benches. Heck, it’s a contrast between my going to Subway to eat dinner and them having to go to a shelter or church kitchen for dinner! One would hope that the state representatives would do something along with the city of Madison about the problem of homelessness. I doubt it though.
I saw a lady coming out of the elevator at the YWCA who always asks me for money when she sees me downtown. The problem is, I've given her money in the past so that's why. I think the next time I see her downtown, if she attempts to ask me for money I'm going to ask her if she lives in the YWCA...
I saw a lady coming out of the elevator at the YWCA who always asks me for money when she sees me downtown. The problem is, I've given her money in the past so that's why. I think the next time I see her downtown, if she attempts to ask me for money I'm going to ask her if she lives in the YWCA...
Moving In
I recently moved out of my apartment with housemates. I ended up moving into the YWCA. It is inexpensive women’s housing in a 12-story building which used to be a hotel. I live in a room on the 9th floor with a tiny bathroom and share a shower/tub with one other woman in between our rooms. (I have just a toilet, sink, window and medicine cabinet.) I have a pretty nice view from my room of trees, houses and the lake in the distance. Everything is pretty small in this place. However, there is a lounge and spacious kitchen on the floor that I share with others. At this point my room is pretty chaotic. I have only opened one or two boxes to get out toiletries and a change of clothes. My friends from church helped me move in my boxes and furniture. The crazy guys stacked 6 or so boxes in my narrow closet. I need a ladder or step stool to get all the boxes off the top shelf! It took several days before I got confirmation that I was going to move here. It stressed me out. I think God was trying to stretch me to get me to trust Him more. I don’t like having to go through that stuff, but God’s wiser… Here's a picture of the place where I live!
My Blogger Logo
I made this logo for my other Bloglines blog. I found it through something called The Generator Blog. It is a compilation of a bunch of cute or funny software tools that make other things, like random content for blogs, or logos. This one resembles the Google logo with the primary colors and that particular font Google uses. So my Blogline's blog happens to have the same name as this one, The Reticent Squirrel. (I am so consistant!) I didn't know how to cut and paste the actual picture, so I am referring you to the site so you can see the logo.
Look here!
Look here!
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