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Now I'm No Expert...

....but NPR makes me feel like one. As I listen to the news and hear how Obama rejected GM and Chrysler's restructure plans and stocks plummeted or the AIG bonuses were given back but now New York's budget deficit has grown because it depends on taxing bonuses from Wall Street, I feel so frustrated. Frustrated because there is no way to stop this problem, it seems. Every measure we take to save money drains money from someplace else that needs it. And this is happening on a much smaller scale everywhere: our electricity bill doubled recently because Appalachian Electric needed more money during the recession. Our sewer and water rates went up 4% because the city needed more money to make up their budget deficit. Thankfully, Johnathan and I can handle small budget increases for the moment (but only since the price of gas has gone down!!), but I know other people can't. And their inability to pay their bills  because of rate hikes contributes to the overall problem-- maybe a house foreclosure where a bank loses money and passes the buck on to its customers. 

And then there's the health care industry: millions of uninsured people who can't (or won't) pay their medical bills but will still receive treatment creates budget deficits for states who have to pay for the medical care but then raise taxes on individuals and businesses, who must then decide whether they cut their health benefits or lay off employees because they can't afford to keep them, and either way these employees become un(der)-insured and create a bigger deficit for the state. 

Couldn't somebody have seen this coming? 

It's obvious to me that the prosperity America was living on was created in a bubble, which was growing so big it had to pop! Didn't we get the message with the dotcom bubble? There were all these experts, all these big CEO's whose job it was to handle billions of dollars, and they couldn't plan for this? They couldn't put millions away on reserve for when the bubble finally did burst? Whenever Johnathan and I get a windfall it goes directly to savings, because we anticipate future problems that will take more money than our income provides for. Now, maybe the problem was so big for these companies that their reserves were used up. I can definitely see that happening with us if a huge financial issue comes our way. Does anybody know? 

Thanksgiving at my Place

I am looking forward to this year's Thanksgiving very much. My sister Tatiana is here, and my youngest sister Katie is coming on Wednesday morning. With little Aubriana running around (okay, not really!) it will be a nice family holiday. We have already spent some unnecessary money, bought some real coffee (that brews in my underused coffeepot-- thank you Bobby, Matt, Lori, and Terri), watched GetSmart for the third time, and taken a few pictures. I have also contracted my 3rd cold in a month, which I quickly passed on to my kid, and we are working through that. Slowly. And with a few tears.

All Alone

So everyone vacated my house this week. I am sad, and I miss my friends and family. I've always loved to have people over, and for that reason never minded having a roommate (who is also gone for good, as she married in July.) Aubri has been upset, too (which she rarely is), but I can tell she misses everyone. (On the upside, she now reserves her smiles for me!) So what did I do my first day on my own? I calmed a fussy baby, let Brandon borrow my car, went with Johnathan to Randolph to work out, came home and (wonder of wonders) took a nap with Aubri, and now I'm paying the bills while listening to Larry King's interview of the Steven Curtis Chapman's. Oh, yeah- I did the dishes and swept the kitchen, too. 

I am preparing for hanging out with my friends before school starts again. These things take time and energy, but it's energy I am looking forward to expending! I can't wait for Aubri to start laughing. I am waiting to see if she qualifies for medicaid (please, God!), and trying to memorize John Donne's sonnet, "Batter My Heart, Three-personed God" because I find myself struggling to recite it in the middle of the night after I've fed and put Aubri back down. 

Exciting stuff! 

Life Update

Okay, this one is going to be quick and rather random. 

In the reading department . . .

I finally finished re-reading Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo. The story is great, the narration good, the exposition annoying. (Never read this book unless you find an edition with a thousand pages of footnotes.) I also got my hands on Viola and Barna's Pagan Christianity. I was disappointed-- I expected the book the be really solid, but unfortunately spotted a lot of logical fallacies as I worked my way through it. Over all, not nearly as comprehensive or informative as it could have been. I don't know that I'd recommend it. 

I am working on John Piper's When I Don't Desire God, in addition to text books for my two classes. I have finished Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Can I just say how much I love C.S. Lewis?

I recently sped through T.D. Jakes Total Forgiveness. And I mean, sped through it. In two hours at Starbucks. I say, if you want to understand how forgiveness works, pick up The Discipline of Grace, by Bridges. It's great!  

Oh yeah, and for something a little different, I've been reading The Message version of the Bible, side by side with the NIV (my preferred translation). Yesterday I was reading in Matthew where Jesus says that out of the heart come evil thoughts, lies, and slander to corrupt man (highly paraphrased.) I looked over at The Message version and it had added-- added, not paraphrased-- cussing as one of the things that corrupts us. So apparently, my staunch defense of cursing is over. The Message declares it-- Jesus forbids it! 

In another department. . . 

Does it seem like I have a lot of time on my hands? It doesn't feel like it. I have had to clean the exact same parts of the house probably twice a day the last week. There are just too many people in this house who are used to it being dirty that they forget to keep it clean once it's clean. And then that wears me out so I take my cat Lux outside until he can't stand the heat anymore so I drive to Starbucks and read so that I can actually focus on important stuff before this kid arrives and I don't have any more relax time. 

In the friends department . . .

In all fairness, we have actually been visiting a lot with friends, since I have been making friends at our new church. This weekend we had three couples over for dinner, played card games, won a volleyball tournament, and mowed the yard. (Okay, I actually played very little part in the mowing bit. Or the volleyball  tournament, seeing as how I can't move.) But all the same, we were busier than normal. And it was nice. 

In the baby department . . .

Aubriana's due date is a week and a half away. I think we've got everything we need, but pray that

she's born to be like 6 or 7 pounds because otherwise she won't fit in half the clothes she received.

Here's a picture!

Another One Bites the Dust

The Stingray conspiracy to be included on National Georgraphic's list of 10 most deadly animals is progressing nicely.

First Steve Irwin, whose fame brought intense media coverage, was picked off in a quick and deadly attack that took place underwater.

Second, a woman vacationing in the Florida Keys was targeted as the next-- albeit not as strategic-- victim. Full story here.

Food for Thought

HT: Ragamuffin Soul

One week ago David Trotter, pastor of Revolution Church in Long Beach CA and a blog acquaintance of mine wrote this on his blog…

Totally Tuesday
* Took Emerson to school.
* Lots of hang time.
* Did the dishes and made the bed.
* Leftover lunch from last night’s dinner.
* Worked out at Bally’s - 30 minutes of cardio and upper body workout.
* While Laura went to a parenting workshop at ROCKharbor with Jenny, I took the kids to “family night” at Chick-fil-a - had the same Southwestern salad as yesterday.
* Playing games with Emerson.
* Helping Waverly study for her solar system test.
* Baths and 7pm bedtime for the kids.
* Had a blast song writing with Keith Dickson for the rest of the evening. Unfortunately, I already had the chorus, 4 verses, and tune laid out, but he had to figure out all the chords and strumming. I’ll write 2 more verses, and we’ll finish it next week. Really fun to do that with Keith - he rocks.

That was the last post he wrote on his blog.
Just 2 days prior he informed his church that he was taking a sabbatical because God was nudging him to figure some things out.
Two days after he wrote that post, he left his wife and 2 kids for another woman.

The shock and heartache that this church is going through is sobering.
One of my good friends, Bobby, was the worship pastor there for 3 years and I know he is going through a lot.

I share this news for 2 reasons.
1.  So we never think we are incapable of being taken down by A Character Assassin.
The second you think that this is an issue that you would never fall victim to, you are wrong. Any one of us could fall to something like this. For me, it is another reminder to protect the integrity of my marriage and place more safeguards than I currently have in place.

David was a blogger, writer, leader, and is a follower of Christ.  I’m sure lots of us can see some of ourselves in him.

Stuff like this should not surprise us. Living with someone else often sucks because we see the worst in them, and a lack of boundaries with others will inevitably lead down this road.  But we cheat on Jesus all the time, why should we expect to remain faithful to our spouse? This is something both Johnathan and I are working on. It becomes easy for separate lives to lead to separate confidences, and separate confidences to create separate emotional attachments, and separate emotional attachments to lead to separate sex.

Cost of Living

Johnathan and I are currently in the process of trying to figure out the best way for me to not work full time after we have this baby. Financially, it seems nearly impossible, and the only way that we know would work but can't do is to sell our house. This would work because our mortgage is $1200, and monthly we'd be about $600-700 short of paying our bills without me working. (This is mostly all attributable to the cost of health insurance we'd have to take on and student loans we'll start paying back. As an aside, we really need to re-vamp the way America does health insurance.)   It's really easy to find a spacious apartment or house for rent here in Lynchburg for under $600. But we can't sell our house, so we're going to have to find some other way to do this. I am trying to trust God that He will work it out, but the problem is that I don't really know if that's what God plans. How do you trust Him for something that you're not sure He wants?
Anyway, what this post is supposed to be about is the cost of living. I think our mortgage is terribly high when you take into account what we could be renting for. So I was absolutely floored when I read that Carlos's house is renting for $1900, which he says is lower than the rest of the neighborhood. And I guess that's why we don't live in California, huh? I couldn't imagine having a housing bill like that on top of everything else!

Huh

The Full Story

An Ode to Tat

It's very strange, but I am earning my Master's in Education. I know, I know. This is a funny thing to say is strange. But it's because I really don't care about education. Not when I'm in classes, anyway, although recently I've been allowed to branch out a little bit and do some research on online programs. This research actually pertained to about 75% of my life and I was ridiculously interested.

Did you know . . .
1. Employers are beginning to acknowledge online degrees to be just as valid as traditional degrees, as long as the school is accredited, of course.
2. Research indicates that online learning outcomes are level with traditional learning outcomes.
3. Interviews with online users have stated that having to actually read the text and read what experienced students have to say helps them achieve more learning outcomes than the traditional classroom allows.
4. Faculty still struggle with teaching online classes because of the time commitment required (all feedback must be written) and because of trouble with delivery software.
5. Market research companies estimate that almost 7% of higher learning students are participating in online classes.
6. Almost 50% of graduate schools offer online master's degrees.

So, why am I oding my sister, you might wonder? (She's the "Tat" of the title. It' a long story involving volleyball and various inappropriate nicknames.) Because while I care about online learning research, she cares about the world of education. I learned more from her experiences as a special ed teacher, and her knowledge and passion in our one Sunday afternoon of conversation (thanks for getting married, Matt!)
than in my four completed classes of education.

I wonder what the research says about the efficacy of teacher education as opposed to getting out there and just doing it?

Ambiguous

I have found that the older I get, the less of an opinion I have on really important matters. I think this is due in part to the fact that I see both political sides of a hot topic like immigration, but since I am not an expert I don't feel comfortable in forming an opinion.

Incidentally, can anyone tell me who knows-- what was so bad about legalizing the immigrants? Won't they then be able to pay taxes and help out? Maybe some could get health insurance and help out that crisis. Maybe companies would stop outsourcing as much . . .

I think blogs which talk about current events are popular in blogdom-- they create a lot of controversy. Unfortunately, I just don't swing that way. I guess I will be forever doomed to a small readership!