Another Brilliant Moment

I had to sub 6th grade today. During the 6th grader's recess, a really sweet girl came up to me and asked if she could warm up her cocoa in the microwave. It's another cold/wet gray day here so I assented to her request. Hot cocoa on a cold day--what could be more perfect? A few minutes later I smelled something terrible. I went to the microwave and I saw something terrible--SMOKE. Ahh! The microwave is on fire! What should I do? I had quick panicky thoughts of fire alarms going off, or having to get my sixth graders somewhere far from a fire and then I looked a little closer and discovered--the microwave was not on fire. Nope, it was just a little bit of smoke coming from the top of the plastic/metal mug my student had heated her cocoa in. Her parents had sent her cocoa in a metal mug with a plastic covering. As a general rule, microwaving metal is a bad idea. Microwaving metal with a plastic covering is an even worse idea. The metal heats up and melts the plastic. Voila! Plastic hot chocolate. The student who had thus heated her chocolate milk had conveniently disappeared while this was all occurring. I found her and told her that the prognosis was bad; her hot cocoa was inoperable.* We tossed the mug and the only dire consequence was a really nasty plastic smell and a glob of melted and then coagulated plastic in the microwave.

Yes, it was just that--another brilliant moment in my life.

*Technically the hot cocoa survived, but both the girl and I agreed that maybe drinking it was not the best idea.

Native Speaker Blah

In Thailand, often the employment ads for English teachers call for native speakers of English. I'm currently surrounded by a lot of native speakers, and well, lets just say we don't always do our language justice.

Just the other day, I heard someone say the following: "We need to get through all that rigor mortem." I think she meant rigmarole. I had to chuckle to myself. I imagine that rigmarole might make us experience rigor mortis.

Lest I sound language righteous. I will confess my English sins. I say, "sawl" over "saw". I say, "foilage" instead of "foliage". I haphazardly pronounce words I have no business saying (words that come by reading instead of listening--anyone else have a book vocabulary?).

While in Asia it's nice to be a "native speaker" because this classification can get us a job, I hope we "native speakers" don't take ourselves too seriously. Yeah for language and all the ways we can flub it up!

I'm here

I'm in my motel room in Orlando. It's 7:50 pm in Cali and 10:50 in Florida. What to do? I have my first of nine interviews at 9:00 am. Ahh..that's 6:00 am my time! My dad says, "God and adrenaline can help you get through the tiredness."

So prayers are much appreciated!

On the plane today I had a lot of time to stare at the ceiling since I got stuck between two men who were not created for economy class. There was just no room for me between them. They weren't fat, just long legged and broad shouldered (yes, yes, Doris...'the well built' sort). This ceiling staring gave me time to reflect on how immense my world feels right now and how small I feel in it.

Blogging While Packing

Yes, I'm packing for my trip to Florida. Okay, I'm taking a moment from my packing to blog. Mostly, because I just looked at my tentative schedule for the next two days and I discovered I have nine interviews. Nine interviews? Well, they are interviews with different people, but couldn't they have gotten it all over with at once? Sigh. I haven't slept for days (nights!). Every morning at unearthly hours (4 am etc.) I wake up thinking either about the interview ahead, the possibility of moving to the east coast, or my current students who I have no earthly idea how to help. There is just a steady hum of nervous energy in my life.

The Kind of Good I Want

"Ill that God blesses is our good,
And unblest good is ill;
And all is right that seems most wrong,
If it be His sweet will."

Hudson Taylor quoted in To China With Love

Father, let all that is good in my life come from you!

On Being Grown Up

I don't feel very grown up so when something "adult-like" happens to me I find it surprising.

My surprise is that a school is paying for me to come interview with them (flight, motel, car rental etc.). I have to resist asking, "You're really going to pay my way for me to come interview with you?" Adults are paid to come for interviews. Adults rent cars (I've never rented one). Adults meet presidents of college's (gulp).

I'm grateful and amused. I'm scared too. I don't want to let them down and I want a job!

I need your prayers. I'll be flying out for this job interview on October 7.

What Love Can Do

Today in class we were discussing family. One of my 8th graders said, "my grandparents really love each other." That's it. Those are the words I want to cling to tonight. I want to dwell on love's legacy.

I look at this student and I see her: happy, intelligent, and confident. I look at her and wonder how much of what is good in life comes from someone else's love? How much of her stability comes from that simple statement: "my grandparents really love each other."

What legacy did her grandparents give her parents? What legacy do they give her?