slow

Lots of things going through my mind.

• My growing love and appreciation of rap music.
• My desire to create engaging, worthwhile lessons for my students.
• My attempt to bring podcasting to my Holocaust studies class.
• How is soccer going to work out, with all the other conflicts? And how many pissed off girls am I going to have when I tell them they can't do volleyball or track and soccer?
• What would it be like to teach a high school class without computers but with an accessible computer lab?
• Can I really paint my house and put things together so that I am proud of it, or am I going to need to hire painters to come in to do the work?
• Can I paint the house, and teach, and work with the OWP, and coach soccer, and lead a Life Group, and stay sane?
• Should I take a sick day sometime this week so that I can recover and get myself healthy and together?
• Am I able to build a website for the OWP that is respectable, and up to standards, and useful all at the same time?
• Can I manage the volume and diversity of emails I am now receiving with the OWP, and keep things organized by program and activity and my own responsibility?

All of these things are possible, but not all of these things are beneficial, to put my own spin on 1 Corinthians 10:23. This is basically what I'm thinking about. How do I make the tough decisions that will benefit me? How will I navigate these waters? I guess this is where my character and my true self are revealed, even in some little things.

It's been nice to reflect, and at least get some questions down on paper. My biggest question right now: how will I say to my mind that stays going and going and going that I need to go to sleep?

In other big news: THE SAINTS ARE GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL! I really would like to have my house nice for that, and have people over, but I know it won't be done. I'll still hopefully have a few people over anyway.

really?

This project 365 thing is hard.

I take pictures everyday, but almost always within the context of school. I enjoy the regular pacing and routine of my life outside of school. I am trying to learn to be more observant of the ordinary things in my life that can turn out amazing. I have looked at other 365 projects, and lots of people use filters and enhance their pictures, but I’m sticking with the plain image – no editing, no cropping. It’s just the image. Many times, I'm just taking pictures with my phone, and the quality is lousy, but it captures the moment. Yes, I like the way the filters make things look, and I wish I had time to really play with stuff, because I’ve done some neat things before, but that’s not what this is about. I guess, I'm trying to convince myself that it's ok to not edit the photos, but deep down inside I want to because I want them to look cool and clean, as I've seen others.

Today, after school, Keri and I met with the Comm. Arts Curriculum Coordinator about the PD proposal we've been working on. The meeting was 2 hours long, and in the middle of it the head Curriculum Coordinator for all programs sat down for a chat. It was interesting and very educational. I learned so much about people, and how this program works. I’m learning “on the job” as they say. The challenge is great fun, and I couldn’t imagine doing much else with my time. Coaching soccer and working with the OWP has provided so many cool opportunities for me to learn and grow as an individual. I’m really working on understanding the big picture issues in these scenarios, and looking ahead to what is available in the future. I’m not great about looking ahead; I focus much more on the here and now, and I reflect on what needs to change. I’m trying to consciously take the time to look two, three, five years down the road. That’s really hard for me, because I don’t want to make any plans on my own. I must remember why I am blessed, and why I am where I am. For me, no scripture is more important that Exodus 33:12-18. It serves as the best model for me with regard to the attitude I approach all ventures.

Tomorrow, I’m going to try to get the Kanye West Storytellers DVD. I saw a portion of it while at home in New Orleans on winter holiday, and I really liked it. I enjoy concert DVDs, and so I think it would be an interesting addition to my collection.