It is Monday, and I take back my apology!
I was going to mention that this is the first time that we have had someone post back-to-back, but I wanted to be accurate so I started going through all the old posts. You may not have noticed, but we have 167 posts, which is quite a lot of scrolling. So I'm not going to mention it, because I didn't bother to finish checking.
Speaking of 167 posts, we've almost had this up for a year!
In other news: We got to talk to Richard yesterday! He seemed very happy, though there were quite a few pauses while he searched for the English equivalent of some of the terms he had learned. We recorded the conversation, so hopefully the sound worked out ok.
Some kind of transition....
I got an carved giraffe from Andrew! Joseph also got one, but mine is much cooler. It would definitely win in a fight (either physical or intellectual). I haven't come up with a name yet, but I am brainstorming.
Aunt Sara and co. came this morning, so we've been able to spend some fun time with them. All of our cousins are so much taller than they were before. Uncle Pete and Aunt Sarah should be here tomorrow.
I'm kind of bummed that I'll only see Adrianna for a day or two. And I won't get to see Andrew at all :(
But I did enjoy talking to you both on the phone.
Hope everyone had a nice holiday! Sorry I have nothing interesting to post.... I am a little tired at the moment. Maybe I will add something really neat and fascinating in the comments tomorrow to make up for it. Or maybe I am just saying that to keep you all on your toes. Who knows?
Monday, December 26, 2011
Monday, December 19, 2011
It is Monday, and I am sorry about the last two weeks.
Update: I am in WV! Christine and I drove down to Richmond from Chicago on the 11th. I visited Sarah from the 12th to the 18th (during which time I won a prize for my amazing bowling [I managed the rather difficult feat of scoring a 36 in one game, earning me a plastic pink pig that poops candy!]), then Sarah drove me to Cville where I met up with Joseph, Dad, and Johnny. We all proceeded to drive to Buckhannon.
I am currently sitting on Gma Mag's and Gdad Dobe's green couch in the living room. After dinner Johnny, Joseph, and I visited Mumsy for several very fun hours. Once we got back, Johnny took a shower, Joseph and Dad (and Grandma) discussed physics, and I talked with Gdad and played pyramid solitaire. Now, Gdad, Dad, Johnny and I are discussing politics (specifically the sad state of the Republican party). I am about to get off and go to sleep, but I wanted to put something up here.
Andrew, Adri and Richard: We love and miss you guys!! :)
I will close by referring you to an article that Christine showed me. I found it interesting. Hopefully you'll enjoy it as well.
Update: I am in WV! Christine and I drove down to Richmond from Chicago on the 11th. I visited Sarah from the 12th to the 18th (during which time I won a prize for my amazing bowling [I managed the rather difficult feat of scoring a 36 in one game, earning me a plastic pink pig that poops candy!]), then Sarah drove me to Cville where I met up with Joseph, Dad, and Johnny. We all proceeded to drive to Buckhannon.
I am currently sitting on Gma Mag's and Gdad Dobe's green couch in the living room. After dinner Johnny, Joseph, and I visited Mumsy for several very fun hours. Once we got back, Johnny took a shower, Joseph and Dad (and Grandma) discussed physics, and I talked with Gdad and played pyramid solitaire. Now, Gdad, Dad, Johnny and I are discussing politics (specifically the sad state of the Republican party). I am about to get off and go to sleep, but I wanted to put something up here.
Andrew, Adri and Richard: We love and miss you guys!! :)
I will close by referring you to an article that Christine showed me. I found it interesting. Hopefully you'll enjoy it as well.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Christmas Cometh
Hmm... Over the next couple of weeks, it will be nice to see most of you are reading this.
---
No.... I WASN'T implying that there are some of you I don't want to see.... Just that ... I know I won't get to see everyone who reads this, but at least I'll get to see many of you, and I'll enjoy that.
----
Yes, you're right. I should be more careful with my words.
Over the next couple of weeks I'll get to see lots of the kids and other family, and I do look forward to it. Notable exceptions: Andrew and Richard.
---
For crying out loud! Of course I want to see them too. Would you give it a rest a minute? It's just that well, Richard is in Brazil, and Andrew is on his way home from Africa, but won't be visiting family. :(
Andrew will be attending Guilford again Spring Semester, so it shouldn't be too much longer before I get to see him a little.
Ok... so you want the current itinerary?
---
Not really? Hold on this is actually interesting, or at least I think it is. It could easily be one of those SAT word problem questions.... (Bob, Mike, Jane, Francis, Mary, Paul, and Samantha must all meet and all share the same transportation during a portion of their journey. Bob must meet Francis at X at 1:00 , but Francis must arrive at B no later than 1:05. Paul is available to meet at....)
11 December--Andrew arrives in NYC. Stays for Holidays.
11 December--I drive to Charlottesville VA after church.
12 December--Joseph or Johnny drives me to the airport and I fly to Chicago.
12-17 December--follow up on job leads in Illinois, visit Judi, and attend Chloe's wedding.
12 December--Ruth and Christine leave Chicago for VA
12-18 December--Ruth visits with Sara, Zoey, Christine, Joseph, Johnny, and others in VA.
18 December--Joseph, Johnny, or Ruth picks me up from airport in VA. We drive to WV.
27 December--Joseph heads back to VA and starts working again.
28 December--Adrianna flies to Charleston WV. Joseph, Johnny, Ruth, and or I pick her up.
30 or 31 December--We all head to VA to pick up Ruth's car and then Ruth heads to Richmond to pick up Christine. They drive on to Chicago, and Adri, Johnny, and I head to NC.
31 December--I pick up Judi in Greensboro
8 January--We drop Adrianna and Judi off at Greensboro Airport.
13, 14, or 15 January--I drive Johnny back to Virginia for classes.
October 2013--Richard reenters the United States.
Oh and I'm supposed to speak in church in Dobson NC on December 25th!.... Now my head is really spinning.
Still reading? think this is way too much information? Don't worry it will all be different tomorrow if the current pattern keeps up.
---
No.... I WASN'T implying that there are some of you I don't want to see.... Just that ... I know I won't get to see everyone who reads this, but at least I'll get to see many of you, and I'll enjoy that.
----
Yes, you're right. I should be more careful with my words.
Over the next couple of weeks I'll get to see lots of the kids and other family, and I do look forward to it. Notable exceptions: Andrew and Richard.
---
For crying out loud! Of course I want to see them too. Would you give it a rest a minute? It's just that well, Richard is in Brazil, and Andrew is on his way home from Africa, but won't be visiting family. :(
Andrew will be attending Guilford again Spring Semester, so it shouldn't be too much longer before I get to see him a little.
Ok... so you want the current itinerary?
---
Not really? Hold on this is actually interesting, or at least I think it is. It could easily be one of those SAT word problem questions.... (Bob, Mike, Jane, Francis, Mary, Paul, and Samantha must all meet and all share the same transportation during a portion of their journey. Bob must meet Francis at X at 1:00 , but Francis must arrive at B no later than 1:05. Paul is available to meet at....)
11 December--Andrew arrives in NYC. Stays for Holidays.
11 December--I drive to Charlottesville VA after church.
12 December--Joseph or Johnny drives me to the airport and I fly to Chicago.
12-17 December--follow up on job leads in Illinois, visit Judi, and attend Chloe's wedding.
12 December--Ruth and Christine leave Chicago for VA
12-18 December--Ruth visits with Sara, Zoey, Christine, Joseph, Johnny, and others in VA.
18 December--Joseph, Johnny, or Ruth picks me up from airport in VA. We drive to WV.
27 December--Joseph heads back to VA and starts working again.
28 December--Adrianna flies to Charleston WV. Joseph, Johnny, Ruth, and or I pick her up.
30 or 31 December--We all head to VA to pick up Ruth's car and then Ruth heads to Richmond to pick up Christine. They drive on to Chicago, and Adri, Johnny, and I head to NC.
31 December--I pick up Judi in Greensboro
8 January--We drop Adrianna and Judi off at Greensboro Airport.
13, 14, or 15 January--I drive Johnny back to Virginia for classes.
October 2013--Richard reenters the United States.
Oh and I'm supposed to speak in church in Dobson NC on December 25th!.... Now my head is really spinning.
Still reading? think this is way too much information? Don't worry it will all be different tomorrow if the current pattern keeps up.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
An English major, just in Spanish
Hello everyone!
I've been writing posts, but I haven't been posting them. Many of them are still half-finished, stewing around in the back of my brain and the notes document of my computer. Maybe when they or we have matured I'll put them up. For now, at least, we will have to wait.
I enjoy Spanish, a lot actually. I have wondered at times if I really want to spend semesters of my life studying and doing in-depth analysis of medieval spanish literature. And I have come to the conclusion that although it is not my greatest academic passion, I have enjoyed my classes, though the writing has been time consuming. Writing papers has always been something of a struggle for me, for although I feel like I achieve a decent product in the end, my methodology can be somewhat frustrating. In that way I think the blog has been useful for me, in that it's helped me to write without worrying too much what I'm writing. I tend to get stuck on one paragraph or transition in my papers, and switch to another part, then go back to a previous one etc. etc. I end up just jumping all over the place rather than making clear, logical steps. I enjoy writing whatever I want in whatever order it comes out in. Sure it's messy, and often obtuse or confusing, but it's there. I can always edit and rewrite afterwards. And the more I practice, the easier it gets.
So, thanks for giving me the chance to write and keep in contact with you all.
I love you!
I've been writing posts, but I haven't been posting them. Many of them are still half-finished, stewing around in the back of my brain and the notes document of my computer. Maybe when they or we have matured I'll put them up. For now, at least, we will have to wait.
I enjoy Spanish, a lot actually. I have wondered at times if I really want to spend semesters of my life studying and doing in-depth analysis of medieval spanish literature. And I have come to the conclusion that although it is not my greatest academic passion, I have enjoyed my classes, though the writing has been time consuming. Writing papers has always been something of a struggle for me, for although I feel like I achieve a decent product in the end, my methodology can be somewhat frustrating. In that way I think the blog has been useful for me, in that it's helped me to write without worrying too much what I'm writing. I tend to get stuck on one paragraph or transition in my papers, and switch to another part, then go back to a previous one etc. etc. I end up just jumping all over the place rather than making clear, logical steps. I enjoy writing whatever I want in whatever order it comes out in. Sure it's messy, and often obtuse or confusing, but it's there. I can always edit and rewrite afterwards. And the more I practice, the easier it gets.
So, thanks for giving me the chance to write and keep in contact with you all.
I love you!
Monday, December 5, 2011
Finishing
Hey all!
Sorry to whoever’s day I’m stealing/interrupting, the internet stopped working on Thursday before I could post. I learned, however that it works when you are right next to the server technology, so I am reconnected and can communicate with you all again! Today feels like the last day of school before summer here, and it sort of is. I finished my research paper (after countless hours and late nights, drafts, three complete rewrites of my results because agriculturalists who have livestock are agro-pastoralists, etc.), and it is a monster of a beast. It’s 50 pages without the appendices, and 132 with (but the majority of the appendices is appendix C, which is the analysis used for the results, and because it was so big I didn’t include it in the hard copy I turned in). I’m proud of it, although I wish I could have had more time on it, which technically now I do. Because all we have left is the community presentation of our results on Wednesday and closing activities (basically stuff to try to reduce culture shock), it feels like it’s all over, and I just have the next few days to relax. The grass is green (because of all the rain, it’s the start of the rainy season), the stream by the camp is overflowing (it’s constantly orange and was roaring last night), bugs are everywhere and so are the swallows eating them. And in my bird count I’ve seen/identified 233 birds so far, and my goal is 250 before the end of this week, which is totally possible. Each time I go birding around camp I get around 3-5 new species, and we went to the slopes of Kilimanjaro yesterday, which was amazing, and I saw 16 new bird species there. Anyway, I have 6 days left here, which is both sad and exciting, but I’m ready to get on that plane again.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
It's Sunday
I had a couple ideas for humorous blogs, but they'll just have to wait.
I spent last night under a sleeping bag--alternately hot and cold--with a fever, chills, a headache, and an ear ache. I kept wanting to get up and be productive and at the same time wanted to sleep for weeks. I would nod off for a while and wake up feeling better. As I finished waking up, I would realize that I was NOT better yet, rather that being partially asleep had prevented me from realizing how miserably sick I was. You've all been sick. You know the feeling.
Today is that after sickness feeling--feeling returned health and the accompanying lightened load that brings, along with knees and legs that still feel weak, a head that is clear, and a body that feels ready to go until I get moving and really demand something from it. Then the message gets sent: hey you're feeling better, just not THAT much better yet. Wait a day okay?
Thank goodness for a good immune system: Warning! Probable barrier failure (Whether surface, biological, chemical, or mechanical is unknown.) Histamine response? Raise body temperature? Check. Pain and misery functions to indicate problem to owner of body? Check. Adaptive Immune response? Check. Antigen specific Lymphocytes including B and T cells? Check. Twenty four hours later, the majority of the pathogen has been dispatched, and repair crews are left to put things back where they should be. By tomorrow, I'll feel fit as a fiddle, and no one would ever be able to tell by looking at me that I was sick on Saturday.
All this from a few tiny organisms (Okay, yeah I know that the 'organism' part is debatable if this whole thing was caused by a virus), too small to see that got past my immune system and started to use my body as a reproduction playground. If my immune system wasn't up to par, it would have been much worse. Most people recover just fine, but there are people who die from the common cold. Even short of death, most people I know don't want even the relatively minor pain and inconvenience usually associated with an infection.
I went to church this morning not knowing if I'd stay for all three hours, but quite determined to make it at least through my Sunday School Lesson. Church isn't all that strenuous, and I got better as the day has progressed.
Going to fast and testimony meeting in this state got me thinking. Our spiritual lives work the same way. The things that will make us spiritually ill can and usually do start out very small--too small to notice. Yet protection is available. There are things that can keep a spiritual infection from ever getting started. We have a barrier system. Because of the Light of Christ, we all know right from wrong. This can warn and protect us from spiritual pathogens.
Good spiritual hygiene can help in the maintenance and strengthening of this barrier. If I will turn my life over truly, and daily to the Lord, then he'll protect me from spiritual illness and even death. I can inoculate myself through daily prayer, scripture study, and obedience to the commandments. This will strengthen my appropriate immune response. Or I can ignore those things and intentionally contract and spread spiritual infection the same way I could refuse to ever wash my hands, brush my teeth, get proper rest, or get shots to help prevent physical illness.
If I will EXERCISE faith daily, obey and live worthily enough, I can be worthy of the companionship of the Holy Ghost which is a further layer of protection. I can make covenants that will strengthen my spiritual immune system even further. I especially need to evaluate these covenants regularly--to check up on my own spiritual health, and repent to make course corrections as needed. Finally, it helps to occasionally have a doctor check me out, because he has been trained to see things I might miss until they become problems big enough to cause great suffering or even death. So it is in spiritual things. God has given us the opportunity to have a spiritual check up through the temple recommend process. If I (or we) can have faith in Christ, and truly follow those things which he has commanded us to do, our spiritual immune system (Which starts with the light of Christ and continues through cleansing by the Holy Ghost and sanctification through the atonement.) will protect us from not only outside pathogens, but our own inborn faults as well.
Love you all,
dad
I spent last night under a sleeping bag--alternately hot and cold--with a fever, chills, a headache, and an ear ache. I kept wanting to get up and be productive and at the same time wanted to sleep for weeks. I would nod off for a while and wake up feeling better. As I finished waking up, I would realize that I was NOT better yet, rather that being partially asleep had prevented me from realizing how miserably sick I was. You've all been sick. You know the feeling.
Today is that after sickness feeling--feeling returned health and the accompanying lightened load that brings, along with knees and legs that still feel weak, a head that is clear, and a body that feels ready to go until I get moving and really demand something from it. Then the message gets sent: hey you're feeling better, just not THAT much better yet. Wait a day okay?
Thank goodness for a good immune system: Warning! Probable barrier failure (Whether surface, biological, chemical, or mechanical is unknown.) Histamine response? Raise body temperature? Check. Pain and misery functions to indicate problem to owner of body? Check. Adaptive Immune response? Check. Antigen specific Lymphocytes including B and T cells? Check. Twenty four hours later, the majority of the pathogen has been dispatched, and repair crews are left to put things back where they should be. By tomorrow, I'll feel fit as a fiddle, and no one would ever be able to tell by looking at me that I was sick on Saturday.
All this from a few tiny organisms (Okay, yeah I know that the 'organism' part is debatable if this whole thing was caused by a virus), too small to see that got past my immune system and started to use my body as a reproduction playground. If my immune system wasn't up to par, it would have been much worse. Most people recover just fine, but there are people who die from the common cold. Even short of death, most people I know don't want even the relatively minor pain and inconvenience usually associated with an infection.
I went to church this morning not knowing if I'd stay for all three hours, but quite determined to make it at least through my Sunday School Lesson. Church isn't all that strenuous, and I got better as the day has progressed.
Going to fast and testimony meeting in this state got me thinking. Our spiritual lives work the same way. The things that will make us spiritually ill can and usually do start out very small--too small to notice. Yet protection is available. There are things that can keep a spiritual infection from ever getting started. We have a barrier system. Because of the Light of Christ, we all know right from wrong. This can warn and protect us from spiritual pathogens.
Good spiritual hygiene can help in the maintenance and strengthening of this barrier. If I will turn my life over truly, and daily to the Lord, then he'll protect me from spiritual illness and even death. I can inoculate myself through daily prayer, scripture study, and obedience to the commandments. This will strengthen my appropriate immune response. Or I can ignore those things and intentionally contract and spread spiritual infection the same way I could refuse to ever wash my hands, brush my teeth, get proper rest, or get shots to help prevent physical illness.
If I will EXERCISE faith daily, obey and live worthily enough, I can be worthy of the companionship of the Holy Ghost which is a further layer of protection. I can make covenants that will strengthen my spiritual immune system even further. I especially need to evaluate these covenants regularly--to check up on my own spiritual health, and repent to make course corrections as needed. Finally, it helps to occasionally have a doctor check me out, because he has been trained to see things I might miss until they become problems big enough to cause great suffering or even death. So it is in spiritual things. God has given us the opportunity to have a spiritual check up through the temple recommend process. If I (or we) can have faith in Christ, and truly follow those things which he has commanded us to do, our spiritual immune system (Which starts with the light of Christ and continues through cleansing by the Holy Ghost and sanctification through the atonement.) will protect us from not only outside pathogens, but our own inborn faults as well.
Love you all,
dad
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