Thursday, September 30, 2010

My old friend the Day Book

Outside my window
The sun is shining the humidity is low and the temp is a wonderful 70 degrees, this is the part of the year when Texas starts calming down the oven like temperatures and we get great weather for about 7 months. Oh joy oh bliss oh going outside without dying of heat exhaustion!
I am thinking
Lately I have been thinking about endurance and what makes people persevere. Internal motivation and intention seems to give the grit and guts to keep the faith and keep going. Engagement in the world, caring about the work passionately, focus -all these things help but without the internal will to keep going, to dust off and start again they mean nothing but nice ideas.
I am thankful for
The beautiful weather, the lessons my students teach me again and again, compassion, good coffee, long hugs, napping, that my hard work over the last 3 months lowerd my bad cholesterol and raised my good cholesterol, I am almost in the healthy range for the bad!
From the kitchen
This weekend I am making boudin (pronounced boo-dan) in honor of the rice festival I am attending. For those not in the know (which was me up to about a year ago) boudin is a Cajun sausage made with rice, meat and spicy seasonings squished together and stuffed into a casing using a cow horn with the tip cut off. (This is the recipe I am using) I am also omitting the cow horn for a sausage stuffer made of plastic (which I might add looks rather like a cow horn with the end cut off).
I am wearing
I should just omit this question, from Monday –Thursday for 18 hours each day I wear scrubs. I was initially so excited to not worry about what to wear for work, think of the laundry I won’t have to do, think of the time I will save. Now I am tired of looking like a blue stuffed animal in my white marshmallow shoes. At least I am comfortable in sensible footwear, right, bright side to everything.
I am creating
Anxiety, my students are working on a rather hard test as I type
I am going
To Winnie, TX this weekend to attend the Rice Festival, there is a parade with not 1 but 2 combines AND they will crown some lucky young lady the Rice Queen and she will ride forth with her court on said combines wearing a rather large tiara a sparkly gown, white opera length gloves, holding a scepter and with enough hair spray to personally have her own ozone hole. I love Texas
I am reading
“The Four Agreements” I am not too happy with this book and am seriously considering abandoning it, it actually recommends putting away rational though and critical thinking. . . riiiigggghhhtttttt.
The four agreements are 1. Be impeccable with your word, 2. Don’t take anything personally, 3. Don’t make assumptions, and 4. Always do your best . I can get behind the agreements, they sound good, but the methods of obtaining these agreements, eh not so much for me I am thinking. I will try to keep an open mind as my boss’s boss recommended it and says he bases his management style on it, ugh
I am hoping
That all my hard work will result in a substantial increase in my salary.
I am hearing
Pages turning on reference manuals, furious writing, and deep sighing. . . the sounds of test taking
Around the house
My house is TRASHED. I haven’t cleaned in like 2 weeks and it is getting a little out of hand. If I don’t clean soon I am worried about sleeping and the dust bunnies carrying me off.
One of my favorite things
Other than not cleaning my house I enjoy napping, walks on the beach just as the sun is coming up or in the middle of the night on a full moon.
A few plans for the rest of the week
Tomorrow, laundry and house cleaning, Saturday is the rice festival and Sunday I think I shall read, nap and perhaps watch a movie or 2
Words I am pondering
“If God sends us on strong paths, we are provided strong shoes.” Corrie Tenboom
“Endurance is patience concentrated.” Thomas Carlyle

Here is a picture I am sharing : I just want to snuzzle their tummies!

They are young flying squirrels by the way.