Poor little boy. And his poor parents, they look so young. I don't know what to actually believe about the whole controversy. I live in a sort of pro-life bubble with occasional interference from outside opinions. I am pro-life so I think we are all, by virtue of being human, entitled to die a natural death. That doesn't include being dehydrated or starved to death. I don't see how that is 'dying with dignity.' When I hear people say that to excuse this sort of thing, it always reminds of that line from Princess Bride, "You keep using that word. I don't think it means what you think it means."
And I don't understand at all, why parents who can use their own resources, or resources being given to them, don't have the freedom to take their own flesh and blood to get a second opinion on end of life matters. I don't understand why going to Italy is somehow not dying with dignity. They could get there and the doctors there could say, you know, the Brits were right. But then the parents would have the peace of mind to know they tried. Or the Italians could say, you know let's try to do things this way and they could have had their child longer. Maybe he'd always be in a semi-conscious state, but he'd be with them and they would take him as he is.
On the other hand I heard that 'Alfie's Army' was just horrendous to the hospital and caused lots of conflict. They went way overboard in their zeal. Apparently, they stormed the hospital threatening to pull the fire alarms and one mother whose child was in surgery begged them not to. Alfie's Army had failed to take into consideration that other people were being treated at the hospital. That's what happens when you take someone and make them an ideological symbol. You forget others exist too.
There's lots of people using this case as a way to bash socialized medicine. I agree that this aspect of government run health care scares me. I used to say with Obamacare that I'd probably be for it if the people pushing it weren't so abortion/euthanasia-minded. They scared me too. It was scary the aggressive way they pushed it through as well.
But the truth is, it always comes down to money. And care is determined by how much money. In our system the market (mostly) decides. In theirs, the state decides. Both approaches have grave weaknesses. But in their system they have fewer abortions, and far fewer infant and maternal deaths. And frankly many of those people crying for Alfie would cut Medicaid for him if he was over here and a little bit older.
Poor Alfie. May he rest in peace. God bless his parents. I hope they can recover from this as stronger, better people. They'll always have a hole in their heart for their little boy.
Saturday, April 28, 2018
Monday, April 23, 2018
What's Going On
Bye, Bye Birdie
B finished the first weekend of her musical Bye, Bye Birdie at a brand new community theater at a church about 40 minutes from us. It has been so tiring driving back and forth all the time but I think it is worth it in the end. B is really enjoying herself. The show is good! I saw it Friday night. The cast is great, the songs are fun. They did have some technical difficulties with sound. I didn't go Saturday night but some friends of ours did and they said it was good. Becky said out of all three performances so far, she thought Saturdays was the best. Yesterday, Sunday, R took his dad and lady friend and V to see the show. S and I stayed home and watched little Dylan. Then I had to leave to attend an event at church. But anyway, Rick said he enjoyed the show as did his Dad and Peggy. Rick said Peggy really did seem to have a good time and wasn't just being polite!
I am not sure of any pick up rehearsal planned this week. B has AHG this afternoon and she's looking forward to attending youth group on Tuesday night which she has had to miss due to rehearsal scheduling. This coming week the show is on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. J and S are going Thursday night probably. I'll go for closing night. Not sure about Friday night.
Environmental Stuff
We had a great Earth Day event at my parish. The Care for Our Common Home team hosted a speaker from Catholic University. A woman who teaches physics and astronomy there. She discovered a supernova back in 1997! She works with the Hubbel spacecraft. She gave a great talk. The universe is really big and complex, folks. And so far there is no life. There may be life somewhere out there but we probably have a small chance of ever finding out. LIFE IS PRECIOUS! We need to take care of this planet. As she said: There is no planet B! This is it!
Another thing is I am going to be attending a meeting this Saturday to start a zero waste campaign in our county! I'm excited about getting involved in that!
Anyone who is interested, I run a facebook group called Catholics for Zero Waste. Check it out! We are doing a group read of Laudato Si' for the Easter liturgical season.
Being Too Busy
I can't wait until the academic year winds down. I so need a break in the constant busy-ness. I want to purge my house, work in my garden and yard, cook lots of good food that fits with our diet, read lots of books, and hang out with my family as much as possible.
B finished the first weekend of her musical Bye, Bye Birdie at a brand new community theater at a church about 40 minutes from us. It has been so tiring driving back and forth all the time but I think it is worth it in the end. B is really enjoying herself. The show is good! I saw it Friday night. The cast is great, the songs are fun. They did have some technical difficulties with sound. I didn't go Saturday night but some friends of ours did and they said it was good. Becky said out of all three performances so far, she thought Saturdays was the best. Yesterday, Sunday, R took his dad and lady friend and V to see the show. S and I stayed home and watched little Dylan. Then I had to leave to attend an event at church. But anyway, Rick said he enjoyed the show as did his Dad and Peggy. Rick said Peggy really did seem to have a good time and wasn't just being polite!
I am not sure of any pick up rehearsal planned this week. B has AHG this afternoon and she's looking forward to attending youth group on Tuesday night which she has had to miss due to rehearsal scheduling. This coming week the show is on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. J and S are going Thursday night probably. I'll go for closing night. Not sure about Friday night.
Environmental Stuff
We had a great Earth Day event at my parish. The Care for Our Common Home team hosted a speaker from Catholic University. A woman who teaches physics and astronomy there. She discovered a supernova back in 1997! She works with the Hubbel spacecraft. She gave a great talk. The universe is really big and complex, folks. And so far there is no life. There may be life somewhere out there but we probably have a small chance of ever finding out. LIFE IS PRECIOUS! We need to take care of this planet. As she said: There is no planet B! This is it!
Another thing is I am going to be attending a meeting this Saturday to start a zero waste campaign in our county! I'm excited about getting involved in that!
Anyone who is interested, I run a facebook group called Catholics for Zero Waste. Check it out! We are doing a group read of Laudato Si' for the Easter liturgical season.
Being Too Busy
I can't wait until the academic year winds down. I so need a break in the constant busy-ness. I want to purge my house, work in my garden and yard, cook lots of good food that fits with our diet, read lots of books, and hang out with my family as much as possible.
Sunday, April 15, 2018
2018 Reading Challenge Update
I have not been doing too well with reading so far this year. I feel I get slower as I get older. Also, I tend to give up on books more. I am giving up on Apologia Pro Vita Sua by Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman. I've been trying to read it slowly, as a meditation each morning. But I can't get into it. It is too dry and not spiritual enough for me. It is better if I was reading it for historical purposes, but I'm not. Maybe I'll tackle it at a later point.
It took me months to get through The Brothers Karamazov but I did! Such a powerful book.
I also re-read a couple books: another Georgette Heyer, Frederica, which is a delightful one, and Bab: A Sub-Deb by Mary Roberts Rinehart which is a very funny book but I had remembered some of it inaccurately. This bothered me because I didn't read it that long ago.
I have now started to listen to The Red and the Black by Stendhal on librivox. Librivox is my new best friend. It is free and it keeps me company as I drive all over kingdom come for my teens. I had selected this book for my classics Challenge. However, it is one of those existential French novels where the main character is rather unlikable. This was the new and edgy thing back post enlightenment/French Revolution - think Madame Bovary and Balzac novels. It continues to be a popular approach to novel writing. But I find it is rare that an author can make me care enough about an unsympathetic protagonist. A couple of exceptions to my mind are Lolita (because the author was brilliant in showing what a monster Humbert was but at the same time keeping him human) and The Bonfire of the Vanities (Wolfe just made us laugh at the absurdity of the protagonist's plight).
I am also currently reading Ancient Israel; Its Life and Institutions by Roland de Vaux. I have no idea how this book found itself into my house. It is a scholarly book but rather easy to read, in spite of that. I am enjoying it, but it isn't the sort of book you read cover to cover, so I don't know if I'll finish it exactly. If I do it might take a while and I feel in no rush with it.
I have been reading C.S. Lewis' Reflections on the Psalms as my new morning meditation book. I read it a long time ago, maybe 20 years? I have been really getting into praying the Psalms fairly regularly. I've been going to the Universalis site and praying Lauds, the Office of Readings and often also Compline at night. This has put new energy into my prayer life and I am really rejoicing in it! So Lewis' insights are a wonderful complement for me.
Finally, I just finished reading The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie. I am familiar with her hero detectives Poiriot and Marple, but I was not so familiar with Tommy and Tuppence! This is the first book that they are featured in . I got it for 99 cents on my Kindle. It's set after WWI and has got Bolsheviks in it which fits right in with what we are studying in history at the co-op. I enjoyed this book immensely. Christie's style here is very light and simple. This book will fit the bill for a classic mystery in my 2018 Reading Challenge.
Update - I wrote this post a few days ago. Since then I've started re-reading Radical Homemakers, a book I've been wanting to revisit for a while now.
For more book reviews, go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
It took me months to get through The Brothers Karamazov but I did! Such a powerful book.
 |
| Life changing! |
I also re-read a couple books: another Georgette Heyer, Frederica, which is a delightful one, and Bab: A Sub-Deb by Mary Roberts Rinehart which is a very funny book but I had remembered some of it inaccurately. This bothered me because I didn't read it that long ago.
 |
| A light, clever, amusing escape! |
I have now started to listen to The Red and the Black by Stendhal on librivox. Librivox is my new best friend. It is free and it keeps me company as I drive all over kingdom come for my teens. I had selected this book for my classics Challenge. However, it is one of those existential French novels where the main character is rather unlikable. This was the new and edgy thing back post enlightenment/French Revolution - think Madame Bovary and Balzac novels. It continues to be a popular approach to novel writing. But I find it is rare that an author can make me care enough about an unsympathetic protagonist. A couple of exceptions to my mind are Lolita (because the author was brilliant in showing what a monster Humbert was but at the same time keeping him human) and The Bonfire of the Vanities (Wolfe just made us laugh at the absurdity of the protagonist's plight).
I am also currently reading Ancient Israel; Its Life and Institutions by Roland de Vaux. I have no idea how this book found itself into my house. It is a scholarly book but rather easy to read, in spite of that. I am enjoying it, but it isn't the sort of book you read cover to cover, so I don't know if I'll finish it exactly. If I do it might take a while and I feel in no rush with it.
 |
| A good reference book, scholarly but very readable. |
 |
| Brilliant as usual! |
Finally, I just finished reading The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie. I am familiar with her hero detectives Poiriot and Marple, but I was not so familiar with Tommy and Tuppence! This is the first book that they are featured in . I got it for 99 cents on my Kindle. It's set after WWI and has got Bolsheviks in it which fits right in with what we are studying in history at the co-op. I enjoyed this book immensely. Christie's style here is very light and simple. This book will fit the bill for a classic mystery in my 2018 Reading Challenge.
Update - I wrote this post a few days ago. Since then I've started re-reading Radical Homemakers, a book I've been wanting to revisit for a while now.
For more book reviews, go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Wednesday, April 11, 2018
The Brothers Karamazov
I finally finished listening to this masterpiece. I listened to the Librivox recording read by volunteers. Some readers weren't so good but most of them were excellent. It is long! It took me a long time to get into it and get used to the characters. They all struck me as bizarre, initially. Fyodor Karamazov has three sons (and maybe an illegitimate 4th one.). The oldest is Dimitri or Mitya, from his first wife, the second is Ivan from the second wife and the third son, Alexei, is also from the 2nd wife. He has neglected and basically abandoned all three and they are raised by distant relatives. Mitya becomes a soldier, but he is too much like his sensual loving father. He has no impulse control. He likes playing with the ladies. However, and maybe this is because of how dishonorable his father is, he actually has a certain, rather narrow principle of honor that he tries to cling to. Ivan is the smart one. All these sons are young. I think Mitya is 23 and Ivan 21 or so. Ivan has already made a big splash in the publishing world after writing a brilliant analysis of a subject he didn't even really know about. He is just that smart and eloquent. Alexei or Alyosha is the good one. He wants to become a monk. And when we meet him he is under the tutelage of a famous elder monk named Father Zossima. Alyosha radiates goodness. He sees good in everyone. When he sees wrong being done it troubles him but he never stops loving the person who is doing the wrong. He speaks the truth to them always.
There is a possible 4th son who was conceived when a drunken Fyodor may have raped the local town homeless crazy lady, Lizavetta. He is named Smerdyakov and he is the only one actually raised in the household of the father Fyodor, albeit by the married servant couple, Grigory and Marfa. Fyodor married money in his first wife, and lucked into his second marriage but he was a loathsome person who was supremely undeserving and cruel to both. Always playing the buffoon but probably the smartest and most manipulative person in the room at any given time. He is a selfish, crude, belligerent man who craves attention and is good at making money, probably in a shady way. He is very reluctant to part with his money to his sons. When the sons are all finished being raised, they come back to the town. Mitya wants the money owed him by his inheritance. He is a gambler and drinker who has used up his money and is now in debt. I forget why Ivan comes home. Alexei has come back to the monastery attached to the town.
The plot is complicated. There are three women, each a potential love interest for each son. Mitya is engaged to a general's daughter, Katarina Ivanova, but he has fallen out of love with her and in love with a local woman, Grushenka. Grushenka apparently is a fallen woman, who was seduced by her lover at the age of 17 but then abandoned. She has come under the protection of a local merchant, who probably isn't sleeping with her, we don't think. She is very good at money and has helped him with his business and made some money for herself as well. Then there is a young crippled girl named Lisa who is the daughter of a local noble lady. She has somehow known Alyosha since childhood. Apparently her legs are getting stronger and she is expected to be able to walk one day. Father Zossima has prayed over her and she is recovering her health slowly. She is really crazy and we never find out why she is so. She loves Alyosha but then she rejects him. This is a kind of a loose end of the story that just never gets wrapped up.
So this is how it goes: Mitya loves Grushenka, but his father is obsessed with her as well. So the son and father are rivals. Meanwhile Grushenka just toys with them because she's waiting for her former lover to come back to her even though it's been 5 years. Katarina realizes Mitya no longer cares for her but his brother Ivan though has fallen in love with her.
Smerdyakov is creepy and evil. He hides this under a veneer of obsequious resentment and false timidity. He is also an epileptic. He sees that Mitya is getting desperate to keep Grushenka from his father and to also get his inheritance of 300 rubles so he can pay back 300 rubles that Katerina lent him. Mitya is determined to pay this money back as a point of honor. There's a really complicated back story to all this.
In the meantime Father Zossima dies and Alyosha goes through a brief period of grave doubt when he sees all the evil spoken of his holy mentor. Then after Alyosha leaves the monastary, he befriends a young boy who is being bullied by his schoolmates and who in anger bites Alyosha's finger. This young boy is named Ilusha. The foil to Ilusha is Khowla, a precociously bright boy who is vain but comes to revere Alyosha.
Smerdyakov has some interesting conversations with Mitya and Ivan and Alyosha at various times and it really seems like he is setting everyone up. Mitya, crazed with jealousy goes on a frantic spree and Fyodor is murdered. All the evidence points to Mitya. But Mitya didn't do it. We have a long trial scene the end of which is heartbreaking.
The books ends with so many loose ends. Will Mitya go to Siberia or escape with Grushenka to America? Will Ivan, who is having his own complicated struggle with guilt, die from his brain fever or not? Alyosha isn't going to be a monk. . . .yet. Where will he go, and will he marry Lisa?
There is so much going on in this book. There are so many profound questions being raised. We've got the problem of suffering, reason vs. faith, atheism vs. belief, the influence of childhood on manhood the relationship between parents and children, and so much more.
The end of the book though, is hopeful because Alyosha, with his simple faith, can always see the good in anyone, he always is grateful, he always sees the bigger picture, he always does the generous thing. And at the end what he says is as true as all the ugly true things said before.
I am glad the good Lord gave me time enough in my life to finally get around to reading this masterpiece. It deserves the reputation it has. Back in my 20's I read the first part up until the chapter called The Grand Inquisitor. It's only taken me 3 decades more to finally finish it! I would really love to study more about the meaning behind this complex and thoughtful novel.
There is a possible 4th son who was conceived when a drunken Fyodor may have raped the local town homeless crazy lady, Lizavetta. He is named Smerdyakov and he is the only one actually raised in the household of the father Fyodor, albeit by the married servant couple, Grigory and Marfa. Fyodor married money in his first wife, and lucked into his second marriage but he was a loathsome person who was supremely undeserving and cruel to both. Always playing the buffoon but probably the smartest and most manipulative person in the room at any given time. He is a selfish, crude, belligerent man who craves attention and is good at making money, probably in a shady way. He is very reluctant to part with his money to his sons. When the sons are all finished being raised, they come back to the town. Mitya wants the money owed him by his inheritance. He is a gambler and drinker who has used up his money and is now in debt. I forget why Ivan comes home. Alexei has come back to the monastery attached to the town.
The plot is complicated. There are three women, each a potential love interest for each son. Mitya is engaged to a general's daughter, Katarina Ivanova, but he has fallen out of love with her and in love with a local woman, Grushenka. Grushenka apparently is a fallen woman, who was seduced by her lover at the age of 17 but then abandoned. She has come under the protection of a local merchant, who probably isn't sleeping with her, we don't think. She is very good at money and has helped him with his business and made some money for herself as well. Then there is a young crippled girl named Lisa who is the daughter of a local noble lady. She has somehow known Alyosha since childhood. Apparently her legs are getting stronger and she is expected to be able to walk one day. Father Zossima has prayed over her and she is recovering her health slowly. She is really crazy and we never find out why she is so. She loves Alyosha but then she rejects him. This is a kind of a loose end of the story that just never gets wrapped up.
So this is how it goes: Mitya loves Grushenka, but his father is obsessed with her as well. So the son and father are rivals. Meanwhile Grushenka just toys with them because she's waiting for her former lover to come back to her even though it's been 5 years. Katarina realizes Mitya no longer cares for her but his brother Ivan though has fallen in love with her.
Smerdyakov is creepy and evil. He hides this under a veneer of obsequious resentment and false timidity. He is also an epileptic. He sees that Mitya is getting desperate to keep Grushenka from his father and to also get his inheritance of 300 rubles so he can pay back 300 rubles that Katerina lent him. Mitya is determined to pay this money back as a point of honor. There's a really complicated back story to all this.
In the meantime Father Zossima dies and Alyosha goes through a brief period of grave doubt when he sees all the evil spoken of his holy mentor. Then after Alyosha leaves the monastary, he befriends a young boy who is being bullied by his schoolmates and who in anger bites Alyosha's finger. This young boy is named Ilusha. The foil to Ilusha is Khowla, a precociously bright boy who is vain but comes to revere Alyosha.
Smerdyakov has some interesting conversations with Mitya and Ivan and Alyosha at various times and it really seems like he is setting everyone up. Mitya, crazed with jealousy goes on a frantic spree and Fyodor is murdered. All the evidence points to Mitya. But Mitya didn't do it. We have a long trial scene the end of which is heartbreaking.
The books ends with so many loose ends. Will Mitya go to Siberia or escape with Grushenka to America? Will Ivan, who is having his own complicated struggle with guilt, die from his brain fever or not? Alyosha isn't going to be a monk. . . .yet. Where will he go, and will he marry Lisa?
There is so much going on in this book. There are so many profound questions being raised. We've got the problem of suffering, reason vs. faith, atheism vs. belief, the influence of childhood on manhood the relationship between parents and children, and so much more.
The end of the book though, is hopeful because Alyosha, with his simple faith, can always see the good in anyone, he always is grateful, he always sees the bigger picture, he always does the generous thing. And at the end what he says is as true as all the ugly true things said before.
I am glad the good Lord gave me time enough in my life to finally get around to reading this masterpiece. It deserves the reputation it has. Back in my 20's I read the first part up until the chapter called The Grand Inquisitor. It's only taken me 3 decades more to finally finish it! I would really love to study more about the meaning behind this complex and thoughtful novel.
Tuesday, April 10, 2018
Stuff Going On
The weather has been cold and everybody's talking about it.
Where are the gardeners we hired back in the fall who said they'd be here in early April?
Dylan is now 2.5 and is really talking. He can identify all the letters in the alphabet. He is completely potty trained except at night when he still wears a diaper. He is so much more advanced than any of my kids were!
S has started working part time at J's sailing marina. While he's still in school he works Tuesdays and Thursdays. Once the semester is finished, he'll be a full time summer dockhand. He is really maturing. All that working out with the physical trainer is suddenly paying off. He is slimmer and he's starting to look muscular. He even walks better, with better posture. He has grown a beard and he looks very manly now. He had a recital with his jazz ensemble on Saturday and he's got another one as part of a trio on 4/29.
J has his 23rd birthday. No one could think of anything to get him. R got him a smart phone. He still had his own flip phone from years ago. I started to clean his room for him. He is an embarrassing slob! OMG, it is gross! I told him I was going to clean his room and that he was too old now to ever, ever, ever let it get that bad again. I am going to work on it some today.
V is only taking one class this semester. Hopefully though she'll be able to take 2 this summer. We had a really bad set back. She needs to validate her degree from Cote D' ivoire. This, apparently involves paying people to get it to you. Not like a fee but you have to grease their palms or it just won't happen. So somehow a friend's family got it for her and sent it to her. However, R ripped it open to see what is was and then looking at the requirements from the school, saw that the envelope was supposed to remain sealed!!!! That means we have to start all over again, bribing and waiting months. We don't realize in the USA how the expectation of no corruption and rule of law is so important to maintaining order. In other countries where chaos and oppression have been the name of the game, everybody really does just look out for number one, to the detriment of everyone.
B is in a new musical, Bye, Bye, Birdie at a brand new community theatre which is located about 40 minutes from here in good traffic. It has been a BEAR to get her to rehearsals. Most of the time I have to get her to a place 30 minutes from here to carpool. Other times I drive her directly. It's been a pain. However, it is will be over by the end of this month and I am glad she's doing it. She is feeling better. Her thyroid numbers are finally normal, her iron level is normal and she's finally starting to feel a bit better, though slowly. But I can tell her mood has lifted considerably and she's got more energy. She spent two days of her own accord thoroughly cleaning her room. Then she pitched in, again without being asked, and helped clean the house for Easter. She also is excited about the show, because she's not only one of the featured dancers but she is helping to choreograph some of the dances. She is so into this. She regularly is recording herself dancing around the living room and then sending off the recordings to her co-choreographer. And she's taking over make up for the show. So she's been studying 50's make up and hair styles, which is so much fun. I am so happy to see her having fun again. She hasn't in so long. I don't think people know how much of a disheartening slog this whole year has been. It has been rough. So I think it's been a really good opportunity to get in on the ground level for this new community theater. And the people all seem super nice.
My birthday is this Friday (the 13th!) and R will be out of town, so I think it is not going to be much of a birthday.
I can't wait til I stop teaching at the co-op. I am so over teaching right now! We've had a long break, two weeks for Easter and then an additional week off because of snow (that barely happened). It is painful to have to get back into the saddle again for that. I've got to lesson plan and finish up the Latin curriculum for year one. And finish up the history and prepare for the final showcase. Yikes. I had better work on this today. Probably this evening.
Where are the gardeners we hired back in the fall who said they'd be here in early April?
Dylan is now 2.5 and is really talking. He can identify all the letters in the alphabet. He is completely potty trained except at night when he still wears a diaper. He is so much more advanced than any of my kids were!
S has started working part time at J's sailing marina. While he's still in school he works Tuesdays and Thursdays. Once the semester is finished, he'll be a full time summer dockhand. He is really maturing. All that working out with the physical trainer is suddenly paying off. He is slimmer and he's starting to look muscular. He even walks better, with better posture. He has grown a beard and he looks very manly now. He had a recital with his jazz ensemble on Saturday and he's got another one as part of a trio on 4/29.
J has his 23rd birthday. No one could think of anything to get him. R got him a smart phone. He still had his own flip phone from years ago. I started to clean his room for him. He is an embarrassing slob! OMG, it is gross! I told him I was going to clean his room and that he was too old now to ever, ever, ever let it get that bad again. I am going to work on it some today.
V is only taking one class this semester. Hopefully though she'll be able to take 2 this summer. We had a really bad set back. She needs to validate her degree from Cote D' ivoire. This, apparently involves paying people to get it to you. Not like a fee but you have to grease their palms or it just won't happen. So somehow a friend's family got it for her and sent it to her. However, R ripped it open to see what is was and then looking at the requirements from the school, saw that the envelope was supposed to remain sealed!!!! That means we have to start all over again, bribing and waiting months. We don't realize in the USA how the expectation of no corruption and rule of law is so important to maintaining order. In other countries where chaos and oppression have been the name of the game, everybody really does just look out for number one, to the detriment of everyone.
B is in a new musical, Bye, Bye, Birdie at a brand new community theatre which is located about 40 minutes from here in good traffic. It has been a BEAR to get her to rehearsals. Most of the time I have to get her to a place 30 minutes from here to carpool. Other times I drive her directly. It's been a pain. However, it is will be over by the end of this month and I am glad she's doing it. She is feeling better. Her thyroid numbers are finally normal, her iron level is normal and she's finally starting to feel a bit better, though slowly. But I can tell her mood has lifted considerably and she's got more energy. She spent two days of her own accord thoroughly cleaning her room. Then she pitched in, again without being asked, and helped clean the house for Easter. She also is excited about the show, because she's not only one of the featured dancers but she is helping to choreograph some of the dances. She is so into this. She regularly is recording herself dancing around the living room and then sending off the recordings to her co-choreographer. And she's taking over make up for the show. So she's been studying 50's make up and hair styles, which is so much fun. I am so happy to see her having fun again. She hasn't in so long. I don't think people know how much of a disheartening slog this whole year has been. It has been rough. So I think it's been a really good opportunity to get in on the ground level for this new community theater. And the people all seem super nice.
My birthday is this Friday (the 13th!) and R will be out of town, so I think it is not going to be much of a birthday.
I can't wait til I stop teaching at the co-op. I am so over teaching right now! We've had a long break, two weeks for Easter and then an additional week off because of snow (that barely happened). It is painful to have to get back into the saddle again for that. I've got to lesson plan and finish up the Latin curriculum for year one. And finish up the history and prepare for the final showcase. Yikes. I had better work on this today. Probably this evening.
Friday, April 6, 2018
Seton Hall University
We had a day yesterday. We got up super early and took a taxi into DC, got on a train and traveled up to Newark, NJ. We then got into another taxi and drove to South Orange, NJ, home of Seton Hall University. We got there in time for our 10 a.m. tour.
When we filled out the registration form for the tour, they asked what field of study the student was interested in. I put down theater for B, even though she is growing more and more interested in psychology. It may be that theater is more of a hobby for her while psychology becomes a career? I guess at 16 years old it is too early to tell! But anyway, the tour started in an auditorium where one of the counselors from the school gave a brief introductory talk which of course talked up all the great points of the school. 90% of the students get some kind of scholarship. 81% of the students do some kind of internship. They really push internships and how much they help students get jobs after college. The school is a 30 minute train ride from downtown Manhattan and many students intern with big name employers. B was especially interested in the Saturday Night Life and Tonight show with Jimmy Fallon internships!
After the general talk we were broken up into small groups, each with a tour guide. Ours was Caroline. I think she said she was a science major, but I don't know which science, maybe biology? She is a junior. Very perky and pretty girl. She made a good impression. I didn't take many pictures at all. I was busy walking and listening. The campus is pretty with some very old buildings and some new construction. There are several colleges within the University. The original and biggest college was the communication and arts college. They also had a school of diplomacy, a business school, a nursing and medical services school and probably something else, I think maybe a school of education. Actually that might be the original college since they named themselves after St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and she started the Catholic school system in the USA. Anyway, this fall they are starting a brand new medical school for actual doctors! I thought that was pretty cool. Hannah's friend is trying to become a doctor and she has to be really careful in choosing which school because most medical schools regularly have you perform abortions during residency! Isn't that awful? So we need Catholic medical schools.
We saw one of the dorms. It looked like a dorm. They do have coed dorms. So one suite of rooms will have girls and the suite next door could have guys. I don't recall her mentioning anything like visitation hours or anything. I guess you couldn't have something like that. So I don't think Seton Hall will ever make it into the Newman Guide for this reason. However, it made me think of Hannah's experience with the University of Dallas. One complaint she had there was that confession was only offered once a week and at a really inconvenient time and place even. So they had separate dorms for men and women but made it hard to go to confession. At Seton Hall, they had coed dorms but apparently you can go to confession every day at the very conveniently centered chapel! LOL. So I guess two different ways to approach the same problem!
One thing that surprised me about the dorms is that the school does not guarantee on campus housing. In fact only about 80% of the freshmen live on campus and for upperclassmen this goes down to 50%. The town of South Orange provides lots of group housing for the students and there are a fair number of commuters as well.
We saw the cafeteria which was huge and had lots of different areas with different types of food. We were in fact able to get a salad that seemed to conform to B's dietary restrictions. We also saw the sports facility. It has a huge indoor basketball court. They are big into sports in whatever division they are in. (I don't ever retain that kind of info!). They also had an indoor pool and a big exercise machine area. We saw students playing basketball and working out. We went into an empty classroom in the business school where she talked about various requirements and answered questions about the different colleges and such. She pointed out various important buildings like where you'd go for financial stuff and where the bookstore was, etc. We went into the library and learned about the best places to study.
We stopped into the chapel. Caroline our tour guide said that Seton Hall was as Catholic as you wanted to make it. There were crucifixes in every room/building entrance. I saw a couple of priests walking around but I also saw at least three different Muslim women obviously coming in and out of classes. I really liked that there was every color under the rainbow in the student body, but no one looked like they were 'posing.' I just remember one time walking through the Georgetown U. campus. Every ten feet there were posters about LGTBQ rights and so many of the students had mohawk, dyed bright pink hair styles, etc. It just gave off this vibe. I did see one poster about LGTBQ at Seton Hall, and there may have been an occasional student with a pierced nose, but while walking around campus, seeing kids going to and from classes, lining up and then eating in the cafeteria, etc, they all looked like regular kids who were busy getting an education. So the vibe of the school didn't feel politically radical to me, but it didn't feel stuffy and right wing either. It struck me as balanced.
Since I have become so interested in environmental issues lately, I was pleased to see that the school offers an environmental studies degree. And on the tour we passed by a big garden that either the department or ecology club had started. I also noticed they tried to do recycling, though the cafeteria has tons of plastic going on. However, they did have a hydration station where I could fill up my own water bottle. So SHU could improve but seems like it is moving in the right direction.
Someone on the tour asked about campus safety. our guide and the woman who gave the general talk (and she had an assistant there was well who was a girl) all said as females they felt safe walking around campus late at night. The campus is gated and there are emergency call boxes throughout. They also have campus police who regularly patrol the grounds. The South Orange police station is literally down the street. Since the whole area really seems dominated by students, it seems like people are probably up and about at all hours.
After eating in the cafeteria, we went looking for the theater which is in the same building. It is a theatre in the round. They were filming an interview in there for a media studies class. A graduate student/assistant teacher came over and chatted with us. Everyone was so friendly and down to earth. That just wasn't the campus either. We got lost in Newark and everybody was friendly and helpful. I always think there is this reputation for rudeness in the New York/New Jersey area but it is not true. Frankly, I think Washington DC is way ruder.
Back to theater, the guide said the college also performs in South Orange's performing arts center (SOPAC) which is right by the train station we discovered when we wandered around South Orange.
After our tour we walked out into South Orange which is literally a 10 minute walk away. Very cute little downtown area. We were freezing the whole time. It has obviously been much colder up there than here. They still had patches of snow on the ground. The temperature was a high of 35 and with the wind chill it felt like 29. And it did. It was so uncomfortable. We had only brought light jackets and no gloves or hats. And we were outside a good bit of the time walking around lost, waiting for buses and trains on windy platforms. Brrrr. That kind of colored our impressions too. And really tired us out. And we were already tired from getting up early and traveling and not eating breakfast and almost fainting from hunger while on the tour before lunch. But despite that major discomfort, I think we both were favorably impressed. I could see B there, fitting right in.
When we filled out the registration form for the tour, they asked what field of study the student was interested in. I put down theater for B, even though she is growing more and more interested in psychology. It may be that theater is more of a hobby for her while psychology becomes a career? I guess at 16 years old it is too early to tell! But anyway, the tour started in an auditorium where one of the counselors from the school gave a brief introductory talk which of course talked up all the great points of the school. 90% of the students get some kind of scholarship. 81% of the students do some kind of internship. They really push internships and how much they help students get jobs after college. The school is a 30 minute train ride from downtown Manhattan and many students intern with big name employers. B was especially interested in the Saturday Night Life and Tonight show with Jimmy Fallon internships!
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| The beautiful chapel. This is the only picture I took on the tour! |
After the general talk we were broken up into small groups, each with a tour guide. Ours was Caroline. I think she said she was a science major, but I don't know which science, maybe biology? She is a junior. Very perky and pretty girl. She made a good impression. I didn't take many pictures at all. I was busy walking and listening. The campus is pretty with some very old buildings and some new construction. There are several colleges within the University. The original and biggest college was the communication and arts college. They also had a school of diplomacy, a business school, a nursing and medical services school and probably something else, I think maybe a school of education. Actually that might be the original college since they named themselves after St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and she started the Catholic school system in the USA. Anyway, this fall they are starting a brand new medical school for actual doctors! I thought that was pretty cool. Hannah's friend is trying to become a doctor and she has to be really careful in choosing which school because most medical schools regularly have you perform abortions during residency! Isn't that awful? So we need Catholic medical schools.
We saw one of the dorms. It looked like a dorm. They do have coed dorms. So one suite of rooms will have girls and the suite next door could have guys. I don't recall her mentioning anything like visitation hours or anything. I guess you couldn't have something like that. So I don't think Seton Hall will ever make it into the Newman Guide for this reason. However, it made me think of Hannah's experience with the University of Dallas. One complaint she had there was that confession was only offered once a week and at a really inconvenient time and place even. So they had separate dorms for men and women but made it hard to go to confession. At Seton Hall, they had coed dorms but apparently you can go to confession every day at the very conveniently centered chapel! LOL. So I guess two different ways to approach the same problem!
One thing that surprised me about the dorms is that the school does not guarantee on campus housing. In fact only about 80% of the freshmen live on campus and for upperclassmen this goes down to 50%. The town of South Orange provides lots of group housing for the students and there are a fair number of commuters as well.
We saw the cafeteria which was huge and had lots of different areas with different types of food. We were in fact able to get a salad that seemed to conform to B's dietary restrictions. We also saw the sports facility. It has a huge indoor basketball court. They are big into sports in whatever division they are in. (I don't ever retain that kind of info!). They also had an indoor pool and a big exercise machine area. We saw students playing basketball and working out. We went into an empty classroom in the business school where she talked about various requirements and answered questions about the different colleges and such. She pointed out various important buildings like where you'd go for financial stuff and where the bookstore was, etc. We went into the library and learned about the best places to study.
We stopped into the chapel. Caroline our tour guide said that Seton Hall was as Catholic as you wanted to make it. There were crucifixes in every room/building entrance. I saw a couple of priests walking around but I also saw at least three different Muslim women obviously coming in and out of classes. I really liked that there was every color under the rainbow in the student body, but no one looked like they were 'posing.' I just remember one time walking through the Georgetown U. campus. Every ten feet there were posters about LGTBQ rights and so many of the students had mohawk, dyed bright pink hair styles, etc. It just gave off this vibe. I did see one poster about LGTBQ at Seton Hall, and there may have been an occasional student with a pierced nose, but while walking around campus, seeing kids going to and from classes, lining up and then eating in the cafeteria, etc, they all looked like regular kids who were busy getting an education. So the vibe of the school didn't feel politically radical to me, but it didn't feel stuffy and right wing either. It struck me as balanced.
Since I have become so interested in environmental issues lately, I was pleased to see that the school offers an environmental studies degree. And on the tour we passed by a big garden that either the department or ecology club had started. I also noticed they tried to do recycling, though the cafeteria has tons of plastic going on. However, they did have a hydration station where I could fill up my own water bottle. So SHU could improve but seems like it is moving in the right direction.
Someone on the tour asked about campus safety. our guide and the woman who gave the general talk (and she had an assistant there was well who was a girl) all said as females they felt safe walking around campus late at night. The campus is gated and there are emergency call boxes throughout. They also have campus police who regularly patrol the grounds. The South Orange police station is literally down the street. Since the whole area really seems dominated by students, it seems like people are probably up and about at all hours.
After eating in the cafeteria, we went looking for the theater which is in the same building. It is a theatre in the round. They were filming an interview in there for a media studies class. A graduate student/assistant teacher came over and chatted with us. Everyone was so friendly and down to earth. That just wasn't the campus either. We got lost in Newark and everybody was friendly and helpful. I always think there is this reputation for rudeness in the New York/New Jersey area but it is not true. Frankly, I think Washington DC is way ruder.
Back to theater, the guide said the college also performs in South Orange's performing arts center (SOPAC) which is right by the train station we discovered when we wandered around South Orange.
After our tour we walked out into South Orange which is literally a 10 minute walk away. Very cute little downtown area. We were freezing the whole time. It has obviously been much colder up there than here. They still had patches of snow on the ground. The temperature was a high of 35 and with the wind chill it felt like 29. And it did. It was so uncomfortable. We had only brought light jackets and no gloves or hats. And we were outside a good bit of the time walking around lost, waiting for buses and trains on windy platforms. Brrrr. That kind of colored our impressions too. And really tired us out. And we were already tired from getting up early and traveling and not eating breakfast and almost fainting from hunger while on the tour before lunch. But despite that major discomfort, I think we both were favorably impressed. I could see B there, fitting right in.
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