Cousin ~ Friends

The other evening, I was looking through my phone contact list, trying to figure out who was on the same phone network as I am (I went over our minutes last month, so I'm trying to be more careful...!) so that I could better enjoy my late-night bus ride home after teaching. I called one of my Bontrager-side cousins that I haven't seen for almost two years. She wasn't able to talk right then, but she called back later that night.

We did the usual catching-up conversations, and eventually eased into more "musings" about the relationships of cousins - our cousins in particular. Now that we're all officially adults (the youngest of the first cousins will be 19 on Sunday this week; and there are at least 8 kids in the next generation, ranging in age from about 2 months to... well, 22 years... that's what you get when you have a range of 12 years in our parents' generation!), the nature of our cousin-ly gatherings has changed quite a bit. When we were younger, we were thrilled to run around our grandparents' yard and our aunt and uncle who live next door (in the house where my dad was born!), climbing the pear tree (no longer there?), playing with the barn cats, jumping on the trampoline, playing baseball or woofleball (highly competitive when a certain uncle was around - he was very passionate about the game!), making up games, playing monopoly... Those days evolved into midnight pranks pulled while sleeping out in the tent (girls) or camper (boys), and then that evolved into late-night fiestas of dutch blitz or trivial pursuit and pizza (though some certain cousins had unfair Trivial Pursuit advantages, since they had the game around all the time and worked to memorize said trivia...), rambunctious story-telling and memory-reliving about our parents and grandparents (wouldn't YOU make good, clean fun of your grandma if you found out she'd stuck a rifle in the ground after the foxes, who WERE bothering the chickens, were gone after you'd loaded and readied it? or that she'd brought a "baby" alligator home from Florida and kept it in her room, till it froze to death thanks to the upstairs not being heated?)...

Now we're really adults. All of us have graduated from high school. Many of us have graduated from college or some other higher-education, most of us have steady jobs/occupations that we're generally content with, or at least a plan for getting where we'd like to be in the next 5 years or so. When we get together, the bond of being cousins - even though some of us we only get to have a handful of days together every one or two years - seems to pull us together with positive energy. We discuss our grandparents' health with great concern and our parents' current state of relationships with trepidation and care, knowing how much we love them all and wanting the best for everyone... but deeply glad that the problems they're having are not problems we have to enter into to make a difference. We hope that our parents don't do the same thing to us as Grandma and Grandpa have done to them (and to themselves). We discuss politics, theology and faith (following in the tradition of our parents, who debated tough issues with high energy and a wealth of Biblical ground-knowledge that inspires and energizes me every time I got to observe such a debate!), wrestle with issues of self and identity and responsibility to each other and to our world (the physical and the social world)...

Even though we don't see each other that often, it is so comforting to know that we have this depth of relationships that allows us to have such conversations in love and to listen to each other (at least most of us) when we come across areas where we differ. It is amazing that, despite our vast differences in life experiences, many of us share strikingly similar viewpoints and sensibilities. I feel so blessed to have such an amazing group of cousins (on both sides!) and to know that these people know me and accept me for who I am.

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I got this comic on a graduate school newsletter this week...


It's from "Piled Higher and Deeper" by Jorge Cham, www.phdcomics.com

Bus rides

This morning I hopped on a bus (7:12 am - not too early, not too late!) after having completed a morning jog, which was harder than normal but felt wonderful thanks to the cool air (53 degrees)! This bus is usually not too full - there are normally seats for both Brandon and I on the days we get to ride this bus together (we often go in at different times).

Today, however, when I got on - it was standing room only! I felt badly as more and more people boarded between my stop and the Square - and we all "danced" the shuffle of emptying about half the bus on the east side of the square (a normal dance event, but more challenging today, given the number of people standing!).

I think that the gas prices are going to significantly alter the number of people riding the bus. My friend Jake already says that more and more people ride the bus specified to go to his workplace each day - understandably so. Perhaps this will encourage the Metro Transit System to become more and more improved. What I don't yet understand, though, is how traffic appears to continually get slightly worse while the busses get fuller - a very interesting dichotomy! Either way, I'm very thankful that my bus pass comes paid in full to me. It really is a job perk!

I may have to start biking occasionnally, though - Brandon said he was going to bike today (I assume he did, though he left while I was out running) and it sounded like a refreshing idea...

End-of-Semester "let-down"

Since my last post was about Madison's first snowfall, I thought it was about time for a new one (now that we're past the snow time... over 100 inches later!)...

Normally when I finish a semester, there is a huge sigh of relief, and I often have an urge to sit around and do nothing for a very long time. During college (and even sometimes in high school), I often got ill from the let-down of stress once everything was done. Last fall, I didn't get sick. I was thoroughly energized and ready for my upcoming vacation to spend time with family in Iowa and Delaware. Now that the spring semester is over (for me - I sang my juries on Monday), I almost feel like there is a void. I have all these things to accomplish (crafts to finish, cleaning to start, music to learn, books I want to read, and a LOT of busy-ness at work with summer workshops quickly approaching!) but so much less structure. I like the lack of structure, but I know that the long hours at work will kick in (like yesterday, with a 9-hour day in the office. I only left my office to go to the printer, the bathroom, to ask questions of co-workers, and to run one errand in the Humanities building!). It's up to me to stay focused enough to do the things I want and need to do. That's scary, but less daunting than it has been in the past. The clarity with which I see my tasks helps me prioritize and really do things rather than wanting to run from my responsibilities. Does that mean that I'm becoming more of an adult?!

I also realized, while sitting and talking about various work issues with my boss, that I really enjoy working for her. She's about the best boss anyone like me could ask for. She lets me do my work without breathing down my neck, encourages me when I take on new projects (like Spanish-language music classes, for which I developed a proposal, plan, wrote a grant, and received the grant! more about that on another post...), and thoroughly appreciates what I do. It's not hard work, but I'm glad to be appreciated. It will be so difficult to tell her when I decide to move on, but I know that she will understand when it is time. I did finally learn that my GRE scores aren't too old for applying to the Interdepartmental Graduate Program in Nutritional Sciences. That's great news!

Beautiful Whiteness Falling from the Sky

There are beautiful flakes of snow falling outside my window. It's just lovely. I'm so glad it's winter! I think I might get a 'real' Wisconsin winter finally this year - the last two have been relatively mild. The lakes are even freezing over (at least at the edges) already. I'm hoping for a solid freezing of the lakes for at least 3 months this year, like it's 'supposed' to be.

Christmas is coming! This is the best time of year.

Another hat to wear

I recently was introduced to a product called MonaVie. It is a blend of 19 fruits, covering many different pigmentation colors and using fruits from around the world. Each batch is tested for traces of pesticides/chemicals that could be harmful when ingested, and uses the highes quality ingredients. What you get from this yummy drink is a highly concentrated form of fruit - allowing you get the nutrients you need for health on a cellular level. It's not supposed to cure anything, but people have experienced a range of effects on their health, ranging from improved sleep to mental clarity to relief from chronic aches and pains - among others.

The effects I've felt include the improved sleep (I've not slept so well in years; particularly since being on Lariam while on SST in Cote d'Ivoire over 5 years ago!), mental clarity (particularly in terms of simply having energy to really think about tough questions in my life), increased energy overall (I have energy to get up and exercise almost every day!!), and a curbed appetite (so that I can willfully and gladly control portion sizes to what is more appropriate for health). I also don't crave junk food (pizza especially, since I don't crave desserts as much with my sugar sensitivities) which is a new thing for me!

So I decided to become an independent distributor of this product. I believe that it's making me healthier. My father-in-law said last night, "you really look good! There is more life in your eyes" and that meant a lot to me, that others can see a difference. Brandon even admitted that he notices that I have more vitality. I see it making a difference for my mom, and continue to hear stories from others that I am learning to know through the company. If people can't get on board with this product, I hope they at least make changes to improve their health by eating more fruits and vegetables. That alone would be beneficial to them.

If you want to learn more, just ask me! I'm always eager to share.

You know spam is really bad when...

This morning, one of my work tasks was to clean out my boss's e-mail in-box (she's away on a business trip to multiple music educator conferences). Normally, she gets a LOT of spam/junk e-mail (on the scale of 300+ per day). So this process takes quite a bit of my time!

I have to say, though, that sometimes the e-mails are rather amusing. Many come masked as "System Administration: Mailer daemon failure" and stuff like that (as if my boss would be sending notices about viagra, etc, to people she doesn't know/e-mail addresses that are absolutely ludicrous).

The funniest domain name that I saw today was "@alibaba.com". Because of the movie "Aladdin" I started laughing... It just struck me as funny.

I'm glad I don't get as much spam as she does, though, no matter how amusing it may be. Ultimately, there are about 5 or 6 basic e-mails that come through. Don't people have better things to do with their time?!