Fasting

Well, I've made a decision to fast. There are many in the world who choose to fast for various reasons. Christians usually fast for spiritual reasons while non-Christians fast for health benefits. My fasting is both a spiritual one and secular one. I'm not fasting from food, but from television! Not completely, but I'm allowing myself two hours of television a day. This will be a hard one. Since I haven't been doing much this summer, t.v has become my companion. It's on when I'm the room, it's on when i'm not in the room. Sometimes, I put it on mute when I'm doing work. I won't cut it off, but put it on mute! Does my work really get done. Absolutely not because I'm looking at the t.v. every five minutes. I've been reading blogs on personal and professional development and I've read topics from financial freedom to becoming an early riser. By the way, I have no determination when it comes to being an early riser and I've got to get in gear before work and school start. The latest one was giving up television (or hours of it).

Why is this needed you might ask? Well, I've pictured my future many times. I feel God's shown it to me. It's there just waiting. Every great opportunity, every new idea, every vacation to the beach, even a beach house! But I know those things will never come in my present state. Simply, the woman I see in my future looks nothing like the woman I am right now. The woman I see is financially free and I'm not. So I'm getting control of my finances. The woman I see has many roles that require energy, time, and organization. I used to have that and when I did, I was up before 7am and I was eating better and taking care of myself. Through the personal/professional development blogs and articles, I keep reading about CEO's and president's and entrprenuers linking their success to the time they rise each morning. Conclusion- rising earlier means you have more time in your day. You might actually get done with work early and enjoy your family! Who knew?!

Well, part of my failure in not being an early riser is that I've been conusmed by the television. Absolute, pure, crap could be on the television and I'll still watch it. This means that instead of winding down by 10 so I can at least be in bed by 11pm, I'll watch t.v. until 12am, which is when King of the Hill comes on. Then I'll watch that until 12:30am and I'll be wired until 2am. By that time, I cut my alarm off because I know I won't wake up at 5:45, or 6am! You see the problem? So, I'm fasting from t.v. Wish me luck!

Rebelling

When did letter writing, talking on the house phone, and reading a good book become a past time? I actually tried writing a letter a few days ago, only to come to the conclusion that I needed to practice my handwriting. It looked like chicken scratch! I've become so use to typing that handwriting tires my hands out. That's so sad. And the house phone? I think I'm actually getting a workout from WALKING to the house phone instead of reaching under my pillow (while lying on it) to answer my cell phone. Book reading! Not e-books, but hardcover books. I've started a new one by John Grisham. When I stopped reading, due to the words moving on the page, I looked at the clock to see that 2 hours had passed. Amazing!

It's nothing new to see that we live in a techno-saturated world. Everything's done over to computer, even telecommuting has become popular. I'll admit, the idea of waking up and walking down the hall to my office sounds great. But what was the purpose behind telecommuting? What was the purpose behind the internet? What was the purpose behind the cell phone? They all cut out tedious time in a person's schedule. No driving to work. No having to call people back after listening to the answering machine. No waiting 3 days for a letter to get to you, then waiting an additional 3 days for the person to receive yours. I remember the summer after my freshman year of college, my best friend and I would write each other every week. We'd handwrite actual letters and buy stamps and envelopes to mail them. And I'm not ancient! Hold on...I need a moment to regain my composure.

Now, back to 2007. All of these things were invented to save us time and give us more hours to enjoy life. What have we done? We've filled those extra hours with more responsibilities. Some of us have chosen to sleep longer. Some of us have chosen to work longer. But how many people chose to fill those extra hours with things they've always wanted to do? So I'm rebelling. If I was given extra hours to enjoy life, then I'll enjoy it. I'll write letters, read more books, go to museums, art galleries, and play with my dog. I'll check out cafes, drive to the beach, and see a play. I encourage you all to do the same! Enjoy life and let technology do the rest. Here's to another roadtrip!

Should Spouses Receive Permission to Speak?

Enviornmental racism? Campaign fundraisers? Remarks by Ann Coulter? U.S safety? There's so many things to talk about, but I feel the need to comment on spouses speaking during presidential campaigns. Now, please forgive this moderate feminist, sometimes conservative, sometimes extremely liberal, more spiritual than religious blogger from offending anyone. But, it seems to me that when your spouse is running for PRESIDENT, you need to watch what you say if you want him/her to win. Last election, it was John Kerry's wife who had everyone talking. First of all, I loved this woman because she was strongly opinonated and let the world know that she had as much to say as her husband and had some intelligence. Hooray for women! Now we seem to have Elizabeth Edwards doing the same thing. Whether it's going against her husband on the gay marriage issue, or defending John from outright horrific remarks by others who get paid for being insulting, Mrs. Edwards has made sure that she is heard. Once again, hooray for women!

But, but, but, but, is it hurting her spouse's campaign? Did Mrs. Kerry hurt her husband's campaign? I can't help but wonder if it's doing more harm than good to show that you have a voice. Is it always good to act on passion and speak out on a subject, even without consulting your husband or his campaign workers(who's trying to win an election)? For this, I would have to say that it seems pretty selfish when you take matters into your own hands and 1) bash another candidate, 2) disagree openly with your running spouse, or 3) argue with another political figure without some kind of plan. Unfortunately we still live in a world where timelines clash. For every person who feels spouses in a campaign ought to be free and speak up regardless of the situation, there's someone else who feels they should be quiet and look good.

I'm not sure I believe spouses of candidates should receive permission to speak about an issue, but I do believe that whatever is said should be strategized before it's spoken. Here's to another roadtrip.

The Importance of Finance

I’ve been watching show after show and reading article after article about being responsible with money and getting out of debt. I can say one thing: WOW! Why weren’t there classes like this when we were children? Answer these following questions:

1. Do you know your credit score?
2. Do you know what’s on your credit and if any additional charges are on it?
3. How much do you have in savings?
4. If you lost your job today, do you have enough money to cover your bills for at
least 3 months?
5. If you suffered a tragedy, how much debt would you be leaving your family?
6. How much money do you have in retirement?
7. If your family were in a financial bind, could you help them?
8. If you wanted to buy a house, new car, or get married within the next year,
based on your finances, could you do it?

Now if that isn’t crazy enough, do you even know how to invest, save properly and still enjoy your life? Me either! For years, society has been treating people as if this stuff was common knowledge. It’s not! I used to think parents who played money games with their 5 year old children were weird or obsessed. They’re not! Now don’t get me wrong, I am happy for my childhood and I believe that all children should not have to worry about adult things. But, in order to be a successful adult, you’ve got to have the tools. This means that parents who do not know about money need to learn, quickly so they can teach their kids. Is there any way I can rewind my life and learn a few of these lessons real quick? Here’s to another road trip.

Change in Schedule

I don't know if anyone has ever heard of or read blogs by Steve Pavlina, but I wanted to prepare my body for work again (I'm on the academic calendar). I use to be an early riser-I'm talking 5:30am, and I wanted to get back to that state again. Well, maybe not 5:30am, but close to it. So I googled "How to Become an Early Riser" and this article by Steve Pavlina came up. First I must say that the article is great and he had some wonderful tips for going to bed, getting up early, sticking to it for a certain number of days (30) before it actually becomes a habit. So yesterday was day one. I woke up at 5:45am, worked out, took my shower, dressed, and got started with my day. By 8:30am, I had already done half of the things on my list. It was great! Well, just like the article said, I didn't expect for my new routine to completely take shape so early. So I wasn't that surprised when I couldn't go to bed until 12am this morning, fell asleep immediately, and woke up at 7:45am! Needless to say, I did not work out, but I did do something good: Instead of rolling over and going back to sleep (because I missed my 5:45am wake up call), I got out of bed anyway and started my day. Now tomorrow will be the hardest because it's Saturday. Steve says to go for 30 straight days so your body can get the hang of it...we'll see.

Ever tried to become disciplined in a specific area? It's hard, but that's how stars are made. I encourage everyone to change something about their routine that could be a little better. It'll be tough, but you'll feel better in the end. Ah, spoken like someone who hasn't tried to change anything. LOL! Here's to another road trip.

Shacking and...Nufff Said

The topic? Shacking. Yes, shacking! It’s a topic that has many people talking and until this point, I have remained quiet. Yet, with so many reports and statistics on cohabitation before marriage and whether it’s okay or not, I must speak up. From a religious stand, many Christians feel that living together before marriage is morally wrong because 1) if you’re living together, you must be fornicating, 2) living together could mean that you won’t get married and 3) living together means that your marriage has a higher percentage of ending in divorce.

Now, I am all for marriage. I personally can’t imagine why two people who love each other would not want to commit their lives to one another. And, I can absolutely understand why people oppose those who live together before marriage. All of the above reasons, although not always true, are based on some form of truth. But, I cannot support those who condemn others out of fear of the unknown. I mean think about it. How new is “shacking?” I mean is it something that emerged recently? Say 10 years ago? Fifteen years ago? No, “shacking” is something that has been happening for centuries. Why weren’t people in a funk 100 years ago when others were doing this? Because marriages weren’t decomposing before their eyes at such a fast rate. People were living together, but the institution of marriage and the rules and regulations of the church were not in jeopardy then.

Statistics show that those who cohabitate before marriage have a higher chance of having a failed marriage than those who do not live together. Those who are “morally superior” have used statistics to convince couples that “if you live together before marriage, you’ll get divorced!” Therefore, you shouldn’t live together before marriage. Unfortunately, society for a long time has accepted and believed this statement without question. But, another statistic has been left uncovered. It’s been mentioned, but not as much as cohabitation: Born again Christians who attend church regularly have a higher rate of divorce than those who do not attend church regularly, including atheists and agnostics. AHHHHHHHHHH!!!

What does this mean? Does this mean that if I get married, I should no longer attend church? Well if the statement about cohabitation is true, then this one must be too. Oh well, my life now has meaning. Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd…back to reality. Obviously, although this may be a fact, it is ridiculous to assume that if my husband and I attend church regularly, our marriage will end. It is also ridiculous to assume that if I live with my boyfriend before marriage, it will end in divorce as well.

Is living together before marriage morally wrong? I honestly cannot answer that. Some say that if your goal is marriage then it’s okay. Some say that if it’s a substitute for marriage then it’s wrong. I don’t know. I can argue both sides. Here’s the truth: A marriage does not dissolve because people live together, have sex before marriage (although I do have secular and religious objections to this), or attend church regularly. Marriages end in divorce because there are problems in the relationship! I know this is hard to hear, but it’s true. People know how to get into a relationship, but rarely know how to deal with the challenges. Some issues are irreconcilable. Some people just aren’t meant to be together. But for anyone to think that a relationship does not succeed because of “shacking” or “regular church attendance” is someone who does not know how to get to the “root” of an issue. Here’s to another road trip.

United States of Africa

After reading another blog to gain information on this matter (thank you Stevie Warner), I found this article. Is it possible?

*Click on title to see article

First time...failed!

Okay so I'm trying to get my body clock and energy ready for school and work that will stroll into my life in August. For the past month and a half, I've been staying up later and later. I don't why I do this to myself. I can now stay up until 3:30/4am, go to bed and wake up around 9:45am. So to get myself ready for the 6:30am alarm clock slowly making it's way around the corner, I turned in last night at 11:30pm, hoping to rise and shine early. HA! I knew it wouldn't work, but we can all wish right? Needless to say, I couldn't fall asleep last night until 1am, woke up at 4am, back to sleep sometime after 4:15am, awake at 7:24am. Stop there! I saw the clock at 7:24am and wanted to get up, but my body felt like pure lead. It wouldn't move and I sure wasn't trying to force it. Back to bed and my phone rings at 8:45am. Luckily Sophie needed to be walked so I had to get up.

So it's time to regroup. I'm teaching an online summer class, which means I don't have to go into the office (great, other ways for me to be lasy). But, I have just emailed some students, and now I'm ready to get back on the train and work. Next task? Reading articles on writing to prepare for August! YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! Then again, this is the week of fourth of July...