Always Batya

When you hear the words 'spread too thin', you should think about a perfectly browned piece of toast that doesn't have near enough grage jelly on it. Instead, I think about my schedule, my crazy, crazy schedule, and how much it makes me feel like I'm pulled in 50 million directions. To the point that I'm spread thinnner that a piece of toast that was shortchanged on the jelly end. Even our upcoming vacation feels overwhelming. Me, Brian, and my fam are going to St. Pete Beach on the 8th, and all I can think of is the countless details that I have to take care of before we go, both at home and at work. Grrr. And, yes, I know how ungrateful that sounds, but sometimes you just gotta vent. I'm excited that there are only 8 days left until we leave, but a little overwhelmed about all the stuff I have to do. Thankfully, I have next Tuesday off (God Bless America), but I'm sure we'll have places to be. We always have places to be. I'm sure someone that doesn't have the opportunity to go on vacations would be like, "dang, must be nice to whine about a vacation." And I really couldn't blame them for that. But I'm back to feeling like toast. Toast with a very thin layer of jelly. And that just ain't right.

posted by Jodi @ 9:36 AM 2 comments

It's interesting. We got an email at the office today that the VP's and the President of our university were coming here for a retreat/meeting tonight, and we needed to make sure our "areas" (finger quotes because just call it what it is...cubicle hell) were neat and clean. So, I took about 15 minutes cleaning up, straightening up, throwing junk away, etc. Which made me wonder, if I bring potential students into my "area" on a consistent basis, why am I scrambling around just because bigwigs are coming? Shouldn't it always be neat and tidy? I mean, my car isn't, and my spare bedroom that I claim as a closet isn't, so why would my desk area be...but, I digress. Is it an ethical dilemma to present an inaccurate portrayal of my "area" to the bigheads? Is it immoral to offer false pretense, or is it just good incentive to put our best foot forward? ... so to speak. And, yes, I know what the Bible says about truth and honesty, etc.etc.etc. My question is once I realize that the area needs straightening, and it gets tidied up, do I have a moral obligation to anyone to come clean (pun intended) about the fact that it wasn't cleaned up before? Is it anyone's business? Have I committed a sin that I need to ask forgiveness for?

posted by Jodi @ 3:25 PM 1 comments

Well, one of our friends from church just lost his mom last week, and she was only in her sixties. It reminded me of Grandma Fielder and her struggle with first breast cancer, then brain surgery, then pancreatic cancer, which finally proved too big for even Wanda Fielder. At the same time, I'm opening an email from a friend (thanks Diana) who lost her brother (15 siblings, and the two I'm friends with, and the several I've met, could not be ANYMORE cool) to cancer last year. The email was a forward about a newscast from the ABC affiliate in Seattle, WA, about Inflammatory Breast Cancer. Take a moment to watch the clip. It's graphic, so be advised, but worth it to educate people. You might have to copy and past the link. If you cannot get it to play that way, Google Komo 4's website and search Inflammatory Breast Cancer:

http://www.komotv.com/news/story.asp?ID=43313

posted by Jodi @ 11:19 AM 0 comments