drip, drip, drop, little April shower...

Oh wait, it's still March. No matter--it's still raining. Actually, it's rained quite frequently during these last few days. But I believe this is our first lasting shower of the season. I walked slowly back from choir today and let the cool drops fall on my face. It was lovely. I'm not such a big fan of mud, but I do like the rain. Sullivan pond is filing up, and has again become the home of a couple of ducks. It's fun to hear them quacking in the rain. But the duck wasn't the only bird to make its voice heard today. This morning, as I made my way to Jordan for class, I heard the all-too-familiar cry of the Canadian goose. It was perched (if a bird with webbed feet can even be said to perch) on the chimney of Pierce Hall. And it was honking. Loudly. So loudly, in fact, that it echoed off every building and made me wonder whether there might be other geese on campus rooftops. But I'm fairly certain it was just the one.

At any rate, waterfowl was not what I had in mind to talk about today. And I will refrain from making some cheesey pun about bills. Why bills? Because the topic flying all over campus this week seems to be money. I can't speak for anyone else, but I've gotten rather fed up with how the universtiy is handling my money. Not long before spring break, I received an unexpected bill, claiming that I still owed money for this semester. When I asked then about it, we discovered that the fee for my violin lessons had not been charged to my account until the end of February. And it wasn't until nearly two weeks after that, that I even got the letter about an unpaid bill. So for a while I was pretty sure I was going to be broke for the rest of the semester. Then, after break I went back in and they had changed their minds. One of my scholarships--which they knew was coming--came in late and has just been applied to my account. So now, they owe me money (about as much as they were charging me, oddly enough), which is a great relief. But I'm still frustrated with them. The school thinks they're already giving me too much money--I can't even have a music scholarship on top of the one big one they're giving me--but I would argue that this scare proves there is still a gap.

But all that talk about money leads us into my job search. I desperately want to stay in SuFu this summer instead of going home to chop vegetables in the salad bar. I'd rather work in a library, or just about anywhere that isn't retail or food service. I realize that doesn't leave many options, but for now I'll be optimistic and selective. After all, I can always fall back on the broccoli if nothing else pans out.

Segue! Segue! Segue!

So, as long as we're talking about work, here are some thoughts from class. We've been working our way though a book called The Path, which is supposed to prepare us for finding the career and calling just right for us. Or something like that. I'll admit that I haven't done all the activities, but the ones that I have done have proven interesting. At one point the author leads you through a series of exercises designed to help you establish your mission statement.
Mine went like this:

My mission is to write, resonate, and illuminate faith, love and integrity with books for youth.

It must have been a really good day that I wrote that. Well, it was spring break, so perhaps the sense of peace that comes with getting adequate sleep and eating food with real nutritional value can account for my idealism. And it only gets better. The next chapter asked us to write down what we'd like to be doing in the next year, two years and five years. We were encouraged to dream big and write as if we were certain. This was the result:

Next spring my book will have been picked up by a well-known publishing company. I'll be negotiating with them about cover art and distribution as I plan my graduation party and prepare my English colloquia.

The year after that, I'll be at library school, with a job in the campus library to pay my way. I'll make time every day to finish editing the sequel to my book, which I finished writing during the summer.

Upon graduation i'll land a job as a children's librarian in a large library. I will work only part-time in order to keep writing and finish books quickly. Within my first few years I'll have the surreal experience of shelving my own book, as well as reading it to kids at story time.

Eventually I'll make enough money from my writing that all of my library work is on a volunteer basis.

And so, we get another liberal dose of idealism. But hey, I've got to have a dream, right?

-Kim

transforming work, transforming me

I just got back from a very thoughtful class session. Anyone reading this who was at the session in question might laugh at that opening line, since it consisted of Kirby explaining to us that he had decided to retire after next year, and then asking us for career advice. I didn't have much to say--I spent the time listening and thinking. That would be why I call the session "thoughtful." I took time to reflect on my own perspectives on job hunting or career seeking as compared to what Kirby was talking about. But I'm not going into specifics on that tonight. No, those thoughts need a little more time to percolate. What I am going to give you is something else from the class. We each took a test that was supposed to tell us what our top five strengths are. So, without further ado, here are my strengths and my initial reactions to them:

Input: "People strong in the Input theme have a craving to know more. Often they like to collect and archive all kinds of information."

This one makes perfect sense for me. I collect all sorts of things—teddy bears, books, shoes. I definitely collect information. I’ve kept all my old notebooks from classes, and store them for future reference. And I am constantly reading. Though it is usually for my own enjoyment rather than study, I do amuse myself by noting the connections, allusions and dew ideas I find as I read. I especially like that the description of this trait includes the word “archive.” Everything I keep, I like to keep organized and in order. That is why I enjoy the library work I have done in the past, and think I may like to do more of it in the future.

Intellection: "People strong in the Intellection theme are characterized by their intellectual activity. They are introspective and appreciate intellectual discussions."

This trait has much in common with the first one. With all the reading and collecting I do, I spend a great deal of time thinking. In fact, I am prone to spend so much time thinking about things that I run out of time to act upon the ideas. I know I’m introspective, but I’m not so sure about the intellectual discussions. I really don’t talk to people about deep subjects now that Dianna is gone. Of course, I loved philosophy, so maybe that part does fit me too.

Learner: "People strong in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. In particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them."

Again, this trait is so similar to the first that I almost have trouble separating the two in my mind. I love school because I love to learn. Perhaps part of the reason I cannot think of what to do with myself after I graduate is because I would rather just stay in school and continue my studies forever. But then, if I do spend the rest of my days in a library, I could continue my learning for free. That’s one of the most appealing aspects of a library career—people expect a librarian to know everything, so I would have the best reason possible to study absolutely everything.

Context: "People strong in the Context theme enjoy thinking about the past. They understand the present by researching its history."

This is where things really get interesting. According to the book, I am the sort of person who finds today’s answers in the past. That’s true enough, I suppose. Until now I thought everyone must realize that, but apparently they don’t. A member of my writing group said that the reason he likes my story so well is the feeling of history behind it. I wrote it that way instinctively. I mean, how can the actions of my characters make any sense unless we understand the world they live in? And how can we understand their world without being exposed to the history that formed it?

Strategic: "People strong in the Strategic theme create alternative ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario, they can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues."

Honestly, this one made me laugh when I first read it. But it does fit me. Recently Liberty noticed that I even have a strategic method of doing laundry, so that everything has time to dry properly. I won’t tackle any task without a proper plan. And what plans! I think things through form beginning to end, sometimes planning out entire conversations that I need to have. Oftentimes, the only way I can get through a large project is by planning out a specific time and place to do each part. I only hope that this aspect doesn’t make me seem cold and calculating. I am merely trying to pay attention to kairos, acting and speaking at the opportune moment. Sometimes this trait becomes a fault when I get too attached to my plans. I can get upset when my plans change, even if the change turns out to be good. I just don’t like having people mess around with a plan I’ve thought through so carefully.
I know being strategic helps with my writing. Because I can plan out a potential conversation, I can create believable dialogue between characters. I can also see what situations and events need to occur to move the plot forward in the direction I want it to. So I guess it’s a good trait for me to have.


So that's what I thought of them all. What do you think? I'd honestly like to know.

-Kim

it's the story of my life...

Dianna tells me I need to update my blog. I suppose she's right--it has been a while. And since today I finally have time to do whatever I want to, I guess I'll use it to update.

Earlier in the week I thought I might be getting sick. In an effort to stave it off, I went to bed early and even slept in later than I usually let myself. On Wednesday I felt like I needed a sick day, but there wasn't time for that. So I had a sick morning. I sipped cocoa and sat on my futon, cocooned in blankets, watching a movie. Then after lunch I went to class and ran errands, started a paper, went to work at the writing center, finished my paper, and didn't get to bed until midnight. So you see, I really didn't have time to be sick.

Or maybe I did.

You see, today classes were cancelled because of the snow. So now my paper won't be due until next Tuesday. But no matter. Snow days are always more enjoyable when I have no homework hanging over my head. So what did I do today? First I went back to bed and slept all morning. Then I spent the afternoon reading things that weren't for any class, just because I wanted to--which is a lovely feeling. Then Liberty and I went to the Wilcoxson home to play in the snow, which was probably the most enjoyable part of the day. In just a little bit, a few of us are going to close out the day with a good movie, Big Fish, which I picked up yesterday running errands. They had it packaged with Stranger Than Fiction, and at an amazing price, so I couldn't resist. So we'll end the story of today, with a movie all about story.

I love stories about stories. I suppose it's because I'm a writer and an avid reader, but I believe that telling stories is the only way we humans ever understand this world and our place in it. How do we learn where we came from? We tell the story of our parents and our grandparents, and what brought them to where they are now. How do we understand that we have value and a purpose? We tell the story of how God created the world with a plan in mind for each one of us. How do we understand pain and joy and sorrow and love? We tell more stories, full of trouble and peace and the struggle to find the latter in the former. A young child's first education is in the form of nursery rhymes and bedtime stories. And stories are where we learn our most important lessons, like the value of honesty and courage. Through stories we learn that life is never easy, since the characters always have some obstacle to overcome, but that there is also always hope, even in the very darkest of situations. In this way, story is truth, even when the content seems too fantastic to be possible. Every story we read or hear, no matter whether it is made-up or really happened opens our eyes to the true nature of this world we live in.

Life is a story. Each day is a new chapter, written as we live it. Make yout next chapter a good one.

-Kim