The weblogs of Beth, Christian, and the cat: updated daily, weekly, or occasionally.
Tuesday, 10 July 2007
Beth: But I've seen it all in a small town
Caller with a hot tip for the newsroom: I just wanted to call and let you guys know, there's a woman out here who is trimming a tree, and she's wearing a dress!
Reporter who answered the phone: ...
Caller: I just thought it might make for a fun photo or something.
Saturday, 19 May 2007
Beth: Pomp and circumstance
Christian is graduating today!
In a few hours, he will officially have his Master of Arts degree from the seminary, and with an awesome GPA on top of everything. His parents are in town; I've got the camera ready. The past four years have been working up to this day.
We're pretty excited. And I'm pretty proud.
Monday, 16 April 2007
Beth: What a bust
My jury trial was scheduled for today. Arrived at the courthouse at 8:30 (yay for sleeping in and not having to drive 45 minutes!), was ushered into the jury room, got a little tour...
(Aside: Boy do I feel bad for jurors whose trials last for weeks...that is a SMALL room with hardly anything in it...)
Then we sat. And sat. And chatted. And waited.
Finally the bailiff comes in. You can take off your jury badges, she announces; the defendant didn't show up. You're off the hook.
Wow, what an idiot. So now there's a warrant out for his arrest, higher bail, etc. etc.... I'm a-thinkin' this guy will deserve what's coming to him.
I'm disappointed, because I really was interested to see how everything goes in the courtroom, and to be a part of the justice system. It sounds like it would have been a really interesting trial, too...there were like 20 cops for witnesses - one of them got a medal for saving the assault victim's life and everything. But now, some other jury will have to hear all the sordid details.
The upside: Hello, day off!
Tuesday, 03 April 2007
Beth: Memo to aspiring musicians
Attention all would-be singers, songwriters or musicians in general:
Effective immediately, there will be a moratorium on songs or albums featuring the following topical themes, for reasons of over-saturation already in the market.
1. Gravity
(See as examples "Gravity" by John Mayer, "Oh! Gravity" by Switchfoot, and "Gravity" by Embrace. See also the albums "Gravity" by Our Lady Peace, and "Oh! Gravity" by Switchfoot.)
2. Breathing
(See as examples "Breathe" by Collective Soul, "Breathe In" by Frou Frou, "Breathe" by Michelle Branch, and "Breathe" and "Breathe (Benediction)" by Newsboys.)
3. Time
(See as examples "Falling For the First Time" and "Lovers in a Dangerous Time" by Barenaked Ladies, "If I Could Turn Back Time" by Cher, "Wasting My Time" by Default, "Do You Have a Little Time" by Dido, "In Good Time" by Domestic Problems, "Summertime" by Hello Dave, "Time" by Hootie and the Blowfish, "Perfect Time of Day" by Howie Day, "Feel Good Time" by Pink, "Bigtime" by The Soundtrack of Our Lives, "In the Meantime" by Spacehog, and "How Many Times" by Zack Hexum. See also the albums "Our Time in Eden" by 10,000 Maniacs and "Time to Say Goodbye" by Sarah Brightman.)
4. Sight
(See as examples "See You When You're 40" and "See the Sun" by Dido, "Suddenly I See" by KT Tunstall, "I Didn't See You Standing There" by The Nadas, "I've Got To See You Again" by Norah Jones, and "If You Could Only See" by Tonic.)
And that's just from my personal music collection.
It's time for a fresh wave of musical creativity. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Thursday, 29 March 2007
Beth: Because Florida is so 1997
Since when did spring break become a time for teens to make huge, elaborate trips to exotic locations?
We've had a few high school interns at work over the year. For this year's spring break, one is going to St. Maarten and one is going to Jamaica. The third is mad because she's "only" going to Florida. Because - apparently - the majority of her classmates are traveling to similar exotic destinations.
"Only?" Only? Are kids today so coddled that traveling to tropical locations is expected, rather than something special? Visiting destinations like St. Maarten and Jamaica should be a significant, unique thing, a privilege - something that people only get to experience for a honeymoon or special trip or something. Save something for when they're adults! Not to mention, no one's going to want to hang around Jamaica when it's overrun with horny teenagers.
When I was in high school, the big thing to do for spring break was to go down to Florida or Gulf Shores with your family for the week. If you were lucky (depending on how important it was to be accepted by the popular kids). I can't think of anyone I knew that traveled out of the country.
And...somehow this has turned into a "when I was your age" rant. Good grief, I'm not that old.
One more thing: One of our interns left for spring break on Wednesday evening. High school spring breaks don't start until next Monday. And she's not returning until the Tuesday following that week. That's right. She's missing four full days of school ON TOP OF the regularly-scheduled spring break. And people wonder why kids these days don't have respect for authority. It's because parents are teaching them that you don't have to do what people or school schedules say IF YOU DON'T WANT TO.
Monday, 26 March 2007
Beth: Bits 'n pieces
Today, during my water aerobics class at the Y, I watched a woman in the upper balcony, doing a full Tai Chi routine all by herself. It was one of the most beautiful things I've seen recently. I wish I could be that graceful.
April is going to be crazy. Some of that is due to Part II of my jury duty commitment. Against the odds, I was actually selected for a trial! Of the 25 cases on the schedule for that day, 24 of them settled out of court; of the 40 or so potential jurors that day, somehow I made it on the one remaining case. I'll be juror #7 for an aggravated assault case starting in mid-April. What I've seen already has been fascinating; I can't wait to actually be a part of a real trial. The judge said the case should take only one or two days at the most...
...Which is good, because later that week I'll be en route to Charlotte, North Carolina! Yes, it's for work technically (national student culinary competition), but due to the competition schedule and my flight itinerary, I'm going to have plenty of free time to do fun stuff. Now I just have to see what there is to do around Charlotte! Oh, and of course - it being a culinary competition - I'll likely eat very well.
Yes, spring on the education beat can be hectic, but you can't beat a free trip to North Carolina. At least I can't complain of being bored!
Tuesday, 27 February 2007
Beth: Civic duty, or permission to sleep more? You decide.
I have been summoned for jury duty for the first time ever. My summons date is in a few weeks. I've heard other people say that when they got a summons, there was a number they had to call the night before to see if they even needed to come in - not me. My letter is pretty much like an order: Be there at this time, and be prompt. Oh, and thanks for being a good citizen, and all that jazz.
I don't really mind, though; in fact, I'm kind of excited. I have always been intrigued with the jury duty process. I'm very interested to see how everything is run and quite curious to see what questions potential jurors get asked...if it makes it that far for me. Those who have "been there, done that" say it probably won't...
I am kind of even hoping that I get selected for a jury, or at least get called back for more than one day. Why? For one thing, it's in Grand Rapids. No 45 minute commute! Plus, I don't have to be there until 9 a.m. Yay for three more hours of sleep!! (THAT is the big one, of course.)
As luck would have it, though, I can't even manage to get out of the drive for even one day. The date of my summons is the exact same date as the Tri-Cities spelling bee...the one my paper sponsors...the one that, as education reporter, I must be at...so I'm going to have to drive out to work that night regardless of jury duty status. Curses!
Don't get me wrong, I still love my job...but the drive, particularly in the morning, is beginning to wear on me right now - especially with the terrible winter weather we've been having recently. I hate starting the day all nervous and tense. Last year at this time, we went on vacation for a week - and that must have made the difference. This year, I'm getting much more irritable about the drive.
So yeah, bring on the court cases! I know I'd be an excellent juror, Your Honor...
Friday, 05 January 2007
I can't claim to have any firsthand knowledge of Gerald R. Ford's time as a U.S. Representative, or of his service as our nation's 38th president. He had left the White House well before I was born. However, since his death a little more than a week ago, I've come to learn plenty about the unassuming man from Grand Rapids. I'm also of the belief that we've lost a great leader, one whose example future leaders would do well to follow, regardless of political party.
Many years ago, Ford and his wife, Betty, drafted funeral plans which included them being laid to rest permanently in Grand Rapids. On Christmas Eve, Christian and I passed by that fenced-off burial area while walking downtown, speaking in hypotheticals about what would happen if the former president died. Two days later, it was a reality.
While the rest of the nation mourned, we in west Michigan held back, waiting for our turn in the national spotlight. On Tuesday, as Ford's body arrived "home" for the last time, the city sprang to life, filling with Secret Service agents, thousands of mourners and the extended Ford family.
The media also descended upon our city, and that's where I come in. Thanks to my current position, I was fortunate enough to be able to be at the center of everything that was happening - sometimes literally - documenting history as the nation watched. At times, I felt inadequate to be put in such a position, to have such close access, with my limited knowledge of the Ford administration. But mostly, I just stood back and let the pomp and circumstance unfold, knowing this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. From the 57,000+ mourners who waited several hours in the cold to view the casket, to the stately military ceremonies at each arrival and departure of the casket, to the 21-gun salute prior to the burial, the two days really were indescribable (which, in my profession, is not such a good thing!). I am so humbled to have been a part of it.
You can find more of my photos of the days' events here.
Tuesday, 14 November 2006
Beth: So many clothes, so little time
Does it make me a total nerd if, when a sixth-grader compliments my pants, it totally makes my day? Because that happened today (and they weren't even any sort of unique pants!) and the girl was so sweet about it.
But oh, it made me feel old for a split second, too. Because as she stood there in her comfy jeans and hooded sweatshirt, complimenting my dress pants and work attire, I was thinking that it must be nice to wear whatever you felt like wearing, any day of the week.
Wednesday, 11 October 2006
Beth: Tired
So, last week was National Newspaper Week. That fact ordinarily would have prompted me to encourage everyone to subscribe to their local newspaper and appreciate those who deliver the local news.
However, I spent the last two weeks working 108.5 hours.
Hopefully the appreciation will make a belated stop at my desk. Because I'm plumb worn out.
Thursday, 28 September 2006
Beth: You see, officer, I couldn't help it...it was the color of my car...
There are studies out there (I don't know where...but they're out there, and widely available...I don't feel like doing the research right now) that say police officers are more likely to pull over red cars for speeding and other traffic violations. It's something about the color red being a more excitable color and evoking more feelings of speed, edginess, danger, breaking the law...things like that.
Well, I didn't think much about it, but then I had to go to the county courthouse today to look up some records. That's when I noticed that a very large percentage of the cars in the parking lot at that particular time were red. It was seriously eerie.
So it looks like I'll need to spend a bit more time looking in my rear-view mirror. Too bad my radar detector was stolen.
Sunday, 17 September 2006
Beth: New car smell? Yes, please.
As I told Christian, I thought I would be 50 before I/we owned a genuinely "brand-new" car. But when the right opportunity presents itself, you might as well research the possibilities. And suddenly, here we are!
Unfortunately, this meant that we had to part with the Saturn - Christian's car that famously drove us on our first date.
That was a good, reliable (for the most part) car. I'll miss its quirks and the sound it made coming down the driveway.
But now I have a car with a push-button start and potentially up to 60 miles per gallon, and Christian has a car with a sunroof and air conditioning! Everybody wins!
Seriously, it's surreal. I think I experienced buyer's remorse the minute I parked it at our house. But it's all pretty darn fun, too. And I'm a sucker for that new car smell.
(See all 21 pictures in the photoset in our Flickr gallery.)
Monday, 11 September 2006
Beth: Five years ago
I had turned 21 less than a week prior. I was starting my junior year of college. I had a morning gym class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and although that was my only class on those days, the class schedule made me angry because it began at 8:35 a.m. and I couldn't sleep in on what would otherwise be my day off.
I dragged myself out of bed on that too-bright sunny morning, with just in time to throw on an old, blue, USA t-shirt and pants before leaving for class. There was no point in taking a shower if I was just going to get all sweaty again in 20 minutes.
My class, a semester full of learning about children's gym games, began right on time. For an hour, we played with hula hoops and brightly-colored parachutes, holed up in our own, fun little world in the Fieldhouse while those now too-familiar scenes began playing out on televisions across the nation.
Even after class, as I walked back to the campus apartments - on the complete opposite side of the the campus and across the Beltline - everything was fine in my oblivious mind. If people I passed on the paths looked stunned or worried, I didn't notice it.
It wasn't until I encountered Jeremy outside our apartment building that I knew anything was wrong. He said something about planes and New York. I went straight to Christian's apartment instead of my own and joined the residents of Delta Six in front of their TV. A tower had collapsed. Another was on fire. The Pentagon was collapsing. So was my ability to form complete sentences.
Within ten minutes of gluing my eyes to the television, the second tower was reduced to rubble. I resigned myself to a day stuck in front of the TV. At the same time, a small part of my brain worried that I wouldn't be able to take a shower that day, and that I'd stink. It's incredibly odd what sort of things your mind will fixate on when real life becomes more than you can comprehend.
***
Today...
It was odd to be somewhat suspended in between producing media to impact others on this day, and being impacted by the reports and images that I had access to.
Looking at the images on the AP wire, there's no way that any newspaper could have covered the scope and magnitude of the memorials and suffering that occurred today. I myself was probably the most moved by CNN's access to their broadcasts that aired five years ago. It was rather surreal to watch the exact same images that I had been watching as the realization of the attacks slowly dawned on me. It brought me back, better than memory alone, to that day in Delta Six, in my blue USA t-shirt.
At the same time, I interviewed a middle school teacher today about what her class of seventh-graders was doing to mark the day. These twelve-year-olds were just starting the second grade on this day five years ago. The teacher said her goal was to do something especially memorable and patriotic with this class, because they are probably the last seventh-grade class she'll have that actually remembers that day. Even with this class, she said, the memories are fuzzy for some of them. From now on, September 11 will become just another entry in the history books for these children.
It's so strange to know exactly what, from now on, will be known as the "Kennedy assassination moment" of my generation.
Friday, 01 September 2006
Beth: Labor Day
Total number of campers and/or vehicles pulling campers/boats seen on the highway this afternoon during my drive home: 55.
(There were probably more, but the other side of the highway wasn't always visible from my lanes.)
So begins the official exodus of summer. When I return to work on Tuesday, the town that has been bustling for the past three months will be, no doubt, remarkably quieter. It should be an interesting contrast, considering I used to only know this down during its busy months.
But first: a long weekend. The calm before the storm that will be the first week of school. A welcome holiday. And so, welcome, September.
Tuesday, 29 August 2006
Beth: It's 58 degrees right now, and I'm cold.
It's pretty much the last day of August. What? How did that happen? This weekend is the long Labor Day holiday, with the bridge walk and all that jazz. What did I do this summer? At this precise moment, I'm not entirely sure. But lately I've been cold in the mornings, after sleeping with the windows open, and it's awfully dark when I leave the house at 6:20 a.m. That's not summer behavior.
As usual, at this time of year I'm lamenting things that I never got to do during the summer...usually due to my own dumb fault. But for some reason, September has crept up on me unusually fast this year, and I've been left feeling a little lost. At least I know that my reporting beat will soon be returning to "normal"...as normal as things can ever be at a newspaper.
Oh, but I'll turn 26 on the day that every single student in our coverage area heads back to school for the fall. And there's a board meeting that night, meaning I'll likely be stuck out there for the. entire. day.
*sigh* Happy birthday to me.
Tuesday, 22 August 2006
Beth: Driving woes
Sometimes I arrive at work or I make it home and I marvel at the fact that I've been making this crazy, 34-miles-one-way commute for almost nine months and have yet to be involved in any serious driving incidents. Why, just today I witnessed - or nearly missed - a truck suddenly veering across four lanes of traffic to an exit lane, another truck hitting a bird, a broken-down semi in two lanes on the highway, a near head-on collision when a stupid driver tried to pass a slow car, and a stalled van that I almost rear-ended because the traffic blocking it from my view suddenly cleared. Not to mention that the drive that normally takes 40 to 50 minutes to get home took an hour and 20 minutes today, due to insane construction and idiot drivers that don't know the meaning of "yield." (For the record, "yield" means that you wait for an appropriate opening in the line of traffic before easing your car in, instead of simply barreling into traffic and assuming that other cars will let you in!)
But then I got home, and Season Two, Disc One of Scrubs was waiting for us in the mailbox, and I remembered that we have some amazing leftover wine in the refrigerator, and all was well again!
Now, if only we could figure out exactly what vehicle I'll be using to drive those 68 miles in the future...I'd be pretty happy.
Friday, 28 July 2006
Beth: Committing
Well, I've done it.
I'm kind of weird about affixing semi-permanent things to my car; I only put bumper stickers on Jigglypuff when I was quite certain that I would be her last real owner. I held my high school parking sticker in place on the inside of the windshield using saran wrap during junior year, and I only peeled off the adhesive and stuck my Calvin parking sticker on after I received a parking ticket a short ways into freshman year.
My previous two crappy jobs necessitated cards to access their respective parking lots. One needed to be swiped every day and not attached to anything, but the second one came with adhesive strips. They wanted me to stick those giant ugly strips on my windshield and have them be stuck there forever. No thank you, I said. For almost 8 months, I drove around with that parking card precariously perched at the front of my dashboard, with nothing to secure it. I know it drove Christian nuts to turn corners and have that thing slide all over the dash.
But peeling off that adhesive strip felt like it would be committing permanently to the job, and something in me just couldn't bring myself to do that. Somewhere deep down I knew that it wasn't going to be a place for me long-term. (Perhaps that ultimately doomed me at that job; who knows.)
Today was one of my fellow reporters' last day on the job. He's moving to a different state to get his master's degree and a sweet internship on the precise beat he wants to pursue. He and I hit it off pretty well when I started - with us both having led a college newspaper, we shared similar ideas and frustrations about how our employer's paper was run. It was nice to have someone to run ideas by and commiserate with. So it's sad to see him go.
At his going-away lunch, I looked around the table and realized that it had been seven months since I joined this group, and that I really had a place within the newsroom. It reaffirmed to me that I'm not going anywhere - that this is really the place for me right now. Even with weeks like last week's 55 hours, or the upcoming major festival that is going to have us running around like madmen. And so I realized that if I cared enough about this job to be sad when a really good employee leaves the group, then it was time to make a committment.
So when I got home, I fished around my car for the parking sticker they gave me my first week. It took me about 10 minutes to find it among the random junk in my car, but I found it nonetheless. I peeled off the adhesive backing, and stuck it on my windshield. I'm in it for the long haul.
Sunday, 18 June 2006
Beth: Coming up for air
I'm slowly resurfacing from a hectic spring on the education beat, full of plays, national competitions, end-of-the-year activities, and other such newsworthy (or quasi-newsworthy, as is the case with a smaller local paper) events at the local schools. My editors weren't kidding when they promised me a busy spring. As Christian mentioned, way back when, one national competition took me on my very first official business trip - to Indiana, of all places - to cover the national Science Olympiad. I'm happy to say that the trip was not in vain, either, as the three teams I was covering all managed to place very well. As Christian remarked, my articles are bound to be forever preserved in hundreds of scrapbooks throughout our coverage area.
But that final bell rang a week ago, and those students have since scattered to...wherever it is that they go for the summer. In all likelihood, the beach. Which begs the question: what does the education reporter do all summer? I've been asked that question several times in the last two weeks. To which I have to reply: I'm new at this too. I'm not quite sure, either. However, summer is when this town comes alive with festivals, parties, picnics, fireworks and carnivals, and it's likely that I'll cover my fair share of those. In addition, one reporter just gave birth and another is leaving us in a month - so I'm sure there will be a good amount of coverage overlap. Ah well...versatility is always looked upon with favor!
Speaking personally, the summer is shaping up to be a nice one, as well. We've only had a few unbearably hot days so far (although Bill Steffen is predicting a warmer than usual summer!) and the Frutmost Lemonade is back at Meijer. (Mmmm...perfection in a glass.) Astute readers have also noticed that we celebrated Christian's 25th birthday last weekend, with a trip to the Kalamazoo Air Zoo. He's too humble to ever suggest that a fuss should be made on his behalf, so allow me to do it: Happy Birthday!
And just to prove that not too much has changed around here, in our true procrastinating fashion, we've spent a good portion of this weekend looking at where we want to go and determining accomodations for our anniversary trip. Yeah, we leave next Saturday. We've known where we want to go for quite a while now, but never got around to doing anything about it. We're still looking for places to stay on Saturday and Sunday nights. Nothing like last-minute plans.
Friday, 14 April 2006
Beth: Nice.
Tonight was a very nice night. We went out to dinner with my family, and my grandma is in town for the weekend, so we got to spend time with her. We don't get to see her very often. Then we all went over to my parents' house and shared our various Hawai'i pictures, and recounted stories about the trip to Grandma. We also had a fun time laughing about my sister's boyfriend's staples in his head, as well as funny random pictures on my parents' computer. I got to show off my newspaper to Grandma, who seemed impressed. Plus, we all got ice cream with raspberries, which is always a good thing. Then when we were driving home, as we were turning onto our street, we saw a cop restraining a guy laying facedown on the corner of the sidewalk in handcuffs, with another cop running down the block and two cop cars parked next to the sidewalk. As we drove down our road we were almost mowed over by four more cop cars rushing to the scene, without their lights on. It was such a nice, mild night outside that after we got home and parked the car, we were able to walk to the front of our house without our coats on and without freezing, to try to see what was going on. Alas, we couldn't. But the stars and the moon were out, and it was warm outside. I stood outside and just looked at the sky for a little while. It was a lovely evening.
Wednesday, 12 April 2006
Beth: Not ashamed
Today on my drive home, I was rocking out to Tonic with the sunroof open, going 75 down 131 with the skyline of Grand Rapids in sight. It was a beautiful day and my long commute was nearing an end. As I am apt to do when driving alone, I was singing along with gusto to the music. At that precise moment, I glanced to my right, towards the truck traveling in the lane next to me, and discovered that the driver was staring right back at my singing self - and laughing. Embarrassment struck and for a split second my singing faltered. But then my inner monologue asked, Who cares? I resumed my singing (louder this time), smiled back at Mr. Laughing Truck Driver (who looked a little confused that I was actually making eye contact), and hit the accelerator. It was a nice drive.
Friday, 24 March 2006
Beth: Blame it on the moon
I don't know what it is, but this week has really been kicking my butt. I'm discovering that with my new work schedule, my weeks are either exhausting or just fine, and that doesn't seem to be dictated by anything except perhaps the moon. This week has been a tiring one. The "getting up at 5:15, two hours in the car, long days at work and going to bed at 11" routine has just been taking it out of me. The problem is, when it's a tiring week, it's tiring for the whole week. I was worn out already by Monday evening and it's been more of the same since then. I don't feel like doing anything at night except for lounging on the couch on the verge of napping. Last night Christian suggested we go to the mall (yeah, it shocked me too!) and by the time we got home I was a zombie. The weird thing is, I haven't even been that busy at work this week. Oh well, like I said, the moon.
At any rate, today was still a pretty good day. I got punched, called names, hugged and high-fived by my editor throughout the course of the day, all in good fun. He's odd, but he's a pretty cool guy, and it seems like he's pretty happy to have me on staff, too. That's a good feeling.
Sunday, 19 March 2006
Beth: Hospitals
In the past few years, I have begun watching a few hospital shows. I started watching "ER" about four years ago - yes, well after the show started and long after George Clooney left the cast, but I still like it. In recent months, I have also joined the "Grey's Anatomy" bandwagon, and have come to enjoy that cast as well. I am not a die-hard fan of either, but I'll try to watch them if I'm home during the nights they are on.
This may surprise the people that know me well, for I am pretty notorious for my fear of hospitals and all things medically related. I am not sure how I started watching two shows that center around my #1 fear, since they show things that I can't even watch - surgeries, injuries, incisions, etc. all make me turn away. My feet are a little tingly as I type this. But hospitals make me queasy. They smell funny and are full of pain, fear and sorrow. They are not comforting places.
That's why I am thankful that my aunt Sandi never has to go to a hospital again. After a many-year battle with cancer that had spread throughout her body, Sandi passed away at her home in Iowa on Friday, with her immediate family by her side. And although her illness meant we hadn't seen much of their family in recent years, the news is no less painful to hear, save for the fact that we're all glad she's not hurting anymore.
If you are a praying person, please keep my uncle Dave and their children, Jodi and Jon and their families, in your prayers. The days following the funeral on Tuesday will be even harder, I'm sure.
Monday, 06 March 2006
Beth: 'Batting next, number 34...'
I need to pause for a moment to remember probably the only guy who ever made me truly excited about baseball: Kirby Puckett.
Baseball Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett (b. 1960) was a center fielder who played his entire career with the Minnesota Twins, from 1984 to 1995. He led the Twins to World Series titles in 1987 and 1991. After being forced to retire in 1996 (at age 35) due to a loss of vision in one eye and the diagnosis of glaucoma, and the Twins retired his number, 34, in 1997. When Puckett retired, he had attained the highest career batting average (.318) for a right-handed batter since Joe DiMaggio. In 2001, he became the third youngest individual ever elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, going in at age 41 in his first year of eligibility.
In the late 1980's, as residents of the greater Twin Cities area, my family attended our fair share of Minnesota Twins games in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. We always sat along the first base line, and Kirby Puckett was our star. The Metrodome's cheerful organ would get our attention as the announcer would say over the crowd, "Batting next, number 34, Kirrrrrrrbyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy PUCKETT!!!" I remember my dad laughing about how short and stout Puckett was, and it was true, but he always delivered. Home runs, awesome catches in the outfield - he was the only player that I, at the tender age of 6 or 7, really watched. We were even there during a few games of the notable 1987 World Series games, Homer Hankies in hand, cheering Kirby and the Twins on to a national championship. And when we moved to Michigan in 1991 and Kirby led the Twins to their second championship that fall, it was a comforting feeling to be able to cheer for my hometown from afar and be reminded of where I was from. For the longest time I defined myself as "from Minnesota and a Twins fan," and I know that my allegiances in major league baseball will always be with the Twins because of Kirby.
Yesterday, Kirby Puckett suffered a massive hemorrhagic stroke at his home in Scottsdale, Arizona and underwent emergency surgery. He died of complications from the stroke today, just 8 days away from his 46th birthday.
Thanks for playing a great game, Kirby. I was just a little kid, but I had a great time.
Wednesday, 01 March 2006
Beth: An unfinished story.
I saw the words scrawled in a public bathroom in Haiku, a tiny town on the island of Maui. Many people had added their graffiti to the walls of the bathroom stalls, but this one stood out to me. A woman had drawn a large, somewhat lopsided heart with a black pen. Within the heart were these words:
I love
Zacharias
Gonzales
But he doesn't
deserve it
The words intrigued me for their uniqueness, as far as bathroom graffiti goes. This was no "Laura was here! 2005!" or "Brittany + Tim 4-ever!" The words stung of melancholy. They piqued my curiosity, and I've been wondering ever since. Who is this person, and why did she feel the need to write such a cryptic message on the stall of a bathroom? Who is Zacharias Gonzales, and why does she love him? And most importantly...why doesn't he deserve her love? If he doesn't deserve it - and she knows it enough to admit it publicly - why does she go on loving him?
This strikes me as the exact thing from which novels are born. 
I'll bet that Anne Tyler, had she seen the scribbles, a tiny piece of someone's life, would be able to conjure up a hundred various storylines taken from that one sentence. And no doubt they would all be supremely interesting and strikingly different. I've been idly thinking about the mystery woman for about a week now, but haven't really come up with any so-called "novel" ideas. That's probably why I'm a newspaper reporter instead of a book writer, but it doesn't stop me from speculating and imagining lives for the mysterious person.
Mystery Woman left an unfinished story of her life on a public bathroom stall. I'd love to hear someone else's theories on the story behind her words.
Oh, and if you want Hawaiian inspiration - she was in Hawaii, after all - you can check out a larger sampling of our Maui pictures here, in the "Maui, Hawai'i" folder. Enjoy!
Wednesday, 15 February 2006
Beth: Internet proliferation
Faced with a relatively light afternoon at work today - the superintendent candidates have been selected, the moldy school has been closed and my vacation looms after just two more work days (more on that later) - I took the opportunity to Google myself. Now, I'm not always the most humble person - I've done this once or twice before. First I tried my maiden name, and then my married name. Neither of them generally turned up anything interesting, but that was probably a year ago. The names would turn up a few things - my resume, our wedding announcement in the alma mater's magazine, and strangely, a critical letter to the editor from my years at Chimes. I've been visited via email from two delightful strangers who, respectively, share my love of mint m&m's and have a car named Jigglypuff.
But today - wow! Since I started reporting and putting my name on things out in the public domain, I'm all over the place. This is probably due in no small part to my unique byline; I'm using both maiden and married name as my signature, so the chances of the internet search coming up with that exact combination elsewhere is slim. (Case in point: I Googled my reporter friend Erin, who has a pretty common name overall but has been reporting much longer than I, and didn't get any hits for her on the first page.) But still, it's a strange feeling, seeing how accessible my name has suddenly become. I've even discovered that some of my articles have been published in other newspapers, unbeknownst to me. I suppose it's yet another indication of the importance of the work I do; it's impossible to guess how many people may be reading. Pretty cool.
I'll soon be taking a week's vacation away from reporting, however, as we embark on my family's first bona fide "family vacation" since the addition of Christian over two years ago. Just to keep things interesting, the parents also agreed, surprisingly, to invite my sister's long-time boyfriend along for the ride as well. (If you knew them, that news would be really surprising.) In celebration of my awesome father's recent successes at work, we are heading to the exotic tropical location of Maui, Hawa'ii. To say that I am excited would be an understatement. It will be YEARS before Christian and I would even be able to afford a trip like this, so I am thankful for my parents' generosity. We have not always had the best relationship in the past, but things have been on the upswing in that department lately. So I am praying that this trip offers us more time to have fun together, and that we do not encounter very many head-butting moments. Oh, and I'm also praying for great weather. It would be a shame to not come home from Hawa'ii with a tan. Not to rub it in or anything.
Wednesday, 08 February 2006
Beth: I don't get it.
Can anyone tell me why, when referring to the upcoming Olympic winter games, some media outlets refer to the town in Italy as "Torino," while others call it "Turin"??
This has been bothering me for weeks.
Tuesday, 31 January 2006
Beth: Weak-kneed
Has anyone ever commented on how cruel it was to build the new YMCA right next to a Burger King? You get out of your car, all pumped to go exercise and do something good for yourself, when up through your nostrils wafts the smell of Burger King fries....mmmmm....Burger King fries....Cruel. Or when you leave the Y, all sweaty and a bit tired, the smell hits you again and you realize how hungry you are from working out...and that dinner won't be for another hour...and how quick and easy it would be to just grab a small order of fries...Mean. Not that I even eat fast food. Only really on very rare occasions. But when you smell it like that...it smells good.
Anyway, today I was at the Y trying to shake the January grayness off of me, when I decided to try something that I hadn't done in a long while: lunges. It's this easy little exercise where you "lunge" forward on one foot and lower your upper body down, bending the other leg. Your legs essentially form the shape of one half of the Nazi swastika, to be graphic and inappropriate. Then you lift back up and lunge forward with the other leg. And a good time was had by all. My former roommates from way back in the day, Buffy and Sara, used to do lunges up and down the dorm hallway during "Dawson's Creek" commercials, and sometimes I'd join in. It felt good back then, so I thought I'd give it a shot today. I did one lunge: pain. I lunged forward with the other leg: more pain. My knees were screaming.
Now, anyone who's ever heard me go up or down stairs, or crouch down, or walk, or move, knows that something is not all "right" with my knees. I have so much creaking cartilege in there that when I go down stairs it sounds like Bigfoot is tramping through some nice crunchy snow in a quiet forest. The problem first materialized on one knee in middle school when I joined the track team for my mad sprinting skills. I wore a brace on that knee for the duration of my track career (yep, I stopped after middle school) because that made it feel better. My uncle, a physical therapist, checked it out at that time, but determined that it wasn't something to be overly worried about...then. Since then, the problem has gotten louder and spread to the other knee. Now they are both equally as bad, to the point where I don't remember which one went bad first. Sometimes in recent years, if I was wearing higher heels, it would be a little harder to go down stairs as fluidly as I used to. But I never really worried much about it, or had any pain, until today.
So now I'm all concerned, because really, I'm only 25, and one's knees aren't supposed to give out this early. Plus, I'm not fat - it's not like the poor guys are having to hold up 400 pounds or anything. They really don't have anything to complain about. And of course my mind jumps immediately to "knee replacement surgery," because really that's the only kind of knee treatment you ever hear about, and I know that the surgery's a bitch, so that freaks me out. No more surgeries!! Haven't I suffered enough?? Why me????
Anyway, I'm freaking out, but I'll get over it. Probably. Perhaps I'll give my uncle a call. In semi-related news, I'm half-watching the State of the Union and getting annoyed (as usual) at all the standing ovations. Give me a break. If I were there in person, I'd be even more annoyed...because all that sudden standing and sitting would probably start to bother my knees after a while...*sob*
Monday, 30 January 2006
Beth: Being overdramatic, but...
Okay, that's it. I am charging my cell phone religiously from now on, as opposed to my previously very spotty track record. If I'm ever in a life-threatening situation and have the opportunity to call the people I love one last time, I don't want that to be cut short by my lack of phone battery. Because that would be my own stupid fault.
(Sorry for the morbid post, but I just got done watching A&E's "Flight 93" and while the acting was not the greatest, the memories from that day are still strong. And the passengers were able to know what to do in part due to cell phone conversations. So, moral of the story is to always keep one's cell phone charged. Because you just never know.)
Saturday, 21 January 2006
Beth: Gainfully employed
I'm waking up infinitely earlier than I've ever awoken on a regular basis before, but I'm finding it not too much of a struggle once I actually get out of bed.
I'm driving infinitely longer than I've ever commuted to a job before, but not minding it.
I have a group of coworkers that treat me as a peer, instead of a lackey or someone lesser than them.
I'm being given a lot of responsibility, and my input and opinions are being treated as valuable.
I'm working harder than I ever have before in a job (post-graduation), and yet often it hardly seems like work at all.
10,000 people every day learn something as a direct result of the work that I do.
Yes, my friends, I am a newspaper reporter.
Saturday, 24 December 2005
Beth: Busyness
Keeping busy has been my motto this past week. For some reason, although it felt like I was hitting bottom last weekend, I refused to let myself just sit around and be glum this week. Fortunately, it's the time of year where being busy is not only acceptable - it's encouraged. I also have to say, lest anyone start to panic, that my Christmas spirit has crept up again somewhat. Perhaps it was buoyed by the sight of a few presents under the tree and candles in the windows of our neighbors. Perhaps it was bolstered by various comments to me - in word and in deed. Whatever the reason, thank you. A generic expression of thanks to everyone who has let me know that I'm not alone. Still struggling, yes, but not alone.
The seasonal festivities have already begun around here, with the celebration of my sister's birthday last night. A "golden" occasion, we celebrated the 23rd occasion of her birthdate. (Sometime during the evening I realized that when I turned 23, I was already married. That gave me pause for a second - I think I married young. Not young in a bad way...it was just interesting to consider.) Christian and I are spending today and tomorrow morning celebrating Christmas with just the two of us...at least we will be when he lets me back downstairs upon finishing his gift-wrapping. Christmas afternoon and evening will be spent with my family, and then we head off to Colorado on the 26th for a week with Christian's family. A gift that we are giving his parents results in us being alone on New Year's Eve in Denver, so if anyone knows of fun stuff going on in that area for the occasion, I'm all ears.
I also have a difficult decision to make in the next two days, as I just received a job offer...one that would involve a serious lifestyle/schedule change, or possibly a relocation. Flattering? Yes. Stressful? You betcha.
I wish anyone who reads this a very merry Christmas, and here's hoping that the rain outside my window turns to big white fluffy flakes of snow very soon!
Monday, 19 December 2005
Beth: Bah Humbug.
Christmas is in a week. Normally that single sentence would send me into fits of glee. Not this year. This year, I'm so far down in the dumps that not even mint M&M's are helping to cheer me up. I don't know what's wrong except that I feel unhappy about almost everything currently. I fear that I've been posting happy Christmas messages to friends' blogs to try to trick myself into believing that I'm excited and happy, but when I'm home and it's just me, it's not working.
I feel like a failure insofar as I'm 2.5 years post graduation and I have yet to be successful in anything and obtain financial security with a good job that brings career fulfillment. How ridiculous is it that I'm unemployed for the second time in one calendar year? What must be wrong with me, that I can't get hired and stay employed in a position that I'd actually enjoy? And how ridiculous is it that the single act of me losing my job sends us into financial panic, resulting in a massive scaling back of any desired Christmas celebrations and causing us to not even be able to buy the presents that we wanted to buy? Or go to a movie or concert? Seriously. At this point people should be buying houses or investing or being able to buy a nicer car or something. And I feel like we're back to square one again. Again.
I am incredibly mad at my former place of employment. If they want to restructure the business and eliminate positions, fine. But it shouldn't have been done in the cold and heartless manner that was done to me. Why did they encourage me to give it my all and work overtime with the promise of Christmas bonuses if they were going to let me go 3 weeks before the holiday without so much as a thank-you? Why did they hype up the annual Christmas party, to be held at the city's most prestigious restaurant, when in actuality the company Christmas party was held without telling me, while I was still employed with the company? Why was I cut out in the middle of the Christmas season, without so much as a warning? Christmas is my favorite time of year, and they played a huge role in ruining it for me.
I feel like an afterthought to some of my friends. I feel jealous of the stuff that they do without me, even if it's with a different group of people that I don't even "belong" to. I don't know why. When I do get invited to things, I feel like it's out of obligation or something. Half of the time I don't even feel like accepting the invitation because I'm sure that I wouldn't be fun to hang out with anyway. I try to tell myself I'm being irrational, because I've never felt this insecure in relationships before, but I can't snap out of it. I also don't feel like I have very many friends anymore, which doesn't make me feel better about myself, either.
I feel like a failure around the house, too. With Christian working full-time and also having classes/midterms, you'd think that my unemployed self would find other ways to help out. But the place is a pigsty and I can't muster one single ounce of motivation to do anything about it.
I'm trying to find ways to regain that Christmas spirit. Our neighborhood theatre held a free showing of "Elf" yesterday, so I went. By myself. And during the movie, things were fine. I laughed. Then at night we went to hear my old choir sing, and at two points in the program - the Biebl "Ave Maria," and singing along with the final "O Holy Night" - I felt that dark cloud lifting. Then we got home, I sat on my ass, stared at a dirty house for a few hours, and ended the evening completely bitching out Christian. It's not his fault that he's sick, but I sure made him feel like it was. And that made me feel even worse.
I really don't know what's wrong with me, but I hope it passes soon. I only have a week until my very favorite holiday, and I'd much rather prefer that my smiles be genuine.
Wednesday, 07 December 2005
Beth: It's hard coming up with a title that really sums it all up, so...
Well folks, I'm unemployed once more, for the second time in 2005. It has definitely not been a good year.
Yesterday my boss sat me down and said that for the future of the company, they need to do some corporate restructuring and hire a vice president or senior level executive. She said this is something they've been trying to figure out for a while now. However, they also can't afford to add a 6th person right now, so the restructuring means elimination of a position...mine.
Since the parting was a [relatively] amicable one, I didn't feel like getting into the fact that I (and my office-mate of similar age) have been somewhat unhappy there for a while. It wasn't really an exit interview, so I didn't get that chance for constructive criticism. However, I am heartened by the sympathetic phone call that I just received from the aforementioned office-mate. He has received a job offer elsewhere, and will be giving notice...today. And since I know that his concerns about the company are the same as mine...I am happy that the powers that be will be given that chance to learn from their mistakes - if they want to listen.
As was the case in January, I would have liked to do this on my own terms - but I guess that wasn't meant to be.
I would appreciate everyone keeping an eye open for jobs in the media...newspaper, TV, magazine, radio, etc. Even freelance stuff would be great, since I'm already doing a bit of that currently. PR was nice but not for me in the long run. Thanks.
Tuesday, 06 December 2005
Beth: A little closer to home
Update: Matt's address has changed. The correct address is below.
On Friday, my friend since high school, Matt Hertz, will ship out to begin his military service in Iraq. He will spend a couple of weeks in Kuwait before heading to his final destination of Taji, Iraq, where his assignment will last for 12-14 months. Matt is a First Lieutenant in the United States Army - Aviation, HHC 3/4 AVN 4th Infantry Division.
I'd like to share Matt's address with all of you, in case anyone would be inclined to write him or send along news from the States. Matt also indicated that many soldiers in his unit are single, ages 18-22, and would also appreciate mail, even if it's from strangers. You would be welcome to send mail like that to Matt, and he can pass it out to his fellow soldiers.
1LT Matthew Hertz
HQ/3-4 AVN REGT, CAB, 4ID
Unit #50012
APO AE 09378-0012
Prayers would be much appreciated, both for Matt and for his wife Melissa, who will be staying behind at their residence in Texas and finishing up massage school. I personally can't imagine how hard the next year will be for both of them, and admire the strength that they both have. Up until now, the war in Iraq has just been something in the papers and on TV for me - but Matt's service brings it much closer to home. Regardless of how I feel about the war itself, I am proud of Matt and the sacrifices that he is about to make to serve this country. And I thought he deserved this form of public appreciation.
Monday, 28 November 2005
Beth: Unplugged
I've returned today from a not-entirely-intentional-but-still-welcome hiatus from the computer and the internet. The long Thanksgiving weekend, family events and lots of tasks to get done led to me only touching a computer perhaps once or twice between Wednesday night and this morning at work. It wasn't an intentional thing, and I didn't think much of it one way or another over the weekend. However, thinking about it now, it was a nice thing to do. I think I've grown entirely too accustomed to, and dependent on, the internet for mindless entertainment and time-passing. Our wireless internet readily available throughout the house certainly fanned the flames of my dependence, but the acquisition of a laptop was (I think) what pushed me over the edge. Why watch the news when I can be watching the news AND checking email? Why get off the couch to call a friend when I can just send them an email about Saturday night and hope they get it? It was a bit out of control.
In contrast, this weekend I got out of the house, got some stuff done, called people on the phone to arrange gatherings, and in general, didn't even think about the computer. It made staring at a computer screen for 8 hours today at work almost seem strange. Refreshing. Here's to a healthier balance in the future.
Wednesday, 16 November 2005
Beth: That damned 'Christian' label
Sometimes I feel as though Scott Stapp gets a bad rap. You'll know Stapp, of course, as being the lead singer of Creed, the now-defunct band whose lyrics always seemed to have a spiritual undertone and whose members always flatly denied that they were a Christian Band (yes, it deserves the capitalization for distinction). People have mocked Stapp for his terrible music videos (granted, they ARE terrible), his pretentiousness, inflated ego...there was even that time when fans who attended a concert sued him for putting on a horrible show. I'll be honest and say that I don't even know all the reasons why people have mocked Scott Stapp...although I don't hear good things said about him often.
I liked Creed, however, and I didn't really have an opinion about Scott Stapp one way or the other. The band wrote some good songs, and Stapp wrote some very interesting lyrics. Then this month Stapp released a solo album. I first heard the new single in the car because the lyrics caught my ear and a) immediately knew it was Scott Stapp, and b) immediately wondered if he was now marketing himself as a Christian artist.
Unfortunately, my research proved inconclusive. In this article, an interview done by religious publication Christianity Today after Stapp contributed a song to the Passion of the Christ soundtrack, Stapp says:
The nature of my answers are a lot different now that I'm no longer with Creed. I'm a solo artist now, and I don't have a band to hide behind. So when someone asks me if I'm a Christian, I have to say yes, because I am. But do you know I was never asked in 10 years if I was a Christian personally? We were only asked if Creed was a Christian band.
I'm an artist who's a Christian, because I don't write music to be evangelical. Now, if that happens, it happens. My dad's a dentist, and he's a Christian. Now, does he put in Christian fillings? No, that's just part of his three-dimensional life. Now, there are people that are Christian artists, because they have a purpose to be evangelical for Christ. I don't feel I've been called to that yet. Now, that could change. There's no telling what kind of call God will put on my life.
However, when interviewed by MTV, Stapp gets much more flippant:
I'm not doing this to try to preach this to people or to try to make people believe in what I believe in. I'm not handing out Bibles at my shows, and just like with Creed, not all of my [solo] songs are going to be about my spiritual life... [If negative criticism comes up again] I'll just address it and be honest about it. If the Christian thing comes up again, maybe I'll put on a Superman suit with "God" in the front and be God-Man. Maybe I'll make a satire out of it. What can you do except deal with it?
So, there's that. If Stapp really is a Christian, it's a shame that it doesn't seem like he can talk about it as openly to MTV as he does to Christianity Today. But the reason that you won't see me giving Stapp a hard time is because he's getting a spiritual message out on the airwaves, amidst other songs like "Closer" and "She Fuckin' Hates Me." I believe that his message is reaching people, whether it's intended to or not, and that is a significant accomplishment - much more so than your average Christian Artist whose music is only played on Christian Radio and popular only with Christian Listeners who are Christian Believers. I think that it's much more of a feat - and thus requires more work and dedication - to obtain success with a Christian theme on secular radio, rather to just churn out songs as a Christian artist and have them instantly embraced by people who will buy anything if it's on a Christian label.
To wit, I end with a comparison of song lyrics - one released on a Christian label by a Christian artist, and given to me willingly at age 14 by my parents who decreed that I could ONLY listen to Christian music...and one released on a secular label, played on the secular airwaves, and would have been forbidden for me to listen to when I lived at home as a teenager. Take a guess.
| Face to face we embrace
We drink of love’s sweetest wine Whispered names fan the flames Each touch is frozen in time I can feel your heart And the rhythm of it echoes through my soul Well surely you know Whatever it takes baby I’m gonna be there Whatever it takes baby you’ve got to know Whatever it takes to be true to you Baby I’ll do it somehow Promises made to last These are the hardest to find Touch me now, let me know Your love will always be mine As the years go by And the fire of my love surely grows Baby you know Whatever it takes baby I’m gonna be there Whatever it takes baby you’ve got to know Whatever it takes to be true to you I’ll love you to the end Whatever it takes baby I’m gonna be there Whatever it takes baby you’ve got to know Whatever it takes to be true to you Baby--somehow... I wanna be true to you I wanna be hugging you, kissing you Love you all of my life Whatever it takes baby Whatever it takes baby I’m gonna give all of my love, all of my life Whatever it takes baby Whatever it takes baby I’m gonna give you all of my love til the end of time (whatever it takes baby) Whatever it takes baby (whatever it takes baby) (all of, all of, all of my life) I wanna be hugging you, kissing you, yeah (whatever it takes baby) (whatever it takes baby) Whatever it takes baby (all of, all of, all of my life) All of my life (whatever it takes baby) (whatever it takes baby) | I have run to the ocean
Through the Horizon Chased the sun I’ve waited for the light to come, And at times I would give up You have Wrapped your loving arms ‘round me, And with your love I’ll overcome. You have Loved me when I was weak, You have Given unselfishly, Kept me from Falling…Falling Everywhere but my Knees! You set me free! To live my life You became my reason to survive the great divide You set me Free! I’ve been on Heaven’s doorstep, With the Door open, One foot inside I’ve cried out…God give me answers! Please hush child I’ll tell you why You have Loved me when you were weak, You kept Giving unselfishly, Kept you from Falling…Falling Everywhere but your Knees! You set me free! To live my life You became my reason to survive the great divide You set me free! Oh…our love is beautiful Oh…oo…oh…Isn’t it beautiful? Times have changed But you remain My everything Our Love is Beautiful Stood by my side Helped me survive My great Divide Isn’t this is beautiful. You set me free! To live my life You became my reason to survive the great divide You set me free! |
And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to be rockin' out to Scott Stapp's latest single.
Tuesday, 15 November 2005
Beth: Beth needs...
I haven't had much to write about recently...I've become rather disillusioned with quite a few things as of late. Is there really a place for me in this post-college, working-woman's world? Often I have felt left out to dry, forgotten by the college that was all too eager to put me in debt for the next 40 years and then usher me out the door before I'd hardly had a chance to bid it a proper farewell. I feel as though my entire education was a build-up to promised success and happiness, and now I'm being let down. Often I wonder if I will ever be happy doing whatever it is I'm doing for 40 hours out of the week, and pessimism gets the better of me. Most of the time I feel like I won't fit in anywhere. And so I am terrified to move on to something new, for fear of that happening all over again. I am growing weary from the toll this is taking on my spirit.
(I'll just come right out and say it: I made the wrong job decision back in April. That stings to have to admit.)
I know it's probably unfair of me to be saying these things, since I have had some incredible experiences. Just not out in the "real world." All I want is to be happy, fulfilled, and making a difference. I guess that's a lot to ask.
In other, less-depressing blog-tidbits, a new blogging fad tells people to type in "[their name] needs" at Google and list the first 10 things that come up. What a marvelous waste of ten minutes! So without further ado:
1. Beth needs it, so it will be done. (Can't argue with that!)
2. Beth needs follow-up surgeries. (Heaven help me, I hope not.)
3. Beth needs prayers. (Yup.)
4. Beth needs to realize she has a problem. (I have many problems, thanks.)
5. Beth needs cash and agrees to go deep undercover. (I think that spy work is more up Julie's alley.)
6. Beth needs your vote at Foxsports.com! (Yeah! Vote for me! Underwater basket-weaving while performing a triple lutz!)
7. Beth needs a first-floor bedroom. (I was taught that young women should avoid first floor apartments. But what do I know.)
8. Beth needs to look within at what she is believing about her weight, food and exercise. (I knew that YMCA membership would start sending me subliminal messages soon.)
9. Beth needs teeth. (Uhhh...)
10. Beth needs to know where we are every second. (Do I have OCD?)
...and because #11 was too good to leave out...
11. Beth needs to rediscover what made us fall in love with her in the first place. (O faithful readers, do tell!)
P.S. Sorry for two depressing posts in a row here...must be that time of year.
Thursday, 20 October 2005
Beth: October 20
One year ago today, I was put under the knife, to undergo major surgery and begin a long, painful, 4-month process of healing. (Praise God that that is [crossing fingers] behind me for good!)
Today, Hurricane Wilma is about to start severely battering my sister in Mexico.
I've determined that October 20 must be cursed.
If only the weather forecaster on TV would stop saying the words "catastrophic damage" in regards to the Cancun area...
PLEASE PRAY.
Wednesday, 19 October 2005
Beth: Concerned
My sister Rebecca is in the middle of spending three weeks working at an orphanage with her friend, who is a full-time employee there. The orphanage is in Bonfil, Mexico - a short distance from Cancun, in the Yucatan peninsula.
In other words, Category 5 Hurricane Wilma is headed their way. Current predictions show the storm passing through the Yucatan channel, right in between Cancun and Cuba. However, if the storm changes course to the west even slightly, as hurricanes are apt to do, they could sustain a possible direct hit. Needless to say, my family is pretty worried. To make matters worse, Rebecca indicated in an email that they are not receiving very much information at all regarding the storm from local individuals or media. Nothing, I'm sure, like the constant warnings and television reports that Louisiana residents had prior to Katrina.
We'd all appreciate your thoughts and prayers.
Saturday, 24 September 2005
Beth: Pictures
So I have some pictures online now; here they are.
I have this lovely digital camera now and want to show off the pictures (or at least put them out there for your viewing pleasure)...and Christian has way too much on his plate now to work on adding that feature to our site. It would be ideal...but too time-consuming. So, here are a few; some of the cats, and some of our trip to Chicago. Not very many yet, because I can't get the stinkin' program to work. Or I can't get my stinkin' brand-new computer to work. I don't know which is at fault because Christian went to bed hours ago. So I will leave you to ponder that mystery whilst you admire some pictures, and whilst I curse this computer and go to bed.
Wednesday, 21 September 2005
Beth: ...
So that very clear sign from God that I was asking for? There's a good possibility that I may have received it less than 2 hours after I posted that. Unfortunately, it's not the direction I was hoping for. Nothing's been finalized yet...but I'm not holding my breath. To borrow heavily from Julie's Xanga, I am so curious to see what's ahead from here.
Also, if this is what it feels like to pierce one's lip, I am confused as to why anyone ever voluntarily goes through such a thing.
Monday, 19 September 2005
Beth: Crossroads, again
Surgery today went well - as uneventful as possible, considering my paralyzing fear of the whole hospital experience. Fortunately, it was over almost before I knew it. Now I'm just sitting here with a massively fat lip that has stitches sticking out of it. Besides slurring my words and finding it difficult to smile or eat pretty much anything, I don't think "recovery" is going to be a problem. I just may be a little hungry for the next few days.
Switching topics, I have a major decision to make in the next few days. What's that saying about opportunities coming your way when you're not looking for them? It seems to be pretty true. Although, once again I am stuck trying to make the best decision. So while I unfortunately can't provide many specific details in this forum, I do covet your thoughts and prayers. Julie recently got a pretty specific answer from God about a commitment in her life, and I'm hoping that something along the same lines might happen to me as well. :-)
Sunday, 18 September 2005
Beth: Briefly...
- Forgot to mention that I had the best birthday in a long time! Turns out we DIDN'T go up north as I had planned and as Julie and Pete had deceived me with. Instead, Christian surprised me with a weekend trip to Chicago, which included Michigan Ave. shopping, dinner with Lucas, the Navy Pier and a Collective Soul concert, among other activities. It was amazing - I am loved!! As my mom said, "Everyone needs a good surprise like that every now and then."
- I am now the owner of a 14-inch Mac iBook G4. It is nice and pretty, although I'm sure Christian is ten times more excited than I. Still working out all the different quirks, but it's a nice computer with an interesting system. Above all, it's a laptop I can call my own, which I must admit is nice.
- I'm having minor surgery tomorrow, for removal of a blocked gland in my mouth. Unfortunately, my response to "minor" surgery is the same level of intense panic as "major" surgery (i.e. back in October), and so I'd appreciate your thoughts and prayers.
Saturday, 10 September 2005
Beth: Office space redux
Observed in my office building's main hallway this week:
A lady, around 28 years old, enters the hallway carrying a bag from Quizno's for lunch. Boss man in power suit and tie, around 55 years old, enters from the other end of the hallway, approaching the lady going the opposite direction.
Boss man, loudly: "Oh, I see you've brought me lunch! How kind of you!"
Lady: [laughs boisterously, much more enthusiastically than warranted by the statement]
Boss man: "You can just put that on my desk, I'll be back in a few minutes!"
Lady: [laughs again, trails off, and keeps walking]
My immediate thought: I'll bet she can't stand that man.
Am I jaded here, or do many (dare I say most?) office interactions involve putting on a front and reserving one's true thoughts for close friends - if one reveals them at all?
Friday, 02 September 2005
Beth: Speechless
Like many Americans, I've been glued to the television and sites like CNN.com over this past week, watching coverage of the quickly-deteriorating third world country that used to be called New Orleans, Louisiana. A particularly poignant and gutwrenching article from the Los Angeles Times describing conditions inside the Superdome can be found here (although I don't know how long the article will be archived). I didn't really comprehend the serious magnitude of the situation until I read that piece. A snippet:
Inside, a man coughed up blood and his shoulders quaked as he was wheeled through the halls...
There is no sanitation. The stench is overwhelming. The city's water supply, which had held up since Sunday, gave out early Wednesday, and toilets in the Superdome became inoperable and began to overflow...
Some people had wrapped plastic bags on their feet to escape the urine and wastewater seeping from piles of trash. Others, fearing the onset of disease, had surgical masks over their mouths. An alarm had been going off for more than 24 hours and no one knew how to turn it off.
Although I run the risk of sounding like everyone else, I am absolutely appalled that it has taken FIVE days for the president to visit and for any significant government aid to come to these suffering people. It disgusts me that our government took better care of the December tsunami victims in the days following that disaster than its own citizens who were absolutely ruined by Katrina. For five days, victims screamed "Help us!" and for five days, Bush sat on his ass. Appalling. It's unfortunate that this unforgivable neglect didn't happen during Bush's first term.
Watching the neverending coverage of the devastation makes me sad, so it's a good thing that we're headed up north to go camping this weekend, away from the TV and internet distractions. Like previous years, we're camping with the Postemas and then walking the Mackinac Bridge on Labor Day. We'll also be celebrating my big 2-5 that day, provided some people can refrain from calling me "old". (*cough*Christian*cough*) I am thankful to have good friends like these, especially this year.
Thursday, 01 September 2005
Beth: Time marches on
So. It's September already.
We've lost four friends to geographical moves in the past two weeks - it's been a little depressing. Of course, I don't begrudge them the wonderful job and education opportunities that they are taking advantage of...yet it does raise some questions in my mind. Namely, why are we, the ones that wanted so desperately to get out of Grand Rapids, still stuck here while our friends keep getting the opportunities to leave?
If I'm going to be painfully honest here, I'm not as gung-ho about getting the hell out of here as I once was. Yes, I'm frustrated with the economy here, the lack of great career opportunities and the fact that I didn't get out of here for college. Yes, I still think that a change of scenery would be incredibly beneficial to both of us. However, I have unfortunately become very complacent. I have become entirely too comfortable here, too used to the familiarity of my surroundings. On my more lazy days, I think to myself that moving seems like such a hassle and expense...and I wonder if it wouldn't just be easier to stick around. Grand Rapids seems to be wrapping a cocoon around me and I need to figure out a way to stop it. I still believe, ultimately, that better opportunities await both of us outside of this bubble. It's just that the longer we live here, the more apprehensive I may get about starting over, and I'm not sure what to do to combat that feeling of laziness and complacency.
Thursday, 25 August 2005
Beth: Private thoughts in a public arena
My company receives copies of many PR/media relations newsletters and magazines, which all get passed around the office. Since I've never been formally trained in the industry, it's interesting to see what gets talked about and what constitutes news or helpful information. One such PR newsletter is called Jack O'Dwyer's Newsletter. Apparently Jack is some famous PR guy who knows all. Who knew?
Anyway, yesterday I read the following snippet in said newsletter and was moved to post the text here:
Nadine Haobsh, who was identified as the writer of a now-defunct website (Jolienyc.com), has resigned as associate beauty editor at the Ladies' Home Journal.
The 24-year-old editor raised eyebrows when she described the "unabashedly indulgent corporate freebies she's witnessed firsthand" at LHJ.
She said her "boss" regularly got wallets and coats, plane ticket vouchers and other freebies from fashion designer Marc Jacobs.
Haobsh had been emailing her blog to about 30 friends, including several publicists in the beauty fashion field when she was inadvertently outed as Jolie by a staffer at Siren PR in New York.
Meredith Publishing, owner of LHJ, has told employees that while blogging is not prohibited, they are required to inform supervisors about their personal blogs.
What really burns me is the last line. An employer requiring employees to disclose personal blogs? I'm trying to get my head around it and not quite succeeding. I realize that the issue of blogging and disclosing company information has become more of an issue recently. There was that whole Google employee debacle. Calvin College even struggled with the issue last school year, although I admittedly don't know the whole story there - something about monitoring students' Xanga sites? (Fill me in if you're reading and know more.) But how have we come to the point where a person's employee status can be determined by making them disclose the location of - and then reading - their diaries?
Because blogs are diaries. Or, the less-girly name, journals. When writing in a journal, we put down our innermost thoughts, observations, and feelings. The point is that NO one else is going to be reading the thing, so any topic is fair game. Heck, journals used to come with a cheap lock and key. People hid them under mattresses. I hid my elementary school diary (pink and flowery, natch!) in my jewelry box, which had its own lock and key - twice the protection. I kept each key in separate places, too. No one was going to read that thing if I had anything to say about it.
I just watched an "Everybody Loves Raymond" show on this subject, too. Ray got upset because he discovered that his mother not only found his childhood journal, but read it religiously. He and his wife Debra spent the majority of the episode astounded that his mother couldn't understand why they were so upset about her invasion of privacy. Ray's brother Robert even disclosed that he had kept two journals as a child - one fake, so his mother could read it if she discovered it, and one real...which was kept in a safe deposit box at the bank in order to ensure maximum privacy.
So now we have blogs, which hypothetically contain the same content, with the one notable difference being that they're on the Internet - put out into the public domain for anyone to read. Somehow we've gone from being fiercely protective of our inner thoughts to wanting to link to as many blogs as possible. And that accessibility, I suppose, is where companies start to encounter problems with blogging. What if someone writes a negative thought about my company? What if people were actually able to form their own opinions about our business practices without having it tainted by the PR spin? (Yes, that's sarcasm, and yes, I'm mocking the very profession that I'm in at the moment.)
My point is, I think that it's ridiculous for businesses to require employees to inform them about personal blogs. They are just that, personal. Such a requirement looks an awful lot like a gag order to me.
Personally, I think that blogs which speak about questionable business practices can act as a sort of a checks and balances service for the general public. In the age of information, why shouldn't we be able to get as much information as possible? Obviously, in Nadine Haobsh's case, some shady things were going down at the Ladies' Home Journal. I don't believe she should be faulted for writing about it - heck, if I questioned my boss' business ethics, you can bet I'd be talking about it. But her blog cost her a job. The PR newsletter terminology says that she "resigned"...but on Haobsh's new blog, she uses the word "fired". Form your own opinion. As for me, I'd never work for a company if my employment was based on disclosure of my blog. My thoughts and experiences belong to me, not some company. I work to live...I certainly don't live to work.
Tuesday, 09 August 2005
Beth: What's my age again?
Once again, I am struck by the feeling that the lives of our friends keep moving forward at a steady and progressive pace, while we just float here, suspended in one place. Of course, things have been changing for us, too - we did, after all, just get a new dishwasher and screens for our apartment! Sarcasm aside, though, I sometimes wonder if it's okay to feel this restless. And I wonder if people around me feel that a lot, and my guess is usually that they don't.
I've been having some mixed feelings about my job for a while now. Not necessarily regretting that I made the decision I did - no. This job, if nothing else, has taught me something very important about myself and what I ultimately want in terms of a career, and for that I will be forever indebted to the experience. This job has taught me that ultimately, I want to work IN the media, not FOR the media - I want to be directly involved in putting out something tangible for human consumption. It's rather enlightening to have confirmed that about myself! ...But anyway, about those mixed feelings...So my company recently hired a 5th person, a guy around my age with quite a bit of experience in the field. Already, he has experienced, and vocalized to me, many of the same frustrations that I've been encountering over the past few months. This is heartening to me, because now I know that it's not just me, or my novice within the industry. My moral compass has indeed not been broken. There really, truly are some flaws with the way things run around there. The problem, of course, is that it's doubtful that two newbies in the field could change anything, but it's good to know that I have a colleague I can commiserate with.
In other news, I haven't been to the beach ONCE yet this season (Carolinas vacation excluded). That is absolutely inexcusable. I understand that we all have to grow up sometime. I'm just not ready to give up my beach days.
Wednesday, 03 August 2005
Beth: It's the little things
Marriage means many different things to many different individuals. And it can mean different things at different points in a relationship. People always said that I'd come to learn what it meant for the two of us - a conversation, a particular gesture, a collection of "Wow, I'm married!" moments - and that a lifetime of these moments would come to define what marriage means to me.
The other day, we were in the car on the way to Meijer, with my iPod plugged into the car stereo. It's important to note that it was my iPod and not Christian's. Playing mine on shuffle mode means skipping past a lot of Christmas music, and taking Christian's along on shuffle mode means skipping past a lot of techno music. It's a sacrifice for one of us either way.
Christian had unfortunately just caught the terrible bug that I've had for the past few weeks, and had a horrible sore throat. Therefore, he wasn't speaking, in an effort to stay as pain-free as possible. Our ride was one of comfortable silence, then, with my random assortment of tunes filling the gap. I wasn't paying much attention to what song was playing until the chorus of one of them came on. I remember thinking vaguely that something was missing...and then I looked over at Christian, who was pretending to hold a microphone and was mouthing some words.
He has this strange (and somewhat endearing) habit of singing along to some of the songs I have - with different words. These are songs that he would never hear or listen to if I wasn't around. And yet not only does he know them now (because he puts up with my music), but he makes up his own words to them. I laugh at him and tell him to shut up when he does it. And yet when this song came on, I missed his version of the chorus, and unconsciously sang it to myself in my head.
To me, right now, that's marriage!
Wednesday, 06 July 2005
Beth: States of America
Well, we're back! 2,900 and some-odd miles later, and we've returned to GR from our anniversary road trip to the Carolinas. It was a wonderful time, and at some point perhaps I'll get around to posting more about it. However, for the time being, I wanted to share my impressions of the states that we encountered during the 9 days away - whether that was just driving through, or staying for a while. Some of the states evoked rather strong reactions. You'll see.
Ohio: The armpit of America lived up to the name we had previously given it. Sorry, Erin Miller, but even your presence in the state is not enough to redeem it. Cincinnatti is one of the dirtiest, dingiest, creepiest cities I've ever encountered in the USA.
Kentucky: Hillier than I had remembered. Other than that, somewhat bland. It's quite unfortunate that it has to share a border with Ohio.
Tennessee: The abundance of Dollywood and Grand Ole Opry billboards brought out a sense of fear and loathing in my bones.
North Carolina: Nice variety of things to do, all things considered. The winery region could use a little help, however.
South Carolina: Lord have mercy, make the humidity go away!
Virginia: Unnecessarily anal about their speed limits (65 on the highway, no less). My radar detector was illegal in the state, they had about a sign per mile alerting us that speeds were being monitored by various means, and I think we saw more cops during those 2 hours than the rest of the trip combined. Chill, already!
West Virginia: Have they ever heard of putting lights along highways? Especially IN THE MOUNTAINS? Apparently not. I felt like I was on one of those Disney rides where they put you in a little car on a tiny track in a dark cave, you can only see about 2 feet in front of you, and the whole schtick of the ride is that without warning, the track will suddenly drop or curve or completely turn around. Fun at Disney. Not fun driving a Sonata in the Appalachians.
Michigan: Yeah, the roads here completely suck. So what else is new?
Monday, 13 June 2005
Beth: R.I.P. Mittens
Mittens, the Heinen family cat that we've had since I was 8, died today. She was 16, and her body just started shutting down. The vet said that if we waited any longer, her condition would become increasingly more painful, so we had to make the decision to put her down.
I've never lost a pet before, so it's really hitting me hard. She wasn't just a cat; she was a member of our family for 16 years. We all - even my dad, although he won't admit it - loved her a lot. I am thankful that I knew what was coming and had a chance to say goodbye to her yesterday, when she was still feeling well enough to purr. It's good to have a last memory like that, instead of one of her suffering.
I am concerned about Mom and and my sister, though - Mom, because the cat and dog became her children when my sister and I moved out. She slept on the floor with the cat last night, and she could barely get through the phone conversations with me today about putting Mittens down. I'm worried about my sister, too, because she didn't get to say goodbye - unfortunately she happens to be out of town until Thursday. My sister loved that cat 10 times more than the rest of us combined...if that was possible. I ache for her, getting the news all alone out in Maryland.
At any rate, if you have pets, hug them extra hard this week and be thankful for their companionship. I know that I am doing as much with Aesop and Athena. If you don't have pets, well, you probably don't understand why I'm making so much fuss over a cat, so I won't try to explain. We lost a member of our family today, but I'm hoping that if there's a kitty heaven, Mittens is having fun there now. Rest in peace.
Saturday, 11 June 2005
Beth: Birthday
Happy birthday (yesterday) to Christian! He's still a youngster, but I suppose I love him anyway. *grin*
Friday, 27 May 2005
Beth: New job
The news that Christian alluded to is that I did make a decision on which job to take. I am now an account manager at a local marketing communications and PR firm here in downtown GR. It was a really tough decision, and I don't think that ultimately this is the type of thing I want to end up doing for life...but at this point in my career, this job is going to provide me with a lot of opportunities and really round out/expand my skills. Plus, it's going to give me a ton of contacts in the media, and I really fill a need in the company. I think that's all pretty significant!
I've been there almost a month now, and so far it's turned out to be an interesting place. There are 4 people in the firm, counting me, so this means that I get to have my hands in everything. I like this a lot, because even though I'm lowest on the totem pole in terms of experience, it really doesn't feel like it - I get to go to meetings with clients, help with design concepts, draft project proposals, and pretty much be involved with all the things we're working on. The work provides me with a lot of writing and a lot of variety, and most importantly, they actually have a lot for me to do (as opposed to my previous employer).
The corporate environment is also quite a bit different than other places I've worked, due in no small part to the fact that 98% of our clients are very high-profile and/or well-to-do business leaders or community figureheads. In my first week, we secured national media coverage for a client, and he celebrated by coming down to our office with champagne and hosting a little party until the champagne was gone. My second week, we obtained a new client, and to celebrate the new partnership, my boss sent him a bottle of Dom Perignon. I also got to go to a black-tie gala and handle Rudy Giuliani's press conference prior to the event. (In previous years my boss has handled President Ford's 90th birthday bash in Grand Rapids and George W's campaign stop in Grand Rapids.) So, the environment can still be a bit overwhelming at times - but cool, too.
However, there are quite a few projects that I feel very comfortable with. Currently we're working on a new college magazine and in the next month or so we'll start work on a coffee table book - both of which I'll get to be extremely involved with (and may even become the coordinator/point person for the magazine). So, that's pretty exciting. I also met with my boss this week to talk about first impressions, and she's really pleased with my work and thankful that I came to the firm when I did...it's nice to be needed.
I want to thank everyone who offered opinions (here or in person) or who simply listened to me trying to sort out my various job possibilities- all of you were extremely helpful. I guess I ultimately decided that there wasn't any one "right" way to go, but that I took the job that offered me the most opportunities at this time. And although it's only been a month, things are going well and I'm enjoying what I'm doing. It feels really good to be able to say that.
Tuesday, 26 April 2005
Beth: Conflicted
I currently have two job offers on the table. Most people would think this is the greatest thing in the world, but I'm too conflicted to know what to do.
One's a full-time reporter for the Advance, which is a group of small, not extremely high-quality local weekly newspapers. I'd be covering the Rockford area. Stories in the Advance generally run 200-500 words, and there's a lot of ads. So it doesn't sound like a super-high pressure situation. It's not always the highest-quality writing, and there would be the occasional night or weekend coverage. But it's a reporter job! The major problem is that the pay is crap. About as much as I got paid interning at the Banner 3 years ago. Plus I am concerned that although it would be interesting at the beginning, the work/story ideas would stagnate, being such a small, localized publication.
The other is working at a marketing/PR firm in a mid-level position. I've been doing some contract work for them and apparently they want to hire me. The work is press releases, speaking itineraries for their big-name clients (*cough*DeVos*cough*), brochure copy, handling the media at various events (including Bush's campaign stop, new hospital opening, former Pres. Ford's birthday bashes in GR, etc.), calling media members to see if they will do a story from the releases, manuscript reviews, etc. The work is doable, and although it's different from anything I've done before, it's an interesting field. The firm is 4 people including me, and there seems to be a fair amount of pressure from the boss/owner to produce everything with the highest quality possible (not always a bad thing). It's 8-5 office work, a schedule which I am not a big fan of, but I know I'd never have an evening or weekend commitment. The owner has already indicated to me that I could take on as much responsibility, and possibly even clients of my own, as I was willing/able to shoulder. Pay would be close to double the salary at the Advance, with better benefits.
Obviously I have a dilemma. A part of me thinks I should just go with the marketing firm, b/c it's technically in my field, I'll still be writing, the pay will allow Christian to get further in his education and us closer to being out of Grand Rapids, and the job - being a mid-level position with lots of opportunities - will look good on my resume and probably open some doors later (especially if I want to stay in marketing). But on the other hand, I'm so afraid that I would always regret that I actually had a reporter position offered to me and I never took the opportunity, and it hindered my ability to get a job at a publication further down the road.
That's all. Thoughts are welcome.
Monday, 04 April 2005
Beth: When it rains, it really, REALLY pours!
After 3 months of being unemployed, it seems as though the floodgates have opened and I, for one, am overwhelmed. The past 3 weeks, and especially today, have been a whirlwind in terms of interviews, meetings, and unexpected events! So let's see if you can follow this at all:
March 11 - Have an "informational interview" with Kim, who owns a local marketing communications firm, to learn more about the business. She and her colleagues seem impressed with my writing experience.
Skip ahead two weeks to...
Tuesday, March 22 - Interview for a marketing position with a local design-build company. Still waiting to hear back from them, but they said it would be a few weeks.
Wednesday, March 23 - Kim offers me a contract position to help with their writing tasks on an as-needed basis. Hooray! It's not fulltime work, nor am I an official employee, nor can they guarantee me any hours, but it's some income. Kim tells me it will be a week or two before they can start giving me work.
March 24 - Informational interview with Kristen, who does marketing for the GR Art Museum.
The next week...
Tuesday, March 29 - Receive random phone call from local Public Relations firm, who received my resume back in January. They have a sudden immediate need for someone with my experience, but want to hire an intern and only pay them a small stipend for 15 weeks. I tell them I'm looking for fulltime work with a very decent hourly pay (I was specific in the dollar amount) and they still want to talk to me!
Wednesday, March 30 - Interview with and perform tests at this PR firm.
Wednesday, March 30 - Apply for reporter job at smallish local newspaper. Still waiting on a response.
Thursday, March 31 - Discover that a Rockford news reporter job that I was the runner-up for last year is open again. Immediately email the Managing Editor. She remembers me and has my resume on her desk. Seems very excited to hear from me. Wants me to come in and talk more about the job.
Thursday, March 31 - Interview for a customer service-type position at a local travel agency. Not super-exciting, but still.
Now, TODAY...here's where it gets REALLY crazy:
- Start working for Kim at the marketing communications firm. Get handed a whole bunch of stuff to do for very big-name people in Grand Rapids. Find out that their associate is leaving and they might have more of a need for me than they initially thought. They want me to come in multiple times this week.
- Receive random phone call from the manager at the Prince Conference Center, whom I dazzled in an interview in January but came in second for the job. Ever since then he's been trying to find a job for me there because he was impressed and wants to work with me. He offers me a temporary (5 months) job at the museum box office. I tell him I need a few days to sort out my schedule before giving him a yes or no.
- Receive random phone call from a retail store I applied at a few days after losing my job. They offer me a position. I agree to go to the orientation tomorrow just to keep my options open.
- Receive random email from Kristen at the Art Museum, who informs me that her marketing assistant has had to step down for personal reasons. She wants to know if I am interested in interviewing for the (pa