Month: March 2005

  • College...the people may change, but the lifestyle is probably the same.

    You know what I find amazing?  Even though the people aredifferent, lifestyles of college students will - more than likely - remain the same. As I was (cough cough) wasting time on myspace, I realized that photosthat my students share...could easily be substituted for photos of myfriends in college.  The people are different, but thescenarios?  Totally the same.  What makes it even more funnyis some of the attitudes/poses are identical: mooning the camera, silly expressions,not-so-glamorous late night shots, and so on.

    I'd post them, but for one,these guys with whom I attended college are now accountants,journalists, animators, or advertising execs...what have you.  Ontop of that, one of my friends is a Catholic school VP, so I am unsureshe'd appreciate that either. LOL.  It would not be wise to beposting their not-so-professional selves online, even if they are just photos fromthe past.  Also, I am sure it would bite me in the a** aswell.  Hmmm...yea, I'll pass.  Maybe I can find a couple hereor there....but don't count on it. 

    Talking to students online is also a trip.  Why they share stuffwith me is unknown, but I do appreciate the fact that students feelcomfortable enough to chat with me.  I'd share with you thedetails, but I don't want to break any confidences. 

    Anyhow, I justthought it was funny.  Although I loved college, I am glad to bewhere I am now.  Plus, listening to the drama of college studentshelps me appreciate how far I have come...because really, when I heartheir stories, it just reminds me how stupid I was back then. yea, yea, I didn't say I wasn't stupid now.  I am just lessstupid.  And I am not saying my students are stupid, either.  What I amsaying (or trying to say...though not very well) is that people can actstupid...and college is a prime time to do so.

    So, to all you students reading this, let me tell you a little secret.  Even if you think there's noway some of your teachers did anything stupid,  I am here to tellyou the truth: They more than likely did at least one stupid thing intheir past.  Trust me on this.  And if they didn't, they probably weren't truly living. 

    Have a great weekend!

  • I know I wrote a bit about my grandmother the other week, but the service is on Sunday.  My mother asked me if I would be able to say something at the service...

    When my paternal grandfather passed away a few years ago, I had a difficult time, but I was able to share something about him with my family.  Same when my maternal grandfather passed away.  Although it is difficult, I think it's important to share happy memories of those we have loved and lost.  It is only by sharing our memories that the ones we love will continue to live on in our hearts.

    Before my grandfather passed away, I never really experienced a loss of someone close to me.  I was devastated when my step-grandmother passed away a few years prior...even though I wasn't really close to her.  Death hit me hard.  I avoided it.  I didn't think about it.  It was...unthinkable.

    In my mind, they would always be there.  They always had been...and I didn't know any different.  In my naive mind, I assumed they'd be there to meet my future children, their great-grandchildren. 

    Experiencing loss is never easy.  But the words of Morrie Schwartz always stick in my mind: "Death ends a life, not a relationship" (Albom, p. 174).  Reading that book changed how I viewed death...and life.  Surprisingly, death doesn't scare me anymore.  I don't invite it, of course.  However, I try to make sure I live each day to the best of my ability.  And I make sure to tell people how I feel about them.   Sure, sometimes, life gets the best of me...and I may not act like I want...but hey, I am a work in progress, just like everyone else.

    So, I have been practicing reading the following with no tears.  I have two more days to get my act together.  This is what I plan to share.  (I added the photos for the visual/spatial people out there.)

    A Tribute to Nana
    Feb 5 (private) - Feb 22, 2004

    My grandmother -I called her Nana- wasn't the typical grandmother; an elderly woman wearing polyester while knitting booties she was not.  Okay, she may have been knitting booties, but she was wearing Ugg boots while she did.  Yes, she had gotten a pair of Ugg books for Christmas.

    Nana had more style than I had...in my whole life.  She'd wear jeans and a T-shirt or a stylish outfit...and either way, she looked great.  Her hair was always nicely done.  I remember when I was a kid, I asked her if she dyed her hair.  Why I asked?  I thought it was weird how she had light brown hair and the rest of the family had black hair.  How does that happen?  And I don't recall her having black hair...EVER.  So really, I thought it was real, her brown hair.  I thought she was something so special and unique...to be the only one in our family born with light brown hair! I just always thought she was sooo cool.

    I loved going to her house when I was a kid.  She lived just three blocks down the street, so I'd walk down there to get my "hair done."  She was my stylist.  HA!  Nana would wash my hair, cut it, and then french braid it.  I always felt so special when she french braided my hair.  I considered a french braid an up-do and so princess-like.  My favorite hairstyle was a french braid over the top of my head and ending on the other side.  (see photo below)

    As I got older, I learned what a die-hard shopper she was.  Most teens love to shop, and I was no exception.  However, I learned that Nana could outshop me anyday.  In high school, my mom and Nana had special dates together, ending with shopping at the Nordstrom Rack.  I went on a few of these...and was always ready to leave hours before they were.  While I was ready to pass out, they were still searching the racks for that special buy.  They took my daughter a couple times and turned her into a shoe queen.  My daughter loves shoes as much as Nana did.  In fact, they would send my daughter home with not one new pair of shoes but like three, four, or five pairs of shoes.

    My grandmother has been an inspiration to me.  She raised five children...and I think raising one is hard.  She had so much strength and will.  She has always had a zest for life, learning a new language or exploring the internet.  I have received more e-cards from my grandmother than I have from anyone else.  She always found the cutest ones, the ones with an animated cartoon or a game to play.  I think each time she found one of those, she sent them to my daughter and me so we could play them together.

    Nana, though very independent and hip, had a traditional side to her as well.  There were Chinese customs that I always had to follow, even when I didn't want to. After she came to my new house, I had rearrange some of my furniture.  I can't exactly remember why I had to, I just know that my bed wasn't in the "right" place and my daughter's desk wasn't facing in the right direction.  I moved them...and emailed her straight-away to tell her I did.  I'll have to read the Feng Shui packet she gave me for Christmas a couple years ago...so I know how to arrange any new furniture coming into the house.

    I know how lucky I am to have known my grandmother.  I have memories of her from my childhood that I will cherish.  And she will always be with me.  Once in awhile, I hear her voice, making sure I am doing the "right" thing.  But what I will miss most is her laughter and love for life. 

    Nana, this is for you. 
    We love you and miss you.  But we also know...you are always with us..in our hearts and in our minds.