Bridesmaids

I'm currently siting in my chair at the movies about to watch bridesmaids and I'm so excited... Even though my roommate didn't tell me until we got here that she saw it earlier today... She sucks butt.

Today is John Legend Day and update on online dating

Today was such a great day... Work was blah, but the afternoon was oh so great. The Graduation celebration was tonight and it was fantastic. To give you a little background info... The actual graduations happen all weekend in Texas Hall. Tonight was just a celebration, so no diplomas are given out. It's at an outside venue called the Levitt Pavillion (see below)and 2600 seats are set out for reserved seating.



There's free food for all and a jazz band that's plays until the show starts. It is important to note that this was only advertised as John Legend the speaker, not the singer. It didn't though... the seating area filled with no problems and there were plenty of people standing.





John's speech covered dedication and persistence and how graduation should be a given for the majority instead of a battle for the minority (my words not his)... He talked about giving back and giving freely. He talked about poverty and being humble amongst many other things. I learned a little about his childhood and some things that have pushed him to where he is today. I grateful for those things in his life because I'm sure he provided some of our new graduates and current students with motivation to be... to do... to live. Thank you Mr. Legend.

He then calmly walked over to the piano that the jazz band used to sing 2 songs about the world...one of which was so relevant to our society. It talks about the responsibility of all and how things will stay the way the are until each and every one us decides that the world needs to be something else or something different. The crowd is going crazy because John Legend is on stage...and even though I have all of CD's and I know he's great... the clarity and strenght of his voice made my legs buckle a little. There was so much heart and soul behimd those words. It was remarkable and at one point I had wet eyes. I didn't cry and no tears fell, but I felt joy and hop as I looked out into crowd of people that were hanging on to his every word. The sky was a beautiful shade of blue... The weather was uncharacteristically pleasant... and it was a beautiful moment.

Mr. Legend finished the first 2 songs, got an encore and did a 3rd. It was just as great as the first 2, but better for the audience because it was one of his hits. And then, the fireworks began and it made a perfect night remarkable.






I also got to take a picture with Mr. Legend and the Volunteers.I didn't get to shake his hand or greet him because people were very uptight, but the greatness of the night made up for that.

I hope you are having a magical night wherever you are!

Update for online dating...

I found out today that day 5 equals facebook friends. Hmmm... Seems a little quick since everything that is done on facebook is taken as the most official that official can be. Thougths?

I'm sending this from my phone at 11:58 because blogger us down and I just thought about sending this email. I wonder if it will work.

Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide

My sky is sick

It was dark and then it was really really bright... And it was 8 pm. I need to pray.

At a loss for words...and frankly, I'm frightened.

For the last however many months, there has been buzz, conversations,seminars, round table discussions, proposals and quite a few other things about gun rights in Texas. A couple months ago, our stugdent government had a forum about the topic to see where our students stood. There were some pros and some cons, but ultimately they voted no. Things started to calm down and the conversations about the topic kind of died down. It still needed to be voted on in the house and the senate, but I'm not sure anyone thought it would pass. I certainly didn't. History has shown us that concealed handguns on campuses is not something that University Officials are in support of.

Well... as I always tell my students, history can influence your future, but it doesn't have to dictate it. I use this statement them help them move forward, but I wish that it was somethine like Use your history as a outline to your future... or do as you/they did before you...

Yesterday, the senate voted to allow concealed handguns on campus in TX passed and I am very uncomfrotable with this. I got into Student Affairs to develop lives, not to protect lives. I think it still needs to go through the house before being signed, but I will have to do a bit kore investigating.

they have got to know that even thought justifications have been give, that the state of teaching and developing will change as a result of this. Challenge and support may ultimately become just support in fear that you may just push one students right over that line and that they MAY have weapon on them. Private conversations will be affected because closed doors may result in no one coming out. A typical calm, loving environment becomes one of threat and fear.

How are we supposed to live with that? how are we supposed to teach with that? how are we supposed to move forward.

Last night, I was thinking... I've been in Arlington for about 6 months and I have talked to Police Officers more this semester than I ever have in one semester. Now, the outcome for most of these situations have been very mild, but what if this law had passed at the beginning of the semester. Would the outcomes have been different?
I work in Greek Life, so why do I feel fear at all? t's because regardless of the titles and areas, we work with people and people can be unstable.

I keep thinking, I've only been here for 6 months. It's too early too live. There's so much more I can offer this community. There's so much more that they deserve to get from being in this community...and then I hear myself think "Is it really worth it to put your life in jeopardy?"

That may be a bit early, but I'm a future thinker, and the future is looking pretty bleak.

Think about the poosibility of a gun in classrooms, in restrooms, in offices, in residences halls, in the on campus police station, in the rec center,in libraries, in food courts, in large open areas...

Now think about a population of 33,000 plus possibly bringing a gun into those same areas.

Am I overreacting? I think not, and fortunately or unfortunately...I value my life and my sense of feeling protected or at least safe.

I don't know what the future holds, but....I don't know.

Online Dating...Good Idea or Death Sentence?

So, last night the Match.com commercial that says more relationships, more marriages came on and it got me to thinking about this whole I'm going to find my soulmate or at least my next fling online. I have known many people that have ventured that way and the results are all over the place. Some have loved it... Some have not understood it... Some have hated it... Some have been hurt by it... And some have strong opinions about it, but haven't actually tried it.

I will save my personal opinion about the topic for a little later, but I do have some questions and observations that I would like to share.

What makes someone decide to go to a website that is specifically for dating? Do they it's going to be a positive situation or a negative situation when before they sign up? What type of information do you give out during your first go at your profile? How long do you spend on the site the first time? Do you peruse the site for mates the first time or do you wait to be matched?

Do you put your all out there on the first person or do you wait until you've met a few different people? How do you decide who is telling you the truth? How can you tell who is lying? What do you talk about once you've made a connection? How do you know when it's time to love forward? What does moving to fast look like? What if you're interested in someone that isn't interested in you? What if it's the other way around? How do you say, sorry not going to work out?

When do you go on the first date? How do you decide who gets a second date? Do you introduce them to your friends? How do you tell your family? What do you tell your family and what will they say?

Do you let it turn into a relationship? Does the way you met make things worse or better after you've been in a relationship for a while?

Is meeting someone online for the first time the same as meeting someone in person for the first time? Does it have the same effect? Can you love that person just as much? Does it make you weak or strong for looking online?

What happens if it doesn't work out? Is it your fault?Is it their fault? Is it the companies fault? What if it's harmful? What if it's deadly? What if it miss you feel less loved than you felt in the beginning? What if it gets your hopes your hopes up over and over again, but there's never a connection? What if you never get a match? What if you get married and it ends terribly? What if it was the best choice you ever made? What if you have beautiful babies? What if your family falls in love with them? What if you live happily ever after?

So many questions and there millions more. Online dating has always been a bit of a mystery to me. I've gone to the sites and created profiles, but I've never paid for a subscription. I dating a guy for almost 2 years starting my senior year of high school that I met on Collegeclub. He went to Air Force towards the end if my freshmen year in college, so it just didn't last. Not a horrible breakup, just too much space in between us. So, I guess it dos work to a certain extent. I wasn't willing to move where he was going and I'm not even sure if he would have invited me. We talked on the phone and wrote letters for a while and then it just kind of died down. C'est la vie.

So, other than that situation over 10 years ago, I haven't actually done any online dating. I meet guys fairly often, but they are never my type. Some people say there are all types of people online so maybe it's the place to look since i'm not meeting Mr. right now...right now. ;). I'll probably never pay for a subscription though and eharmony only does so many free communication weekends.

I don't know...I just don't feel connected and confident enough in the process. Too many people I know have had horrible experiences and only a few that have had positive experiences. Of those few, 2 have married the person they met online. it just seems so impersonal and awkward to me, but go for it if it works for you. It's like deciding to look online can be a celebration or literally a funeral. Hopefully, very few end in the latter, but the reality is that the Internet is available to all types of people. You have to be careful who you're typing to...you just might invite a sex offender home. Jokes and questions aside, it's a really interested topic to me.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic and experiences if you have any or if you know of any.