Stud of the Month

In college we used to have a stud of the month award. It usually consisted of the most outstanding guy we could think of. We would stick his picture, (taken from the ward directory) blow it up, and stick it on our fridge with big wording announcing to the world that this was our stud of the month. Well, that is how it worked in theory. In reality, Will was "Stud of the Month" for almost an entire year. And to be honest, I wouldn't have changed it either. He was the studliest of all studs, the most helpful of all guys - he brought us boysenberry pie for crying out loud! If you needed anything, he was there. And not just for our apartment, but for everyone. It wasn't until I served a mission that his constant attitude of service made any sense to me.

Well, why let an old tradition die right? The stud of the month for this month is a bit more abstract than the ones we had in college because...I've never met him. But he has been nominated by a one person committee for a reason; he is an entrepreneur. He dreams it, he makes it happen.

His father, Gary Neeleman was a tenant of ours in the company I used to work for. I LOVED visiting his space because he and his wife were such neat people and so cool to talk to. They spoke Spanish and traveled all over (this is noted in the article as well). His father worked for the associated press. The thing that really impressed me about their family is this entrepreneurialness (and yes, I realize I made that word up). His brother started an insurance company. When you get a whole family of entrepreneurial people I start to wonder if there is something in the way the family functions that breeds kids like this? The extent of what they do does not end there. My old roommate Cynthia used to work for Jetblue. My sister Ginette worked for Zion Ponderosa, a get-away close to Zion National Park - also started by one of these Neelemans, (David I think). Anyway, to find entrepreneurs is a rare breed and the Neelemans seem to have a whole bunch of them in their family. But today I highlight David Neeleman in particular as "Stud of the Month", (see attached article for details).

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/27/business/27cnd-air.html?ex=1364356800&en=1ed3ceaa4ca0de35&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

A Runner's High

Finally, I have a study which backs up what I have experienced for years. I am interested in anyone's thoughts on this. It is no secret that I've been running for years, since high school. I did a pretty intense run yesterday and I LOVED it. Some of my friends claim that they get nothing but pain from running. I have no reason to doubt this. I had some serious knee problems when I was training for my marathon. I really do understand how it might not be enjoyable. But obviously, for those of us who do run, there must be something that motivates us to keep running. For those of you who don't run, perhaps you'll find this motivating.

Runner's High

Anyone Up For a Trip to New York for a Little "Experiment"?

You Are An ENFJ

The Giver You strive to maintain harmony in relationships, and usually succeed. Articulate and enthusiastic, you are good at making personal connections. Sometimes you idealize relationships too much - and end up being let down. You find the most energy and comfort in social situations ... where you shine. In love, you are very protective and supporting. However, you do need to "feel special" - and it's quite easy for you to get jealous. At work, you are a natural leader. You can help people discover their greatest potential. You would make a good writer, human resources director, or psychologist. How you see yourself: Trusting, idealistic, and expressive When other people don't get you, they see you as: Bossy, inappropriate, and loud

What's Your Personality Type?

My analysis: I agree with most of this, although there are so many different ways to classify a person. I am outgoing at church and reserved at school so the personal connection thing could apply or not apply depending on the setting. I can be outright abrasive with people sometimes but my general mode de vie is harmonious, in my opinion. Others may feel differently. I really have little reason to believe that I am a jealous person. But then again, I have generally dated guys who were great at giving me a lot of security that they cared about me. Perhaps if I had not dated such kind people I'd feel differently. I am not sure I see myself as trusting, but definitely idealistic and expressive. I could be wrong, but I don't think many people see me as inappropriate (but bossy and loud...I can see it.)

Let's Have a Little Chat About Tweetle Beetles: A Tribute to Dr. Seuss

Today is Dr. Seuss's birthday. He would be 108 if he were still alive. (He died in 1991, in case you were wondering.) I am sure I am not the only one who fell in love with his anapestic tetrameter before I had a clue what meter, rhyme, and poems really were. Many of us grew up enjoying the reading The Cat in the Hat before we could actually read fast enough to twist our tongues with the alliteration. In high school, I fell in love with and memorized the poem about tweetle beetles; one of my many quarks. My favorite graduation book is Oh the Places You'll Go. I love Sueuss's unique illustrations. The wisdom and life lessons behind the sneeches, the North going Zax and the South going Zax, the Grinch are ones I much appreciate.

I suppose my nostalgic connection to Dr. Seuss grew when one summer I was perusing through my great-grandmother's book collection, I found the book You're Only Old Once. I loved the way he could poke humor at aging. (My second-favorite Dr. Seuss poem is the one about all of the pills old people take.) While I was flipping through the book, my great-grandmother told me that my great-grandfather went to school with him.

With that said, my school sent out an e-mail for volunteers to help with a readership program in celebration of Dr. Seuss's birthday. They sent me a biological sketch and instructed me to share a Dr. Seuss book of my choice with the children. I was able to verify that my great-grandfather overlapped with Dr. Seuss by a year at Dartmouth College. Great-grandpa Folger did an instructorship the year that Dr. Seuss started college.

My respect for the genius of Dr. Seuss has grown even more after a short google search about him. He was really a man who cared about children's reading abilities.

At the same time, an important development occurred that influenced much of Seuss' later work. In May 1954, Life magazine published a report on illiteracy among school children, which concluded that children were not learning to read because their books were boring. Accordingly, Seuss' publisher made up a list of 400 words he felt were important and asked Dr. Seuss to cut the list to 250 words and write a book using only those words. Nine months later, Seuss, using 220 of the words given to him, completed The Cat in the Hat. This book was a tour de force—it retained the drawing style, verse rhythms, and all the imaginative power of Seuss' earlier works, but because of its simplified vocabulary could be read by beginning readers. A rumor exists,that in 1960, Bennett Cerf bet Dr. Seuss $50 that he couldn't write an entire book using only fifty words. The result was supposedly Green Eggs and Ham. The additional rumor that Cerf never paid Seuss the $50 has never been proven and is most likely untrue. These books achieved significant international success and remain very popular.
(Wikipedia)

Dr. Seuss's family immigrated from Germany. The German pronounciation of Seuss is "zoice". Dr. Seuss has been quoted as saying "Seuss -- rhymes with voice". His other pen names were Theo and LeSieg (Geisel spelled backwards) for books he wrote but others illustrated. (Wikipedia)

With that I will share my second-favorite Dr. Seuss poem. Please feel free to share yours.

This small white pill is what I munch
at breakfast and right after lunch.
I take the pill that's kelly green
before each meal and in between.
These logan berry-colored pills
I take for early morning chills.
I take the pill with zebra stripes
to cure my early evening gripes.
These orange-tinted ones, of course,
I take to cure my charley horse
I take three blues at half past eight
to slow my exhalation rate.
On alternate night at nine p.m.
I swallow pinkies. Four of them.
The reds, which make my eyebrows strong,
I eat like popcorn all day long.
The speckled browns are what I keep
beside my bed to help me sleep.
This long flat one is what I take
If I should die before I wake.

You're Only Old Once! - By Dr. Seuss

The Glow

When I was in high school attending early morning seminary, I used to have this impression that I did not understand. The impression was that I was a child of the light. I had no idea what a child of the light was...it was just an impression that often came during early morning seminary. However, after a day of exposure to filthy language, watching drug deals go down in the hallways, and trying to avoid conversations full of sexual innuendos, I often felt like I was just weird for having that impression. It was not until my mission, I think, when I came across the phrase 'children of the light' in the Bible. I was excited to find it, and a little taken aback at the accuracy of this impression that I had never understood.

While in college, I had a particularly intense religion class. It was the only religion class I ever liked. We had three hours of reading per class. But when the reading was done, I often felt like I was glowing from the inside out. I often wondered if it was something people could see...or something I just silently felt.

It was not until years later while living in Salt Lake that I was confronted by my friend Cris. We were at an activity and he bluntly asked me why I wasn't married. Before I could answer he went on and on about how I had all of these great qualities "and you just glow!" he concluded. It is one of the few times in my life when I consciously remember feeling my face turn crimson. Between dealing with my own embarrassment and the shock of the first indication I'd ever had that the glow was something other people were aware of, I mumbled something that made no sense and tried to find an escape the awkward situation.

The glow is not always there, of course, it comes and goes in greater proportions. One of the times it was the strongest was during my Paris study abroad. I've never been so completely satisfied. I remember thinking that the Lord knows me down to my deepest desires. How amazing that He would grant those desires from time to time.

Probably the happiest moment of my life took place in Port Bou Italy. It is a tiny fishing village just over the border of France beyond Monaco. A few of us had decided to take a day trip there during our school break. My friends and I were skipping rocks on the Mediterranean. I was so filled with this happiness that I asked Nicola, our French TA, if he had ever felt completely happy. He said no. Something was always missing. Like here, Nicola was enjoying himself, but he missed his wife. He concluded by saying that he didn't believe that anyone could ever be completely happy. I wished I could tell him, but you can't tell people things they are not ready to believe. I was completely happy - down to the very core of who I was. It was a satisfaction that was not situationally dependent. It came from the inside out.

A few days prior to that, while basking in this silent glow, I had visited Monaco. Monaco is sort of like the Las Vegas of France. It attracts materialism on every inch of its soil. So there I was, this plain American girl wearing jeans, sneakers, and a fleece with my hair pulled back in a plain old pony-tail. I was a nobody in a sea of faces with nothing to be jealous of. But I was so happy, from the inside out. As I watched the lovely women with high heels and expensive fur coats go by, I couldn't help but think that in all of their array, what they were looking for, what every human being longs for is happiness. And I, the plainly dressed, 21-year-old who had never known great wealth or prestige had it. And all of the mink coats and expensive cars could not buy this.

On my mission, my last area was in Perpignan, France. I had an amazing companion. She was someone who had the glow more intensely and more naturally than I did. And I loved it. The glow is contagious. If you have it, you can spread it. If you are around people who have it, you can get it...if you don't get caught up in tearing them down. Anyway, she had it - strongly. Though we were constantly rejected and torn to shreds by the general public, we were so resilliantly happy. The intensity of the peaceful happiness was a fulfillment of what the deepest part of me had always believed was possible. Happiness, indeed, joy, is so real it is almost tangible.

There are days when I am intensely drained of energy that I realize that my normal self would be exceptionally obnoxious to me just then. There is nothing worse than moments of sadness to realize that there are people on this earth who are sincerely happy.

I guess what has gotten me thinking about the glow again lately is that last week it started coming back in greater force. I am never entirely sure what controls its ebbs and flows. But the other day I got up early, prayed sincerely, had an amazing scripture study, the Spirit was strong. I made it to the gym, read the paper, studied for the bar, did my homework, and was generally consumed with love for humanity and the desire for the well-being of others. I couldn't help but realize that the glow was back, and how great it feels.

I would guess that my next few blog entries will be more introspective than interesting or entertaining. That seems to be an effect of the glow. It creates a quiet contemplation and a deeper inner satisfaction. My life stills. My comprehension of everything seems to deepen and the feeling of bien etre (well being) permeates.

Traditions

My great-grandmother was born in 1900 and grew up in the shadows of Bunker Hill Monument in Boston. She was the only child of Doctor Allen and grew up attending finishing schools and those sorts of things. I have recently discovered that, unbenownst to my great-grandmother, there was a covert group of people who had a yearly tradition of jumping into Boston Harbor on New Years Day. In fact, the tradition started years before my great-grandmother was even born. I don't have any reason to believe that she ever participated in that tradition or even knew about it. However, there were pictures of people from her time period jumping into the icy Boston Harbor.

Fast forward a little over a century to New Years 2008. My sister, Ginette, and I were both home for Christmas break and decided to break the annual tradition of dull New Year's Eves and headed to Boston. We ended up running into several people we grew up with and were invited to join them for the 'Polar Bear Plunge'. Ginette and I were quite excited to go.

When we told mom, she refused to believe us until she saw it for herself. (It seems that my yearly tradition of April Fool's engagements is beginning to catch up with me.) Well, for those of you who join my mother's scepticism, I offer the following exhibits:

Exhibit 1: Before the plunge

(Bandits: Chantal, Luke, and Ginette)

Exhibit 2: The Plunge



Exhibit 3: After the Plunge

(Luke, Chantal, and Ginette soaking wet)

Anyone up for next year?