30 Before 30, v.27.0

I am a full two years into this journey and I find it crazy to see how life has happened in the last six months. I definitely feel older with this 27th birthday, but I also feel the same as I always have been. Bring it on 27... I'm ready and waiting.

1. Finish my Master's degree. I have my thesis proposal defense scheduled for Friday and have been given June 19 as my date of final completion!
2. Knock out Baby Steps 2 & 3. I am struggling. Sadface.
3. Complete the C25K program.
4. Build my blog to 100 followers.
5. Take an international vacation... alone.
6. Coach in a state basketball tournament.
7. Buy a nice camera to document life's adventures. I need to figure out how to use my camera and then document this post!
8. Read and notate through the Bible five different times, in four translations (NIV, NKJV, ESV, NASB).
9. Run a marathon.
10. Hit my goal weight (160 pounds... Dream weight is 145 pounds).
11. Do something really nice for somebody... something I never thought I'd be able to do... somewhere, at sometime.  Something has been done and I'm leaving it at that.
12. Send out snail mail Christmas cards one year.
13. Read 100 new (never before read) books. 1Fat Angie. 2Single Infertile Female: Adventures in Life, Love, and Infertility. 3Sparkly Green Earrings: Catching the Light at Every Turn. 4The Help. 5Monster. 6The Book Thief.7Eat, Pray, Love. 8Same Kind of Different as Me. 9Winning Balance.10Thirteen Reasons Why. 11Zack's Lie. 12Water for Elephants. 13The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. 14The Girl Who Played With Fire. 15The Language of Flowers. 16The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. 17Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. 18Jack's Run. 19Gone Girl. 20My Sister's Voice. 21The Heavy: A Mother, A Daughter, A Diet-- A Memoir. 22Divergent. 23The Fault in Our Stars. 24Inferno. 25The Time Keeper. 26Arranged. 27The Anti-Prom. 28The Boyfriend App. 29Going Vintage. 30Deception Point. 31The Tyrant's Daughter. 32Hollow City. 33And the Mountains Echoed. 34Unbroken. 35Calico Joe. 36Insurgent. 37The Memory Keeper's Daughter: A Novel. 38Allegiant. 39Looking for Alaska. 40The Hurricane Sisters: A Novel. 41An Abundance of Katherines. 42The Lovely Bones. 43If I Stay. 44Where She Went. 44Paper Towns. 45Night. 46Will Grayson, Will Grayson (46/100)
14. Try at least 30 new recipes. 1Knoephla Soup. 2Parkerhouse Rolls. 3Broccoli Salad. 4Caramel Rolls. 5Jello Salad. 6Garlic and Parmesan Brussels Sprouts. (6/30) Bad blogger alert. I hosted a large dinner party last fall and never blogged about the evening or my recipes. This will happen, though!
15. Write 500 notes of encouragement to those around me. (5/500)
16. Go skydiving.
17. Crochet a baby afghan.
18. Have a photo shoot done of myself... Insecurities set aside.
19. Go on another missions trip. This one may be in the works. Details are being worked out right now.
20. Complete a semester of calculus.
21. Earn my permit to carry a concealed weapon.
22. Sleep a night under the stars.
23. Get three stamps in my passport. (1/3) I have two international weekends booked in the upcoming two months!
24. Make a kite and fly it.
25. Achieve complete financial independence. Although I am currently struggling pretty hard with #2, I can see that I am slowly but surely moving to total financial independence.
26. Take a dance class.
27. Tear a phone book in half.
28. Solve a Rubik's cube.
29. Learn to swim.
30. Visit New York City... Perhaps for a 30th birthday celebration?

The Second Chance Book Club: The Details

Alternatively titled The Second Chance Book Club: The (Not-So-)Quick and Dirty. I just couldn't bring myself around on that one though.

If I can cry at my own party because I want to, I can be late to my own party, can I not? 

Kelly and I often lament the lack of reading that takes place in our own lives, especially since we spend our days teaching students to read and encouraging them to make reading a part of their daily lives. We also bemoan-- look at me busting out the thesaurus.com there-- the number of classic books we haven't read for ourselves... And we are supposed to be the experts of sorts!! It was out of these discussions, a general avoidance of responsibility via texting, and an overestimation of upcoming motivation and free time post-January 1 that led to the Second Chance Book Club being born.

As Kelly wrote, we "...would [like to] take the opportunity to read some books we may have missed during High School. If we were fortunate enough to read these books during High School, hopefully we will have a greater appreciation for them the SECOND time around." What will we be reading this year? Let's take a look!

January: Night by Elie Wiesel

*Questions-- Jan. 26

*Discussion-- Jan. 29 (and mine!)

February: The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

*Questions-- TBD

*Discussion-- Feb. 28

March: Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

*Questions-- Mar. 20

*Discussion-- Mar. 28

April: The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

*Questions-- Apr. 17

*Discussion-- Apr. 25

May: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

*Questions-- TBD

*Discussion-- May 30

June: Lord of the Flies by William Golding

*Questions-- June 19

*Discussion-- June 27

July: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

*Questions-- July 17

*Discussion-- July 25

August: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

*Questions-- TBD

*Discussion-- Aug. 29

September: A Separate Peace by John Knowles

*Questions-- TBD

*Discussion-- Sept. 26

October: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

*Questions-- Oct. 23

*Discussion-- Oct. 31

November: The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

*Questions-- TBD

*Discussion-- Nov. 28

December: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

*Questions-- Dec. 18

*Discussion-- Dec. 26

I will be leading March's Wuthering Heights, April's The Things They Carried, June's Lord of the Flies, July's Their Eyes Were Watching God, October's Frankenstein, and December's A Christmas Carol. So, by process of elimination, Kelly has led January's Night (and my two cents!), and will lead February's The Glass Menagerie, May's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, August's The Handmaid's Tale, September's A Separate Peace, and November's The Catcher in the Rye.

Each month we will post a series of questions concerning the text we read. Feel free to answer all of the questions, some of the questions, none of the questions (although that would make it difficult to participate) and join us each month, as you have time, or for just the title(s) that catch your fancy. Take our button, add it to your post, and link up with the month's host. If you don't have a blog, just leave your responses in the comments. However, you really should start a blog... It's what the cool kids do. Example 1. Example 2.

Starting now with February's discussion, we have decided to kick back and have a virtual coffee shop meeting of sorts on the last Saturday of each month. When I imagine being part of a book club, I envision rolling out of bed on Saturday morning, throwing my hair on top of my head, putting on my coziest socially acceptable pants and a comfy top, and meeting up with some of my favorite ladies at a local coffee shop to talk about our book over our favorite drinks of choice. I'm looking forward to this little treat each month.

So on February 28, as Kelly said, "...Grab your coffee, tea, hot chocolate, iced tea, milk, orange juice and bagel..." and join us as we discuss Tennessee William's The Glass Menagerie. Personally, I will be kicking back with an iced Americano. I'm guessing Kelly was thinking you would grab only one or two of those drinks to have with your bagel, but all the more power to you if you go for all six. I hear a liquid diet is the way to go!  I welcome you back in two weeks for a virtual BYOB coffee date with the girls!

Second Chance Book Club, January: Night-- Elie Wiesel

Clearly I am late to my own book club party… A week and a half late. Not cool. Again, I blame January’s thesis proposal. 

But here we go. Night by Elie Wiesel.

First of all, what did you think of the book? Was it what you were expecting? Why or why not? Were you surprised with anything? If you've read it before, what new things did you notice this time around? Overall, I enjoyed the book. I had never read this title before, although I had heard of it multiple times. I had a general understanding that it was about World War II and the Holocaust, but I didn’t know anything past that. As I read, though, I found myself chewing over the genre of Holocaust literature as a whole. I am in the midst of teaching The Book Thief in my own classroom, I have taught The Diary of Anne Frank in the past, and so many more titles exist about this subject matter. The Holocaust is such a powerful, defining event in human history and, likewise, I firmly believe literature is a representation of human experience. I read Night fairly quickly, but it is a title I will definitely come back to at least once more. It is a title that I want to purchase for my own bookshelf and then spend time really pouring over and working through the text because it is so raw, passionate, and convicting.

Wiesel describes his faith before the Holocaust. How does his faith change throughout his experiences? Before the Holocaust, Wiesel’s faith was a way of life that he took for granted. Through his experiences as a religious prisoner, his faith became more real to him because he realized it was something he was going to have to fight for. He was no longer surrounded by a faith community and life was now just him and God. What may look like a destruction of faith for one person may be a strengthening that only the individual can understand. Conversely, what may appear as a strengthening of faith may be the result of superficial expression. Wiesel’s faith change is a matter between him and God alone.

What meanings could "night" have throughout the book? (figurative and literal) So many possible meanings for “night” throughout the book. First, we have night as in the literal end of the day. Wiesel reminisced about "night" multiple times as he recalled the last couple of evenings with his faith community before departure to the concentration camps. He described night at the concentration camps and he also relived his memories of marching and moving during the night to avoid attack during the war. Figuratively, “night” acts as a means to the ends of Wiesel’s life as he knew it, of his family unit as he remembered, of himself as the naive child he was, of so much of his Jewish heritage and culture, and of the kindness of much of the human race. As always, though, with the night comes morning and Wiesel experienced his own morning as well.

Who are the victims, the bystanders, and the perpetrators in Night? Can these roles overlap at all? If so, how do they? I really wish I hadn’t read this book so quickly. Like I mentioned above, I am currently teaching The Book Thief in my own classroom so my mind kept going back and forth between these two books. I fully believe the roles of victim, bystander, and perpetrator can overlap and they do overlap in Night and one can see it as well in The Book Thief. I cannot imagine going through the experiences these people did, but the fact of the matter is that human nature is evil and that evil emerges in both of these books. I cannot think of a character who is wholly good or wholly bad. Even the Jewish people, although they are clearly the attacked, show their own sinful natures as the become perpetrators against each other, bystanders who let the trouble go, and active agents in bringing suffering upon their fellow brothers in prison.

Which scenes from Night stood out to you most vividly? And why? I found myself considering Night as part of the overall genre of Holocaust literature. The Holocaust itself is an event that defines the human race. What we are given through Night is one Jewish man’s experience with his father. It is a pretty small picture, really, but it has been turned into a very powerful piece of text. What stood out to me most vividly was my own emotional reaction. My mind was going a hundred miles per hour between this text, The Book Thief, The Diary of Anne Frank, and then the rest of Holocaust literature I know is out there. I am really interested to now read about the Holocaust from “nontraditional” perspectives, if you will. What would the German soldier have to say? What about a normal citizen who was safe from the wrath of the Germans? What about the Jew who turned on his people for safety in the concentration camp? What do other people have to say about this hellacious time in world history?

Wiesel describes himself as a "corpse" at the end of the book. How did he die during his trials and did he ever start living again? In short, I believe Wiesel died in that he was forever changed by his experiences and his life was never the same. He started living again once he left the confines of the camp and imprisonment, but the life he lived after was not the same he lived before. Wiesel walked away as a man forever changed by senseless violence and needless atrocity. The life he lived after is evidence of the resilience of the human spirit and the ability to overcome in spite of human cruelty and selfish defeat.

Finally, in what way can you connect with Elie? How does he as a person influence us as readers in 2015? As much as I hate to say it, I believe the Holocaust is a prime example of suffering transcending specific circumstance or experience. We are forever changed by each circumstance in life-- some for the better, some for the worse, and some more profoundly than others. The fact of the matter is that we live in a world riddled by brokenness and suffering and we will all experience that broken and suffering at some point in our life. We can choose to be a victim and cease to overcome or we can take Elie’s example and fight to regain control of life although that life will never be the same. Suffering and brokenness is universal, whether it be 1945 or 2015.

February Goals

Sorry but not sorry I'm late on posting this month's goals. I spent this last weekend taking myself on a weekend date of sorts and just decompressing from the, honestly, stressful month that was January.  I also spent about an hour of that weekend writing this post only to lose it somewhere in cyberspace between here and there. I am super bummed and have zero energy to rewrite everything. Regardless, a quick review of January, if you please.

1. Update my Franklin every day. I have been so unproductive in my days because I haven't been listing and prioritizing my to-do list each day. #Nerdbomb #Colorcodedtoo (I think I made it four days into the month here.)

2. Implement a revised budget. I fell off the budget bandwagon when I moved last year and that needs to stop. I have been living in Thailand long enough that I have a decent understanding of what I need to do with my finances. Now I need to make it happen. (Still flying by the seat of my pants to pay the bills.)

3. Clean and organize my email accounts for fifteen minutes each day. I have three different inboxes and now is the time to get them back to a manageable status. I never understood what people meant when they were "behind on email," but boy do I understand it now! My plan is to knock out my work email first, my personal email second, and my school email last. (People keep sending me work email... I feel so counterproductive. But I did improve in this area last month!)

4. Complete 50% of my thesis bibliography. I have almost officially hit panic mode. I have about two and a half months to write a thesis. I need to get a TON of reading done this month. Since my Works Cited page must include at least 40 resources, I will need to have read, notated, and filed at least 20 different resources this month. I also have to submit my thesis proposal and my topic proposal, but I get no choice in those matters. January is going to be very grad school heavy. (I think I finished with twelve or thirteen sources? I definitely didn't make my goal but I didn't completely suck it up either.)

5. Finish 1/3 of my 3/30/90 workout goal. In the midst of everything else to do in the month, I need to remember to take care of myself. I saw this pin the other day and found myself very attracted to it. I'm committing to a better lifestyle practice and trusting the results will come. It's reasonable, it's attainable, and it's now mine. (Uh, well, two workouts. Not even close.)

Oh look... I didn't cross anything off because I didn't get anything finished! January was a struggling for me. See #4. Grad school ate everything, especially my thesis proposal and topic proposal. I am keeping this goal set for the next month with these two changes:

4. Complete 100% of my thesis bibliography. Read, read, read. And then read some more for good measure, no?

6. Memorize my Thai number as well as Philippians 2:14-16. I switched back to a smart phone last month and I still don't know my Thai number. The worst part is that I never learned my first Thai mobile number either. I never call myself, so it's not very convenient for me to remember. Ha! Likewise, I have a scripture goal this month... Many things to discuss there, but here's to the first step of making it happen!