January 2011 – Living & Loving, Autism & Deafness

Syllabi and phones —

January 20, 2011 criscollrj

(http://www.pcworld.com/article/173033/evolution_of_the_cell_phone.html

First I must confess I did have to look up if the plural of syllabus was syllabi – and certainly it is. I wonder where I came about that certain bit of information in my head – I’m certainly not sure – but slightly pleased to know that was right. LOL.

Since 1999 I have had a cell phone – a bit late on that front, but there it is. At first I shared with my mom a cell phone plan where I had a phone similar to the one in the photo. A little bigger perhaps, it was still an amazing thing to us! We progressed to having our own plan by 2004, where at first Roger had Alltel and I had T-Mobile – our workplaces and the connectivity thereto was of upmost importance, and Roger even had to have something of a direct connect right after with Nextel. I also toyed with Sprint before we both ended up getting Verizon in approximately 2006, and even with a brief period with AT&T we are now back with Verizon, as for us now they have the best connectivity of the bunch.

As everyone knows, cell phones are everywhere, and everyone seems addicted to them. They are precious possessions, connections with the world, comfort for parents that children can instantly check in, and entertainment for some, and internet connectivity for the lucky! Yet they are accident causers, confusion creating (remember the first time you saw someone talking on a Bluetooth?) and sometimes patience prodding (person in line online not paying attention – with embarrassment I admit I was that person in line the day after Christmas, talking with my daughter about some urgent question she had about a ride to an activity, where I didn’t hear the clerk say, “Please move your cart, ma’am, the stockboy needs to get through!”

After being in college now for a year, I am now in my first semester of taking three classes on college grounds. I have taken two other college classes on campus, one my first session (Spring 2010) and one in the Fall of 2010. The other 3 classes were online. I don’t recall what those syllabi said about cell phone use. What struck me this semester, is all three of the documents pretty much forbid even looking at the cell phone. I liked the humor in one of the paragraphs:

“Turn off and put away all electronic devices. This includes cell phones, pagers, Palm Pilots,
Blackberries, MP3 players, tape recorders, cameras, laptops, electronic notebooks, and all other
devices already in circulation or yet to be invented. For those who must be reachable, leave the
telephone number of Campus Police (440-525-7241) and your class schedule. Campus police
will be happy to dispatch an officer to your classroom. The person who needs to reach you will
be able to call Campus Police even if they lose the phone number. Lakeland is listed in the
phone book, and our police have access to your schedule.”

She does have a point. I actually am going to follow her directions and if anyone has an emergency they can call the campus police. Hopefully that policy won’t have be used, but it’s comforting to know it’s there!

college, music

Music appreciation

January 17, 2011 criscollrj

Me in choir in 9th grade in high school. My love of music started way before that, though, when I learned the fundamentals of music from my Uncle Don when he taught me the accordion at Age 7 Smile I picked up the guitar at 10 and never looked back. I couldn’t wait to get into choir, and finally in high school was able to join for three years. (Hard to forget the devastation in 12th grade when I had to drop choir for geometry).

Starting this class tomorrow:

MUSC 1200 – Music Appreciation

“This survey course provides an introduction to aesthetic and historic issues relating to musical works of major composers. The course emphasizes the art of listening to music. Topics include instruments of the orchestra as well as works and influences of composers. Students will study both instrumental and vocal works. This course requires no musical background or skills. (3 contact hours).”

Back to music after many years away – at least educationally. With a change of classes proposed by Kent when I went there for my advisory meeting last week, I had to drop children’s literature (which was a choice for a humanities credit at Lakeland but not at Kent) and Health (which was needed at Lakeland but not at Kent for the degree I chose), I chose Music Appreciation out of the list of humanities choices that Kent gave me as the final humanities I needed for their degree. So tomorrow I’m off to Music Appreciation, a course which I remember Roger being in when I first met him in 1983 Smile . I took a course with this professor before, “Popular Music,” in approximately 1984. He is a good teacher. It will be strange to see him again with us both being 26 years older, probably in the same room where I took the course before.

That room brings back many memories. At Lakeland, when you enter the building where the music rooms are, at first you go by the large art gallery.

These were some of the pictures that were in the Lakeland gallery last time I was there a few weeks ago. They change the series of pictures every few months. Back in the 80s I often did homework there in the gallery, ate snacks, and usually ended up meeting one or more friends that hung out with me, or me and Rog together, and it was the spot where we would often play guitar and sing together. So the gallery is definitely a part of the whole music experience for me. Since I went back this decade, I have probably sat in there 4 times doing algebra. The ghosts of past times still are there, merging with the current scenes.

In the music room, in the main section, I had Lakeland Singers (a choir group that also had some dancing, which I was not so used to and made my awkward debut in Winter quarter, 1984), and I was in that class until the end of spring quarter, 1986. This room served as practice room for the band and choral groups, and I also took my popular music class in that room. Roger, who I met in a band practice in December 1983, was a student in that room as well for music appreciation and music theory (2 years of that!) and we often met there as I would find him after my secretarial classes, as well. He also had a piano class in an adjacent room. Then later in approximately summer of 85 or 86 I took piano and voice lessons and that was in the piano/organ practice rooms that are adjacent on the other side of the large teaching room.

Wish I had pictures of the Lakeland music room in the 80’s, but I’ll make up for it by taking some this week! The picture above of me in high school was taken by my mom. She is a bigger photo buff than me! And I think my Uncle Don took the one below, another great amateur photographer!

Christmas, life, Uncategorized, Weather

From Christmas to just Winter

January 13, 2011 criscollrj

The tree unadorned, awaiting just the unassembly. I did get the tree up right after Thanksgiving, but was a little late getting it all decorated (a week or so after Thanksgiving?) But as always we treasured it’s beauty, and planned to take it down the 7th. However, because Colleen was having a New Year’s party January 8, I decided to leave it up the 8th and take it down the 9th. Life got busy and I didn’t finish until the 12th!

This is my attic, and what a super attic it is! As you can see in the 3rd picture on the right there there is plenty of room to stack boxes 4-5 high even in the eaves. That is my Christmas corner where everything will snooze until next November – –

This is my first year to establish a snowman corner

The lights are put away now, of course, but the merry white figures remain. It seems to be good timing with scenes like this:

This was the beginning of the most snow we received at once this year. This was, I believe, Saturday the 8th, the day of Colleen’s party. We have had snow since then for 4 days from two different systems – I believe we now have about a foot of snow – less than some snow belt areas around us and some states to the Northeast in the blizzard, but enough to remind us that it is indeed January! I have always loved the snow. I don’t know what it is, but snow makes me feel refreshed and energetic. I get crabby and lethargic in the heat, and am much more active in the winter. I hate the heat, and you don’t want to be around me if the air conditioner fails on a hot summer day!

Things continue to be about the same in our household – we are in prayer over many issues and know the Lord has us in the palm of his hand.

We continue to pray for Chris’s placement. A place that will offer him autism and deafness therapy and a safe residency, covered by our insurance or development disabilities funding, has not been found. His grandparents continue to care for him in the week . . . Continue reading “From Christmas to just Winter” →