Typing in the Dark » Justice

If I Didn’t Work, I Would Work

Amy — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 02:05:07 +0000

Today, while making dinners for two couples that just had their first babies, I had a thought. Wouldn’t it be great just to help people all day? I am a teacher, so that’s what I do, but I get paid for it. Also, I feel like my teaching duties sometimes keep me from helping, hanging out with, or communicating with others–friends, family, and strangers. Sometimes my work keeps me from taking care of me. So, if I didn’t work, what would I do all day? Here’s what I would LOVE to do:

Keep a garden that would feed Justin and me. Donate the rest. Cut flowers and give to others. Cook for people who are too busy. Keep my house clean. Help others with their laundry, shopping, errands. Write letters, call people, send emails. Take pictures. Tutor elementary, middle, and high school students. Help with Ohana more often. Write letters to Compassion children. Knit scarves, hats, baby booties, bibs, socks, mittens, and gloves for people who need them and just for fun (baby showers, etc.). Read and journal. Volunteer at food banks. Exercise. Take people to coffee or to dinner. Work on my dissertation (at some point). Go for walks. Babysit for tired parents. Travel with a cause: building schools, building homes, teach intensive gardening, etc. Start cleaning out stuff we don’t use/need anymore. Write letters for Amnesty International. Visit family for long stretches of time. Host more get-togethers. Go camping and hiking. Travel anytime.

Can I be a millionaire without working so I can keep my house and afford to give to others?

Is this insane?

A REAL Snow Day

Amy — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 00:38:03 +0000

It is snowing HARD here in Seattle. Yesterday we had a snow day, but no snow, as heavy snow was predicted during the school day. (Gotta love Seattle, although there is history behind this–look up the 1990 snowstorm in which 1,200 kids had to spend the night at school due to a snowstorm during school hours.) Snow fell Saturday night, causing late arrivals Monday and Tuesday. Well, this morning at about 4, snow pellets started falling, two earth-shaking thunderclaps (apparently called thundersnow) sounded out after lightning, and at least 3″ of snow have fallen so far. I was checking the weather cams around the city, and I came across this one–it’s so snowy, the camera speaks for itself.

Today we’re taking it easy–we had a late, healthy breakfast of steel cut oats and poached pears. I updated my Amazon wishlist, read a few blogs, and let Virgil step out into the snow to sniff around. I’d love to go out and explore our area and take some pictures after I finish my grad school paper (one page and proofreading left!). I doubt we’ll have school tomorrow, which might allow me to get the house cleaned up, get the newsletters sent out, and get some laundry done. I also need to finish packing, grade some papers, and do a little more (online) Christmas shopping.

We had some plans for this weekend–I hope we can still get out and enjoy a couple of social events before we leave! Ohana’s Christmas party is Saturday night, and our play is Friday night. I also have another life insurance medical exam scheduled for Friday at 5:30, but I wouldn’t mind if that were cancelled .

I just finished my latest book–The Nanny Diaries. One might think it’s a fluffy, mindless book, but I guarantee that anyone will be riveted by the injustices present in the gap between the haves-too-much and the have-somes. I actually picked it up to read during the students’ silent reading time in advisory and enjoyed it so much I took it home to finish it. I’ve read quite a bit this year, and my next adventure will be reading the complete Sherlock Holmes collection–over 1,000 pages of delightfully classic English Literature. Any other recommendations for Christmas and New Year travel reading? I’m looking for something to I can read on a plane, in the car, or curled up with some coffee or cocoa. If you know me, that is just as easily non-fiction as it is fiction, and a snow day pulls out the readers in all of us.

Quick Thoughts: On My Mind

Amy — Wed, 02 May 2007 05:46:56 +0000

1. I am very tired for a Tuesday.
2. Good teaching day today….I love seeing the seniors somewhat nervous about their presentations. They produce higher quality work and are much more focused. Also, my bio students are getting to be much more self sufficient at writing lab procedures. In “grading” news, my seniors almost made me cry with their touching dedication sections in the letters to the judges.
3. I want to eat more fruits and vegetables, and I want to be working out more. Justin and I took the first steps (pedal pushes?) in doing this by riding our bikes today and yesterday. We also upped our Pioneer Organics
deliveries to weekly rather than every other week.
4. I also want to live more frugally, which was further reinforced to me while watching the first episode of 30 Days, a documentary by Morgan Spurlock. It followed Morgan and Alex, his fiancee, as they tried living on minimum wage for 30 days in Columbus, OH. Dang, that was hard. And they had a lot going for them, too….I must say it makes me think our health care system and our rate of minimum wage are utterly ridiculous if you can’t work two jobs and pay for an emergency room visit.

Recent Media/Events:
Lost
Gem of the Ocean (play at Seattle Rep, directed by Phylicia Rashad)
Driving to Graham, WA to visit Justin’s dad
Lesley’s B-day party
Justin’s extravagant school auction
awesome video archive website
Watching a 1948 online video of 2 cats reproducing and raising kittens (I know, I’m a weird science teacher)
seeing Justin on our local PBS station, KCTS, on All About the Money tonight!
The Omnivore’s Dilemma

Upcoming Events:
Ogle baby sitting
Anna’s graduation May 5–I wish I could be there!!
watching The End of Suburbia
Soccer game this Thursday

I hope to come back to some of this. So much is going on!!

Incredibly Un-Incredible

Amy — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 05:48:33 +0000

There are some days that, with the sun shining on you in all of its warm, Spring-Break goodness and the Friday freedom settling in, make one dream. The possibilities seem endless. The future seems hopeful. I get restless. I reflect, dream, wish, think, and feel both optimistic and dissatisfied. These days make me wonder whether I am doing what I should be doing. They make me wonder why I watch so many movies and grade so many papers. They make me think about health, spirituality, literacy, creativity, beauty, truth, and justice. They make me want to DO SOMETHING. They make me think that anything is possible. This is one of those days….which leads me to my next point….

Tonight Justin and I saw “My Name is Rachel Corrie,” a play written about the young American woman who lived in Palestine for a few months to help stop the violence there. Although there is much more to this story than the play had time (and intentions) to get to, I was moved by this young lady’s intelligence, joie de vivre, passion, and conviction as portrayed by this play. The play was based off of her letters, e-mails, and journals, so it truly captured her voice, which moved me to want to act.

How does one take action in such a messed-up world? What passion can I pursue? What can I devote my life to that will truly make a difference in the lives of others? I feel like there is a secret menu somewhere with a list of world issues that well-off Americans can peruse, select the issue-of-the day, and comfortably try to make a change with the change left over from their cupholders. What can I really do? I feel like we take the easy way out when we say, “Oh, you ARE making a difference. Think about how many lives you impact each day…yadda yadda yadda.” I don’t feel like we can afford to do that. I want to concentrate my efforts–make them potent, passionate, and intense. I want to see the effects of my actions. Perhaps it is water that is provided for a village. Perhaps the malnourished bodies of infants become plump and healthy again. Perhaps I save a species, eradicate an illness in a village, rebuild a demolished city, help fight global warming, stop child soldier recruitment, or preserve a section of the rainforest. Am I naive to think I could make this much of a difference? What kind of a world would we live in if each one of us had a “pet” issue that we fought for throughout our lives? Most Americans can afford to do this, both time-wise and wealth-wise, but we don’t, and why not? Are we too afraid of what will happen if other countries don’t need aid anymore? Will helping other people threaten our superpower status? Do we just forget what our neighbors in other countries are going through? Do we find it too troubling to think about?

I am feeling incredibly un-incredible right now because I am thinking about how different–how much more passionate and creative–I could be. I am both energized and disheartened by this thought.