A good one from indexed:
I was up early today, and I had an über productive day.
I completed several action items for the Center for Excellence in Curricular Engagement, including:
- Composing and mailing a thank you letter form our office to a program assistant in another office who helped us out in a recent event,
- Creating a proposed e-mail to send to the CNR faculty regarding scheduling three meetings over a series of a few weeks toward the end of summer, and sending said proposed e-mail to the boss lady for review,
- Pulled together a bunch of status-type questions our office has outstanding for one of the CNR faculty, and
- Checked in with the folks at The Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center about our accommodations, and passed the information on to the aforementioned boss lady,
I also had a series of exchanges with my sister regarding the conference session on diversity that we’re going to be jointly facilitating in a couple of weeks at the NC Teaching Fellow Junior Conference.
It looks like the panel discussion of “out” students in high school that we were planning to do isn’t going to work out, as it is summer time, and the response from anyone being able to round up 5 kids on summer break has not been overwhelming.
As a result of a couple of responses, we’re going to redesign the session to include two speakers. One, is the mother of a gay son (as well as a former educator), and the other one is a gay teacher who is “semi-out” in his current job.
Dr. Covington (that would be my sister) and I are going to meet next Thursday to plan the content and flow of the session. I’m excited about it.
Over the past couple of years, I have changed my “charitable contribution strategy” to a “little-fish-in-a-big-pond” approach to a “big-fish-in-a-little-pond” approach. That is, I used to have a percentage of my paycheck deducted for the United Way; and now instead, I just make contributions directly to causes that move me.
The result of this strategy is that instead of a once-a-year canned thank you message from a giant fundraising machine, I get personal mail like this:
| John,
You take my breath away! What a wonderful surprise in the mail!! Thank you for the birthday greetings! And the check for David’s Memorial Fund … I was speechless and tears of gratitude flowed at your overwhelming generosity. I want to just squeeze you!!! I know that Thank You just doesn’t cover it … but I say it with all my heart. I could not ask for a better remembrance on my birthday than a donation for David and I couldn’t be luckier than to have such a special friend as you! I will get you a receipt in the mail right away. And I will get a CD opened as soon as possible. You are a wonderfully special person John, with all sincerity, thank you. Always, too |
I had a heartwarming conversation with Irene on the phone today, at the end of which I sent her a link to a video that I posted a link to in my blog a while ago, and later, I received this e-mail from her:
| Thanks for the link… and one more reason….
I have never thought about the genealogical implications on families and communities as people try to establish their “Roots!” I have always taken mine, my knowledge, and the ease of information access about my family history for granted. Beyond that, it cut me to the quick to see those little children choose again and again the doll that DIDN’T look like each of them as the “good” one or the one they liked the best. At the end of that segment, the little girl who pushed the doll across the table broke my heart!!!!! I love you John Martin!!! |
I met Joe at Panera Bread, where we spent a couple of hours.
At around 5:30, Joe left to go to Just Tires to get new tires, and I went to Carmichael, where I walked for an hour listening to the latest podcast episode of This American Life.
Compelling, compelling, compelling radio. I’ve coined a new tagline for them, “Radio worth turning off the TV for.”
Joe and I met at Flex for free pool and Show Tunes night, which also turned into “120 Minutes”—Goth, retro, techno music for 2 hours—night.
Later in the evening, Joe and a guy named Gary went to CCs, and Chris (zinnian) and I went to Legends.
My evening ended quite abruptly when not long after I got there, this totally hot, young, guy stood next to me, and after a few minutes started a conversation with me:
“Do you smoke weed?”
“Not regularly, but I’m not opposed to it.”
“Do you want to go get some?” he continued.
“No, thanks. I’m not into it that much.”
“Well, I could go get some and bring it back here. How about that?”
“Suit yourself,” I said.
“Would you do some with me if I did?”
“Probably…” I said finishing in my mind,”…not.”
“Would you give me some money toward it?” he finally got to the meat of the matter.
“How much?” I asked.
“30 bucks.”
I said without missing a beat, “I have to go to the ATM machine. I’ll be right back.”
As I walked away, he said, “You are coming back, right?”
Yeah, as definite as you would be coming back after taking my money to buy drugs with.
I walked through the patio, into The View side of the bar, out the door, back to my car, which was parked at Flex, and took my dopeless ass home.
Mrs. Martin didn’t raise no fools.