If you haven't watched Northanger Abbey , do so. It's a lovely way to spend a summer evening. Light, romantic, witty...throw in a glass of Sauvignon Blanc and you're set.

a list of reasons why...

I am going to start a new post series called, "A List of Reasons Why Going to School Online is Splendid."

Oh, critics, hold your mighty tongues! Before you chastise me for not taking the ordinary college route (traditional brick and mortar campus), please remember the following things: I researched for months the school I chose, I talked to folks at the department of education for the state of TN, and to graduates of the college, and I spoke with potential school systems where I'd likely end up teaching to see if they had any applicants-and if they'd accepted those applicants- from the online school I chose. I called councils on higher education, and checked with NCATE. This is no University of Phoenix, and I didn't make this decision lightly.

Moving on. I will be making short lists, maybe ten to twenty reasons why going to school online is, as I stated, splendid.

List #1
a. I eat popsicles while I watch little classroom sessions. I can also pet the dog, feed the baby, and/or knit. I even arranged flowers in vases while finishing a chapter yesterday.
b. I can take some assessments at home. Today was my first. The school sent me a webcam (built in mic). I set it up, and registered for a web assessor to proctor. I then had to take profile shots, and did some keystroke biometrics. I had to find a quiet corner, and set up the web camera at a 45 degree angle from the computer, so that my face, hands, keyboard and workspace were in view. When you log into the assessment, you are required to terminate all other windows and tabs that are open on your computer. No way to cheat from study notes, there. I was pretty impressed with the system. The proctor watches you take the test, measuring your keystrokes, observing for you to be looking away from the computer without need, and listening for any unusual sounds (which could indicate cheating). Interruptions of any kind result in the termination of the assessment, and you have to reschedule. I thought it was pretty nifty. Most assessments have to be taken at a test site, with a live proctor, but the simple DUH! classes have the option.
c. I can study whenever I want. I have all my learning resources at my fingertips, and there is no set time for my first semesters of classes...I have a completion date for the class but no 11 am to 2pm set time to have to be present. I can choose to watch the live presentation, or watch the recorded presentation later. If I only have time one day to work at 12 am, I can do that.
d. I can have a glass of wine or a beer while working through course work.
e. It isn't bad studying with a toddler beside you. Elijah is three, no longer naps, and comes to watch a presentation with me and then copies my "studying" while his sister is napping. He has a calculator and notebook and pencil to "study his school". I started working through Get Ready For the Code with him (it's a phonics workbook series) a little and sometimes he'll do that. He calls it "his study book". I've wanted to start going through some reading lessons with him but my book was borrowed and is missing so I am going to have to get it from the library.

There you go. Enjoy.

Forgive me.

a stanza or two, on a Friday

The Sign (translated to English by David Matual)

One, forever one! Though in the sleeping temple
There is a hellish glow in the darkness,
and thunder in the midst of the stillness,--
Though everything round about has fallen,
one banner will not waver,
And the shield will not move from the crumbled wall.

In sleepy horror we came running to the sanctuary,
And our temple was all full of stifling fumes,
Chunks of silver lay scattered about,
And black smoke clung to the tattered carpets.
And only the one sign of the imperishable covenant
Stood as before between heaven and earth,
From heaven the same light illuminated both the Virgin of Nazareth
And the vain poison of the serpent before her.

-Vladimir Solovyov

Bless My Enemies O Lord
Bp. Nikolai Velimirovich



Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.

Enemies have driven me into your embrace more than friends have.

Friends have bound me to earth, enemies have loosed me from earth and have demolished all my aspirations in the world.

Enemies have made me a stranger in worldly realms and an extraneous inhabitant of the world. Just as a hunted animal finds safer shelter than an unhunted animal does, so have I, persecuted by enemies, found the safest sanctuary, having ensconced myself beneath your tabernacle, where neither friends nor enemies can slay my soul.

Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.

They, rather than I, have confessed my sins before the world.

They have punished me, whenever I have hesitated to punish myself.

They have tormented me, whenever I have tried to flee torments.

They have scolded me, whenever I have flattered myself.

They have spat upon me, whenever I have filled myself with arrogance.

Bless my enemies, O Lord, Even I bless them and do not curse them.

Whenever I have made myself wise, they have called me foolish.

Whenever I have made myself mighty, they have mocked me as though I were a dwarf.

Whenever I have wanted to lead people, they have shoved me into the background.

Whenever I have rushed to enrich myself, they have prevented me with an iron hand.

Whenever I thought that I would sleep peacefully, they have wakened me from sleep.

Whenever I have tried to build a home for a long and tranquil life, they have demolished it and driven me out.

Truly, enemies have cut me loose from the world and have stretched out my hands to the hem of your garment.

Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.

Bless them and multiply them; multiply them and make them even more bitterly against me:

so that my fleeing to You may have no return;

so that all hope in men may be scattered like cobwebs;

so that absolute serenity may begin to reign in my soul;

so that my heart may become the grave of my two evil twins, arrogance and anger;

so that I might amass all my treasure in heaven;

ah, so that I may for once be freed from self-deception, which has entangled me in the dreadful web of illusory life.

Enemies have taught me to know what hardly anyone knows, that a person has no enemies in the world except himself.

One hates his enemies only when he fails to realize that they are not enemies, but cruel friends.

It is truly difficult for me to say who has done me more good and who has done me more evil in the world: friends or enemies.

Therefore bless, O Lord, both my friends and enemies.

A slave curses enemies, for he does not understand. But a son blesses them, for he understands.

For a son knows that his enemies cannot touch his life.

Therefore he freely steps among them and prays to God for them.-From Prayers by the Lake by Bishop Nikolai Velimirovich, published by the Serbian Orthodox Metropolitanate of New Gracanica, 1999.

a stanza or two, almost on a Friday

I was overtaken with studying yesterday and didn't get a chance to post a poem. So here it is.

I am fascinated by this poet, Rabindranath Tagore. I have yet to finish reading his biography, and really want to pick up a book of his poems. Maybe I'll ask for one for my upcoming birthday.


I Cast My Net Into The Sea

In the morning I cast my net into the sea.

I dragged up from the dark abyss things of strange aspect and strange beauty -- some shone like a smile, some glistened like tears, and some were flushed like the cheeks of a bride.

When with the day's burden I went home, my love was sitting in the garden idly tearing the leaves of a flower.

I hesitated for a moment, and then placed at her feet all that I had dragged up, and stood silent.

She glanced at them and said, 'What strange things are these? I know not of what use they are!'

I bowed my head in shame and thought, 'I have not fought for these, I did not buy them in the market; they are not fit gifts for her.'

Then the whole night through I flung them one by one into the street.

In the morning travellers came; they picked them up and carried them into far countries.

Rabindranath Tagore