Diamonds in the Rough of Reality-TV

Got inspiration from a very unexpected source tonight: the reality show "So You Think You Can Dance". They're showing the best and the worst of the tryouts, which is usually either wildly comical or very impressive, but tonight there were two stories that were tremendously uplifting.

The first was a heavyset girl who danced extremely well despite her size. Unfortunately, she only made it one level in the competition and the judges were very honest about her career prospects, but they were very encouraging and even touched by her work.

The second was a young man from a bad neighborhood who admitted to being mocked when he first pursued a career in dance, but he's made the best of it and he did a fabulous job. As part of the story they interviewed his father, who admitted to being skeptical at first, but who whole-heartedly supports his son... and the rewards were obvious.

A Life Lesson in Financial Responsibility

A coworker just told us that he is staying in a suite for a while. I was confused for a minute, curious why he was so happy about it... usually people only go to a hotel when something goes very wrong with their home! It turns out that he lives in a hotel; he has to live in one for a while longer until he pays off his last major debt, and then he'll finally have the credit for something more stable, like an apartment.

He told us how he's been trying to get things paid off for a long time. When he was first out of school, he was excited to get a credit card and used it freely; if he was on a date and the girl wanted something, it was easy to give it to her. No problem. But he mentioned that it's taken a long time to get rid of that debt. I thought about some people I know who have got themselves into debt early but haven't invested in an education or any long-term plans, so that debt becomes a burden for years.

So my friend at work is finally getting on top of his finances. And that is inspiring. It's awesome to see someone making plans and following through, making their lives that much better.

Sweet, Sweet Cinnamon Rolls

Lynnette is a fabulous cook; she has spent a great deal of time and effort creating dishes and finding what really works for her. However, she hasn't had much luck baking. This is too bad, because cookies and breads are my personal favorite. But, seriously, she has tried and mostly failed when making rolls and pastries.

One night last week I came home to the wonderful smell of rolls. Suddenly I remembered that she said something earlier about trying to make cinnamon rolls, and sure enough she had a few dozen there. They looked pretty good. They tasted pretty good. My kids loved them, and my sister-in-law and nieces loved them. They really were awesome.

And she was knew it. At one point she beamed from ear to ear and said, "I did it."

Pretty cool, eh!

The Joy Of... Curriculum?

Over a year ago, a friend of mine invited me to help out with her charter school. If you don't already know it about me: I love the whole academic scene, especially when it comes to kids. So I'd promised her I'd take a day to help out sometime.

Well, she contacted me the other day just to catch up, and she mentioned that she's starting computer classes for one of her schools. (Suddenly there's more than just one!) I asked if this was a good time for me to help out, and she said "yes," especially if I could come that week since the next week is when things really get busy. I could only do a half day; she said that would be fine, but we had a lot to do: train her on things like spreadsheets and RSS and podcasts and advanced features of word processing; design a curriculum for grades K-6; and get some of the library equipment going.

You know what? We did it. We did it all. We were rushed, but we basically demonstrated and outlined everything we needed in 4 hours. It's invigorating to accomplish something like that.

What's even better is the fact that she enjoyed it as much as I did. Turns out she was a bit apprehensive about the classes since she didn't feel particularly adept at computers, and she wasn't looking forward to training with me. But she's a great educator and of course she picked it up well, and we both had a great time. What a rush.

Thanks, Tina!

Wakeboarding FTW!

I am now 40 years old. Let's pause for a minute while you pity me.

Yes, it is sad. I now have physical pains that are not healing. More and more often I injure myself such that I have to skip basketball, my favorite sport. I expect to live a long time, so it's going to get more difficult as I do even less strenuous activities. Sad, as I said. Another pause.

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In last week's trip to Lake Powell, we took some of the older people to try out wakeboarding.

Wakeboarding is something I've always wanted to do but have repeatedly failed at. I believe I successfully water skied on two skis once for a few seconds in my early 20s, but it was choppy and just didn't seem like much fun to endure so much just to stay standing. Wakeboarding seems to allow much more variety with jumping and spinning around... and I hear that it's easier, which is attractive because I sure take a beating trying to get up!

The first to get up was Andreas, a young man who already knows how to do it. After him, Andreas (his Dad) tried a few times but couldn't get up. Then Abel and Karin tried; Karin knows how to waterski already, but she couldn't get up either. Then Emily (another teenager) tried; she'd never done it before, and she wasn't able to either. Tough day for wakeboarding.

I wasn't going to try since I was exhausted (from almost constant work and little sleep), but I figured I'd regret it if I didn't. Of course, I failed a few times, but thanks to Rob and Andreas' pointers, on about the third try I got up! It was fantastic! Sure, being up on the water was fun, though I couldn't wait even 15 seconds before trying something and falling down, and that was the last I got up. But the best part was just accomplishing something that had dogged me for so long. So, in the first immortal words uttered after I got up:

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!

A Speech (All Four Sentences of It)

Tolman agreed to give a talk in his class again. The last time, he didn't prepare and then simply didn't want to do it, and I made sure he went directly to a leader himself and told her that he wouldn't do it. I thought he wouldn't volunteer to talk again.

Well, this time I just found out the night before, so that night and the next morning I asked a few times if he wanted any help, and he always said "no". Finally in church, he asked me if he had to do it. I tole him I wouldn't force him, so he said he didn't want to do it. That's great; I just explained the consequence: if he wasn't going to participate with his class and follow through on his commitments, he wouldn't be able to stay with his class. Instead, he'd have to spend his time somewhere else, like my class. He didn't like that very much; he kept asking and complaining, and finally said angrily, "OK, I'll do it. But I don't want any help!"

Well, I knew it wouldn't end there, but it wasn't until we were singing the final song that he asked if I would help him. I told him it was too late for me to help, but I talked with him during the song: I told how I pick a story to tell; he came up with one, and he practiced saying the whole thing. He forgot how to wrap it up at the end, so we talked about it and he did it again with everything right. I felt that much was an accomplishment, and it was positive because he was no longer angry. However, I worried that he wouldn't remember everything.

So we went and sat at the front, and almost immediately he asked if I remembered it, because he had forgotten. Actually, I honestly couldn't hear what he said earlier, so I was sorry but I couldn't help at that point. When it was time to stand, I made the mistake of going with him up to the podium; he didn't say anything and looked at me for help. I told him to go ahead, and he whispered that he was thinking, so I sat down again. He was up there for a few seconds longer, just standing without saying anything. Finally, he told his entire story and ended it perfectly. It was short, but it was all his! I grabbed him and gave him a huge bear hug and told him I was proud.

I heard from a friend that he looked down the whole time, but I don't care. He owned it, and he finished it.

Repeat Customers

A friend of mine creates quilts by hand and sells them at a show in Las Vegas. They're very original, created with swatches of whatever she likes: Tinkerbell, camouflage, and even a Christmas-themed Elvis one. She got back from her most recent show the other day and was talking about her adventures, and she mentioned how some of her customers had returned to buy another quilt. What a rush! The fact that someone likes your work enough to pay money in the first place has its non-monetary benefits, but to have someone come back a year later and seek you out so they can again get something you have created... that must be a great feeling.