Wednesday, November 30, 2005
My not so new job
This is the first time I have written since I started my job teaching Bible in a Christian School in Rock Hill. The name of the school is Westminster Catawba Christian School, and I really enjoy my job and the students and other people involved with the school. Teaching the Bible is a dream of a job for me, because studying the Bible is my favorite thing to do, pretty much, and that is what I get to do for this job, whether it is preparing lessons, answering a student's question, or grading a test, it all comes back to what does the Bible say, and I love to ponder that question with careful reading and thinking. Sometimes I grow tired of this work, though, when I am not sleeping enough, or not exercising enough, and I have no social life outside of lunch in the cafeteria and showing my roommate and his girlfriend the latest organic treasures I have purchased at the grocery store. I think I would have a social life, just maybe, if I did not spend my spare time online wasting time and life. I need to go get ready for tomorrow and Friday's school, and maybe I will have time to make it to see Tom play in Charlotte tonight. I don't know if anyone ever reads this, but if so, I hope you are doing well.
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Split Infinitives
For a long time, I was feeling ashamed of the fact that I included several blatant split infinitives in my master's degree thesis. Then I read this:
The split infinitive was discovered and named in the 19th century. 19th century writers seem to have made greater use of this construction than earlier writers; the frequency of the occurrence attracted the disapproving attention of grammarians, many of whom thought it to be a modern corruption. The construction had in fact been in occasional use since the 14th century; only its frequency had changed. Even though there has never been a rational basis for objecting to the split infinitive, the subject has become a fixture of folk belief about grammar. You can hardly publish a sentence containing one without hearing about it from somebody. Modern commentators know the split infinitive is not a vice, but they are loath to drop such a popular subject. They usu. say it's all right to split an infinitive in the interest of clarity. Since clarity is the usual reason for splitting, this advice means merely that you can split them whenever you need to (Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed., 1136).
I think all the split infinitives in my thesis came when I was preoccupied with the order of the words in the Hebrew text I was translating. "Folk belief about grammar!" Enough of this needless shame!
The split infinitive was discovered and named in the 19th century. 19th century writers seem to have made greater use of this construction than earlier writers; the frequency of the occurrence attracted the disapproving attention of grammarians, many of whom thought it to be a modern corruption. The construction had in fact been in occasional use since the 14th century; only its frequency had changed. Even though there has never been a rational basis for objecting to the split infinitive, the subject has become a fixture of folk belief about grammar. You can hardly publish a sentence containing one without hearing about it from somebody. Modern commentators know the split infinitive is not a vice, but they are loath to drop such a popular subject. They usu. say it's all right to split an infinitive in the interest of clarity. Since clarity is the usual reason for splitting, this advice means merely that you can split them whenever you need to (Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed., 1136).
I think all the split infinitives in my thesis came when I was preoccupied with the order of the words in the Hebrew text I was translating. "Folk belief about grammar!" Enough of this needless shame!
My ride with Lance
I was thinking the other day after the Tour de France ended about how my life has parallelled Lance Armstrong's cycling career in several ways. I first got into cycling during middle school, about the year 1990, when Lance first came on the scene as a top amateur. He turned pro after a disappointing showing in the 1992 Olympics, which were a few months after a wreck ended my dreams and plans of racing my bike, at least for a few years. He did not have success at first, finishing last in his first race. I guess he recovered and learned better than I did, because within a year's time he was U.S. Champion, a Tour de France stage winner, and was about to win the World Championship road race. Things were not so well for me in 1993; I did not have many friends, but I got my first job.
In 1995 he was involved in one of the most dramatic but tragic Tours ever, when his teammate Fabio Cassartelli died in a crash and Lance dedicated a stage win to him a few days later. That was nevertheless a beautiful Tour, perhaps in part because I was in Spain at the time and only heard bits and pieces of what was going on. It made it even more dramatic and mysterious to me. Those were beautiful days.
In 1996 I saw him race in the Olympics in Atlanta shortly before he was diagnosed with cancer. Interestingly, this was during the time that my dad was being treated for cancer. I did not respond well to these sad events, nor to the end of Miguel Indurain's dominance of the Tour, and that coupled with some misdirected religious zeal to cause me to renounce my interest in cycling. I trashed my massive collection of old bike magazines (actually I think I recycled them), and I did not ride my bike again until the spring of 1998 (almost two years).
It was with great hesitation that I finally did get interested again, just as Lance was returning to competition, in the spring of '98. During that semester, I went on a few rides around campus of my college as my friend Craig ran. That summer, I followed the Tour a little bit (I forgot this until a year ago when I found that I had recorded the tv coverage). In 1999, I went on a ride or two on my old riding roads, and Lance winning the Tour renewed my interest there too. I even dared (with the encouragement of my friend Joel Fancey) to purchase a bike magazine. I had to set aside religious qualms about this in order to do so. In the summer of 2000, I was again eager to see the Tour, and was able to watch it some in the hotels where I was staying as I worked for Mr. Mosteller's playground company. I also followed in 2001, with heightened interest because of interaction with James and Anthony Birdsong, who was a long-time cycling fan. I had not ridden the bike since '99, I do not think, but that beautiful Tour inspired me to take it on a spin or two. I was still struggling with confusing religious compulsions, though, and when they came on to set aside the bike, I did that fearfully.
In the summer of 2002, the assistant brainshrinker encouraged me to allow myself the pleasure of riding my bike. I did it, even though it was difficult and guilt-inducing at first. This is I guess where the parallel to Lance breaks down; I did not take up cycling again steadily until four years after his return from cancer. But then it picks up again, as I have been riding consistently for the past three years, just as Lance has been riding into history.
Now comes his retirement, and in a week and a couple of days, my first real job. Not that my previous jobs have all been bad, but that they have not been what I wanted to do long-term. And this is what I want to do long term. So just as Lance has left cycling, it seems that I am leaving childhood, or adolescence, or "the nest," or whatever you may call it. I hope I do not crash.
In 1995 he was involved in one of the most dramatic but tragic Tours ever, when his teammate Fabio Cassartelli died in a crash and Lance dedicated a stage win to him a few days later. That was nevertheless a beautiful Tour, perhaps in part because I was in Spain at the time and only heard bits and pieces of what was going on. It made it even more dramatic and mysterious to me. Those were beautiful days.
In 1996 I saw him race in the Olympics in Atlanta shortly before he was diagnosed with cancer. Interestingly, this was during the time that my dad was being treated for cancer. I did not respond well to these sad events, nor to the end of Miguel Indurain's dominance of the Tour, and that coupled with some misdirected religious zeal to cause me to renounce my interest in cycling. I trashed my massive collection of old bike magazines (actually I think I recycled them), and I did not ride my bike again until the spring of 1998 (almost two years).
It was with great hesitation that I finally did get interested again, just as Lance was returning to competition, in the spring of '98. During that semester, I went on a few rides around campus of my college as my friend Craig ran. That summer, I followed the Tour a little bit (I forgot this until a year ago when I found that I had recorded the tv coverage). In 1999, I went on a ride or two on my old riding roads, and Lance winning the Tour renewed my interest there too. I even dared (with the encouragement of my friend Joel Fancey) to purchase a bike magazine. I had to set aside religious qualms about this in order to do so. In the summer of 2000, I was again eager to see the Tour, and was able to watch it some in the hotels where I was staying as I worked for Mr. Mosteller's playground company. I also followed in 2001, with heightened interest because of interaction with James and Anthony Birdsong, who was a long-time cycling fan. I had not ridden the bike since '99, I do not think, but that beautiful Tour inspired me to take it on a spin or two. I was still struggling with confusing religious compulsions, though, and when they came on to set aside the bike, I did that fearfully.
In the summer of 2002, the assistant brainshrinker encouraged me to allow myself the pleasure of riding my bike. I did it, even though it was difficult and guilt-inducing at first. This is I guess where the parallel to Lance breaks down; I did not take up cycling again steadily until four years after his return from cancer. But then it picks up again, as I have been riding consistently for the past three years, just as Lance has been riding into history.
Now comes his retirement, and in a week and a couple of days, my first real job. Not that my previous jobs have all been bad, but that they have not been what I wanted to do long-term. And this is what I want to do long term. So just as Lance has left cycling, it seems that I am leaving childhood, or adolescence, or "the nest," or whatever you may call it. I hope I do not crash.
Saturday, June 04, 2005
Unemployment
I have come to the end of another school year, and like the past six or so, that means I am in transition again, looking for a job. I have a Master's Degree, and I expected to be more established by now, and I am sure the people at the Dry Cleaner are confused when I turn in an application listing my academic experience to them so I can get a minimum wage job. Today, after finding out that the job I was inquiring about at a T-shirt printing business had been filled, I actually thought of posting an ad somewhere offering my services studying and teaching the Bible in the original languages for an hourly fee. I have seen jokes and cartoons around my college and seminary to that effect (will parse verbs for food), but today was the first time I actually thought it seriously. I wonder if people in my church would pay me to study the Bible for them and tell them what I find, or lead their family devotions for a day now and then, or once a week. I guess this is what I get when I have degrees in Bible and Biblical Languages and Old Testament. They are not exactly practical. But I do not think I would go back and change what I have studied; I have learned too much and grown as a person too much. If I had gone another way, and studied geography in college (like I thought to do during my senior year of high school), I might just as well be lamenting the impracticality of such a degree, or some other bothersome circumstance. It is not that bad; God provides everything I need. I have not gone hungry yet, nor have I had to sleep under a bridge, nor have I even been close to such measures.
I am looking for a job teaching the Bible in a Christian school for next year, and something to pay the bills for the summer. The trouble is that the Christian schools do not seem to be working out, and the summer jobs seem kind of humiliating and demeaning. There are forms of labor that I do not mind, but I am not interested in food service, and I do not do well with outdoor manual labor positions such as painting, construction, or landscaping. I love to work in my own yard, or in my parents', but not commercial work. I get easily discouraged and assume the worst about situations like this. Maybe I am being too personal in this, but I thought I should revive my blog.
I am looking for a job teaching the Bible in a Christian school for next year, and something to pay the bills for the summer. The trouble is that the Christian schools do not seem to be working out, and the summer jobs seem kind of humiliating and demeaning. There are forms of labor that I do not mind, but I am not interested in food service, and I do not do well with outdoor manual labor positions such as painting, construction, or landscaping. I love to work in my own yard, or in my parents', but not commercial work. I get easily discouraged and assume the worst about situations like this. Maybe I am being too personal in this, but I thought I should revive my blog.
Friday, June 03, 2005
Saturday, January 15, 2005
welcome to my world
This is the world of drebro. I am not sure how big this world will be, for I already have responsibilities on too many planets. I guess one of the main motivations for starting a blog was to be able to comment on the blogs of my friends (James and J. Marie). But maybe once in a while I will stop in here to write something interesting.
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