Integrity

–noun

1.

adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.

2.

the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished: to preserve the integrity of the empire.

3.

a sound, unimpaired, or perfect condition: the integrity of a ship's hull.

(dictionary.com)

I've been watching Zen, a new mystery series on pbs, this week. The whole point of the show is that Detective Zen is a man of integrity on a police force known for its corruption. I've always thought of integrity as doing what's right regardless of the cost. Yet, for a man with a reputation for integrity, Zen bends the rules when he needs/wants to. He has a double standard when it comes to relationships. He uses his pull to get his rival reassigned.

Still sound like a man of integrity?

Maybe compared to the rest of his department.

When did integrity become a relative matter? By the end of the show, I wasn't sure that I liked him very much. It was a well done show and enjoyable but I couldn't get past the integrity issue. Even according to the dictionary.com definition, he wasn't acting with integrity as he violated his own moral code. At least, he never claimed to be a man of integrity. I'll give him that.

I know why the birds are angry...

Is it wrong to want an iPad just so you can play Angry Birds?

We have an iPad 1 and an iPad 2 at work that we're testing to see how they work with the online components of course work. Part of that testing is making sure that we can help students that may have trouble. Part of that included downloading apps. Now, when I download apps I try to find something free and "educational." While I was at lunch yesterday, someone was testing out the new Apple Cloud app store downloading and downloaded a bunch of games. When I came back, I was told to download a free app to try it out. With everyone watching, I chose the first free thing at hand... Angry Birds. Well, I actually looked around for awhile for something more... ahem... "educational" but alas, nothing could be found. Ahem.

I had heard about it... the "addictive" properties, the fun. I had even had someone show me the app on their phone. So during a quick break, I decided to give it a whirl. It was the hardest thing to put it down and go back to work. Now, I want to play it at home. I'm pathetic; I know.

Besides Angry Birds, I've become relatively proficient in all things iPad related. I've spent more time on Apple products in the last 3 weeks than I have since we used to play games on an old Apple IIc.

The iPad has such awesome capabilities for being a tool in the classroom. Need to demonstrate the piano/scales to your students? There's an app for that! :) There are so many great programs that allow you to enhance the classroom environment with very little output (money/time) on the part of the teacher.

I'm really hoping to get to play with Doceri someday soon. It gives you an interactive whiteboard (some schools have those now!) but with the ability to move around the room while "writing" on the board or pre-arrange a presentation.

I'm totally jazzed about some of what I'm doing. It's nice to feel invested in something and part of a team. There are days where I'd rather be working with kids or outside and not in my concrete cave but I like my job. I've tried hard to keep a good attitude about it. In the beginning, it was rather frustrating. I would come to work and there wasn't a set list of responsibilities as the work ebbed and flowed. It was frustrating, I wanted to feel productive and all I could do was clean out my inbox. I missed the freedom and responsibilities I had in my previous jobs. I still feel that way sometimes. But then I can pick up the iPad and work on my "testing." ;) Actually, (sadly :P ) I usually end up filing or shredding when I finish my work but at least I'm productive with my time.

Things that make me smile....

Nature's Artistry

A Cat in the Box

Tiny Flowers

Cute Visitors at Work

Finding the Unexpected

Something I Call "Fire Bush"

"Sticky Monkey Flower"
Mimulus aurantiacus

Lupinus arboreus?

BEANie Babies

The Little Garden Plot

Tree Hugs

Tree wrinkles

Clarity

New "Tools" at Work

Fun Colors

Finished Projects

Watching my brother try something new... And rocking it!

Ant -i -bodies

If you give an ant a library book, it's going to bring it's friends.
I'm in the midst of an ant war... I've kept my room clean since moving in but these ants are wonderful at finding any bit of anything, a stray m&m, watercolour paints... I've cleaned, vacuumed, wiped and sprinkled repellant (at least three of those everyday!). I bought poison (this is pretty drastic for me) and yet they keep coming. They're all over my deck too. I have no idea what they're after anymore...

But, I think I've found the solution... MacGyver style! ;)



Time to pull out the big guns!

Play

A friend asked if I play/wanted to play this summer. I realized that I don't really play during the school year or do the things I enjoy the most. Play during the school year means kids, a quick walk, reading or looking about on the internet.

Now that it's summer, how am I playing?

I pulled out my watercolour materials today.

This is actually a huge deal. I haven't painted with watercolours in over 2 years. I was so scared that I would open the paint tubes and find them dried out. Thankfully, the paints are all in working order and my brushes are great. The brush cleaner crystallized but seemed to work just the same.

I'm not working on anything amazing. I did a pen and ink a year or two ago on watercolour paper but never did anything to it. The hardest part of painting for me comes long before I pick up the brush. The composition and drawing components coupled with my perfectionist tendencies make the initial process long and frustrating.


Being able to start in the middle of the process was freeing. Painting makes me incredibly happy. I was painting and dancing and making little exclamations about how much fun it was or how good the colours looked! I feel giddy just thinking about it.

Of course, I'm playing in other ways. I have the beginnings of a summer reading list. My goal is to finish Insectopedia andthe Lord of the Rings trilogy after starting them last summer. I need to prepare for the CSET teaching tests. Also on the reading list: North and South (E. Gaskell) and some P.G. Wodehouse. Aside from Insectopedia and the CSET, I'm steering clear of the academic this summer. I'd love to hear from you! What do you like to read? Any suggestions?

My garden has expanded. I now have a plot in the community garden. It's only a block away. I went over and picked out my plot tonight. I started to clear it and found a garden warming gift: a carrot. I also have a large poison hemlock in the middle of the garden (and yes I know the difference between a carrot and hemlock). I'm thinking about leaving it since my garden (and others with hemlock) didn't have signs of burrowing creatures. The garden is only 6'x10' but any bigger and I would be overwhelmed with ideas. I'm currently ripping into seed packets with the glee of a child on Christmas morning. Beans and radishes and onions, oh my!

How do you play? :)

Holidays

There's something wonderful about being home with family. Yesterday was filled with catching up with my family and just being a part of their life. I deadheaded roses and pulled weeds. I ran errands for people. I got caught up on the last few weeks of my sister's life. She's getting ready to go away to college and I wonder how much longer we'll have these face to face sister chats. My brother and I got to play around on the piano together. He always amazes me with his knowledge and skill in drums and piano. He actually talks to me and I love to hear what's going on in my philosophical brother's head. My aunt is visiting over at my grandmother's for a few weeks. Grandma's almost ninety but she and Aunt L. are like teenage girls on a sleepover. They were up past midnight chatting and dare I say giggling?

I'm trying to savor this holiday of sorts since I have jury duty next week. Then, it's back to the university for work. I got a full time summer position on campus so I'll be busy.

Little House?

Piles of stuff litter the curbs. Some of it's trash; some things waiting to be loaded into waiting cars and trucks. As people pack up their apartments and depart for places unknown, I'm drawn into thinking about my stuff and what the curb and car will look like when I leave. The idea of living simply has been nagging at me since I had two friends depart for distant places and for long periods with just a suitcase or two, and then I saw this video...




Growing up in California, I dreamed of big houses. I dreamed of big farm houses, sprawling ranches, colonials, victorians, craftsmans and haciendas. The house would be filled with children and clever storage ideas. The house I grew up in was only 1090 sqft but it felt enormous at age six. By age 16, that feeling had faded. The idea of having my own room and my own space held great allure. I designed houses for large families in which two children in a room was the exception and the rooms were spacious enough that it wouldn't matter.

The last couple of years, I've spent time in some large houses. Enough time to see the drawbacks of lots of space. Momentary moments of panic when a child goes missing and it takes you longer to search the inside of the house than it would to run around the house twice. More space means more things. Being alone in a huge house and having the alarm tell you that there was movement in a distant quarter of the house. In my family's house, you have to be an excellent hider to be lost for very long. We constantly bump into each other.

There's a large part of me that want to have a little homestead of my own with a little house built by me. I think I read too many frontier themed books growing up. ;) The idea of a little house like the video appeals to me. Of course, I would want a shower of some kind (maybe outdoors?) and I would want space for my books. Instead of designing large houses, I now dream in miniature. Which is better since it's more probable that anywhere I live will be small. There's another part of me that just wants the suburban life I grew up with. American dream much? Although, I'd like to add some goats to the mix of suburban animals...

When I signed the lease for my apartment, the list of permissible animals included birds. Dangerous thing to tell a former 4-Her. I was tempted to ask if that included chickens but realized that would scare my roommates since we were all signing together. A couple small banties to round out my balcony maybe?