Cheap Change #1

These are a series of posts that represent the ways I have been blessed financially through ways that are completely void of my own merit.  Specifically, and more importantly let it be a testimony that God provides daily for those who are in need.

Late last week, I finally decided to bite the bullet and get my teeth cleaned.  It's not that I have been neglecting my teeth purposefully - I just haven't had dental insurance since I graduated from Alfred in May 2008.  So I called up a few different places for the best quotes I could find.  Not surprisingly, I decided on Lalor Dental Associates.  When I did have insurance, this place, by far, has been the most helpful, friendly and trustworthy.  In addition, it all offered the cheapest service I could find - $62, if you're interested.  More bonus points for Lalor, I was also surprised by how quickly they were able to schedule me in.  On a Thursday afternoon phone call, I got a Monday morning appointment.

The cleaning went wonderfully.  For not having a professional cleaning, I was well complemented and praised for my well-maintained teeth.  The secret is simply brushing them well, twice a day, and using floss at night.  I've only had one cavity my entire life.

The best part?  I went to pony up the dough before leaving and I was humbly surprised to hear the total amount: $40.  Apparently the last time my mom had visited (over 4 years ago), she overpaid by $22.  Since we're on the same account, I got that credited to my bill.  Also got a free toothbrush and a mini-tube of toothpaste... that's an extra $3 there right?

Cheap Change #1: $25

Cheap Change Total: $25

Declined to Teach in Florida/Virginia

Anything you need to know, I've already posted at r2r.

A Week without Facebook: Part 2

After my Thursday post, I noticed that a majority of my posts seem to involve Facebook in some way.  Trust me; this will probably be my last Facebook-centered post in a while.  Okay, enough of disclaimers.

In regards to most technology, I feel as though most people have a genuinely good idea and have good intentions for it – even if those intentions also happen to get them a lot of money at the same time.  Facebook falls into the same boat.  It’s a great tool for bringing people together when they have been separated by a lot of time or distance.  For this reason alone, it’s beneficial to use it, especially if you have been out of high school or college for a long time.  In fact, I remember when I first got it how exciting it was to “reconnect” (read as: populate my friend list) with people who I forgot about or haven’t talked to in a while.  In hindsight, I can now ask the question: “Wasn’t there a reason why I forgot or stopped talking to them?”  Most of the people on my friend list I don’t even “cyber-stalk,” let alone have any communication with.  In fact, I have found most of who I interact with on Facebook are the same people I interact with without Facebook.  If I started using Facebook as a tool to honestly seek out old friends, then I’d be using Facebook properly.  To honestly assess myself on this, I’d say that I don’t use Facebook for this purpose, thus I have violated the original intention of the service.

The second aspect Facebook provides, apart from connecting, is sharing.  I’ve already wrote about the dangers of how sharing becomes self-worship.   Sharing information, such as websites, blogs, pictures, and other similar things can be a great way to develop an online relationship.  It also helps you spread your ideas among the masses in a chain-reaction type of way.  Personally, I like using it to share whatever is happening on r2r or Facebook addiction awareness.  Others use the service to push their personal feelings or beliefs to others.  And others yet just use it to create a false cause and get lots of people to half-heartedly join.  Apps fall into this category too.  I very rarely join groups, and I don’t use any apps.  So based on that, I don’t think I abuse the sharing aspect of my Facebook privilege.  When I do post, it’s the rare r2r blog that comes out once or twice a month.  Most of my friends who know what it is (or don’t care) don’t view it.  Those who never seen it or are curious click on it once and never do so again from what I’m guessing.   I’ve never experience anyone outside the group that contributes ever mentioning it, so I don’t think we’re by any means viral.  In fact, it’s stagnant.  So when I do share, it’s not much and it doesn’t get much publicity.

I realize now my slight Facebook addiction was really based on nothing substantial.  In fact, I think it’s just something I did out of habit.  I don’t think I’m going to delete my Facebook profile in case I want to get in contact with someone on it, but I am going to be continuing working on going on it less and less.  There is only a little bit of information and pictures uploaded about me.  Over the summer, I’ll reduce that to practically nothing.  Am I upset with Facebook’s privacy policies?  Yes.  But if I provide them (or the rest of the Internet) with nothing, then nothing can used against me.  Consider it a lesson learned.

High Emotions and Good Deeds

Today was Harpursville School District's annual celebration called Moving-Up Day.  Although reluctant at first, I decided to attend because I had promised some students that I would go if I could.  And even though I lost the opportunity to make money by sub-teaching elsewhere, I decided to go as a volunteer anyways.

It was tough celebrating with all the kids and facility today because I won't be teaching there next year.  If I don't get the job in Corning however, I'm sure I'll be finding myself spending a lot of time there subbing.  But as a teacher, you don't want to be subbing in classrooms your whole career.  You want you're own classroom, your own kids, and your own curriculum to teach.  The sting deepens when I'm asked often by the students if I'll be around next year, because they know there's a position open and they want me in it.  Honestly, I would have loved to be there, but it just wasn't meant to be - not this year.  Maybe when the high school teacher leaves next year, I can take her position, but after all the disappointment and frustration, I'm not holding my breath.  But because I put so much into these eighth graders this year, I felt as though I belonged there, even if it's only for a day.  So together - teachers and students - we celebrated our successes together.

The highlight of the day though came when I was speaking with a student (we'll call her M) right before the end of the day.  Although she'd never admit it, M was tearing up a little bit because she doesn't know if she'll be in Harpursville next year, and even if she is, one of her best friends had already moved out the district weeks earlier.  As we were chatting about how friends come and go in life, she mentioned to me that she would have liked to have a yearbook, but her mother didn't give her the money or ignored the request.  Although I'm well aware of the reasons not to, I decided that I was going to buy her a yearbook.  This is a loaded task though.  There at least a half-dozen reasons not to give her one (as a teacher) as well as the danger of making it a huge deal to other students who I know can't afford one either.  But she had been one of my most considerate and well-behaved students all year and I felt the benefits here would outweigh the risks.  My biggest problem?  I didn't have the cash for the yearbook itself.

Thankfully, I was a visitor today (as opposed to a sub) and I was able to leave the building without any problems and ran to the only store in Harpursville: The Bread & Butter Country store, and made a debit purchase that allowed me to take out the money needed.  Purchased the book at the library and signed the inside of it with the typical best-of-luck teacher yearbook message.  Since the congregation of seventh and eighth graders were swarming around the courtyard, it wasn't hard to find her.  I saw M (sitting with only one other person, thank God) reading her friend's yearbook.  Without making a scene or a big deal, I came up to M, and placed the yearbook in her lap, in front of the one she was holding, and simply said, "I think this is yours, but don't tell anybody."  A nice, cryptic message that only she would understand and quiet walked away to talk to another teacher for a minute.  During the time I left her alone to absorb the act, he had probably figured out what was going on and read the message on the inside, which probably helped her out to understand what I was doing.  As a contrast to her previous emotions, it was very joyful for me to see her face and eyes light up in disbelief what had actually occurred.  She insisted for the last hour that she needed to repay me somehow, but I told her just to remember how that felt like and repay the kindness.  Considering they know about Rachel's Challenge, I hope she does wherever she goes.

I'm not claiming to be altruistic; I certainly felt and am still feeling the high of doing a good deed for someone.  This whole exchange with M happened in a matter of thirty minutes, from conversation to gift, and I thought about nothing except all the different ways it could possibly backfire on me.  What put me over the edge is that I just didn't care.  Particularly, I recall an early lesson in my faith as a Christ Follower that in order to make a difference, we need to love recklessly.  This was an act of reckless love.  I don't think M is a Christian, and I don't think simply buying her a yearbook will change her all that much either.  But with the feeling it has left me, I can do nothing now but just pray that this is the beginning of her road to salvation so that she can begin understand why I did what I did.  I love M just like I love all my students.  The Lord knows if I'll ever get a chance to interact with these students again, because from my point of view, this was probably my last day I'll see many of them.  But if God gives me another interaction with M, maybe we both would have had just enough time to think about today's events and realize there is something more powerful in kindness than for kindness sake.  And maybe, she will begin seeing the light of Christ for the first time.

As a teacher, I want to see my students educated but not just in academics.  I will forever be a teacher of character.  And if I'm going to be a great teacher, than my actions need to match my words.  If nothing else, I hope that I exampled that today.

A Week without Facebook: Part 1

To be upfront and honest, I haven’t missed Facebook at all.  In fact, I’ve enjoyed not logging in.  I have seen an increase in the quality of my activities and increase in my free time.  In a quick summary, here is a small list of weekly accomplishments:

I’ve been reading more, I’ve been exercising more and I wrote an e-mail to a good friend whom I probably wouldn’t have written to otherwise.

Although I really love writing (and especially writing letters), I think the biggest success on the list is the part about reading.  Believe it or not, I think I forgot that I love to read!  In my elementary and middle school years, I hated reading, mostly because I was horrible at reading comprehension.  But in high school, I started getting it and since I’ve had the freedom to choose what to read, I have enjoyed it more as I’ve gotten older.  If you’re interested in what I’ve been reading, I read a book about what a “green economy” would look like, and I also started reading “War of the Worlds” on my knock-off Kindle.  I’m thinking about purchasing another (and different) book to read.  If anyone has any suggestions, please feel free to throw something out there.

As in intermission between my personal discoveries, I want to share with all my two readers that if there is one thing I really hate about Facebook is the center on self.  I understand that the older people who are using it are reconnecting with old friends.  I’m perfectly alright with that and am completely for it.  Have fun.  But primarily, but not solely, the younger generations use Facebook as a tool for self-promotion, and ultimately, self-worship.  With as much information as I can find out about any of my Facebook friends, I don’t think I have learned anything about them of value.  Even if you post info for the world to see, I don’t feel the same about it, as if they told me personally.  The interaction aspect of conversation and communication has been taken away.  And honestly, I think we all know this, but keep doing it anyway.  Why?  Because it makes us feel like (a) God.  With an account, we own a small little piece of the Internet where we control everything and everyone comes to see the pictures, our status, a chain letter, or our newest update on an app.  We know we’re getting the attention, and that draws us to continue posting and logging on to see who has commented about it.  What happened to the days of long phone calls, or visiting someone to look through their photo album?  I much rather visit a friend, in person, to share all these things than to look at some pictures from an event that I wasn’t invited to.  If not for Facebook distracting me, I wouldn’t even care or think about any of these things if it didn’t show up on my news feed.  And you may be thinking right now, “If you’re so fed-up and angry with it, why don’t you quit?”  Be careful, I just might.  However, I do believe there are some good things about Facebook.  I’ll write about them in Part 2.

The second thing I realized this week is that my creative and meaningful interactions with people have decreased.  I used to have so many creative ideas about a lot of things that I do or involve myself with.  These days, it doesn’t happen as much as I would like it.  I feel dull.  For example, when it came time to give presents, I used to put a lot of thought and meaning into my gifts.  I see that same deterioration in my relationships as well.  I’ve fallen into the self-worship trap that I have mentioned above.  I want to be creative again and I want my precious little time on this Earth to be full of meaning, intent and joy, especially when it comes to my interactions with people. 

Bottom Line: Most say that it’s easier to communicate with others through an online social network.  I’ll agree to that; however, I think the quality of communication deteriorates greatly and that is what makes all the difference.  When it comes to quantity verses quality, I’ll pick quality every time.

Also, before finishing this blog, I just want to make a disclaimer.  In the spirit of “Another Loud Kovac,” I will rarely go back and edit my entries (several times) like I do at r2r.  This is my place to write out my frustrations and let loose what’s on my mind.  I’ve decided not to advertise or promote the blog, so if you want to stop coming here and reading, that’s fine with me.  It will be interesting to see what I regret later – if anything.