The evils of email

I've had an email account for 16 years or so, and I have noticed that as nice as email is to have to keep in contact with friends who are living far, far away in Peru or somewhere amazing like that, it has some serious drawbacks. There are things that shouldn't be left to email.

I keep learning this over and over.

I learned that you can't tell tone of voice over email. I learned this as Rog and I were planning our wedding long distance.

I learned that sometimes its better to JUST GET OFF MY REAR and go discuss something with a colleague instead of emailing back and forth trying to get a job done. I learned this at small software company located out of Redmond, WA (SSCLOORW) with my dear friend Kellieo.

There are some things that should be said face to face. Or at the least, voice to voice.

A few things that shouldn't be said in email...

"We are unsatisfied with your work"
"I've heard a rumor about you"

Both are serious and both should have opportunity for immediate response.

I love to write, and I pride myself (so here's my pride problem) in being able to communicate well with words. If I didn't think so, I sure wouldn't have a blog. But if you don't already know me, you might take something I said wrong. Or if you don't know me well. Or even if you do know me well. As I've been emailing with some new folks that I'm ministering with, I realize that they don't know me yet. My jokes fall flat...because they might just think I'm being smug. And then I worry that I'm taken wrong. (ok, I have a worry problem too)

So this amazing thing called the internet can be very difficult on relationships. I haven't mastered it AT ALL in 16 years. And I wonder if I'm really meant to...or if maybe I need to build more relationships face to face and voice to voice.

movies

I really enjoy the sci-fi and fantasy....books or movies. I don't know when I developed my love for them, but its only gotten stronger over the years.

Thanks to my favorite Soprano for lending us Stardust. We watched it on our anniversary, and I really enjoyed it. It was fun, romantic, interesting...maybe not groundbreaking...but I had a good time with it. Roger is funny...he needs to know more about a movie before he really wants to see it. In the end, he enjoyed it too.

Now I'm in the mood for more. Besides Lord of the Rings and Star Wars (which we own), which Sci-Fi or Fantasy movies do you enjoy? I need ideas for future reading/watching!

A different type of identity theft

Someone is using my email address to send out spam. Yucky spam. ARG! 780 emails this morning with 5-6 being ones to me. The rest are undeliverable....sent back from servers...and giving the impression that I am a spammer.

I HATE SPAM! Especially the GROSS kind!!!!

So, now I am worried that my real emails will get blocked....

Comfort Zone

So, I'm helping with our preschool VBS this week. I signed up to help with 3 year olds...hoping that I could get to know some kids Alex's age, so maybe as he finds friends at church I might know who they are. Alex is just a touch young....he'll be 3 very soon...I wanted to make sure he got to go. So, I figured volunteering would be a good touch. Really, I could have just asked Shannon to do me a favor, but I felt like I shouldn't ask unless I was willing to sacrifice the time myself.

And after day one, I realize that given the choice of 4 teenagers or 4 three year olds....no question...give me the teens! (Besides my own kids...I mean...I'd take them over either group) I see the teens leading worship with Pastor Todd, and I think...could I be in their group? Now, this isn't really a surprise to me. I've known that about myself for a long time. But as I get older, working with teens doesn't come as easily...they don't automatically think I'm cool like they did when I was 20. It takes more work to break into a relationship with them...because I'm seen as more "adult" than "cooler older kid".

Well, I have 4 more days to go, and I'm sure it will go more smoothly than it did today. Everyone says the first day is pretty chaotic, but it gets easier. So, I'm praying for patience. The kids in my group are sweet...but one boy is a little tough to keep up with. I love knowing what my kids are learning, so I can reinforce it. I know God will bless the time! For me, its about stretching my comfort zone.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is my wedding anniversary! :) 12 years!! Rog and I have been through many ups and downs, but I'm so glad we're partners in this. We're celebrating tonight into tomorrow. I'm looking forward to many more anniversaries to come.

Business

Why don't people know how to do business? I just don't get it. I called several self-storage places this week. Two didn't answer their phone in a business like manner or seem at all like they would care if I used their business. We drove by a bunch of them, and then we decided which we thought we'd use. I left them a message...mentioning the specials they had on the website. Instead of being apologetic that I couldn't use both internet specials, she made me restate what I left on the message and then stated it in a way that made me want to go somewhere else. She most likely lost my business, and she didn't even seem to care.

I don't get it. When I worked at a large software company headquartered outside of Redmond, Wa. we really cared about people who called. Even when there wasn't anything our division could do to help them, we went out of our way to direct them or at least sound apologetic for the problem they were having. We didn't NEED one individual to make it in business....but we knew about how to treat customers and potential customers. We talked a lot about customer loyalty. And we practiced it.

The River

Wednesday I went with the teens on a rafting trip down the Arkansas river. We ended up in combo boats, which means the guide and 4 people are paddling....but the rest are not. I was on a raft with 4 guys from our group, so I ended up not paddling. This was not really ideal for me. I like to paddle. Last time I went, I was the lead position on a harder run. All I could do this time was hold onto the rope. I couldn't dig in my feet or paddle or affect anything....just sit and try not to swallow too much water.

Sometimes God tells us to just hold on while he takes us on a journey...but we want to DO something. Holding onto Him IS doing something...especially if that's all He has asked us to do.

It's official

Trina's an afternoon kindergartener!

Mom's day off

Yesterday my sweet man offered me a much needed day off. I got up without any requests made for breakfast or help. I got dressed and headed out for a leisurely breakfast (free at Mimi's--thanks to Tapango for the lead on that). I was seated near some friends, which was fun. I had some yummy Eggs Benedict that no one reached over to try uninvited (or invited), no one requested food cut-up, and no one said they needed to go to the bathroom as soon as the food came. I read the whole book The Silver Chair by CS Lewis over the course of the day, starting there at breakfast. I shopped some, but didn't buy a lot. I tried to go see a dollar movie, but it wasn't open when I got there. I ate a tasty lunch at Jason's Deli...again, reading not feeding anyone else along the way or negotiating how many bites anyone had to take. As I walked in to one store, I realized....I don't really need anything. I'm content with what I have. I definitely don't need more clutter. So, eventually I headed home....Rog had taken the kids to get my belated mother's day gift...and I finished my book. The kids got me 2 shirts, and Rog got me a recipe organizer program. He made a great meal for dinner, and there my day off was. Hopefully, today we will see me a less grouchy, much more focused mom!