Love this Aussie lingo! I read the saying to my children and then a few days later was surprised to hear my middle child say, “He’s flat out like a lizard drinkin’!” 🙂
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This is like a heavenly dreamscape. It seems too beautiful, too peaceful, to be real!
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Greenville is a little less than an hour away from our home in Hendersonville, North Carolina. We like to visit the Zoo there, as well as to swim and play in Reedy River Falls Park. Neat shops and eateries help make a day of it.
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Located in the South Carolina Upcountry, the Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area encompasses two state parks and more than 10,000 acres. The name refers to the two watersheds within its boundaries, the Table Rock and the Poinsett watersheds.
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When we were up here, the breeze was KICKING something fierce, which was lovely on a very hot June day!
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Love the colors of this card, which I picked up yesterday when we visited Caesars Head.
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“This can be a quick one. Don’t take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you’ve read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes.”
(Note from Renae: This meme comes from Shelly’s Bookshelf at http://shellysbooks.blogspot.com/2009/05/memorable-books-meme.html; she reports that she got it from somewhere else. I know others have only posted LISTS of book titles rather than adding book descriptions, so you can do that, too, if you want!)
1. A Room for Cathy, by Catherine Woolley. I read this many, many times as a child and still remember it to this day. It is the story of a young girl who desperately wants her own bedroom. And as the oldest of four girls, I totally related!
2. The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster. Milo is bored, bored, bored with his life. Until one day, when he comes home from school, to find a strange package in his bedroom. This book dazzles with pun after pun after pun, such as when Milo suddenly jumps to Conclusions (an island). I’ve read this aloud to my children … and think it’s about time for another family read-aloud of it about now!
3. Mars, by Ben Bova. A young Native American’s dreams come true when he finds himself on humankind’s first expedition to Mars. What’s that he sees? Could it be the remnants of a Martian society? Read it to find out! I bought this in hardback because it’s well-loved and well-read.
4. Rendezvous with Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke. Wow! The ultimate hard sci-fi tale. Someone is gazing through a long-range telescope when they notice a strange object whose destination appears to be earth. It’s man-made. Cylindrical. Like nothing we’ve ever seen before. This is the story of the people who venture inside the mystery to discover a strange, new, exciting and frightening world.
5. The Incarnations of Immortality, by Piers Anthony. My sister Maria turned me on to this many years ago! From Wikipedia: “The first seven books each focus on one of seven supernatural “offices” (Death, Time, Fate, War, Nature, Evil and Good) in a fictional reality and history parallel to ours, with the exception that society has advanced both magic and modern technology. The series covers the adventures and struggles of a group of humans, called “Incarnations”, who hold these supernatural positions for a certain time.” I look forward to when my kids are old enough for this series, too!
6. The Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis. A scholar from the year 2025 travels back in time to what she thinks is the period right before the Black Death pummeled Europe. But something goes wrong and she winds up arriving in the village only two weeks before the plaque hits—and she doesn’t know it until people start dying. This book opened my eyes to the fact that people throughout the centuries were people just like me—they laughed, they cried, they lived, they died. It also shed light on a fascinating era I knew little about. Because Willis has a way of making you really connect and care for the characters, it’s hard not to feel for and with them—which is why I’ve read this book many times.
7. The Lost Race of Mars, by Robert Silverberg. This was the first science fiction tale I’d ever read, a story about a brother and sister who have to go to Mars to live because their parents are scientists who get stationed there. The children must give up their beloved dog, fight prejudice (they’re only Earthlings, not real “Martians” like the children born on Mars), and learn to live on Martian time. And to make the story really interesting, they also discover the very thing their parents are studying: living aliens, true Martians, what people considered “the lost race of Mars.”
8. Passage, by Connie Willis. Passage explores near death experiences through the eyes and experiments of two scientists. It is most memorable because the haunted, desperate desire to “know” and “understand” experienced by the protagonist became real to me as reader; the feeling builds during the reading and lingers for days after. In fact, I picked up Passage again not because I remembered the story, but because I remembered that feeling and I wanted to experience it again.
9. Believe That I Am Here: The Notebooks of Nicole Gausseron. In these writings, translated from French, a Catholic woman living in Chartres, France records her conversations and experiences with Jesus over a several-year period. This moving, thought-provoking three-part series is a permanent part of my collection.
10. Fine Things, by Danielle Steele. I confess: I love a good Danielle Steele novel, which I can usually gobble down in a few hours. This one, though, about a husband who finds and then loses love, is a heart-breaker; I’ve read it many many times — and I always cry! Maybe that’s part of the charm!
11. Daddy, by Danielle Steele. My next-best DS novel, also about love but this time lost and found.
12. The Mother Tongue, English and How it Got That Way, by Bill Bryson. Given to me as a gift from my college English professor.
13. The Elegant Universe, by Bryan Greene. A look at string theory, M-theory and other quantum mysteries for the layperson.
14. This Present Darkness, by Frank Peretti. Opened my eyes to possibility of a spiritual reality unfolding all around us, impacting us yet unseen.
15. Hinds Feet on High Places, by Hannah Hurnard. A Christian allegory about a girl named Much Afraid who travels to High Places, meeting many others along the way, including cousin Pride, Mrs. Valiant, Mercy, Peace and others.
What are yours?
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I’m torn.
On one hand, I’m THRILLED to be going back to school for an online graduate degree. The classes sound fantastic so I can’t wait to dig in.
On the other hand, at this writing, I’m UNHAPPY with where I must get my degree. So far, too many of my experiences and interactions with the school have been negative. But for financial reasons, I need to attend a state university. And this particular school is the only one that offers the program I want online. I have considered other programs … and now I am seriously considering changing because I am so frustrated already … and I am not even officially accepted yet!
I so want to write a letter to the Dean to express my dissatisfaction. But I can’t get to the Dean’s page since Web troubles seem to plague the school on the front-end, which doesn’t give me much faith in its back-end–especially considering this is an ONLINE program.
Plus, I’m not sure if the Dean would even care … or be able to do anything. But since I must vent, vent I will.
1) Web Issues. The school’s Web site has major problems. Pages fail to load completely no matter how long I let the little circle in upper right corner of my Firefox browser spin. The message at the lower left continually says, “Transferring data from….” When I first began exploring this program, I sent a message to the Webmaster to let someone know about the problems. They still exist now, several months later. Lack of people? Lack of funds? I don’t know. But it bugs me. This is the school’s public face. Don’t they care enough to do something about their crappy Web site? Especially considering that they offer ONLINE degrees and certificates? This does not give me confidence in taking this program.
2) Unprofessional Program Pages. Web issues at the grad school are mentioned on the program’s page as well. You read comments like, “Your application sometimes seems to go into a black hole so be sure to follow up.” And “Read carefully because the format is very confusing.” The program page itself is seriously in need of an upgrade as well. First, in appearance it is very 90s. Second, information is hard to find. Third, links are inconsistent among pages. Fourth, in reading, you find yourself being asked to click “here” to a page that asks you click to “here” and “here” and here”–and each of those pages also ask you to click to “here” and “here” and “here”–until you’re so far away from your original page that it’s hard to remember where you started. Also, between the program and the grad school pages, there does not exist ONE clear description of the application process. It’s a nightmare for someone like me who prides herself on reading carefully and getting things right. Because it means that despite my best intentions, I still get things wrong.
3) Inconsistent, Unclear, Disorganized Information. Case in point. The site says to send transcripts. So I did. My transcripts from the university also list my coursework from the community college, so I sent only transcripts from the university. I must have missed somewhere in the small print or in one of the dozens of pages where it says, “Transcripts are needed from all schools attended, INCLUDING those whose coursework is listed on other transcripts.” Guess what … I don’t think it says that at all. This information comes from an e-mail I received today from someone at the grad school.
4) Rude and Slow to No Phone and E-mail Responses. Which brings me to another problem: rudeness in and slow response time for both e-mail and phone communications. After I received my transcripts from the university, which I had sent to me instead of to the school by mistake, I noticed that the “seal” on the envelope was broken, like it had been applied before they licked it or something? Since there was a note right there along with the seal that said “NOT OFFICIAL UNLESS SEAL IS UNBROKEN,” I thought I better call the grad school to make sure it would be ok. The gal who answered the phone sounded totally disgusted that I was on the other line — like I totally disrupted her day and “would you please hang up now you stupid b&@&!.” I could not believe how rude she was! At the time, I chalked it up to a bored or frazzled grad student earning her keep. No big deal. But when you add it to the other communication problems, it becomes a big deal.
a) The director of the program had me e-mail the program advisor who would help me get registered for upcoming summer classes. But it took a week to get a reply. About halfway through the wait, I e-mailed the program director again to be sure the advisor was in and that I had the right e-mail. Am I wrong? This is an online program. A week is simply too long to make someone wait for a reply.
b) I have been checking my application status daily, waiting for the grad school to update my online application page to say that they received transcripts from the university. I waited the required/requested two weeks and then, a week ago, sent an e-mail. I did not get a reply. All week. So this past Monday, I think it was, I called. Another rude individual answered, listened to my troubles, and then passed me on–WITHOUT A WORD (I thought she hung up on me)–to someone else’s voicemail. I left a message, per instructions, explaining the problem, and included my e-mail and phone number. Needless to say, she did not return my call or e-mail me back. Then Wednesday, I sent a second e-mail to the grad school, asking again for help and saying that this was my second e-mail and that my call had not been returned. I was going to call again at the end of the day today when, lo-and-behold, I finally received a reply by e-mail.
c) Which brings me to another communication bugaboo: rude e-mails. Now I realize that you can’t tell what a person is thinking or feeling from an e-mail. But there is such a thing as basic e-mail politeness, such as starting off a reply with “Dear Renae,” or even just “Hello.” Instead, I get this:
Your application is incomplete due to the following missing items:
Transcript: CC
Recommendation Letters
Statement of Purpose
Transcripts are required from all institutions attended. Transcripts are required from all undergraduate, graduate, professional and foreign institutions that you have attended even if it was only for a single course or college credit awarded while you were in high school.
I happened to be on the computer when this came in. So I immediately replied, with a warm “hello” and “thank you,” even though the person sending was not friendly toward me. I mentioned that my coursework from the community college is included on the university transcripts … and also that I don’t think I need to send the letters and statement since I’m starting off in the certificate program.
A few minutes later, I get this:
Official transcripts are required from all institutions attended. Transcripts are required from all undergraduate, graduate, professional and foreign institutions that you have attended even if it was only for a single course or college credit awarded while you were in high school. Transcripts are needed from all schools attended, including those whose coursework is listed on other transcripts.
Ok, like I could not read that myself the first time? And, as I said earlier, that last fragment there, “including those whose coursework is listed on other transcripts,” is not found anywhere on their Web.
So. Am I wrong to be upset? Am I too picky? I think I am talking myself out of attending this university and obtaining this degree. I could just as easily get another degree at another program, although the degree would be different. And that might be a problem–or not. It depends on what the future holds.
My Recommendations?
And my point in this post is not merely to complain. I wish I could affect change, too! Here’s what I’d do:
1. Require student-facing, grad-school staff to take either an in-person or online seminar in “customer service” to address the rudeness over the phone and in e-mail and the delays in response. There is simply no reason why people can’t treat the person on the other end of the computer or phone with respect, dignity and human decency.
2. Hire someone to fix the grad school Web site. Perhaps students could do it as a project to get rid of the “black hole” and make the “confusing” layout NOT confusing anymore? Sounds simple enough to me.
3. Create a new program Web site, bringing the site into the 21st century, including a new information architecture that makes it easy to navigate and find what you need. Again, I’m thinking grad students could do this. I could do it myself … and if I take the program, maybe I will recommend it as one of my grad projects.
4. Do not require transcripts from a community college if that coursework is already listed on the university transcripts. It simply saves resources–mine and theirs.
5. Require that teachers of online programs respond to student/prospective student e-mails within 24-48 business hours when school is in session. Or, if not, at least ask them to use an auto-responder so students aren’t kept waiting in the dark for a week.
I’m not sure who’s reading this, if anyone. But it sure feels good to get it “out there,” anyway.
P.S. The grad school application page, which I opened before I started this post, is still not loaded. It says, “Read www.xxxxxxx.edu” — and that little circle on the tab on my Firefox browser is still spinning, spinning, spinning.
{Update, June 28th: Despite even more hassles and mis-communications, which I will not detail here, I am finally and “officially” in the graduate program. And I’m so excited to be here! My professor and the other faculty with whom I’m in contact seem very helpful … the first batch of reading I’ve done is fascinating … and I am really looking forward to interacting with others in the class and becoming a “master” in my field. In re-reading this post, I worried that it is too harsh. Minor issues turn major when many of them are added together; criticisms flow easily when I’m riled. That’s probably not such a good thing. I contemplated deleting this blog post–“What if a professor or fellow student from the class finds it?”–but after pondering the issue, I felt it wouldn’t be honest to do so. I still believe the issues raised are valid and need to be addressed, but I just wish I would have initially communicated my frustrations in a more professional way. My goal in this program–from here on out–will be to always take the “high road” by assuming first that others mean well and have good intentions, even if things don’t always turn out the way they or I want. So I toned down my initial “irateness” and left the post here as a reminder to me of a good lesson learned.)
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Surely you’ve heard the phrase, “Don’t sweat the small stuff.”
That’s all well and good … in principle. But in practice, a life of “not sweating the small stuff” must be a life in disarray, a life filled with late appointments, unmet expectations, shoddy work.
I confess, I DO sweat the small stuff. When the small stuff goes right, then everything goes right. When I take time to write an excellent, error-free paper, I’m minding the small stuff. My clients will tell you: they’re glad I do. When I take time to clean the house thoroughly, I’m minding the small stuff. What good is vacuuming the rug but leaving that big, nasty “unvacuumed” spot that shouts, “Hey, you forgot me!” When I push myself to get out the door ten minutes early so I can be on time for my appointment with you, I’m minding the small stuff.
So the small stuff does count.
However, what is needed, in addition to sweating the small stuff, is flexibility. Otherwise, you’ll go crazy wondering why others DON’T sweat the small stuff.
Case in point is when I applied for my passport. Because time was of the essence, I sweated the small stuff, or so I thought, reading every jot and tittle on the application form to avoid possible delays. Yet despite my sweating the small stuff, I still got it wrong. Ultimately I did receive the passport in time, but not without headache and heartache.
Another case in point is when I flew cross country to Los Angeles and then internationally to New Zealand. I sweated the small stuff by reading and abiding by the airlines’ baggage rules, even though it meant I had to buy new travel gear to do so. Then, when I traveled, I quickly learned that the airlines don’t sweat the small stuff, even though they wrote the rules. So many people were breaking the rules that I felt like a fool for trying to follow them, even to the point of spending money I didn’t have.
In any case, I’ll continue to sweat the small stuff on my end. But I won’t sweat it too much when others don’t.
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Up until not too long ago, this was my online photo:
Now there’s nothing really wrong with it, other than it’s ten years old! Nowadays, and for the last several years, I’ve had very long hair. But I’ve been over it for a while … and I’m tired of all the breakage caused by wearing it up in a ponytail, which is just about the only way I can tolerate it.
So I need your help. Which hairstyle below do you think would look best? I created the images below using a WONDERFUL service that I’d highly recommend: www.thehairstyler.com. Pay $9.95 for 30 days, upload your photo and try on different hairstyles. I love it. It’s worth every penny!
So here are the styles. You can vote for more than one if you’d like, or tell me you hate one or whatever. Please VOTE by using the comments.
Thanks!
DO NUMBER 1
DO NUMBER 2
DO NUMBER 3
DO NUMBER 4
DO NUMBER 5
DO NUMBER 6
DO NUMBER 7
DO NUMBER 8
And here are a few for fun … to make it worth your while for visiting this site and helping me by casting your vote 🙂
Thanks for looking! Now please cast your vote through the comments!
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