Reality Check - Crunchy Leaves!

I love crunchy leaves. In fact, hand me some bubble blowing apparatus in a yard full of crunchy leaves and watch me giggle with glee like a school child while I dance around crunching leaves and catching bubbles!

Today I got to crunch my first leaf of the season. It is quite early so it may not even be a "true" Fall crunchy leaf, but it made me think about how happy it made me, and from there how amazing the world around me truly is. I have been absolutely frantic and stressed lately for a variety of reasons, but in that one crunchy moment, I was reminded of the One who made the world, and designed the crunchiness. I felt more at peace with the world around me for having interacted with that small piece of nature, and for facing God in my scattered-ness. It isn't the first time I have wondered this, but I it also brought to mind a question of whether we are really meant to be large city-dwelling creatures. Or probably more accurately, whether *I* am supposed to be a city-dwelling creature. :) I have always felt closer to God in nature, and can often be heard talking to myself while out in the garden, but really I am having a chat with my Saviour. This mixed with the ecology thoughts wandering around my brain makes me wonder if it isn't just physically necessary to have trees and green space, especially to incorporate them in urban development to maintain air quality, surface temperature, etc... but whether that is also part of the Grand Design. Not just a fluke that those urban "crunchy leaves" are there, but a well-designed way to remind people who no longer live "in" nature that there is a God, a great Designer. I know not everyone agrees with my faith, or even the existence of a god-like being at all, but if those disbeliefs can be momentarily suspended, it is somewhat awe-inspiring and humbling to consider that the world we live in might have been so carefully designed for our well-being.

And, if that thought is just a bit heavy for you, just go out and crunch some leaves and/or blow some bubbles! You might be surprised at the effect. :)

Wishing wonderful Fall days to all of you!

Grad School Reflection

Last night someone asked me how Grad school was going. People always seem to be surprised when this question perplexes me, at least those people who have never *been* to grad school, lol. The best way I have been able to explain it is that I am pretty sure I will look back on my "quest for the PhD" as one of the most defining and expanding periods of my life. As my advisor keeps telling me this should be fun! I am getting paid (and paying) to read, and think. However, the process of doing these things is a little more stressful than it sounds, at least for me. I think the big trick has been the path I chose to take (big surprise). If I had stayed in a more technical area, my guess is that this would be more what I expected, and easier! Since I chose to enter a more theoretical Social Science though, not only have I had to grasp new content (the "easy" part), I am finding the need to shift the base structure of how I approach problems. Now THERE is something that is tricky. In the end I am relatively sure that this will prove to be a path that offers me a lot more unique opportunities... but for the moment, please excuse me if I just look at you with a blank stare and respond to "How's school?" with something to the effect of "Ok, I think..."

Wonderfully lovely days to all! :)

Google Groups and Blogs (try 2)

So, I am doing this a bit backwards (sorry for the "test" email), but thought some semblance of explanation might be in order to all of you who are part of my google group. :) For some reason blogging seems like a friendlier medium, plus I can add pictures! So, I shall blog (theoretically), and the posts then get emailed to the google group list. Here is the thing that always gets me though, if you want to see any pictures I post you will have to come to the blog itself. So, the url (bookmark it now) is http://superherophd.blogspot.com/ leave me messages! :)

Have lovely days! :)

Movies, The Earth, My World

So, I have never really been a huge eco-chick. Somehow I missed that stage in my development. However, living in Madison has been working on me, as well as some other variables. I am now a card carrying locally grown produce buyer, as well as recycled grocery bag user (when I remember), and have been on an "organic preferred" kick for quite a while. Something that I had been worrying about though, and had dismissed as "eco crazy speak" was the topic of global warming. Through a weird series of links (gotta love the internet), I ended up looking into global warming - EEP! Talk about a problem!

So, since I know you guys are dying to know, here is how I ended up on this topic. I rented Blood Diamond, a fabulous movie in its own right, made particularly phenomenal by the message it had to convey. While not entirely historically accurate, the message and increasing awareness of Conflict Diamonds are important. I had been first made aware of conflict diamonds by a friend, but being a bit skeptical of, well, everything, I figured he was blowing things out of proportion. Turns out he wasn't! Anyway, so after watching the movie a few times, I wanted to look into the historical background, get the real scoop. I was horrified at how well the movie had conveyed the FEEL of the situation. That foray into the Kimberley process, and the making of Blood Diamond also led me to youtube interviews with the actors in the movie, and yes, embarassingly to the Leonardo DiCaprio website (I know!). For those of you who don't know, DiCaprio has waged somewhat of a personal war on global warming, and I was quite impressed with the information and media his foundation had put together (and yes, I do actually want to see the 11th hour). I have no idea whether he is *actually* a good man, or just has a phenomenal publicist, but I was surprised to see someone who I wasn't appalled at young children looking at as a role model (which was amazing in its own right). ANYWAY, from there I found all sorts of information on the state of world ecology, and that did horrify me. So, be forewarned, more environmental tidbits forthcoming.

So, on a less important, but equally (or more) amusing point, the OTHER thing I found on my foray was the movie The Departed. I know, where have I been for the last year (umm, Grad School!), apparently they were up for all sorts of awards, but I just found them. lol. If you haven't seen either Blood Diamond or The Departed you SHOULD. I rarely see a movie that just enthralls me, but they both did. Ok... not bad for my first post when I didn't know what to write. :) Have fantastic days!!!