Why do you work?

In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell poses the question:

If I offered you a choice between being an architect for $75,000 a year and working in a tollbooth every day for the rest of your life for $100,000 a year, which would you take?  I’m guessing the former, because there is complexity, autonomy, and a relationship between effort and reward in doing creative work, and that’s worth more to most of us than money.

I think he jumps to that conclusion a bit too easily.  I would opt for the money and security of the tollbooth.  To see if I am off my rocker, I consulted my best advisor (the wifey) and she also chose the latter.  So, are we both odd, is it a cultural thing, an age thing?  Is it because I have a big family?  Why does Gladwell’s assumption leave me feeling like something is wrong with me?

15 Years of Bliss

Working on words for my 15th wedding annivesary out loud. Tell me what you think.

A lot of of guys are wondering what I did to trick a girl like this to marry a guy like me. All I can say is that God knows what is best and He put us together. I thought my 20 year old bride could not get any better, but after 15 years, she is more beautiful than ever. She is a great mother to my children, a wonderful wife, and an awesome person. I am lucky just to know her and call her my friend.

For my Valentine (Wifey)

If love was a raindrop I would send you a shower
If hope was a minute I would send you an hour
If happiness was a leaf I would send you a tree
If you need a friend you will always have me!

School at home < homeschool

As I previously posted, we pulled my boy out of school and set up arrangements for homebound service. Well, these services are a complete joke. It took a month to actually find a teacher to come to the house. Then, she frequently points out that she typically works with high school students and doesn’t know what to do with a 3rd grader. The home teacher doesn’t actually teach; she picks up work from school (often without talking with the classroom teacher), delivers them to our house, and takes back things to be graded. Although I am sorry her friend’s husband passed away, I can’t help but feel that my son is falling farther and farther behind whenever the teacher doesn’t show up. Hopefully, now that he has both flu shots, we can put him back in school without too much disruption.

Flu Season & Dumb Rules

We pulled the Gamer out of school recently after many kids (including the one who sat right behind him) came down with the flu.  We had a medical plan in place ahead of time that states that he will be provided with homebound services from the school should this occur.  However, we were not informed of the crazy rules that they have in place for homebound students.  They state that should he be out in public (soccer practice, church, etc.) homebound services will be terminated.  The rationale: if he is too much at risk to be at school, he is too much at risk anywhere.  By trying to eliminate one major risk factor, they wanted him to live in a bubble (even though there is also risk at home!) Based on a doctor’s note about the benefits of exercise and Cystic Fibrosis, we have got them to let him finish the soccer season and receive homebound services, even though I wanted to pull him out totally and be done with this madness.

What’s Going On: Sept ’09

Quite few things going on lately. Still trying to exercise and read regularly. I quit learning Chinese, deciding that I just don’t have the time to take it seriously.

The wifey’s Grandma celebrated her 84th birthday.

We went to the Balloon Glow as part of the Forrest Park Balloon Race. It was our first time and needed some better planning on our part, but was fun nonetheless.

Guy I used to work with got in trouble.

We went to the local Italian Fest.

Our pastor’s daughter had a baby.

Oh, I found this Old Skool gem at a local restaurant:

Me…A Teacher?

I have been asked and may offer my services as a teacher in our church homeschool co-op group. I want to help out any way that I can and they are looking for classes for the older kids. All through school, I thought teaching would be the last thing I would do. I have been teaching occasionally at work and find it thoroughly enjoying. I offered up subjects I feel comfortable with such as Chinese, geography, politics, a Bible study or a science class. This would not start until the Fall. I’ve never taught teenagers before, so any advice would be appreciated. Stay tuned to see how it goes.

Parenting Tip: Be Real

Elicit the best from your children by being the example. Be the kind of person that if they looked at you and acted like you, it would be an extraordinary family. Set an example at everything you do and everything you say and every act and every gesture toward other people. Be the kind of person you want your children to be. Walk the talk. Act every minute of everyday like an exemplary person. Children will rise to that.  The better a person you are, the better those around you want to become. Don’t confuse your children by being a hypocrite, acting differently to various groups of people.

Unemployment Everywhere

Have you ever had a sleepless night? Well, I had one tonight as my son is very sick. But it reminds me of others I’ve had recently. Yesterday, Andrew McAfee had an interesting session of andyasks on Twitter.

#andyasks (recession week) what’s the most tangible evidence of the slowdown that you seen / experienced personally?

I responded, but 140 characters is not enough for the full story. There is a couple with a child that is in my daughter’s preschool class. The father lost his job and subsequently the house they were staying in. Now, they are living with family members. We invited them over for a night of pizza and play for the kids. I also got online to desperately look for some work so that they could get back on their feet.

Another couple I know with 4 children experienced a job loss. The father had to leave his wife and kids to go to New Orleans to find work (plenty of construction work there). He found work there and they are doing fine, but the thought of leaving my wife and kids in that manner really makes grateful for the job I have.

These are just a couple examples that hit close to home. Seeing these children experience these hard times keeps me up at night. Hopefully we get out of this economic slump soon, but regardless, we Americans need to reach out and support each other.

Doing a Good Deed

Instead of relaxing in the recliner, I decided to do something nice for someone I was visiting. As I was hard at work, I started to question what would make me do such a thing. I came up with 5 good reasons to act selflessly.

1. It pleases God – Do to others as you would have them do to you. Luke 6:31
2. It makes me feel good
3. It helps the other person
4. It sets an example for my boys – I want them to be the kind of people that help others without looking for reward
5. It sets an example for my girls – I want them to find that type of guy to marry