I first saw this riddle during a contest at ADP in 2006–and I was the only one who got it right. 🙂

“The day before yesterday I was 25, and next year I will be 28. This is true only one day a year. When was I born?”

So, I’ve been learning a lot about the history of Bethlehem, PA lately, and one of the things I’ve been learning about is the Moravians who settled there. They had a tradition that I thought was particularly awesome:

The Maiden Threw Her Shoe

If and when one will be married is a question asked all over the world. In parts of Moravia, it was a popular custom on Christmas Eve for unwed girls to take off one shoe, turn their back to their front door, and toss the shoe at the door. Tradition said that if the shoe landed with its toe pointing to the door, the girl would be married before the next Christmas.

So, I decided to try…

…and if this is at all accurate, I’ll be married by next Christmas. 🙂 Here’s hoping! LOL.

Private Papers
http://www.victorhanson.com

December 1, 2008
The Hysterical Style
by Victor Davis Hanson

Politicians now predict the implosion of the U.S. auto industry. Headlines warn that the entire banking system is on the verge of utter collapse. The all-day/all-night cable news shows and op-ed columnists talk of another Dark Age on the horizon, as each day another corporation lines up for its me-too bailout.

News magazines depict President-elect Obama as the new Franklin Delano Roosevelt, facing a crisis akin to the Great Depression. Columnists for The New York Times even dreamed that George Bush might just resign now to allow the savior Obama a two-month head start on his presidency.

We are witnessing a new hysterical style, in which the Baby Boomer “me generation” that now runs America jettisons knowledge of the past and daily proclaims that each new development requires both a radical solution and another bogeyman to blame for being mean or unfair to them.

We haven’t seen such frenzy since the Y2K sham, when we were warned to stock up on flashlights and bottled water as our nation’s computers would simply shut down on Jan. 1, 2000 — and with them the country itself.

Get a grip. Much of our current panic is psychological, and hyped by instantaneous electronic communications and second-by-second 24-hour news blasts. There has not been a nationwide plague that felled our workers. No earthquake has destroyed American infrastructure. The material United States before the September 2008 financial panic is largely the same as the one after. Once we tighten our belts and pay off the debts run up by Wall Street speculators and millions of borrowers who walked away from what they owed others — and we can do this in a $13 trillion annual economy — sanity will return.

Gas, now below $2 a gallon, is still falling, saving Americans hundreds of billions of dollars. As housing prices settle, millions of young Americans will buy homes that just recently were said to be out of reach of a new generation.

If it was once considered a sign of economic robustness that homes doubled in value in just a few years, why is it seen as a disaster that they now sell on the way down for what they did recently on the way up? If we were recently terrified that gas would reach $5 a gallon, why do we now just shrug that it might fall to $1.50?

Unemployment is still below 7 percent; it was around 25 percent when Franklin Roosevelt became president. Less than 20 banks have failed, not the 4,000 that went under in the first part of 1933.

We all wish Barack Obama to succeed as president. But there is no more reason to panic and circumvent the Constitution for his early assumption of office than there was for Bill Clinton to prematurely step aside in November 2000 in favor of then President-elect George Bush.

We have now forgotten that by year-end 2000, the American economy was sliding into recession. Lame-duck President Clinton had been impeached. Vice President Al Gore had ostracized him from his presidential election campaign. In the presidential transition, Clinton was considering pardons for Puerto Rican terrorists and most-wanted fugitive Mark Rich.

George Bush is neither the source of all our ills nor the “worst” president in our history. He will leave office with about the same dismal approval rating as the once-despised Harry Truman. By 1953, the country loathed the departing Truman as much as they were ecstatic about newly elected national hero Dwight Eisenhower — who had previously never been elected to anything.

As for Bush’s legacy, it will be left to future historians to weigh his responsibility for keeping us safe from another 9/11-like attack for seven years, the now increasingly likely victory in Iraq, AIDS relief abroad, new expansions for Medicare and federal support for schools versus the mishandling of Hurricane Katrina, the error-plagued 2004-7 occupation of Iraq, and out-of-control federal spending. As in the case of the once-unpopular Ulysses S. Grant, Calvin Coolidge and Harry Truman, Bush’s supposedly “worst” presidency could one day not look so bad in comparison with the various administrations that followed.
But these days even that modest assessment that things aren’t that bad — or all that different from the past — may well elicit a hysterical reaction from an increasingly hysterical generation.

…but in the midst of all the pain and the emotional strain, I have been very aware that God is still with me, still in control. Sometimes it takes some reminding (like the post-it note on my computer that states “God is in control…”), but nevertheless, I know God has been right next to me through all of the events of the past week. It’s been a week of straining circumstances (accident), but also one of joy (new friendships)…so I feel blessed, in the midst of it all.

Some song lyrics that have been running through my head:

“Everlasting–Your light will shine when all else fades; neverending–Your glory goes beyond all fame. And the cry of my heart is to bring You praise from the inside out…” –Hillsong

“You never let go…” –David Crowder

“There is a reason…You make all things good. There’s a time to live, a time to die, a time for wonder and to wonder why…” –Caedmon’s Call

I never realized how emotionally straining an accident can be. This is definitely not something I ever want to go through again, LOL…but it’s been a great learning experience. I know that God is in control, I know that He knows what I “need” (i.e. a car at the moment), I know that things work a whole lot better when I allow Him to take care of me…so now it’s just time to put those things into practice. And it feels good to relinquish control to Him. 🙂

And, on the theme of Thanksgiving, I have SO much to be thankful for, despite the events of the past week! I could have been seriously injured in the accident, but instead am healthy and only in minor pain…I have a wonderful, warm home to go home to each night…I have an amazing family who loves me unconditionally and would do anything for me…I have been blessed with incredible friends (and a new one this week) who challenge me, support me, and encourage me to continue growing in the Lord…I have food in the cabinet and clean drinking water from the tap…I have a job (!!)…and when I think about it that way, life doesn’t seem so bad 🙂

Happy Thanksgiving!

As many of you may know, I was in a pretty bad car accident (my first) tonight–but by the grace of God, I walked away with only incredible soreness. 

I was driving home from work, as usual, and was in traffic, as usual. There was no snow, no ice (people keep asking that). There’s a point in my commute where it splits into two freeways, and I take the one to the left. This freeway is always backed up, so I always expect to be stopped for awhile. Tonight, as I was sitting there completely stopped, I looked down to find my gloves, and the next thing I knew my car was smashed into another car. A girl had rear-ended me, at a pretty good speed, which slammed me into the car in front of me. I was stunned, because it happened so fast and I didn’t know what had happened. I noticed that my ashtray had flown out of the dashboard and was at my feet–and I think that’s a pretty good indicator of force, because the ashtray isn’t easily removed. 

My neck was sore immediately, and I knew that wasn’t good. So I called my dad and was talking to him while crying uncontrollably (probably from the shock). Thankfully, no one else was hurt (though four cars were involved)! And, because I was in between them all, my car is most likely totaled. It is so smashed! My driver’s side door wouldn’t open, and the trunk barely did. I’m going to take pictures tomorrow, if I get a rental car by then. 

The state troopers arrived immediately it seemed like, and they were so kind! They had us start our cars (to make sure that they could start), and drive off the freeway (about 1/4 mile). I could barely drive my car! The steering was completely useless, and my muffler and who knows what else was dragging on the ground. 

My wonderful roommate came to get me at the place where they towed my car, and she took me to the hospital, where we sat for 4.5 hours total. They put me in a neck brace immediately because of the pain I was in (and that was NOT comfortable!)…they took x-rays, and almost took a cat scan because of something they saw on the x-rays (that made me nervous). However, I’m fine! Praise the Lord!! My entire right side is sore, beyond belief, and I know it will only get worse. But I’m SO glad to be safe. 

Yes, I’m bummed that I might not have my car back, but it’s just a car. I can get another one. I’m just thankful to be injury-free (except for being SOOOO sore!)…

Thank you for your prayers tonight–they were definitely felt. 🙂

My roommate and I watched “The Bucket List” tonight, with no idea what it was about when we decided to watch it. Needless to say, we both cried a little–and for me, it was very appropriate for the happenings of this week, with Mike passing away. 

It reminded me that I have a “Bucket List”–though that’s not what I call it. When I was 15 (1997), I began a “Life List”–things that I want to do/see before I die. I had to search for the journal, but found it, and was amused by the entries. However, I wanted to share the list–since I’ve actually accomplished some of these things without realizing it. It’s okay to laugh–some of these are funny, and definitely came from “15 year old Lesa”. 🙂  If there is a date after the entry, that’s when I accomplished it. 

1. See a sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean (2002).

2. Visit Austria, Ireland, Scotland, and Switzerland. 

3. Write a book. 

4. Learn bass guitar.

5. Be in a “rock band” (if bluegrass counts…2007)

6. Visit and explore Australia

7. See all the California State Parks

8. Climb Mt. Lassen (1999) and Mt. Shasta. 

9. Visit all 50 states (31 as of today)

10. Go to a medieval castle. 

11. Be famous. (LOL)

12. Meet Paul McCartney or Ringo Starr.

13. Marry a wonderful man. 

14. Have many children. 

15. Take photographs in exotic places (Tunisia, 2005…more to come, hopefully!)

16. Learn to use an 8-Track. 

17. Play Mandolin and Ukelele (2006)

18. Be a summer missionary (2002 and 2003)

19. Go to a NASCAR race (2003 and 2007)

20. Go on a cruise to Alaska, Mexico, or the Caribbean. 

21. Keep lots of penpals (at the time, I had about 40)

22. Climb Yosemite (I apparently had no idea which part I wanted to climb…just the whole thing 🙂 )

23. Fly an “air vehicle” (plane, helicopter, etc.)

24. Visit the Egyptian Pyramids. 

25. Watch Independence Day fireworks in NYC by the Statue of Liberty

26. Visit the Grand Canyon (2008)

27. Visit the Meteorite Crater in Arizona (drove by it in 2008, LOL)

28. Visit Yucatan Peninsula. 

29. Travel to London, Italy, and Greece. 

30. Be an astronaut (that was an 11 year dream of mine)

31. Sail the QE2, or Titanic replica, in April. 

32. Travel to all seven continents (been to two so far–North America and Africa). 

33. Drink coffee in Paris, near the Eiffel Tower. 

34. Meet Neil Armstrong and Jim Lovell

35. Be the first woman president (my, how my views have changed!)

36. Make a difference in someone’s life (this one will never be complete). 

37. Lead all my friends to Christ. 

38. Be the lead in a musical (1998)

39. Play the bassoon, violin, or oboe. 

40. Be able to play every piece of music I own. 

41. Have a garden with ivy and gates (British). 

42. Own a house with lots of room for my kids to play. 

43. Visit the Amazon Basin, Brazil. 

44. Go to Stanford University, or some other big one. 

45. Go to New England in the Fall (2007)

46. Visit Chicago when the snow melts (2004)

47. Have lunch with Tom Hanks. 

48. Sing in front of thousands of people (1999). 

 

That was my list at 15. 🙂 I can’t help my laugh at many of them. And I have a LOT of traveling to do!

Ten years later, what does my list look like at 25? That’s something I’ll be thinking about…and I’ll let you know. 🙂

He is dearly missed already…

 

Today was my first official day of work…and it was definitely a busy one! Lots of new things to learn, many new tasks to take on, and a very full schedule until I can figure out how to be more efficient with everything. 🙂 

They made me sound pretty awesome on our website–I was definitely happy with this: http://pa-erg.com/company_info_staff.php  🙂 I don’t know what I would have said, but it wouldn’t have sounded that good!  And here’s the press release that they sent out, to APU and to papers in PA and NorCal: http://pa-erg.com/pdfs/news_press_release_110308.pdf

All in all, it’s going to be an awesome job…and what an incredible opportunity!!