Hobbies

Amos and I had a conversation before he left about my hobbies. I told him I needed to find new hobbies, fill my time with something that makes me happy. He very quickly said, "You don't need to find new hobbies, you need to dig deeper into the ones you have." Very curious, I asked Amos what he thought my hobbies were. His initial answer: Grey's Anatomy. Not funny, smart guy!
On a more serious note, he talked about my guitar, and always wanting to learn to speak Spanish. Then he said this:
"You are lucky enough, that your favorite hobby will someday become your career."
How true! How lucky I am to be doing something I love. And how I had almost forgotten that. I don't like lesson plans, I don't like test, I don't like paperwork. I do love children. I do love teaching.
Today, I opened my text books with new curiosity. I want to learn about teaching. Not for the A's or the 4.0... I want to learn about teaching because I love it.

And I ask you this, what good is a mind like doing twenty thousand leagues under the sea?!?!? :)

Reasons to Smile

Yesterday I had a taste of the deep, dark, slippery slope of depression. Not wanting to move, having no motivation to do much of anything, moping around the house like someone just ran over my dog, wanting only to curl up and go to sleep just to make it go away. I got a taste of depression, and that's all I want. I'm a fighter, and as bad as things get, I refuse to give in. So today I have woken up with a new desire to live life to the fullest. A new desire to take life one day at a time and enjoy every moment for what it is and what it is teaching me. I intend to search for reasons to smile, reasons to be happy, reasons to be full of joy in a time that seems all but joyless. So, I hereby start my new blog project. I am going to purposefully look for reasons to smile, and document them here, if nothing else than to prove to myself that God has filled this time in my life with joy. Some of my reasons are sure to be shallow and other may accidentally reach new depths and by no means will they be in order of importance. I will simply post "as the spirit moves" and hopefully this can become a place where you and I can find reasons to smile.

Amazing Technology...

Who knew that some grocery stores have motion censored lights in the freezer section! It's so much fun! If you come across this amazing invention, the only way to truly appreciate it is to run down the aisle as fast as you can. Believe me, it's an amazing feeling to have that much power. :)

A change of pace

The finals are over and the grades are in...
I am surrounded by flat land and cornfields...
It's the middle of May and only 60 degrees outside...
I've made two trips to Wal-Mart in the past 24 hours...
The internet is actually moving faster than glacial speed...
I spent the past 4 hours cleaning...
I've been home only a few hours and have already seen 5 people I know...
It's 9:03 and I am the ONLY one awake in the house...

Ahhhhhhh, yes. It must be time for another FayCo Summer. Bring it On!

What a Weekend...

This weekend was much needed.

I slept in until 11:30 on Saturday. Then my fabulous friends and I went down to the lake and cooked hotdogs and s'mores in the fire that Janie built so wonderfully. We threw frisbee and football, and took LOTS of pictures.

It was just what was needed so close to finals week!

Caught between a Pit and a Throne

The media sells us a multitude of different things, some of which cost us money, others of which cost us more important things like self-esteem. The media sells values, images, and concepts about love, sex, romance, success and possibly the most destructive, normalcy. The media our society has created attempts to fit womanhood into a tiny box that can be tied up with a pretty pink bow. The problem is the message they are selling is full of contradictions. Women are to be innocent and sexy, virginal and experienced, opinionated and submissive. And as Jean Kilbourne says, "As all American women over the age of 5 have come to find out, this is tricky." All throughout video games, advertisements, movies, and television, women are shown caught in the middle of the "good girl/bad girl" fantasy.

The interesting thing about this message is that it is nothing new. Women have had to deal with this contradiction throughout history. What has come to be known as the binary ideology concerning women gained momentum during the Middle Ages when women were taught that they were carrying the legacy of both Eve, the "seductive temptress" responsible for the unrighteousness of man, and the Virgin Mary, who has "redeemed" women and all mankind through the virgin birth of Jesus. Both of these women were used to stereotype all women of medieval times. Women as early as the 8th century were completely confused as to who they were and who they were supposed to be.

Another major problem with this image, is that most modern women do not realize they have been contained within this contradiction because it has become so ingrained into our society. Realizing this fact makes the increasing rate of depression among women in America slightly more understandable. The feminine personality traits desired by our society are the same as those listed by doctors as symptoms of the major personality disorders.

This is the very condensed version of the research I have been doing. Here are something to think about concerning the topic.

How does this contradictory view of women affect both men and women in today's culture?
Is it possible that this theory of women has helped to increase the American divorce rate?
What could be done to rework these views on women into a healthier standard?
Who does the change need to start with? Women? Men? Media?

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Hopefully it has been enlightening. If you wish to know more email me at mpfeifer@milligan.edu and I can provide more information.

I Wish I Could...

...jump into a swimming pool.
...spit watermelon seeds.
...blow bubbles.
...dance.
...lay on a beach.
...read an enjoyable book.
...eat a Popsicle.
...sleep for hours on end.
...laugh about nothing.
...spend time with kids.
...learn something fun.

But instead, I'm studying for Humanities.

Ms. Pfeifer?

When did this happen? When did I go from Kenzie to Ms. Pfeifer?

Today my friend, Caleb, came over from elementary school to visit Milligan. We were reading From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Which Caleb so observantly pointed out, is an obnoxiously long title for a book.

Before the kids got to Milligan, Professor Bowman handed out name tags for the "adult students." Mine said Ms. Pfeifer. When did the switch happen? Obviously I missed that transformation. I had already told Caleb my name was Kenzie, so I didn't make him call me Ms. Pfeifer (most of all because it weirded me out.)

Our Goodbye Book Celebration went well. We traced Claudia and Jamie's footsteps through NYC and the MET using pamphlets I picked up during my visit with the boy. Even though I'm now apparently Ms. Pfeifer, Caleb still seemed to have fun... and no, it wasn't "teacher fun."

Media Literacy

I spent some time at an elementary after school program today. For my Media Literacy class we are required to teach a group of students 4 hours of media literacy lessons. My group and I are going to be working through an organization called Coalition for Kids. It is an after school program. At the sight we are at there are about 35, 2-5 graders.

We went today to scout out the place. We needed to see where we would be teaching and what there was available to us. There was a slight misunderstanding and when we arrive, the kids were handed over to our control. Quick thinking stepped in and out came a 45 minute lesson on Violence in media. It actually went really well.

There were a few things that were said by the kids today that surprised me. It goes to show the many different parenting techniques used, which brings variety to a classroom. The first thing we started off with was a conversation about our favorite movies, tv shows, and video games. There were a variety of answers ranging from Tom and Jerry to Knocked Up (this one took me by surprise.) Then there was one little girl named Alleah who took me right back to my childhood. Every time another kid suggested a favorite movie or television show, her little hand would shoot up and she would say, "I'm not allowed to watch that show." I felt awful that she didn't have much to add to the conversation, and most of what she did add was put down my the other kids. I finally came up with an area I knew she would be able to help us in:

"Alleah, can you explain the ratings on television shows and movies?"

Her eyes lite up and she said, "I sure can!" and went on a 5 minutes explanation of what G, PG, and PG-13 meant. My favorite description was PG to which she said, "These shows a kid can watch, but only with mommy. That's what mommy said. Only with mommy. I think it's so she can shut it off when it gets to be for mommy and daddy and not me."

I then asked what the word violence means to the kids and where they see violence. The first answer was "on the playground." I then offered up some words, asking the kids to tell me if they were violent actions or not. I suggested pushing, shoving, smiling, and waving. All of these the kids gave the reasonable answer. Then I suggested winking. To this one little boy said it was very violent. I asked why. I was not prepared for the response:

"Winking is very violent because when one guy winks at another guy, that means their gay and I'm going to have to beat them up. And believe me, that would be violent."

Where do you go with that? What do you say? I'm sure this is only the beginning of shocking answers I will receive from kids.

Isn't it amazing how the only people who can leave me speechless are those under the age of 12?

A Visitor

Flat Canyon came to visit me this week.

If you haven't read the children's book, Flat Stanley, it's a must. It not really an amazing story (a bulletin board falls on Stanley while he's sleeping causing him to be completely flat), but it serve a great purpose in the classroom.

My friend, Canyon, sent his flat self to Milligan to visit me for a while. I must say we have had a great time. I can't wait for Flat Canyon to go back to his classroom to tell of all the great adventures in TN.

Wade in the Water

Today is a beautiful day a Milligan College. It is 77 degrees, sunny.... perfect.
AND THEN...


Yep, that's right... a leak coming down to brighten the day all the way from third floor. We live on the first floor. Suite 121 was wading in an inch of water this morning. We caught at least another 2 inches in our trash can. Must have been a long shower up there on third floor.

Just one of those nights..

They don't happen very often, but when they do, they come with a bang.

Someone suggested I watch the music video to SheDaisy's "Come Home Soon." That song is a blatant reminder that I'm not exactly where I want to be. One of the lines in that song is "I'll wait my turn until it's our turn to dance." Patience is not my strong point. Never has been, but boy is God teaching me know. Having patience while maintaining optimism is a huge struggle for me.

While listening to the song for a second time, I decided for a little pick me up. Amos and I have just finished planning my trip to NY this summer. I had finally saved up enough money to buy the tickets, which believe me, is NOT an easy feat. I went to the Skybus website only to find they shut their doors. Mom and Dad had warned me this may happened, but I didn't believe it. Trying to be optimistic I checked other airlines only to find tickets priced $100 more expensive. Pretty rough on $50 a week.

Like I said... just one of those nights.

So Much Snow

I went to NYC to visit Amos over spring break. While I was in NY, OH was hit was a blizzard. I was warned of this by Mom the day before I was scheduled to begin my journey home. Being a full 2 hours away from the airport, I woke up at 6:00 AM to check the internet to see if my flight into Columbus had been delayed. Knowing there was 10 inches of snow, seeing no delay, and having no phone number to call to check the flight's status (since Skybus is so good at keeping "fares low for you" by cutting our all the important parts of a flight service), Amos and I left for the airport. After our two hour journey, we pulled into the airport parking lot to the singing of my ringtone... Mom was calling. She informed me Skybus had decided to delay my flight 2 hours. "No big deal," I thought, "Amos and I can just go hang out somewhere for a few hours." I decided that before we left the airport, I should run in and make sure the flight had been delayed.

Standing behind the Skybus kiosk was a beautiful, foreign women who seemed happy to greet me. "Good morning, thanks for flying Skybus! How can I help you?" I told her of my plan to fly into the blizzard. Before I could utter the first syllable of "Columbus," I was interrupted by an urgent:
"SO MUCH SNOW! YOU CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE HOW MUCH SNOW IS IN OHIO! SO MUCH SNOW! YOU CAN'T LEAVE! YOU'RE NOT LEAVING! SO MUCH SNOW!"

Slightly taken aback by her apparent loss of control, I assured her I was aware of the blizzard and simply needed to know when my flight would be leaving.

"YOU'RE NOT LEAVING! YOU CAN'T LEAVE! SO MUCH SNOW!"

I'm not leaving ever? Seriously... come on. When can I leave?

"DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND? SO MUCH SNOW!"

Right! Got it. Lots of snow. When can I go home?

She finally regained control and informed me my flight had been delayed a few hours and I was free to leave and visit the city. All I had to do was to return an hour before my flight. I thanked her and left with a smile on my face thinking of the fallen snow in Ohio and thanking God for a few more hours with Amos.

An hour later, Amos was sitting outside the airport, waiting for me to check my ETD. My arrival at the Skybus kiosk was greeting with a lovely sign hanging directly in my line of sight which read "Closed." Closed? What does that mean? My plan leaves from here in 2 hours. Can it really be closed? My conversation with the obviously most intelligent person in the airport came to an abrupt halt when my good friend from before, who I began to refer to in my head as "so much snow lady," peeked her head around the door in the back, "I'm sorry ma'am, but we're closed."

I explained to her that they couldn't be closed because I was scheduled to leave within the next few hours. She proceeded to tell me I had misunderstood our previous conversation and what she meant by "free to leave and visit the city" was actually " you need to stay and check in your bags now because the kiosk will be closing." An obvious mistake that anyone could make. Apparently the kiosk closes 30 minutes before the flight is scheduled to take off not regarding delays or cancellations. So, as "So much snow" lady stood clicking her long, red fingernails on the counter I plead my case. She threw in random comments such as, "you should have read the fine print," and "it's not my fault, the computer won't let you through," and I believe there was even a "Geez, lady, give it up!"

After 10 minutes of my sad sob story, she finally realized I wasn't giving it up. She cleared her throat and said, "Alright, if you check in right now, I'll let you go through." Apparently this lady owns the Stewart International Airport and controls all the comings and goings, including the functions of the computer. I forced a thank you and then looked down and remembered I had left my luggage in the car with Amos, in hopes that the flight would have yet another delay. Our eyes met, mine with a look of panic, her's with a look of sheer joy.

"You have two minutes."

Two minutes??!?! Seriously lady... get off your high horse and...

Before I could finish my thought I realized this lady actually could keep me in NY for as long as she wanted. So I called Amos and I ran out the door.

"I NEED MY LUGGAGE!"

"Kenzie, you have like an hour and a half before your plane leaves... you need to calm..."

"I HAVE TWO MINUTES!"

"Kenzie, you must have looked at your watch wrong..."

"Amos, my dear and sweet boyfriend, please be the sweetheart I know you are and bring me my luggage."

(Ok, your right, that's not exactly what I said... but, we'll leave it with that.)

At this point, Amos explained to me there had been an "incident" in the parking lot, and he wasn't able to get out.

"An incident? What does that mean."

"I don't know, Kenzie. Someone was backing out, someone else was pulling forward, another car showed up out of nowhere going the wrong way... long story made short, I can't move my car."

You have got to be kidding me. With no other options, I started my treck to the parking lot. I finally saw the Road Runner. (Amos' car. His horn sounds exactly like Road Runner's MEEP! MEEP!) A few minutes later, I stood out of breath in front of the Skybus kiosk for the third time that morning. After a conversation about the exact number of minutes my journey across the entire airport had taken, "So much Snow" checked me onto the plane. In a quite conversational tone, she also added this nice tidbit of information.

"Oh, by the way, your flight just arrived. You leave in 15 minutes."

Before I could say anything else, I grabbed my bags, turned to leave, and was thankfully greeted by a tremendously short line for security. Amos came sprinting in the door, apparently having escape from the madhouse they call a parking lot. We assumed our position in line behind an adorable, old man. When he arrived at the conveyor belt, it was made certain, this man was in no hurry. Slowly but surely one shoe came off, and then the other one. Amos is whispering lots of patience into my ear as the clock is ticking and I am about to run this poor soul over. His bag goes under the x-ray machine and of course, they stop and decide to question him.

"Sir, what are handcuffs doing in your carry-on bag?"

Handcuffs? Seriously?

He explained to them that he is a retired police officer and is just in the habit of carrying them wherever he goes. As soon they convince him he is required to leave them off the plane, he steps through the metal detector, grabs MY BOOK BAG, and continues on his merry way.

As I stand behind the metal detector, unable to go through yet I yelled, "Umm, excuse me sir, I believe you have my book bag."

He continues walking.

"EXCUSE ME SIR, YOU HAVE MY BAG!"

He continues walking.

Then Amos to the rescue, "Sir, you took our book bag."

He turns around and smiles the cutest, old man smile ever and says, "Well, I guess I do!"

How can you be angry at that? Who knows, but I was.

Running extremely late by this point, as soon as we are through the metal detector, Amos grabs everything from the conveyor belt, and we run. No shoes, no belts, just run. Then I hear the awful sound of something hitting the ground and breaking. I stopped and slowly turned around. There and the floor was the remnants of Amos' phone. Having no time to cry over broken cell phones, I picked up all the pieces to give it a proper burial at a later time and we continued to run. When we arrived at gate B17, we sat down and laughed. Laughed so hard, I had tears running down my cheeks. What else could we do?

But soon after that, the laughing stopped. I was required to pay a $10 check in fee for my luggage. As I was putting away the receipt that I still had in my hand, I realized "So much Snow" had managed to charge me $118. Just a little off. I took a deep breath and went up to the boarding desk at my gate. The lady smiled, said it would be easily taken care of, but I would have to wait because they were in the middle of a shift change. She assured me the next person would be up before my plane took off. And she was right. As soon as she left, I heard a familiar voice behind me, and could hear the haunting sound of long, red fingernails on the counter. "So much Snow" was back. I turned around and gave her the best smile I could muster. After relaying my problem she responded with a curt, "Oh, the woman who doesn't have luggage or a boarding pass and arrives hours late, wants to tell me I made a mistake."

I bit my tongue.

"Well, ma'am, I'm sorry, but you seem to have charged my $118."

She grabbed the receipt and looked at it, only pausing to say over the intercom, "Last boarding call for our flight to Columbus."

She ever so slowly fixed my payment and shoved my new receipt in my face.

I turned around, took my stuff from Amos and said a very tearful goodbye. As I turned back around to "So much Snow" she saw the tears in my eyes and the mascara all over my face, and said, "Awww, rough day at the airport, sweetheart?"

I have never been so close to hitting someone in my entire life.

I wish I could say that was the end of the story. I wish I could say that the rest of the trip was relaxing and fabulous. But oh, how I would be wrong.

When I sat down in my airline seat, I couldn't have been more relived. Yes, I was sad, but I was also on my plane and headed home. My relief lasted until I heard this come over the intercom:

"Good afternoon Skybus customers, this is your captain speaking. As many of you have heard there is horrible weather in Columbus. So, we're going to give this a try, and we'll see how it goes. We should have a speedy take off, seeing how we are first in line for the runway. Ok, correct that, we are the ONLY ones in line for the runway. Looks like we are the only ones fly today folks, so let's give it a go! Please enjoy the ride, and thank you for flying Skybus,"

Not exactly what I wanted to hear. Channeling a Mark Lowery sketch, I was gratefully for my seat on the back of the plane, because there has never been reports of planes crashing tail first. As Mark Lowery would say, "I sit my tail on the tail in order to save my tail." Works for me.

The flight was extremely rough, but we made it. After our landing the intercom clicked in anticipation for the following message:

"Welcome to Columbus, OH. The weather here is.... cold. There is 18 inches of snow on the ground. We were unsure of the safety of that landing, but it looks like we pulled it off as we and the plane are all still intact. Looks like I'm a better pilot than I thought. Thank you for flying Skybus and enjoy your trip to Columbus."

I sprinted off the plane. I figured I shouldn't test my luck by staying on the plane any longer than need be. When I arrived at our hotel on airport grounds, I was greeted by a friendly hotel manager.

"Good Afternoon, ma'am. How can I help you?"

"I'm looking for the Pfeifer's room."

"I'm sorry I can't give you that information."

"Oh yeah, that's right.... I'll just call them, that's ok. Thanks for you help though."

"You can't call them."

Excuse me? I can't call my parents?? Do you even know what kind of a day I've had? What do you mean I can't call my parents?

"Well sir, I have my cell phone here, I think I'll just give them a call."

"No, ma'am I'm sorry. I'll have to call them for you. Can I have your name please?"

"I'm their daughter, McKenzie"

"You're their daughter, you say? Right...Ok, hang on a moment please."

As the phone rings, I replay my day in my head. At the end of a day like this, all I know for sure is my name... and now this man is questioning that? You have got to be kidding me!

"Mrs. Pfeifer, there is a girl in the front lobby claiming to be your daughter... would you mind to come retriever her?"

He hung up the phone and I averted my eyes. I couldn't trust what might come out of my mouth.

Needless to say, I have never been so grateful to see my parents. They came into the lobby, and I fought the urge to turn to the manager and stick out my tongue. With tears in my eyes, Mom, Dad, and I walked back to the comfort of our hotel room to wait out the Ohio Blizzard of '08.

When we sat down in the room, Dad gave me a hug and said, "So Kenzie, how was the trip home?"

Oh, Father Dearest, where do I begin?

Election 2008

I get to vote in the upcoming presidential election. This will be only my second time voting, but my first time voting for president. I decided that if I'm going to vote, I'm going to know who and what I'm voting for. I filed for an absentee ballet, which was fun in itself seeing as I'm going to be in three different states before the primary election and had no idea which address to give them. But I got that worked out.
I even looked into whether I was a Republican or a Democrate. I mean, my family is republican... my whole town is republican for that matter. But who is to say I am. I went through a lot of the issues, actually kinda hoping to be a Democrate just to shake it up a little bit. But I can't do it, at least not in this election. Blame it on working at the LIFE Center for so long, but I just can't get over the abortion issue. So looks like I have to vote with the old boring Republicans. HA!

With a Breaking News Update...

NEWSFLASH: I can't make decisions.
Yet again here comes the dreaded decision of acting vs. athletics. How many times have I made this decision, and how many times will I have to?
Tennis is not going according to plan and I got thrown into an acting gig and had forgotten how much I loved it. Actually, at the end of my acting debut at Grace Fellowship Church, I was offered the most amazing job, to the point where I was almost ready to drop everything and go. But I didn't, which was probably... ok definantly... the wise decision. But now I'm faced with another one.
Do I start getting my feet wet again in acting, or do I continue on the tennis path? Or do I try once again to manage the balancing act of 18 hours of class, 10 hours of tennis, 10 hours of work, and x number of hours practicing.
This would seem like an easy decision for anyone who didn't know me. I'm not planning on following either path into a career. So it shouldn't matter, shouldn't be that big of a deal. But it's me, and I have a desicion complex... so it does matter and it is a big deal.
So, this weekend, I have a tennis match... that I should just be excited to be playing in... but in reality, I'm scared to death.

Back to school, back to school

Today is my first day back at Milligan. I feel like a freshman all over again because everyone knows where they are going... except for me.

My Spring Semester '08 has started with an hour of quality time sitting behind the desk at the Milligan library. Apparently no one had been covering my hours while I was gone (completely and totally not my fault) so there was no problem with me showing up to work. My first class is Humanities with Dr. Cook. I scrounged around found out with was on the syllabus for today... and well I probably should be reading that instead of writing a blog. Silly me. Not quite back in the habit yet.

Photo Shoot

Hanging out with my sister and her family this week has been absolutely amazing. It was great connecting again with her kids, Zoe, Charis, and Miah. To make the week absolutely perfect, Amos was able to be home as well, so Mandy, Tony, Amos, and I all got to hang out late at night after the young and old had been laid down to sleep. This week was awesome and well worth missing the first week of classes and all the makeup work I have waiting for me in the beautiful state of TN.

Today, our last day together, Mandy offered to take Amos and I out and take a few pictures. She's an amazing artist/photographer/writer/person/sister, and therefore we of course jumped at the chance to get awesome pictures and spend time with Mandy. Here's one of our favorites:

You can see some more pictures here

I leave tomorrow morning to head back to TN, back to school, back to work, back to being away from the people I love most. But I have been blessed this week with all the time I have been able to spend with them. Who knows when the opportunity will arise again when I can have all my loved ones together at the same time, so this week will be cherished until the next time.

On a lighter note, heading back to TN is not all bad either. I am surrounded by those I love there too, so no complaints here.

As a side note, thank God for the invention of the cell phone and free calling within your network. Amos and I racked up over 8000 minutes one month.

school's overrated

Registration starts the 14th.
Class starts the 16th.
Mandy and Tony come home the 17th.
hmmmm....

I'll be in WCH until the 22nd. :)

HELP!

Why is the picture of the skyline messed up on my blog. I've tried to fix it. It's driving me crazy!!

Weekly Challenge

Inspired by my sister (whom I get to see VERY SOON!!!!) I am going to take part (kinda) in a weekly challenge called The Best Me. Check it out here.
Week One is to make a list of 5 small things to do for yourself this week. Here's my list.
1.) figure out my plan to get to South Carolina.
2.) play the guitar!
3.) hit the Y every day
4.) paint my fingernails
5.) work everything out to see my sister!

So there it is... and I'm sticking to it. :)