Trying to Stay Warm
It's still bitterly cold these days.. can't say I'm getting used to it either!Anyhow, I just finished my first teleconference with CCNC. At times, it felt a tad surreal because the topics on the table weren't just about the typical topics discussed at meetings I tend to have to attend. They were talking actual things such as human rights, Headtax redress concerns, etc. So far, I still don't really know what my role is as a member of the CCNC board of executives, but I guess that it will come.
As I mentioned before, I also am sitting on the 30th anniversary committee. At the last "program" meeting (the group that is in charge of the performance), I was unofficially nominated (appointed rather) to be the program director. A role that they consider to be the most important in the entire gala. YIKES! I'm not really feeling that I can't handle it, I'm sure I can (if I have enough time), but I mainly feel flattered that they have confidence in my abilities. The only thing I feel a bit weary about is that I have to "manage" people who are suppose to be my "elders" - people I have seen me grow up, people that have known me since I was a baby. Can you saw AWKWARD!?
I went to a job fair at UNB this past week. When I first heard about it, I was sort of skeptical that anything would come of it. Then, people kept telling me things like.. "oh yaa.. they are going to be interviewing candidates" and "don't forget your lesson plans and portfolio, they'll probably want to look at it", SO, I sort of got a tad more excited about the whole thing. My original sentiments were right. They were only interviewing French teachers and most of the fair consisted of school boards that were from really remote areas or were companies recruiting teachers to teach overseas. I find that most employers at job fairs are there just to convince the attendees that they have a shot at getting a job at their board or that they are a great board. They aren't really drawing a true picture of what the employment scene is like. Can't say I walked away from the fair with any new information or any real great contacts. I did talk with the man from the Durham school board for quite a while but I doubt it'll help my job search with that board. I had a mixture of sentiments after talking to him. The negative - bitterness that I can't even get an interview, the positive - hopefull that if I do land an interview, I'll do well as I think my ideas and my experiences align with what they are looking for in teachers.
With all this being said (or written), I was watching Oprah the other day. She was talking about a video called "The Secret". NO, it's not some sort of R rated movie. It's actually a philosophy that our attitudes make us who we are and dictate what will happen to us. I'm not really all that into the whole "spirituality" thing, but I'm also not against it - I just don't think it's necessary to revolve your life around being spiritual - it's just not realistic. Anyways, I do agree with the idea that our attitudes and our outlooks affect what will happen to us. If we have a positive outlook in life, it will affect our attitudes and our behaviours, opening doors for new opportunities. SO, I think I need to stay focused on believing.
Speaking of Oprah, she had a really powerful show on yesterday. She had Lisa Ling do a special report about Ghana's fishing children. It was a powerful documentary. It wasn't one that made me feel like I hated the people who used these children as labourers - I can understand that it is part of their culture. All the same, it was still difficult to watch and imagine how much suffering those children went through. At one point, I found myself thinking of some of the children that I taught during my last practicum. The expressions on the faces of those children when they had the opportunity to learn - priceless. It would be every teacher's dream to have students like them.
Last thing about Oprah: why do people mock her!? I know some of her shows can be a bit too much for some people, but think of all the humanitarian acts that she has committed! Not only does she invest a lot of money helping others, but she is providing an invaluable source of education to the fortunate - that our world isn't all peaches and cream, but that there are many people out there suffering who need our attention. Anyhow, I think I'm starting to sound preachy, so I'd better stop :P You get the idea of what I'm saying...
Alrighty, that's it. Time for dinner soon. Ciao.
posted by jaryee @ 1:30 p.m.
6 Comments:
The Secret? Oh my, watching it made me go into fits of laughter and anger, sometimes a little bit of both. The physics was bad, completely undocument claims throughout, and many more problems. It was constantly agast. Postive thinking might help people in life, but I have serious doubts about it being because of some "Law of Attraction" and other mystical mumbo jumbo and handwaving.
Sorry to be so negative but I'm in no mood to be diplomatic about my feelings towards it. Watching that video pissed me off.
LOL. No problem! I haven't watched it yet :P The other thing I didn't mention about that particular episode was that it sounded a bit too "new age, empowerment, spiritual-ish". I still think that the point of positive thinking is something to be considered though.
I was watching Oprah the other day.
That's too bad.
Last thing about Oprah: why do people mock her!?
I hate Oprah. Reasonable or not, here's my rationale:
People respect her to an unhealthy degree. There are people out there who read what Oprah tells them to read, watch what Oprah tells them to watch, and care about what Oprah tells them to care about. I'm of the opinion that people should spend less time watching Oprah and use that extra hour a day to decide for themselves what they should read, watch, and care about. Yes, it's tragic that, say, some woman has cancer and needs to support 10 children on mimimum wage (not a specific example, just something made up that is typical Oprah fare), but there are all kinds of people in similar awful situations, and I object to the idea that I should care about whichever one Oprah has found and decided to draw my attention to that day. She acts like a god, dictating how people should live and granting gifts and favours as she sees fit. And like some kind of faith-healer, she'll take someone in an unfortunate situation, throw money at them, and then her 1000s of clamouring fans will yell "Hallelujah!" and throw even more money at her. Her charity work is entirely self-serving (even if it's not intended to be-- I can state for certain what Oprah truly feels, nor can anyone else), because it's always heavily publicized, and no matter how much she gives away, her adoring public loves her more and more and gives it back to her faster than she can spend it. I guess that a lot of it is that I just object on principle to anyone wielding as much power and influence as she does, no matter how well-intentioned (which, again, I am not convinced is the case-- this woman used to have a typical talk show like any other before she became famous that had on Jerry Spring fare like trans-genedered cheating boyfriends or people with physical disfigurements). Anyway, I can't stand Oprah, and even if she is as benevolent as she seems, nothing will change the fact that she's the woman who made Dr. Phil famous, and anyone who would lend legitimacy to that raving lunatic and unleash him upon the general public can be nothing other than evil.
the thing is, even if she is doing everything for the benefit of publicity (and what celebrity doesn't?), she's still doing something. That's more to be said than those that earns tons of millions of dollars each year and use it to buy a $10,000 purse *cough* paris hilton *cough&.
So, essentially what Jordan's saying is that she's incredibly successful at helping people by getting others to care and making it easy for them to know a little more about what/who they're helping, while taking credit for herself at the same time, which feedbacks and which just helps her cause more. And in many respects, it doesn't matter at all what her intentions are, as long as she helps people.
Can't say I like Dr. Phil too much though.
It's just like your dislike of the DaVinci code, in that it's incredibly popular by targeting the masses, and you don't want to be a part of the masses probably because you think you're better than them. Yet you're being just foolish as those people who like things because they know everyone likes them by disliking them without even giving them a chance.
And you say you like fitting in.
I've given Oprah plenty of "chances". I've seen dozens of episodes, if not hundreds, because my mother insists on watching that mind-numbing dreck at the supper table, and has for years. My hatred isn't reflexive, but rather well-informed, and I don't appreciate you assuming otherwise.
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