experiencing God
so hold on
hold tight
open daylight
we will overcome
so put away your fear
a morning star will soon appear
and bring an end
to this dark night
This is how I worship God.
My friend Amanda and I were talking about how people experience God differently. For her, she senses His presence when she’s talking to people about God (when she’s being a “little Christ”) and when she’s having a strong emotional experience. As for me, neither of those two things make me feel close in God’s presence.
I experience God through the music, written word, and logic.
If you’ve seen the movie MUSIC AND LYRICS, you’d know that the hero (a washed-up popstar) and the heroine (a woman with an incredible vocabulary) join forces to write a number one song. Well, at one point the two have this conversation about what makes a song a song. The hero said the music. The heroine said the lyrics.
I love lyrics. I love the depth an artist can reach just through rhetoric.
When I hear a song that describes God in a way I had never imagined (i.e. 2 of the 3 reasons why Thrice is the best band has to do with their lyrics) I feel Him awakening a part of me.
And sometimes–though not nearly as frequently–I feel God in the melody of a song. The main theme to my favorite movie THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS is soul-stirring for me. Whenever I hear it I want to drop everything and run through a forest in a flowing dress.
I can feel something in me stir. I think that’s God.
And logic. I find God through organization. Like my dad, I like color-coding, making lists, and having a plan. That’s me. God woos me through this (it’s kind of a long story, but I’m always willing to share).
So my point of all this is (I know this came way too late) to find how you experience God–and revel in it just a bit. Not to the point of putting that song, word, or list in front of God, but learn how to worship God through them. God stirs your heart when you hear that song or see that sunset or talk to that person FOR A REASON.
Thank Him for it.
—
REASON NUMBER 4 WHY THRICE IS THE BEST BAND EVER.
Read blog above. Take note of quote in italics.
August 2, 2008 Leave a comment
who’s to blame?
It’s 4:00 in the morning.
I went to bed at 11:00, watched a little Colbert at Hulu.com until 11:30, then tried to go to sleep. It didn’t work. My stomach had been acting funny (hmm could’ve been that coney dog I had…) and my muscles ached from the shots I got on Wednesday. I sprawled out on my bed hot and sweaty, too weak to turn on the fan, though once I did I got cold again.
Pause.
I’ve been reading a book by John Eldredge, his latest, called Walking with God. I used to be a pretty hardcore Eldredge fan. (I even befriended his oldest son on Myspace.) Anyway, Eldredge’s focus is on learning how to talk with God and be in a right relationship with Him. He talks about spiritual warfare and the effects it has on our walk with God.
So after my fifth trip to the bathroom, I collapsed back onto my bed and asked myself, WWJED? (What would John Eldredge do?) He would pray against Satan because he was stealing my joy. He was keeping me from enjoying a nice night sleep, from rest after a busy Thursday.
Well, I prayed, God I feel like crap. Please don’t let Satan steal my joy. Amen.
And after that prayer I felt ridiculous. I thought about all the reasons why I was sick: food poisoning, touch of the flu, malnutrition, etc. Can I put Satan on the list as well?
I feel like there are two camps, either you believe Satan is directly causing all pain and suffering going on in your life OR you believe in rational explanation for everything. (Sure there are shades of grey, like everything in life, but what’s fun about debating that?)
There’s some legitimacy in both arguments, I believe. I mean, the Bible does state that Satan “prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour” (I Peter 5:8 ) and that Satan “masquerades as an angel of light” (II Corinthians 11:14) to deceive us. Jesus even calls Satan “the thief” (John 10).
And I understand that in a lot of circumstances Satan is to blame, that he is the one presenting temptations before us.
But, with that camp I think there is some misdirection. I think of Eldredge’s emphasis on spiritual warfare–that constant blaming of Satan for everything going wrong–keeps him from owning up to some stuff. It’s almost like prosperity preaching: If I pray against Satan in every area of my life, then everything will be perfect. Rather than: My decisions caused this or that to happen, and my selfishness is to blame.
Perhaps, once again, this is just my self-righteousness getting the best of me, but it seems like God does discipline us and really wants some bad things to happen to us–because that’s how we learn to trust Him.
I’m just giving this some thought. We all have a tendency to cling to whatever is easiest in life (which in this case would be to blame Satan), but I don’t think that discredits the theory for sure one way or another.
—
[Serious part complete.]
—
REASONS NUMBER 2 AND 3 WHY THRICE IS THE BEST BAND EVER. (Because I forgot to post a reason after my last blog.)
2. THE BAND MEMBERS’ FAITH IN GOD IS THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL TOPIC ON THE BLOGOSPHERE.
Okay, maybe not the MOST controversial, but pretty close. Here’s the thing: Thrice is NOT a Christian band. If you call them a Christian band people will stab you with knives. Seriously. They will. HOWEVER, lead singer Dustin Kensrue (who writes all their music) is a Christian. A very thoughtful one, at that. And he brings in some of the blatantly “Christian” themes into their music. Like, hullo, COME ALL YOU WEARY is a song taken DIRECTLY from scripture. Along with DUST OF NATIONS, MOVING MOUNTAINS, and a good 3/4 of all their music. And then they have blatantly “Not-So-Christian” songs like Silhouette. (Lyrics read: “Your eyes slit the throat of all I know about myself and this life…”) Hmm. Or how about this: “hells black wings did i over perch these walls, for stony limits cannot hold me out and now you all DIE” (The Red Death). Oh yeah, I want to sing THAT on a Sunday morning… not.
But honestly, it gets pretty heated in ye old blogosphere concerning all this. Here’s a taste of what the bloggers have to say about The Red Death (which has those really not-so-Christian lyrics):
Belsambar: man… i have always associated the term ‘christian rock’ with ‘annoying rock’…. i have only recently discovered thrice, and i have been completely, 100 percent impressed.
Alcoholic Panda: I hate to burst your bubble, bud, but thrice isn’t a christian band. Check their site. It plainly states in their faq that they infact are NOT a christian band. All the some though, they kick a**. :)
SaveJake: Hate to burst your bubble, but while Thrice is not a christian band (proclaims the name of Christ in the music), The writer of the lyrics, Dustin, IS a huge follower, and his struggles with it are dealt in the lyrics. What makes it not Christian rock is the fact that it’s just part of his life, and he deals with his life with lyrics, instead of using the music as a way of worship
HolkeyeSF: Who cares. Music is music. Thrice is awesome. If christians want to think of the lyrics in that sense, then why not let them?
Deadbolt: hate to burst all of your bubbles but here is where we discuss the red Death not christianity…SHUT UP WITH THE GOD S***!!! nobody care if they are a christian band (which they arent) so lets discuss the lyrics here not the stupid fact about if thirce is a christian band.
Duffmyster99: every freaking posts that are on thrice….are its a christian band..no its not check their website..blah blah blah.who cares!!
Xfromyourhandx: hate to burst your bubble(s) but you all need lives.. THEY ARE NOT A FREAKING CHRISTIAN BAND NOW STOP POSTING 20 SOMETHING POSTS ON IT
And that’s just one of their songs… just read what they have to say about those songs that they COULD play on Star 88.3. Ooh I love drama.
3. THRICE WROTE A SONG CALLED “SILVER WINGS,” WHICH IS THE BEST SONG EVER.
I believe my first reason as to why Thrice is the best band ever talked about the song CHILD OF DUST which is written as a Shakespearean sonnet and is about man’s use of the earth’s resources and is mirrored with the Prodigal Son story in Luke. Well, SILVER WINGS is even better. This is why.
First of all, how often do you compare Christ with air? Well, never. EXACTLY. SILVER WINGS is the sonnet on the Air EP of the Alchemy Index which juxtaposes Christ with Air. Not only is this a unique comparison, the song fully embodies the analogy. Of the four sonnets on the Alchemy Index, Air and Fire do the best job sounding like the element they are. SILVER WINGS sounds like air would sound like if it had a voice. And, most importantly, the lyrics are gold.
From tender years you took me for granted
(But still I deigned to wander through your lungs)
While you were sleeping soundly in your bed
(Your drapes were silver wings, your shutters flung)I drew the poison from the summer’s sting
(And eased the fire out of your fevered skin)
I moved in you and stirred your soul to sing
(And if you’d let me I would move again)I’ve danced ‘tween sunlit stands of lover’s hair
(And formed the final words before you death)
I pitied you and plied your sails with air
(Gave blessing when you rose upon my breath)And after all of this, I am amazed
That I am cursed far more than I am praised
August 1, 2008 Leave a comment
Honor thy (grand)mother and (grand)father.
Again, totally not in the mood to write. Even if I wanted to write, I should work on my online class or trying to get something published, not wasting my time (and yours) blogging about nothing interesting. Sigh. But I’ll do it anyway.
I was reading in I Timothy today and there’s a lovely verse about taking care of the elderly. Yes, taking care of old fogies. Apparently it’s a pretty big deal (or it was back in the day) to take care of your relatives, especially those unable to take care of themselves.
“Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need. But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God. . . . If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” I Timothy 5:3-8 (emphasis mine)
Now, I love my mom but today more than ever I realized how much I cannot live the rest of my life with her. I just can’t! I love when we can sit around watching TV or eat lunch together, but that’s about all of Mom I can handle.
Turns out we have a little unspoken deal. When I am a kid (and hopefully when I’m a poor college student) my mom will provide for me. If I need food, she’ll make sure I get it. If I need snow boots, well, off to JC Penny’s we go! That’s in her Mommy Job Description.
But when I’m an adult and she’s near dymensia, it’s my duty to take care of her. (You know, throw her into a nursing home and all that.)
They cycle is thus complete.
But I wonder if that’s what we’re supposed to do. I mean, what kind of culture do we live in that we throw our elders into a sterile brick building with other fogies like themselves? Back in the day grandparents lived with their kids until their deathbed–and somehow everyone got along okay.
I’m not speaking out of experience because I don’t have any grandparents, nor do I plan on letting my mom live with my husband and me. But it still has me thinking.
Do we honor our elders? Do we discredit them because they’re not on the up-and-up with culture?
Ezek.
July 22, 2008 Leave a comment
A rant. Please enjoy.
The book I have to read for my TUFW online class tells me that I need to consistantly write/blog in order to develop a discipline. And so that is what I am doing. I hope that excites you. ;-)
Today I spent time reading fine poetry. No wait, I was listening to Thrice. Oh… same thing.
I know I lost about half my readership right then because for some reason no one seems to share the same love(/obsession) with Thrice as I have. But anyway, let’s forget our prejudice and listen to Auntie Lauren for a little bit.
Wow, I think I lost the other half of my readers.
Anyway, I was reading my fine poetry when I realized that HEY! this song by Thrice is formatted like a Shakespearean sonnet. It turns out that saying that music is just poetry put to a melody was correct about Thrice anyway.
It turns out Thrice has 4 songs written in this format. All four are the final songs on the Alchemy Index EPs. If you knew that already, good job.
— START RANT —
So these four sonnets also have something ELSE special about them. They all are written in the point of view of one of the four elements: earth, air, fire, water.
And not only that, all the elements can be juxtaposed with Christ Himself. (But WAIT if you call now…!)
I mean, comparing Christ to FIRE kind of makes sense (think, consuming fire and all that). And comparing Him to WATER kind of makes sense as well (living water n’ all that). But EARTH and AIR? What kind of crazy world is this?!
Uhm, it’s a Thrice world and we are mere listeners and fans.
— END RANT —
So for those of you who still disagree with me that Thrice is not the best band ever, I have decided to start an ongoing project called: PROVE TO THE WORLD THAT THRICE IS THE BEST BAND EVER. (Creative name, huh?) Which means this: After every blog I write (unless it’s so serious that it’d totally kill the mood) I will list one of my reasons. I know, you’re excited. It’s called freedom of speech, my lovelies. You must deal with it.
So to begin, I will start with reason number 1:
REASON NUMBER ONE WHY THRICE IS THE BEST BAND EVER (7/16/08):
Thrice wrote a song called CHILD OF DUST which not only is written as a classic Shakespearean sonnet, but it takes a nice spin on the Prodigal Son story found in Luke 15. The song is in the point of view of EARTH calling mankind her “prodigal” who has taken advantage of EARTH’s beauty and destroyed it for his own gain. But instead of the Biblical repentance-redemption story, EARTH lets mankind pay for their mistakes. (“A child of dust to mother now return/ for every seed must die before it grows / and though above the world may toil and turn / no prying spade will find you here below”) EARTH let’s her child die because she believes that may be the only way her prodigal learns. It’s not a story of hope, but one of justice. (And I think it’s beautiful. Kudos, DK, kudos.)
Dear prodigal, you are my son and I
Supplied you not your spirit, but your shape.
All Eden’s weath arrayed before your eyes;
I fathomed not you wanted to escape.
And though I only ever gave you love,
like every child you’ve chosen to rebel;
uprooted flowers and filled the holes with blood;
ask for not whom they toll the solemn bells.
A child of dust to mother now return;
for every seed must die before it grows.
and though above the world may toil and turn,
no prying spade will find you here below.
Now safe beneath their wisdom and their feet,
Here i will teach you truly how to sleep.
July 16, 2008 4 Comments
Lauren+Reading too much=Random Blogs
A freelancer (as I am, www.meatloafdesign.com) is a lot like a Geisha. Now, I don’t mean that freelancers entertain Japanese businessmen or give away their mizuage to the highest bidder (thank the Lord for that one), BUT we have other similar qualities. And, in light of rereading Memoirs of a Geisha (again) and loving it just as much as before (would the Chairman care for more sake?) I will entertain you with my comparisons. Enjoy.
1. Freelancers, like Geisha, must make friends wherever they go. A geisha is to be polite and courteous wherever she entertains because a favor may be needed by a tea house mistress or… of course, you want to make a good impression on a man. Men=gold for geisha. Anyway, freelancers must make friends wherever they go as well (turns out people=gold for freelancers. If you don’t have any clients you remain broke.)
2. Freelancers must dress for success. Geisha’s have really elaborate outfits: a decorative kimono, obi, perhaps hairpins and ribbon. Freelancers must dress professional for their clients as well. Sure there is no “dress code” for a freelancer (because their jobs are rather nomadic) but it’s always nice to make a good impression. As mentioned in number 1.
3. Freelancers must always honor their clients as kings and queens. A geisha must always bow and show interest to her client. It’s her job, really. A freelancer must do the same. When their client asks for a hideous font to grace their website, the freelancer must use it. (Dang it, I know.)
I probably could continue, but this is just making me want to read the dang book again. Gosh, I need to get a life. OR rent the movie.
Lauren-san
July 15, 2008 Leave a comment
Refine hate and love, fall afresh on me. End this crisis of identity.
It turns out I don’t know who I am. I thought I knew; I thought I had everything figured out. I was wrong.
Amanda and I were talking about identity, how college is the time where you find yours. I guess that makes sense. That is, after all, what everyone had told me.
Amanda (God bless her…) had one of her “realizations” last night when we were talking. She said that when you put your identity in other people rather than Christ, you’re more likely to blame them when you get hurt.
This week (and really this whole summer) I’ve been wrestling and I haven’t been sure quite why. I’ve been in a spiritual trough, but those have never bummed me out to this extreme (because I trust in the temporary state of the season). I think it’s because I don’t know who I am.
It turns out I have been looking for my identity in everyone and everything but Christ. I’ve looked for it in my friends. And, already, I have begun looking for it in my future career.
I know who God has called me to be (what to do with my life), but that only tells me about what I am going to do, not who I am. So I’m going to find out.
I want to go to Tinker Creek to find out, but that’s not exactly realistic. I don’t live in Virginia. And I hate camping. Hmm.
Anyway, I think college will do my some good (ha, who would’ve thought?). In the meantime there’s a thing called prayer and a thing called journaling. I shall see where that gets me.
Ezek.
This is my voice, all shadows stayed this is my heart, upon the altar laid
Please take all else away, hear my cry, I beg, I plead, I pray
I’ll walk into the flame, a calculated risk to further bless your name
So strike me deep and true, and in your strength I will live and die both unto you.
July 10, 2008 2 Comments
Jesus People USA.
It’s been a few days… it’s time to recap the missions trip.
My youth group went to Chicago, Illinois where we worked with Jesus People USA, a community of Christians that live out the infamous Acts 2 example of Church. While most of the JPUSAs were putting on Cornerstone Music Festival (the Woodstock of the Christian world), our team held down their fort.
Our jobs: Cooking for the remaining JPUSAs, working at their homeless shelter, serving their senior citizens, cleaning their main building, and, of course, showing people the light of Jesus through our actions.
Honestly, it was one of those missions trips that the focus remained on the service rather than the outreach. And after talking to my friend Amber, I realized that these are probably the best kind of missions trips (short term anyway). We get to show God’s love which will make a greater impact than simply befriending people for a week then leaving them.
And so that’s what we did. And truly, it was though that service mindset that we BUILT relationship and potentially CHANGED lives.
On the last night we stayed at JPUSA, we had planned a game night with the seniors. Only a few showed up (sad, sad) so my friends and I just played a rousing game of Pictionary by ourselves. Well, then there’s this nice man named Jim (who wasn’t really that old, but have Elephantiasis) asked if someone would like to play a game with him. Well, sure. That was why we were there.
Carlee, Nathan, and I played Hearts with him. It was amazing. We just had fun, laughed, made small talk, etc. I didn’t think much of it. I didn’t feel like I was working or trying to proselytize.
The next day at breakfast Carlee, Nathan, and I got a card from Jim thanking us for playing cards with him. Just a game of cards. (That I nearly lost both hands of.)
Before we left Chicago he told Sarah to thank us for treating him like he was normal. Normal.
I find that ironic. Playing cards with someone is one of the most “normal” things you can do–and he did that just fine. He may have a disease, but he was still a man. He was still a sacred human being, formed by God.
And we got to bless him.
I learned from this trip that it’s not the big things you can do that solely make impact in people’s lives. It’s the little things. It’s the scraping of grease off a pan. It’s the playing cards with a lonely person.
*Ezek.
July 9, 2008 1 Comment
If the fear of carpal tunnel is not enough…
“We suffer from the illusion… that we can expand our personal bandwidth, connecting to more and more. Instead, we end up overstimulated, overwhelmed and… unfulfilled. Continuous partial attention inevitably feels like a lack of full attention.” [Ellen Goodman, “In Praise of a Snail’s Pace”]
On my Verizon plan, I only have 250 in-coming and out-going text messages a month. For those of you with unlimited text messaging, it takes about a day to get through that many texts. This month, however, I have exceeded that limit by over 100 text messages because of a domestic threat I like to call Telephonaphobia.
I have received over 200 in-coming texts, the majority being random “I-Just-Thought-You-Should-Know” text messages. Or better yet, “Rhetorical Question” texts or “I-Could-Easily-Ask-The-Person-Next-To-Me-The-Same-Question-But-I-Chose-To-Waste-Your-Money-Instead” texts. Both are kind of annoying.
Instead of people dialing my phone number and talking to me, they send text messages.
Now, before I start to sound to archaic (like my mom who barely knows how to read texts), I need to get to the root of my issue with texting, beyond my monthly bill.
THE DETERIORATION OF AUTHENTIC RELATIONSHIPS
That sounds extreme, sure, but it is kind of true when it comes to texting. Person A is telling Person B about a family issue, Person B is texting simultaneously. Person A get snubbed by whomever Person B is text messaging. Tah-Dah.
It’s more of a spiral effect, sure, and I don’t think it’s much of a problem if this is solely a teenage issue that will dissipate by adulthood. Kids (myself included) tend to be a little ADD with conversations anyway. If everyone else is text messaging anyway, it’s not a huge deal. Until you’re the one NOT text messaging. (Like me!)
Say Person B (the one who texted through that important conversation) grew up, got out of college, and started her life as, say, a secretary at a law firm. Not a huge deal, not like a celebrity or anything, but a nice, well-paying job. During her lunch break (and, admittedly during her work shift) she text messages her friends–all 15 of them. With text messaging, this is possible. Friend 1 is over in Seattle, Washington (married, two kids), Friend 2 and 3 have an apartment together in Vancouver, Friend 4 is on vacation in Florida, Friend 5 works down the street at a bakery… you get the picture.
Person B’s text messaging skills helped her stay in touch with her 15 friends who live all across the country (and Canada!). But how deep are those relationships? How serious can a conversation get when it has a 160-character limit?
I wonder what it would be like if Jesus had unlimited text messaging. Picture him at a campfire, Peter heating fish over the flames, John next to Jesus’ side ready to ask him an important question and–click,click,click.
“Jesus? Who is Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”
“Uhhhmmm.” click,click,click. “Hold on, John.” [SEND!]
“Jesus?”
“Oh, yeah, Greatest in the Kingdom, is that what you asked?”
“Yes, Jesus, who is the Greatest?”
[Jesus’ cellphone chimes “Amazing Grace”]
“Uhmm..” [reads text, laughs] “The Greatest in the Kingdom is…”
Okay, maybe Jesus had/has better multitasking skills, but you get the picture. Jesus’ relationships were authentic because he took time to really listen. Think of his conversation with Nicodemus recorded in the Gospel of John. Jesus didn’t spend just a few seconds with the guy, half-listening to him and also worrying about whoever was text-messaging him. He took time with the guy. He sat down and explained stuff to him. Think of how many times he sat down with is disciples to explain parables to them. This wasn’t just a side-thought for him, it took genuine concern.
So I guess what I am asking from you, dear audience, is to not chuck your cellphones out the window (that would be unnecessary), but to be wary of when you text (not when someone is trying to have a serious conversation with you) or how it is affecting the depth of your relationship with the person you are texting.
Human contact is pretty good too. Spending some time with that person you’re texting, one-on-one, will do wonders for you relationship, more so than a few (hundred) text messages.
June 21, 2008 1 Comment
My Summer as a Striped-Collar Worker, Pt. 2: Incentives
We all respond to incentives, said Stephen Levitt in Freakonomics. I guess that’s so.
DAY 2: BLUE-COLLAR
Before people respond to incentives they weigh the benefits against the costs. With my job at BF Goodrich, I had to do the same. Except, my dad made me make my decision before I really thought it through. Hmm… was this a mistake?
* The Costs *
Both days of orientation contained a wild deluge of safety dos and don’ts. It reminded me of that episode of The Office when the guys upstairs go to the warehouse to learn about all the rules about not touching this and that. It was very similar, except I watched tons (and tons and tons) of videos.
They should’ve just made a 10 Commandments of rules and I it would’ve saved ’em some time. Observe.
1. DO NOT touch anything hot.
2. DO NOT stick your hand inside a machine if it’s running.
3. DO NOT run in front of a forklift
4. DO NOT hit someone with a forklift
5. DO NOT sleep/gamble/drink/horseplay on the job
6. DO wear steel-toed shoes ALWAYS
7. DO wear ear-plugs ALWAYS
8. 9. 10. (You get the picture)
* The Benefits *
This pretty much has everything to do with money.
I will be working between 42-48 hours a week, which means at least two hours will be paid overtime (time and a half).
Since the hours suck, they have special rewards known as “shift premiums” that add on addition cents per hour. So even working the day shift you make an extra $10 a day. Night shifters like me will earn about $20 more.
Holidays are paid as time and a half, even if you aren’t scheduled to work (you get at least 8 hours pay).
If your overtime is a holiday you get double time.
Oh, and the rate isn’t $10.00 and hour, it’s $13.068.
[That’s a little more than IP.]
Not to mention the fact that I get to drive a “tugger” for 12 hours a day–how fun! And I get 10 minute breaks every two hours, and a half-hour break after 6… but as my trainer said, stock poolers (like myself) get extra long breaks if they’re ahead of schedule.
And I get a cool swipey tag. And a water bottle. And a locker, all to myself!
** ** **
Notice my justification. I like to tell myself the job is going to be way more exciting that it actually is. I guess once I get my first paycheck of $416 (before taxes) I’ll feel a little bit better about myself.
DAY 2: WHITE-COLLAR
So, no news from Nea Matia. I’m a little concerned because Beverley likes staying in touch like none other. But, I am ahead of the game. I got one of next week’s assignment done and asked for the information concerning the other one. Maybe these next two days I can rest before work on Friday night. (Gotta love the swing shift).
Oh yeah, back to incentives.
** The Costs **
Carpel Tunnel: I think I’m getting it in my right wrist. I have one of those pads on my laptop rather than a mouse so I constantly use my middle finger to move the cursor around. It’s starting to hurt really bad.
Working as a Freelancer is tough if you like order and stability. Honestly, I’m glad that my boss Beverley is very organized and has certain deadlines for me or I’d be all over the place. It’s hard to stay focused if you have no direction.
The money isn’t the greatest either. I mean, you make a website for a nice rate maybe, but updates are typically monthly at best. So you get a nice lump sum that’ll last you till your next trip to Starbucks.
** The Benefits **
I can wake up whenever I like, wear whatever I want, eat while I’m working, take as many breaks as I like, peruse facebook when I’m bored… and have fun.
Because honestly, it’s fun making websites and flyers for people.
I do occasionally have to go into Beverley’s office to pick something up and whatnot. Then I have to look nice, but it’s downtown and I LOVE going downtown. Last time I went into work I got a hotdog from Coney Island first. MMmm, totally worth it.
And then there’s that little thing I like to call NETWORKING. Working for a private business like Nea Matia will get me strong references, making me just another step closer to the RELE-world.
June 17, 2008 Leave a comment
My Summer as a Striped-Collar Worker, Pt. 1: Call Me Barbara
So, as most of you know via Facebook or in passing, I have taken upon myself 3 jobs. I wasn’t really going to, honestly. The first one is It’s Playtime!, that I love too much to quit. The second is a job that will help me prove to Cameron Strang that I’m worthy of RELEVANT. And then the third: My life as a blue-collar worker. Seriously, call me Barbara Ehrenreich.
So… let’s discuss my third job for a moment. I am part of BF Goodrich’s “summer help,” a group of grads and college students that fill in for plant workers who are on vacation. Our jobs consist of anything from tire manufacturing to trucking (uhm, that’s me!). So why did I take the job?
$10.00 an hour, 40 hours a week. THAT’S WHY.
Now, I know I have spent previous blogs scorning this so-called American Dream of disposable income coming out the wah-zoo. But honestly, I’m human. I won’t lie. $400 dollars a week sounds mighty nice to a poor high school graduate.
And there’s this part of the deal: THE BLOG. What I’m doing right now.
I’m going to be a journalist. I cannot remain a sheltered middle class girly who only hangs around celebs of the Christian music industry. (And yes, RELEVANT does cover more than that crap. I’m pretty sure Obama’s going to make a guest appearance on the next podcast.)
I need to see the real world! The gruff n’ grime of it all. And it will start here. I will, as an eighteen year old woman, venture into the forsaken world of the blue-collar workforce. I will work the swing shift. I will smell like sweat and rubber. I will be around fifty-year-old men all day. I can do it!
This introduction was a bit longer than anticipated. I will recall the events of my day reporter style, not like Barbara (from Nickel and Dimed, if you still have no idea what I’m talking about) who just told stories.
Ahem.
DAY 1: BLUE-COLLAR.
The layout of the factory is how you would expect, I assume. You know, machines everywhere, cement floors, steel ladders leading somewhere, an occasional window (open, of course, it’s awfully hot in there), and industrial fans. I won’t bore you with all that. Let’s talk details.
Throughout the tire room there are racks and racks of “bobbins,” covered in interliner fabric and rubber used to create tires. There are hundreds of them. Different sizes: 85, 100 something-or-others. Passing down the sectioned off “sidewalk,” you come across these racks, some empty but most full. And their labeled. How? With a big number 200 or 50. The guys there must get bored at their jobs though. Most of the numbers I saw had little faces colored into the 0’s. I appreciate their creativity.
Everyone manufacturing the tires (and there are only a few doing that, for the machines do a great deal of the work) has a rhythmic pace. Pull rubber. Wrap rubber. Cut. Pull white-liner. Wrap and cut.
There’s a radio playing at about every corner of the “sidewalk.” Most of it is unrecognizable to me.
I noticed how much the management wanted to make Goodrich to be a “friendly environment.” They had team flags hanging on one wall–not just one college’s name, but all the ones in the area. In every office I entered I saw a DIVERSITY poster with white and black kids holding hands.
Everyone who passed my trainer and me today waved. You know, those little hand-not-far-from-the-thigh kind of waves–almost like a grab or swat rather than a “goodday, neighbor.”
But, it’s a tire factory. A TIRE FACTORY. It’s not some fancy corporate headquarters with carry-ins every Wednesday or casual Friday. It’s a 24-hour sweat-dirt-grime-sleepless-on your feet job.
Does every American company want their environment mimic the so-called “high class” career of our society? Do we all secretly want to work where there are promotions, bosses in fancy offices, and company Christmas parties? Is that what Michelin is? A cheap imitation of an Orange County firm, but really at the core just a group of muscled men and women struggling to make a living, working 12 hour shifts, jumping in bed exhausted, forgetting to say their prayers because their head is spinning….
Maybe I’m being a bit melodramatic. Michelin pays their workers a fair wage–hullo, 10 dollars an hour!–but is it necessary to immitate white-collar businesses in the process? Or are they?
DAY 1: WHITE-COLLAR.
I logged onto my computer at 4:30 (after orientation at the plant) expecting 11 more emails from my boss Beverley at Nea Matia, Inc., where I do web updates and print-documents for the business. I had two from her, nothing more to do, just a thank-you and a CC to her secretary asking her to give me some help. Phew. It turns out one of Nea Matia’s websites has this backyard server (as I’ll call it) in order to update the site. Too confusing for Lauren. I’ll stick with her other site that uses strictly HTML. Easy peasy.
[It’s 10:34. Gotta get up early tomorrow and repeat this over again.]
June 16, 2008 Leave a comment