Packing

I've already started packing for the move to the new house, and I can't help but notice how empty and depressing rooms become once there's nothing on the shelves and walls. The challenge, of course, is not getting everything boxed; it's getting everything boxed efficiently. At the same time, too, I have to go back through everything for the first week of class, since it's been about a month since I've looked at a lot of this material. I will definitely be in need of God's grace and wisdom!

We Don't Care; We Don't Have To

There's an old Saturday Night Live sketch that features Lilly Tomlin (I believe) as an operator for the telephone company. The basic premise of the sketch is summarized with this motto: "We don't care; we don't have to; we're the phone company." Back in the 1970s, one phone company basically had a monopoly on all phone service throughout the US. The result was terrible customer service and constantly-increasing rates. I've been reminded today of this sketch as I've encountered such an attitude of arrogance from a corporation.
<rant>I just found out that the school's current health insurance provider, Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Kansas is now refusing to allow us to be a "group" as defined by their terms. This callous disregard for the needs of a small business disappointed me greatly. Obviously, BCBS's only real concern is making copious amounts of money, and small groups like ours simply are not profitable enough.
Their policy is disappointing, of course, but what they wanted to do was what reminded of the SNL sketch. It shows the callousness and indifference that BCBS has for its "clinets." BCBS wanted to dump all of us who were covered, effective July 1. Now, they came to this decision only in the last week or so, meaning that I would have had about two weeks to hunt for individual health insurance, something I can't really afford, nor would I have been able to get coverage in that short a time span. Did they care about that? Not at all. Were they breaking state law? Absolutely. Our new chief administrator, by the grace of God, found out that according to Kansas law, BCBS must offer all of us who were covered under the group plan the same plan for 6 months, albeit at the higher, individual rate. BCBS was loathe to admit this, of course, but after some hard work, they finally obeyed the law grudgingly. </rant>
It is most disappointing that a company should choose to act in such a cold-hearted way. I have to remember, though, that God is in control, and there is a reason that He has allowed this to happen. I do not understand it, but I have no choice but to trust Him. I know from past experience that He will provide, and I can't wait to see how He'll provide this time.

Politics as usual

If you don't like politics, don't read beyond this paragraph. You can look to the right, though, and see an unusual picture that I took the other day of my cat. For those of you who are interested in politics, read on.
[Sigh] It's politics as usual here in the capital city of Kansas. In a story that ran in today's Capital-Journal, the office of Attorney General Paul Morrison attacked all of former AG Phil Kline's charges against George Tiller, the infamous (or famous, depending on your bias) abortionist. The entire article amounts to a one-sided argument in favor of not prosecuting Mr. Tiller. Never mind that the argument only addresses 15 of the 30 counts against Mr. Tiller. (This, of course, implies that the other 15 have completely legitimate basis, a fact the article completely ignores.) Former AG Kline is vilified as being incompetent and unethical, an accusation that is unfounded and certainly inappropriate in a news story.
Once again, the Topeka Capital-(read "Democrat-") Journal has decided it is necessary to sway public opinion against someone with conservative political views. This "article" (if it could be called that) belongs on the Op-Ed page, not in the regular pages of the paper. That it came from the Associated Press (no friend of conservatives, either) is no excuse. The Capital-Journal should know better than to run such a slanted article. Yet, this is not the first case of one-sided reporting. The paper evidenced such bias during the last election cycle, when it took every opportunity to attack Phil Kline and then-Representative Jim Ryun. It will certainly be interesting to see how much positive coverage Sam Brownback gets as he makes his run for the Republican presidential nomination.

House Picture

Here is a picture of the house. More pictures forthcoming. I'm excited at the thought of getting out of the apartments and into a quieter, larger space. I'm not look forward to the closing costs, of course, but I am grateful to God that I have the ability to get into something even as good as this.

Have Identitiy Thieves Gotten Desperate?

Identity theft has been a problem for years now, especially with the proliferation of Internet phishing scams. Now, however, comes news that identity theft has hit a new market. Read the story here. With this horrendous crime now happening among television's greatest, it's only a matter of time before other wonderful characters also have their identities stolen. So, merchants, be alert. If Scooby Doo ever tries to make a purchase, you should promptly notify Car 54, Dragnet, CHiPs, and Magnum P.I. in order to help put a stop to this TV land thievery!

Home on the Range

It's official! By the grace of God, I was able to find (in my price range, no less) a nice, little house in a good neighborhood. The previous owners took excellent care of it, and the house is about the perfect size for a single guy like me. Even so, it is about 1600 square feet, if you count both the finished and unfinished parts of it. I'll post pictures once I have some. The contract has been signed by all parties, but there's still some details to take care of before close. Lord willing, those will go okay, and I should be able to move in well before my lease runs out on my apartment. Thanks be to God for opening the doors!

It's a Sad Day for a Once Proud Planet

Check out this article about a recent discovery that has further demoted Pluto from its former glory of planethood. It is a reminder that scientists never have all the answers and that even when scientists think they do (Pluto was considered a planet for nearly 50 years), they still sometimes turn out to be wrong.

House Hunting

I've grown tired of my apartment complex, especially having to do laundry in a dirty, poorly-maintained laundry room. The quality of my neighbors is also starting to deteriorate; one of the apartments on my floor has been sealed by order of the Sheriff, which is not a good sign. So, with the help of my parents, I've begun a serious quest to find "a little casa on the mesa." (Bonus points to anyone who can name the movie that quotation is from.) I've learned a few things in just the few days since I've started:
Lesson 1. Topeka has a lot of junky houses.
Lesson 2. There seem to be only two types of houses in my price range: nice houses in terrible neighborhoods, and atrocious houses in great neighborhoods. The first group of houses are fine in and of themselves. They fit but the neighborhood around them (or close by) is slowly suffering the urban blight that seems to plague Topeka. The nicest house that I saw was definitely in the category of a nice house in a decaying neighborhood. The second group of houses would be great if I were a handyman or had lots of money to spend on repairs and upgrades. Unfortunately, I am much better at demolition than I am at construction, and being a private school teacher, I don't have a whole lot of money.
Lesson 3. The phrase "predatory lending" is redundant. I've never been quoted such ridiculously high interest rates and insane mortgage payments as what I've heard from the different agencies and banks that I've talked to. They're quoting me rates that are at least a half percentage point too high for the region.
Lesson 4. I'm going to have to trust God to open the doors, because right now, if I'm going to find a house, it sure seems like it's going to take a miracle only slightly smaller than finding me a wife.

One More NYC Photo

I realize that it's been a month or more since the New York City trip, but I had to add one more picture from the trip. I hope you recognize the object of the picture. :-)

Wind, Wind, and More Wind

It has been a windy day here today. I went running, but I made sure that my route was east-west so I didn't have to fight 25-30 mph sustained winds (with gusts to 40). I did, however, have to run against the wind for about 200 yards or so to get back home. That was the hardest part of the run. I felt like I was going nowhere. It wasn't the worst wind I've ever encountered, though. That happened in February of 1999, when an intense low pressure barreled through Ames, IA, with 40 mph sustained winds with gusts into the 50s. I almost got blown off my feet a couple of times by those gusts.
Hopefully, the wind will die down, soon, and I can run north-south again. There are more routes that are better in that direction.

Yo Soy Arbitro

Yesterday, I refereed a couple of games in the adult league in town. The majority of the teams in the league are Spanish-speaking, which certainly made for an interesting experience. It was enjoyable, actually, to be able to put my minimal knowledge of Spanish to use. One of the men I refereed with knew little English, so I had to try to communicate with him in Spanish. It was a challenge but an enjoyable one. I'll say this, too: I'm glad I wasn't the center. The level of play is far above my refereeing skills. I would have had 22 angry men cussing me out in Spanish if I had been the center for either game. I'm content to be on the line for a while. Maybe one day, my skills will improve to the level where I'll be able to handle a game in this league, but for now, I'll settle for working on the lines and on my Spanish as well. I like to talk with the players during the game as a part of maintaining order. Es dificil cuando yo no puedo recordar las palabaras que son necesarias para conversar con los jugadores. :-)
Hasta luego.