More on Flirting . . .

So, the discussion regarding flirting has continued, and I had the opportunity to explore my actual feelings on what was previously discussed, and, with the help of an inquisitive friend or two, I was able to come to a personal conclusion (which I leave open for commentary):

I believe one can be "a flirt" without knowing it. I had always thought of flirting as some sort of conscious action, where one person willingly seeks to make clear some level of personal interest in a person of the opposite sex. But, reconsidering it, I realized that, regardless of the intentions of "the flirter," if those to whom those actions are directed may interpret/misinterpret the flirter's actions as possible interest in them, then those actions should, in fact, be considered flirting. (It's times like these when I value, and again disregard in my personal communications, the notion of giving up commas for Lent . . .) Hmm.

(I do in fact realize that, especially with the way I write things, the thoughts I put down here probably don't make any sense to anyone else, so if you understand something or other here, consider yourself lucky.) :)

The Dumbest Thing EVER!!!

I'm sorry to risk sounding so . . . uh, angry, I guess, but I knew I just had to share this--because it is, in fact, the dumbest thing I have ever seen. :) (Click on the post title for the link, by the way . . .)

Oh Danny Boy

So, I was on a nice midnight walk home from the library, when a nice young man named Danny pulled up next to me on the north side of the Brewster Building and rolled down his window to offer me a ride home. I figured I might as well, so he took me home, and we shared a few minutes of pleasant conversation. Luckily for him, it turns out he lives just a few blocks south of me, on the same street. He was very nice. (And he kind of reminded me of Kevin Fisher, for those of you who know him.) I thought that was worth sharing.

./` What a glorious feeling - I'm happy again! ./`

(First of all, I'd like to thank Valerie for the music notes, Lennie Hayton for the lyrics.)

This will be the SHORT version of the story: as I'd been meaning to for quite a while, I tested myself on the Burns Depression Checklist today. I did it once before, maybe a month/month and a half ago. As opposed to the 47 (as I recall) that was then my score, today's score was a grand total of 7. Wonderful.

Seminary Teaching Evaluation

(Sorry for being merely descriptive--and not creative--with my title.)

So, Monday at noon I had the first 10-minute teaching evaluation for my Intro to Seminary Teaching class. I felt, in preparing, that I really didn't feel as prepared as I'd like to feel (which, well, is pretty much the case with everyone with everything, I'm finding . . .), and yet, I realized that I didn't think I'd previously spent that much time preparing a lesson of any kind.

I should explain what it is I'm talking about. So, there's this class I'm taking, which is basically to prepare people (like me, for example--though I'm not the best example) for the CES (Church Education System) hiring process. Some percentage (75% or something) of the students in this class are invited to move on to the next class, Seminary Teaching Methods, almost exclusively based on their grades in these 10-minute teaching experiences. The next class has a similar evaluation process, but I think you teach an actual class for a whole week or something, and then a few of those people are invited to become student teachers; and then, a very few are actually hired as seminary and institute teachers.

So anyways, that's the basic idea. As for what I actually taught, I chose Alma 32:12-16 as my "scripture block," and basically, we (a class of five, two of whom were other students in my same class) went through the verses and talked about the process Alma was teaching: the two ways we can arrive at being humble, what humility leads us to do, and what importance baptism should have for us as baptized members of the Church every day of our lives.

In planning it out, it was easy for me to identify the principles that I wanted to focus on, but it was more of a challenge to decide how I could teach in a worthwhile, interesting, memorable (etc., etc., etc.) way. I ended up with a little object lesson about how humility works, and I think it worked well--in that it wasn't incredibly time-consuming, and it was simple enough to work back into the principles of the lesson with just a few words referring back to it.

Anywho, I don't mean to be long-winded. (Though, I suppose if you really didn't want to read what I say, you would certainly be welcome not to. Anyways.) Mostly, it was just interesting to me to see how fulfilling it was for me to feel I had done a good job, and to have that confirmed by my teacher (who happens to be quite the energetic, stereotypical seminary teacher-type guy). And yet it was challenging enough for me to feel like planning and teaching lessons was something I could be happy doing on a regular basis . . .

That's all.

Which thing I never had before supposed . . .

I am a flirt. Or so I'm told. Who would've thought? Not me. I mean, (so I'm told,) I'm not a :)Brent Fairhair* (*name changed so as not to slander an awesome guy) type of flirt, hugging everything in sight, smooth-talking the ladies, etc., etc., etc. But apparently, there's something about the way I treat people that comes across as "flirty" . . .

If any of you that know me have anything to say about this, I'm very interested in your opinions. (And BA, thank you for telling me about this--though I'm not even sure how it even came up . . .)

"Humility & Impartiality"

I thought I'd better get something on here about my recent experience with a new movie (perhaps a new "favorite" movie). (Forgive my convoluted writing style in advance.)

1.) Having heard excellent reviews from one friend who had recently seen it, 2.) having also at least two good friends wanting to see it, and 3.) it having arrived at the dollar theater in Provo, I decided to go see the latest Pride & Prejudice Monday. And see it again. Monday. Yay! :)

Anyways, the things I have to say about it at the moment include the following: the music was just beautiful. It was mostly Romantic-period style piano music, with strings added as necessary. (While hearing Mary play near the opening, I had the distinct--though unexplainable--feeling that it was in fact a man playing (call me "proud" or "prejudiced" . . .); it is, in fact, a man named Jean-Yves Thibaudet, whose music I now deeply respect and love). But anyways, the music added the perfect atmosphere, for my taste.

Also, still on the music, the dance scenes and the music itself served to portray extremely effectively the differences in the two socio-economic classes involved. In the A&E version (though I did only see it once), I didn't get nearly the same sense of the differences in propriety, dress, manners, etc., that were made clear in this version--and which are so essential to comprehension of the plot (especially in regards to others' disapproval of Bingley's attraction to Jane). While the distinction in the reality of the time may or may not have been so clear, it was done effectively in the movie, for my tastes.

The same goes for the portrayal of the family. There were plenty of times where the Bennett family came across as positively idiotic--completely out of place when among the upper class society. But that's how families are. Not everyone's family completely and accurately represents each individual, and even when they do, we are obliged to accept the families of those we love (at least in this kind of situation).

I also appreciated how the characters were realistic, to me--not overly stylized. Though few women would be prone to be charmed by Collins the man, few viewers could claim he was so over-the-top as to become an unbelievable character (in fact, some people may even know a person or two like him . . .). The same goes for the main characters. While they were certainly proud as well as prejudiced, they were much, much more. They said and did things that would fit their general characterizations, but they were never so stiff as to seem to have no desire to do otherwise; in other words, they were only as self-assured as any real person would be, in my opinion.

The Long Road Home

On my way to school this morning, I found myself, barely on time (as usual), behind someone whom I would rather avoid (not a normal occurrence, as I can only think of . . . well, one person with whom that would be the case). In cutting across the grass towards campus, I found myself in class quite a bit earlier than I'd expected to arrive, and it took me (as far as I can tell) quite a bit less time to get there than it normally does. So, in avoiding a potentially unpleasant surprise, I was pleasantly surprised to find a new and useful shortcut that I will now be using three days out of each week.

(For those of you who are familiar with the area of campus: rather than walk the asphalt path all the way to the top and then pass by the SWKT to get to the southeast entrance of the JFSB, from now on I will (most likely) take the path next-highest up the hill (which starts at the top of the steps coming from 300 East), cut through the Testing Center, cut through the MCKB, pas by the other side of the SKWT, then enter the JFSB ever-so slightly closer to my classroom, on the southwest side.)

Better Days

Just a little random thought. As usual, I wish I had time to really post something worthwhile . . . Anyways, I've found a new favorite song--kind of a song of the moment, really. It's "Better Days," by the Goo Goo Dolls (which is, I have to say, one of the by far strangest band names ever).

It's been on the radio and everything, but I really just paid attention to it a week or two ago, and it just kind of says a lot of what I'd like to say right now. That's all. I wish I could put in a link to it or something, but I'm not smart enough for stuff like that. :)