Motivatation at the Airport

I pulled up at the airport this moring at 5:30 A.M., and it never ceases to amaze me how busy and alive the Fort Lauderdale Airport is at any given moment. I couldn’t believe that it was 5:30 and there were this many people milling about.  I have had some of the most interesting things happen and have taken some of best naps while traveling.  Traveling on any given day is never the same experience because there are never the same circumstances.  What does all of this have to do with my TED talk?  I’m glad you asked.  After discussing my topic with Hall, I’m thinking of looking into the topic of motivation; I’m still going to talk about running, but I’m going to weave the idea of motivation throughout my talk.  Why I was thinking about my TED at 6 o’clock this morning is something that I’m still trying to figure out, but motivation was on my mind.  I think it had something to do with my ruing the choice of an early flight and what motivated me to choose to fly this early.  I then started to question what motivated all of these other dummies to fly this early in the morning.  Is it because they are morning people?  Is it because there were no other flights?  Is it because the morning flight is less expensive?  Did they have to get back early to go to work? Who knows, but for whatever reason, the airport was packed.  The airport reminds me of an elevator because a lot of strangers are jammed into a small space for a short amount of time.  Because of the tight quarters we are forced to listen to other people’s conversations and be a part of their lives, if only for a finite time.  Because of this “closeness,” I feel that I am allowed to pass judgments on my pseudo-family and by doing so, try to examine what motivates their actions.  For instance, there was a long line at the coffee kiosk and a man cut in line and no one said a word.  Being the passive person that I am, in my mind it would take more energy to call this guy out, than to just let him stay where he so rudely inserted himself.  But I was surprised that no one else said or did anything, where was our motivation?  Perhaps, once we had some coffee we’d be more motivated.  Then, I was drinking my coffee and waiting to board the plane, an individual with special needs was creating a raucous. The man sitting in front of me said to his family, “If he is on our flight, I’m just going to take those vouchers (the flight was overbooked and they were offering vouchers to get bumped).”  I thought, “What an asshole.”  I’d rather be on a flight individual who can’t control himself, than someone as ignorant as him.  Why would someone say that? What could possibly have motivated him to say that?  Did he think he was funny?  Funny enough, I ended up sitting next to the individual who was having outbursts in the terminal. He and his mom were very pleasant seat partners; I didn’t have to listen to asinine conversations and was able to sleep in peace. I don’t know why what that man had said really bothered me.  If only I had been motivated enough to say something. Motivation is a crazy thing, sometimes motivation allows us to accomplish goals, but sometimes, the only thing motivation accomplishes is making us look stupid.

Who needs motivation?

Bud Light Rewards

After about two months of running, I felt like I was losing sight of my goal.  I knew that I had a half marathon to train for, but when it’s only March and the race is in September, I had a hard time staying motivated.  Of course, I loved running, but there were some days when laying on the couch in my sweatpants was way more appealing than going for a run.  I started thinking that it might be time to sign up for some type of race to challenge me and get me back on track.  I looked in the paper, but there seemed to be no races in my area.  Then one week, out of nowhere, there was an ad in the Press about an April Fool’s Run in Atlantic City.  The April Fool’s Run was the first annual run and the courses were 7K and 11K.  As I mentioned before, I had never been a runner; the only race I had done was the 5Ks in Charleston and I was so slow that senior citizens had passed me.  This race was doable, but I was hoping to start with a 5K.   I saw the advertisement on a Tuesday and the run was scheduled for that Sunday.  I happened to be substituting the day I saw the ad and I mentioned it to my friend Alyssa who is the gym teacher at the school where I was subbing.  She was also looking for something to get her back on the exercise wagon.  Being a gym teacher she is in pretty good shape, but she was also a little hesitant about signing up.  We both decided we would think about it.  Later that evening, I sent her a text saying I was seriously considering signing up.  She replied that we should just do it. So that was it, we decided we would just try it out; the worst case scenario being we couldn’t run the whole thing and we would have to walk.  What did we have to lose?  She picked me up on the morning of the race and we were both a little anxious.  We were not very unprepared for this race; I wasn’t sure what I should wear, she didn’t know what she should have for breakfast, and neither of us was sure of the race time.  Luckily we made it up to Bally’s, where the race began, in time.  We picked up our race packs and already we were off to a good start.  The tech shirts that we received were awesome considering the cost of the race was $27, which by racing standards is not very much at all.  They had a band playing and the excitement in the air was palpable.  Some people were standing around anxiously waiting to start; other people were running up and down the boardwalk to warm up.  Alyssa and I kept exchanging excited, but nervous glances.  Finally it was time to start, before I knew it we were off and running.  Any nervous feelings I had before dissipated once I started running. Let me tell you, running on the Atlantic City Boardwalk was interesting to say the least.  There were so many sights to look at and so many people to stare at that time flew, before I knew it, we were halfway there.  Now I’m not going to say that the run was easy, but it definitely wasn’t bad.  When I felt like I was getting tired, I would slow my pace and I was fine.  Approaching the finish line was one of the greatest feelings,  I was so proud of myself for running the whole time and I was so excited because there were so many people cheering.  After we crossed the finish line, Alyssa and I headed to find some food and water that races usually provide.  I can’t even describe to you how wonderful it was to cross the finish line and then get in line for refreshments to find out that in addition to staples like bananas and water, they were also serving Bud Light and Rita’s Water Ice.   What a great ending to my first real race. If this is what my first race was like, I couldn’t wait to see what else was in store. 

Signing my life away

So last I left it, I was preparing to run my first half-marathon, but before I tell you about the end, I figure I need to start at the beginning.  I was never a runner (if you couldn’t tell from my encounters with the power-walking grannies), but there is nothing like a breakup to send you plunging head-first into something. For some, it’s a pint of ice cream, for others, it’s much harder substances like drugs or alcohol, but for me, it was running.  I can still remember the first day I decided to take all of my pent-up frustrations out on the pavement.  It was a cold, cold day in the middle of January; I believe it was the first day there was no snow on the ground in a while.  I was growing tired of laying around wallowing in self-pity (and so was my mother), so she suggested I get out of the house.  I had nowhere to go.  I was recently unemployed after finishing up a maternity leave and all of my friends had jobs, but my mom was right.  The more bored I let myself become, the worse it was going to be. So I threw on an old crewneck sweatshirt and some leggings, grabbed my ipod and some earmuffs, and went out for a run.  The air was so cold it almost sent me into shock, but that is exactly what I needed.  I started running and all of a sudden I started thinking about everything that had been bothering me lately.  The angrier and more frustrated my thoughts were, the faster I ran.  Before I even realized it, I had run 2.5 miles.  Of course, once I realized how far I had run I started cursing myself because I had to run all the way back, but that’s beside the point.  The point is, I found a natural and healthy was to relieve all of the stress I had been feeling.  So for the next couple of days, whenever I was feeling overwhelmed, I would put on my sneakers and head out for a run.  I never predetermined the time of my run or how far I would go, as long as I had run out all of my stresses for the day, I was all right.  Gradually, as time went on, I started stress less; however, I still kept running because that’s what I needed to stay sane.  About a month after my first run, I moved out of my parents’ house and into a house with my best friend.  One night I was telling her how I’ve been running and how much I’m enjoying it.  She suggested that we sign up for the half-marathon that she had done last year in Philly.  I was a little wary because 13.1 miles seemed like an eternity for a new runner, but since it was about 8 months away, she was able to convince me.  So on February 16, 2011, I signed up to do my first half-marathon.

Power Walking Grannies

I did my first 5K when I was at the College of Charleston my junior year. I was in a sorority, Chi Omega, and one of our philanthropic events was to participate in a 5K called Waves for Wishes. Although it was benefiting Make-a-Wish, an organization that is near and dear to my heart, I had no desire to wake up at 7:00 A.M. on a Saturday morning to participate in a 5K. So naturally, being that misery loves company, I enlisted my roommates to join me, which I must point out that my roommates were not part of my sorority and had no obligation to be up at the crack of dawn to participate in organized exercise, but being the good friends and good hearted people that they are (I still think what sealed the deal was the promise of breakfast at the end of the race as well as the chance to watch some athletic men run without their shirts on) they signed up for the race. Now let it be stated that I had no intentions of running this 5K, however, I never considered that by not running, or even power walking, that my roommates and I would come in just about last place. Seriously, we were passed by a power-walking grandma. My roommates and laughed it off, because here we were, three 20 year old girls, being lapped by someone at least triple our age. Next year we vowed that we would step up our game and at least power-walk. Well, the next year came around, and it came time for the annual Waves and Wishes 5K. As I did the previous year, I goaded my roommates to sign up with me, and once again they did. Well, this year, we were all 21, which meant that Friday nights were spent out at the bar, and being the naïve young people we were, we thought it would be no problem to wake up at 7:00 A.M. to do a 5K. Our rationale was that we would still be drunk from the night before and probably wouldn’t even remember participating in the event. Boy, were we in for a rude awakening. When we awoke that Saturday morning, the sun was shining full blast. I don’t know if any of you have been to Charleston, but the weather in September is about 75-80 degrees, which is wonderful if you are well-rested and going to the beach; when you are hungover and about to participate in a 5K, not so wonderful. Let’s just say our lofty goals of power-walking and beating our previous years time was immediately thrown out the window. I’m fairly certain that it took us an extra ten minutes to complete the 5K than it did the previous year. At that moment, I decided that 5Ks were not for me, those people were way too perky and energetic on a Saturday morning for me. Flash forward to this Sunday where I will be participating in a half-marathon. Let’s just hope this time I don’t get passed by a power walking grandma.

Brown v. Board of Education Article

Here is a link to a current event that is relevant to Brown v. Board of Education today:

In this article from May 2004, Sara Neufield explores the idea that many of the nations schools are　re-segregating. 　It focuses on Randallstown School in Baltimore, Maryland. 　Randallstown High Schools 98% black, while Towson High, 14 miles away, is 78% white. Many people in the Randallstown school community still feel a sense of inferiority when it comes to education. 　Some of the factors that contribute to the inferiority of these schools is high teacher turnover, low expectations, lack of high expectations, and tough odds.
There is a high teacher turnover in these majority-black schools because many teachers seek jobs in affluent, majority-white schools, where the pay is the sam for less demanding work. 　
There is also the trend of low　expectations　as a result of many of the brighter students now enrolling in magnet schools. 　Students get As and Bs without much real effort, many of the classes are more like a review, and due dates are very lax.
When a teacher has high expectations for a student, the students will feel more　challenged. 　Many of the predominately black schools lack teacher who have high standards for their students, which goes along with the low expectations, and when the students are not　challenged　they are more likely to become restless and bored.
Another problem faced by predominately-black schools is that the teachers and the students are up against tougher odds. 　In many cases, there is a lack of parental support, not necessarily because the parents don't care, but because they are uninformed and unsure.
Even though Brown v. Board of Education ended state-sanctioned　segregation, there is still a divide among schools, and as a result of this divide, there exists an uneven distribution of academic achievement and student success.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/bal-te.md.brown16may16,0,5307493.story

Waitressing

Why do some people think that it's okay to be rude to their server?  Don't you know that a waiter or waitress is in charge of your food, which essentially means they are in charge of your happiness, especially if you have young kids.  After a long summer season, you don't even what to know the images that run through my mind when a customer is rude (let's just say it involves plastic utensils).