Controlled Chaos

Get Fuzzy is on a roll!:

Salaam

Kami berharap semuanya baik-baik aja.  Kalian semua sudah bertanya ke lokasi internet/website www.rdihongkong.com dan kita sudah berkomunikasi sama anda pada waktu lama.  Kami senang bisa mengumumkan kita akan punya konferensi informasi di Jakarta tanggal 20 Maret.  Silahkanlah datang, jadi anda bisa bertemu kami dan mengunakan kesempatan ini untuk:

-Dapat jawaban tentang pertanyaan anda tentang kursus

-Mendiskusikan kemungkinan anda akan melamar dan harganya aplikasi atau harganya kursus

-Melihat buku-buku yang bisa membantu anda belajar dan laporan-lapan dari masa berlalu

-Menilai sertifak dari universitas anda

-Berkonsultasi sama penasehat kami

-Tolong bawa resume anda, transkrip, atau sertifikat anda jadi kami bisa menilai dan menasehati sama anda.

-Menikmati ke US$645

Konferensi ini:

-tanggal 20 Maret

-Mulai jam 1030 pagi

-Tempat belum dikonfirmasi

Konferensi ini gratis.  Anda bisa bawa teman kalau mau.  Tolong membalas ke email ini.

Terima kasih dan sampai jumpa nanti.

Salaam,

On Mar 10, 2010, at 6:51 AM, Ristiya munazzahatin wrote:

Hay jonthon,could you explain to me about the means of this email if

you have free time…?

Dear Indonesia Enquirers,

Re: Meeting you in Jakarta

I hope you are well. You have made enquiries to <http://www.rdihongkong.com> www.rdihongkong.com website previously and we have been in communication with you for a while. We are pleased to inform we will have an Information Day and Workshop in Jakarta on 20 March 2010. Attend our Jakarta Info Day, so that you can meet us in person & use the opportunity to:

!P         Answer all your questions about the course(s)

!P         Discuss your eligibility to apply and application process or tuition fees

!P         View study materials & textbooks & past papers

!P         View final certificates awarded by the University

!P         Consult freely with our advisors

!P         Bring your CV, transcript or copy of certificates for us to assess & to advise you

!P         Enjoy bursary up to US$645

The details of the event are:

!P         Date: Saturday, 20th March 2010

!P         Time: Start from 10:30am

!P         Venue: To Be Confirmed

Attendance is free of charge. You are welcome to bring a friend or a

colleague. Please simply reply to this email or

<http://www.rdihongkong.com/distance-learning/information-seminar.html>

click here for reservation.

Thank you and we look forward to seeing you in Indonesia!

Regards,

Inquiries have validity in their own right, and sometimes the way is as valuable or moreso as the destination. In considering a question, one must open their mind, consider reality, and lay bare the presuppositions of the self. Of course, this is a much more apropos statement with regard to open-ended questions, especially those of religious, philosophic, or political nature, as they encourage debate and the transfer of ideas, exploration of the world and the self, and more. Questions are the impetus to action, and without them the world would be bland and sedate. Questions lead to inventions, understanding, and success sometimes, but far more often, they lead to more questions. Thus, questions possess a power for exposing the infinite that an answer never could.

[[Current mood:guruish]]
[[Category: Religion and Philosophy]]

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the next five years will only be a piece of my life, which seems to always be moving (perhaps there aren’t enough spirals of relaxation…). That said, I think they will make me more well-read, more fluent in Indonesian, and, insyAllah, more Indonesian!

9 lbs 4 oz

(Oliver – 9 lbs 12 oz)

Clip Syndicate Video: Yankees Pep Rally In Bronx School.

This is the school I taught at for two years prior to leaving for Indonesia, getting excited for the Yankees on Good Day New York.

The title of this blog is controlled chaos, and today exemplifies why this is an apt description for my life.  I’ll go reverse chron through the wackiest two moments of my day, in keeping with the reverse chron of the blogosphere:

So, at the end of the day, I was all excited to be leaving by 6:01 (I left at 8:13 yesterday), but I end up in an office, where I am informed that, for the rest of the year, I will be teaching high school ESL two times a week to seven kids who will no longer have an artistic period because they require these services.  Someone else will teach them another two days a week.  I’ve been informed that the students will be more or less hostile to this schedule change.  I accepted it with a smile.

Also, I paid $50 to extend my certification, but the DOE moves slowly (think snails), so I am technically not certified.  This means I’ll have to team teach my classes with another woman until I get the papework from the DOE.  I called the DOE’s TEACH office to attempt to rectify this, and ended up writing the following email to my headmaster:

“You’re gonna looove this…

I called TEACH at 518.474.3901.  The two prompts that apply to our situation are 4 and 5.  5 is to speak to a representative.  Upon doing this, I was informed that the office was very busy, and given the option of dialing 1 to reach an automated system or being disconnected.  I chose the latter and called right back, this time opting to press 4.  4 is the option for requesting expedited processing.  I was then given two options: 1 for NYC public schools, and 2 for NYS public and non-public schools.  I pressed two and reflected on my good fortunate not to be part of the circus/DOE.  (I had no idea I would come around on the charter school thing so quickly!)  I was then informed that my superintendent or principal can apply for expedited processing *and has already been informed of how to do this.*  I was then dismissively told that the call would now be disconnected.  Never did I speak to a human being.

So that wasn’t particularly fruitful.  And I’m guessing the automator is incorrect in presuming that our and all schools are aware of how to go about expediting application processing.

As best I know, that means we are left to wait.  Don’t hesitate to let me know if there is anything else I can do in the meanwhile.”

I start grad school two nights a week starting tomorrow.  I hope I can get around to blogging about my summer and last month in Indonesia before the end of the year…

W.O.R.D.S. article

This is a Jakarta Post article about the competition we brought students to in Jakarta.  Oh, memories…

America has thrown a lot of work and stress at me, but I have overcome; in other words, I’m doing pretty well. I have been traveling in America – Montana, Yellowstone, the Tetons, Wyoming, the Upper Green, Utah, the Land of Marmots (SLC), Colorado, Fort Collins, and the open road. Now I am in my old college town to work on my thesis.

This weekend I will go back to St. Louis to see my family. Then on August 11th, I will drive with Ken, another ETA, to New York City, where I will be teaching this year.

To clarify for my Indonesian friends, I won’t be coming back to Indonesia this year.  For better or worse, there are some things I must attend to in America this year, not the least important of which is attaining my Masters degree in Teaching. I am already taking the first of four classes remaining to attain that degree. With it, I plan to apply for a Fellowship in the hopes of returning to Indonesia and working on educational reforms. I might even stay for two years (perhaps even in Makassar!) if I do that.  As my friends and family in Majene would say, “Insya Allah!”

I’ll give more details about my trip soon, when I get time to type them up.