Well hello there.

Well I finally did it.

I got myself a laptop computer.

I was always so ambivalent towards them. I mean what did I need a portable computer for?

Then a friend of mine got one and over time I kind of got enamored with the notion of having a computer I could take with me. So I did it. I bit the bullet and shelled out the cash (with the help of my overly generous parents) and got myself one.

It came in handy too. Two days after I got it blew out my knee (its being diagnosed at this stage as a torn ACL) which required me to be off my feet for a week. Having the ability to sit on the couch and still use my computer was a huge blessing. The week flew by.

Today, for the first time I’ve taken my computer on the road with me. As I write this I’m sitting in my favorite coffee shop watching the world pass by. I love it.

I’m in teachers college now, or as it was explained to me, the School of Education (it seems ‘teacher’s college’ refers to a time when teachers came directly out of high school and went to teacher’s college – that is no longer the case as all teacher’s require at least a BA). So I grabbed up my computer and headed down to the coffee shop to do some homework. There are just too may distractions at home. It’s just so nice being able to do my work on the computer here rather than having to hand write everything then having to transpose it all onto the computer later.

Wonderful.

***

Everything seems so strange right now.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Its been a long time since I could say that. I’ve been going on now for five plus years struggling towards becoming a teacher and now the end is in sight. It feels good.

Of course this has simply brought on a new set of worries, such as actually teaching. I’m going to be in the classroom in November for three weeks. It seems like such a short time away that I’m concerned that I just won’t be able to learn what I need to learn between now and then.

***

Its been a long time since I’ve actually written anything here. It feels kind of weird. I’m not too sure what it is I should say.

***

I recently participated in an online discussion concerning the existence of God and the role of religion in politics. The discussion was mostly with Americans and I’m not all that sure what role that played in how the discussion played itself out. We (Canadians) often hear about such things as a Culture War and the Religious Right from America. While I knew what they were I’m not all that positive that I had truly experienced them before, or at least not the American version. Everyone seemed to be very angry.

I’ve worked hard over the past several years to become the kind of person who is able to discuss delicate issues (politics, economics, religion being the big three) without getting personal. Of course I’m not always successful at it but I try. You’d have to ask a friend of mine how well I really do at achieving these lofty aims, but I enjoy discussing such matters and in doing so I try to be polite, civil and attentive. This discussion made it hard to hold onto such values.

I guess because such discussions are so well tread that people start mid-stride. There are so many stereotypes, accusations, condemnations and insults flying around hat it seems that nothing is ever really discussed. It just seemed to be time where people were constantly poking each other in order to piss someone off rather than to truly have a discussion. I found it rather frustrating, especially when I kept being attacked (for lack of a better term) for things I had no part in.

I guess I’ve just been lucky to have had a friend with whom I could discuss such matters in a civil manner. I’ve learned a lot from such discussions; both about myself and my beliefs as well as differing viewpoints concerning such issues. However this was not one of those times.