« October 2005 | Main | December 2005 »
November 26, 2005
Holidays bring out the little kid in all of us
With the flavors of my grandmother's delicious turkey, peas and all of the fixings still fresh in my mouth and stuffed feeling in my belly, my favorite time of the year has returned – Christmas!
Even though I am 21-years-old, in many ways I am still a little kid at heart and the Christmas season allows me to really let that kid out.
That kid inside me starts to stir during the first Christmas commercial and by the time Christmas lights are strewn about store windows, city streets and trees large and small, the kid inside me is awake from his year-long hibernation.
He bellows carols like "Jingle Bells," he becomes enthralled in lights hung on houses and decorations everywhere and insists on stopping at each and enjoying gazing at them…and then there is Santa Claus!
For as long as I could remember, Santa has led my holiday traditions at home. About two weeks before my favorite holiday, he would bring a beautiful tree to my house where it would sit with its heavenly scent on the porch over night. The tree was always brought to my house sometime between Sunday through Thursday because I always had school the next day.
While at school, Santa would return to my house when everyone was out and put up the tree, decorate it and set up all of the other Christmas decorations. He would be sure to hang the stockings with care and set up the little figurine angels, Santas, snowmen and other decorations.
However, he would certainly never do everything the same way every year. When I was really young, we only had one wreath outside, it has since expanded to three and the location of the Christmas tree would also sometimes move. Every year, Santa also brings my younger brother, Daniel, and me each a new dated ornament. Oh how excited I was when I used to come home from school and see my dining room all aglow from the tree's glistening lights. Every year, I ran outside and stared in complete awe at all the white lights on the wreaths…oh the glory of it all.
However, my attention did not remain exclusively on my house's decorations. Goodness no. Every year, my mom and aunt would lead my brother and me on a "look look ride."
And even though I now have had my driver's license for five years now, there is something about the few rides each year where we seemingly do nothing more than driving around the region to admire the lights Santa set up at other homes.
Christmas is a special time of the year. It is a time when you don't need to worry about acting your age but rather can see the world through that of your inner child.
Posted by Jamie on 5:36 PM | Comments (3)
November 23, 2005
Tis the season
Tis the season to...budget? I have a tendency to spend money...lots of money...too much money...way too often, which, thanks to my friends, made me realize I need to go on a budget.
I am a big fan of consumerism and capitalism. If you don't believe me check my credit and debit card statements.
When not at home, school or work, look for me in the mall. Chances are I'll be in Lord & Taylor. Yeah, I have expensive tastes...perhaps too expensive.
Recently, after spending a lot more than I should have in a single day, two of my closest friends challenged me to go one week living on what a person on minimum wage earns (approximately $250) in one week.
This may not sound difficult, it certainly did not to me, until I realized the phone I bought earlier that day cost more than that.
The rules to the challenge were simple - everything counted toward the challenge from gas, food, new outfits, everything and there were no such thing as credits or buy now, pay later.
Going into the challenge, I was confident that I would come out the victor in what turned into a friendly little wager among friends. The first thing I paid for following the bet was a chocolate milk shake and a side of spaghetti - it was just an early evening snack - that cost me approximately $10. I went to bed that first night confident I just made an easy $10.
The next morning, yesterday morning, I woke up and took my car in for an oil change, an oil change I should have taken my car to approximately 7,000 miles earlier, oops. After the $44.84 oil change, I came to the unfortunate realization my car needed fuel as the gas gauge pin was below the empty line. Considering I had run out of gas three times in my five years of driving and not wishing to make it four, I decided the prudent and wise decision would be to fill up my tank. $27.89 later, I called my friend Jon.
Jon gave me the unfortunate news, the approximate $75 I had spent within the hour went towards my $250 limit. "Welcome to the real world," I said to myself.
While I had been paying for my own gas for more than two years now, I never had to pay for anything else for my car, until now. I suppose this is just another aspect of growing up. Yay?
As for my $250 challenge, I have spent an additional $13 or so on dinner yesterday, had a free lunch today at home and spent $8 on dinner tonight. While I am concerned that I am hovering around the $100 mark, I am afraid. I think, I hope I will persevere but only time will tell. If nothing else, this is a good first test of my skills at really budgeting an exact sum of money.
I will keep you updated on who wins the bet.
Posted by Jamie on 8:03 PM
November 9, 2005
Grasping the inconceivable
I knew it was there the whole time. Consciously I knew the approximate number, give or take a few. However the full extent of the situation - and certainly the human scope of the situation - had not hit me until about an hour and a half ago.
Since the start of Gulf War II in 2003, 2,051 United States soldiers had died. 2,051 lives were lost. 2,051 people who were at approximately the same age as me died prematurely half of a world away.
2,051 is an extraordinarily large number relative to my daily life. To better comprehend how large of a number 2,051 is I tried to compare it to other things with approximately the same number.
2,051 years ago it was 46 B.C. Jesus had not yet been born and subsequently there was no such thing as Christianity. Globally, Europe looked dramatically different than today and most people thought the world to be flat...and would continue to think such for many, many more centuries.
As of last year, the total enrollment at Quinnipiac University in Hamden was reported to be 7,260. If 2,051 souls were to disappear, the campus population would drop by more than a quarter.
Looking past the large numbers, 2,051 is none-the-less dramatic. Most of us have lost a loved one - or at the very least know of someone who has lost someone they loved.
There is no question that the loss of a close friend or family member is traumatic, very stressful and difficult to persevere through. 2,051 deaths - primarily of young people - brought grief to thousands of people who had the opportunity to know the fine young men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their nation - their life.
If each of those 2,051 people had just four people in the world who loved them - family and/or friends - 8,204 people would have been adversely affected by the loss of the lives.
It hit me hard when I was sitting in my senior seminar today watching a screening of the 1987 Coppola film "Gardens of Stone." The movie, which focuses on the lives of a few members of the American Army working funeral detail in the Vietnam era at Arlington National Cemetary, has many connections to present day. Included in the connections are a war that does not have a clear end to it, a growing number of dead youths and a war that needed not to be waged in the first place.
It was then that I realized just how much was lost when the first soldier died, then the second, third, fourth, fifth all of the way up through the 2,051st.
The loss of one life is a major sacrifice for America, for the family, for the friends, and for the person...the loss of 2,051 is just inconceivable.
Posted by Jamie on 7:35 PM | Comments (8)
November 3, 2005
Back from the heartland
I'm baaaaack! I spent the greater part of last week in the heartland of America -- Kansas City, Missouri -- attending a national collegiate media conference with thousands of other college students and 12 colleagues and an advisor from my university and learned so much more than just about journalism and leadership development.
Although I had attended two previous collegiate conferences before the Kansas City one, which was originally scheduled for New Orleans, I felt a certain level of anxiety about the trip this time. Not only did I know practically nothing about the host city, I really did not know much about the students and advisor traveling in my delegation.
The advisor I traveled to the previous two collegiate conferences with had switched advising responsibilities from media to that of student programming on campus and thus meant we needed a new media advisor. Cara Jenkins, a young, vibrant and motivated woman took on the challenge of advising the university's media organizations and also traveling to Kansas City with us.
Although I did have a good idea of how Cara ticked through my regular weekly meetings with her as well as numerous meetings throughout the week, I never spent five days straight with her and so was unsure of what to expect.
Many new advisors make the foolish attempt of trying to prove themselves to their students and just come off as fools. They try to assert dominance over the kids and earn nothing but resentment and mocking. Cara did not fall into this trap - she was herself and subsequently very much respected. She was herself the entire trip - as far as I could see - which allowed the student delegation to subsequently be themselves and learn as much as possible. She proved that an advisor can be relaxed while definitely holding control and being in charge of a situation and group.
The students I traveled down with were likewise fun and relaxed. Nobody, I could see, that traveled with the yearbook or newspaper were anything but themselves and allowed for a lot of fun and a lot of learning. We developed a level of comfort that allowed for real conversations, deep conversations and productive conversations. Although not every second we were together in the midwestern state was spent in a media or leadership session or spent discussing the media, every second was used productively. From talking about ghosts and bumps in the night to discussing the future of the two finest media organizations on campus - and arguably two of the finest at the conference in the eyes of this somewhat-biased blogger - I think it is safe to say we all learned a tremendous amount.
We developed a great idea of how each other ticks which is critical when working together with other people. We discovered how similar we really were to each other and how much we really did have in common despite some minor differences.
In the end, the trip proved to be very successful. I credit much of the success to the fact everyone was themselves on the trip and nobody tried to be anything but that.
Since our plane touched down at Bradley International Airport Sunday night, I feel much closer to Anne, Doug, Dana and Cara - the four others who were part of the Chronicle and Company delegation. To illustrate just how close we all became, I have a brief story I feel compelled to tell.
On Wednesdays I have a four-hour class that sometimes goes longer. Last night after a very long session of class, I walked back to The Chronicle office tired and kind of down. What awaited me made me feel energized and soo happy. Anne Hines, the yearbook editor at Quinnipiac, created an amazingly thoughtful display for me. It was entitled "Jamie DeLoma's Quotable Quotes" and is a collage of catch phrases I say often such as "rock on" and "amazing." This thoughtful surprise may not seem that special or noteworthy to some but the fact she did it for no reason other than because she valued my friendship means a whole lot. And just goes to show how close students can get by attending such conferences together.
Posted by Jamie on 9:41 AM | Comments (2)
