Shopping at Ikea is like returning to therapy:     

It feels like the right thing to to do, but then you get there and realize you aren’t adequately emotionally prepared.

My heart was completely broken when I heard the news about Tim Russert's death. There isn't a Sunday that went by when I didn't either TiVo or watch "Meet the Press" or at least read up about it. I loved Tim Russert, and his style that he brought to journalism. He could ask a tough question and not be a jerk, and still have integrity and a smile on his face. But no one could get by on his show without the hard questions. America has lost an incredibly unbiased journalist when Tim Russert passed away. I couldn't stop crying as I watched the coverage as Tom Brokaw and the rest of the NBC and MSNBC crew covered stories about Russert's life and work.  

One of my favorite endings of "Meet the Press" was this year during the first round of the playoffs: Russert Cheers on the Caps

Here are a few great tributes written on the life of Tim Russert:
NBC's Tim Russert Dead at 58
Tim Russert: The Smile That Lit Up Journalism
Tim Russert, 58, a Fixture of NBC's Face of Politics, Dies
A Death in the Family
The Many Gifts of Tim Russert

And here is NBC's "Remembering Tim Russert Special:"
Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six

The world has a missing place… and some really big shoes to fill…

In my graduate seminar this summer based on Thomas Jefferson, of course the topic of the Declaration of Independence is approached. That time was last night. In order to discuss the topic, our professor used Garry Wills's Inventing America: Jefferson's Declaration of Independence along with a companion article, from Daniel Walker Howe entitled, "European Sources of Political ideas in Jeffersonian America" (Reviews in American History 10, December 1982). In the book, Wills breaks down the ideas of Jefferson's subjectivity of his proclamation.

The most shocking to many of us was the drastic changes that Congress had made to Jefferson's document in order to make it official. Jefferson's original writing made it incredibly passionate, and those exclusions change the entire meaning of the document. Congress rejected TJ's theory of expatriation, as well as excluding an entire section that TJ intentionally meant to target: the people of Great Britain.

For most of the American people, we are familiar with the Preamble, which is usually recited at some patriotic event, usually at the Fourth of July. However, the Declaration of Independence was an entire statement and declaration incited with passion about how angry the American people were with the broken relationship between the colonies and the King of England. What had once been a harmonious and virtuous social contract was met with an uncooperative group of colonies because of the forceful tactics used in taxation and military protection. The colonies felt that they would be better off as independent without the betrayal of the King, and independence would provide foreign aid from other nations if possible. 

It's amazing to think that TJ's Declaration was established upon the beliefs and concepts of that of the Scottish Enlightenment, based on equality of love, affection, and benevolence of society, and not on legal contracts. Of course, everyone still debates TJ's concept of what he meant about his phrase "all men are created equal…" and it is still debated among historians. I'm sure TJ meant it to be vague, just as the writers of the Constitution meant to write the Bill of Rights, which continue to be debated to this day. They must be culturally relevant, which is a concept that Jefferson really understood… which is probably why he wrote what he did.

One of my friends, SR, sent me a newspaper clipping a while back that I lost in my inbox for a while that I came across a few days ago. I thought I would share it. It is absolutely too hysterical!

It's the 1943 Guide to Hiring Women, furnished by the July 1943 issue of the Transportation Magazine. It covers all guidelines that male employers should follow when considering females for employment. It's rather amusing.

Following are a shortened version of the 11 guidelines:

1. Pick young married women. Why? They have fewer responsibilities (editorial: and, duh, you don't have to deal with their husbands).
2. When choosing older women, try to find those who have outside-of-the-home experience.
3. Choose a "husky" girl… they are more "temperamental."
4. Have a physician on staff, especially for "female conditions."
5. Stress the importance of time strictness and schedules.
6. Give female employees to-do lists for the entire day so they will not have to bother the management.
7. Allow inside females to change jobs from time to time… they'll be happier.
8. Provide females with rest periods throughout the day. Allowing her to reapply lipstick and wash her hands can maintain her confidence level.
9. Be tactful with instruction or criticism due to women's sensitivity levels; ridicule can interrupt efficiency.
10. Do not swear around women. Their ears are sensitive, and their men do not appreciate it. Plus, they may grow to dislike their job.
11. Make sure each woman's unifom fits properly to keep her happy.

The full article can be found here in its original form. Enjoy… and happy hiring!

I had to share the following, which was passed along by Mrs. Merlin to me today. It makes me wish for the summer to pass, and football season to arrive. I'm not gonna lie… Every bit of this bit below sent chills down my spine, and I loved reading it because every word of it is true. 

What is Alabama Football?
By Derek Camp

 
It is Wallace Wade. It is Bear Bryant. It is not Bill Curry.
It is the Rose Bowl.
It is hearing Keith Jackson call an Alabama game.
It is watching George Teague running down Lamar Thomas in the 1993 Sugar Bowl then rewinding it and watching it again.
It is hearing the first notes of Sweet Home Alabama.
It is the desire to beat Auburn at any competitive event that exists.
It is a houndstooth hat.
It is having enough pride to fight for your school but having enough class not to.
It is cheering the same amount for a first down on second and 6 as on fourth and 1.
It is watching Cornelius Bennett give Notre Dame quarterback Steve Beuerlein a concussion on that October day in Birmingham in 1986.
It is determining who you are going to date & marry by which team they swear allegiance to.
It is watching The Bear on the jumbotron before a game in Bryant-Denny Stadium and almost seeing him leaning against the goalpost in the end zone.
It is spending a day at The Bryant Museum and still not seeing everything.
It is cool crisp autumn Saturdays where you can smell football in the air and feel it whenever there is a slight breeze.
It is watching The Bear get number 315 against Auburn.
It is watching The Bear get number 323 against Illinois.
It is hearing Paul Kennedy do the play-by-play when Van Tiffin kicked the 52-yard field goal against Auburn in 1985.
It is knowing how many days until the start of a season year around.
It is driving down Colonial Drive to see Bryant-Denny Stadium not the sorority girls.
It is getting chills up and down your entire body whenever you hear anything about the 1993 Sugar Bowl and the pride you feel because that night tradition ruled.
It is hearing The Bear's voice and having all the hair on the back of your neck stand straight up because you know no matter what he said, it was something special.
It is hearing The Million Dollar Band play "Yea Alabama" and knowing it
just does not get any better.
It is imagining hearing Penn State Quarterback Chuck Fusina ask Alabama linebacker Barry Krauss "How close is it?" and hearing Krauss say "About an inch, you'd better pass" right before fourth down during The Goal Line Stand in the 1979 Sugar Bowl.
It is almost coming to tears whenever Alabama loses to Auburn or Tennessee.
It is The Kick. It is The Goal Line Stand. It is The Desperation Block.
It is purposely not wearing any clothes with the colors orange and blue.
It is the Third Saturday in October.
It is not needing an alarm clock on game days, you sit bolt upright in the bed long before the alarm goes off because you know that it is a gameday, you can sleep after the bowl game.
It is walking into a stadium and knowing Alabama will win the game no matter who they are playing because is just the way it is supposed to be.
It is the saying "Offense wins games, Defense wins national titles."
It is the Bear Bryant 'A'.
It is getting to the stadium hours before the game just to be there.
It is walking into another team's stadium and having those fans hate you
because you are from Alabama.
It is the pride that a father has when he brings his children to a game
so they may cherish the tradition.
It is beating LSU in Baton Rouge.
It is hearing the crunch as a linebacker dressed in crimson and white hits a running back dressed in orange and blue.
It is the pride you take in being every team's rival.
It is pulling for any team that is playing Auburn.
It is pulling for any team that is playing Tennessee.
It is hoping for the stadium to blow up when Auburn plays Tennessee.
It is knowing that the SEC Championship is a birthright.
It is being respected and feared at the same time.
It is holding up four fingers at the end of the third quarter.
It is knowing what "Mama Called" means.
It is having 21 Southeastern Conference Titles.
It is having 12 National Titles.
It is more than I can ever mentioned in this article.
It is class.
It is tradition.
It is Alabama Football.

Oh, good gracious. It's so true. Tide, get ready to roll. This. Is. Alabama Football. 

So, despite having Hootie and the Blowfish's tune rolling through my mind as I'm desperately wishing for more hours in the day, I am trying to figure out how to consolidate the things that I'm currently doing to make time for what I need to be doing. There are must-do items, such as studying, which is sort of required for class… Well, not sort of, it is. I'm just really not motivated right now. I remember feeling like this last summer. There is something about summer that is very ill-motivating about studying and schoolwork. One of the main problems is that my first week of work fell right at the beginning of the semester, which means I'm double-studying. 

I could be a complete recluse. However, I've done that for the past year. Since I returned for graduate school, all I have done is work for graduate school. And the time I spend NOT on graduate school isn't necessarily out and about amidst the city… it's usually spent chatting with out-of-town friends through various mediums of internet or phone. I have intentionally not spent time out and about, because I knew that my time here would most likely be temporary (or to my hope at least). I did not want to vest myself into anything that would be painful to leave behind. It was hard to leave before… even more heart-wrenching to leave D.C. when I did… and I just don't want to experience that again. I yearn for a more peaceful move next time I leave: one in which I only have to say goodbye to a few people. Besides, the other day, I actually had someone still think I was in D.C. Oh, if only… and maybe soon.

The Spielmaster loves the South and wrote the most amazing post about the South… because most of you can't read her blog because it is protected, I'm stealing her Whitman quote… She wrote:  

O magnet-South! O glistening perfumed South! my South!
O quick mettle, rich blood, impulse and love! good and evil! O all dear to me!
—Walt Whitman

The South. My South. What is it about the southeasterly reaches of this country that puts such an irresistible call on the people who call it home, either by address, or history, or both?

While I can't necessarily say that I feel at home here, it is my home in some regard… It is home, because it is my family. It is home, because it is history. However, it conflicts with the desires of my heart, with the character of my being. It's at battle with my mind, and at war with my fighting spirit. I feel like I can't be who I truly want to be here. But, is it all about location, location, location? Or is it something else that is holding me back?

I feel like a lack of plans continue to hold me back. And, that for the sake of the argument continue to make me feel like I have no time to make good and wise decisions. These decisions can impact the future. Or a lack of decision or poor decision can destroy my future, or make a negative impact on my future. It's such a give or take. And without a plan, or anything kindly resembling a plan, I feel completely lost. I feel like a traveler on the interstate headed north without a destination, with no map, on a highway without signs. Who knows when I'll be able to stop for a rest? Or better yet, to fuel up for the next leg of the trip (that is, if I'll can afford it… haha). I'm in limbo. And in limbo, time feels eternal.