Master Class

Bridgedette's Thoughts:

While I do not like to schedule my life around the TV, I am very much loving Master Class on the Oprah Winfrey Network. If you havent seen it here is a brief synopsis:

They are the stories you've never heard from the people you thought you knew best. Handpicked by Oprah for their unique impact on the world, eight true modern masters sit down to share the untold stories that have shaped their lives and the greatest life lessons they've learned along the way. In an intimate setting, they open up about their successes, failures, triumphs, disappointments and heartbreaks.

Master Class offers an unprecedented first-person insight into the brilliant minds of famous people we love, respect and admire. First season masters include Diane Sawyer, Jay-Z, Dr. Maya Angelou, Simon Cowell, Dr. Condoleezza Rice, Lorne Michaels and Oprah herself.

Below is not so great copy of Oprah's Master Class (part 1). She speaks of taking the time to listen for the "little whispers" and "finding your purpose." This is something I continuously work on. I hope you take the time to turn up your volume and listen.

Then and Now

Bridgedette's Thoughts:









The first photo is from my Senior Year in High School (2000) and the second was taken today during our family Father's Day Celebration. I would have to say that I am glad that I look relatively the same; this is a good thing!

For years I have struggled against my genetics of being short and dark; as well as my medical family history of breast cancer, heart attacks, high blood pressure and diabetes.

But as I get older I am leaning to chill out, work out more and do the best that I can with what I have. This is what leads me into my real topic:




In 252 days I will be lucky enough to marry my best friend. As Larry and I go through the "normal" stressors of planning our wedding, we have come to realize that the best part of the planning is that there really are no stressors. I am so proud of the communication and respect that Larry and I have together while making our plans. As each wedding topic comes up we have the ability to talk it out and think it through, sometimes people forget to do that, this is a major reason some weddings never get out of the planning phase.

While Larry and I are not perfect, we know that we can grow and learn from each other. This is how I knew that he was my person. Before I met Larry, I was so afraid to make a mistake.....any little thing that wasnt perfect or a major accomplishment wasnt something I associated myself with. Now, I have learned that being or attempting to be perfect is boring, it gets old...and so does the human body, from all the stress it endures. I had to learn the hard way, after getting shingles and struggling to be comfortable in my own body.

Today I am proud that I am vertically challenged and dark (some people pay for the tan I got for free)! I am also proud of all the potential I have to grow into a better person as I am lucky to have a great partner to share my life with.

Moving closer to February 25, 2012

Bridgedette's Thoughts:



266 days till our wedding! Very exciting!

As Larry and I will begin working our 4 day work week, the time will pass very quickly. June, July and August will become very busy for us with New Student Orientations and Registration.

I hope that all is well with those that read this. HAPPY SUMMER!!

Still I Rise

Bridgedette's Thoughts:



When I was in Elementary School I was truly the minority, I was surrounded by White people, but not just any kind...the kind that farm and ranch from generation to generation (a good o'l boy system). It was a new experience from what I was used to seeing as an inner city child from ther Westside of San Antonio. I definitely had "culture shock."

I never wanted to go back to school, but my Mom did not allow me to run. She put her foot down and told me that "I was just as good as any one else that was at that school." It was on that day that I decided that I WAS GOOD ENOUGH.

I was good enough to be in the same class as my peers.
I was good enough to run for Student Council President. (and win)
I was good enough to take the Gifted and Talented test. (and be placed in GT Classes)
I was good enough to try out for the high school softball team. (and letter 3 out of 4 years)


Sometimes we reach a fork in the road and it is the values that we have been instilled , or even new values that we have picked up along the way, that allow us to look at that fork as either an opportunity for success or an opprtunity to run....still, either way, its an opportunity.

Life is all about opportunities and sometimes we need others around us to remind us to take advantage of them. One of my favorite poems Still I Rise. There is such a powerful statment made that has always resinated with me.

Still I Rise

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise

I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise

Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise

Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

~ Maya Angelou


I hope that where ever you are, that YOU RISE.

RISE to the challenge of everyday life, RISE from being a good parent to a great parent, RISE up to those who dont believe that you belong but most of all that you see that you deserve the right to RISE.

Closing out the Month of March

Bridgedette's Thoughts:

Flowers!

Hooray, spring has sprung in Texas and the Bluebonnets are HERE!

....and with Spring the Pollens have also sprung....not so good for my nose. But anytime that I can take a walk outside I do. With the sun shining and a nice cool breeze I found these flowers on the Palo Alto College campus; to me, it looks like a star.

Also, we had a "special project" at work, making paper flowers for our on campus event called PAC FEST (http://www.alamo.edu/pac/htm/new/homepage/campusNews/2011/News_Release_2011.pdf)....yes, Fiesta is around the corner!







Batman SAVES THE DAY!

Last week I bought a new pair of black shoes for work. They were supposed to be "comfort" style shoes, except they rubbed on my heels and created blisters! Not fun for me....thank God for Batman!





San Antonio Education Partnership's Road to Success College Conference


Larry and I help out with the former organization that I was employed with, The San Antonio Education Partnership. Each year SAEP organizes a College Conference for the 25 San Antonio high schools that it services. This year it was held at The University of Texas' Main Campus. 900 High School Students showed up!!! WOW!!

These students are the future of San Antonio and America, so I hope that they learned something new or were inspired by one of these Workshop Sessions (an abreviated list):

• Career Exploration:
o Education
o Law
o Math, Science & Technology
o Culinary Arts
o Engineering
o Graphic Arts
o Architecture
o Premed
o Nursing
o Fire Science
o Allied Health
o Art and Music
o Criminal Justice
o Business

• Financial Aid 101: The Basics

• Making the Connection: High School, Community College & Universities

• Scholarship Scoop: Finding Money for College

• Choosing a College: Finding the Right Fit

• Writing the Essays: The Good, The Bad…

• Mobile GO CENTER: Completing the College Admission Application


On a side note: Thanks to the San Antonio Education Partnership, Larry and I are together! http://www.saedpartnership.org/ Here are 2 photos from the event...sorry for the lack of cool photos, I was working, but it was so much more awesome than these photos tell.






Dinner with the Perez Family

Yesterday the Perez Family got together for dinner at La Fogota. The food and Company was fun and heart warming! I love it when we get together to catch up!








Flexing my Green Thumb

Sunday's are a great time to spend with family. I went over to my parents home to visit and my Dad and I ended up on an adventure at Home Depot and Walmart. He helped me pick out the suppiles for my tomato plant and bell pepper plant. The evening ended with a great steak dinner and a ton of laughs!





Until Next Blog...Have a good week!


Tonight
Apr 3


Partly Cloudy
71°

it's always funny to look inside yourself

Larry's Thoughts:::

Bridge and I recently took a personality exam called the Myers-Briggs and it's always interesting to see how someone can be 'scaled' based upon who you are and how God made you. My theory has always been that God created us sort of like how a someone might make a salad...you know a little spinach for health, some onion for spice, perhaps some croutons for flavor, carrots for crunchtime, and maybe a little dressing to cool you down. No matter what though it's good for you, know what I mean? Myers-Briggs pretty much matches people into one of 16 different categories based upon your personality traits- E vs I (Extrovert vs Introvert), N vs S (Intuition vs Sensory), T vs F (Thinker vs Feeler), and P vs J (Perceiver vs Judger). As you can see already, Bridge is an ESTJ- which means she is an Extroverted Sensor who Thinks and Judges. I personally think this type of person is valuable in the world or salad bowl, if you will, because they tend to bring order to chaos and sort of keep the ship in shape. However when I took the test, I came out to be an INFP- which is an Introvert who uses Intuition and Feelings to Perceive...basically the complete opposite of the ESTJ...lol

According to the Myers-Briggs folks themselves......

INFP-
Idealistic, loyal to their values and to people who are important to them. Want an external life that is congruent with their values. Curious, quick to see possibilities, can be catalysts for implementing ideas. Seek to understand people and to help them fulfill their potential. Adaptable, flexible, and accepting unless a value is threatened.

Haha, yup that sounds like me...

Anyone who knows us knows that Bridge and I are complimentary in nature...from the beverages we drink (water vs tea), temperatures we like (warm vs cool), and even baseball teams we root for (Yankees vs Red Sox...yikes!). I've always been somewhat fascinated with compatability and what types of people are likely to do well in friendships/relationships/etc. I had been under the impression that for successful compatability, one needed to find someone else like them due to commonalities that exist. In mathematics, when you have two like's, they tend to cancel each other out. I think that in real life, that can often happen to people as well. One thing that has been prevalent in my life has been that my eyes are open to view things from another point of view, such as Bridge's. A lot of my worldview has been updated to look at things from a contrasting point of view as opposed to a comparable point of view. I see now that many of our best friends in life or those whom we love dearly are those who represent parts of us that are opposite to ourselves that create the balance in our lives that enrich it. For my own self, what makes this relationship work is that, although our personalities can be vastly different, we have the same core values. Values such as faith, friendship, integrity, diligence, and character are what make many of our friendships/relationships compatible not the personalities. It is similar to taking an alternate road to the same destination. Sometimes the road isn't big enough for two cars so you can a different path to the same place.

So here's to finding the yin to your yang, the Coyote to your Roadrunner, the hip to your hop, or anything else that enriches your life...until next time here's a song that adds a little humor to this...be well everyone!

My Personality

Bridgedette's Thoughts:

I recently took a personality test and here is what I am:
Extraverted Sensing Thinking Judging .


Me, ESTJ? lol. If you know me, this is spot on for my personality! Here is a description:

ESTJs thrive on order and continuity. Being extraverted, their focus involves organization of people, which translates into supervision. While ENTJs enjoy organizing and mobilizing people according to their own theories and tactically based agendas, ESTJs are content to enforce "the rules," often dictated by tradition or handed down from a higher authority.

ESTJs are joiners. They seek out like-minded companions in clubs, civic groups, churches and other service organizations. The need for belonging is woven into the fiber of SJs. The family likewise is a central focus for ESTJs, and attendance at such events as weddings, funerals and family reunions is obligatory.

Tradition is important to the ESTJ. Holidays, birthdays and other annual celebrations are remembered and observed often religiously by this type. The ESTJ is inclined to seek out his roots, to trace the family heritage back to honored ancestors both for a sense of family respectability and for a sense of security and belonging.

Service, the tangible expression of responsibility, is another key focus for ESTJs. They love to provide and to receive good service. The ESTJ merchant who provides dependable service has done much to enhance her self image.

ESTJs have an acute sense for orthodoxy. Much of their evaluation of persons and activities reflects their strong sense of what is "normal" and what isn't. ESTJ humor is frequently centered around something or someone being off center or behaving abnormally.

ESTJs promote the work ethic. Power, position and prestige should be worked for and earned. Laziness is rarely viewed with ambivalence nor benevolence by this type.

The ESTJ is outspoken, a person of principles, which are readily expressed. The ESTJ is not afraid to stand up for what she believes is right even in the face of overwhelming odds. ESTJs are able to make the tough calls.

Occupations attracting ESTJs include teaching, coaching, banking, political office, and management at all levels.

Famous ESTJs:
Simon Peter (Christ's disciple)
John Heywood (c.1497-c.1580, collector of English colloquialisms)
James Monroe
Andrew Jackson
William Henry "Tippecanoe" Harrison
Franklin Pierce
Grover Cleveland
Harry S. Truman
Lyndon B. Johnson
George W. Bush
Carrie Nation
Elliot Ness
John D. Rockefeller
Bette Davis
Robert A. Taft (U.S. senator, son of Pres. Wm. H. Taft)
Sam Walton, owner and founder of WalMart stores
Barbara Stanwyck
Rev. Billy Graham
Dale Bumpers (U.S. Senator, D-Arkansas)
Phil Fulmer, head football coach of the U. Tenn Vols
Pat Head Summit, head basketball coach of the Lady Vols
Bill Frist, M.D. (U.S. Senate Majority Leader)

Fictional:
Lucy (Charles Schultz's Peanuts character)
Mrs. Harbottle (Herriott, All Creatures Great and Small)
Mrs. Rachel Lynde (Anne of Green Gables)
The Mayor (The Music Man)


[Some men can make decisions and some cannot. Some men fret and delay under criticism. I used to have a saying that applies here, and I note that some people have picked it up. --Harry S. Truman, Mr. Citizen "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen." ]


****Here is another view****

ESTJ Relationships:
ESTJs are very enthusiastic people who are driven to fulfill their obligations and duties, especially those towards their families. Their priorities generally put God first, family second, and friends third. They put forth a tremendous amount of effort to meet their obligations and duties, according to their priorities. They are dedicated and committed to their relationships, which they consider to be lifelong and unalterable. They like to be in charge, and may be very controlling of their mates and children. They have high esteem for traditions and institutions, and expect that their mates and children will support these as well. They have little patience and need for dealing with people who see things very differently from the ESTJ.

ESTJ Strengths
*Generally enthusiastic, upbeat and friendly
*Stable and dependable, they can be counted on to promote security for their families
*Put forth a lot of effort to fulfill their duties and obligations
*Responsible about taking care of day-to-day practical concerns around the house
*Usually good (albeit conservative) with money
*Not personally threatened by conflict or criticism
*Interested in resolving conflict, rather than ignoring it
*Take their commitments very seriously, and seek lifelong relationships
*Able to move on after a relationship breaks up
*Able to administer discipline when necessary

ESTJ Weakness
*Tendency to believe that they are always right
*Tendency to need to always be in charge
*Impatient with inefficiency and sloppiness
*Not naturally in tune with what others are feeling
*Not naturally good at expressing their feelings and emotions
*May inadvertantly hurt others with insensitive language
*Tendency to be materialistic and status-conscious
*Generally uncomfortable with change, and moving into new territories