Thursday, October 20, 2011

Norah the Explorer


This past weekend was our Fall Break at Southwestern (it couldn't have come at a better time, btw). So, for break, Kyle and I and some of our friends went to visit Asbury Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. The trip was great -- Asbury is a wonderful community and place to be. Kyle and I are looking forward to going there (most likely) after summer. Anyways, one of my least favorite parts about road trips is driving. When I left for college, my parents invested in a GPS for me. I l-o-v-e my GPS. I call her Norah -- Norah the Explorer. Norah and I have been many places together. From Chicago to Dallas to Kentucky, Norah is my girl. Over time, I have gotten to know her and I have learned her tricks. I hope these are helpful to you.

1. Norah is a genius, she remembers all of our trips and can ultimately take me back to that Forever 21 in Dallas if I just look in my "Recently found" category.
2. Norah tells me the actual speed I am going and seems to one-up by odometer often.
3. Norah does not respond well to road construction and detours --in this case, you MUST follow the actual detour, not her. I know, she's so sneaky.
4. When Norah tells you to "keep left" what she actually means is "don't go right." You don't have to go over to the farthest left lane, she just doesn't want you to go right. This is one of the best tips I could give when GPS-ing.
5. Norah is a good sport, she doesn't care how many times you yell "Shut up!" at her -- she never gets mad or raises her voice.
6. With that said, she also will not shut up. So if you want her to be quiet while you are disobeying her, you must turn her off.
7. Turn her off to keep your own sanity. No worries, she will come back on.
8. Norah's greatest companion is Google maps.
9. Norah can sometimes be stuck her ways. If you don't update her, don't expect her to have the latest map knowledge.
10. Norah can avoid toll roads if you want her to, but a forewarning, you probably don't want her to.
11. Norah will predict every step of your whole trip before you even begin. Look through her itinerary before you leave or she might pull a fast one on you.
12. Sometimes it's best to only reveal parts of your trip to her at a time. Break your trips into 1/3's. "Hey, Norah, we are going to Kansas City first, not Joplin." It keeps her on her toes.
13. Just because Norah says that you are going to get there at 11:18 doesn't mean that you will actually get there at that time. There is no need in submitting your schedule to hers. Show her who is boss.

Now that you've gotten to know Norah a little better, I hope your GPS life becomes a little bit easier. 3 Cheers for Norah.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Gobs of Jobs



Today the world has lost an excellent business man and a creative thinker. If you haven't heard by now, Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, passed away. Even in his death, this man is trending on Twitter and is already a pre-search option on Google. As one tweeter put it, he is "the 'apple' of everyone's technological eye." As I was sitting here watching Twitter blow up with over 40 new tweets about Steve Jobs every 30 seconds, I got to thinking. Seriously -- what a loss our world is experiencing. The co-founder of Apple a.k.a. - MacBooks, Ipods, Ipads, Iphones is dead. But, he leaves with a legacy. Everyone one Twitter is #Isad.

I only have one desire, one hope. Steve Jobs, you better have trained leaders up to take your place. What good is our creative thinking and ingenuity if those who follow us cannot function after we are gone? We need gobs of Jobs. We need our followers to become as great of leaders. And, as leaders, that should be our number one priority while we are here, doing our day-to-day.