Amy R Schumaker

Most days for my ENG 102 class, it is a complete waste of time to be in class. Today was no different as we were not going to do much. The adjunct instructor (Mohawk , which is what a friend of mine and I call him – since he actually has a mohawk) who teaches the class tries to be cool and relate to the eighteen year old kids in the class, but he just comes off as a weirdo.

At one point in class he started up his iTunes and asked what song should be our “class” song. He randomly starts playing songs until he comes to Michael Jackson’s “Man In the Mirror”. He starts to play the file with the volume being on the low side and the continues on with his lecture. I don’t know if it is just my own attention span, but how can one sit and listen to someone who is lecturing when there is a song with lyrics on at the same time? I can understand choosing a song that may be classified in the Classical or Ambient music genre, as most of the time there is no lyrics with those.

I look forward to being done with this class. He told us that our assignment for today was to use a dash in our next paper which is due on Tuesday. A dash is something that is not commonly used in a formal paper as it brings the paper down from being very formal. So now I sit here looking at my paper and wonder how in the world I will be able to add this stupid little dash into the paper as it is perfect the way it is.

So here I leave you with MJ’s Man In the Mirror, as I do like this song. Thanks to Mohawk I know have this song running through my head. I am sorry to you if this song gets stuck in your head by me posting it here. I guess the song is one of the better ones to have stuck in your head.

The adoption blogger that I follow from Production, Not Reproduction is calling for anyone who may from time to time blog about adoption. Since this was me, I was all ears! She is inviting anyone who blogs about adoption to participate in the 2011 Adoption Interview Project next month. November is Adoption Awareness Month. If you are one who follows Adoption blogs you may have already known about November.

I would love for you all to participate in this project as well. I will post the link to the directions on how to sign up and all!! Click here for more info.

Four things I thought about adoption when I was a child:

• There were a few movies about the topic of adoption, one that always came to mind was “Annie.”
• That parents who could not take care of their children gave them to a family who could.
• I had several friends who were adopted and saw that they were just like me.
• I was glad that I could look at my own parents to see which attributes I got from my mother and father.

Four things I’ve learned since then:

• Most items that are shown on television shows, movies, or depicted in books may not be the full truth on what adoption really is.
• Not all parents who place their children into an adoption are drug addicts or irresponsible people.
• Adoptive families are no different any any other “blended” family that may consist of step-children or half-siblings.
• Adoption is a very personal choice on all levels.

Four silly things people have said to me about adoption:

• “You don’t look like a drug addict who can not take care of her children.”
• “You should have to deal with your own mistakes rather than have someone else take on your burden.”
• “I want to hear about your life, but not about the child that you placed for adoption.”
• “Because you gave your child away, you will probably be punished and never have any more children.”

Four things that are hard about adoption:

• Convincing people that I am not a bad person for making a very personal choice that I made at the age of 23 years old.
• Full-well knowing that my little girl sees me only once a year due to living across the country from each other.
• Birthdays and holidays which remind me what I am missing.
• Wondering what she may think of me when she is a teenager, but she will understand why I made the choice that I did.

Four ways my adopted child/placed child has surprised me (or how your adoptive/first parents have surprised you if you’re an adoptee):

• She tells me that she misses me every time I see her or talk to her on the phone.
• She is excited to see me every time we see each other, and we pick up where we left off from before.
• She likes telling people (mainly her teachers) that she is adopted.
• She is a spitting image of myself when I was her age.

Four things I wish everyone knew about adoption:

• Placing a child into any type of adoption is one of the hardest things that any woman can do in her life.
• A person who places her child (or children) into an adoption are not always a bad person. The person may be choosing the better option so that the child can be raised in a healthy home.
• Not every birth-parent is going to come back and wanting the placed child back.
• Birth-families have feelings, too. I have been very blessed with the adoptive family that I chose to parent my child.

Do you have an adoption category/label on your blog? Consider yourself tagged!

This past weekend, the No Hatter’s Tea Group branched out of our comfort zones and drove three and a half hours south to the scenic Hocking Hills area of Ohio. It was recommended by another tea member to come down to Ravenwood Castle and have tea in their small little tea room. Tea and a Castle, sounds cool right?

First off, I was personally was not going to go to this event due to just having a lot of stuff to do for school. A friend though who was already going, needed a roommate due to her boyfriend not able to make the trip last minute. Friday evening, she and I packed her CRV and headed south. She had booked a cottage there on the castle grounds, which sounded pretty cool. Now comes the fun stuff. It is late at night and pitch black out. As soon as we turned off the highway, I was glad that we had a four-wheel-drive vehicle as it was a gravel road that we turned onto. There is a steep hill which we had to go up before getting to the Castle to pick up the extra bed linens and key for our cottage. We find the envelope with the key, a hand drawn map, and a cursive written letter that has directions on how to get to the cottage. We noticed that our cottage was not up near the castle and that it was down a quarter mile or so from where we were. She and I looked at each other and said, “Ok…here goes nothing!” After driving down the steep hill and making a three-point right turn to get to the next road our anxiety increased, the parking area for us was not lit and I was mildly freaking out inside. I kept telling myself that it would be ok. After making two trips to the car to unload our stuff we both looked at each other and said, “we are not staying in this cabin for another night!” The cabin had a queen sized bed with a couch that well unfolded to the floor for an additional sleeping area. I was sure glad that I had never seen the movie “Deliverance” as I am sure we were right in the middle of any scene from that movie.

The next morning we woke up and were ready for breakfast. We thought we would walk up to the castle for breakfast and see what was in store for us. The walk was more of a strenuous hike due to 2 steep hills along the way and the path being overgrown not well kept. I kept wishing that I had stayed at the cabin to catch another thirty minutes of sleep, but I kept telling myself that things would be ok. Once we were finally up to the castle the breakfast selection was very small and I couldn’t wait to get back to the cottage.

On our way back down the two steep hills, which I nearly slipped a couple times, we laughed and said that the second time around isn’t so bad. We gathered our things that we wanted for the day and headed out to explore the beautiful area that we were in. First stop, Logan, Ohio. We stopped at a small shopping area that consisted of an antique mall, a glass outlet store and a few more little places. The glass outlet store was awesome! It was an outlet store that consisted of Anchor Hocking, Fiesta and a few other companies. We both picked up a few things, but our greatest find were some small juice sized glasses that are called Rock ‘n Roll glasses. They do not sit flat due to the slightly pointed bottom. Super cool and the best thing about them, they were only 89 cents a piece! I picked up a few in addition to a few seasonal items which will hold candy. Once we were done with that we walked through the antique store and then enjoyed lunch at a place that served Amish style cooking.

Once lunch was over we drove down to another little shopping area and walked through few other stores. We then went out to find a couple tourist state park sites. Lots of walking throughout the day and I knew I was going to sleep very well that night. I was also breaking in some new shoes that may not have been the best thing to do. I never knew though the type of walking/hiking we were going to be doing though.

Sunday morning we went up (drove this time) to the castle for breakfast. Still I wished I would have stayed back at the cabin to sleep. Once back at the cabin we sat down and worked on homework since we are both taking classes at CSU. We knew that we needed to be all packed and loaded up in the car by 1230pm since our tea sitting was at 1pm.

Tea was disappointing due to the selection of teas that the tea room had to offer. The food was just as bad. I had fun though talking with my co-organizer, her husband, my assistant organizer, and my cottage mate. Once we were done with tea it was time to head back to reality. I was ready to get back into an area that had cell service and decent sized roads that did not all consist of gravel.

I had fun this weekend and it did feel good to get away for a girls weekend. I look forward to the next time I get a chance to do that in addition of getting to know a friend a little bit better!

“It’s such responsibility having a minister’s family to tea.”
—L. M. Montgomery, ” Anne of Green Gables”

Today the No Hatters, and I went back out to our favorite tea room, Sweet Shalom in Sylvania, Ohio. September’s theme at Sweet Shalom is Anne of Green Gables. When seeing the menu last month, I definitely knew I couldn’t miss this one!

Five of us showed up to experience an Anne of Green Gables tea. One other No Hatter was suppose to come, but due to having part of the interstate closed, she ended up not making the tea. She though will go out on Friday to experience what the other four of us experienced.

The menu and the tea house once again something you can not forget. There was a small old style school house desk with a sign welcoming all of the guests in for tea. Each table was properly set up and again each person had a place card notifying of where to sit. We chose our two teas which this time we started out with Selah and an organic Peppermint. No one really cared for the Peppermint and the next time the pot was filled with an Orange Spice. Once each table received their pots of tea the meal started. We were first had our non-alcoholic version of Raspberry Cordial and then were given a savory scone which was cheese and herb. I was really looking forward to the cream scone, but the scones were changed last minute. Our next course was a creamy vegetable soup, which most of the No Hatters enjoyed. Next came the tea sandwich tiers. On the tier today were Egg Salad Tea Sandwiches, Cucumber Tea Sandwiches, Chicken Salad Tea Sandwiches, Toasted Carrot Niblets, Liniment Cake (minus the Liniment) which was more of a deep red velvet cake, and finally shortbread cookies. Our last course was a Toffee Pudding with a Pudding Sauce. Most of the items that were offered at the table were very well received. Before leaving our table tried one more tea flavor which was an Apple Cinnamon.While enjoying part of our meal, we were given a reading from the book, Anne of Green Gables. I honestly forgot how imaginative Anne was in the book. I never read the books, but grew up watching the movies.

With attending this event, most of the No Hatters in attendance today were inspired to go home and watch the movie or read the book. I am definitely looking forward to the next outing that the No Hatters partake in.

Photos from today’s tea:

All day today people sit back and reflect where they were when the first and second planes crashed into the Twin Towers in the Financial District of Manhattan, or where they were when the planes crashed into the Pentagon or crashed in Pennsylvania. People want to recount where they were, what they were doing, what they did for the rest of the day if their office closed early and want to always remember what happened. I am one who really wants to hide and not think about today. I really hate today due to some crappy personal stuff that happened to me on this day. I didn’t know anyone in the towers as I was 21 years of age and living in Oregon at the time. I hate for what happened in my life and yet every year I try to forget but yet am constantly reminded. It’s hard for me to get past it…and so I am sorry if I have not posted much patriotic stuff about what today is. So in a way I honestly wish I could stop remembering what happened. I though in the past ten years have been able to live through out different parts of the country. I find it interesting to hear other people’s stories on where they were today ten years ago. My heart does go out to the families who are constantly reminded of what has happened since they lost a loved one or a friend in any of the attacks.

A couple months after the tragedy of what happened today ten years ago, I was at a Michael W. Smith concert. He recounted what had happened and said that he looked outside from his Franklin, TN home to see his flag pole standing in the middle of the yard with the American Flag hanging with pride, even if the country was breaking around him. He felt the need to write a song and the below video is the product of what was written. I had posted this around Independence Day, but I find it very fitting to post it today as this is what the song was meant for. Other music artists have written and produced songs, but this is one of my favorites.

This weekend is a weekend filled with tea for the No Hatters. The No Hatters had an event today and then another event tomorrow.

Today the No Hatters went to Sanctuary on Green located over in South Euclid, Ohio. This was a place that was recommended to the group and well, the group is not about to step away from any recommendation. The tea room is located in the properties Bavarian Tea house. Most of the food selections have a very German feel but cater to the vegitarian/gluten free entrees. The great thing about the tea room is that the tea menu is quite extensive with over 80 teas to choose from. One could choose a cup, 2 cup pot, 5 cup pot, or even iced. I had one called Starry Night. I can’t tell you what it actually was besides a black tea as the tea is not listed on the website. It definitely had good flavor when it was very hot and even somewhat hot. Once it got on the cooler side, I didn’t fully care for it. Others enjoyed their tea selections as well. No pictures were really taken today as the tea room did not allow photos, I guess due to the artwork that is in the house.

15 No Hatters were in attendance today with three members being either their first or second event. Tomorrow the No Hatters will go back out to Sweet Shalom for an Anne of Green Gables themed tea!

With a busy week that I have had, I am looking forward to this weekend. It will be a busy weekend but full of tea, conversations, and friendships!

One of the first assignments for my English class was to actually interview a fellow classmate and then write up a 2 page essay on who this person was with out coming straight and answering every single question that was listed on the assignment sheet. In addition to the questions on the page we were to come up with five additional questions to ask. Some of these questions got me thinking and I thought I would answer the questions here as well. Some of the questions may seem very basic, and I had to remind myself that this English Writing class is geared for freshman in college.

Why did you decide to come to college? What were your other options?
When I first decided to go college back in 1998, it was due to wanting to further my education. I felt like this is what was expected of me in the next process in life. Now that I have had a few years of school here and there with large breaks I can really appreciate the knowledge that I am gaining while sitting in classes. I chose to come back to school to once again further myself in my education that will provide me training for the career that I want to pursue. The other options that I had right out of high school and also today would be to working at a low to mid range paying job that will not get me very far in what I want to do. Without any type of educational background I will forced to stay where I am and it will be very difficult to advance and get a job that I would want to work at due to there are several hundred applicants out there who do have some type of education that will take priority over my resume. In the past, people didn’t always need a college education to succeed in the career field, but as time goes on the higher educational requirement is becoming stronger and stronger.  

How do you expect college to change you? How do you feel about those changes?
I expect college to remind me that I can pursue anything that I put my mind to. When I was fresh out of high school I thought I wanted to get a degree in Library Science. I had everything picked out on where I was going to go and how long it was going to take me to get there. Since life got in the way, I found that Social Work is where I am really needed. I feel that going back to school at the age of 31 will show me that I am still young enough to roll with the kids, but I have a better appreciation for the instructors and professors that teach the required material. I am learning to get very excited about these changes and looking forward to being done in a very short time, if I stay on the straight and narrow.  

Choose one image that comes to mind that describes you best at this time last year.
The image that comes to mind that best describes me last year at this time was a “Moving Truck”. Rob and I had been situated in Ohio for less than a month and I was still pretty much living in boxes. I honestly hate moving as it is such a disruption in all aspects of life. I was hoping that a job would come quickly and I somewhat regretted quitting my position at the AMC Theatre rather than transferring to a local location. I was hesitant to transfer due to the size difference in my old theatre and the ones out here. I would have been coming from a 16 screen theatre and moving down to an eight screen theatre. This really is a huge difference and I really felt like I would have been bored the entire time working there.  

Choose a second image that describes you best now.
An image that best describes me now is a bonfire. I say a bonfire because by being back in school, the passion to become a social worker is really lit to its max. I can somewhat see the light at the end of the tunnel. It is not super big yet, but it is larger than what it was a couple of years ago, for sure!   

What is the one thing you would change about your very brief time here so far?
The only thing that I would really change about my brief time at Cleveland State is to have maybe not taken so many credits, this semester. I really think I got a bit overly zealous when putting my schedule together.      

What do you want to have accomplished by next spring?
What I want to have accomplished by next spring is to have almost two full semesters completed here at Cleveland State. I feel that by next spring I will know how many more semesters I will have to complete before having the ability to walk across the stage to receive my BSW (Bachelors in Social Work).  

What kind of vision do you have for yourself after college? Where do you want to be? Who do you want to be? What do you want to be doing?
The vision that I have for myself after college is to be working as a social worker in the adoption world. I have not fully decided on what side of the adoption I want to work with. Before though working as a social worker, I want to obtain a Master’s degree in Social Work which will open up many more doors in the field of social work. Many job postings that I see in the field of social work, require a masters degree.    

What do you hope people say about you when you are not around?
This is always an interesting question to receive. I once read something about asking ourselves if we wanted to be the light that was in the room or if we wanted to be the light that is still there once leaving the room. I know I have that completely mixed up, but that is what I am coming up with right now. I would hope though that people say positive things about me when I am not around. I will admit that I get pretty snippy at times and moody. Admitting is the first part right? I would hope that people would know that I am a caring individual that likes to have fun and also likes to learn new things.   

**Five additional questions**

People often look back on their life and say, “If I would have known back then what I knew now, things would be different.” What is one thing that you wish you knew in the past that you now know?
One thing that I wish I knew back then that I know now is that I am a lot stronger than what I have think. I though have gained this strength due to the past experiences I have had with different relationships with men, friends, and even co-workers. I try to learn from my mistakes so that I do not have to continue to repeat what I am doing wrong. Parts of my past though, I would not change as they really have shaped me to who I am today.  

Who do you consider one of your role models, and why?
One of my role models today is my maternal grandmother. Despite all of the different challenges that she has endured in life, she still gets up everyday and tries to put a smile on her face and thanks God for keeping her alive one more day. I have many very fond memories with my grandmother. By writing a paper on her life for a social work class at Iona, I gained an even greater respect for who she is. If I was able to choose another role model, it would be my own mother. Why?? Well because she has taught me to be the very independent woman that I am today, and I thank her for that. If she would not have challenged my sister and I to learn how to do things on our own (go to a sit-down eating place *like Olive Garden*, go to the movies alone), I would probably sit in the house quite a bit.

If money was not an option, where would you travel and why? Name one place that you have been to that you would want to go back to.
If money was not an option, I would travel all over Europe and Australia. I have found that I really do love traveling. I would love to see more of Europe and also see the culture in Australia. Out of all the places that I have been to, I would want to go back to Germany. There is so much history in the cities there that it is hard to see the entire country in a very short time period.  

You are on a road trip and you do not have access to an ipod, cell phone, dvd players, or any other very modern technology. How do you keep yourself busy?
Hard to really imagine life with out all of these modern day things. I am sure some people would have a hard time trying to answer this. It is easy for me though. I love to read and so I would read while in the car if I wasn’t driving. I would then also play the license plate game that I grew up playing with my sister on our long car rides from Oregon to Nebraska.  

If you could choose only one ethnic  food to eat for the rest of your life that is different than your own, what would it be, and why? (Italian, Chinese, Indian, German)

If I could only choose one ethnic food to eat for the rest of my life, I would definitely choose Italian. There are so many options to choose from that I would never go hungry. Plus, I really do not think I could go with out pizza in my diet!!

So there you have it. You now know a little bit more about me…that you may or may not have known. If you have a blog, I challenge you this week to post these questions on one of the days this week to allow your readers to learn a little bit different side of you, especially if you are a student as well. If you do this, please come back and make a comment with a link to your posting. I would love to see what your answers are to these questions as well!

Today was the second day of the first meeting of classes for me. Yesterday was not too bad as I had only one class. I almost felt like Mondays were a cheat to not have more than one class that meets from 830a-10am. I wondered at times what I would do all day in Rob’s office all day on Monday when I am out of class. I quickly became aware today on what I will be doing!! Lots and lots and lots of reading! 

Monday and Wednesday mornings I am taking a Social Work Policy class. We were given the syllabus yesterday in class and were told to read through it, since the professor took the entire class time to have us students introduce ourselves. The syllabus gives a very general idea of what is going to happen in the class. I am one though who enjoys a very detailed syllabus, as I then go and copy all of the assignment due dates and test dates into my student planner. I almost become OCD with this as my planner while taking classes is my life. I use stickers and highlighters for when something important is on that day. From what I could gather from the Policy class’s syllabi, I think I am going to really enjoy the class. I am going to try and get away with using the first edition of the book that is required as I have the book from when I took a social welfare class at Iona College.

Today and Thursdays I am taking four classes. I thought to myself today, “Oh what did I get myself into?!” I start off the morning with an Intro to Social Work class. I have to take this class in order to graduate from the CSU Social Work Program. This class will probably be pretty easy for me since it will be a very very basic overview of what Social Work is as a whole. Once that class is done I then head over one building to sit through Biology. I felt very unprepared for this class today (yes I know it is only the first day), but she had posted items on Blackboard (such as powerpoint slides) that would have been useful for today’s class, since she did a lecture today. Once class was over I then headed back over to Rob’s office for about an hour. This gave me time to sit and eat some lunch before heading back across campus for my College Writing class. I think this may be one that I dread going to every week as it is full of very very new freshman (think fresh out of high school). The instructor is probably about my age, so young thirties and he is trying to act cool to have the younger kids relate to him. A girl (who I am sure will be a brown-noser) has an annoying laugh every time the guy tries to say something funny. I have taken this class back when I was at the community college just out of high school, but it did not transfer to CSU due to it being over ten years since taking the course. So I will get to learn how to write a five paragraph essay all over again when using MLA citation format. My last class of the day is Abnormal Psychology. I really should have taken this class more in the middle of the day rather than at the end of my long day, I now know for next semester when I am building my schedule.

Each class is requiring lots of reading and of course each class (except for Biology) has a couple papers due. I have one more “first” class tomorrow which will be the Biology Lab. I am hoping that if I have a Lab partner it is someone who is at least my age and cares about their grade.

Oh the joys of starting back up with classes. I know that this anxiety that I may be feeling will subside after a week or two and I set myself up on a schedule for what is completed on each day while not in class.