A friend of mine took this picture at Meet the Teacher Night last week.
Category Archives: School
College Costs
I keep getting calls from Baylor asking for money. I kept ignoring them, hoping they would give up, but they called almost every day for the last two weeks. Finally I answered. A pleasant young woman was looking for donations for the Honors College, preferably in the $500 range. (!) Three different times I told her that I could not give anything at this time before she finally gave up. I just emailed them and asked to be removed from their mailing list.
It’s not that I don’t love Baylor, because I do. But I can’t give to every cause out there, and we’re putting all our educational money into Brenden’s college fund, hoping that the stock market will cooperate and we’ll be able to put him through a state school without student loans. Tuition at all four-year schools is rising at a ridiculous rate, around 6 percent per year. Unless Brenden and Newbie can score some wild scholarships, private school might be out of the question and even public school a stretch, especially since they’ll probably be only one year apart in school. For the upcoming school year, Baylor’s
annual costs for undergraduates for 2009-2010 total around $40,000 including room, board, books, and other expenses. Gulp. Many people don’t earn that much in a year. If you make it out in four years, that’s $160,000 with NO tuition hikes.
For Brenden, if the cost continues to rise at 6 percent annually, four years at Baylor would cost around $440,000. Switching to a four-year state school might drop the price to $220,000 for four years. Newbie, if he/she attends the same school, will more than double the cost. Double gulp.
Sorry, Baylor. Unless that lottery ticket comes through someday, you are out of luck.
Baylor Grads Make it Big
Jenny and I went to an afternoon movie called Wanted on Wednesday since we could. We sat behind a couple who had brought their newborn, who slept through most of the movie and didn’t bother anyone. That could be us in a couple of months. Anyway, the movie was pretty good. I’m a sucker for hitman movies, which is probably horribly unChristian of me, but I can’t help what I like. My favorite is probably Leon: The Professional by Luc Besson. Wanted had some significant plot holes and too much gore for my taste, but the action sequences were thrilling, with Matrix-style slow-mo, curving bullets, car chases using a red Dodge Viper, the whole bit.
As always, I looked up the movie’s trivia page on IMBD.com, the world’s best movie site, and learned that the screenwriters were Baylor alums Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, who graduated from the writing program a year or two ahead of me. I never met them, but I took a couple of classes with Robert Darden, a successful writer who served as a mentor of sorts for them. They named the first assassination target after Darden, one of my favorite profs. I wonder what he thought about such a dubious honor. As you might know, I wrote a couple of unpublished screenplays myself while at Baylor and briefly considered pursuing it as a career before my desire for a steady paycheck convinced me otherwise. It’s nice to see products of the Baylor writing department enjoying success in Hollywood. Sic ’em, Bears!
Back to School
No, I’m not going back to Baylor for another degree. Yesterday Jenny and I returned to Baylor for the evening. We attended the annual banquet for people in a scholarship program I was in during my Baylor years. I like attending these banquets to meet the new members of the program and see a few of the people I remember. They always inspire and energize me with tales of their academic achievements and the community service projects they have done. One girl set up an interfaith group for Christian, Muslim, and Jewish teens to get to know each other better. Many people work with children after school or on weekends. Some started recycling programs or gathered art supplies for orphans in Eastern Europe. I am honored to be part of them, even if I still feel a bit unworthy.
While I was there, I had to explore and reminisce a bit. Baylor tore down my old dorm, Brooks Hall, and rebuilt it bigger and better. It has a Harry Potter-style dining hall now, beautiful rooms, and a separate building with apartments. They also expanded the Bear Pit where the mascots live. Before I left, I topped off the gas tank at my old gas station and bought a french vanilla cappuccino there, just like I did during my freshman year when I needed to stay up “late” to study. It’s always fun to go back to Baylor, almost enough to make me want to go back, but I know it wouldn’t be the same.
December Happenings
Jenny and I enjoyed Handel’s Messiah at Bass Hall in Fort Worth last week. Like most choral performances, it made me want to sing in a choir again. It also reminded me of the majesty of Christ, the grandeur of His plan for the world, and how insignificant most of our daily worries really are.
Friday night was graduation time. On a cold, drizzly night aboard the USS Lexington in Corpus Christi, with many members of my family aboard, I finally put an official end to my time at Embry-Riddle. I met ERAU administrators and a fellow student for the first time. My mother- and father-in-law flew Southwest for free for the first time as well. We toured the Texas State Aquarium beforehand, which I recommend. Dad treated us to a fabulous dinner at Landry’s Seafood, which I also recommend. It was a great weekend.
It’s hard to believe Christmas is almost upon us! 2007 is only a few weeks away. Jenny and I will celebrate our 4-year anniversary soon. It’s always amazing how time flies!
Vacation Vacation Vacation
I have finished my coursework at Embry-Riddle. So far I’ve had three celebration dinners. Tonight Jenny made baked potatoes, steamed veggies, and homemade beer bread, and I grilled filet mignons. We split a bottle of Michel-Schlumberger cabernet sauvignon that we’d been saving since 2004 for this very occasion. It was all delicious, the taste of victory. Tomorrow we’re set to leave for Ft Lauderdale. I plan to come home Halloween night, but Jenny has to go directly up to Baltimore and Philly for work.
In case you haven’t heard, the Wright Amendment is gone, replaced by immediate through-ticketing and full freedom in 2014. Many thanks to all the local leaders (whom I bashed so much in months past) for finally coming together to get the job done. Airfares are already dropping at DAL and DFW, just like we said they would.
Until we meet again…I’ll leave you with a link to a fabulous picture of Maho Beach in St Maarten. The airport (SXM) is right next to Maho Beach, so aircraft spotters come from around the world to take pictures of the planes as they land a few feet over the beach. There are signs posted on the beach warning you not to stand directly behind departing aircraft due to the jet blast. I hope to bring you some great pictures. =)