A Rollercoaster of a Day...

Rocking babies to sleep. Parking fiasco. Bible Study. Parking Fiasco. Sick documentary. Parking Fiasco.Encouraging talk. SYTYCD. Good food. I think that adds up to one weird day. Let me go back and explain.....

Disclaimer: This blog may contain overly dramatized descriptions of actual events, mostly because I'm feeling melodramatic at the moment.

First, I woke up at what felt like an ungodly hour (compared to when I normally wake up), got ready for my disgustingly long day, and left my apartment to go to the church and rock babies. And while I rocked babies, I got to talk to a woman who was in the nursery with me about her vast experiences in missions. It was awesome and encouraging to talk to her, and it was heart warming to rock/ sing a beautiful baby to sleep (I can't remember the last time I held a baby.... and I forgot how much I like it!)

Then, Hannah and I departed for school. We were 30 minutes early for our classes, which SHOULD be enough time to find a parking space. But alas. I drove around for 20 minutes to every lot and/or garage that I know of but was unsuccessful in finding a spot. So I made one. Sort of. Anyway... I'm sure you can tell where this is going.

Cut to midway through the day when Hannah calls to tell me about the sea of parking tickets that is Cleveland State's parking lots (because I wasn't the only one to make my own parking spot). Alas, I don't have time between all of my classes/ activities to move my car thereby saving myself from imminent parking doom. So I know that I have an unsightly ticket on my window, and am left to dread actually finding it for the rest of the day.

Let me explain why I am soooo worked up about this ticket. I pay $160 a semester for a parking pass. As do thousands of other people. Enrollment at our school is up 18% since last semester, but the number of available parking spaces has decreased, meaning that the already terrible parking situation has gotten worse. There literally aren't enough spaces for the number of people that need them. So those of us who have already payed for the right to a space make our own because we feel we have no choice and then they ask us to pay more in the form of a ticket, despite the fact that it is their fault that we had to park illegally in the first place, because they sell more passes than they have spaces... and I could go on and on about how screwed up it is that I got a ticket.

Fast forward to my last class, persuasion, where we watched a documentary on the Milgram Test. That's the one where people are asked to give a test to a person in another room and shock him when he gets the wrong answer, at increasing voltages, despite his cries for help. What the subject doesn't know is that the man in the other room is not actually being shocked. Anyhow, I knew about the study, but I had never seen the footage of it until today. And man, it is stressful to watch. You watch as people exhibit behavior that they would never ever condone, all because they feel like they don't have a choice, or like they won't be held responsible, yet they continue to push the buttons that "shock" the other guy. Sometimes, the people break into fits of nervous laughter as they deliver shock after shock to the screaming stranger. 2/3 of the people deliver shocks over 300 volts. Sick. After watching that, we discussed how people may have felt coerced into delivering the shocks because the guy leading the experiment was telling them that stopping was not an option. I wanted to scream at the people that they had a choice and that they didn't have to keep going. They could challenge their authority! It was just a guy in a white lab coat!

Then... and bear with me here, because I'm about to make a very dramatic leap....I made the connection between myself and the subjects of the Milgram Test. Here I am being told by some phony authority (CSU parking services) that I need to pay some ticket despite the fact that it goes against what I believe about what is fair. Yes, it is a small ticket, but the shocks started small too... and who knows what they will ask next. That's why I've decided to challenge the authority and fight the ticket. It's the principle of the thing. And I will not give into a band of rent-a-cop conspirators!

Actually seeing the ticket on my windshield started a whole new wave of anger in me. But then I went home to a great evening including a great phone chat with Jim Whiteman (!), a GREAT meal (recipe to follow), and an episode of So You Think You Can Dance that wiped away all of my angry feelings.

AND, here's the recipe for the dinner that made me feel [almost] completely better. It was easy, vegetarian, healthy, and delicious! I created it, and will definitely be making it again!

Spicy Black Bean Mozzarella Wrap

Ingredients
1 spinach tortilla
1 spicy black bean burger (thawed)
1 2 slices of fresh mozzarella cheese
Romain lettuce
Sunflower seeds
Garlic Expressions Salad Dressing

Heat skillet to medium, and spray with a little nonstick cooking spray. Cook black bean burger for 6-7 minutes, flipping frequently. In the mean time, shred lettuce, and put it in the wrap with sunflower seeds and mozzarella. When burger is cooked, slice it into strips. Put it on top of the wrap. Sprinkle with dressing. Wrap it all up, and enjoy.

That's all I've got. As if that weren't practically a novel....

Much Love,

Kate