Category: Blog

We grew up camping. I remember summer evenings, holidays, church retreats, and youth group gatherings on my family’s property out in East Texas. We would shoot fireworks on the 4^th of July, play paintball with the youth group, cook over the open stove and play hide and seek in the graveyard. We would have family reunions under a giant oak tree, being sure to avoid the open-air well that may or may not still be functioning. That property is where I learned to drive a car, where I first drove a stick shift, and where I learned to drive a motorcycle. Our dog is buried there. So many important memories in my life stem from my connection to that piece of land.

But it’s not just my life. I’ve heard stories of cousins, uncles, aunts, my parents, my grandparents, and their families and extended families with incredible memories of a farm in Enloe, Texas. While some of my family members actually have lived, and still do, in Enloe, I’ve learned over the years how important it is to still be connected to land somewhere. While I don’t personally own land, I cannot forget the feeling of what it’s like to sleep under the stars, to eat over a fire, and to sit around late at night, hearing crickets and frogs, telling stories as the crisp night air sets. You can’t forget roasting marshmallows, coffee in a percolator, and the wet mist of the grass.

To me, this lifestyle is vital to my health. I’m a city-dweller. A suburbanite. It’s hard for me to understand what it’s like to grow food, to till the land, and to be subject to nature. We spend much of our lives actively trying not to connect to the land—we buy from grocery stores and probably haven’t seen what many produce items actually look like in the ground, we cook with an electric burner, we have air-conditioning that keeps us from smelling and feeling the wind’s breeze.

It’s interesting—every time I “go camping,” I feel revitalized. While I’ll probably never live on a farm, I hope I can at least stay connected to the earth.

AJ

Stay and Play: Balancing Life, Work, and Family

I am employed at a university with a fairly structured work schedule: a 9-5 job. My wife is a full-time graduate student, which amounts to basically a full-time job with zero pay. I also have a 20-month-old daughter, someone I love to be around and only wish I could be around more. In Illinois, where we live, the median cost of child care per child is $12,697 for the whole year, one of the highest in the country.

In our current situation, all this means that my annual income of $43,000—or $24,000 after taxes, health insurance, social security, retirement, etc.—must support rent, food, transportation, and, of course, child care. We live in the wealthiest county in the state, and so our extremely simple apartment costs $1000/month, leaving us with $12,000 to spend on food, transportation, and, of course, child care each year, or another $1000/month. Gratefully, our childcare costs are only $8000 a year. My gross income is too high to qualify for federal assistance, and so, what does any father do when trying to provide for his family? Get a second job.

I have a Master’s degree in teaching and so recently picked up teaching classes in the evenings at local community college. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 7:00-9:50pm, I drive ten minutes to College of DuPage, the largest community college in the United States, and teach. Two semesters of teaching will give us enough to pay for childcare.

But, this all came to a head last week when my 20-month-old ran to our front door at 6:40 as I was leaving for class, and screamed, “Stay! Play!” It was an entirely harmless request—a very genuine appeal from a daughter to her dad. But, it was also harmful…to me, at least. Working 9am-9:50pm means that I don’t see my family, don’t get to spend time with my daughter, and hardly eat. All so that my wife and daughter go to school. I realize that this is only a short season in life where we’re in this situation, I know there are other solutions out there, and I know other families have it much worse than we do, but seeing your daughter—who only has a 100 word vocabulary—muster up the two words whose combination could move mountains was devastating to me.

My hope is that one day I will be able to find a balance between life, work, and family—the last of which ought to take primacy.

Guest Blogger AJ

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Why we chose life insurance

I’ve always been a little skeptical about purchasing life insurance. The reasons not to were convincing to me for a long time:

1. Why spend money that I may not ever get back when I could be using it now? This is the “hedging your bets” argument.
2. If I were to die, shouldn’t my extended family and friends come around my immediate family to take care of them?
3. Once my family does get the death benefit, won’t 99.9% of it go to taxes anyway?

But, despite these reasons, we decided to finally purchase life insurance for two important reasons:

1. Family income: We realized that even though tax must be paid on interest income, the money from life insurance provides vital supplementary income for daily living, college education, and other big expenses such as purchasing a home so that family can be a bit more stable. (I did learn that life insurance proceeds are NOT subject to Federal Income Tax).
2. As an investment: There are some policies out there—such as cash value life insurance—that allow money to grow over time, while simultaneously providing a death benefit in the event of death. There are reasons to invest in traditional accounts—IRAs, 401Ks, etc.—but we felt we had exhausted these enough that we needed another investment vehicle. In other words, we were going to invest anyway; why not allow it to also provide a death benefit?

Why are you choosing to purchase life insurance? Why not?

Guest Blogger: AJ

A Power Rangers Review by a Shameless, Raving Fan of the Original Series (with mild spoilers)

Overall: I really liked this movie. I was surprised, but the “dark and gritty reboot” spin didn’t mess it up for me. It was fun, funny, nostalgic, and its own thing at the same time. The whole “power of friendship” thing really worked here. In most movies, that sort of theme comes across as cheesy, but I understand now why they made the Power Rangers the “troubled teens” in this version. It gave them room to grow as they found family with each other. They took the basic structure of a Power Rangers episode and fleshed it out with meaningful characterization. Almost like they threw a little “The Breakfast Club” in there, which is never a bad thing. Power Rangers 2017 is cool movie in its own right, and if you’re a fan of the original show, it delivers in the throwback elements, too. It WAS darker and grittier, but it still FELT like Power Rangers.

For all you 90s kids out there, here’s a little breakdown of the morphinominal (and not-so-much) aspects of the movie, complete with a few unqualified, nostalgic references juuuust for you:

Liked:

1) Bryan Cranston as Zordon was AWESOME. He worked on the original show, and Billy Cranston, the Blue Ranger, was named after him. And yes, he nailed the Zordon vibe. So great!

2) Billy was on the autism spectrum, and he was easily the best character in the movie. He was legitimately funny. RJ Cycler did a pretty good job acting as this character, too. Really cool move by the filmmakers.

3) Jason grew from a character who is very different from the cool, staid, humble leader of the original series into someone who is closer to that character by the end of the film. It gave his character a lot of depth. But I still miss Austin St. John. #You’llAlwaysBeMyHero

4) Naomi Scott. Her Kimberly was very close to Amy Jo Johnson’s. The subtle details of her performance made this feel like Power Rangers more than anything else in the movie did. She anchored the show. And I just really like her as an actor. She was in Terra Nova, another one of my favorite nerdy shows–incidentally, also involving dinosaurs.

5) Alpha says “Ai-ai-ai!”

6) Rita says, “Make my monster grow!”

7) Jason says, “It’s morphin’ time.”

8) Defeating Rita a la Team-Rocket’s-blasting-off-again.

9) Kimberly cliff jumps — a throwback to the coolest scene from the original movie.

10) There are mature themes, but they are handled appropriately for a movie aimed at this age group. They don’t gloss over things, but they aren’t showing the intimate pictures, etc. It’s clear what’s being discussed, but it’s also clear the film is not about sensationalizing kids. (Except maybe that swimming scene at the beginning. They show Kimberly in her underwear, which seemed a little out of place in a movie targeting a younger demographic.)

11) Zordon and Rita were Rangers. This fills in a lot of questions from the original about how Rita acquired the Green Power Coin. And it sets up the sequel nicely.

12) That mid-credits scene . . . “Tommy Oliver,” with the legendary jacket draped over the chair.

13) Best part: Y’all. There was a cameo. They said there wouldn’t be, but there was. I’m not gonna spoil it, but . . . I almost screamed.

Didn’t Like:

1) Rita’s whole dominatrix outfit thing. Or her general, creepy vibe.

2) Zords were weird. (Why did the Mastodon have six legs?)

3) Goldar was weird.

4) Alpha was weird.

5) Zordon was a Pin Art 3D

6) The original theme played at an out-of-place time.

7) There were no beepers. Alas, the 90s, you are no longer with us. 🙁

8) Billy: “We’ll call it a . . . a MEGAZORD!” (Not the exact quote, but basically.)

9) Bryan Cranston never told the Rangers that he is the one who knocks.

Mixed Feelings On:

1) The Command Center was okay.

2) The struggles piloting the Megazord reemphasized the Power of Friendship rule and addressed a major plot hole in the original version. (How did the Rangers learn to pilot a giant mech in two seconds?) The suit interface with the Zords helped explain that, too. Still, I kind of wanted the Megazord to throw back to the TV show–lightning sword and everything. 3) Zack’s subplot–taking care of his sick mother–was wonderful. The cultural aspects of his role were very respectful and well performed. He genuinely felt like an Asian-American student with a foot in the culture of his upbringing and a foot in American youth culture. His performance also carried all the frustration and posturing that often comes with living in two worlds at once. I loved Ludi Lin’s character through and through–I just wanted more of him. 4) Trini was also a fantastic character. Unfortunately, just like in the original show, we didn’t get to zoom in on her as much. My favorite scene of hers scene was at the campfire when she gets really vulnerable. It was so well done. Becky G had the most difficult role to play, and she might have been the best actor on the show. She sold me on Trini. Again, I really wanted more of her. Conclusion: 7.5/10 Power Rangers 2017 was great. It was a fun ride, a well-paced story, and it had some solid actors that made the characters relatable and believable. I think Millennial fans of the original, teens, and kids can all find something to enjoy about it. I’m excited to see where they take the franchise from here. If you’re taking your kids to see it, be aware that there is darkness, creepiness, and mature subject matter including death, sexual attraction, sexting, and how generally messed up teenagers can be to each other. But there’s also a lot about self-forgiveness and the benefits of community that’s pretty–well, powerful. Be prepared to talk to your kids about this stuff. Or don’t take them if you think it’s not right for your family. But the reality is, this is stuff that teenagers deal with, and I think the movie presents it in a way that you can have a great conversation about it. All in all, if you’re looking for a fun, spring action flick, Power Rangers is a good one to see!

Guest Blogger: JJ