On Saturday the 14th at 4AM UTC/GMT we will be upgrading the operating system of our network load balancers to a newer version, one that will allow us to use both CPUs! Nifty, because multiprocessing is nice.

Since we have 2 load balancers, the plan is to upgrade 1 at a time, and there really should be very little impact to our website. Hopefully you won't notice a thing and I'll get to go back to the hotel and watch some wonderful late night infomercials.

We've got a lot of exciting projects coming up for 2010 and we're hoping that we'll be able to deliver them all to you, that you will find it useful/cool/lovely and then you will use the site even more. Behind-the-scenes work like this will give us the capacity to handle the anticipated traffic, so expect a few more maintenance windows especially in the beginning of next year as we've got some neat ideas to improve performance around here! We had the recent 30-45 minute outage yesterday due to one of our logging databases filling up disk space -- not so great design coupled with my human error in handling the initial problem -- and it looks like we're going to finally have some resources to eliminate stuff like that. I can't wait!

As usual, I will be updating status.livejournal.org before and after, just in case you are not able to reach our main website during the work.

I got a call yesterday from a friend who was going through a rough life-moment. "Could I come by? I need to be in the company of friends tonight." I replied, "Of course you can. Come over whenever you can." Between those two bits in my reply was the unspoken sentence that echoed in my head: "You're my student."

I've been teaching an "Introduction to Paganism" class at the Crescent Moon School for the past three years (off and on, depending on the number of students that register). During that time, I think I've had a total of 30+ students, although not all of those students made it to the end of the 18 week course (some drop out due to money/time/interest constraints). Every group is different, making the teaching of the class different each time (although the subject matters stay mostly the same).

Some of those students have become close friends, while others drift away and I only see them once in a blue moon, if at all, although it's always a pleasure to see them again and catch up on their news. I've seen some of my students go through radical changes over the years, in both their spiritual and personal lives. I don't pretend that the course or the teacher is the catalyst, but I was just happened to come into their lives at a tumultuous moment.

So when I think of my friend as "my student", at face value, the relationship seems to have a hierarchical tone to it: I AM THE TEACHER (up here) AND YOU ARE THE STUDENT (down there). But that's not how I see it at all. Having students is not a question of me having the knowledge and them not having the knowledge: it's about the privilege and the honor to be able share a part of my knowledge-self with another human being.

The magical part about that moment is that, in so doing, both us are changed irrevocably. Teaching is not a one-way exchange, not if it is done with the sacred in mind. The difference lies in teaching a student that 1+1=2, or in teaching a student that math is powerful life juju and deserves to get excited about.

In addition to following the course material, I'm also developing my own spiritual wisdom, so I'll often bring an idea to class that I toying/wrestling with to get the student's perspective on it. In so doing, I'll be mixing my own evolving spiritual beliefs in with the static course material, which means the substance of the course material changes over time.

And that is why it's an honor to be a teacher. It's an honor to have that moment where I can expand someone else's experience based on my own experience, but in so doing, my own experience expands as well. In that exchange, both the student and the teacher are affected, which is why they need each other.

The teacher needs the student as much as the student needs the teacher. Their relationship is symbiotic, but both are equals. In this modern society, where many of us buy into the lie that we need to be completely indepedant and self-reliant, we forget the many hands that guide our path, the many teachers that sculpt our psyche, and the many more teachers that lay ahead on our path. Even as we learn from them, we are teaching others, either directly or indirectly, and they are teaching us.

Last summer, during an outdoor ritual in Montreal, I was catching up on the news of one of my ex-students, and teasing her about I might call on her to help with me a public ritual. "It'll help with your studies, young one. Trust me," I grinned.

"Oh Hobbes," she replied, hands on her hips. "You're not my teacher any more. Scarlet is my teacher now."

"You'll have many teachers, my friend, but you'll always be my student."

Current Mood: proud

I recently posted an article about the sacred relationship between students and teachers. Would it be okay if I reposted it in this forum?

I can't resist:

Grove affiliation:
founder of Sweetgum PG, but now Solitaire

Guilds:
Naturalists Guild - tresurer
Artisans Guild
Seers Guild
Healers Guild
Magicians Guild
Liturgists Guild
Bardic Guild
Dance Guild
Scholars Guild

SIGS
Ecstatic Trance
The People of the Purple Feather (GLBTA)
Religion
Solitaries - Coordinator
Brighid's Hearth

KINS
Gael
Celtic
Welsh - Pennaeth (Chieftan)


General ADF
Prison Outreach program
Publications

I *think* that's all..... Whew!

sixwordstories
Whether you're in the mood for a creative challenge or you're short on time or attention span, this semi-addictive community is perfect for those who find flash fiction way long. Once you get the hang of it, you won't be able to stop. The prince turned into a frog. The girl ran home to mother. Tough to write. Easy to read. It's a double threesome of fun.

Tags: flash fiction, sixwordstories

dailyfoodie
Delicious, ambitious, and occasionally nutritious dishes make for an eclectic, all-you-can-eat feast. Whether you're searching for recipes for your next dinner party or you're jonesing for a late-night brownie fix, your cravings are sure to be well sated. A warm and inclusive community that welcomes all orientations, from carnivores to vegans, from gourmands to junk-food junkies. Guaranteed bias-free, food-positive, and pan-epicurian.

Tags: dailyfoodie, food, photography

The Board of Directors of NW Yulefeast, in recognition of these tough economic times has decided to extend the pre-reg rate through Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 26th, 2009. Any Registration received from the 27th though the closing date of December 1st will be the higher 'regular rate'.

The Board has received to date four requests for the Grandma Fussie Scholarships. Deadline for this years scholarship requests is November 15th, with the recipients notified by email by the 20th.

Online registration is available on the website http://nwyulefeast.org as well as the flyer for download. Details for the Grandma Fussie Memorial Scholarship is also available on the website.

Thanks,

NW Yulefeast Board of Directors

To help ends meet till there is a job. I have taken on doing online readings. Just click the button below and recieve free three minutes! I can really use some one calling in and then leaving feed back. See, no one will call till I get some feed back on there. I would not ask if it were not needed to get going. Thanks to all and any that will help in this.



Again I appreciate all who partake in this endevoure to help me get started.

be they by blood or by choice they are renewing and rejuvenating. I am so grateful for my family and the places I have with my family (both types) where I feel loved and comfortable and well...me. To my family: I love you all.

It didn't set up. Apparently whoever wrote it and talked about the juice being "optional" was HIGH! Tea is not acidic enough to have the juice (source of acid) to be optional.

Man - I need a pH meter and an electric thermometer for all sorts of things - like candy making.