Always Amazing Amber…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Amber Medrano
Phone: 602.403.1189
Email: nwca.reunion2010@gmail.com

LOST IN CYBER-SPACE: FACEBOOK FINDS A SCHOOL FORGOTTEN

Social networking website puts out the word to alumni: “Come home to the dome”.

The school that no longer exists first opened its doors in 1979. And on Saturday, April 24th 2010, a high school that has been closed for nearly 10 years will hold its first official reunion in the “big white dome” at 14240 N 43rd Ave, in Glendale, AZ. This announcement comes only eight months after the first few classmates found each other on the popular social networking site known as Facebook. To date, nearly 170 alums have reconnected via Facebook since April 2009.

Whatever planets aligned or constellations appeared to signal such a near improbable event is unknown, yet one thing is certain: a Cosmic Genius is at work.

As geniuses go, the credit could be ascribed to Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO and an original founder of Facebook, for having the foresight to develop the most sophisticated - and free -“living” directory tool to date. Or, the kudos could go to a small group of determined school alumni, who saw the positive potential of the site and launched with it.

Prior to the advent of Facebook, there was simply nothing to facilitate communication among the graduating class members of NWCA – outside of paid membership websites like Classmates.com or Reunion.com. While similarly easy to use, these sites are only effective for high schools that have organized alumni chapters, since it involves recruitment of former students to logon, pay an annual fee, and find their graduating class to become a member.

“Facebook was simply the right virtual place, at the right virtual time.” says Kristina Hutton-Miller, the NWCA Reunion Event Treasurer. “There was no way we could have been able to get in touch with everyone connected to the school before this, but through a series of [Facebook] friend requests, we discovered the old “six-degrees-of-separation” principle works like a charm.”

The site has helped reconnect scattered classmates, administrators and teachers that have relocated from Glendale to towns as nearby as Gilbert, Arizona, and to places farther out of state such as California, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Massachusetts.

During its tenure, the school provided college preparatory academics and a family like environment that was a result of the small size of the enrollment. High school pep rallies held no more than 125 people in the modest multi-purpose room, and students and faculty alike participated in yearly fund-raising efforts by selling Christmas trees from the dirt lot that had been adjacent to the school to keep tuition costs from soaring.

Yet, due to financial troubles, the private Christian school known as Northwest Christian Academy or NWCA closed in 2001. Student records, school memories and a majority of fond relationships were all gone. The property that once housed the school – and was associated with Sweetwater Church of the Valley before it closed as well - became a charter school. However, the charter school did not survive much longer. In 2005, Pure Heart Christian Fellowship bought the facility and re-established a church. “Part of the joke amongst some of the alums that didn’t actually graduate there is that they can’t exactly remember the years they attended.” stated Reunion Event Coordinator, Amber Medrano. “I think I was there 1989-1993, but I’m not sure. I didn’t buy a yearbook the first couple years I went and I can’t get a copy of my transcripts now! Although, I’m sure if I think about it I can piece it together, but that’s not what matters to me. What matters is that lost relationships are rekindled and that people get a chance to say what’s on their heart. That’s why we’re doing this. Life is too short not to enjoy the company you keep.”

And it’s the camaraderie that ushers in more NWCA alumni as new members to Facebook every other week. “It was an experience that made us very close. No matter what graduating class you belonged to, from Seventh grade to Senior year, we all knew each other, looked out for each other, and had fun times participating in team sports, playing practical jokes, and just growing up.” commented Karin Alexander Morrow, Reunion Event Committee Member.

Many of the former students admit, while they didn’t have the best of everything, they wouldn’t trade the experience of having attended better funded public schools. “There was so much we benefitted from simply because the teachers cared and they could connect with us.” said Sharon Vasser, former alum. “It was a place that taught character and love, not just academics. And many of the friendships made there have carried on some thirty years later. It really was a special place.”

Pure Heart Christian Fellowship now owns the property where the school formerly existed near the sanctuary, and the pastoral staff is happy to accommodate the event in the youth chapel. “I was informed that it [the dome sanctuary] was originally used by the school to hold chapel services during the school week, and it seems appropriate that it continues to be used to minister to young adults today.” says Mark Hendrix, Executive Pastor at Pure Heart. “It really is neat to see how much the building meant to this group and we are honored to host their event.”

Amber Medrano is the Event Coordinator for the Northwest Christian Academy (NWCA) Family Reunion 2010 Event. The celebration event is intended for anyone who was connected to the school and has memories to share. For more information, or to purchase tickets and register for the event, please contact Amber at: 602.403.1189 or email: nwca.reunion2010@gmail.com.

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REVIEW 10/20/09

Where The Seats Have No Name
by Amber Medrano

University of Phoenix Stadium is pretty impressive when it’s lit up like a disco ball. Or a spaceship. Or a Blackberry backlight vigil to remember a fellow humanitarian and freedom fighter from the country of Burma, Aung San Suu Kyi. No lighters or candles needed for this crowd, they come equipped.

From the top rafters (aka the “cheap seats” or the “nose-bleed section” as it can sometimes be referred to), the view of U2’s 360o Tour was still amazing and spectacular. Even while searching the stage to get a glimpse of Bono in the flesh (which was fairly easy thanks to the handsome 360o stage design), the U2 experience was not diminished. From the very first moment that Bono came leaping up to the microphone singing “Breathe”, the energy – his energy – did not stop for an entire two hours. Not bad for a guy pushing 50.

Frankly, I don’t know how he did it all. I stood, I stomped, I swooned and I swayed in front of my seat for the entire concert, and my feet were duly sore the next morning. Maybe it was the high heeled shoes working against my unbridled abandon as I entered into the sound. But once I was in that crazy, delightful sound, I let my favorite rock idols know of my undying devotion with my own sounds - through screams and hollers that left my throat as raw as a fresh tuna sushi roll. No matter. To me, it was pure bliss. I’ll wear the discomfort like a badge of honor along with my grins of sweet elation.

During the show, Adam, Larry and the Edge displayed masterful skill wailing out the band’s signature anthems at a persistent pace – truly never missing a beat. And as Bono proclaimed that “Intimacy is the new Punk Rock” he invited three tall, blonde-haired sisters onto the stage for a brief dancing-sing-a-long romp that had every woman in the place pea-green with envy. Once he got each of their names right, he hugged them and playfully laid across their laps, posing and singing his heart out.

It is almost impossible to name any of the songs they sang as better or more memorable than the other. They were all expertly entertaining and familiar crowd favorites. From the newest titles off of the “No Line on the Horizon” album to the classics from “The Joshua Tree” album, each song brought incredible reaction from die-hard U2 loyalists and newbie fans alike.

As the hour and a half ride cruised into the final 30 minute stretch, Bono let out his inner acrobat on the suspended 360o microphone, grappling and swinging around stage while cloaked in pinpoints of red LED light. As the concert wound down to a close, he summoned all the fervor he has ever had to give saturating vocals on “With or Without You” to the supreme enjoyment of the crowd, who appreciatively joined in.

When the house lights came back up, and another fresh breeze blew in from the open stadium ceiling above, Bono bid kind adieu saying “on with you, then” and “thank you” to an audience desperately hoping for an encore, but smart enough to know that the performer meant what he said the first time. Yet, not one fan was disappointed or felt as though the evening was anti-climatic without the customary encore - or maybe those set lighting changes signaled the encores? Who knows. (I couldn’t tell.) In any case, each face was glowing with satisfaction. And as the throng of concert goers filed out of the stadium and into the parking lot, my sister and I made plans to grab a stiff drink and a bite to eat as our own personal finale for the evening.

To Bono, the Band, and the Three Sisters: Cheers.

There are two kinds of defensive behavior.

There’s good defensive behavior:

1.You’re driving down the freeway and the other guy tries to change lanes on top of you. So, you respond with a defensive manuver to avoid an accident.

2.You’re playing big D for ASU against UofA in the Homecoming football game and you sack the quarterback. Now, that’s good defensive behavior.

Then, there’s bad defensive behavior (particularly at work):

1.Over explaining yourself to your boss when you should have kept your mouth shut – especially if you know you are even the tiniest bit wrong. Being defensive = Bad.

2.Someone comes up with an idea or suggestion and they are immediately assaulted for their enthusiasm (to contribute to the team) by being told that their services aren’t needed. Being on the receiving end of defensive behavior = Not Good.

3.Taking comments too personal and over-correcting people in conversation. Can be embarrassing later on…

I have been on both sides of each of the items at work. It’s tough no matter how you slice it (which position you are in - offensive or defensive, respectively). The trick is though, not to make a mess of the situation either way. You must leave yourself (and the other person at times) some wiggle room to back out gracefully (or with whatever dignity you can scrape off the floor). Sometimes it is too late for that, however, and you will be at the mercy of those in the arena around you. Regardless, you must always file the incident away in memory to avoid stepping on the same trapdoor next time. Similarly, you must retain consciousness of it so that you do not exhibit the same undesirable, ungraceful behavior to some poor sap that forgot to think about how they might have appeared offensive to you. Do unto others…etc…

Of course, you can become bait without having been defensive (or offensive for that matter). Its just a matter of how twisted the motives are of the one baiting you – to tip your hand over something as simple as a personal opinion, or goading you into relaying some detail from another particular arena of interest to them. Motives are funny things. And it turns out that everyone has an agenda.

In my experience, some work environments are more defensive than others. I don’t know if the source of it matters, but I do know that it is a continually perpetuating thing once it starts. It is very hard to equalize the climate again – everyone is trying to one-up each other or protect themselves at every turn. But then again, I take that first part back – if it’s coming from the top down, it’s a big problem. It becomes its own culture. People walk on eggshells and flinch at the slightest piece of information that catches them off guard or sounds remotely contrary to their way of thinking. Defend, defend, defend the territory.

Maybe sometimes, it is just a part of a person’s personality. When that is the case, the behavior tends to be isolated to those flare-ups for that individual. I don’t find it to be as pervasive a condition throughout every area of the organization. Granted, some areas aren’t that way at all. Oh, why can’t we all just evolve at the same rate?

The following analogy should not be inferred or assumed to be illustrative of any real life events or representative of any actual persons. Note: if the following causes heartburn, seek prompt medical attention, grab a glass of milk (or antacid for the lactose intolerant), and call it a silly piece of art and move on.

A bright spotlight casts a startling halo around my feet. I hear the clack, clack clack of chains lifting and cinching heavy iron gates into place. A low rumble of vicious snarls and growls surround me.. I take a step forward and hear the gasp of a hundred voices. I hesitate. As I collect my feet together, I try to remain still. I realize, I have become the bait. Did I put myself here again? Could I have avoided it? I don’t know, but I hope they kill me quickly. It’s easier that way than to be maimed again.

Although, if I live, I can just return to my cave. I can continue my task to move the rocks from one pile to the other pile and back again. I feel the breeze of some large furry thing whisk by. My imagination runs wild as I try to perceive the sensation a second time for clues. In anticipation of the blow to come, I squeeze my eyes shut and a shiver rattles my spine. Yet nothing happens. What’s going on? What are they waiting for? I open my eyes and see nothing in the blackness beyond my spotlight. My spectators are now silent. The snarls and growls reduce to a thrumming, eager purr. The kind of purr that happens just before a pounce. Oh when will this strange night end??

Feel sorry for that person, geez. The poor wretched soul.

Tomorrow’s blogging word of the day: Prodigy

Final thoughts:

Getting paid less to take on more, stinks.

Getting paid enough to take on more, but putting up with defensive behavior from others, really stinks.

Getting paid more to do less and keep you nose clean, ideal…

…But still very hard to stick to for OCD types.

Hm. Back to the desk.

I saw the coolest thing in my son’s autism resource classroom today. His teacher had a YouTube video of a dance routine playing so all the kids could imitate and follow along. She had it projected onto the whiteboard using a laptop and video projector. It was “The Cupid Shuffle”. It was so neat to see all the kids do the steps! I grabbed Nathaniel’s hand and did it with him once. The teacher kept it on a loop until she decided to change videos. She tried to do a search of the “cha cha slide”, but was not able to bring it up. Apparently, she lost her internet connection and the fun was over for the afternoon… (I think one of the kids stepped on the network cable ). In any case, it was great to see technology being used this way in the classroom.

Ironman was awesome! I love Robert Downey Jr. in this role. They wrote it perfectly for him and his delivery was right on. He’s the ultimate come back kid. I LOVE IT! I can’t wait to see Ironman II - you know its coming….

To the menu at right, please find cool new stuff. There is new content on the “About Amber” page as well as all new pages about my current writing projects. The newest of the new pages, however, deliver quality information about children’s developmental needs (see “Child Awareness”) and coming soon, information about nurturing the family (see “Family Awareness) and marriage (if you’ve got one, its worth taking care of! see “Marriage Matters”).

Previously, I had struggled with the exact content of this website. Of course, blogging is blogging and it has its own rhyme, reason, and flow. But the other pages presented a particular challenge. I didn’t want it all to be an “ode to me”, or celebration of myself. I wanted it to have purpose and utility. As I stop fighting the particular path of personal development I am taking - stop fighting it and just accept it for what it is and where I am at this particular moment I - I find that I’ve really got to acknowledge where I’ve been to make any sense of where I am going. It seems writing about what I knew I should have done, but deliberately went against, is becoming more and more therapeutic by the day. Good counselors are hard to find, and even harder to be honest with about yourself when you’ve already made up your mind to do what you wanna do…even if that includes self-destructing. But self-examination of the heart is the tool that God still uses to deliver the most effective dose of conviction - prescription strength, you might say.

Whoa. Didn’t mean to get so heavy on you. Just wanted to tell you to check out the new content. I stayed up way late to post it. It’s gotta be good for somethin. Nite!

Note that I have moved the pics of Sophie to a MySpace account. They were bogging down this site a bit and making the page slow to load. Besides, MySpace has more space for stuff like that AND its free! Happy browsing! www.myspace.com/alwaysamazingamber

Hey, I want one of these puppies. I got to hold one today - and let me tell you it is luxe! I love it and I want one. My next phone is gonna be an iphone. Period.

http://www.apple.com/iphone/

In December 2005, I received word that a journal entry I wrote (two years prior) was accepted as a short story submission into a book titled, God Allows U-Turns: The Choices Teens Make. The story I wrote was about the time I did a dumb thing as a result of peer pressure, but even though I did it, God still loved me and He even helped me get myself out of it. It was a total character building process. The story behind the reason I submitted the entry in the first place is completely purpose-driven and blessed by God as well. Here is the url link to view the list of contributing authors: http://www.godallowsuturns.com/?id=57. After that, here’s the info about the book and a way to order it. Just follow the linked title to amazon.com. Enjoy!

God Allows U-Turns for Teens

This powerful collection of stories from real-life teens offers encouragement and support as you overcome poor relationships with your parents, physical or sexual abuse, drug addiction, or painful consequences. With God all things are possible. Are you ready for U-turn?