Color Piece - Kadampa Meditation Center (going to a different place of worship)

The building located at 609 Truman St., Arlington, Texas, doesn't look like anything special.  It's a red brick building with two large white columns surrounding the doorway.  There's not large sign and the parking lot isn't of a normal size.  If you weren't specifically looking for that address and without looking closely, you would probably just pass by without even glancing.

However, if you do look close enough, you will see a small banner in front of the building.  The building is actually the Kadampa Meditation Center and it's a Buddhist temple.

When you walk in, you are asked to remove your shoes.  It's optional, of course, but it's recommended and it's respectful to do so.

There are only eight people partaking in the service.  The walls are white.  The atmosphere is calm and relaxing.  The temple is currently building a shelf for all of the adorned statues so for now, they are off to the side.  However, they are painted gold and look like royalty.  There is a statue of Buddha and two other statues of other prominent gods in the Buddhist religion.

There is a row of ten chairs facing the alter.  The alter holds a picture of a man wearing a red and gold robe, who I later found out is the leader of that particular sect of Buddhism--Modern Kadampa Buddhism.

The leader of the service, who is wearing jeans and a T-shirt--nothing special--has a laptop sitting at the front of the room.  It plays an important role in the service.  The prayers, which are in song form, are presented on the laptop.

Following the prayers is a 20-minute meditation period.  The meditation requires those present to sit and clear their minds.  It's a time that you are supposed to concentrate on your breathing.  Other than the noise from the air conditioner, there is no noise.

After meditating, there are more prayers that follow and another 6-minute meditation period.

The whole service lasts for a total of roughly 50 minutes and ends in prayer.

Mini Profile - Jule Nelson-Duac (Fine arts major)

Whether she's going through a costume change in less than three minutes or is part of the final dress curse, which is where the performer has a bad dress rehearsal but has a good opening night, her love and passion for theater shows in everything that she does.
Jule Nelson-Duac, a junior theater major with acting emphasis, said she loves getting the chance to perform and to send a certain message in front of large audience.
"I love theater because it's an outlet to express messages that would normally not be spread," Nelson-Duac said. "Theater is a form of communication that can speak to everyone because it's about showing truth and reality on stage, which you don't see much of in real life."
Nelson-Duac's favorite role that she has played while at TCU has been Belinda Blair in the production "Noises Off." Although she wasn't originally thrilled when she got casted for the part, she said it eventually became one of her favorites.
"Even when you don't first like the role you've been cast, you learn to love it and embrace it," she said.
Her dream role is to play Catherine in the "The Taming of the Shrew." Catherine is portrayed as an extremely powerful woman who doesn't take nonsense from men. She's someone who is ahead of her time, Nelson-Duac said.
The best part of the TCU theater department is the people. It's as though they are one big family becuase of all the time they spend together, she said.
Although a lot of people just see theater as acting, Nelson-Duac said the skills theater students learn are not only applicable in the theater world, but also in life, in general. These skills include different forms of communication skills and public speaking. Theater students naturally become well-rounded individuals, she said.
However, the late nights and long rehearsal hours can take a toll on the students.
"On top of rehearsals, we have to do our other schoolwork and it's sometimes hard to accommodate time for everything that needs to get done," Nelson-Duac said. "During show weeks, sometimes we're in the theater from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. and it can be very stressful."
After she graduates in May 2010, Nelson-Duac said she's hoping to go to New York City to pursue her dream career.

Mini Profile - Karen Martin (faculty member whose never been in Skiff)

Flexibility. Scheduling. Teaching. Linguistics. Culture. All of these aspects describe part of a Spanish professor's job--well, the professional side and personal side to life
Karen Martin, instructor of Spanish, said being professor is different from other educational professions because it allows for more time with her family. Teaching classes on only Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays allows for her to go on field trips with her kids' school and more involvement in her kids' lives, in general.
Being a professor isn't just about teaching the kids, it's also about interacting with them, and keeping things interesting and fresh. They keep her young, she said.
It's so rewarding when students decide to become majors or minors in Spanish after they have taken a class with her, Martin said. For students be a major or minor in Spanish, it's important for them to "input, input, input," meaning to find as many ways as possible to input Spanish into their lives outside of class, she said. There are so many different outlets that allow for foreign language input such as television, radio, newspapers and magazines.
Studying abroad is also very important for students if they can afford it. It's a great experience. You don't really appreciate another country's culture until you are thrown into it for an extended period of time, she said.
"Immersion. Becoming immersed in a language is the best way to learn it," Martin said. "It allows to learn about a different culture firsthand and it changes how you think about things."
Martin said although she has not visited Spain, she has had the opportunity to visit Mexico and Puerto Rico. The people and the history made the experience memorable, she said.

Mini Profile - Toni Parker (campus secretary who is not Doris)

After graduating with a Bachelor's in general studies, a Master's in liberal arts and working at TCU for 13 years with the TCU Band, Toni Parker continues to be the brains, and the heart and soul of the TCU Band.
Parker, administrative assistant to the Director of Bands, said she turned down another secretarial position at a law office, which would have paid her twice her salary at TCU. She said no because she love this band program that much, Parker said.
The best part about working with the band is the students.
"They're fun and keep you young," Parker said. "They are why I am here and am still doing this job today."
Unlike other secretaries, Parker said her job is unique because everything revolves around music. Most secretaries never deal with music or musicians, she said. The people she works with hold music to the highest of standards and it's the center of their lives.
Parker's office isn't big. It's right outside of the Bobby Francis--Director of Bands' office. The office becomes crowded with only four or five people in it.
Furthermore, keeping up with three band directors, graduate assistants and seven ensembles can be tiring, she said. Of course, each director has his own agenda and each have separate deadlines that have to be met.
Parker described the band office as energetic, fun-chaotic, exciting and unpredictable. Everything varies from day-to-day, she said. You never know what you're getting yourself into!
The TCU Band is essential to the university because it's the largest visible student group on campus. The appears in public more than any other group on campus and performs to huge crowds of people for recruiting purposes, she said.
Although there's never a dull moment when in the band office, Parker said she always finds a way to be in a good mood in the midst of the chaos. She never gets mad--maybe frustrated but never mad, she said. There are no such things as bad days.
"The great part of being secretary, which I think makes me stand out from other secretaries, is that I don't have to be here," Parker said. "I choose to be here."

Mini Profile - Karla Baker (staff who works with hands)

Meeting students from all over and getting to know the students are what make her job worthwhile, despite the long operating hours and working late nights.
Karla Baker, supervisor for the 1873 Cafe & Sports Grill, said she loves interacting with the students and it's an essential part of her job.
"We're all about customer service and communicating with the students," she said. "The students are what make the job worth it."
Baker carries herself in calm manner. Even with students coming in and out during the busy lunch and dinner hours, Baker takes orders and prepares orders with the rest of her staff without getting caught up in the chaos.
"I'm never mad and I like to be happy," Baker said. "I love to talk and socialize with the people I get to interact with."
While visiting 1873 around 1:30 p.m. on a Tuesday afternoon, there were few students eating and socializing in the grill. However, Baker and three other members of her staff were cracking jokes, having a few laughs and looked as though they were having a great time amongst themselves.
As supervisor, Baker said she has to have good communicative and people skills. There's a lot of interaction with students, faculty and other staff. She also has to have a tolerable stress level, especially during the busy hours.
One of the biggest disadvantages to Baker's job is that the grill operates from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.
"There's no reason for the grill to be open till 2 a.m. That's just too late for college students," Baker said. "All of you should be asleep by then!"
Working in a college environment allows for getting to know students from all over the country, even across the world. Baker said it's quite an experience and is a great way to give back to the students.

Color Piece - Ed Landreth Practice Room (place on campus)

You can hear just about anything that is going on in the Ed Landreth practice rooms when you're standing in the hallway that connects all of them. The walls are thin. Every note that is played or sung can be heard by anybody who walks by.
The door of each room is a light oak with a small window in the upper center of it. The window is right at eye level so if students really wanted to, they could peer in on the person who is practicing.
Each room has its own upright piano. Some have Boston brand pianos, others have Yamaha pianos and still others have Steinway pianos.
The practice room I entered had a mahogany Boston piano in it, which was placed in the back corner of the practice room with the bench pushed all the way in.
There was also a full-length mirror on the same wall the piano laid up against. The walls and ceiling were white as snow. When you run your hands up and down the wall, you can feel the bumps and texture, which roll across and tickler your fingers.
This practice room also had a black music stand, which stood in the center of the room. Reckon, the room itself wasn't that big. The maximum of probably 4 average human beings could be in there at one time. The size of the room illustrates that it's not meant for ensemble rehearsals.

Color Piece - Rosa's Cafe (public place)

When you enter Rosa's Cafe, you may almost be blinded by the gleaming bright colors that seem to bounce off the walls and create an exquisite mosaic.
The floors are a combination of a deep brown and red. The walls, however, contrast the floors and are a bright yellow.
The walls have colorful ceramics and paintings on them. One wall has a collection of clay suns, which are spaced just so that they take up the whole wall.
In the center of the cafe, there is a small section of multiple booths linked together. Above them are colorful ceramic parrots that hang on a metal hanger, which is attached to the wooden border, which outlines the section of booths.
At night, from outside, the light from inside shines brightly and can be seen far before you even reach the cafe. The exterior of the cafe is also colorful. There is a combination of yellows, pinks, greens and oranges to create a festive looking building. When the weather is nice enough, people can enjoy their meals outside in a gated off area, which is attached to the main building of the cafe.
Taco Tuesday is the prime specials night for the cafe. Students and families come for the special three taco deal that you can only get on Tuesdays.
If you go between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., you will find hoards of people, on a mission to find the last table available. You can find students trying to fit six people into the obvious four-person booths.
If you listen close enough, you can hear all sorts of conversations. Because it's a Mexican-based restaurant, it's not uncommon to hear tidbits of Spanish.
Multiple flat screen TVs are on the walls of the cafe, which show the order numbers that signify which orders are ready for pick-up. Looking into the kitchen, you can see all the workers are hustling and bustling about. It's almost like a mad house. But the work pays off. Almost every order is ready within five minutes, even during the busy hours.

Mini Profile - Mark Mourer

Have you ever compared your job to being harder than Wade Philips, head coach of the Dallas Cowboys?  Mark Mourer has.

Mourer, development director for the TCU College of Communication, has a job that not many may consider difficult at a first glance.  What exactly does he do?  He raises money in the name of journalism.

One of the hardest aspects of his job is trying to raise money for non-tangible products such as scholarships.

Even with a dwindling economy, Mourer doesn't take "no" for an answer--even if he has to come back to the client again and again.  "No" is just the beginning of a negotiation, he said.

"We're not getting told 'no' as many times as you would think," Mourer said.  "We're planting lots of seeds, that may not be harvesting as we want them to, but it's still progress."

Mourer said in his line of work, he has to have perseverance and tenacity.  It also helps to be the eternal optimist, he said.

He emphasizes multiple times that you can't take "no for an answer.  If you're not one to push for something more than that, then this job isn't the right one for you.

If Mourer was granted one wish, he said he would ask for $15 million to renovate and expand the Moudy building.  The money that is needed right now is $5.1 million but the extra money could still help in the long run, he said.