Methodist Blogger Profile: Patricia Wagner

Patti of Second-Grade Teacher

I am honored to be the sixth female Methodist profiled by John the Methodist. I live in Oswego, NY (the heart of the snow belt) which is on the south-eastern shore of Lake Ontario. I have two children, Rachel (a junior at a private college near Boston), and Joseph (a 7th grader in public school). I teach 2nd grade.

Why do you blog?

I started blogging in order to become more comfortable with the act of writing. I'm required to teach kids how to write well, and I'm very uncomfortable teaching something I'm not proficient at.

What has been your best blogging experience?

When people who aren't related to me started leaving comments.

What would be your main advice to a novice blogger?

Keep writing, read and leave comments on other people's blogs, and get a counter so you can tell if you have any lurkers.

If you only had time to read three blogs a day, what would they be?

See Through Faith (http://stf.heavenlytrain.com/), Locusts and Honey (http://locustsandhoney.blogspot.com/), and A Tear in the Fabric of Spacetime (http://www.divinediscontinuity.net/weblog.html)

Who are your spiritual heroes?

John Wesley, Pope John Paul II, and Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar

What are you reading at the moment?

Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheoenix. I was hoping to get all 6 books re-read before the new movie came out. I didn't, but I'm close.

What is your favorite hymn and why?

O Come, O Come Emmanuel. We shall never stop rejoicing that God is with us.

Can you name a major moral, political, or intellectual issue on which you've ever changed your mind?

No.

What intellectual thesis do you think is most important to combat?

Post Modernism.

If you could affect one major change to the governing of your country, what would it be?

It will happen. George Bush and his cronies will leave office. But not soon enough.

If you could affect one major policy change in the United Methodist Church, what would it be?

Itinerant pastors.

What would be your most important piece of advice about life?

When it comes to your personal wants and needs, pinch your pennies until they scream. When it comes to the needs of others, be generous.

What, if anything, do you worry about?

I don't worry. Worrying is a waste of time.

If you were to relive your life to this point, is there anything that you'd do differently?

I would have been more consistent about good nutrition and exercise.

Where would you most like to live (other than where you do now)?

San Francisco, CA. Love it there.

What do you like doing in your spare time?

Rollerblading, eating Indian food, and reading.

What is your most treasured possession?

If my house were burning but my family and pets were safe, and I could go back and get one thing? It would be my Dad's sea chest. He was the captain of a tour boat.

What talent would you most like to have?

I would love to be an alluring belly dancer. Or at least take lessons. That, or fencing.

If you could have any three guests, past or present, to dinner, who would they be?

Larry McMurtry, Alan Rickman, and my Grandma.