See this
Here is some flava from the article (Esquire, Chuck Klosterman)(in case the link breaks):
But whenever I do find myself meeting a stranger for the first (or second or third) time, I'm struck by how often they ask me one specific question: "What kind of music do you like?" For many years, I did not know how to answer this. I experimented with a litany of abstract responses: "rock," "active rock," "hair metal," "disco metal," "girl metal," "everything," "nothing," or whatever I suspected the other person might not actively hate. But (I think) I've finally found a response that is both accurate and honest: Whenever someone asks me what kind of music I like, I say, "Music that sounds like the opening fourteen seconds of Humble Pie's 'I Don't Need No Doctor,' as performed live on their 1971 album Performance: Rockin' the Fillmore." Beyond being true, this reply also has the added bonus of significantly changing the conversation (or ending it entirely).
But I'm starting to suspect this seemingly innocuous inquiry (and my unnecessarily specific answer to this unspecific question) might be weirder and more complex than I originally assumed. When someone asks me what kind of music I like, he is (usually) attempting to use this information to deduce things about my personality; this is (usually) the same reason we casually ask people about what TV shows they watch or which NBA franchises they support or what political movements they align with. It's the normal way to understand who other people are. But here's the problem: This premise is founded on the belief that the person you're talking with consciously knows why he appreciates those specific things or harbors those specific feelings. It's also predicated on the principle that you know why you like certain sounds or certain images, because that self-awareness is how we establish the internal relationship between a) what someone loves and b) who someone is. But this process is complicated and (usually) unconsidered.... These explicit elements, it would seem, are (or must be) the sonic qualities that I most like about music. But why is that? (1) Is it because of something Peter Frampton has personally achieved? Is it because those chords are simply the clearest, most aggressive amalgamation of early-seventies boogie rock? Does my relationship to this piece of music have something to do with my own specific life experience? Is it because of the random anatomical construction of my inner ear? Even if I'm having a purely visceral reaction—in other words, if the only real reason I love those fourteen seconds is because "they rock" (or whatever)—there still must be something about the musical introduction to "I Don't Need No Doctor" that triggers the (normally dormant) part of my brain that longs to be rocked. It's sort of the ultimate question about being alive: What makes us love things? Is it possible to know?
The author goes on to list a series of songs (or more accurately snippets and parts of songs) that he likes including;
• The vocal sequence from Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone" where she sings and talks to herself at the same time, which starts at about 2 minutes and 30 seconds into the song.
• Pretty much all the bass playing on "Paperback Writer" and "The Ballad of John and Yoko."
• The closing 1:02 of AC/DC's "It's a Long Way to the Top (if You Want To Rock and Roll)," when Angus Young's playing devolves into an inverted riff-o-rama in response to the bagpipes.
• The way the vocals are mic'd on the Pet Shop Boys cover of "Always on My Mind," which sound as if they were recorded in an abandoned Vatican City cathedral.
• The combination (and separation) of all the instruments during the last 1:25 of R.E.M.'s "Nightswimming."
To end the article:
These songs' only unifying element is that I have written about them in this column; essentially, the sole unifying element is that I personally like them.
This is why I hate small talk.
When people at cocktail parties ask me what kind of music I like, I generally assume they don't care what my answer is. I assume we're both just killing time. But let's assume they do care: Even then, our conversation is doomed. I have been actively thinking about this question for nine consecutive days, and I've probably thought about it unconsciously for the last twenty years. I can isolate and answer this question more specifically than anyone I've ever met. Yet not only does my answer fail to reflect anything meaningful about my personality, it doesn't even reflect what I fundamentally like about music. Because I can't answer that question. Nobody can.
It has me wondering, what is on my list? What is on yours?
Showing posts with label Deep Thoughts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Deep Thoughts. Show all posts
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Sunday, February 10, 2008
My letter to rateyourstudents...
As I have mentioned before, I love , love , love Rate your students. It has been my saving grace, my source of sanity and laughs, and a cathartic release of all my frustrations. But I have also disagreed (at times vehemently) with postings. Recently, I was so freaken mad that I almost wrote in. I have yet to write in to RYS. They verify people and I have a unsubstantiated fear that one of the gang that runs the compound will be here at TBU or know someone at TBU.
So here is the letter I was going to write in (a bit expanded for my blog's sake):
Recently, a young professor posted this --basically a request for help and advice. Were her ideas a bit Pollyanna at times (wanting students to view the course as more than just a course), a bit naive at times (expecting there might be a way to get all students to show on time, every time), and a bit misguided (wanting the students to think she is cool)? Yes. And I felt those things as soon as I read her post. At its heart, these aren't the worst things. A bit Pollyanna is better than cynical and bitter, right? Naive and optimistic must be better than pessimistic, right? And weren't we all misguided at the start? It was only from sage advice from those who came before us or getting through that first semester we taught that helped us realize that students didn't need to like us to learn or that them liking us might actually make things worse.
This post stirred up lots of feelings in others as well.
I wanted to share some of my reactions to the responses because it is the responses that made me almost write in (not the original post). I am going to include some snippets (or flava) of the reactions below:
Some gave helpful advice:
"* Some if not many of your students will feel your class is important. Others won’t. There’s not a hell of a lot you can do about it. Show you care about the material and they’ll come to their own conclusions. Some students are on this earth to recycle air. You won’t reach them. So what? Focus on the majority of them who really are worth a damn and ignore the ones who aren’t." [I love the phrase 'on earth to recycle air']
"*Every class is going to be "just another class" for most of the students in it. That doesn't mean you can't teach the shit out of it. No one ever, in the whole history of everything, ever seemed even "a little cool" by wanting to. You don't have to be cool to teach your students. You don't have to be cool for them to like you."
Or practical advice:
"*Make it a portion of the student's grade to submit, each class, a question or comment from the readings for class discussion. This will require that they do at least some of the reading. Some students still will not do it. Some will take the lower grade, and some will make up stupid questions 5 minutes before class. But, you will be able to tell who those students are and grade them accordingly."
Some addressed the misguided posts with harshness and humor:
"*There are so many things wrong with your point of view but let us start with the most obvious, the idea that you can get all of your students to show up on time, bring their books, and be prepared? You’ll be lucky if they even buy the books rookie! This imaginary fantasy student that you speak of is much like a cat that you train to use the toilet. Everyone has seen a clip of one on Youtube, or heard of a friend of a friend who had one. However every cat you ever have will just pee on your bed and crap in your plants."
But some were down right mean. I would have cried if I had posted the question and got the following responses, and I almost cried reading them even though they weren't directed at me. Here is the worst of the meanest:
"*Here's my response: Dumbass."
"*I absolutely know how to get ALL my students to come to my classes on time, every time. They love it so much they want to be there even AFTER class is over! But since I am most likely one of the lousy professors you had, focusing on minutiae (which, you dipshit, is necessary in my field), I am not going to fucking tell you the secret."
"*Just get your shit together, and teach. Given the desperate narcissism of your post, I can see why your students don’t come to class. I probably wouldn’t, either."
And one that was fairly condescending, but redeemed by offers of scotch:
"* It's so cute to see naiveté bud and blossom. When the students kick cynicism into your veins come on over to my house. I'll save some scotch for you."
There are more posts there, but my response was most strongly to the mean posts. If I could have written in to RYS, it would have sounded something like this:
How quickly you forget. We were all new at this game once. Some of us are new know, desperately tying to find our way, to do a better-than-good job, to get tenure or a job that we can stand, to feel good about our day, to find happiness in a job that we suffered through a decade of college to get. Why are those past this newbie stage so willing to cut the throats of the ghosts of their former selves? For me, RYS has to be a place where I get all the things my job doesn't provide me. I need this virtual water cooler to make me feel better about my day (love that smackdown), to laugh, and to find solace. When I see people with such vitriol, it breaks my heart and spirit. Don't ruin a good thing and consider giving a handout (instead of a bitchsmack) to those that follow in your footsteps.
So here is the letter I was going to write in (a bit expanded for my blog's sake):
Recently, a young professor posted this --basically a request for help and advice. Were her ideas a bit Pollyanna at times (wanting students to view the course as more than just a course), a bit naive at times (expecting there might be a way to get all students to show on time, every time), and a bit misguided (wanting the students to think she is cool)? Yes. And I felt those things as soon as I read her post. At its heart, these aren't the worst things. A bit Pollyanna is better than cynical and bitter, right? Naive and optimistic must be better than pessimistic, right? And weren't we all misguided at the start? It was only from sage advice from those who came before us or getting through that first semester we taught that helped us realize that students didn't need to like us to learn or that them liking us might actually make things worse.
This post stirred up lots of feelings in others as well.
I wanted to share some of my reactions to the responses because it is the responses that made me almost write in (not the original post). I am going to include some snippets (or flava) of the reactions below:
Some gave helpful advice:
"* Some if not many of your students will feel your class is important. Others won’t. There’s not a hell of a lot you can do about it. Show you care about the material and they’ll come to their own conclusions. Some students are on this earth to recycle air. You won’t reach them. So what? Focus on the majority of them who really are worth a damn and ignore the ones who aren’t." [I love the phrase 'on earth to recycle air']
"*Every class is going to be "just another class" for most of the students in it. That doesn't mean you can't teach the shit out of it. No one ever, in the whole history of everything, ever seemed even "a little cool" by wanting to. You don't have to be cool to teach your students. You don't have to be cool for them to like you."
Or practical advice:
"*Make it a portion of the student's grade to submit, each class, a question or comment from the readings for class discussion. This will require that they do at least some of the reading. Some students still will not do it. Some will take the lower grade, and some will make up stupid questions 5 minutes before class. But, you will be able to tell who those students are and grade them accordingly."
Some addressed the misguided posts with harshness and humor:
"*There are so many things wrong with your point of view but let us start with the most obvious, the idea that you can get all of your students to show up on time, bring their books, and be prepared? You’ll be lucky if they even buy the books rookie! This imaginary fantasy student that you speak of is much like a cat that you train to use the toilet. Everyone has seen a clip of one on Youtube, or heard of a friend of a friend who had one. However every cat you ever have will just pee on your bed and crap in your plants."
But some were down right mean. I would have cried if I had posted the question and got the following responses, and I almost cried reading them even though they weren't directed at me. Here is the worst of the meanest:
"*Here's my response: Dumbass."
"*I absolutely know how to get ALL my students to come to my classes on time, every time. They love it so much they want to be there even AFTER class is over! But since I am most likely one of the lousy professors you had, focusing on minutiae (which, you dipshit, is necessary in my field), I am not going to fucking tell you the secret."
"*Just get your shit together, and teach. Given the desperate narcissism of your post, I can see why your students don’t come to class. I probably wouldn’t, either."
And one that was fairly condescending, but redeemed by offers of scotch:
"* It's so cute to see naiveté bud and blossom. When the students kick cynicism into your veins come on over to my house. I'll save some scotch for you."
There are more posts there, but my response was most strongly to the mean posts. If I could have written in to RYS, it would have sounded something like this:
How quickly you forget. We were all new at this game once. Some of us are new know, desperately tying to find our way, to do a better-than-good job, to get tenure or a job that we can stand, to feel good about our day, to find happiness in a job that we suffered through a decade of college to get. Why are those past this newbie stage so willing to cut the throats of the ghosts of their former selves? For me, RYS has to be a place where I get all the things my job doesn't provide me. I need this virtual water cooler to make me feel better about my day (love that smackdown), to laugh, and to find solace. When I see people with such vitriol, it breaks my heart and spirit. Don't ruin a good thing and consider giving a handout (instead of a bitchsmack) to those that follow in your footsteps.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Why don't I have 43 things
I am supposed to do my list of 43 things and I have not been able to do so. I thought I was just too tired to blog, but I fear it is much more. I think I don't know what I want. Sure I have a few things that I want to put on the list: I want to visit Scotland, England and Ireland and I want to learn sign language (I know some, but I am not fluent), but I don't think I know 41 more things that I want. Currently, I want a new job, I want to move to a town that provides me some semblance of a social life, I want to be 'not single'. I don't know if I want to get married or have kids (I go back and forth), but I know that life is just to hard to be on your own. This weekend for example, I will go 48 hours without seeing another person or talking to another person. I have friends I could call--friends who would be glad to hear from me. I could call my family as well, but my life doesn't depend on doing so. I want to share my life with someone; I want someone to share their life with me. [The lack of subject-verb agreement in that sentence is bothersome. It should read "I want someone to share his life with me." I guess it is good that good grammar is on my mind, sometimes bad grammar just sounds 'right.'] How can I feel like a good and worthy person if no one wants a part in my life?
I guess I am getting a bit off track, I think 43things should be serious, life-long things, not banal, unimportant, tiny things. I checked out the site; the most common things are (in top ten order):
1. lose weight2. stop procrastinating3. fall in love 4. write a book 5. be happy6. get a tattoo7. drink more water8. go on a road trip with no predetermined destination9. get married 10. travel the world
I definitely want to lose weight. I could stand to lose 40 or 50 pounds. I am sure I could procrastinate less, drink more water (who couldn't) or be happier (I am probably depressed officially now. I debate trying to see someone or get on anti-depressants). I don't want write a book, but I am pulling together ideas for a screenplay. I covered my feelings on traveling the world, getting married, and falling in love above (albeit briefly). As for road trip with no predetermined destination--I am not much for driving (or car trips for that matter), and the best road trips really are determined by the company. Besides, gas prices being what they are, it might be more cost efficient to just pull out a globe/map point to a city at random and buy a plane ticket. Finally, I don't have a tattoo--which makes me a bit of a rare bird among those in my age group. Sometimes, I think about tattoos--but I think I have enough things to regret. I am lucky that those things I regret are not displayed in ink across my skin. I am not sure that there is a symbol, phrase, or picture that I want embedded in my skin indefinitely. How will all of those 'tramp stamps' look when these women are 70 years old. It is weird to think of old women with tattoos. They make erasable tattoos now--tattoos that are erasable with just one laser treatment. So, maybe sometime, years from now I might get one....but for now, I like being a clean slate, a blank canvas. And, I find them very unattractive on men.
Other interesting things I saw on 43 things:
-Be grateful for 5 things daily (I am just to 'dark and twisty' for that.)
-Finish my phd (well, I can count that off my list)
-Learn to play the guitar (I was learning for awhile, but guitar broke and haven’t got it fixed).
-Run a marathon (I do think about this occasionally)
-Have better posture (I definitely should do this)
-Visit all 50 states (I have been to (if we count all travel including driving through) 18 states with one more later this month).
I need another online thing to manage like I need a whole in my head. I don't blog enough as it is so I guess I am not making my list anytime soon.
I think I need to go to bed.
I guess I am getting a bit off track, I think 43things should be serious, life-long things, not banal, unimportant, tiny things. I checked out the site; the most common things are (in top ten order):
1. lose weight2. stop procrastinating3. fall in love 4. write a book 5. be happy6. get a tattoo7. drink more water8. go on a road trip with no predetermined destination9. get married 10. travel the world
I definitely want to lose weight. I could stand to lose 40 or 50 pounds. I am sure I could procrastinate less, drink more water (who couldn't) or be happier (I am probably depressed officially now. I debate trying to see someone or get on anti-depressants). I don't want write a book, but I am pulling together ideas for a screenplay. I covered my feelings on traveling the world, getting married, and falling in love above (albeit briefly). As for road trip with no predetermined destination--I am not much for driving (or car trips for that matter), and the best road trips really are determined by the company. Besides, gas prices being what they are, it might be more cost efficient to just pull out a globe/map point to a city at random and buy a plane ticket. Finally, I don't have a tattoo--which makes me a bit of a rare bird among those in my age group. Sometimes, I think about tattoos--but I think I have enough things to regret. I am lucky that those things I regret are not displayed in ink across my skin. I am not sure that there is a symbol, phrase, or picture that I want embedded in my skin indefinitely. How will all of those 'tramp stamps' look when these women are 70 years old. It is weird to think of old women with tattoos. They make erasable tattoos now--tattoos that are erasable with just one laser treatment. So, maybe sometime, years from now I might get one....but for now, I like being a clean slate, a blank canvas. And, I find them very unattractive on men.
Other interesting things I saw on 43 things:
-Be grateful for 5 things daily (I am just to 'dark and twisty' for that.)
-Finish my phd (well, I can count that off my list)
-Learn to play the guitar (I was learning for awhile, but guitar broke and haven’t got it fixed).
-Run a marathon (I do think about this occasionally)
-Have better posture (I definitely should do this)
-Visit all 50 states (I have been to (if we count all travel including driving through) 18 states with one more later this month).
I need another online thing to manage like I need a whole in my head. I don't blog enough as it is so I guess I am not making my list anytime soon.
I think I need to go to bed.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Foward and Fearless
So, earlier I posted about a great idea that I read about on ProfGirl's Blog. I batted around a few ideas about what my theme could be, but none really 'fit.' So I let my subconscious work on it for a while and it came to me! My theme for 2008 is:
Foward and Fearless
In a way, this theme encompasses many of the ideas that I had on the previous list. First, my avoidance of task completion is becuase I am afraid. When I go back and look at my possible themes 'afraid' or 'fear' are mentioned twice.
Professionally, I am afraid to send out manuscripts--afraid they will be rejected, afraid that I am not cut out for this job. I am afraid that I will not get a job offer this year and that I will be stuck for another year in a job that I hate in place I feel alone.
Personally, I am afraid that no one will want to date me if I venture out to the oneline dating world.
So, I am making a change. I will move foward with my life as best I can. I will try new things (online dating--I will post my ad within the next month is over--which is right around Valentines Day; Join local crafty club that I have been avoiding doing; Try out Young Professional Group in Arty KickAss Nearby City (AKNC)). I will submit a manuscript (if not more than one) this semester.
Hopefully, moving foward, fearlessly will be just what I need this year.
Foward and Fearless
In a way, this theme encompasses many of the ideas that I had on the previous list. First, my avoidance of task completion is becuase I am afraid. When I go back and look at my possible themes 'afraid' or 'fear' are mentioned twice.
Professionally, I am afraid to send out manuscripts--afraid they will be rejected, afraid that I am not cut out for this job. I am afraid that I will not get a job offer this year and that I will be stuck for another year in a job that I hate in place I feel alone.
Personally, I am afraid that no one will want to date me if I venture out to the oneline dating world.
So, I am making a change. I will move foward with my life as best I can. I will try new things (online dating--I will post my ad within the next month is over--which is right around Valentines Day; Join local crafty club that I have been avoiding doing; Try out Young Professional Group in Arty KickAss Nearby City (AKNC)). I will submit a manuscript (if not more than one) this semester.
Hopefully, moving foward, fearlessly will be just what I need this year.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
ProfGirl's amazing idea
So, profGirl is one of the blogs that I read regularly...In a blog from a few days ago, she discuss her avoidance of making New Year's resolutions. Instead of resolutions that don't last (and they never do), she picks a theme. I fell in love with this idea instantly. As she describes it, the theme is "sort of like a mantra...a focal point for what I hope to achieve and how I want to live my life." [Side note: I hope it is okay to be quoting her here....go read her blog, she's awesome]. What an amazing idea, a guiding theme around which you focus your life--making decisions and engaging in behaviors that guide you to where you want to be and the person you want to become.
I have been thinking a lot lately about what I want, what I have, and the vast discrepancy between the two. Being on the job market (read: and fearful that my vitae is not going to get me the job I want), has opened my eyes to the professional changes I would like to make. The massive amount of free time I have here have opened my eyes to the personal changes I would like to make. I hope, hope, hope, hope, hope that this year marks a huge change for me--I would love to spend the Spring semester at TBU, the Fall semester at some new, more promising job.
So, inspired by her blog, I am going to come up with a theme. According to profgirl, "I don't choose themes on the spot, but rather tend to realize that I'm already working toward them. They represent whatever has become important to me, and the choice to more consciously follow that path."
So, potential themes for me for the year 2008.
1. ProfGirl's current theme is completion (inspired in part by completing old manuscripts). My life (and my pile of unfinished manuscripts) could benefit from completion. I have a pile of manuscripts (and a weak looking vitae)--this will become increasingly more crucial if I do not get a job this year. I have had considerable fear of sending out manuscripts and I strongly feel that if I don't send some out soon, I will never send them out, never get a better job, die miserably alone and sad. [I might be exaggerating, but I need to make some improvement here] Further, I have several 'around the house' tasks that need completion. Finally, similar to ProfGirl, I need my life to be more complete. I am not sure what she meant by this, but for me, I need a more fulfilled life. I am afraid that I cannot get a more full life in tiny town, but I need to try. Of course getting a new job would dramatically help here, but I have done all I can do--just a waiting game now.
2. Possible theme: health. For me, this would encompass both physical and mental health. For physical health, I would include eating better (more veggies, less junk, more tofu, less meat, etc.), working out more (I feel about 50 pounds overweight, I am winded when I shouldn't be, I need to be more active and heart-healthy), I would also like to be more flexible. I think being more physically healthy and active would make me happy. Mental health, this is a toughy-I am pretty miserable at TBU. I cry. A lot. More than I should. I am finding less enjoyment in things that I used to like. I pull away from friends and family. I am less productive at work. I don't sleep well. I overeat. I am discouraged about who I am and where I am going. I am concerned about what would happen to my mental health if I do not get a job offer. I guess I am feeling somewhat optimistic (I typed would happen not will happen) about one of my job applications panning out. The thought of another year here is unbearable. If I end up staying here, I think I will need to see a therapist-something I almost did last year, but avoided doing. So physical and mental health would be a good guiding theme.
3. Positivity. I guess this would be related to mental health, but this would be a bit distinct. I feel like I need to be more positive, less focused on the negative, more focused on the glass half full. I complain too much. I dwell. I should find more gratefulness in my life.
4. Unnamed. I have been avoiding doing things, letting dishes pile up in the sink, avoiding laundry. I think it is part a depression issue--it makes me feel blah and avoid work. I avoid school work and sending unpleasant emails. I have been too ostrichy and too lazy....can I call this potential theme No lazy ostrich behavior?
Well, I too am going to think about this...I feel like it will come down to option 1 and 2....oddly both hinge so much on whether I get a job and leave this place.....
I have been thinking a lot lately about what I want, what I have, and the vast discrepancy between the two. Being on the job market (read: and fearful that my vitae is not going to get me the job I want), has opened my eyes to the professional changes I would like to make. The massive amount of free time I have here have opened my eyes to the personal changes I would like to make. I hope, hope, hope, hope, hope that this year marks a huge change for me--I would love to spend the Spring semester at TBU, the Fall semester at some new, more promising job.
So, inspired by her blog, I am going to come up with a theme. According to profgirl, "I don't choose themes on the spot, but rather tend to realize that I'm already working toward them. They represent whatever has become important to me, and the choice to more consciously follow that path."
So, potential themes for me for the year 2008.
1. ProfGirl's current theme is completion (inspired in part by completing old manuscripts). My life (and my pile of unfinished manuscripts) could benefit from completion. I have a pile of manuscripts (and a weak looking vitae)--this will become increasingly more crucial if I do not get a job this year. I have had considerable fear of sending out manuscripts and I strongly feel that if I don't send some out soon, I will never send them out, never get a better job, die miserably alone and sad. [I might be exaggerating, but I need to make some improvement here] Further, I have several 'around the house' tasks that need completion. Finally, similar to ProfGirl, I need my life to be more complete. I am not sure what she meant by this, but for me, I need a more fulfilled life. I am afraid that I cannot get a more full life in tiny town, but I need to try. Of course getting a new job would dramatically help here, but I have done all I can do--just a waiting game now.
2. Possible theme: health. For me, this would encompass both physical and mental health. For physical health, I would include eating better (more veggies, less junk, more tofu, less meat, etc.), working out more (I feel about 50 pounds overweight, I am winded when I shouldn't be, I need to be more active and heart-healthy), I would also like to be more flexible. I think being more physically healthy and active would make me happy. Mental health, this is a toughy-I am pretty miserable at TBU. I cry. A lot. More than I should. I am finding less enjoyment in things that I used to like. I pull away from friends and family. I am less productive at work. I don't sleep well. I overeat. I am discouraged about who I am and where I am going. I am concerned about what would happen to my mental health if I do not get a job offer. I guess I am feeling somewhat optimistic (I typed would happen not will happen) about one of my job applications panning out. The thought of another year here is unbearable. If I end up staying here, I think I will need to see a therapist-something I almost did last year, but avoided doing. So physical and mental health would be a good guiding theme.
3. Positivity. I guess this would be related to mental health, but this would be a bit distinct. I feel like I need to be more positive, less focused on the negative, more focused on the glass half full. I complain too much. I dwell. I should find more gratefulness in my life.
4. Unnamed. I have been avoiding doing things, letting dishes pile up in the sink, avoiding laundry. I think it is part a depression issue--it makes me feel blah and avoid work. I avoid school work and sending unpleasant emails. I have been too ostrichy and too lazy....can I call this potential theme No lazy ostrich behavior?
Well, I too am going to think about this...I feel like it will come down to option 1 and 2....oddly both hinge so much on whether I get a job and leave this place.....
Monday, October 8, 2007
Monday, September 3, 2007
Qualifiers....
I belong to one of those online thingy (e.g., facebook, bebo, friendster, myspace...). I found this little gem there. Here it is for those who want to know more about me:
Either/or:
1. Lose a lover, or love a loser? love a loser...I have certainly liked a whole bunch, if not loved, a loser and it way beats losing a lover. At least if you are loving a loser you are out there loving.
2. Smoke pot, or drink beer? drink bee--and after the day I had, I intend to.
3. Run two miles straight, or walk eight miles? I'm in bad enough running-shape that I don't think I could run two miles straight. I could swim two miles without stopping (been beefing up my swimming lately), but I couldn't run two miles. So I pick walk eight. But kudos to me, I am heading to the gym after I decompress from lecture. Also, running is bad for your joints....
4. Go to the beach, or have a milkshake? This is too ridiculous. Depends on the beach and the milkshake, I guess.
5. Laugh when nobody else is, or not laugh when everyone else is? Not laugh when everyone else is. I can cover that with some fake laughter, no way out of laughing when everyone is quiet.
6. Drink ten cans of soda at once, or never drink soda again? Drinking 10 sodas at once might make me vomit, but I cannot give up my caffeine fix. That having been said, maybe that's the way to break my caffeine habit....drink until vomit.
7. Have your pants ripped, or get thrown in a trash can? Ripped I guess.
8. Kiss someone you don’t like or, kiss someone who doesn’t like you? Do I know that they don't like me? If so, kiss someone who doesn't like me. If I think they do like me and they don't, then kiss someone I don't like instead.
9. Not take a bath for a week or, take a bath in a lake? bathe in a lake, river, stream, who cares...
10. Be an only child, or have five brothers? have 5 brothers. All I have is kid sister (KS). Always wanted a brother or five.
11. Cry in front of 5,000 strangers, or cry in front of your whole school? cry in front of strangers
12. Be able to rewind time or, see the future? If I go back in time, can I change things or do I have to live them all over. Memory is really how we 'rewind time in a way to not get to do things over again. So if I rewind and make no changes, it is like having a really detailed memory. I would prefer that over seeing the future, but I would prefer even more to go back in time and do some things differently.
14. Die the day after the best day of your life, or live to be ninety? Depends on how old I will be when I have the best day of my life. I don't think I have had it yet (I hope not anyway). So what if the best day (My 6 grandchild is born; I learn the world is free of AIDS, Cancer, violence, etc.; I win the Nobel peace prize; my friends and family all experience wonderful things, etc.) happens when I am 80. That makes for a much different answer than if my best day is tomorrow. If you have ready any past posts, you instantly realize that it would be impossible for my best day to be tomorrow. Also, depends on the quality of life I would have in those 90 years.
15. Go skydiving or, go scuba diving? Haven't done either. Want to do both. Probably want to scuba more. I love the water.
16. Be loved by one person, or have ten people who like you? Always loved. Love by one person is worth far more to me than general acceptance or liking by 10 others.
17. Be fat and pretty or skinny and ugly? I feel now that although I am not fat, I am a bit heavier than I can be to call myself skinny. Also if I am being honest. I am pretty (or at least not ugly). I have great skin, nice teeth, pretty and striking eyes, and no weird facial oddities. If it took getting an 'uglified' face to lose weight, I wouldn't. Lucky me, it just takes watching what I eat and getting my butt to the gym.
So that is me in 17 random either/ors. I am not so good with the either/ors I tend to have lots of qualifiers. I guess that also tells you something about me.
Either/or:
1. Lose a lover, or love a loser? love a loser...I have certainly liked a whole bunch, if not loved, a loser and it way beats losing a lover. At least if you are loving a loser you are out there loving.
2. Smoke pot, or drink beer? drink bee--and after the day I had, I intend to.
3. Run two miles straight, or walk eight miles? I'm in bad enough running-shape that I don't think I could run two miles straight. I could swim two miles without stopping (been beefing up my swimming lately), but I couldn't run two miles. So I pick walk eight. But kudos to me, I am heading to the gym after I decompress from lecture. Also, running is bad for your joints....
4. Go to the beach, or have a milkshake? This is too ridiculous. Depends on the beach and the milkshake, I guess.
5. Laugh when nobody else is, or not laugh when everyone else is? Not laugh when everyone else is. I can cover that with some fake laughter, no way out of laughing when everyone is quiet.
6. Drink ten cans of soda at once, or never drink soda again? Drinking 10 sodas at once might make me vomit, but I cannot give up my caffeine fix. That having been said, maybe that's the way to break my caffeine habit....drink until vomit.
7. Have your pants ripped, or get thrown in a trash can? Ripped I guess.
8. Kiss someone you don’t like or, kiss someone who doesn’t like you? Do I know that they don't like me? If so, kiss someone who doesn't like me. If I think they do like me and they don't, then kiss someone I don't like instead.
9. Not take a bath for a week or, take a bath in a lake? bathe in a lake, river, stream, who cares...
10. Be an only child, or have five brothers? have 5 brothers. All I have is kid sister (KS). Always wanted a brother or five.
11. Cry in front of 5,000 strangers, or cry in front of your whole school? cry in front of strangers
12. Be able to rewind time or, see the future? If I go back in time, can I change things or do I have to live them all over. Memory is really how we 'rewind time in a way to not get to do things over again. So if I rewind and make no changes, it is like having a really detailed memory. I would prefer that over seeing the future, but I would prefer even more to go back in time and do some things differently.
14. Die the day after the best day of your life, or live to be ninety? Depends on how old I will be when I have the best day of my life. I don't think I have had it yet (I hope not anyway). So what if the best day (My 6 grandchild is born; I learn the world is free of AIDS, Cancer, violence, etc.; I win the Nobel peace prize; my friends and family all experience wonderful things, etc.) happens when I am 80. That makes for a much different answer than if my best day is tomorrow. If you have ready any past posts, you instantly realize that it would be impossible for my best day to be tomorrow. Also, depends on the quality of life I would have in those 90 years.
15. Go skydiving or, go scuba diving? Haven't done either. Want to do both. Probably want to scuba more. I love the water.
16. Be loved by one person, or have ten people who like you? Always loved. Love by one person is worth far more to me than general acceptance or liking by 10 others.
17. Be fat and pretty or skinny and ugly? I feel now that although I am not fat, I am a bit heavier than I can be to call myself skinny. Also if I am being honest. I am pretty (or at least not ugly). I have great skin, nice teeth, pretty and striking eyes, and no weird facial oddities. If it took getting an 'uglified' face to lose weight, I wouldn't. Lucky me, it just takes watching what I eat and getting my butt to the gym.
So that is me in 17 random either/ors. I am not so good with the either/ors I tend to have lots of qualifiers. I guess that also tells you something about me.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Why did I start this blog
Saw the movie Shall we dance? this weekend. Here is a quote from the movie:
Beverly Clark: We need a witness to our lives. There's a billion people on the planet... I mean, what does any one life really mean? But in a marriage, you're promising to care about everything. The good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things... all of it, all of the time, every day. You're saying 'Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it. Your life will not go un-witnessed because I will be your witness'."
I think being single now, having moved away from all my friends and family, living in a small small town with little social prospects has me much lonlier than I thought I would be. Days go by where I talk to no one, where no one witnessess my life, and I am--unnoticed. So I started this blog to have a place to say the things...the good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things (see vending machine post, which I would also classify as a good thing) in a place where they just might not go unnoticed.
Beverly Clark: We need a witness to our lives. There's a billion people on the planet... I mean, what does any one life really mean? But in a marriage, you're promising to care about everything. The good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things... all of it, all of the time, every day. You're saying 'Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it. Your life will not go un-witnessed because I will be your witness'."
I think being single now, having moved away from all my friends and family, living in a small small town with little social prospects has me much lonlier than I thought I would be. Days go by where I talk to no one, where no one witnessess my life, and I am--unnoticed. So I started this blog to have a place to say the things...the good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things (see vending machine post, which I would also classify as a good thing) in a place where they just might not go unnoticed.
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