Public Log (Summer Institute: Day 3)

Well, week one is half over, and we’re off to a good start.  I’ve been thinking about the ways that the Summer Institute is like a race: it seems to be equal parts marathon and relay race.  I say marathon because it’s a long stretch to the end—no quick sprint one-day workshop here.  Right now, in the first week, we’ve just set out from the starting line and our legs are fresh and we are eager to be here.  Perhaps the last week, we’ll be a little more tired, but once we cross that finish line, we’ll be exhausted but exhilarated with what we’ve accomplished.

Right, so first week.  We’ve made it to Day 4, yay!  And There Will Be Food today—a bit of sustenance to keep us going strong.  Our first three days, we have set out at a good pace.  We’ve had two demonstrations, and I know I (for one) have been writing more these past three days than I did for most of the last semester, stretching those writing muscles.  I think some of us feel limber, some perhaps a bit sore from new activity.  The best thing I’ve found to ease the pain of sore muscles, though, is to keep going—so on we must go. Although this is often an individual race, we’re really not competing—we are all running alongside one another, and often running as one unit, a team.  We all have to do our part to make sure that the Summer Institute is a success, and so far everyone’s legs seem to be up to the challenge, even if many of us are unaccustomed to the activities.

After our nightly breather (also known as sleep), we got going again yesterday with the starting pistol—well, chime, and Mike read to us about leadership and told us we’re all leaders.  There was some discussion about t-shirts or a goody bag—all good races have them—and then we’re into Lap One: listening to Michelle read the Log in the style of Dr. Suess.  Today she’s passed the baton on to me—this is how it’s like a relay—and I find myself a little nervous starting my leg of the race.  But as our fearless team leaders tell us: WE CAN DO THIS.  She had us write about a book from our childhood, a prompt I think we all loved.  During races, runners near one another often share stories and talk to one another, and Dawn and Theresa both shared stories so sweet and poignant that it made me tear up a little.  Jacqueline told the story of how she’d always wrangle How the Grinch Stole Christmas away from her older sister during the holidays by quoting the lines ahead of her.  Nathan regaled us with his questions about why there were monkeys in Caps for Sale, and I read why I loved The Secret Garden.  I realized that we love these books not just because of their content but because of the memories they evoke when we think about them.  Everyone who shared their Quick Write had specific memories and emotions attached to their book.  We ended this segment with a little rest and time to refuel.

We took a little longer than anticipated, but rounded the corner only a little behind into the next lap of the day: demonstrations!  Jacqueline took the lead on this and totally ran with it, presenting a totally paper-less lesson on Analysis.  Here, we entered the college classroom, watched clips from Mad-Men, and learned that Brenda has two husbands—what??  That made us stop dead in our tracks until she clarified, and then we laughed and picked back up the pace.  Jacqueline showed us how we can use digital tools to enhance and facilitate collaborative work, and I for one was eager to use Google Docs to enhance my own running…I mean, teaching.

At this phase in the race, we’re getting a feel for our running companions.  We learned that Zack—or is it Jack?—is a bit of a prankster, sending texts in the guise of a man named Carl.  He’ll probably be that guy who will dump Gatorade on your head at the water stop.  Jack, watch out because Jamie will exact her revenge on you before the end of our marathon here.  Chris brought the extra long Twizzlers, which he’ll probably use later on to whip us into shape, or make us run, I mean write faster.  During a rest break, Jamie was egged on to place the animal crackers in, well…compromising positions.  We’re quickly learned who are the runners who spend much of their time in the gutter, and who are the ones laughing at their antics.

After a lap of individual running in the guise of Silent Sustained Writing, we met back up to complete the course for the day with Author’s Chair.  Getting in the spirit of running ahead of the pack, Theresa leapt out and read us the start of her historical/family narrative.  Nathan read lovely poetry about chairs, and Dawn read a work in progress about her favorite place in South Africa.  Jamie passed out our readings for tomorrow—Jack (Zack?) found a little surprise in his packet—and with the finishing chime, we all stopped and were able to rest.  One more day of our marathon down, and before we know it, we’ll be at the end of the race, collapsed on the finish line.  And like good runners, we’ll already be thinking about our next event.

QUICK WRITE: List three of your favorite physical activities.  Pick one of them and write a story about something that happened while you or someone you know was doing that activity, or what it is about that activity that makes you enjoy it.

Summer Institute: Day 2

...And, we're off!  Day 2, and we already participated in our first demonstration by one of the Fellows.  TT, a fifth grade teacher, did an EXCELLENT demonstration on the Dust Bowl.  We wrote lots of different ways and really enjoyed what she showed us.  I'm a little nervous about the demonstration, but luckily I'm going in a couple of weeks, so I get to really work on it before presenting!

The day began with the Reading of the Log.  Tomorrow will be my turn, so I've been taking notes and watching all day.  H read the log, and it was all very entertaining.  I think we're going to start egging each other on to write funny logs and really come up with clever ways to deliver them.  I plan to post mine for tomorrow on NWP e-Anthology, a site for Fellows to share their Summer Institute experiences.  H prompted us to write about a food experience, and I shared the most recent memory: making a delicious lemon cake for A's going-away potluck.

After the Log, CG gave us a pep-talk/lecture about professional writing.  He encouraged us to seek ways to get published--and I really want to work toward that goal.  I've got several pieces started, and the one piece that I'm working on with my adviser, so hopefully this year I can begin submitting articles to various journals.

We had a nice session of SSW: Silent Sustained Writing.  I like that they give us lots of time to write; it also gives me some time to work on the writing for the projects that I have going.

I tinkered around with my "Kitchen" piece a lot the first night, so I shared it during Author's Chair time, the last block in the schedule for Fellows to share something they've been working on.  It's interesting and scary and exciting to read stuff to my fellow participants, but I'm glad for the opportunity.

The days go by so quick, and I just feel my head filling with ideas and the itch to write again.  It's amazing how writing makes you want to write more...

Summer Institute: Day 1

Yesterday was Day 1 of the National Writing Project Summer Institute, a four-week long program exploring the connections between writing, education, and writing instruction.  The first day was part-orientation, part-introductions.  We began with one of the mentors delivering the Daily Log, a summary of the last meeting's events.  He delivered it in the style of Stephen Colbert, using "The Word" segment.  We then participated in our first Quick Write: a short burst of writing to get the creative juices flowing.  Our prompt was a dialogue of who we might like to have dinner with, and I picked Tolkien (of course).  We shared our dialogues, and Chris's was the funniest, a conversation with THE Cookie Monster.  Cooookies!

We moved into some business and orientation and expectations, breaking up into our response groups.  I think my response group is going to be awesome--they are a supportive audience who will offer great suggestions for each other's writing.

After lunch, we observed and participated in a lesson demonstration, one of our major products for the institute.  The teacher gave an excellent and fun demonstration over revision (geared for a 4th-grade classroom).  She has us write about our favorite space, a piece that I continued to play with throughout the afternoon and later into the evening.

The group of teachers is a fun*, friendly group, and I'm excited to be able participate.

*Favorite words/phrases: "diggin' like a dog in a hole" and "shoulding."

Unstructured Time

You would think that I'd return to my regular writing schedule now that the semester is done (and has been done for a full month).  You would think that, wouldn't you?  Well, you'd be wrong.

I have a secret: I'm no good with unstructured time.  I thrive on deadlines and regular meetings to keep me going.  I would never do an online class because I wouldn't be able to work on it methodically and systematically--I'd either do it in big bursts or wait until the last minute.

This is a problem, however, for an aspiring academic.  See, now (and in the future), I need to be able to work on my own projects/research/writing without someone setting deadlines for me.  I need to be able to sit down and focus everyday on a given task and get it done.  I think it's key to being successful in academia--and key to finishing my degree (and staying in my adviser's good graces).

With that in mind, I'm going to attempt to structure my own time and force myself to stick to some sort of schedule.  The past couple of days I've been working on reading some scholarship and thinking about my Fall course, and tinkering with other tasks, but not in a structured, concentrated way.  I hate feeling unproductive, but I'm having a hard time actually getting much done during my summer days.

Fellow academics, how did you train yourselves to be more disciplined and focus on tasks to be able to accomplish what you want to accomplish?

Three Weeks and Counting

It's the countdown until the end of the semester.  My students feel it (though I think since the snow, they never really got into the semester as they should have), and are responding appropriately.  I am trying to schedule all the things I have to finish up before the semester ends and how I can do it without going crazy or overdosing on coffee.

Then...the summer. In which I currently have no plans and no employment.  It's weird, a summer without something to do.  I still have hopes of securing at least some money over the summer, but prospects aren't good.  I'm sure there will be a marked increase in posts here.

Thinking ahead, I've decided I'm going to focus on running better and faster.  I'm going to run a 25k (about 15 miles) in July, which means I'd better get on training.  One part of my training I always neglect is cross-training.  Be it other forms of cardio or strength training, I'm terrible about doing anything a little different.

So, in order to work on healthy habits throughout the summer (which I hope to extend into the semester), I plan on working on a series of small goals.  The first?  To get 8 hours of sleep a night and to move around every day.  Now, moving around doesn't mean working out, but it means taking a walk during the day or something like that.  Two fairly simple goals, right?

They seem pretty easy, but it's good to start out small.  Plus, the right amount of sleep will really help me out when it comes to dealing with students and grading...and...getting off coffee (which will happen AFTER the semester ends).

Feminist Rant, or We Don't Have to Look Like Supermodels to be Healthy

Rush Limbaugh is an idiot.  I am fully aware of this fact.

Now, usually my approach to idiots is to ignore them.  I ran across this post about Limbaugh's latest comments about our amazing First Lady, and my first impulse was to roll my eyes.  He called her a hypocrite for eating ribs instead of "roots, berries, and tree bark."  Any logical thinking person would realize that healthy people sometimes indulge in their favorite foods (like a cupcake!), and that's all part of being healthy.  (And yes, I realize that he is just an old fat man who has no idea what "healthy" means).

That wasn't the thing that got me.  It was something else he said, directly attacking Michelle Obama, which I could not in good conscience ignore.

To quote:

"I'm trying to say our first lady does not project the image of women that you might see on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue or of a woman [Yankees star] Alex Rodriguez might date every six months, or what have you," Limbaugh concluded.

Ah, here we have it!  What is threatening about Michelle Obama is that she is a powerful, smart, educated black woman who is doing amazing things instead of sitting on the sidelines while her husband leads (ahem, Laura Bush).  So if you are an old, fat white man threatened by a powerful woman, what do you attack?  Her physical appearance, of course!

Limbaugh can't possibly see that how the First Lady (amazing arms and all) can be a model for healthy eating because she doesn't resemble the waif-like, airbrushed supermodels that he believes is the perfect female body.  Even those supermodels don't resemble the magazine covers.  Since she's not someone that Alex Rodriguez wants to f*&%, then she's not a good role model, nor is she someone we should listen do. And Limbaugh gets to sneer from his XXL chair that she's a hypocrite and belittle her appearance.

You notice no one goes around critiquing Sam Kass for eating ribs--no one really cares--yet he is a major player in the First Lady's healthy initiative.  Why not?  Because he's a man, so he is not required by any standards to look like a model.  Women, meanwhile, are constantly held to ridiculous standards, and idiots like Limbaugh think its perfectly acceptable to attack THE FIRST LADY of the United States for not looking like sexual object.

Here's the thing, Limbaugh--she is not a sexual object.  She is a woman, an intelligent, educated, powerful woman.  Her ability to do awesome things in the world is not directly related to her resemblance to a magazine cover or the sorts of women that Alex Rodriquez tends to date (if only he could be so lucky to score a babe like our First Lady).  Critiquing her initiative is one thing; attacking her for not living up to an impossible standard of beauty and for not existing to serve as a sexual object for your dirty, nasty gaze is something I will not stand for.

Michelle Obama is the perfect role model for healthy eating.  She is not a size 0, and that's why she's so awesome.  She has curves and muscles, and isn't afraid to bare her arms to the world.  Her husband certainly thinks she's beautiful, and I find her to be a damn classy lady, full of grace and confidence.  She is a healthy weight, she knows that part of enjoying life (while being healthy) requires one to eat a damn rib every now and then (or a cupcake), and that one should feel good in her own body.

This is precisely why she is the perfect model for women, young and old.  She projects the image of a woman who is comfortable in her skin, who isn't obsessed with attaining an impossible standard of beauty.  She isn't afraid to eat a rib every now and then, and she is someone women look to for what we should be.  We don't have to accept that our ability to do things in the world and our self-worth is tied to how we look.

And that, my friends, is why we should speak up, even when old, fat white men critique women's appearances.  We should speak up and shout them down and tell them we aren't taking any more of their impossible standards.  We (women AND men) should scream that we refuse to be reduced to our size or our weight.  And we refuse to be told that our self-worth is dependent on our ability to be a sexual object.

Noodles!

A few weeks ago, I stumbled across this recipe on Food in Jars (one of my favorite sites).  Hmmm, I thought to myself, This looks pretty delicious.  I'll have to try it one night.  Last week, that night came.  Lance and I were so hungry after working out that we wanted a quick and easy dinner.  He boiled noodles and vegetables, and I whipped up the peanut sesame/tahini sauce. Then we ate it all.

The next day I needed a lunch, and I asked Lance to make me noodles once more.  I ate them all.

Then, we made them for potluck last night, adding tofu, beet greens, and carrots.  Everyone kept going back for more, commenting on how delicious they are.

(You should be picking up on a trend now).

I am now officially obsessed with these noodles.  The sauce is infinitely versatile.  Lance created some kind of weird fish sauce concoction to add to it that several people at potluck really liked.  I'm not a fish sauce fan myself, so I'm sticking with them plain and delicious. (But you might add fish sauce, if you're so inclined).

Add whatever vegetables or proteins you want, or use whatever noodles you want (I like sobas, but they are really good with rice noodles, and I'm sure udon or somen would be equally good).  A quick, healthy dinner, all wrapped up in one, provided you don't eat the whole pot or anything.

Incidentally, I'm also eating leftover noodles today for lunch.

Peanut Tahini Noodles 
(from Food in Jars)

With two bundles of soba noodles, it makes two generous servings.

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
3 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste)
1 tablespoon peanut butter
2 tablespoons honey
1 inch of ginger root, finely minced (we use a garlic press to mince--works great!)
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 tablespoon sriracha sauce


Whisk it all together, pour over cooked noodles/vegetables, and NOM.

Jenn Got Married

Hey guys, I'm a married lady now!  It happened in a whirlwind of snow, flurries, ice, and skirts.  In the end, it was amazing and perfect--all of our friends and family pitched in to make it an event I'll never forget.

And without further ado (because I know this is what you really want), photos!

Red room!

Bride and groom!

Me and the bridesmaids, who were awesome.  The flowers we're carrying are made (by all of us) of felt, hot glue, and flower wire (and ribbon).  I'll just take a moment to say I had the BEST bridesmaids.  One journeyed far from the northernlands and faced lots of stupid airline crap just to be here.  One absorbed bad luck (her shoe broke just hours before the wedding, and then when she figured that all out, she ended up burning her hair).  One was bringer of boozes not to mention up early to help decorate.  They were all freakin' awesome.

The groomsmen, not be forgotten, were also fantastic. Two travel far--one from Eastern Europe!!--and they all pitched in and helped get everything going, decorating, driving me/other people all around, and just being super cool.  Our wedding parties are simply a microcosm of our fantastic group of friends.

I made my veil, which was super fun.  The flower is made of silk circles of varying sizes, and I sewed some beads in the middle to give it a little bling (I was looking for some sort of cool piece of jewelry but never found one).  The veil itself was a pain, until I finally figured out how to shape it properly--I'm extremely pleased with how it turned out!

The shoes! So amazing! They were great--though, I think because they are really high, they are why I didn't cry during the ceremony, which was so beautiful and perfect.

My dress twirls! (Advantages of a full skirt).

I never thought I'd say it, but my wedding was perfect.  Even with all the snow crazies, and with some people unable to travel, we still had a great time and partied hard.

NYE Outfit: Vintage Finery!

Several months ago, my cool aunt (who is also making my wedding cakes!) scored a sweet find at an estate sale: a vintage dress, in almost perfect shape, for like $2.  (FYI: it's always nice to have someone who knows my tastes looking out for me!).  When I went to visit in November, she brought the dress out of the closet.  I eyed it cautiously for a few minutes because it looked too small for me around the middle.  The dress, however, was a lovely shade of pink and looked exactly like something I should own.

In spite of my worries, I tried it on, and even though it was very fitted, I could tell it fit properly.  This was, after all, a dress from the era of more fitted dresses and more confining undergarments.  I made a few small adjustments to the dress (removed some fading velvet bows and fixed a torn sleeve).  I thought about wearing it to Christmas (but opted instead for my red silk Christmas skirt), but ultimately decided that New Year's Eve would be the perfect venue for this lovely dress.

I was also given some lovely vintage jewelry from Lance's grandma (some that I will wear at the wedding!), so I wore that as well.  While thrifting the afternoon of NYE, I found a great pair of shoes (for cheap!) that I wore.  The best find of all during the thrifting excursion, however, was a lace clutch with matching gloves:

So pretty, and yet so cheap!  If only they were white, I could wear them with my wedding dress.  I will find other reasons to wear them, never fear.

I felt a bit costumed, but you know what?  I felt awesome.  There is definitely something to be said about wearing clothes that fit well and make you feel good in them.

Vintage-tastic!

Project Wedding Dress

Oh, hi there.  Remember me?  Yeah, I tried to blog a bit more then fell off the face of the earth.  However, I am back because I want to tell you all about the pretty wedding dress I'm making. The pictures will be a bit deceiving because I won't share the finished product until after February 5th, but you can see some of the process up until then.

So: this summer, after Lance proposed and I accepted, and after I tried on a few dresses and decided that most things related to commercial weddings made me twitch and itch a little (I think I'm allergic), I decided to make my own dress.  This Vogue pattern (originally from 1954!) caught my eye and stuck with me.

So very vintage! With a scooped neck, a full skirt, and a low back!  These features drew me toward it.  I bought the pattern, then began the practice dress (to make sure the final version would fit before I attempted it).  Finals occurred, followed by the holidays (and another wedding to attend), so I finally got around to working on after Christmas.  And...it turned out so well:

Well, it would look better if you could see me in it, but you can get the general idea.

So, now that the practice dress is (mostly) done (sans buttons and hemming), I decided to make several modifications to the pattern.  There are buttons on the front, but I am moving those to the back.  I'm also adding lace.  I'm also making the whole dress out of a second-hand dress given to me, so I'm incorporating fun beading into the skirt (that I don't have to do!).  Here's the dress I chopped up for parts:

And a close-up of the skirt/beading:

Gotta love recycling!

I'll go into more detail about the modifications I made (and how I did it), but I'm feeling reasonably confident in my sewing skills as of late.  Luckily, I do have an awesome seamstress to help me hem it because that's my sewing weakness: my hems always look like a home-ec project whereas the rest of the dress usually looks really great.  Guess I'll be working on that skill next!

Next wedding project (after the dress is completed): wedding vests for the boys.

Vegetarian Cure-All Soup

Lance is the one who first introduced me to homemade miso soup.  Since we always have a tub of miso paste in the fridge (and he's actually currently brewing a batch of miso), we eat miso soup fairly regularly.  When he is not feeling well, he makes a pot of miso to feel better, and I began doing the same.  Miso soup has become my chicken noodle soup--and I think it beats it as a curative, hands down.

I started feeling like I was coming down with a cold a couple of days ago, so Thursday night I made a big pot of miso soup with chard and tofu.  With a little added sriracha and a hunk of homemade bread, this soothing brew has helped me fight off the cold.  The hot broth helps soothe my throat and the sriracha spiciness keeps my sinus passages clear.  I thought I'd share the recipe with you all in case you too are succumbing to late fall/end of semester illnesses.

Spicy Miso Soup with Tofu and Greens

Makes 4 servings

In a saucepan, saute some onion--I used the white bulb from some green onions--in a little olive oil.  Add a couple of handfuls of thinly sliced chard (about two big leaves + stems) or other green.  Cook until the greens begin to wilt, then add 4 cups of water.  Bring to a boil and add 3-4 tbsp miso paste (to taste) and 1/2 block of chopped tofu.  Season with pepper and nutritional yeast to taste.  (I find the miso salty enough, so I don't add any salt, but if you want more salt, some soy sauce would be good).  Add sriracha (aka "rooster sauce") to taste.  Top with green onion and eat with a chunk of good bread for a healthy and soothing meal.

Cranky Redux

1.  "Is Emily Dickinson a lesbian?" was the first question out of his mouth.  To kick off the discussion of one of my favorite poets, we begin with this question?  No. Way.  Dr. M. and A (a grad student) moved it to a discussion about gender ambiguity in her poetry and the role of gender (all worthy topics), but I just slapped my forehead in pain, anguish, and exasperation.  Why are we so willing to read her poetry through biography?  I was in fact so cranky that I wrote my reading journal with a twinge of an attitude (toward the view, not my prof).  I wanted to talk about the visual appeal of the poetry (capitalization and dashes, i.e.) and some other things. Cue: pain and frustration.

2.  There was going to be Rhet/Comp seminar next semester.  Yay, a class in my discipline! Perfect!  But, alas, due to the fracas that took place in October, the class was canceled.  Cue: woe and despair.

3  I seem to be developing a cold, one week before a draft and a research presentation are due. Cue: further woe and further despair.

4.  We counted all the people we should invite, could invite, have to invite.  Then we added up out of the almost absolutely bare minimum we have to invite that will come and it added up to more than our space will hold.  Lance is measuring to see if we can make it work.  Cue: let Lance deal with it for right now...I gotta finish out the semester!

5.  Today, something was said (not to me directly or about me directly) that pushed my anger button.  I don't really want to go into detail in an online space, but it's nothing too juicy and scandalous, and I might tell you if you ask me personally.  Needless to say, it made me cranky. (Cue: crankiness)

6.  I like the Romantics as much as anyone: but to the person in my class who insists that art is created from the outpouring of an effluent spring, the divine speaking through the poet, the lightning strike of inspiration, the drugged dream haze: this is not how it works.  Even the Romantics knew that.  Writing might begin (or contain) little flashes and moments of inspiration, but to make something good, the artist has to think, to have a purpose in creating, and execute with skill.  Otherwise any idiot high on pot could write like Coleridge, Wordsworth, Shelley, or [INSERT AUTHOR HERE].

7.  The same person also said that great art is never written with an intentional political/social purpose.  Puh-lease!  (Note: this person is not an artist: she once wrote one poem in one outpouring of emotion, so she bases this on that one experience.)

The non-cranky:
I'm obviously engaged and opinionated in my studies, so I guess that's a good thing?

Teaching

I found out the other day that I get to teach a class next semester, which excites me greatly.

Today, I taught many, many students (one-on-one) about writing.  It made my brain very, very tired.

But...that sense of a job well done...that makes up for the tiredness.  I don't know if they really learn that much from a half-hour or hour session, but they seem grateful when they leave, and I like it when they come back and I can see how their writing changes (and improves, sometimes).

I'm grateful for the chance to work with students in the writing center, and I'm grateful for the chance to teach next semester.

And, now, time for bed.

PS: I've started reading Pegasus in my scraps of stolen free-time, and it's awesome.

In Which Jenn Querulously Writes

I don't know if it's just that time of the semester (where we all need a break) or what, but I'm finding myself becoming crankier.  More cantankerous.  Querulous, even.  So today I shall discuss particular points of complaint.

One: students on campus.  Okay, so I know I work at a university and am a student, so I really shouldn't complain about this.  However, I'm looking specifically at how students move around on campus.  Since I'm on a bike, I'm hyper-aware of my setting (because I want to stay alive to bike another day), but I've noticed that most students don't pay attention to their surroundings.  I've almost run students down because they are too busy texting or looking at their feet to remember that they are surrounded by potential obstacles.  (FYI: they don't even hear my bike bell.) They also can't walk in a straight line, which makes biking around them surprisingly difficult.

But here is my main complaint: I usually ride on the sidewalk for a short bit, then switch to the roads that run through campus.  However, students don't even look before they cross those roads! And I'm not talking about using cross-walks--they just walk.  Wherever.  Everywhere.  And yes, cars do drive on these roads.  Today, I almost ran down three students who just randomly crossed in front of me without even looking up.  Normally, I would just roll my eyes, but today I scolded them loudly.

These kids seem so lost in their own little words (which I'm sure are infinitely fascinating) that they can't even observe the world around them.  This leads me to my next point: individualism is not all it's chalked up to be.  Bear with me a minute as I make the connection:  we as a nation are obsessed with the individual.  Thinking that one is a unique butterfly in a world of unique butterflies leads, in my thinking, to this inability to remember that one exists in spaces with other people.  Be considerate. Look around.  And watch out for angry girls on bikes.

In Feminist Theory, we keep hitting on this idea of the individual, which frustrates me because, yes, while, we are all individuals with individual experiences, we also exist within a social order, a society, a culture(s), structures, and institutions.  We are who we are because of our place in the world, not because of some unique individualism that is inherent to human nature.  We love, share, and communicate because we can understand other people: we have shared experiences, thoughts, ideologies, and perspectives.  Emphasizing individualism is detrimental to society because we all think we're entitled to step on other people to get to where we want to go instead of trying to work together to make the world a better place.  You are not a unique snowflake.  Deal with it, and remember that there are other people in the world besides you.

Decision Day

Yep, it's that time of the year again.  I'm going to go vote later (because I'm cool like that), but I thought I'd reflect a little on politics.

In my Feminist Theory class, we've been talking about how a proclamation that one does not have politics is another way of saying that one's political views belong to someone else.  Or, if you aren't interested in politics, then politics is interested in you.  I'm reasonably interested in politics, but both Lance and I have spent the last few months frustrated: frustrated because it seems that people refuse to listen to reason,that people refuse to consider the other side of an issue, that people are too busy worrying about phantoms to realize that big issues are at stake.

I was excited in 2008 because it seemed like there really was potential for change.  It was exciting.  And changes have been made, albeit in a more watered down form.  This year, I've had a hard time getting excited about any of the candidates.  I know who I'm going to vote for (and have good reasons), but it's mostly because I don't like the opposition.

Well, anyway.  I don't have too much to say after all, but I hope you all will go out and vote today.

That Grad School Thing

As everyone expected, I disappeared into a pile of books, notes, and papers as the semester progressed  I have reemerged, albeit likely temporarily.

What have I been up to?  A list, for your ease of understanding:

• Attended and presented at my first academic conference as a PhD student
• Began Project Wedding Dress (posts to come, I hope, and pictures)
• Ordered the most beautiful wedding shoes
• Drank copious amounts of coffee
• Gave up drinking copious amounts of coffee
• Ran a 5k, placed third in my age group, and earned a new PR (26:03!)
• Read pages and pages and pages
• Saw two authors of cool books, all within one week
• Checked out mountains of books from the library for my research papers
• Subbed for a friend's Comp I classes, which was pretty fun
• Dressed up like a robot for Halloween
• Realized that we have three months until the wedding
• Started a paper on feminists and vampires
• Bought a plane ticket to Boston for Thanksgiving
• Tutored lots of students in writing, which was FUN

Anyway, you get the idea.  It has been fun and glorious and I wouldn't give it up for anything.  I'm about to have to abandon my social life for the next month or so to get everything done, but I'll emerge on the other side successfully!

On the Sublime

Are we not, then, to hold that composition (being a harmony of that language which is implanted by nature in man and which appeals not to the hearing only but to the soul itself), since it calls forth manifold shapes of words, thoughts, deeds, beauty, melody, all of them born at our birth and growing with our growth, and since by means of the blending and variation of its own tones it seeks to introduce into the minds of those who are present the emotion which affects the speaker, and since it and by the building of phrase upon phrase raises a sublime and harmonious structure are we not, I say to hold that harmony by these selfsame means allures us and invariably disposes us to stateliness and dignity and elevation and every emotion which it contains within itself, gaining absolute mastery over our minds? (Longinus)

The sublime.  We've heard the term bandied about, and those of us who are familiar with underlying ideas of Romanticism will immediately think "Edmund Burke."  Well, Longinus thought it first.  My intent, however, is not to give a lesson but to urge you to think about what it that writing does to us.

What do words do?  When you read, what are the words stirring inside of you? If it sublime, it lifts and inspires heightened emotions.  If it's well-written, in inspires loftier things--it "seeks to introduce into the minds of those who are present the motion which affects the speaker."  And if it's successful, oh what can it do?  These words can create a work that "allures us and invariably disposes us to stateliness and dignity and elevation and every emotion which it contains within itself," and here's the rub: "gaining absolute mastery over our minds".

That, my friends, is why we read literature.  To feel that inspiration, that rush of emotion, the elevation of the mind and heart.  And why do we study writing and try to teach it?  I would hope it would be show our students that writing is powerful and that they too can grasp at least a measure of that power and wield it.

(Party) Dress

I had an engagement party last weekend (so fun!), so I decided to use some of my precious spare time (read: time I should be reading) to make a new dress.  I was at the new fabric store with AW and found a great Burda Style pattern (No. 7517) and some great discount material.  The dress only needed 2 yards!  To make a whole dress!

Anyway, so after deciding it was worth about $15 to buy pattern/dress (though, after zipper and other materials, probably closer to $20 or $25), I went home and made it.  I got quite obsessed with finishing and stayed up until 1 or 2 am, working on it.

It turned out, and it turned out exceedingly well.  You see, I actually took the time to carefully measure and resize the pattern to fit me precisely.  (It turns out that I'm a mix of three sizes, go figure).  The pattern was really good in that it was both easy and had a great size chart so I could figure it all out.  I also carefully sewed everything, so all the seams were in place and the zipper wasn't all crooked.

And when I zipped it up, I was surprised and delighted to discover that it fit me perfectly.  It was lovely.  After the picture was taken, I was able to adjust the front pleats a bit more to lay flatter (no additional sewing required!).  I want to make another out of cotton and maybe three more just for the hell of it.  It was stylish and wonderful, and it was the perfect thing to wear to a party to celebrate our engagement.

Wedding Planning Recommences!

Lance and I have been engaged for three months now, but somehow I think we're a little behind on wedding planning.  Here are things I have done:

• tried on wedding dresses (and ruled out buying one)
• obtained a dress to take apart and make mine out of
• picked wedding cake recipes for my aunt to make
• figured out bridesmaids/groomsmen and officiant

Here are the things we probably should be doing but haven't yet:

• set a date (well, we did this once already, but it fell through)
• register
• figure out a budget
• decide dresses/suits/Lance's suit
• food
• photographer
• engagement photos

 Luckily, thanks to an awesome friend, we may have figured out where the darn thing is going to be.  And now that we've figured out where, we can figure out the when.  And the budget.  For some reason, so much of our planning was hinging on that not-so-minor decision.  Now that we have a where (which I'm really excited about because it's going to be SO COOL. And budget-friendly!), I'm back in wedding planning mode again.  Lance and I have decided we're going to try for the cheap-yet-fun wedding award, and we're excited.  As you can probably tell from my overuse of the italics.

Let the wedding planning excitement continue!  I'm obviously out to make this as much fun as humanly possible instead of aggravating as it too often seems.

Post-Stabbing Shirt

When you accidentally stab yourself, you need to have a good story.  Oh, look.  I'm injured.  How'd I do it, you ask?  Well...that's a great story.  You see, there was a puppy, a crazed monkey, and a knife...

Anyway, I stabbed myself yesterday in the arm, near my elbow. Unfortunately, I don't have a great story.  Not even really a good story.  But here it is: I was washing dishes, and I was reaching around the other side of the dish rack to put a mug down when I clipped the utensil caddy.  In an attempt to catch it (while not breaking my mug), I flailed and ended up jamming my arm down hard on the tip of a very sharp paring knife, knocking the utensil caddy on the form and luckily dodging the other two sharp knives while keeping them from piercing my toes.  I called Lance in a panic, and he came home to find me in a slight state of shock, drenched in sweat from the adrenaline rush, pressing a paper towel to my bleeding arm.

After he patched me up, Lance finished the dishes while I calmed down and realized that my knife injury now limits my range of motion, meaning I pierced the muscle that controls my hand--thus inhibiting my ability to grasp things well, type, or lift things.

Today, though, I was feeling a bit better, so I decided to do a little sewing.  I cut out a pattern for a cute shirt I'd been eyeballing (and had a piece of fabric picked up for super cheap!)  Lance came through, and as he has acquired many apples, he wanted me to make him a muslin press bag for his apple press.  So I cut out and sewed that, then decided to keep up the craftiness and made this:

It's stretchy and comfy and I really like it.  I look forward to wearing it out sometime soon!  When I'm less stabbed.