I AM graduating this semester. There's no reason for me not to. I've applied for graduation, paid my fees, picked up my regalia, turned in my forms. What's left? Oh yeah, my thesis.
I really love talking about my thesis. I've read a lot, learned a lot, and thought a lot. Now it's time to get it all out on PAPER. So I've been alternating reading and writing.
I met up with my adviser last week, and we set up some deadlines. I modified them to give myself a better cushion, but here they are:
March 2: turn in a chapter
March 23: turn in two more chapters + syllabi drafts
April 1: Complete draft due
May 1: final copies turned into the graduate school
Now, my adviser wanted me to turn in a complete draft on on April 15. But the thought of only having two weeks to scrape together my defense, revise and edit, etc. terrified me, so I moved the date up on myself. If I can get a complete rough draft to my adviser on April 1st, I'll be doing well. And also can possibly set up my defense; we'll, of course, have to see about that.
I'm slogging away at it. Right now, I'm shooting to get about 15 pages of writing per chapter, since I figure I'll add a lot more as I revise and edit. I'm also still doing research, so I'll add more in as I go. Then I'll have the syllabi, course assignments, and many appendices, so that should flesh it out to a tidy length.
The end is in sight--I just need to get to work!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Do You Run or Jog?
Although I am certainly not the most dedicated, consistent, or fastest person, I still call myself a runner. Why? Because I do nutty things like run in below freezing weather, get up at 5:30am to run 5 miles, or run 12 miles on a Sunday morning even though I could sleep in. I think that I qualify, even if I'm slow, lazy, or inconsistent--and why is because I love to run. I love it. I might not want to run even as I'm lacing up my shoes, but once I'm in motion, I'm happy. There is joy in running. Thus, I am a runner.I was telling a friend about a beginners 5k program sponsored by the best running store in Fayetteville. He looked at me and said thoughtfully, "I once jogged a 5k." I replied, "Jogged? What is jogging?" He had clearly meant to say "jog" and not "run". We had a brief exchange until I made it clear that "jogging" meant something different than running. He jogged. I run.
Joggers do it because they have some notion that moving at faster than a walk is an efficient way to burn off the processed food that's making them heavier. There is no joy in jogging; it's too much like boring homework or a distasteful yet required task. It's like people who eat or drink certain things because they are "healthy," yet do not enjoy consuming it. I like to eat things that are tasty as well as healthy because I enjoy the experience and the fact that it's healthy generally means my body will appreciate eating it*.
Joggers do not enjoy the activity, whereas runners get enjoyment. Sure, running is hard. You have to do it more than once a week for it to be an easier. But watching the sun come up as I ran home this morning made me happy. I smiled. And it was a fantastic way to begin my day. Joggers don't get that satisfaction**. Runners do. So--do you run or do you jog?
*If I eat too much sugar--sadly, something that occurs more than it ought--I feel TERRIBLE. I've never felt like that when eating a giant salad or an apple.
**If you don't, find something that will. Like biking. Or playing racquetball. Yoga, Pilates, swimming, jumping up and down on a trampoline, chasing your kids, walking your dog, yard work, gardening, or that silly video that makes you giggle. Moving is good--if you hate to run, then don't do it. Just like if you hate yogurt, don't eat it.
Monday, February 16, 2009
I Did That?
Sunday, I went out for my group run. Our schedule said "15K" which meant probably around 9 miles. Since I'd actually been running consistently throughout the week, I figured I could do it; I'd just be a little tired at the end. When I arrive, the running coach says, "Hey, we're running 12!" I think perhaps he means just the marathon folks, so I don't really say anything, also figuring that I could just walk or something if it's too much.
2 hours, 1200 calories, and 12 miles later, I'm back home stretching and eating a snack. I'm still a little shocked that I ran 12 miles. I mean, I'm training for a 13.1 mile run, and so I was not mentally prepared to run 12 miles. (That's not for another month! According to the training schedule). It surpassed my last week's run by 4 miles. Anyway, I'm happy that my body didn't revolt on me (like it wanted to last week) and seemed to not mind the distance too terribly much, except for being absolutely tired and requiring both a bath and a nap afterward. And an early bedtime tonight too.
Apparently next week is a "light" week (you know, only 6 miles), so it should be fun. And there's supposedly going to be waffles and breakfast burritos and coffee. Maybe by that time I'll have processed that I ran 12 miles and I didn't die. I didn't even feel all that bad*--it was just a lot of work.
Oh, and I met with Thesis Adviser today. I have deadlines! And chapters!
*My knees were achy. I need to do more strength training for the muscles around my knee. Also, I'm a little sore today, but not that bad. Weird how 8 miles was agonizing last week, but 12 was merely hard work.
2 hours, 1200 calories, and 12 miles later, I'm back home stretching and eating a snack. I'm still a little shocked that I ran 12 miles. I mean, I'm training for a 13.1 mile run, and so I was not mentally prepared to run 12 miles. (That's not for another month! According to the training schedule). It surpassed my last week's run by 4 miles. Anyway, I'm happy that my body didn't revolt on me (like it wanted to last week) and seemed to not mind the distance too terribly much, except for being absolutely tired and requiring both a bath and a nap afterward. And an early bedtime tonight too.
Apparently next week is a "light" week (you know, only 6 miles), so it should be fun. And there's supposedly going to be waffles and breakfast burritos and coffee. Maybe by that time I'll have processed that I ran 12 miles and I didn't die. I didn't even feel all that bad*--it was just a lot of work.
Oh, and I met with Thesis Adviser today. I have deadlines! And chapters!
*My knees were achy. I need to do more strength training for the muscles around my knee. Also, I'm a little sore today, but not that bad. Weird how 8 miles was agonizing last week, but 12 was merely hard work.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Accomplishments and Events
They are small accomplishments, but here they are:
And now, for events:
- Almost one page of thesis writing! Okay, so it looks miniscule when I type it out...but if I do one page tomorrow...and maybe two pages the next day, that's four pages before the end of the week*.
- I got up and ran 4 miles this morning
- I sketched out a rough, preliminary outline of my thesis. Just to get thing moving.
- I printed off some documents for the engineering class so I can start working on my syllabi
- I read a chapter of a book for my thesis.
- I started a new knitting project that should be finished soon. More details later.
And now, for events:
- I went to the dentist today, and I have groovy teeth. Groovy is good for music or hippies, but bad for teeth apparently. Even though I'm a good brusher and I floss and I don't drink soda, I have some teeny spots that have to be filled next week. Uggh. My first non-cleaning dentist appointment.
- They later called to tell me the price. It is then that I discovered that my dental insurance sorta sucks.
- I've thus been weird about my teeth all day. I think I'll go brush them now. And floss.
- It's raining. My cat is hiding under my chair (she doesn't like bad weather).
- My new boss started today. I think he's all right. He even poked fun at me about my thesis.
Monday, February 09, 2009
Fennel and Pizza
I often buy vegetables that I've never cooked with because I think they're a.) weird, b.) I've heard they're delicious, or c.)they are cheap and look pretty. Fennel fell into the weird category. I've never really heard much of it and, besides fennel seed, have never cooked with it. So when the co-op had fennel b
ulbs on sale, I snatched one up.
Now that I had this freaky, alien vegetable in my fridge, what was I going to do with it? I had gobs of recipes that involved fennel; however, they wanted more than one bulb. I didn't want to buy more until I knew if I even liked the flavor of fennel. So what on earth could I do with my single fennel bulb? And I'd best decide quick before the thing rotted in my fridge!
That's when one of my favorite cooking blogs came to mind. Aha! I thought. Heidi will know. So I meandered over to 101 Cookbooks and punched fennel into the search engine. Several recipes popped up, but this one caught my eye: pizza with caramelized fennel. Well, one bulb would be more than enough for a pizza, so I followed her directions and caramelized my fennel. It smelled amazing cooking in a splash of olive oil, and when I added some potatoes and minced garlic, the aroma was heavenly.
My pizza crust (yes, homemade) was topped with a coat of citrus/regular olive oil, a sprinkle of salt and pepper, then a layer of sliced tomatoes, fresh spinach. Then I piled on the caramelized fennel slices and thinly sliced potato, put some mozzarella cheese on top, another dash of salt and pepper, and a few rings of purple onions. Popped in the oven, and 15 minutes later, I was munching on a delicious pizza concoction.
For me, pizzas are best with lots of veggies, olive oil instead of sauce, and just enough cheese to hold all the toppings on. This fennelled dish met all my requisites of great pizza, and I anticipate eating more of it tomorrow. It just goes to show what can happen when you let yourself try something new and unusual, and are willing to experiment with flavors and ingredients.
ulbs on sale, I snatched one up.Now that I had this freaky, alien vegetable in my fridge, what was I going to do with it? I had gobs of recipes that involved fennel; however, they wanted more than one bulb. I didn't want to buy more until I knew if I even liked the flavor of fennel. So what on earth could I do with my single fennel bulb? And I'd best decide quick before the thing rotted in my fridge!
That's when one of my favorite cooking blogs came to mind. Aha! I thought. Heidi will know. So I meandered over to 101 Cookbooks and punched fennel into the search engine. Several recipes popped up, but this one caught my eye: pizza with caramelized fennel. Well, one bulb would be more than enough for a pizza, so I followed her directions and caramelized my fennel. It smelled amazing cooking in a splash of olive oil, and when I added some potatoes and minced garlic, the aroma was heavenly.
My pizza crust (yes, homemade) was topped with a coat of citrus/regular olive oil, a sprinkle of salt and pepper, then a layer of sliced tomatoes, fresh spinach. Then I piled on the caramelized fennel slices and thinly sliced potato, put some mozzarella cheese on top, another dash of salt and pepper, and a few rings of purple onions. Popped in the oven, and 15 minutes later, I was munching on a delicious pizza concoction.
For me, pizzas are best with lots of veggies, olive oil instead of sauce, and just enough cheese to hold all the toppings on. This fennelled dish met all my requisites of great pizza, and I anticipate eating more of it tomorrow. It just goes to show what can happen when you let yourself try something new and unusual, and are willing to experiment with flavors and ingredients.
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Green Eggs (But No Ham)
"Did you see the green eggs I got?" asked Lance excitedly as he walked in the door.
"Yeah, that's pretty cool!" I smiled. Lance had gone to a supplemental winter market as a couple of farmers had come into Fayetteville to sell their goods, since the ice had thawed and most people now had power. We've been buying our eggs from one of the farmers (David), and they are delicious*. When I was standing in line one week, I heard him tell the customer before me that the dozen she was getting had been taken from his chickens that very morning. It doesn't get much fresher than that, folks.
Lance then proceeded to tell me that he talked to David about the chickens, "But I don't remember the name of the ones that lay the green eggs," he said
After thinking for a moment, I replied, "Araucanas**". Lance looked at me in wonder. "I know a lot about chickens!"
And I do know a lot about chickens. As a kid, we had many chickens***: Buff Orfingtons (my personal favorite--great layers and so pretty!), Barred Rocks, Rhode Island Reds, etc. Some of our chickens were mutt chickens, crosses of several different kinds. We would make the flock come flying with "Here, chick, chick, chick!" which was their call for corn. We raised baby chicks, and occasionally had a broody hen who hatched some of her own. Having chickens is a great way for a kid to learn about nature--I once got to watch a chicken lay an egg! How many people can say that?
Our chicken-rasing ended tragically when I was in high school; a raccoon got into the coop and bit the heads off our flock. We were devastated. Since my parents often have no follow-through, and vowed to not get any more chickens until the coop was sufficiently secured, we never had chickens again. I still miss all those lovely eggs.
I've always liked raising chickens, and I look forward to being a crazy professor with a chicken coop and piles of fresh eggs that I might give/sell to my favorite students and colleagues. Nothing beats good, fresh, farm-raised eggs, and I would encourage you to find a local farmer (or lady with lots of chickens) to buy fresh eggs from. The orange in their yolks and wonderful flavor they add to your cooking will be unparalleled. And if you happen to get green eggs, your delight will be endless.
*I've recently discovered the tastiness of a perfectly boiled egg. It really does make a difference how long you cook them!
**Though, looking at Wikipedia, I've discovered what I thought were Araucanas are actually Ameraucanas, so named because of several similarities, chief of which is blue/green eggs.
***Also geese, ducks, and turkeys. Other non-fowl included a horse, some goats, and for a brief stint, some pigs. The pigs ended up in our freezer.
"Yeah, that's pretty cool!" I smiled. Lance had gone to a supplemental winter market as a couple of farmers had come into Fayetteville to sell their goods, since the ice had thawed and most people now had power. We've been buying our eggs from one of the farmers (David), and they are delicious*. When I was standing in line one week, I heard him tell the customer before me that the dozen she was getting had been taken from his chickens that very morning. It doesn't get much fresher than that, folks.
Lance then proceeded to tell me that he talked to David about the chickens, "But I don't remember the name of the ones that lay the green eggs," he said
After thinking for a moment, I replied, "Araucanas**". Lance looked at me in wonder. "I know a lot about chickens!"
And I do know a lot about chickens. As a kid, we had many chickens***: Buff Orfingtons (my personal favorite--great layers and so pretty!), Barred Rocks, Rhode Island Reds, etc. Some of our chickens were mutt chickens, crosses of several different kinds. We would make the flock come flying with "Here, chick, chick, chick!" which was their call for corn. We raised baby chicks, and occasionally had a broody hen who hatched some of her own. Having chickens is a great way for a kid to learn about nature--I once got to watch a chicken lay an egg! How many people can say that?
Our chicken-rasing ended tragically when I was in high school; a raccoon got into the coop and bit the heads off our flock. We were devastated. Since my parents often have no follow-through, and vowed to not get any more chickens until the coop was sufficiently secured, we never had chickens again. I still miss all those lovely eggs.
I've always liked raising chickens, and I look forward to being a crazy professor with a chicken coop and piles of fresh eggs that I might give/sell to my favorite students and colleagues. Nothing beats good, fresh, farm-raised eggs, and I would encourage you to find a local farmer (or lady with lots of chickens) to buy fresh eggs from. The orange in their yolks and wonderful flavor they add to your cooking will be unparalleled. And if you happen to get green eggs, your delight will be endless.
*I've recently discovered the tastiness of a perfectly boiled egg. It really does make a difference how long you cook them!
**Though, looking at Wikipedia, I've discovered what I thought were Araucanas are actually Ameraucanas, so named because of several similarities, chief of which is blue/green eggs.
***Also geese, ducks, and turkeys. Other non-fowl included a horse, some goats, and for a brief stint, some pigs. The pigs ended up in our freezer.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
The Sock Effect
As I was walking to the coffee shop for my lunch hour, I basked in the warm sunshine and contemplated running. I hear a low voice murmur something, and it takes my brain a minute to catch it: "Your socks are bitchin'!" the girl had said softly as we crossed paths. I reacted with a cheerful smile and a "Thanks!"
Erin over at A Dress A Day posted yesterday about Michelle Obama's inauguration dress (the lovely yellow/green lace), and how our new First Lady wore that dress:
It was amazing how differently I carried myself after I got the compliment. I walked a little taller and was smiling because I was happy and it was sunny and I had bitchin' knee socks. I was wearing an outfit that pleased me. As I walked into the coffee shop, I noticed several people (okay, mostly guys*) looking in my direction. As I made eye contact, we smiled and nodded at one another. I don't know if it was my confident step or my fun knee socks, but whatever I had, I apparently wore it well. If only I could live every day with that that kind of happiness and confidence--who knows what I might accomplish!
*I'm aware knee socks also convey a bit of the naughty school girl thing, but I don't care. They are cute; they make me happy; and they keep my legs warm without me having to wrestle into a pair of tights if I feel like wearing a skirt.
Erin over at A Dress A Day posted yesterday about Michelle Obama's inauguration dress (the lovely yellow/green lace), and how our new First Lady wore that dress:
Michelle Obama does what I advocate everyone should do: she wears what makes her happy. Could she have worn some boring royal-blue, be-Spanx-ed sheath, by Oscar de la Renta (no offense, Oscar, but you know what I'm talking about) and gotten relieved and approving nods from the Fashion Commentariat? You know she could. But she obviously loves those gloves: they made her happy, so she wore them. WITH a yellow wool lace Isabel Toledo!I like Erin's take on Michelle Obama's dress (it was a great outfit), and on wearing clothes in general. I wear clothes that make me happy. You might remember knee socks on my list from yesterday, and today I wore a pair of black/red/grey argyle knee socks. I love them; I think they're cute; not to mention that they match the rest of my outfit (black pencil skirt, bright red Mandarin collared shirt, acessorized with a grey pearl bracelet, necklace with a square black pendant, and red earrings). I love it when all the various bits of my outfit coordinate just so.
It was amazing how differently I carried myself after I got the compliment. I walked a little taller and was smiling because I was happy and it was sunny and I had bitchin' knee socks. I was wearing an outfit that pleased me. As I walked into the coffee shop, I noticed several people (okay, mostly guys*) looking in my direction. As I made eye contact, we smiled and nodded at one another. I don't know if it was my confident step or my fun knee socks, but whatever I had, I apparently wore it well. If only I could live every day with that that kind of happiness and confidence--who knows what I might accomplish!
*I'm aware knee socks also convey a bit of the naughty school girl thing, but I don't care. They are cute; they make me happy; and they keep my legs warm without me having to wrestle into a pair of tights if I feel like wearing a skirt.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
The Archies, Jenn-style
I've been coaxed back into posting by reading Donna's blog, and I figured the Archies were due. Since there's nothing I like better than lists*, and all the other kids are doing it, I figured I'd join in. With out further ado, my list of the Best Things of 2008, in no particular order.
1. How I Met Your Mother, Seasons 1-3**
2. A Christmas stocking made especially for me
3. New shiny pots
4. Academic conferences/trip to DC
5. Elections
6. Friend's rotation in NWA
7. Cream of limoncello (made in LR!)
8. Winter market
9. Homemade apple butter (sans sugar)
10. Lost and Found
11. Chalice
12. Running tights
13. 30 Rock
14. Hulu
15. Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
16. Christmas gift packages in the mail from the Secret Knitter
17. Pedicures
18. Ann Taylor suit separates
19. Knee socks
20. NPR: Fresh Air/This American Life
21. The Decemberists' Always the Bridesmaid: Vols 1-3
22. Camping
23. His and Hers Bikes
24. Trips to Spain (Two year Archie!)
25. Free Senso coffee maker
26. Etsy!
27. The Kitchn
28. Greens (kale, chard, turnip/beet/mustard greens)
29. Food processor (how did I live without one?)
30. Experiments with vanilla extracting
31. The return to NWA of a wonderful friend!
32. Another pal's new baby. He's a cutie.
33. Lance's family
34. How to Cook Everything Vegetarian
35. Petunias that bloom through the winter
36. Fingerless gloves
37. Yoga/cupcake buddy (and her engagement!)
38. Tiny spoons and pretty cups
39. Greek Gods Yogurt and Ice Cream
40. MA coursework finished
And I'm done. Mostly because 40 is a good number, and partly because I'm tired of hunting down links and I could think up things about 2008 that were awesome all day long...
*Okay, there is. Footnotes, for example.
**I haven't watched 4 yet.
1. How I Met Your Mother, Seasons 1-3**
2. A Christmas stocking made especially for me
3. New shiny pots
4. Academic conferences/trip to DC
5. Elections
6. Friend's rotation in NWA
7. Cream of limoncello (made in LR!)
8. Winter market
9. Homemade apple butter (sans sugar)
10. Lost and Found
11. Chalice
12. Running tights
13. 30 Rock
14. Hulu
15. Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
16. Christmas gift packages in the mail from the Secret Knitter
17. Pedicures
18. Ann Taylor suit separates
19. Knee socks
20. NPR: Fresh Air/This American Life
21. The Decemberists' Always the Bridesmaid: Vols 1-3
22. Camping
23. His and Hers Bikes
24. Trips to Spain (Two year Archie!)
25. Free Senso coffee maker
26. Etsy!
27. The Kitchn
28. Greens (kale, chard, turnip/beet/mustard greens)
29. Food processor (how did I live without one?)
30. Experiments with vanilla extracting
31. The return to NWA of a wonderful friend!
32. Another pal's new baby. He's a cutie.
33. Lance's family
34. How to Cook Everything Vegetarian
35. Petunias that bloom through the winter
36. Fingerless gloves
37. Yoga/cupcake buddy (and her engagement!)
38. Tiny spoons and pretty cups
39. Greek Gods Yogurt and Ice Cream
40. MA coursework finished
And I'm done. Mostly because 40 is a good number, and partly because I'm tired of hunting down links and I could think up things about 2008 that were awesome all day long...
*Okay, there is. Footnotes, for example.
**I haven't watched 4 yet.
Thursday, January 01, 2009
And A Happy New Year!
Phew, now that I've gotten that out of my system. I've been carrying around excess loathing of the-books-that-shall-not-be-named that I needed to purge. And since it's the new year, it's time to cast off the excess baggage and move forward with a light heart and a clean slate. I'm sure 2009 will give me some new crappy fiction to loathe and to rip apart in future posts.
2008 was pretty awesome. I lived in my own apartment for the first time, and I loved it. I finished up my course work for my MA. I kicked off the year with a trip to Spain, and concluded it with a two week vacation from work, traveling the state and visiting family and friends. I had many new experiences, learned lots of interesting things, and met lots of neat people. I threw a bitchin' New Year's Eve party. It's been a good year.
Since I was up until 3am, entertaining and playing bartender, I stayed in bed until 11am, surrounded by my kitties. I woke up and leisurely got moving, finally shoving myself out the door for a three mile run. It was a terrible run (at first) because I drank last night, but it ended up being a great run because I did it and felt pretty good that I was starting the year off right. After more dilly-dallying (etc), Lance and I packed up and headed to stay with dear friends. And I hope to see even more dear friends tomorrow (that's you, EP and MD!).
I have a few New Year's Resolutions: I'm not letting myself buy new books until I read the unread material in my ever-growing library*. I'm going to try to do less and relax more**. I will finish my thesis. You know, that sort of thing.
Happy New Year to everyone!
*Of course, I can "cheat" by using the public library or borrowing from friends. But the point is to keep me from adding to my bookshelves until I actually read what I already own.
**Which means pedicures. Not often, but occasionally--I got one on Monday, and it was nice.
2008 was pretty awesome. I lived in my own apartment for the first time, and I loved it. I finished up my course work for my MA. I kicked off the year with a trip to Spain, and concluded it with a two week vacation from work, traveling the state and visiting family and friends. I had many new experiences, learned lots of interesting things, and met lots of neat people. I threw a bitchin' New Year's Eve party. It's been a good year.
Since I was up until 3am, entertaining and playing bartender, I stayed in bed until 11am, surrounded by my kitties. I woke up and leisurely got moving, finally shoving myself out the door for a three mile run. It was a terrible run (at first) because I drank last night, but it ended up being a great run because I did it and felt pretty good that I was starting the year off right. After more dilly-dallying (etc), Lance and I packed up and headed to stay with dear friends. And I hope to see even more dear friends tomorrow (that's you, EP and MD!).
I have a few New Year's Resolutions: I'm not letting myself buy new books until I read the unread material in my ever-growing library*. I'm going to try to do less and relax more**. I will finish my thesis. You know, that sort of thing.
Happy New Year to everyone!
*Of course, I can "cheat" by using the public library or borrowing from friends. But the point is to keep me from adding to my bookshelves until I actually read what I already own.
**Which means pedicures. Not often, but occasionally--I got one on Monday, and it was nice.
TWILIGHT Must Die
Yes, I read them. Yes, I watched the movie. But it and its merchandising spawn need to go away.
What has sparked this hatred toward the latest fad in terrible fiction? As I was driving around recently I pulled up behind an annoyingly shiny SUV. As I looked at the monster before, I saw a license plate frame that read: "Warning: I drive like a Cullen". Because vampires have awesome superhuman senses, they can drive like bats out of hell and not get caught.
Robin McKinley sums up her dislike of Stephenie Meyer's abominations by talking about their bad example. I think a book that encourages young women to be passive little twits, wholly consumed by their seemingly undying love for a creepy stalker boy, and empty of any personality or common sense is BAD. Also books that encourage people to continue driving huge pointless SUVs and buying crap related to them are BAD. But whatever.
I feel that my dislike for Twilight, etc. has grown exponentially into hatred. Crappy fiction needs to go away. Luckily crappy fiction tends to fade after a few years, so that in roughly a decade few will remember these silly vampire stories.
If you want a good vampire story, read Sunshine by Robin McKinley. It has a complex female heroine, good writing, and an awesome vampire battle.
What has sparked this hatred toward the latest fad in terrible fiction? As I was driving around recently I pulled up behind an annoyingly shiny SUV. As I looked at the monster before, I saw a license plate frame that read: "Warning: I drive like a Cullen". Because vampires have awesome superhuman senses, they can drive like bats out of hell and not get caught.
Robin McKinley sums up her dislike of Stephenie Meyer's abominations by talking about their bad example. I think a book that encourages young women to be passive little twits, wholly consumed by their seemingly undying love for a creepy stalker boy, and empty of any personality or common sense is BAD. Also books that encourage people to continue driving huge pointless SUVs and buying crap related to them are BAD. But whatever.
I feel that my dislike for Twilight, etc. has grown exponentially into hatred. Crappy fiction needs to go away. Luckily crappy fiction tends to fade after a few years, so that in roughly a decade few will remember these silly vampire stories.
If you want a good vampire story, read Sunshine by Robin McKinley. It has a complex female heroine, good writing, and an awesome vampire battle.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
THE END
My paper is done, all 17 pages of it! Let me rejoice! The end is here!
Suddenly, inexplicably, it hits me--I'm finished with my MA coursework. The last item to complete is my thesis. And while that's a challenge in its own right, I find myself sad because I'm done with classes. No more discussions about awesome books. That's right: it's also the end of this phase of my schooling.
Yay?
Suddenly, inexplicably, it hits me--I'm finished with my MA coursework. The last item to complete is my thesis. And while that's a challenge in its own right, I find myself sad because I'm done with classes. No more discussions about awesome books. That's right: it's also the end of this phase of my schooling.
Yay?
Friday, December 12, 2008
And Now For a "Read" Post
I obviously love good food*, but I also love good books. Yesterday, I found myself enthralled with Robin McKinley's newest, Chalice. So much, in fact, that I neglected to even look at my paper**.
I was sad when I closed the cover of Chalice last night: not because the book ended sadly but because I was finished. I did not want to finish. I wanted the story to go on forever and ever because I liked the world McKinley created, and I liked the characters, and I liked the story. She's good. She's really good--and she doesn't really write sequels, so you're left with the feeling of having finished a good story but also knowing that all the bits of story that are left unresolved will never come to anything.
McKinley's books are good because she sticks with Tolkien's style of storytelling. Tolkien knew that there's always more story to tell, and to create a rich story, full of depth and meaning, you (as the storyteller) had to hint that there are more stories to tell. You create the craving in the reader, but never fulfill it. It's like Scheherezade in The Arabian Nights' Entertainments: both delight and surprise, but stir up a desire that can never be satisfied. "More!" you want to shout, but more you'll never get. In the meantime, you are left with this splendid book, Chalice, and the hope that maybe McKinley will do what she did for Damar and make another story***.
I'm being purposely vague about the book because I think it best if the reader simply immerses herself into McKinley's beautiful world without knowing what's going on. McKinley reveals it slowly, throwing the reader into the narrative stream partway through and then reveals pieces of the tale (not the whole story, mind you) that pertain to the overall plot. There's this niggling sense all along that McKinley has several narrative threads in her hands, but merely shows you a flash of their color instead of spinning it out fully. It adds a three-dimensionality to her world without bogging it down with unnecessary explication. Like Tolkien, she assumes the reader is smart enough to get it, and the story is all the richer for it.
It's a delicate balance that many authors fail at (cough, Twilight, cough). McKinley succeeds, and I now have a new favorite book, at least until the next one comes along...
*I made the most delicious dinner last night: couscous with roasted vegetables^, seasoned with salt, pepper, and olive oil with a crumbling of the soft goat cheese. Oh. My. God. That (and a glass of wine) and Chalice, and I forgot about my paper entirely. I also sort of refused to share with my neighbor because I wanted it all for myself.
^Beets, turnips, butternut squash, apple, onion, garlic, cranberries, red bell pepper, and almonds. Toss lightly in olive oil and roast in a pan for a while (until vegetables are all tender). Sprinkle the almonds on toward the end or else they might burn before the veggies are cooked.
**And so much for that goal of 5 pages typed. Okay, so now the goal is to get to page 5 tonight, and finish it up tomorrow. Buckle down and work, do it now!
***The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown are longtime favorites. I read them in high school and have reread them over and over again. (Beauty is also really delightful.)
I was sad when I closed the cover of Chalice last night: not because the book ended sadly but because I was finished. I did not want to finish. I wanted the story to go on forever and ever because I liked the world McKinley created, and I liked the characters, and I liked the story. She's good. She's really good--and she doesn't really write sequels, so you're left with the feeling of having finished a good story but also knowing that all the bits of story that are left unresolved will never come to anything.
McKinley's books are good because she sticks with Tolkien's style of storytelling. Tolkien knew that there's always more story to tell, and to create a rich story, full of depth and meaning, you (as the storyteller) had to hint that there are more stories to tell. You create the craving in the reader, but never fulfill it. It's like Scheherezade in The Arabian Nights' Entertainments: both delight and surprise, but stir up a desire that can never be satisfied. "More!" you want to shout, but more you'll never get. In the meantime, you are left with this splendid book, Chalice, and the hope that maybe McKinley will do what she did for Damar and make another story***.
I'm being purposely vague about the book because I think it best if the reader simply immerses herself into McKinley's beautiful world without knowing what's going on. McKinley reveals it slowly, throwing the reader into the narrative stream partway through and then reveals pieces of the tale (not the whole story, mind you) that pertain to the overall plot. There's this niggling sense all along that McKinley has several narrative threads in her hands, but merely shows you a flash of their color instead of spinning it out fully. It adds a three-dimensionality to her world without bogging it down with unnecessary explication. Like Tolkien, she assumes the reader is smart enough to get it, and the story is all the richer for it.
It's a delicate balance that many authors fail at (cough, Twilight, cough). McKinley succeeds, and I now have a new favorite book, at least until the next one comes along...
*I made the most delicious dinner last night: couscous with roasted vegetables^, seasoned with salt, pepper, and olive oil with a crumbling of the soft goat cheese. Oh. My. God. That (and a glass of wine) and Chalice, and I forgot about my paper entirely. I also sort of refused to share with my neighbor because I wanted it all for myself.
^Beets, turnips, butternut squash, apple, onion, garlic, cranberries, red bell pepper, and almonds. Toss lightly in olive oil and roast in a pan for a while (until vegetables are all tender). Sprinkle the almonds on toward the end or else they might burn before the veggies are cooked.
**And so much for that goal of 5 pages typed. Okay, so now the goal is to get to page 5 tonight, and finish it up tomorrow. Buckle down and work, do it now!
***The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown are longtime favorites. I read them in high school and have reread them over and over again. (Beauty is also really delightful.)
Thursday, December 11, 2008
In Praise of a Delicious Salad
I'm fond of salads. They can be just the perfect meal (or side to a meal), if made properly. Unfortunately, too many salads use nasty iceberg lettuce as a base, and they become a vehicle for meat, cheese, and fatty dressing. That's not a salad; that's an excuse to continue eating crap while pretending to be healthy.
The most important part of a salad is the proper ratio of ingredients along with a good balance of textures and flavors. Too little green and too much topping ends up not being a good salad. My preference is a base of mixed greens (green leaf, red leaf lettuces, possibly some spinach and arugula), some other veggies (grated carrots, beets, etc), a little something sweet, something nutty/savory, something cheesy, with a modicum of vinaigrette*. A good balance of crunchy and soft ingredients is a must. If we're making it a meal, a boiled egg (more savory) is a nice addition along with a piece of toasty bread. A dash of salt and pepper, and voila! delicious salad.
If you top it with too much stuff, you get to the end of the salad and you only have toppings and no greenery. I like a bit of greenery with my other salad components, and I don't much care for gobs of dressing (just a smidge for extra flavor--sometimes none at all). When all of it is in balance, I am happy eater of salads.
For the past two days Lance has created the perfect salad. He started with a base of green leaf lettuce, shredded nicely. He then topped it with chopped Medjool dates (sweet), almonds and walnuts (savory/nutty), and some bits of soft goat cheese. He sprinkled on some black pepper, and I dressed it with a small dash of vinaigrette. Every bite is crisp and green, with the flavor of dates and goat cheese and nuts and pepper. The textures and flavors are in balance, and I didn't have toppings left at the bottom of my bowl. It is, at this moment, the perfect salad.
*Annie's makes a shiitake vinaigrette that's amazing. I also love the word "modicum".
The most important part of a salad is the proper ratio of ingredients along with a good balance of textures and flavors. Too little green and too much topping ends up not being a good salad. My preference is a base of mixed greens (green leaf, red leaf lettuces, possibly some spinach and arugula), some other veggies (grated carrots, beets, etc), a little something sweet, something nutty/savory, something cheesy, with a modicum of vinaigrette*. A good balance of crunchy and soft ingredients is a must. If we're making it a meal, a boiled egg (more savory) is a nice addition along with a piece of toasty bread. A dash of salt and pepper, and voila! delicious salad.
If you top it with too much stuff, you get to the end of the salad and you only have toppings and no greenery. I like a bit of greenery with my other salad components, and I don't much care for gobs of dressing (just a smidge for extra flavor--sometimes none at all). When all of it is in balance, I am happy eater of salads.
For the past two days Lance has created the perfect salad. He started with a base of green leaf lettuce, shredded nicely. He then topped it with chopped Medjool dates (sweet), almonds and walnuts (savory/nutty), and some bits of soft goat cheese. He sprinkled on some black pepper, and I dressed it with a small dash of vinaigrette. Every bite is crisp and green, with the flavor of dates and goat cheese and nuts and pepper. The textures and flavors are in balance, and I didn't have toppings left at the bottom of my bowl. It is, at this moment, the perfect salad.
*Annie's makes a shiitake vinaigrette that's amazing. I also love the word "modicum".
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Cheap Eats
I was browsing my RSS feed today, and came across this article in the New York Times, which talks about how people are cooking more as the economy is getting crappier. I have to say that we've been doing this all year--though, not just to save money*.
Roughly one year ago, I moved into my own apartment. We suddenly found ourselves not wanting to go out to eat as much (an expensive trip to Spain helped) because we liked the kitchen. Lance and I go back and forth playing with recipes, with flavors, with new ingredients, and we LOVE it.
This summer, we invested in the freezer and have been putting up fruits and vegetables from our local farmers' market. We spent about $40 each week we went, but we bought so many vegetables that we have plenty for the winter. And we recently found out that there is a group of farmers who have a "winter market," so we've invested in that. We rarely buy produce from the grocery store (except for what we consider staples, like onions).
All of this contributes to us having a healthier diet and being pretty happy. We love to cook. Love it. We occasionally eat out not because we don't have anything to eat but because we want to enjoy the flavors of our favorite eateries (like Petra Cafe, for example). We have people over and share our delicious meals. When we go to visit places, we bring food with us to prepare--or raid their pantries and freezers and whip something up. Many of my Christmas gifts will be homemade treats.
I think for me the reason to cook at home is not just to save money (which it certainly does), but to be able to create. When I whipped up a quick dinner the other night (pasta and vegetables with a light cheesy sauce), and I didn't consult a recipe (just my gut and what was on hand), I realized that I just created something delicious without fuss or bother. It was easy and satisfying.
*Saving money is one perk to cooking at home. I can then use the money for other things, like clothes.
Roughly one year ago, I moved into my own apartment. We suddenly found ourselves not wanting to go out to eat as much (an expensive trip to Spain helped) because we liked the kitchen. Lance and I go back and forth playing with recipes, with flavors, with new ingredients, and we LOVE it.
This summer, we invested in the freezer and have been putting up fruits and vegetables from our local farmers' market. We spent about $40 each week we went, but we bought so many vegetables that we have plenty for the winter. And we recently found out that there is a group of farmers who have a "winter market," so we've invested in that. We rarely buy produce from the grocery store (except for what we consider staples, like onions).
All of this contributes to us having a healthier diet and being pretty happy. We love to cook. Love it. We occasionally eat out not because we don't have anything to eat but because we want to enjoy the flavors of our favorite eateries (like Petra Cafe, for example). We have people over and share our delicious meals. When we go to visit places, we bring food with us to prepare--or raid their pantries and freezers and whip something up. Many of my Christmas gifts will be homemade treats.
I think for me the reason to cook at home is not just to save money (which it certainly does), but to be able to create. When I whipped up a quick dinner the other night (pasta and vegetables with a light cheesy sauce), and I didn't consult a recipe (just my gut and what was on hand), I realized that I just created something delicious without fuss or bother. It was easy and satisfying.
*Saving money is one perk to cooking at home. I can then use the money for other things, like clothes.
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Jenn's Kind of Meme
Meme time!
a) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
b) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Reprint this list and leave a comment——————————————–
1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. The Bible
7. Wuthering Heights- Emily Bronte
8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12. Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller (I've started it a couple of times)
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare
15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19. The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34. Emma - Jane Austen
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen
36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37.The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41. Animal Farm - George Orwell
42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown (uggh, regretfully)
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48. The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50. Atonement - Ian McEwan
51. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52. Dune - Frank Herbert
53. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz
57. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68. Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69. Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70. Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72. Dracula - Bram Stoker
73. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75. Ulysses - James Joyce (has anyone really read it?)
76. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78. Germinal - Emile Zola
79. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80. Possession - AS Byatt
81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87. Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (which one?)
90. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94. Watership Down - Richard Adams
95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
Wow, I'm fairly impressed with my list. Of course, most of the classics I read in class, so I guess that's an unfair advantage... Also, it's cheating slightly to say "The Chronicles of Narnia" AND "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe"!
a) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
b) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Reprint this list and leave a comment——————————————–
1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. The Bible
7. Wuthering Heights- Emily Bronte
8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12. Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller (I've started it a couple of times)
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare
15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19. The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34. Emma - Jane Austen
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen
36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37.The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41. Animal Farm - George Orwell
42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown (uggh, regretfully)
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48. The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50. Atonement - Ian McEwan
51. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52. Dune - Frank Herbert
53. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz
57. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68. Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69. Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70. Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72. Dracula - Bram Stoker
73. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75. Ulysses - James Joyce (has anyone really read it?)
76. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78. Germinal - Emile Zola
79. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80. Possession - AS Byatt
81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87. Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (which one?)
90. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94. Watership Down - Richard Adams
95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
Wow, I'm fairly impressed with my list. Of course, most of the classics I read in class, so I guess that's an unfair advantage... Also, it's cheating slightly to say "The Chronicles of Narnia" AND "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe"!
Monday, December 01, 2008
Milton, In Translation
Just in case you didn't know, Milton's Paradise Lost is a masterpiece of the English language. It's also really difficult to slog through, which is why it is infrequently taught outside of an college English classroom. What if there was a way to translate the epic from English...well, from hard English to easier English? Would that betray the project of the poem, or make the work more accessible to the everyday, non-English major reader?
Stanley Fish wrote today in the NY Times about a new "translation" of Milton: a prose interpretation alongside the original work. It makes a great work of English literature accessible to those who want it.
My initial impulse is to dislike it (why don't we just get students to use ClifNotes?), but after a bit of thought, I realized something like this could be a great teaching tool for high school teachers, or in an introductory English course in college. Milton's epic is worth experiencing, even if you need a bit of help translating/interpreting.
I think I'm going to order it and check it out. Maybe I'll even try to read the whole work--I've read parts of it, but that epic is long!--to experiment with how it will read for a student. For me, works like this have to strike a balance between getting folks to read Great Books and simplifying it for readers. I think Danielson's translation doesn't reduce it down (like ClifNotes might), but instead illuminates it. And that is a worthy project.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Eating Well?
I'm listening to an episode of This American Life, where they are playing recordings of folks talking about the Great Depression. Meanwhile, I'm eating a delicious homemade lunch: venison stew with beans and vegetables with a thick slice of fresh homemade sourdough bread and a beautiful salad made with local produce.
As I'm eating my healthy and delicious lunch, the thought occurred to me: how many people don't think they can eat this well? And worse yet: how many people can't afford to eat good, fresh food?
After learning that nearly a billion people worldwide live on less than a dollar a day for food, a couple in California set out to do just that. The NY Times recently wrote an article about their month-long experiment, where they learned that they could not afford the fresh organic produce they were accustomed to, and that junk food is usually cheaper than the good stuff. They also raised money to donate to charity.
I read their blog, and I found it thought provoking. We don't tend to think about healthy food as anything special; everyone can afford good food, right? The people who buy junk food just don't want to eat healthy. The fact that many poor people are fat is just their fault, not the fault of the government whose farm policies have many crappy processed food more affordable than vegetables.
I grew up in a "economically disadvantaged" home. There were seven mouths to feed, and not a whole lot of money to do it. Our meals were spaghetti, macaroni and cheese (4 boxes for a dollar--feeds us all, with leftovers!), hotdogs, and other really inexpensive foods. For vegetables, Mom prepared canned green beans or corn. Occasionally, we'd get frozen peas. We ate lots of potatoes, and usually had bananas. There was usually iceberg lettuce, but I've always hated iceberg lettuce.
We had a garden growing up, and it was from that garden that I learned to like fresh cucumbers and squash and other fresh vegetables. But when we couldn't grow it, we stuck to the standbys: processed food.
And of course school was much of the same, since we either chose between the "hamburger line" (with nary a vegetable to be seen) or the regular lunch line. (Our whole family was on the free lunch program.) You could sign up for a salad in the morning, which I did occasionally, but the salads were piled high with cheese and ham and ranch dressing.
Anyway, now that I can afford to eat great food--and I make it a priority in my budget--I find myself reflecting back on my childhood and adolescence. There are lots of kids like me and people who live on even less than we had. We may not have had money for fresh organic produce, but we didn't go hungry.
As I was contemplating all of this, the thought popped into my head: what if we had a soup kitchen that included a garden? What if this soup kitchen fed people fresh, organic food, and allowed them to help out in the garden and learn the magic of growing things? People within the community could also come help in the garden and volunteer in the kitchen, learning how to cook healthy food, learning the connections anew between seasonality and what you eat (i.e. no strawberries in December, nor asparagus in June). This vision of a community space to feed and teach people about good food was so stirring and beautiful that I wanted it to happen, now.
How could I create such a place?
As I'm eating my healthy and delicious lunch, the thought occurred to me: how many people don't think they can eat this well? And worse yet: how many people can't afford to eat good, fresh food?
After learning that nearly a billion people worldwide live on less than a dollar a day for food, a couple in California set out to do just that. The NY Times recently wrote an article about their month-long experiment, where they learned that they could not afford the fresh organic produce they were accustomed to, and that junk food is usually cheaper than the good stuff. They also raised money to donate to charity.
I read their blog, and I found it thought provoking. We don't tend to think about healthy food as anything special; everyone can afford good food, right? The people who buy junk food just don't want to eat healthy. The fact that many poor people are fat is just their fault, not the fault of the government whose farm policies have many crappy processed food more affordable than vegetables.
I grew up in a "economically disadvantaged" home. There were seven mouths to feed, and not a whole lot of money to do it. Our meals were spaghetti, macaroni and cheese (4 boxes for a dollar--feeds us all, with leftovers!), hotdogs, and other really inexpensive foods. For vegetables, Mom prepared canned green beans or corn. Occasionally, we'd get frozen peas. We ate lots of potatoes, and usually had bananas. There was usually iceberg lettuce, but I've always hated iceberg lettuce.
We had a garden growing up, and it was from that garden that I learned to like fresh cucumbers and squash and other fresh vegetables. But when we couldn't grow it, we stuck to the standbys: processed food.
And of course school was much of the same, since we either chose between the "hamburger line" (with nary a vegetable to be seen) or the regular lunch line. (Our whole family was on the free lunch program.) You could sign up for a salad in the morning, which I did occasionally, but the salads were piled high with cheese and ham and ranch dressing.
Anyway, now that I can afford to eat great food--and I make it a priority in my budget--I find myself reflecting back on my childhood and adolescence. There are lots of kids like me and people who live on even less than we had. We may not have had money for fresh organic produce, but we didn't go hungry.
As I was contemplating all of this, the thought popped into my head: what if we had a soup kitchen that included a garden? What if this soup kitchen fed people fresh, organic food, and allowed them to help out in the garden and learn the magic of growing things? People within the community could also come help in the garden and volunteer in the kitchen, learning how to cook healthy food, learning the connections anew between seasonality and what you eat (i.e. no strawberries in December, nor asparagus in June). This vision of a community space to feed and teach people about good food was so stirring and beautiful that I wanted it to happen, now.
How could I create such a place?
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Back to It
Well folks, I'm back home. I'm sitting in my very comfortable pants and UCA sweatshirt, with a needy kitty sitting on my lap. Lance is off at Sunday night potluck, but I decided to hang out at home and enjoy being home.
I like home. It's great. Travel is fun, however, because I know I have someplace to return to after all the hustle and bustle of the trip is done. I'm actually quite a homebody when it comes down to it. Not that you're likely surprised.
I had a great time: I got to meet and talk to some really neat people, and I even went on an impromptu walk around DC to the Monument and the Lincoln Memorial last night:
Why not go out on a bang? It was a great trip and a great city, and I look forward to my next academic conference!
I like home. It's great. Travel is fun, however, because I know I have someplace to return to after all the hustle and bustle of the trip is done. I'm actually quite a homebody when it comes down to it. Not that you're likely surprised.
I had a great time: I got to meet and talk to some really neat people, and I even went on an impromptu walk around DC to the Monument and the Lincoln Memorial last night:
Why not go out on a bang? It was a great trip and a great city, and I look forward to my next academic conference!
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Exploring
I went to eat lunch today with a fellow conference attendee: we went to a fantastic Indian restaurant with served delicious lamb-based dishes. I rarely have lamb, so I relished the food--it was great. And I also had great conversation with the older academic. I miss getting to have non-stop conversations sometimes.
Today I presented my paper, and I think it went well.
After lunch, I relaxed for a few minutes, then set out for a used book store. I've been having fun walking around Georgetown, relaxing and exploring this wonderful sector of DC. I love how old it is, how the houses stand shoulder to shoulder, tall and stately. I love the feel of the city.
Whenever I travel to a new city, I make sure I get out and explore. I decided I would do that when I did travel to a new city, and I stayed in my hotel for most of the trip...and missed out on some wonderful experiences. I've learned to love exploring a place alone, mostly because I'm not really alone--I'm getting to know the place.
Tonight, I'm heading out to eat dinner with another fellow conference attendee. We chatted last night and made plans. It's my last night here, and tomorrow will basically be travelling home, so I want to make sure I soak up as much Georgetown as possible. I believe after that I'm meeting up with another friend (someone from UCA) to have a drink, and that'll be fun.
Ah, new places. Will I ever grow tired of visiting unknown cities?
Today I presented my paper, and I think it went well.
After lunch, I relaxed for a few minutes, then set out for a used book store. I've been having fun walking around Georgetown, relaxing and exploring this wonderful sector of DC. I love how old it is, how the houses stand shoulder to shoulder, tall and stately. I love the feel of the city.
Whenever I travel to a new city, I make sure I get out and explore. I decided I would do that when I did travel to a new city, and I stayed in my hotel for most of the trip...and missed out on some wonderful experiences. I've learned to love exploring a place alone, mostly because I'm not really alone--I'm getting to know the place.
Tonight, I'm heading out to eat dinner with another fellow conference attendee. We chatted last night and made plans. It's my last night here, and tomorrow will basically be travelling home, so I want to make sure I soak up as much Georgetown as possible. I believe after that I'm meeting up with another friend (someone from UCA) to have a drink, and that'll be fun.
Ah, new places. Will I ever grow tired of visiting unknown cities?
Friday, November 07, 2008
Jenn's First Conference
My conferencing today has gone very well. I've met many intelligent, gracious scholars--I think this is a group (the EC/ASECS) that I would like to be associated with for a long time.
I have some thoughts about my first conference and realizing how I should present myself professionally (which is different, perhaps, from how I present myself normally). Also, about how as a young female academic, I've been treated not as a fellow scholar--by one or two older folks, anyway. (Mostly everyone else has listened to what I have to say, and I've been happily partaking of the intellectual atmosphere.) But I think I'll save those thoughts for when I don't have to stand at a public computer in the hotel lobby.
Oh, and for the knitter-readers: I bought some lovely yarn from Stitch DC. I felt as though a trip to a new place would not be complete unless I did a bit of yarn shopping. Yay for LYS!
I have some thoughts about my first conference and realizing how I should present myself professionally (which is different, perhaps, from how I present myself normally). Also, about how as a young female academic, I've been treated not as a fellow scholar--by one or two older folks, anyway. (Mostly everyone else has listened to what I have to say, and I've been happily partaking of the intellectual atmosphere.) But I think I'll save those thoughts for when I don't have to stand at a public computer in the hotel lobby.
Oh, and for the knitter-readers: I bought some lovely yarn from Stitch DC. I felt as though a trip to a new place would not be complete unless I did a bit of yarn shopping. Yay for LYS!
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