wonderment » legend

A little lift

kelly — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 20:00:38 +0000

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there are quite a few “positive” songs on the radio right now. Not your typical “I’m in love with you” stuff (though the Bruno Mars one listed below does fit that definition), but just… uplifting.

Some examples:

Pretty, pretty please
Don’t you ever, ever feel
Like your less than perfect
Pretty, pretty please
If you ever, ever feel
Like your nothing
You’re perfect to me

-Pink, “Perfect” (edited for PG crowd)

When I see your face
There’s not a thing that I would change
Cause you’re amazing
Just the way you are

And when you smile,
The whole world stops and stares for awhile
Cause girl you’re amazing
Just the way you are

-Bruno Mars, “Just the Way You Are”

Do you know that there’s still a chance for you
Cause there’s a spark in you

You just gotta ignite the light
And let it shine
Just own the night
Like the Fourth of July

Cause baby you’re a firework
Come on show ‘em what you’re worth
Make ‘em go “Oh, oh, oh!”
As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby you’re a firework
Come on let your colors burst
Make ‘em go “Oh, oh, oh!”
You’re gonna leave ‘em fallin’ down-own-own

You don’t have to feel like a waste of space
You’re original, cannot be replaced
If you only knew what the future holds
After a hurricane comes a rainbow

Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
It’s always been inside of you, you, you
And now it’s time to let it through

-Katy Perry, “Firework”

My mama told me when I was young
We’re all born superstars
She rolled my hair, put my lipstick on
In the glass of her boudoir

“There’s nothin’ wrong with lovin’ who you are”
She said, “‘Cause He made you perfect, babe”
“So hold your head up, girl and you’ll go far,
Listen to me when I say”

I’m beautiful in my way,
‘Cause God makes no mistakes
I’m on the right track, baby
I was born this way

Don’t hide yourself in regret,
Just love yourself and you’re set
I’m on the right track, baby
I was born this way

-Lady Gaga, “Born This Way”

Now, it can easily be argued that these songs have nothing to do with the current times, that they were written, recorded, and produced over a period of time, and that their release is merely coincidental. And I think you’d be right. But, I think that in some small way, they’re a reflection of the current state of affairs, a response, if you will.

As I was reading yet another article about education and teachers, I came across a word that perfectly describes what I’m talking about: demoralizing.

That is how I feel right now. If you follow the news at all (and perhaps you don’t – more power to you), it’s hard to miss that there are currently some very negative campaigns out there, and a lot of them affect me or the things I’m interested in:

States are trying to take away collective bargaining rights for public employees. As a public employee, this affects me, and as someone who has [briefly] studied the history of labor relations in this country, I am saddened by this… “progress.”
Just about everyone thinks that schools are universally failing, and that the blame can be shouldered by 1) teacher’s unions, and 2) teachers themselves. As a future teacher, this is just really hard to deal with in so many ways. It’s hard to get excited about going to class, doing homework, putting in hours in schools, paying for tests so I can get licensed, etc., when it’s looking less and less likely that I’ll be able to get a job when I graduate (this just in: my district is removing 17 teacher positions for the 2011-2012 school year), and if I do get a job, it’s obvious that most people won’t appreciate any of the work I plan on doing, I won’t get paid much for doing it (no one is in teaching for the money, but it’d be nice to feel like I was a contributing member to my household), and things will likely get worse before they get better. Oh, also, from what I learn in my classes, most of my future co-workers won’t appreciate the things I’ve learned or the philosophies I’ve been indoctrinated with, and will think I’m doing it all wrong, and will likely tell me so, loudly. And, it’s highly likely that I’ll quit the profession within five years. (That’s not a personal projection, just a fact that a huge percentage of teachers quit within their first five years. I’d like to not be part of that stat, thank you very much, but it is good to acknowledge that reality.)
I won’t go into depth on how women’s rights are being attacked on so many levels legislatively right now, because I’d rather not spark any public discourse on that given the diversity of the people I know, but I will briefly say that it’s wrong and infuriating and, quite frankly, disgusting.

It’s no wonder, then, that I find myself spending a lot of time reading fluffy romantic novels, sewing pretty clothes, and making fancy jewelry. So much of what I hear in the news devalues me as a woman, devalues my current job, and devalues my future career. Hrm.

Demoralized? Sounds about right.

And it makes me really happy whenever one of the songs above comes on. I need songs like that. I’m guessing that it’s not just me, or the people groups I’ve mentioned (though I know or are related to an extraordinary number of teachers or future teachers). I’m guessing you feel it to, if only because someone you know is feeling it.

Thankfully, there are happy songs. And there are news pieces (and editorials) that praise teachers and schools and public employees and unions – if you look for them (and you can be sure that I do). And I know there are people fighting the good fight, in schools, in the legislature, in the media and social outlets. I’ve never had a negative reaction when I told someone I am a government employee, or that I want to be a teacher. Everyone has been super supportive of the latter (except for one of my grandmas, who exhorted that I should stay away from junior highers because they were just about the worst things ever, to which I laughed – she drove a school bus, and I have no doubt that junior highers on a school bus are a nightmare). I know that I am loved. I know that I have a roof over my head, food in my belly, and a hug waiting for me at home. I know I have it good, if I put it in perspective.

But it’s getting hard to complete homework assignments, arrange for classroom experiences, and schedule haircuts and all that little stuff of life.

And in case you’re feeling it to, let me remind you: you’re perfect to me. Each and every one of you. And me too. We all need that reminder once in a while.

2010 Reading

kelly — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 15:30:03 +0000

According to Goodreads (which I recently switched to, from Visual Bookshelf, and the transition was a little rough):

I read 54 books in 2010. 11 were for school, 17 were craft books, 2 were health/diet, and one was software-related, which leaves 23 fiction books. There were also lots (nearly 100) of short stories that I read on my iPhone that were not in the database, as well as three-ish longer fiction stories that weren’t in the database (I’d consider them “regular” fiction-sized – size/length becomes relative once it’s an ebook; are you measuring by words? file size?).

That’s a lot of reading!

And I’m on my way to continuing in 2011 – there’s already one book on my 2011 list. And I’ve got 7 books “in progress” right now (and will be adding a handful more once I figure out what classes I’m taking this semester).

From last year:

I read at least 44 books in 2009. 13 were for school, 10 were craft books, and one was a cookbook, which leaves 20 fiction books (two were large anthologies).

(view full 2009 post here)

2009 Reading

kelly — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 21:28:13 +0000

I read at least 44 books in 2009. 13 were for school, 10 were craft books, and one was a cookbook, which leaves 20 fiction books (two were large anthologies). Of course, this doesn’t include all the books I forgot to add into LivingSocial, but I think it’s a fairly accurate representation. There are 17 books on my 2008 list, 6 of which are not textbooks.

It’s easy to say on the 8th day of January that I’m going to do a much better job of recording which books I read. It is likely that in actuality, I will again miss a bunch of stuff. But, I’ll try. Maybe just the act of having a list will help me (I like lists).

Of course, the whole list of books thing makes me want to install Delicious Library onto my iMac and catalog every single book we own. Let’s not take on more than we can handle, dear.

Maybe I should just note on the inside cover of the book the month/year that I finish reading that book.

Maybe I should sort through our large book collection and see what can be sold/given away.

Maybe… I’ll just dwell on the fact that I read 20 fiction books last year.

::Pausing Moments::

kelly — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:07:51 +0000

Last night we watched Pride & Prejudice again (one of the five movies that aren’t packed), and, as always, it was wonderful. Characters to love, characters to hate…. I think they picked the perfect actors/actresses for almost every part, the costumes are wonderful, and… the scenery is gorgeous. Who doesn’t want to visit England after watching that movie? (Though, arguably, one would need to bring a raincoat, umbrella, and galoshes, since it seems to rain a lot there.)

There’s a scene towards the end that I could live in. It’s early morning, and Elizabeth goes for a walk on her property. And who appears out of the mist? Mr. Darcy, in his long coat, calmly walking across the field.

That moment – the peace, the calm, the anticipation, knowing that “happily ever after” is about to arrive – I could live in that moment forever.

in a moment... forever...

Well, maybe not forever, but you get the idea. The only similar scene I could come up with was from Sense & Sensibility (another Austen favorite), when Elinor Dashwood receives Edward Ferrars and learns that the Mr. Ferrars who recently was married was not Edward. That scene is the opposite of calm, but is still full of that delicious anticipation that we know is about to be fulfilled.

Do you have any moments you could “live in forever” ?

Desperately needed: quality reading time for non-textbooks

kelly — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 18:21:49 +0000

Right now, I get about 10 minutes of reading time before going to bed. I’m currently reading The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde, which I received in a cup of tea and a book swap. It is so weird. It’s like sci-fi plus Jane Austen, set in 1985 England. Very trippy. Still haven’t really figured out what’s going on yet, and I’m in chapter four (generally not a good sign). I’ll finish it (as I almost always do with fiction books), but I’m just not sure of it yet. It has gotten great reviews on Amazon, though, so that’s good. What tripped me up last night: the ending of Jane Eyre in the book is different than it is in reality. It will be interesting to see how that plays out.

At any rate, I have been using my library a lot since they re-opened in January after a remodel. I love that I can look for my books online, request them, and then get an email a few days later saying they’re ready. It takes 3 minutes to go to the library, then, since my books are set aside and there are automatic check-out machines (and there’s never a line). I just returned Danielle Steel’s Amazing Grace, which I would have never purchased or even given a second look at. However, one of my fellow bus riders was reading it, and it takes place in San Francisco (always close to my heart), so I gave it a shot. I figured that Steel is quite popular and it was probably worth the time spent. I reviewed it over on livingsocial / Facebook if you’re really interested (which you probably aren’t).

But, on my most recent trip, I actually, gasp, went into the stacks! I had looked up online previously where the subject of books I was looking for was kept, so it was still a pretty quick trip (the selection of books at the individual branches still seems quite small compared to other libraries I’ve been a patron of, but the Dakota County Library system is quite large and has a lot more books – this means that it’s actually better to do the searching online and request books that are available throughout the system instead of limiting yourself to what’s available in your branch). I picked up four books on soapmaking.

I know. You think that’s weird. But here’s the thing. I bought some coconut oil soap on Amazon that my skin loooooved, but I went through it really fast (less than a month), and that was pretty expensive for soap (at $5/bar plus shipping). [In my defense, I'll have you know that my skin had absolutely no itchiness the entire time I was using that soap, and it cleaned really well, and now that I'm back on the regular stuff, my skin is less happy, and less clean - ish.] At the same time that I bought the soap, I also bought some coconut oil. I didn’t realize how much coconut oil I was purchasing (liquid measurements don’t really convert well in my head), and ended up with nearly a gallon of coconut oil. Good thing it has lots of uses and won’t go bad.

I digress. The point is, I had all this oil, and there were only two ingredients on the magic soap bar: coconut oil and lavendar oil. I figured.. what the heck, maybe I could make my own soap at home. And then things got complicated. The internet didn’t really explain it to me, and I was getting confused, and decided that books were needed. Mostly, I needed some clear explanations that would convince me this is a bad idea, and I could just buy the expensive soap and be happy. [I'm really hoping to fall out of like with the idea of making my own soap. Really. I don't need that in my life. But for happy skin....]

So I’ve had these books for a few days, and not a single minute of time to even crack them open. I’d like to read an introductory section at least. Thankfully, after tonight’s class I am on Spring Break for 10 days, and have very little homework to do (though I think I will be doing more than I assigned myself, I don’t have to get anything but one paper done).

In the commments… please try to convince me not to try to make my own soap at home (or, if you like, tell me I should – whatever makes you happy).

Slightly Off

kelly — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 18:59:05 +0000

PF Chang’s Double Pan-Fried Noodles (with beef) leftovers (cold) for lunch. With french vanilla Yoplait Light. And a mini Babybel Light (those little circles of cheese in wax you see at the store).

Individually, they’re delightful. Together, however, not such a good idea (despite the fact that some combination of the above, with the leftover rotating depending on what we’ve eaten recently and the flavor of yogurt changing, has been frequently my lunch in the past few weeks).

Just thought you should know.

Ode

kelly — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:52:25 +0000

Confession: I love carbs. Adore them. They make me happy. I think the sugar types are my favorite, but grains in cracker form are right up there too. And bread, oh, bread, how wonderful you are. I’m quite fond of a few veggies too, like carrots and corn. Potatoes and white rice, while being nutritionally lacking, are delicious, and very, very filling if you are hungry.

Does it seem odd to you that, out of the blue, I would wax poetically about carbs? Well, it’s not so out of the blue, really. That whole thing about my pants not fitting? Well, buying new pants technically fixed the problem, but not really. And since realistically I won’t be spending much (if any) time at the gym until the semester is over (and even if I was, diet and exercise are supposed to go together), I really should be more careful about what I eat. And for various reasons, I’m pretty sure a high-protein low-carb diet would be beneficial for me to try (including that it would better regulate blood sugar and therefore be more effective at getting rid of the extra smooshiness I have at my waist due to PCOS).

But it doesn’t really matter how many times I figure out that it would be a good thing for me to try, how many studies or examples or whatever I come across, because I truly adore carbs. On a blog I read, the author was talking about her love of carbs and her PCOS, and her switch to a high-protein low-carb diet. Her motivation, despite her love, is that she desperately wants another child and thinks that better regulating her body will help with her infertility. Now, if I had motivation like that, I can see giving up carbs (or cutting back, actually, since carbs still are the energy of life). But, I don’t. I have no desire to have a kid right now. And let me tell you, it’s hard to be motivated by a single pant size when sugary snacks and crackers are oh-so-yummy.

So can someone please convince me that carbs are not delicious? Or that protein is? I’d love some good ways to eat cold protein in my lunch at work (because tuna fish and cold chicken salad can only go so far, and I am not going near those microwaves here at work, regardless of what you say). Shouldn’t there be a delicious way to eat legumes in a salad of sorts?

Annotated Bibliography (without the annotations)

kelly — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 17:27:30 +0000

Here’s the list of 25 books I came up with for Multicultural Education. If you remember, the assignment was to pick 25 books that focus on traditionally under-represented populations, and were appropriate for ages 10-18. It gets turned in tonight, so I should know by next week what my professor thinks of the list, but I think I did a good job, considering the breadth of “Social Studies” (ancient history, world history, current events, economics, politics and government, psychology, sociology, anthropology, archaeology – several of those I skipped, or at least didn’t intentionally pick books that focused on them).

Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart: A Novel. 1994.
Aguilar-Moreno, Manuel. Handbook to Life in the Aztec World. 2007.
Alvarez, Julia. Before We Were Free. 2004.
Anand, Mulk Raj. Untouchable. 1990.
- Alternate (not on list, but I had to read it for another class): Singh, Khushwant. Train to Pakistan. 1994.
Bales, Kevin. Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy. 1999.
California Historical Society. Only What We Could Carry: The Japanese American Internment Experience. 2000.
- Alternate: Wakatsuki Houston, Jeanne. Farewell to Manzanar. 1983.
Colman, Penny. Rosie the Riveter: Working Women on the Home Front in World War II. 1998.
Ferriss, Susan. The Fight in the Fields: Cesar Chavez and the Farmworkers Movement. 1998.
Flood, Josephine. The Original Australians: Story of the Aboriginal People. 2007.
Freedman, Russell. Children of the Great Depression. 2005.
Gruzinski, Serge. The Aztecs: Rise and Fall of an Empire. 1992.
Hamermesh, Daniel S. Economics is Everywhere. 2005.
- Alternate: Coyle, Diane. Sex, Drugs and Economics: An Unconventional Intro to Economics. 2004.
Jiang, Ji-li. Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution. 2008.
- Alternate: Min, Anchee. Red Azalea. 1999.
Kehoe, Alice Beck. America Before the European Invasions. 2002.
Kerber, Linda K. Women’s America: Refocusing the Past. 2003.
King Jr, Dr. Martin Luther. Why We Can’t Wait. 2000.
Le, Samantha. Little Sister Left Behind. 2007.
Lemann, Nicholas. The Promised Land: The Great Black Migration and How It Changed America. 1992.
Moody, Anne. Coming of Age in Mississippi. 2004.
Park, Linda Sue. When My Name Was Keoko. 2004,
Philip, Neil. The Great Circle: A History of the First Nations. 2006.
Takaki, Ronald. A Different Mirror: A History of Multiracial America. 1994.
Ung, Loung. First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers. 2000.
Yang, Kao Kalia. The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir. 2008.
Zia, Helen. Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People. 2001.

I’m interested in hearing your thoughts on this list. What did I forget? (Remembering that we weren’t supposed to include traditionally taught or focused on, so yes there’s nothing on Europe or the Cold War, etc. This is meant to be a supplemental list, and just a starting point.) What would you add? Have you read any of the above? Other thoughts?

Can’t Help but Wiggle in your Seat

kelly — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 14:06:23 +0000

When I’m not listening to my “Unranked” playlist (a Smart Playlist of 25 random songs from iTunes that I haven’t yet given a rating to, for the purpose of listening to them and ranking them, and consequently getting the bad songs permanently off my iPod and the good songs permanently on), I’m listening to my 4s & 5s playlist (A Smart Playlist of all the songs I’ve ranked 4 or 5 – my ranking system is very sophisticated but I won’t go into detail right now). [Editor's Note: if you want to know how to set up Smart Playlists or how to set up playlists in general on your iPod so that you use it in a good way, just ask and I'm more than willing to share the genius of my system.] Generally speaking, I rarely have to skip a song that comes through the shuffle when listening to this list. Last night I was treated to Journey, for instance, which is a cause to smile in and of itself. This morning, I listened to:

Mambo No 5 by Lou Bega
Fall Into Me by Emerson Drive
Prayin’ For Daylight by Rascal Flatts
Hot Stuff by the Pussycat Dolls
My Happy Ending by Avril Lavigne
If You’re Not The One by Daniel Bedingfield
Meet With Me by Ten Shekel Shirt
Strong Enough by Sheryl Crow
A Little Less Conversation by Elvis Presley
Any Man of Mine by Shania Twain
There Is No Arizona by Jamie O’Neal
Everything by Michael Buble

Little room for complaint, really.

Anyways, I wanted to talk about my current “favorite song” (if there is such a thing), “Everything” by Michael Buble. Oh, wow. first introduced me to Michael Buble a year or so ago, and I was relatively unmoved. Maybe it was her gushing enthusiasm that turned me off. I recently rediscovered him and oh my word is his music good (of course, I’m in the right mood at the moment – my other new favorite artist is Andre Bocelli) . “Everything” is a great song – upbeat and light and fun, and I can’t help but dance along when I hear it, and usually end up hitting repeat four or five times before moving on to the next song.

You’re a falling star, You’re the get away car.
You’re the line in the sand when I go too far.
You’re the swimming pool, on an August day.
And you’re the perfect thing to say.

And you play it coy, but it’s kinda cute.
Ah, When you smile at me you know exactly what you do.
Baby don’t pretend, that you don’t know it’s true.
Cause you can see it when I look at you.

[Chorus:]
And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It’s you, it’s you, You make me sing.
You’re every line, you’re every word, you’re everything.

You’re a carousel, you’re a wishing well,
And you light me up, when you ring my bell.
You’re a mystery, you’re from outer space,
You’re every minute of my everyday.

And I can’t believe, uh that I’m your man,
And I get to kiss you baby just because I can.
Whatever comes our way, ah we’ll see it through,
And you know that’s what our love can do.

[Chorus:]
And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It’s you, it’s you, You make me sing
You’re every line, you’re every word, you’re everything.

[Chorus:]
And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It’s you, it’s you, You make me sing.
You’re every line, you’re every word, you’re everything.
You’re every song, and I sing along.
‘Cause you’re my everything.
Yeah, yeah

Eyre on stage!

kelly — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 19:11:35 +0000

We got tickets!

Last night, a flier arrived in our mailbox informing us that the Guthrie Theater is currently showing Jane Eyre.

After a brief discussion, I hopped online and bought tickets!

If you remember, Jane Eyre is the one that I saw last year from the BBC.

I liked it so much I immediately bought two copies of the DVD (one for myself and one for ), and a copy of the book, which I struggled through reading (apparently I’m not a fan of Bronte’s writing, though the storyline was fantastic). I’m sure the stage version won’t be as good, but it will still be good.

Yay! We’re going in two weeks, to give me enough time to study for next week’s test and write a paper that’s due the following week.