Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Photos
I created an album on Facebook using pictures taken by...everyone but me. So feel free to check them out. Sorry, non-Facebook people.
Friday, December 22, 2006
Brief Review
Hello. I know I'm a bad blogger for not having posted about my trip to Taos, but I have excuses. So many excuses. First of all, my trip to Taos lasted for three days and was immediately followed by 1) an 8 page Jung essay, 2) getting ready to drive to L.A., 3) driving to L.A., 4) flying to Maine, 5) settling down in Maine. My other excuse is that I'm with half of my blog-audience anyway, and the rest of you guys are so busy you don't really care about my visit to Taos. But, now that I'm settled in here in Calais, I thought I would share a few of the more interesting moments from the previous week.
Visit to Taos: It is soooo beautiful in Taos. I had a great first couple of days on my visit, following around the three midwives and four students and asking lots of questions. I was impressed that the midwives were actually not very intimidating, that the students were not very hippie-y (by Santa Fe standards, probably not by Columbus standards). Most importantly, I was impressed by the professionalism of their birth center and by the wonderful relationships they have with their clients. I got to see visits ranging from first visits to six-week postpartum visits (their last). I was a little bit bummed the first two days, though, because I had REALLY been hoping to see a birth, but because they had had two the day before I got there I figured I was out of luck. As I was leaving the birth center at the end of the second day, though, there were two phone calls from clients in early labor, and I was invited to hang out the next day and maybe see a birth.
The next day I got up and hurried to the birth center, and there were two women laboring in the birth rooms. The women were all fantastic! The midwives and students were on top of their shit, totally calm, supportive, quiet, and efficient. The laboring women were working hard and I was just in awe of them. One of the women went for a walk at 9 cms! I was invited in to see her daughter be born, which was truly amazing and beautiful and FAST! I loved it, but what appeals to me most about the midwifery center is the work they do for the women throughout the whole course of the labor in terms of emotional support. And they knit! I would have a built-in knitting support system.
Going to California: I always look forward to going to Ben's house, but this time it was a little rushed. I got home Friday afternoon and didn't finish my Jung essay until Saturday afternoon, but then I really wanted to get on the road, so we rushed to pack our things and were on our way by 7:30 Saturday night. We slept over in Arizona and got to Ojai Sunday afternoon. I spent much of my time there worrying about packing and presents, and I can't wait to go back for New Years and properly relax!
Going to Maine: Red-eye. Ugh. I got to Calais and spent the day with Mandy and Dad. Pretty much everything since then is covered in Mandy and Jaime's blogs. It's great having the girls around and having Ben, Jaime, and Mandy to talk to. We finally got the stove and Ben and Dad installed it. The house is actually remarkably comfortable and our living circumstances relatively civilized. The Christmas tree is beautiful and the girls have been running around with ornaments re-decorating the bottom of the tree and our little Christmas tree since we put them up. Cute!
Visit to Taos: It is soooo beautiful in Taos. I had a great first couple of days on my visit, following around the three midwives and four students and asking lots of questions. I was impressed that the midwives were actually not very intimidating, that the students were not very hippie-y (by Santa Fe standards, probably not by Columbus standards). Most importantly, I was impressed by the professionalism of their birth center and by the wonderful relationships they have with their clients. I got to see visits ranging from first visits to six-week postpartum visits (their last). I was a little bit bummed the first two days, though, because I had REALLY been hoping to see a birth, but because they had had two the day before I got there I figured I was out of luck. As I was leaving the birth center at the end of the second day, though, there were two phone calls from clients in early labor, and I was invited to hang out the next day and maybe see a birth.
The next day I got up and hurried to the birth center, and there were two women laboring in the birth rooms. The women were all fantastic! The midwives and students were on top of their shit, totally calm, supportive, quiet, and efficient. The laboring women were working hard and I was just in awe of them. One of the women went for a walk at 9 cms! I was invited in to see her daughter be born, which was truly amazing and beautiful and FAST! I loved it, but what appeals to me most about the midwifery center is the work they do for the women throughout the whole course of the labor in terms of emotional support. And they knit! I would have a built-in knitting support system.
Going to California: I always look forward to going to Ben's house, but this time it was a little rushed. I got home Friday afternoon and didn't finish my Jung essay until Saturday afternoon, but then I really wanted to get on the road, so we rushed to pack our things and were on our way by 7:30 Saturday night. We slept over in Arizona and got to Ojai Sunday afternoon. I spent much of my time there worrying about packing and presents, and I can't wait to go back for New Years and properly relax!
Going to Maine: Red-eye. Ugh. I got to Calais and spent the day with Mandy and Dad. Pretty much everything since then is covered in Mandy and Jaime's blogs. It's great having the girls around and having Ben, Jaime, and Mandy to talk to. We finally got the stove and Ben and Dad installed it. The house is actually remarkably comfortable and our living circumstances relatively civilized. The Christmas tree is beautiful and the girls have been running around with ornaments re-decorating the bottom of the tree and our little Christmas tree since we put them up. Cute!
Monday, December 11, 2006
Midwife Roadtrip 2006!
Wednesday I'm driving up to Taos to interview for the midwifery apprenticeship with the Northern New Mexico Midwifery Center. So, I already have a list of questions, but I wanted to ask all of you if you have anything you would like me to ask about midwifery in general, or this place in particular, when I am up there. I'd love it if you could comment with any questions you have.
The Bosque
Last Friday Ben and I went to NABLA, which is a party the school has a few times a semester for upperclassmen and tutors to eat and get drunk together in the afternoon. I chose sparkling water. I am still having a very difficult time consuming any kind of alcohol other than wine and champagne since my birthday last year. Last year, on Christmas Eve, I am about to go to sleep in Ben and Julie's attic when Ross Margulies calls me and convinces me that we HAVE to celebrate our 21st birthday together. We were born on the same day in the same hospital..blah, blah, etc, etc, so I went out with Ross and friends (all Jewish, of course) who were willing to go to the Short North for a 21st birthday party at 11pm on Christmas Eve, and we did shots of Tequila. NOT A GOOD IDEA. Abby and Jared, (other Margulies') as well as my friend Simone, (who I hadn't seen for about two years) took care of me in my drunken misery and I ended up tucked into Molly's (another Margulies) bed and waking up at 7am, Christmas morning, walking back to Stanwood in the rain, and not exactly in the Christmas spirit. To add insult to serious injury, I had done a very poor job of planning Christmas food, and so I forced Dad to drive me around looking for someplace that was open (turns out, Starbucks is) so that I could get some food in my stomach. Thanks, Dad. The true result of this escapade was that I haven't been able to enjoy a margerita or much of anything since last Christmas, and so haven't had the desire to use the cocktail shaker Brad bought me. So I wasn't drinking anything at NABLA. My apologies, by the way, to my older siblings, who didn't want to hear about that AT ALL. Mandy, I never want to hear about what you get up to.
So, we were at NABLA and I was busy staining my fingers with pomegranate seeds, talking to a friend who is in an ecology precept. Her precept was taking a field trip that night to Bosque del Apache, which is a big wetland about two hours South of Santa Fe, to watch thousands of snow geese take off at 6:40 the next morning. I thought, "Cool. I just saw Winged Migration. I want to see thousands of snow geese take off." I also thought, "Cool. Water." (Because there is less standing water in New Mexico than any other state in the U.S.) So, a half hour later, my friend and I had convinced Ben to camp at an RV park and wake up and look at the birds. Another half hour later, Ben and I had all of our stuff loaded in the car, went to Whole Foods to buy some snacks, and were driving South. It was dark, so we didn't see much on the drive down, but we had a good time driving and then setting up our crazy tent that we'd rented from the Student Activities Center, which consisted of a pole that you stick in the middle of the tent to hold it up, and a tarp to put underneath the tent. We held the corners down with big rocks, because there were no stakes.
We were also camping with a couple of friends, and a random townie/St. John's alumnus, who was a friend of one of these friends. So we built a fire in the desert (smaaaart) and sat huddled around it (I was especially huddled) trying to keep warm. It was cold. Cold. Cold. I can't say it enough. Cold. At 1am, the fire wasn't doing it for me anymore, so I tried to get into the tent, but was so cold that I needed Ben's help to zip me into my bag and put extra layers on. Ben's great, by the way. He's good at telling scary stories. He is good at setting up ridiculous tents. He's good at packing lots of extra layers so his whiny girlfriend will be warm... The list goes on. Anyway, I was actually freezing the whole night but that was because I refused to follow his advice and insisted instead on staying, completely still, huddled in my sleeping bag. I did a lot of huddling. Finally it was 6am, so we got all of our stuff put back in the car and drove to the Bosque.
I thought that this was like a New Mexico secret, so imagine my surprise when we arrive (at 6:20!!!) and there is already a dock full of crazy nature/bird devotees with their SLRs and crazy 24in. lenses all set up on enormous tripods. I sheepishly pulled out mom's camera (even with the big lense on, it looked puny- and it wasn't even digital!) and began looking out on the Bosque. There were shovel ducks, coots, sandhill cranes, Canada geese, and lots and lots of snow geese. Before I knew it, the snow geese started squawking and all at once, they took off over our heads. It was really beautiful, and you'd think that this would be where the story ends, and it would have been except for Ben, who turned into NATURE MAN and took two and half rolls of film of all of the birds. Cute. He had a really good time, and I did too except that I was like, "Brrr..." after an hour. So we went home, and I spent the rest of the weekend recovering from the physical trauma of the cold. If I had a digital camera, like the nature people, I would have a picture to post, but instead you'll just have to use your imagination for a couple of weeks, until I get my film developed.
So, we were at NABLA and I was busy staining my fingers with pomegranate seeds, talking to a friend who is in an ecology precept. Her precept was taking a field trip that night to Bosque del Apache, which is a big wetland about two hours South of Santa Fe, to watch thousands of snow geese take off at 6:40 the next morning. I thought, "Cool. I just saw Winged Migration. I want to see thousands of snow geese take off." I also thought, "Cool. Water." (Because there is less standing water in New Mexico than any other state in the U.S.) So, a half hour later, my friend and I had convinced Ben to camp at an RV park and wake up and look at the birds. Another half hour later, Ben and I had all of our stuff loaded in the car, went to Whole Foods to buy some snacks, and were driving South. It was dark, so we didn't see much on the drive down, but we had a good time driving and then setting up our crazy tent that we'd rented from the Student Activities Center, which consisted of a pole that you stick in the middle of the tent to hold it up, and a tarp to put underneath the tent. We held the corners down with big rocks, because there were no stakes.
We were also camping with a couple of friends, and a random townie/St. John's alumnus, who was a friend of one of these friends. So we built a fire in the desert (smaaaart) and sat huddled around it (I was especially huddled) trying to keep warm. It was cold. Cold. Cold. I can't say it enough. Cold. At 1am, the fire wasn't doing it for me anymore, so I tried to get into the tent, but was so cold that I needed Ben's help to zip me into my bag and put extra layers on. Ben's great, by the way. He's good at telling scary stories. He is good at setting up ridiculous tents. He's good at packing lots of extra layers so his whiny girlfriend will be warm... The list goes on. Anyway, I was actually freezing the whole night but that was because I refused to follow his advice and insisted instead on staying, completely still, huddled in my sleeping bag. I did a lot of huddling. Finally it was 6am, so we got all of our stuff put back in the car and drove to the Bosque.
I thought that this was like a New Mexico secret, so imagine my surprise when we arrive (at 6:20!!!) and there is already a dock full of crazy nature/bird devotees with their SLRs and crazy 24in. lenses all set up on enormous tripods. I sheepishly pulled out mom's camera (even with the big lense on, it looked puny- and it wasn't even digital!) and began looking out on the Bosque. There were shovel ducks, coots, sandhill cranes, Canada geese, and lots and lots of snow geese. Before I knew it, the snow geese started squawking and all at once, they took off over our heads. It was really beautiful, and you'd think that this would be where the story ends, and it would have been except for Ben, who turned into NATURE MAN and took two and half rolls of film of all of the birds. Cute. He had a really good time, and I did too except that I was like, "Brrr..." after an hour. So we went home, and I spent the rest of the weekend recovering from the physical trauma of the cold. If I had a digital camera, like the nature people, I would have a picture to post, but instead you'll just have to use your imagination for a couple of weeks, until I get my film developed.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Confession
I'm supposed to be writing one of four essays I have to finish before next Friday, but I have the overwhelming urge to write a post instead. This made me realize that I actually only blog as a means to procrastinate, which is probably why my posts tend to be kind of sketchily disorganized rambles. My resolutions: I will try to post once a week just for the joy of posting. I will try to write reasonable essays so that my tutors don't have to read complete crap at the end of the semester.
Friday, December 01, 2006
Cider VS. Juice
Apple cider on the left. Apple juice on the right.
Ben and I were mulling some hot apple cider today when I began to mull (ha!) over a discussion Mr. Tisher and Ms. Sidor had recounted to me one late night in Albuquerque at Frontier, between seeing Borat at the big theatre and arguing about the best course of action in a zombie-crisis/nuclear crisis/any crisis on the drive back up to Santa Fe. They (who are one of the few cute St. John's couples) were arguing about the difference between apple cider and apple juice. Mr. Tisher...who is from NORTHERN CALIFORNIA says there is no difference between apple juice and apple cider. Ms. Sidor...who is from the MIDWEST (albeit from Michigan- but I think she's from Grand Rapids) says that cider is processed differently and has a distinct taste. I, of couse, sided with Ms. Sidor, because she was right, and now I would like to prove it by referring to the wikipedia page about apple cider, which I just consulted. In Mr. Tisher's defense, the page does say that, "It has been suggested that in the United States of America the differences between apple juice and cider are not legally well established." Still, the first line of the Wikipedia article says, "Apple cider is the name for a non-alcoholic beverage produced from apples by a process of pressing, especially in the United States and parts of Canada. It is more sour and cloudy than conventional apple juice, retaining the tart flavor of the apple pulp which is lost in conventional fruit juice production." And as I learned on Wait, Wait...in a very entertaining interview with the creator of Wikipedia, it must be true if I read it on Wikipedia. I also learned that up to 30% of Wikipedia's articiles may be about Japanese pop culture items like manga, anime, and video games. Cool.
Ben and I were mulling some hot apple cider today when I began to mull (ha!) over a discussion Mr. Tisher and Ms. Sidor had recounted to me one late night in Albuquerque at Frontier, between seeing Borat at the big theatre and arguing about the best course of action in a zombie-crisis/nuclear crisis/any crisis on the drive back up to Santa Fe. They (who are one of the few cute St. John's couples) were arguing about the difference between apple cider and apple juice. Mr. Tisher...who is from NORTHERN CALIFORNIA says there is no difference between apple juice and apple cider. Ms. Sidor...who is from the MIDWEST (albeit from Michigan- but I think she's from Grand Rapids) says that cider is processed differently and has a distinct taste. I, of couse, sided with Ms. Sidor, because she was right, and now I would like to prove it by referring to the wikipedia page about apple cider, which I just consulted. In Mr. Tisher's defense, the page does say that, "It has been suggested that in the United States of America the differences between apple juice and cider are not legally well established." Still, the first line of the Wikipedia article says, "Apple cider is the name for a non-alcoholic beverage produced from apples by a process of pressing, especially in the United States and parts of Canada. It is more sour and cloudy than conventional apple juice, retaining the tart flavor of the apple pulp which is lost in conventional fruit juice production." And as I learned on Wait, Wait...in a very entertaining interview with the creator of Wikipedia, it must be true if I read it on Wikipedia. I also learned that up to 30% of Wikipedia's articiles may be about Japanese pop culture items like manga, anime, and video games. Cool.
Monday, November 27, 2006
Thanksgiving Review
This is the Heilveil's dog, Stella, in front of their barn. What a great weekend! So great, in fact, that I wish it were Christmas and have less than no interest in doing my work...of which there is plenty. So, a review of this Thanksgiving weekend:
Wednesday
Ben and I go to California. Yay! Dating Ben has significantly changed my geographical prejudices. I no longer think of Southern California as just a dirty, crowded, strip-mall-fest. Ben's family lives in a truly beautiful place, up in the mountains away from L.A. Arrived at Burbank and enjoyed a ride home from Ira, Ben's dad (isn't it great when people pick you up at the airport!?) Can't really remember what we did that night, but I'm sure it was very nice and relaxing.
Thursday
Thanksgiving. Lilly (Ben's sister, who is 18 and going through college application hell, bless her heart) and I concocted an apple pie making plan that would allow us to take a break if family stuff got to be too much. Fourteen people were over for dinner, which may not sound like much to Kessler/Iten people, but is actually a lot to normal people, and I got to meet Ben's aunt, uncle, cousin, and strange distant cousin. Ben's family is adjusting to his grandpa's new wife, who had cataract surgery the previous day and so spent the whole evening donning sunglasses. Marsha (Ben's mom- I've worked up the courage not to call her Dr. McKeon) made a 28-lb. turkey and other delicious Thanksgiving things. REALLY good gravy and stuffing.
Friday
After-Thanksgiving Day. Ben's other extended family, which comprises great old friends of his parents and their families, came over. There were six dogs over with the people that evening. It was pretty crowded. I actually know this group of people from previous visits, and it was really nice to get to know them better.
Saturday
Wonderful breakfast. Everyone sat around and the conversation turned to people's experiences within their religious communities and their experiences of God. Reminded me of the Margulies household. Gotta love the Jews. By far the best thing about this visit was getting to know Lilly and Ben's parents better.
Lilly and Ben:
I feel so lucky to be with someone with such a wonderful family. Lilly is much nicer to me than I've ever been to any boyfriend or girlfriend of my siblings, and I am so grateful for it! She's also really funny, which made me miss all of my sisters a lot, but also filled the void I know I would have felt at the holidays. Marsha and Ira remind me of all the parents of friends, especially Mary and Greg, Deborah and Bob, whom I miss so much. They are extremely open-minded, intelligent, and great listeners. Shout out to the Heilveils for being such a wonderful family to be with. Went to dinner with everybody and to see For Your Consideration with Ben and Lilly. Disappointing movie. Sunday
Played catch with Ben, Ira and Marsha. With baseball mitts. Brad- you would have been sooo proud. Dad, why didn't you ever teach me to play baseball?
Left for Santa Fe.
Momentarily happy to be back in Santa Fe.
Shock sets in as mental to-do list is formulated.
Urghhh...
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
November Angst
I really don't like the month of November. What is it's purpose? How do I identify it? I identify it with Thanksgiving and it's only purpose is Thanksgiving. The rest of the month is unremarkable and disorienting. I'm thinking about Christmas but it's clearly not the Christmas season yet. I'm thinking about the end of the semester but I will have four papers to write before I go to Maine in December. Also, November is the sad month between fall and winter...in New Mexico we're caught in a weird kind of limbo. Every day it is sunny and between 50 and 60 degrees. It sounds like a nice autumnal kind of experience, but it's not, because it's clearly time for winter! I'm so confused!
Also, Ben and I are going to Ojai for Thanksgiving. Grandma and Grandpa Callahan are leaving for Brazil next week just in case anyone was wondering...thought of this because I keep meaning to visit Uncle George when I go to California but never do. Anyway, we're going to Ojai and I'm trying to clean up the apartment so that it is wonderful to come home to. The thing is (and I have doubts as to whether anyone who witnessed me growing up will believe this) the apartment is tidy. We do a pretty thorough cleaning once a week and tidy up every day. So why all of a sudden do I feel like it is NOT clean and NEVER will be? I think part of this has to do with spiders. There are lots of spiders in Santa Fe, and every time I do a corner cleaning or lift up something and find a spider (or two-agggh!) I feel like that corner just isn't clean and won't be until I get over having found a spider there. The second reason my apartment doesn't feel clean is probably because I've been here for a while and so now I know where all of the gross stuff accumulates. Finally, there's Birdie. He's cute, but very messy. So, I'm spending all of my time today that I'm not spending in class trying to make the apartment feel clean.
The final factor contributing to my November angst is Michael Richards' outburst.
Factors helping to balance out the angst are the Democrats' victories and Ohio State's performance last weekend.
Also, Ben and I are going to Ojai for Thanksgiving. Grandma and Grandpa Callahan are leaving for Brazil next week just in case anyone was wondering...thought of this because I keep meaning to visit Uncle George when I go to California but never do. Anyway, we're going to Ojai and I'm trying to clean up the apartment so that it is wonderful to come home to. The thing is (and I have doubts as to whether anyone who witnessed me growing up will believe this) the apartment is tidy. We do a pretty thorough cleaning once a week and tidy up every day. So why all of a sudden do I feel like it is NOT clean and NEVER will be? I think part of this has to do with spiders. There are lots of spiders in Santa Fe, and every time I do a corner cleaning or lift up something and find a spider (or two-agggh!) I feel like that corner just isn't clean and won't be until I get over having found a spider there. The second reason my apartment doesn't feel clean is probably because I've been here for a while and so now I know where all of the gross stuff accumulates. Finally, there's Birdie. He's cute, but very messy. So, I'm spending all of my time today that I'm not spending in class trying to make the apartment feel clean.
The final factor contributing to my November angst is Michael Richards' outburst.
Factors helping to balance out the angst are the Democrats' victories and Ohio State's performance last weekend.
Monday, November 20, 2006
White & Nerdy
| Just in case anyone hasn't seen this yet. This goes out to: Boris, Adam, Mandy and all of her friends, all of my siblings, every St. John's student regardless of race, Teresa Deak (who actually was in a contest to memorize a certain number of significant digits of Pi) and especially those kids who spend their Sunday afternoons in Annapolis on back campus fighting with foam "weapons". And to Alan Handley. | |
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Post game relief
Phew... That's over for another year.
At least I hope so. I don't think I could take a Michigan OSU matchup for the National Championship! Ben and I went to see Casino Royale last night. We enjoyed it very much. Before the movie there were previews for the silly-looking We Are Marshall movie, but I got so worked up about football that Ben dared me to yell "Go Bucks!" in the theatre. Which I did. It was well-received. Anyway, this Bond movie was thoroughly enjoyable, although not necessarily as repeat watch-able as Goldeneye. I liked that they went back to the beginning, and gave James the character development he has always deserved. There was one strange thing about this James Bond. You may have heard that this is the first Bond movie in which it rains and James Bond bleeds. Yeah, and it's the only one where I've noticed that he runs...and runs... and runs...I was more impressed by this than all of his jumping and fighting. Impressive running skills, James. The worst part of the movie was the opening theme song. Boo. Liked the graphics during the opening theme, though. Also saw Jesus Camp and Marie Antoinette recently. Jesus Camp, you tell me so much about the psychological damage inflicted upon me. Good movie. Marie Antionette could have been so much more. The rock music was a poor choice, and I think that the scope of the story could have been reigned in a little. Not sure why they ended it when they did. Ben and I were talking about wealth, and we thought that James Bond and Marie Antoinette served as good illustrations:
Wealth in James Bond (or Thomas Crown Affair): good.
Wealth in Marie Antoinette: bad. 
Very bad. See how I draw that line? For those of you who think that James Bond is extravagant, you haven't seen the fun of flipping over an Aston Martin at super high speeds often enough!
At least I hope so. I don't think I could take a Michigan OSU matchup for the National Championship! Ben and I went to see Casino Royale last night. We enjoyed it very much. Before the movie there were previews for the silly-looking We Are Marshall movie, but I got so worked up about football that Ben dared me to yell "Go Bucks!" in the theatre. Which I did. It was well-received. Anyway, this Bond movie was thoroughly enjoyable, although not necessarily as repeat watch-able as Goldeneye. I liked that they went back to the beginning, and gave James the character development he has always deserved. There was one strange thing about this James Bond. You may have heard that this is the first Bond movie in which it rains and James Bond bleeds. Yeah, and it's the only one where I've noticed that he runs...and runs... and runs...I was more impressed by this than all of his jumping and fighting. Impressive running skills, James. The worst part of the movie was the opening theme song. Boo. Liked the graphics during the opening theme, though. Also saw Jesus Camp and Marie Antoinette recently. Jesus Camp, you tell me so much about the psychological damage inflicted upon me. Good movie. Marie Antionette could have been so much more. The rock music was a poor choice, and I think that the scope of the story could have been reigned in a little. Not sure why they ended it when they did. Ben and I were talking about wealth, and we thought that James Bond and Marie Antoinette served as good illustrations: Wealth in James Bond (or Thomas Crown Affair): good.
Wealth in Marie Antoinette: bad. Very bad. See how I draw that line? For those of you who think that James Bond is extravagant, you haven't seen the fun of flipping over an Aston Martin at super high speeds often enough!
Friday, November 17, 2006
GO BUCKS!
Brad and Mandy have already expressed their keenly felt "Game" angst...so I thought I would just throw some positive energy into the mix. I mean, they just HAVE to win. I also think it is really unfair that Bo Schembechler died. Now that's all the commentators are going to talk about, and I'm sure they'll do some sort of tribute during half-time which will get the Michigan fans going. All I can is: Buckeye fans, stay strong. Don't let your Ohio-y niceness overcome your duty to your own team. Having said that, I think that all Ohio State fans (with the exception of my family) could really use a little Notre Dame-y-ness in their cheering and partying. A little dignity and image-consciousness. I know that the OSU fans are going to boo when the Wolverines take the field, and I know that, whether or not we win, they will probably set fire to more than one thing. Why can't we take the high road, Bucks? Then again, I am not actually advocating any serious change in behavior for fans, because whatever you've been doing this season, it's been working. I guess the bottom line is that, no matter what happens, it won't be as great as watching the Buckeyes win the National Championship in 2003 with mom beside us.
Friday, November 03, 2006
Al Jazeera International
I want to put in a much-deserved good word for Aljazeera. Because of the way most U.S. media operates, most of us think of Aljazeera as a scary, radical Islam-spreading news agency. I thought so too, until I saw... dun dun duuuun...a documentary about it. Shout-out to documentary makers! Republicans (and by republicans, I mean bad republicans like our do-nothing shitty congress and our crazy, idiotic president) must HATE documentaries, because the whole point of them is to tell the truth in pictures. Public radio does the same thing with soundbites. Those thorny rascals.
Anyway! Ben and I watched Control Room last weekend. It chronicles Aljazeera's coverage of the first month of our war with Iraq, and is an amazing and heartfelt film. It reveals that Aljazeera reporters are sensible and very highly educated, Aljazeera producers have incredibly high ethical standards, and that they are all wonderful, really cool people, to boot. Aljazeera does a kick-ass job of reporting, and everything is going relatively well for their coverage, except that the U.S. military is killing hundreds of Iraqi civilians (which actually upsets the Aljazeera reporters covering it) whose bodies Aljazeera shows on television. Then (get this!) the U.S. government is angry because Aljazeera is evoking anti-American sentiments by showing civilian casualties on TV. The worst, though, is when American planes bomb, BOMB, BOMB Aljazeera's and another Arab media source's locations in Baghdad. Two separate buildings, same day, and our government says, "It was an accident. Those reporters shouldn't be in Baghdad." One Aljazeera reporter was killed.
The good news is that you, too, can watch Control Room. The even better news is Josh, a really great young American military press guy, who is clearly genuinely conflicted by what he sees and hears happening around him. So, watch this movie and think about our responsibility to non-American human lives.
In more news, Aljazeera is launching Aljazeera International, an English channel, on Nov. 15th. We need to stop thinking of other news sources as enemies and begin to listen to people who disagree with us. I think there are many Americans who will be encouraged to hear that there are some out there who really care that thousands of Arab people have died because of our leaders. Here is more about Aljazeera from Aljazeera.net:
Facts to keep in mind: Aljazeera is censored by some Arab states. It is only ten years old. Even if you disagree with everything that Aljazeera reports (which will be hard, because a lot of it is news) don't you want to hear what the "other side" is hearing?
Anyway! Ben and I watched Control Room last weekend. It chronicles Aljazeera's coverage of the first month of our war with Iraq, and is an amazing and heartfelt film. It reveals that Aljazeera reporters are sensible and very highly educated, Aljazeera producers have incredibly high ethical standards, and that they are all wonderful, really cool people, to boot. Aljazeera does a kick-ass job of reporting, and everything is going relatively well for their coverage, except that the U.S. military is killing hundreds of Iraqi civilians (which actually upsets the Aljazeera reporters covering it) whose bodies Aljazeera shows on television. Then (get this!) the U.S. government is angry because Aljazeera is evoking anti-American sentiments by showing civilian casualties on TV. The worst, though, is when American planes bomb, BOMB, BOMB Aljazeera's and another Arab media source's locations in Baghdad. Two separate buildings, same day, and our government says, "It was an accident. Those reporters shouldn't be in Baghdad." One Aljazeera reporter was killed.
The good news is that you, too, can watch Control Room. The even better news is Josh, a really great young American military press guy, who is clearly genuinely conflicted by what he sees and hears happening around him. So, watch this movie and think about our responsibility to non-American human lives.
In more news, Aljazeera is launching Aljazeera International, an English channel, on Nov. 15th. We need to stop thinking of other news sources as enemies and begin to listen to people who disagree with us. I think there are many Americans who will be encouraged to hear that there are some out there who really care that thousands of Arab people have died because of our leaders. Here is more about Aljazeera from Aljazeera.net:
"Aljazeera has come a long way since it was launched in November 1996.
Aljazeera's correspondents opened a window for the world on the millennium’s first two wars in
We continue to cover all viewpoints with objectivity integrity and balance.
Aljazeera.net English has been designed to attract readers from continents poles-apart. Not only does Aljazeera.net English offer a versatile content of news and information, but it also aims to be more interactive. Our ultimate goal is to set up a more proactive relationship with our audience, where the audience is not simply a visitor at the other end of the line. They are and they will always be an integral part of the news reporting and news making process. Our team of dedicated journalists with their multi-national education and diversified backgrounds share a common set of attributes: objectivity, accuracy, and a passion for truth. Truth will be the force that will drive us to raise thorny issues, to seize every opportunity for exclusive reporting, to take hold of unforgettable moments in history and to rekindle the willpower within every human being who strives for truth."
Facts to keep in mind: Aljazeera is censored by some Arab states. It is only ten years old. Even if you disagree with everything that Aljazeera reports (which will be hard, because a lot of it is news) don't you want to hear what the "other side" is hearing?
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Senior Essay Crisis Resolved!
I finally popped the question to Ms. Arsenault last night after preceptorial. She is now officially my advisor, and I am going to write my senior essay about the writings of Jung. Whew...I can't explain what a relief it is to have made this decision and for her to agree to advise me! The only problem is...since Jaime pointed out that Jung looks like Richard Dreyfuss, I hesitate to put my usual charming picture of the author up. Here's to JUNG! Anecdote: When I told Dad that I would be in the Jung preceptorial, his response was, "But he was wrong. Haven't they disproved all that Freud and Jung stuff?" Get with the Great Books, Dad...they're all mostly wrong! Except Jung. Who is deep and insightful and truly understands human nature. He's right. At least I hope he's a little right so I'll have something nice to say about him in my essay.
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Adventures!
I've been making plans for next year, and am very excited about the following two applications I'm working on:
1) I'm applying to the JET Programme, which would allow me to spend another wonderful year in Japan, this time trying to cook food for myself instead of relying on Okasan for everything, and still ineptly trying to learn the language and understand this incredibly fascinating, apparently contradictory culture. Kansai, here I come!
2) Yay! Midwives! I'm almost ready to turn in my application for a two-year apprenticeship in beautiful, crazy, Taos, New Mexico. Sometime this week I'll send in my application (which includes three recs but no transcript-isn't that great?!) and then schedule a three-day interview, at which time I'll be expected to jump right in and pretend to be a student. This interview is important because it will allow me to get a better idea of what it would be like to be a student with them, and (more importantly) will give them the chance to see if we all get along. I think getting along is really important for a group of eight women who spend almost all of their time together. I'm pretty excited about it because the three women I've met so far seem really confident, positive, and incredibly intelligent. And grounded. Man, do I want to be grounded.
Taos:
The only real downside of this situation is the location, which is a little more than an hour north of Santa Fe. Although I would be able to go down to St. John's occasionally, for the most part I would be pretty removed from it and all the other ammenities of Santa Fe.
Both of these options are incredibly exciting, but I'm secretly (not so secret now, though!) hoping I get the apprenticeship with the midwives.
Meanwhile, I'm supposed to be writing an essay about translating French.
1) I'm applying to the JET Programme, which would allow me to spend another wonderful year in Japan, this time trying to cook food for myself instead of relying on Okasan for everything, and still ineptly trying to learn the language and understand this incredibly fascinating, apparently contradictory culture. Kansai, here I come!
2) Yay! Midwives! I'm almost ready to turn in my application for a two-year apprenticeship in beautiful, crazy, Taos, New Mexico. Sometime this week I'll send in my application (which includes three recs but no transcript-isn't that great?!) and then schedule a three-day interview, at which time I'll be expected to jump right in and pretend to be a student. This interview is important because it will allow me to get a better idea of what it would be like to be a student with them, and (more importantly) will give them the chance to see if we all get along. I think getting along is really important for a group of eight women who spend almost all of their time together. I'm pretty excited about it because the three women I've met so far seem really confident, positive, and incredibly intelligent. And grounded. Man, do I want to be grounded.
Taos:
The only real downside of this situation is the location, which is a little more than an hour north of Santa Fe. Although I would be able to go down to St. John's occasionally, for the most part I would be pretty removed from it and all the other ammenities of Santa Fe.
Both of these options are incredibly exciting, but I'm secretly (not so secret now, though!) hoping I get the apprenticeship with the midwives.
Meanwhile, I'm supposed to be writing an essay about translating French.
What Might Have Been
Ben was up last night looking at trivia on IMDB, and he came across this under "more info" for Michael Richards:
"His character in "Seinfeld" (1990) was named Kessler in the original pilot."
Kramer could have been "Kessler"! AAAH!
How different would our lives have been, Kesslers?
Also, updates:
-After waiting on hold once for 45 minutes (after which I hung up) and once for ten, I ended up talking to the nicest guy, who immediately ordered a card to be sent to me. Although, still have not received it, actually.
-I'm making Buckeyes this afternoon!
-I'm very close to deciding whether I want to write my senior essay about Jung or Kierkegaard.
"His character in "Seinfeld" (1990) was named Kessler in the original pilot."
Kramer could have been "Kessler"! AAAH!
How different would our lives have been, Kesslers?
Also, updates:
-After waiting on hold once for 45 minutes (after which I hung up) and once for ten, I ended up talking to the nicest guy, who immediately ordered a card to be sent to me. Although, still have not received it, actually.
-I'm making Buckeyes this afternoon!
-I'm very close to deciding whether I want to write my senior essay about Jung or Kierkegaard.
Monday, October 23, 2006
A Bad Afternoon
I turned in my seminar essay today after an epic Monday morning long lab class. No one was awake because everyone had spent the last 24+ hours working on their essays. So, after lunch I went home and took a nap, but it wasn't even a satisfying nap...I woke up and felt groggy and disoriented. Then I remembered that Netflix had warned me my credit card is about to expire, so I made the second mistake of the afternoon: trying to talk to someone who could help me figure out why my credit card wasn't automatically being renewed.
The number on the back of the card offered the typically non-relevant options...and had no option for talking to an operator or for questions regarding credit card renewal. This I could forgive them for. So I went online and searched both the Bank of America and VISA websites for information relating to my question. Nada. So...I called my branch, but the phone number listed for that branch is actually for the motor branch right next door. The lady I talked to there said I should come in to the main branch and talk to a customer service person about my card, "Just to make sure there is no funny business." So, I talked Ben into coming along and we went onto a very busy road to the bank. I talked to a customer service lady there and the first thing she said-cutting me off-was that the bank cannot handle anything relating to credit cards and that I have to call the number on the back of the card and then press -0-.
There was NO ZERO OPTION ON THE 800 # MENU!!!!
So, I am now waiting on hold, having pressed the magical 0 button...and have been on hold for over half an hour. The moral of the story is not to do business with organizations which provide you with NO WAY to talk to an actual person. The second moral is that Bank of America and VISA have a VERY BAD system set up here. There is not nearly enough information online about credit cards, and there is no clearly defined way to access the assistance I need. Both VISA and Bank of America have totally copped out by saying, "Call the number on the back of the card." News flash: the number on the back of the card is not helpful! Anyway...just had a little bit of pent up bank-rage I needed to get off my chest. Sorry. Plus, this muzak is REALLY getting on my nerves.
The number on the back of the card offered the typically non-relevant options...and had no option for talking to an operator or for questions regarding credit card renewal. This I could forgive them for. So I went online and searched both the Bank of America and VISA websites for information relating to my question. Nada. So...I called my branch, but the phone number listed for that branch is actually for the motor branch right next door. The lady I talked to there said I should come in to the main branch and talk to a customer service person about my card, "Just to make sure there is no funny business." So, I talked Ben into coming along and we went onto a very busy road to the bank. I talked to a customer service lady there and the first thing she said-cutting me off-was that the bank cannot handle anything relating to credit cards and that I have to call the number on the back of the card and then press -0-.
There was NO ZERO OPTION ON THE 800 # MENU!!!!
So, I am now waiting on hold, having pressed the magical 0 button...and have been on hold for over half an hour. The moral of the story is not to do business with organizations which provide you with NO WAY to talk to an actual person. The second moral is that Bank of America and VISA have a VERY BAD system set up here. There is not nearly enough information online about credit cards, and there is no clearly defined way to access the assistance I need. Both VISA and Bank of America have totally copped out by saying, "Call the number on the back of the card." News flash: the number on the back of the card is not helpful! Anyway...just had a little bit of pent up bank-rage I needed to get off my chest. Sorry. Plus, this muzak is REALLY getting on my nerves.
Friday, October 20, 2006
Wish list
Mandy was getting on my case because I didn't deliver with the Christmas list. Here it is:
For the kitchen:
-NPR Mug
-Wait, Wait Mug
-Large casserole
-1 good knife (unbelievable how difficult life is without this!)
-Salad bowl
For the growing pile of games:
-SET (cannot find in Santa Fe...argh!)
-Settlers of Cataan or similar
-Trivial Pursuit
-Boggle
(Ben and I already have Risk, Scrabble, and Apples to Apples-and despite its popularity, I think Apples to Apples is pretty lame)
For the bookshelf:
-Heart and Hands, by Elizabeth Davis
-Nickel and Dimed, by Barbara Ehrenreich
-American Gospel, by Jon Meacham
-American Theocracy, by Kevin Phillips
-Static, by Amy Goodman (Yay!!! Amy Goodman! You're awesome!)
-Birthing from Within, by Pam England
-The One Percent Doctrine, by Ron Suskind (Cheney is bad!)
For the superficial:
Comfortable:
-Shoes (size 9.5 or 10)
-Shirts (size S or M)
-Pants (size 4-long)
-Skirts (size 4)
-Earrings (I actually sort of need earrings because I've lost one from each pair that people have given me in the past and I don't like buying them for myself. The drawback of earrings as a gift is that I will inevitably-though sometimes it takes years-lose one...but I always keep the un-lost one in my jewelry box!)
For the imagination:
-A meal with Larry David
-A meal with Carl Kassel
-A four-wheel drive vehicle
-A complete senior essay
I just want to say that watching Curb Your Enthusiasm keeps me from feeling homesick, and that Carl brings great joy to my house chores...some day I hope to have your voice on my answering machine, Carl. This post feels like homage to NPR. Hmm...maybe it should be. Shout outs to Chicago Public Radio, Piano Puzzler, Car Talk, and the Sunday Puzzle as well!
For the kitchen:
-NPR Mug
-Wait, Wait Mug
-Large casserole
-1 good knife (unbelievable how difficult life is without this!)
-Salad bowl
For the growing pile of games:
-SET (cannot find in Santa Fe...argh!)
-Settlers of Cataan or similar
-Trivial Pursuit
-Boggle
(Ben and I already have Risk, Scrabble, and Apples to Apples-and despite its popularity, I think Apples to Apples is pretty lame)
For the bookshelf:
-Heart and Hands, by Elizabeth Davis
-Nickel and Dimed, by Barbara Ehrenreich
-American Gospel, by Jon Meacham
-American Theocracy, by Kevin Phillips
-Static, by Amy Goodman (Yay!!! Amy Goodman! You're awesome!)
-Birthing from Within, by Pam England
-The One Percent Doctrine, by Ron Suskind (Cheney is bad!)
For the superficial:
Comfortable:
-Shoes (size 9.5 or 10)
-Shirts (size S or M)
-Pants (size 4-long)
-Skirts (size 4)
-Earrings (I actually sort of need earrings because I've lost one from each pair that people have given me in the past and I don't like buying them for myself. The drawback of earrings as a gift is that I will inevitably-though sometimes it takes years-lose one...but I always keep the un-lost one in my jewelry box!)
For the imagination:
-A meal with Larry David
-A meal with Carl Kassel
-A four-wheel drive vehicle
-A complete senior essay
I just want to say that watching Curb Your Enthusiasm keeps me from feeling homesick, and that Carl brings great joy to my house chores...some day I hope to have your voice on my answering machine, Carl. This post feels like homage to NPR. Hmm...maybe it should be. Shout outs to Chicago Public Radio, Piano Puzzler, Car Talk, and the Sunday Puzzle as well!
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Bad Chinese Food
The single saddest thing about Santa Fe is its lack of a good Chinese restaurant. Now, I know some of you aren't wild about (or have never heard of) my hometown staple: Peking Dynasty. You are missing out. Especially if you live in Santa Fe, because in Santa Fe, Chow's is considered the best Chinese restaurant. Let me enumerate to you the issues I have with Chow's:
1) Service is slow, slow, slow. This is actually a problem in Santa Fe generally, but I mean, don't we expect more from Chinese restaurants? The only experience of good service I had there was with the bus boy, who faithfully refilled the coke that I was drinking at an astonishing pace. I was drinking the coke at an astonishing pace and he refilled it at an astonishing pace...tricky modifiers. Which brings me to...
2) They charged me an extra $2! $2! For my coke after my second refill. I mean, I don't usually drink that much but I was very thirsty, and when Ben and I checked the menu it did not advertise this fact anywhere. How cheap is that!
3) The food tastes weird. I think they are going for some sort of Asian fusion Chinese food, except that the Chinese food all sounds normal on the menu.
Okay, that's it about the Chinese food.
1) Service is slow, slow, slow. This is actually a problem in Santa Fe generally, but I mean, don't we expect more from Chinese restaurants? The only experience of good service I had there was with the bus boy, who faithfully refilled the coke that I was drinking at an astonishing pace. I was drinking the coke at an astonishing pace and he refilled it at an astonishing pace...tricky modifiers. Which brings me to...
2) They charged me an extra $2! $2! For my coke after my second refill. I mean, I don't usually drink that much but I was very thirsty, and when Ben and I checked the menu it did not advertise this fact anywhere. How cheap is that!
3) The food tastes weird. I think they are going for some sort of Asian fusion Chinese food, except that the Chinese food all sounds normal on the menu.
Okay, that's it about the Chinese food.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Aaaahhhh!
As you know, senior year has been a real roller-coaster ride so far. I have worked myself up about senior essay and have nothing to show for it. I don't have a close relationship with a tutor in Santa Fe and have had no luck finding an advisor who clicks with me. Either I am too ancient and the tutor is too modern, one of us is socially inept, or I am too passive and the tutor too aggressive. It feels like I am incompatible with the thoughts I encounter, like I am excited only by inferior ideas, and there seems to be some relation between a tutor's fondness for Kant/Hegel/Wagner/literature above all else, and our inability to communicate. So, it has been a very frustrating process and the time to turn in a paper topic proposal looms. Last weekend I figured out that getting myself worked up about it is probably not a good idea, and so I am beginning the process over again. I want to explore a very general question: What does the religious life have to offer that philosophy doesn't? The problem is finding a great place where these ideas intersect. Plato? Kierkegaard? Tolstoy? Dostoevsky? Augustine? I haven't read Brothers Karamazov yet, which is the only one of these ideas I've found a tutor receptive of. So...any advice?
The other movement/struggle of senior year has been planning for next year. The more I think about medicine, the more I am drawn to sides of it that are more intimate, more interpersonal, and less sterile. The three options for next year I am considering seriously are:
1) Apply to the JET program and go back to Japan for a year or two. Make some money and improve my working Japanese. This does not replace options 2 or 3 but does delay them and give me a (much-needed) adventure.
2) Midwifery
3) Pursue a degree that would allow me to be a therapist.
I have shifted towards midwifery and therapy as I have become convinced that I want my role to be that of someone who frees people. I want to give the people I encounter more options. I don't want to be part of an institution that imagines it is superior to those it serves. At this point I am absolutely fascinated by both midwifery and therapy... midwifery feels like a true calling, but I'm not sure it's the right time for it. The traits of a successful and helpful midwife are the ability to work very hard, compassion, open-mindedness, ability to work cooperatively and selflessly with a group of various (probably strong) personalities. Doesn't it seem like a psychology or social work degree could be a part of developing those qualities?
There is a really great program in Taos, New Mexico at the Northern New Mexico Midwifery Center. It is a 18-24 month apprenticeship that gives aspiring midwives a lot of experience and support as they prepare to take the NARM exam, which is required to become a CPM (certified professional midwife). One of the scariest things about midwifery is that I want to be a direct-entry midwife, as opposed to a nurse-midwife. Direct-entry midwives have much more freedom and are able to attend home births, but also accept certain risks from which nurse-midwives are better protected. If you are interested in midwifery at all, I recommend the book "Babycatcher", by Peggy Vincent.
I just finished it and couldn't put it down. It is an anecdotal account of being an independent nurse-midwife in the Bay Area during the 80s. If you are interested in the advantages and disadvantages of midwifery from a more statistical or medical perspective, I also read "A Thinking Woman's Guide to Better Birth". I think this would be the book for Dad to read when I finally get him on the phone about all this stuff.
The problem with Taos is that there is very little hope Ben will be able to find anything interesting to do there for two years. It is just a little too far from Santa Fe (1 1/2 hours) for us to commute or stay connected to Santa Fe. So this is a bummer, and I am currently casting about looking for a program like Taos' in California or Washington or New York...or anywhere other than Florida and Texas (which have an overabundance of midwifery schools). So if you happen to know a midwife who wants to be my preceptor, let me know.
Meanwhile, the following states are totally out of the picture if I'm a direct entry midwife. They ban it all together: Alabama, Illinois (sad!) Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Montana, North Carolina, South Dakota, Wyoming, and D.C.
As you know, senior year has been a real roller-coaster ride so far. I have worked myself up about senior essay and have nothing to show for it. I don't have a close relationship with a tutor in Santa Fe and have had no luck finding an advisor who clicks with me. Either I am too ancient and the tutor is too modern, one of us is socially inept, or I am too passive and the tutor too aggressive. It feels like I am incompatible with the thoughts I encounter, like I am excited only by inferior ideas, and there seems to be some relation between a tutor's fondness for Kant/Hegel/Wagner/literature above all else, and our inability to communicate. So, it has been a very frustrating process and the time to turn in a paper topic proposal looms. Last weekend I figured out that getting myself worked up about it is probably not a good idea, and so I am beginning the process over again. I want to explore a very general question: What does the religious life have to offer that philosophy doesn't? The problem is finding a great place where these ideas intersect. Plato? Kierkegaard? Tolstoy? Dostoevsky? Augustine? I haven't read Brothers Karamazov yet, which is the only one of these ideas I've found a tutor receptive of. So...any advice?
The other movement/struggle of senior year has been planning for next year. The more I think about medicine, the more I am drawn to sides of it that are more intimate, more interpersonal, and less sterile. The three options for next year I am considering seriously are:
1) Apply to the JET program and go back to Japan for a year or two. Make some money and improve my working Japanese. This does not replace options 2 or 3 but does delay them and give me a (much-needed) adventure.
2) Midwifery
3) Pursue a degree that would allow me to be a therapist.
I have shifted towards midwifery and therapy as I have become convinced that I want my role to be that of someone who frees people. I want to give the people I encounter more options. I don't want to be part of an institution that imagines it is superior to those it serves. At this point I am absolutely fascinated by both midwifery and therapy... midwifery feels like a true calling, but I'm not sure it's the right time for it. The traits of a successful and helpful midwife are the ability to work very hard, compassion, open-mindedness, ability to work cooperatively and selflessly with a group of various (probably strong) personalities. Doesn't it seem like a psychology or social work degree could be a part of developing those qualities?
There is a really great program in Taos, New Mexico at the Northern New Mexico Midwifery Center. It is a 18-24 month apprenticeship that gives aspiring midwives a lot of experience and support as they prepare to take the NARM exam, which is required to become a CPM (certified professional midwife). One of the scariest things about midwifery is that I want to be a direct-entry midwife, as opposed to a nurse-midwife. Direct-entry midwives have much more freedom and are able to attend home births, but also accept certain risks from which nurse-midwives are better protected. If you are interested in midwifery at all, I recommend the book "Babycatcher", by Peggy Vincent.
I just finished it and couldn't put it down. It is an anecdotal account of being an independent nurse-midwife in the Bay Area during the 80s. If you are interested in the advantages and disadvantages of midwifery from a more statistical or medical perspective, I also read "A Thinking Woman's Guide to Better Birth". I think this would be the book for Dad to read when I finally get him on the phone about all this stuff.
The problem with Taos is that there is very little hope Ben will be able to find anything interesting to do there for two years. It is just a little too far from Santa Fe (1 1/2 hours) for us to commute or stay connected to Santa Fe. So this is a bummer, and I am currently casting about looking for a program like Taos' in California or Washington or New York...or anywhere other than Florida and Texas (which have an overabundance of midwifery schools). So if you happen to know a midwife who wants to be my preceptor, let me know.
Meanwhile, the following states are totally out of the picture if I'm a direct entry midwife. They ban it all together: Alabama, Illinois (sad!) Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Montana, North Carolina, South Dakota, Wyoming, and D.C.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Great Quote
Among so many great quotes:
"Precisely because resignation is antecedent, faith is no esthetic emotion but something far higher; it is not the spontaneous inclination of the heart but the paradox of existence. If for example, in the face of every difficulty, a young girl still remains convinced that her desire will be fulfilled, this assurance is by no means the assurance of faith, even though she has been brought up by Christian parents and perhaps has had confirmation instruction from the pastor for a whole year. She is convinced in all her childlike naivete and innocence, and this assurance ennobles her nature and gives her a supranatural magnitude so that like a thaumaturge she can invoke the finite powers of existence and bring the very stones to tears, while on the other hand in her perplexity she can just as well run to Herod as to Pilate and move the whole world with her pleas. Her assurance is most captivating, and one can learn much from her, but there is one thing that cannot be learned from her-how to make movements-for her assurance does not dare, in the pain of resignation, to look the impossibility in the eye."
Explanation: Kierkegaard is talking here about the movement of Abraham's faith. Abraham must be resigned to the impossibility of having Isaac (both before he is born and when asked to sacrifice him) and then at the same moment believe the absurd, that he can have Isaac. This movement between the a) resignation to the impossibility of a desire and the b) belief in the absurd, (belief that for God all things are possible) is Kierkegaard's account of faith. I just thought this was really cool.
Found out that I am in Ms. Arsenault's Jung precept. This is excellent news because Jung sounds cool and I know that Ms. Arsenault is really wonderful. Ben is reading Brothers K for precept with Mr. Thompson. Yay precepts! Also, a thaumaturge is a magician and I still have no idea what to write me senior essay about.
I went over to the College of Santa Fe for an after school session with the Breakthrough kids from this summer, and it was intense. It was so weird to see them again after a couple of months. I think they were excited to see me, but I can already see that their schools have had a negative effect on them. It's hard to see kids swear and fight and act totally out of control. After a half hour they settled down, but they hardly have any homework and the homework they did have was really easy and soooo boring, so it was tought to keep them occupied. Poor, poor, kids.
"Precisely because resignation is antecedent, faith is no esthetic emotion but something far higher; it is not the spontaneous inclination of the heart but the paradox of existence. If for example, in the face of every difficulty, a young girl still remains convinced that her desire will be fulfilled, this assurance is by no means the assurance of faith, even though she has been brought up by Christian parents and perhaps has had confirmation instruction from the pastor for a whole year. She is convinced in all her childlike naivete and innocence, and this assurance ennobles her nature and gives her a supranatural magnitude so that like a thaumaturge she can invoke the finite powers of existence and bring the very stones to tears, while on the other hand in her perplexity she can just as well run to Herod as to Pilate and move the whole world with her pleas. Her assurance is most captivating, and one can learn much from her, but there is one thing that cannot be learned from her-how to make movements-for her assurance does not dare, in the pain of resignation, to look the impossibility in the eye."Explanation: Kierkegaard is talking here about the movement of Abraham's faith. Abraham must be resigned to the impossibility of having Isaac (both before he is born and when asked to sacrifice him) and then at the same moment believe the absurd, that he can have Isaac. This movement between the a) resignation to the impossibility of a desire and the b) belief in the absurd, (belief that for God all things are possible) is Kierkegaard's account of faith. I just thought this was really cool.
Found out that I am in Ms. Arsenault's Jung precept. This is excellent news because Jung sounds cool and I know that Ms. Arsenault is really wonderful. Ben is reading Brothers K for precept with Mr. Thompson. Yay precepts! Also, a thaumaturge is a magician and I still have no idea what to write me senior essay about.
I went over to the College of Santa Fe for an after school session with the Breakthrough kids from this summer, and it was intense. It was so weird to see them again after a couple of months. I think they were excited to see me, but I can already see that their schools have had a negative effect on them. It's hard to see kids swear and fight and act totally out of control. After a half hour they settled down, but they hardly have any homework and the homework they did have was really easy and soooo boring, so it was tought to keep them occupied. Poor, poor, kids.
Thursday, October 05, 2006
A Cry for Help
It was in pre-class chat mode in my math tutorial today, that I discovered that my class-buddy, Mr. Tisher, has a blogspot blog. This is good news.
Help, Mr. Tisher!
I don't know how to work this thing. You see, dear family, I would love to have links to your blogs on my blog, but I haven't been able to figure it out. I want to include youtube videos too, but can't manage it. So this is a cry for help. Isn't it Q in a James Bond film who says he can't work the keys to hotel doors? Don't look down on me, just think of what we all have in common with Q: random gaps of knowledge.
Something that's been bothering me recently...the stupidity of television characters. My new obsession with TV on DVD has been very frustrating:
House: All of the characters are stupid except House, who is wonderful and very, very insensitive. Case in point- Dr. Cameron, the goody two-shoes of the bunch who is incessantly raising irritating pseudo-moral questions, sleeps with the hunky Australian doctor and treats patients with kindness or cruel indifference depending on her opinion of the patient's worth. Dr. House, on the other hand, treats everybody like shit all the time. His consistency and honesty makes him the most compelling member of the cast, and Dr. Cameron looks like a confused gerbil.
Even worse, is Grey's Anatomy: I mean, I don't even know where to begin! In an ensemble cast of ten characters, only one, Dr. Bailey, behaves like a real person. The worst are Meredith Grey and Dr. Shepherd, who sleep around and lead everyone on, treat each other like shit, and then sleep with each other at the end of the second season, just when they had each almost managed to work things out with their other partners. My only consolation is that they deserve each other, and that at least Dr. Shepherd's wife, Addison (also Dr. Shepherd) won't have to put up with him anymore.
I feel similarly about the main characters of Lost. I just detest Jack and Kate. The good thing about Lost is that it has characters like John and Hurley et al. to make up for Jack and Kate. In Grey's, though, the people are just all totally crazy. So, what I'm wondering is: why do all the shows make such distasteful lead characters? Am I supposed to be so overcome with lust for McDreamy or Jack that I ignore their ignorant, domineering, self-centered personalities? Am I supposed to cheer on slutty girls like Meredith Grey? No can do, TV people. And if you think that your characters are disturbing because they're "like, so real" I feel sorry for you. People are confused and deceitful at times, but the people I know would not be able to go on their merry way leading happily self-destructive (and just plain-old destructive) unexamined lives.
Help, Mr. Tisher!
I don't know how to work this thing. You see, dear family, I would love to have links to your blogs on my blog, but I haven't been able to figure it out. I want to include youtube videos too, but can't manage it. So this is a cry for help. Isn't it Q in a James Bond film who says he can't work the keys to hotel doors? Don't look down on me, just think of what we all have in common with Q: random gaps of knowledge.
Something that's been bothering me recently...the stupidity of television characters. My new obsession with TV on DVD has been very frustrating:
House: All of the characters are stupid except House, who is wonderful and very, very insensitive. Case in point- Dr. Cameron, the goody two-shoes of the bunch who is incessantly raising irritating pseudo-moral questions, sleeps with the hunky Australian doctor and treats patients with kindness or cruel indifference depending on her opinion of the patient's worth. Dr. House, on the other hand, treats everybody like shit all the time. His consistency and honesty makes him the most compelling member of the cast, and Dr. Cameron looks like a confused gerbil.
Even worse, is Grey's Anatomy: I mean, I don't even know where to begin! In an ensemble cast of ten characters, only one, Dr. Bailey, behaves like a real person. The worst are Meredith Grey and Dr. Shepherd, who sleep around and lead everyone on, treat each other like shit, and then sleep with each other at the end of the second season, just when they had each almost managed to work things out with their other partners. My only consolation is that they deserve each other, and that at least Dr. Shepherd's wife, Addison (also Dr. Shepherd) won't have to put up with him anymore.
I feel similarly about the main characters of Lost. I just detest Jack and Kate. The good thing about Lost is that it has characters like John and Hurley et al. to make up for Jack and Kate. In Grey's, though, the people are just all totally crazy. So, what I'm wondering is: why do all the shows make such distasteful lead characters? Am I supposed to be so overcome with lust for McDreamy or Jack that I ignore their ignorant, domineering, self-centered personalities? Am I supposed to cheer on slutty girls like Meredith Grey? No can do, TV people. And if you think that your characters are disturbing because they're "like, so real" I feel sorry for you. People are confused and deceitful at times, but the people I know would not be able to go on their merry way leading happily self-destructive (and just plain-old destructive) unexamined lives.
Monday, September 25, 2006
Ramblings
Senior year...ugggghhh...
I'm supposed to be able to do St. John's stuff AND think about senior essay AND figure out plans for next year? Not happening. For the last month I have been shifting my attention from one of these from the other, but have yet to figure out the balancing act that will help me succeed at all three at once.
Ben and I have been talking about next year, but have nothing approaching a firm idea of what we're doing. Right now all we know is that we probably aren't going to be able to apply anywhere this year. I really really really want to be a midwife, but am not able to cope with the loss of respect I would have endure by entering a marginalized medical profession. Maybe I could become a psychologist and then see later if I want to be a midwife. At least then I'd have a real postgraduate degree. All I know is that I want to help people and get a little respect along the way. How would you, dear family, react to me becoming a midwife?
Meanwhile, I am listening to A LOT of Bach and have been slowly becoming convinced of the following: Just because I don't speak the language of Hegel or Kant or Hume (I'm still hoping I'll understand Kierkegaard) doesn't mean I'm a stupid or antiphilosophical person. Maybe people really do choose their philosophy, and I can choose the philosophy that is best suited to my intuitive, interpersonal way of existing. So maybe religion is emotional and maybe Bach (and most music) is emotional and maybe all the literature I like is emotional. I find meaning in it. I am more intuitive than analytical. I need to quit holding this against myself.
Grandma and Grandpa Callahan called and asked me all sorts of questions about my relationship with Ben. So to set the record straight: We are living together, I really love him, and we're not getting married. After what happened with Laszlo I will be waiting A LONG TIME before promising to marry anyone. I'm happy, so don't judge me, people.
Keirkegaard is supposed to be the most attractive man on the program. I bet Hegel isn't even in the running.
I'm supposed to be able to do St. John's stuff AND think about senior essay AND figure out plans for next year? Not happening. For the last month I have been shifting my attention from one of these from the other, but have yet to figure out the balancing act that will help me succeed at all three at once.
Ben and I have been talking about next year, but have nothing approaching a firm idea of what we're doing. Right now all we know is that we probably aren't going to be able to apply anywhere this year. I really really really want to be a midwife, but am not able to cope with the loss of respect I would have endure by entering a marginalized medical profession. Maybe I could become a psychologist and then see later if I want to be a midwife. At least then I'd have a real postgraduate degree. All I know is that I want to help people and get a little respect along the way. How would you, dear family, react to me becoming a midwife?
Meanwhile, I am listening to A LOT of Bach and have been slowly becoming convinced of the following: Just because I don't speak the language of Hegel or Kant or Hume (I'm still hoping I'll understand Kierkegaard) doesn't mean I'm a stupid or antiphilosophical person. Maybe people really do choose their philosophy, and I can choose the philosophy that is best suited to my intuitive, interpersonal way of existing. So maybe religion is emotional and maybe Bach (and most music) is emotional and maybe all the literature I like is emotional. I find meaning in it. I am more intuitive than analytical. I need to quit holding this against myself.
Grandma and Grandpa Callahan called and asked me all sorts of questions about my relationship with Ben. So to set the record straight: We are living together, I really love him, and we're not getting married. After what happened with Laszlo I will be waiting A LONG TIME before promising to marry anyone. I'm happy, so don't judge me, people.
Keirkegaard is supposed to be the most attractive man on the program. I bet Hegel isn't even in the running.
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Regional Woes and Hippie Bliss
I am being forced to watch Iowa St. at Texas and USC at Arizona instead of Ohio State's and Notre Dame's games today. Evil regional programming.
On a lighter note, Ben and I went to the Farmer's Market again this week and it was just amazing. I wish everyone from the familiy could see it...roasting chiles, yummy organic meat and vegetables, fresh cider, delicious homemade spicy mustards and jams, rich hippies, cute little kids running around... it kicks North Market's butt. Last week we made a lamb roast (with Sam's advice) with kale and delicious corn, and baked spiced apples for dessert.
This week we're making chicken with tomatoes and honey, corn, and rolls (hopefully I'll be able to get ahold of Jennie before dinner tonight and can use her recipe). It's so satisfying to buy food from the families that grow it and to eat seasonal foods. I can't deny that I'm becoming a hippie...I've almost convinced myself to become a midwife and live on a farm and live all of my days in hippie bliss. There's something about living where there's too much sunshine that makes solar power and biking everywhere seem like viable options. Of course, I don't have solar power and I don't have a bike, so I'm just a hypocrite... I guess all I'm saying is that there's really something inspiring and beautiful about Santa Fe.
On a lighter note, Ben and I went to the Farmer's Market again this week and it was just amazing. I wish everyone from the familiy could see it...roasting chiles, yummy organic meat and vegetables, fresh cider, delicious homemade spicy mustards and jams, rich hippies, cute little kids running around... it kicks North Market's butt. Last week we made a lamb roast (with Sam's advice) with kale and delicious corn, and baked spiced apples for dessert.
This week we're making chicken with tomatoes and honey, corn, and rolls (hopefully I'll be able to get ahold of Jennie before dinner tonight and can use her recipe). It's so satisfying to buy food from the families that grow it and to eat seasonal foods. I can't deny that I'm becoming a hippie...I've almost convinced myself to become a midwife and live on a farm and live all of my days in hippie bliss. There's something about living where there's too much sunshine that makes solar power and biking everywhere seem like viable options. Of course, I don't have solar power and I don't have a bike, so I'm just a hypocrite... I guess all I'm saying is that there's really something inspiring and beautiful about Santa Fe.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Senior Essay Topics II
I have been meeting with tutors, trying to figure out what I want to write my essay about and who I could ask to my advisor. I met with a tutor who is really into literature and was all about getting me to write about Tolstoy, then I met with a tutor who was clearly so laid back that he wasn't really into the conversation at all, and today I met with a tutor who is just right. I'm going to write about the St. Mathew Passion, and I will most probably ask Mr. Cornell, whom Ben assists in music class, to advise me.
So now I am procrastinating and listening to the Passion, because Hegel is "mad hard" and because (thanks to good old J.C. Maxwell and Einstein) I've already had a day full of imaginary steam engines and clocks moving at the speed of light. Senior year is the year of choices: you get to choose a subject to write an essay about AND you get to choose a preceptorial to take. I write down my top four choices and get assigned to one. Sadly, there are no music or art precepts being offered this year, and I am WAY over philosophy, so I'm debating between the following appealing options:
-Anna Karenina, Tolstoy
-Works of Love, Kierkegaard
-One Hundred Years of Solitude, Marquez
-Essays, Montaigne
-Heat and Heat Engines, with works by Carnot, Maxwell, and Morton Mott-Smith
-Ecological Readings, with works by Thoreau, James Lovelock, and papers on urban and conservation ecology
-Civil Rights Movement, with works by Douglass, B.T. Washington, du Bois, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcom X, and two Supreme Court Decisions.
-Collected Works, Jung
In other news, I was very sad to hear that Mandy lost her suitcase, incredibly excited to see Jaime and Mandy's posts about Jesus Camp (Jaime, you and Ben totally make me feel better about Christianity) and am starting voice lessons.
So now I am procrastinating and listening to the Passion, because Hegel is "mad hard" and because (thanks to good old J.C. Maxwell and Einstein) I've already had a day full of imaginary steam engines and clocks moving at the speed of light. Senior year is the year of choices: you get to choose a subject to write an essay about AND you get to choose a preceptorial to take. I write down my top four choices and get assigned to one. Sadly, there are no music or art precepts being offered this year, and I am WAY over philosophy, so I'm debating between the following appealing options:
-Anna Karenina, Tolstoy
-Works of Love, Kierkegaard
-One Hundred Years of Solitude, Marquez
-Essays, Montaigne
-Heat and Heat Engines, with works by Carnot, Maxwell, and Morton Mott-Smith
-Ecological Readings, with works by Thoreau, James Lovelock, and papers on urban and conservation ecology
-Civil Rights Movement, with works by Douglass, B.T. Washington, du Bois, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcom X, and two Supreme Court Decisions.
-Collected Works, Jung
In other news, I was very sad to hear that Mandy lost her suitcase, incredibly excited to see Jaime and Mandy's posts about Jesus Camp (Jaime, you and Ben totally make me feel better about Christianity) and am starting voice lessons.
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Jesus Camp
Ben and I saw a preview for Jesus Camp, which looks like one of those movies that sets out to reveal a strange but powerful American sub-culture...opening our sheltered eyes to what the "other side" of American society/politics looks like. The thing is, lately I've been obsessed with non-fiction. If I have a free moment, out comes a book about science or words or medicine or naturalism or less happy things (like Jonathon Kozol's books about inner-city miseducation or Fauziya Kassindja's Do They Hear You When You Cry). This obsession has been slowly overtaking my movie preferences as well. I loved Spellbound, Wordplay, An Inconvenient Truth, the movie about the dead grizzly bear guy, and Super Size Me...I'm a pretty easy mark as far as documentaries go. The point is, that as easy a mark as I am, I was conflicted about the preview for Jesus Camp. But I guess first you should go to jesuscampthemovie.com, if you can, and watch the preview so we're on the same page. My discomfort was caused by my familiarity with the kinds of messages the adults were feeding to children in bible camp. Here are some of the things the adults said,
"There are two kinds of people in the world...those who love Jesus and those who don't."
"How many of you would like to be those who would give up their lives for Jesus?"
"Are you a part of it or not?"
"I want to see young people...as radically laying down their lives for the gospel as they are in Pakistan and Israel and Palestine and all those places because we have, excuse me, but we have the truth."
"How long have you been a Christian?"
These quotes are extreme, but they sound familiar to me. Well, except the one about Pakistan. That one is clearly a reaction to things that have happened since 2001. I hate that these things sound familiar. They conjure up feelings of extreme guilt that I still feel to some extent. It's weird right, because my Mom was about the least pressuring mom a girl could have about Christianity, but I still have these feelings. They are left over from not fitting in as a child at East Side Grace Brethren or at Jersey Baptist and feeling like a bad, bad kid because of it. I tried really, really hard at Jersey, too. Still, I felt like a bad, bad kid.
The only (really Christian) place I really fit in was at Faith Ranch, which I just LOVED. It might, just might, have had something to do with the fact that every bit of fellowship was squeezed in between camping, horseback riding, and singing (which I was good at and so not a social outcast). Even at Faith Ranch, though, I have some difficult memories. The worst was from my last summer there, when I was thirteen or fourteen. I was going on a week long camping trip with a few other girls, and before we left I told on one of the girls for smoking. The assistant director came up to me later and commended me for doing what I was supposed to and for what "couldn't have been an easy decision." It was a damned easy decision, because I had been raised to do exactly what I did. I knew that smoking was bad and had never been friends with kids who smoked. What could have been easier? I didn't do what I did out of goodness.
As an adult, I still feel like the bad, bad, kid. I feel it around Christians (and especially around my family) constantly. I cannot enunciate an absolute to you. That doesn't mean that I don't believe in absolutes, or in an absolute power. It also doesn't mean that I don't strive to be a follower of Christ. I don't hate or look down on people who believe in saints, in transubstantiation, in consubstantiation, in miracles, in speaking in tongues (although I find this difficult to relate to), but I do look down on people who look down on, or hate, others. I also have a BIG problem understanding most of what Paul says. But I firmly believe that that's my fault. I don't understand much of what Plato says, either.
Back to the preview. On the website there's an interview with Victoria, the cute little ten-year-old blonde Christian heavy metal enthusiast dances for God and doesn't care about Lindsay Lohan or Britney Spears (thank God for that at least!). She says, "When I dance I really have to be sure that that's God because people will notice when I'm just dancing for the flesh."
So my question is, why would parents and other adults hound kids about giving up their lives for Christ or the perils of "dancing for the flesh"? I have never (and certainly not when I was ten) understood the battle lines Christians draw between themselves and others, and I will never understand or condone teaching that to children. I want feedback from those of you with kids who do church stuff with your kids. How do you feel about pledging allegiance to the Christian flag (something we did in Sunday school when I was little) or drawing lines between Christian and non-Christian children?
It seems like there ought to a way of addressing children which will teach them what they need to learn in order to grow into spiritual (and in this case, Christian) men and women, without burdening their little (potentially very joyful) souls with worries about dancing for the flesh or not saying the Christian pledge appropriately or not being on the right side of the Christian/non-Christian divide.
I guess all I'm saying is this: Christian adults, think twice before you put a piece of red duct tape with LIFE written on it over your little kid's mouth at a rally. She probably doesn't get it, which means it's doing more harm than good. Two more things: First, I don't at all blame my parents for the guilt I feel. Second, I apologize for the length and poor organization of this post. It's something I'm working on.
"There are two kinds of people in the world...those who love Jesus and those who don't."
"How many of you would like to be those who would give up their lives for Jesus?"
"Are you a part of it or not?"
"I want to see young people...as radically laying down their lives for the gospel as they are in Pakistan and Israel and Palestine and all those places because we have, excuse me, but we have the truth."
"How long have you been a Christian?"
These quotes are extreme, but they sound familiar to me. Well, except the one about Pakistan. That one is clearly a reaction to things that have happened since 2001. I hate that these things sound familiar. They conjure up feelings of extreme guilt that I still feel to some extent. It's weird right, because my Mom was about the least pressuring mom a girl could have about Christianity, but I still have these feelings. They are left over from not fitting in as a child at East Side Grace Brethren or at Jersey Baptist and feeling like a bad, bad kid because of it. I tried really, really hard at Jersey, too. Still, I felt like a bad, bad kid.
The only (really Christian) place I really fit in was at Faith Ranch, which I just LOVED. It might, just might, have had something to do with the fact that every bit of fellowship was squeezed in between camping, horseback riding, and singing (which I was good at and so not a social outcast). Even at Faith Ranch, though, I have some difficult memories. The worst was from my last summer there, when I was thirteen or fourteen. I was going on a week long camping trip with a few other girls, and before we left I told on one of the girls for smoking. The assistant director came up to me later and commended me for doing what I was supposed to and for what "couldn't have been an easy decision." It was a damned easy decision, because I had been raised to do exactly what I did. I knew that smoking was bad and had never been friends with kids who smoked. What could have been easier? I didn't do what I did out of goodness.
As an adult, I still feel like the bad, bad, kid. I feel it around Christians (and especially around my family) constantly. I cannot enunciate an absolute to you. That doesn't mean that I don't believe in absolutes, or in an absolute power. It also doesn't mean that I don't strive to be a follower of Christ. I don't hate or look down on people who believe in saints, in transubstantiation, in consubstantiation, in miracles, in speaking in tongues (although I find this difficult to relate to), but I do look down on people who look down on, or hate, others. I also have a BIG problem understanding most of what Paul says. But I firmly believe that that's my fault. I don't understand much of what Plato says, either.
Back to the preview. On the website there's an interview with Victoria, the cute little ten-year-old blonde Christian heavy metal enthusiast dances for God and doesn't care about Lindsay Lohan or Britney Spears (thank God for that at least!). She says, "When I dance I really have to be sure that that's God because people will notice when I'm just dancing for the flesh."
So my question is, why would parents and other adults hound kids about giving up their lives for Christ or the perils of "dancing for the flesh"? I have never (and certainly not when I was ten) understood the battle lines Christians draw between themselves and others, and I will never understand or condone teaching that to children. I want feedback from those of you with kids who do church stuff with your kids. How do you feel about pledging allegiance to the Christian flag (something we did in Sunday school when I was little) or drawing lines between Christian and non-Christian children?
It seems like there ought to a way of addressing children which will teach them what they need to learn in order to grow into spiritual (and in this case, Christian) men and women, without burdening their little (potentially very joyful) souls with worries about dancing for the flesh or not saying the Christian pledge appropriately or not being on the right side of the Christian/non-Christian divide.
I guess all I'm saying is this: Christian adults, think twice before you put a piece of red duct tape with LIFE written on it over your little kid's mouth at a rally. She probably doesn't get it, which means it's doing more harm than good. Two more things: First, I don't at all blame my parents for the guilt I feel. Second, I apologize for the length and poor organization of this post. It's something I'm working on.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Teeny, tiny oil drops
Where to begin? So, the idea behind lab at St. John's is that we not only read the books great scientists wrote and figure them out, we also perform the experiments they did to the best of our ability so that the process of discovery is more active than it would be if we were only sitting around a table talking. Now, for those of you who think that St. John's is outdated and about "old stuff" (which is probably no one reading this, but that's ok) how about THIS: we're discovering the electron! Wow! How modern!
Faraday and Thomson figured out that all matter has some sort of definite quantity of electricity in it, and that it takes the same quantity of electricity to chemically decompose a substance as it does to keep it together. Then came Millikan, who is super-cool. I found a quote on wikipedia that shows just how super-cool:
"At the close of my sophomore year [...] my Greek professor [...] asked me to teach the course in elementary physics in the preparatory department during the next year. To my reply that I did not know any physics at all, his answer was, “Anyone who can do well in my Greek can teach physics.” “All right,” said I, “you will have to take the consequences, but I will try and see what I can do with it.” I at once purchased an Avery’s Elements of Physics, and spent the greater part of my summer vacation of 1889 at home … trying to master the subject. [...] I doubt if I have ever taught better in my life than in my first course in physics in 1889. I was so intensely interested in keeping my knowledge ahead of that of the class that they may have caught some of my own interest and enthusiasm."
How St. John's is THAT!? And although 1889 may seem like a while ago, he didn't die until 1953. Super modern. So, the reason I'm writing about Millikan and oil drops and electrons is because this experiment is worth writing about. The experiment is designed to find the absolute charge of electricity (i.e. the charge of a single electron) as well as to find the mass of the electron. Doing this requires a lot of math which I find pretty boring, but the apparatus and the concept behind it are very comprehensible. Here is a drawing of the apparatus. Sadly we didn't get to use thousands of volts yesterday...only a few hundred.
So those two plates, one above and the other below the field marked "uniform electric field" are electrically charged plates. Say the top one is charged positively and the bottom negatively. We spray teeny, tiny, oil drops into the large cannister on top and some of them float down through a hole and end up between the two charged plates. We can turn off the plates and the oil drops will float down really really slowly (about 15 seconds/2mm) because of the viscosity of the air, and then we can give the plates charge and the oil drops, depending on whether they were charged negatively or positively, will go up really fast or down really fast. If you measure the speed of the oil drops as they float down (at a constant rate) and as they shoot up (with one that is positively charged) you will notice that every once in a while they will change the speed at which they shoot up. This is evidence that the oil drop has "captured" an ion and picked up extra negative electric charge. The intervals between the speeds at which they shoot up provides evidence that electricity comes in discreet packets, electrons, and we can use our measurements to determine their charge and mass.
Anyway, this experiment means squinting into a microscope for hours on end flipping switches to make the oil drop go up and down while remaining in sight and timing with a stopwatch the times they take to go up and down. Sounds boring but is actually pretty exciting, especially since I got to use one of the set-ups that had a very small tv and camera instead of a microscope. I worked with Sarah Bern, a really nice Toronto-an I've just met (it's always exciting to make new friends at St. John's-one would think I would know everyone already) who was really fun to work with. After we collected all of our data we were supposed to begin doing the math to get the numbers we need for our lab report, but instead we just talked. It was a really nice college moment.
Faraday and Thomson figured out that all matter has some sort of definite quantity of electricity in it, and that it takes the same quantity of electricity to chemically decompose a substance as it does to keep it together. Then came Millikan, who is super-cool. I found a quote on wikipedia that shows just how super-cool:
"At the close of my sophomore year [...] my Greek professor [...] asked me to teach the course in elementary physics in the preparatory department during the next year. To my reply that I did not know any physics at all, his answer was, “Anyone who can do well in my Greek can teach physics.” “All right,” said I, “you will have to take the consequences, but I will try and see what I can do with it.” I at once purchased an Avery’s Elements of Physics, and spent the greater part of my summer vacation of 1889 at home … trying to master the subject. [...] I doubt if I have ever taught better in my life than in my first course in physics in 1889. I was so intensely interested in keeping my knowledge ahead of that of the class that they may have caught some of my own interest and enthusiasm."
How St. John's is THAT!? And although 1889 may seem like a while ago, he didn't die until 1953. Super modern. So, the reason I'm writing about Millikan and oil drops and electrons is because this experiment is worth writing about. The experiment is designed to find the absolute charge of electricity (i.e. the charge of a single electron) as well as to find the mass of the electron. Doing this requires a lot of math which I find pretty boring, but the apparatus and the concept behind it are very comprehensible. Here is a drawing of the apparatus. Sadly we didn't get to use thousands of volts yesterday...only a few hundred.
So those two plates, one above and the other below the field marked "uniform electric field" are electrically charged plates. Say the top one is charged positively and the bottom negatively. We spray teeny, tiny, oil drops into the large cannister on top and some of them float down through a hole and end up between the two charged plates. We can turn off the plates and the oil drops will float down really really slowly (about 15 seconds/2mm) because of the viscosity of the air, and then we can give the plates charge and the oil drops, depending on whether they were charged negatively or positively, will go up really fast or down really fast. If you measure the speed of the oil drops as they float down (at a constant rate) and as they shoot up (with one that is positively charged) you will notice that every once in a while they will change the speed at which they shoot up. This is evidence that the oil drop has "captured" an ion and picked up extra negative electric charge. The intervals between the speeds at which they shoot up provides evidence that electricity comes in discreet packets, electrons, and we can use our measurements to determine their charge and mass.
Anyway, this experiment means squinting into a microscope for hours on end flipping switches to make the oil drop go up and down while remaining in sight and timing with a stopwatch the times they take to go up and down. Sounds boring but is actually pretty exciting, especially since I got to use one of the set-ups that had a very small tv and camera instead of a microscope. I worked with Sarah Bern, a really nice Toronto-an I've just met (it's always exciting to make new friends at St. John's-one would think I would know everyone already) who was really fun to work with. After we collected all of our data we were supposed to begin doing the math to get the numbers we need for our lab report, but instead we just talked. It was a really nice college moment.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Senior Essay Topics
Possible Senior Essay subjects:
The Iliad
Plato's Republic
The Five Books of Moses
Job
The gospels written by Paul
Augustine's Confessions
Kepler: The Harmonies of the World
Catullus
Tolstoy: War and Peace
The writings of Konrad Lorenz, naturalist
Bach: St. Mathew Passion
The Iliad
Plato's Republic
The Five Books of Moses
Job
The gospels written by Paul
Augustine's Confessions
Kepler: The Harmonies of the World
Catullus
Tolstoy: War and Peace
The writings of Konrad Lorenz, naturalist
Bach: St. Mathew Passion
Sunday, September 03, 2006
A City They've Written AT LEAST One Song About
"All the buildings are brown...but it's so beautiful!"
For all of you who are considering a trip to Santa Fe on May 19th (that is, for my graduation), I thought I would do a little promotional thing to show you just how fun a weekend in Santa Fe can be! A sample weekend (inspired by this weekend):
Friday:
-Eat at the Thai Cafe. Yum
-Go to Ten Thousand Waves for a private bath.
-Watch House late into the night.
Saturday:
-Walk down Canyon Road and have brunch at the Tea House
-Go to the Humane Society and play with the animals. This is an especially important pastime for those of us who have a bird, when what we really want is a dog or cat.
Lucy:
(They also have rabbits):
-Go to a party at St. John's which features an excellent two-man eighties pop cover band.
Sunday:
-Go to the super-cool Orthodox Church.
-Make delicious home-made minestrone and hope it will last until Wednesday.
-Knit.
-Do homework.
And you wouldn't have to do any of the homework OR go to a college party!
For all of you who are considering a trip to Santa Fe on May 19th (that is, for my graduation), I thought I would do a little promotional thing to show you just how fun a weekend in Santa Fe can be! A sample weekend (inspired by this weekend):
Friday:
-Eat at the Thai Cafe. Yum
-Go to Ten Thousand Waves for a private bath.
-Watch House late into the night.
Saturday:
-Walk down Canyon Road and have brunch at the Tea House
-Go to the Humane Society and play with the animals. This is an especially important pastime for those of us who have a bird, when what we really want is a dog or cat.
Lucy:
(They also have rabbits):
-Go to a party at St. John's which features an excellent two-man eighties pop cover band.
Sunday:
-Go to the super-cool Orthodox Church.
-Make delicious home-made minestrone and hope it will last until Wednesday.
-Knit.
-Do homework.
And you wouldn't have to do any of the homework OR go to a college party!
Friday, September 01, 2006
Breakthrough
I thought I should say something about my summer working as an 8th grade teacher with the Breakthrough Collaborative, especially since I know no one in my family has any idea what I was really doing this summer. The Breakthrough Collaborative is a national organization (originally Summerbridge in San Francisco) which aims to give motivated sixth graders the support they will need to get to college. So, these kids, smart or not so smart, tragically poor or borderline middle class, English-speaking or Spanish-speaking, Native, Mexican, and White all apply as sixth graders to the Breakthrough Program. The program is a six year commitment and includes the following components:
Before 7th grade: Summer school
During 7th grade: Mentoring and tutoring after school
Before 8th grade: Summer school
During 8th grade: Mentoring and tutoring after school
During 9th-12th grade: Students can apply to be Breakthrough interns and during their junior and senior years to be teachers. The students are given college counseling through the program, including SAT prep and additional tutoring.
The only part I was involved with was the summer school aspect, although now that school has started I am going to meet some of the kids after school once a week to help them with homework and help keep them on track in the program.
My experience this summer was exhausting physically and emotionally. There are 50 kids in Breakthough Santa Fe. I taught four classes of science a day, was an advisory to two eighth grade girls and one seventh grade girl, was the head of a committee that organized the program's Friday afternoon events (career day, art walk, camping trip, etc.), and made lesson plans and did miscellaneous paperwork every night.
Fun with Mentos and Coke during a science Tuesday
The kids' home problems, their romantic hopes, their academic successes and failures, all of this was made my concern as many of them opened up to me about their experiences. There were several kids I feel very close to and truly love. There are others who never opened up to me, never bought into the idea that a lame college student who was trying to teach science (of all things, this definitely made it harder to connect to the girls who liked English and History) could understand what composes their existence. I love them too, but they didn't buy into the relationship, and I think that that's fair, because although I came a lot closer to understanding the importance of one girl's older brother's tricked-out car or another girl's hair extensions, ultimately, I don't really care about that stuff the way they do.
What I care the most about is that the kids succeed at what they love. The program is about going to college and raising these kids from their lower class backgrounds into an educated class. I don't buy into this 100% because I don't appreciate the program's emphasis on class change and making money, but I do want the kids to be life-long learners and to have the confidence they need to help them succeed in an America that is too white, too rich, and too Anglo-centric linguistically and culturally.
Here are some of Breakthrough's students:
Lynette Domiguez, a beautiful, strong, and extremely dedicated young woman. I had her in planetary science, which was definitely not her favorite subject, but which she succeeded in by the end of the summer because she knows how to ask questions and work hard.
Ari Morris and Leon Padilla were two awesome boys. Ari was one of four or five white kids in the program and was a sponge for information. He loved science (as well as all his other subjects, most likely) and was really a joy to teach. He is a very serious skateboarder. Cool. Leon is one of those kids with those disarming smiles who drove me nuts by being distracted in class and then turned around and smiled and...all my anger melted away. He wants to be a doctor.
This is Anthony Aragon, aka "Triple A" which is his DJ name. He always carried speakers around in his backpack (which I wasn't supposed to know about) and had the most personality of any of the kids at Breakthrough. Yeah, Triple A!
Well, this is already too long of a post, and Ben wants to fool around with the computer to set up our new Airport Express (yay!), so I'll quit writing. If any Breakthrough kids read this, you're awesome.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Faust
I just finished my first Faust reading, and it is crazy. The prologue in Heaven is like the beginning of Job. Mephistopheles is a poodle who follows Faust home one night. Every once in a while a chorus of spirits (Good spirits? Bad spirits? Who knows!) is heard offstage singing songs giving Faust advice and reflecting on the state of Earth. It's incredibly strange. Oh well. Anyway, here is a picture of the guy who the character of Faust was based on:
Today in math the following problem was posed to me:
If Stan is on the shore watching a boat go by to the right at the speed of light, c, and Wendy is running at 1/2c on the boat aksi to the right (relative to Stan), and she is carrying a flashlight which she switches on- what happens? Does she outrun the light from her flashlight?
Jaime let people know that I was posting again and then wrote: "Like I care", or some other such phrase underneath it. Puzzling, Jaime, because I know you do care. Also, I want to apologize for spelling coeur incorrectly before. My bad.
Today in math the following problem was posed to me:
If Stan is on the shore watching a boat go by to the right at the speed of light, c, and Wendy is running at 1/2c on the boat aksi to the right (relative to Stan), and she is carrying a flashlight which she switches on- what happens? Does she outrun the light from her flashlight?
Jaime let people know that I was posting again and then wrote: "Like I care", or some other such phrase underneath it. Puzzling, Jaime, because I know you do care. Also, I want to apologize for spelling coeur incorrectly before. My bad.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
SENIOR!!!
I was talking to Grandma Callahan this weekend, and she seemed shocked that I am already a senior, so I thought I would just make an announcement. I am a senior. I will (insha'Allah) graduate on May 19th, 2007 in sunny Santa Fe. As I am discovering, there are factors that serve to complicate my enjoyment of senior year. They are as follows:
1. St. John's is so small that, despite being a Febbie and transfering to Santa Fe, now that I've been here four years I know some people really well...and know that I don't want to have classes with them. But I do have classes with them.
2. I have to find an advisor and write a senior essay by February 10th. This is a big deal. Have I made any progress even remotely in the realm of senior essay? Ummm...No.
3. When I graduate, I have to do something else.
All this aside, the first three days of class have been very exciting. In language, we are reading Flaubert's Un Couer Simple and talking about language, something I am always up for. In science we are finishing up our Faraday stuff with an experiment about the electrical properties of molecules and are then moving on to Thomson's experiments with the deflection of cathode rays (now I understand how tvs work). In seminar we just finished with War and Peace and are starting Goethe's Faust tomorrow.
The only class I'm not sure about is math. My math class is headed up by my tutor, Mr. Franks. He's a talker, and has (in our one meeting, granted) totally dominated the discussion. Some students really like this kind of tutor, but I need to work through the math (which this year is Einstein) step by step in an active way. Math tutorial needs to include a way to work through my questions, because I never come to class understanding an argument all the way through.
French sentence of the day: Elle avait eu, comme une autre, son histoire d'amour.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Parakeets (Part Two)
Seven or so months later... Birdie is completely neurotic, but in perfect health. I want to get him a friend who will fulfill his flock instincts, but I am hesitant to risk increasing the noise level in this apartment. Ben and I live in constant fear of becoming bird neglectors... have we crossed the line? Do we give Birdie enough attention? On the other hand, is it our fault he doesn't seem to like any sort of food or treat other than birdseed? How are we supposed to trick him into becoming tame if he won't even give us a chance? If you have any insights into these questions, or live in Santa Fe and feel you would do a better job with this bird, let me know.
Monday, August 28, 2006
My Summer Vacation
I am back in Santa Fe after visiting Dad, Mandy and Tim in Maine and Ben's family in Ojai. Ben revealed an adorably perfectionistic side to me while we were in Maine. Dad put the four of us (Mandy, Tim, Ben, and I) to work in the new house closing in the walls and ceilings for winter, and Ben and I took on the task of insulating the ceiling with three layers of insulation the way Dad wanted. Not a nice job, but Ben had an impressively good attitude (much better than mine, needless to say) and we finished the job in four or five days.
After this really nice visit in Maine, Ben and I went to California to see his family. Sadly, neither of us had finished our first seminar reading, War and Peace, so we spent all but one day of our time in Ojai pinned to the couches, reading. Oh! Mandy taught me to knit, and I received further instruction from a close friend of Ben's family...so am now a pro. Send Christmas present requests my way. Probably wisest to request a scarf.
After this really nice visit in Maine, Ben and I went to California to see his family. Sadly, neither of us had finished our first seminar reading, War and Peace, so we spent all but one day of our time in Ojai pinned to the couches, reading. Oh! Mandy taught me to knit, and I received further instruction from a close friend of Ben's family...so am now a pro. Send Christmas present requests my way. Probably wisest to request a scarf.
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Parakeets (part one)
On Saturday afternoon, Ben and I went to Pete's Pets, a pet store we like especially because on top of the sign are six-foot-tall dinosaurs. We were at Pete's Pets because of an event a week before. The weekend before, on a free Friday afternoon, we had walked casually into PetsMart, or PetCo, or one of those places, and fallen victim to the idea of having a pet.
I don't really know what made us think that going to PetCo was a good idea, because, really, it wasn't. The first thing you see, walking into this store, are a tidy row of little cages containing cats up for adoption. Each cage has its own little profile of the cat. Hi! My name is... Sam/Peaches/FiFi! A cute little cat with the sweetest temperment in the world. I was found... wandering around the desert alone/pregnant in someone's backyard/half starved trying to save a drowning child...and I want to be your cat!
Great.
I mean, it's a fairly well-known fact that I have had disastrous affairs with pets...the turtle who literally decomposed waiting for me and my little sister to clean its tank, the slew of pets (including my beloved cat Lilith, my brother's bird Nipper, and Mandy's ancient rabbit) that died or disappeared while my parents were in Scotland visiting my brother, the adopted Irish setter, Darcy, that ran away after only two weeks of snotting all over the walls of our house. Chags, our dog, is the only one who remains alive, yet unscathed from whatever disaster involving my negligence awaits him. Maybe children shouldn't have pets.
So, the cats at PetCo were really, really cute...I just wanted to scoop up FiFi, pay the $100 adoption fee, and get out of there. But Ben's landlords don't want him to have a cat. Ben's landlords are a peculiar breed of neighbor. They are perfectly nice, obviously upstanding citizen types, and very thoughtful of Ben, but there's something just kind of... weird about them. For example: they don't want Ben to have a cat because they have a couple of cats themselves and don't want there to be any tension or hostility between their cats and Ben's. The thing about this is, there are cats and dogs running around Santa Fe all the time. Their many neighbors have cats, and it doesn't seem to be a problem. Anyway, no cats.
We moved on in the pet store and looked at the fish, which were very beautiful but couldn't go very far to replace the cat we would never have. One of the types of fish, with a sign saying AGGRESSIVE posted over the top of the tank, was really cute, though, and looked like it was constantly smiling at you. This sounds really creepy, I know, but the fish's smiling was actually about 80% friendly and cute and only 20% creepy/disorienting. It was a parrot fish. We looked around at all the crap you had to buy to keep a parrot fish, Ben thought about the fact that he didn't feel very comfortable keeping as his only pet an animal that doesn't even get oxygen the same way we do and has a cute-and-cuddly factor of zero, and we moved on.
Past the reptiles...woosh...past the ferret toys and guinea pigs...woosh,woosh...to the bird room. As background information, it is interesting that Ben said over break that he "doesn't like birds." This came up because we spent A LOT of time on the phone together over Christmas break and Birdie, my brother Ben K's parakeet, kept up a pretty steady monologue some of that time. So I knew- Ben doesn't like birds. It took about...hmmm...three or four minutes in the bird room before he'd changed his mind and was picking up "care sheets" about doves, parrots, finches, parakeets- anything they had.
Parakeets are appealing because:
1) They are small.
2) They are cute.
3) They cost $20 (the parrots we saw were between $500-$1400).
4) They are little parrots, which is a cute idea.
Ben started saying suspicious things like, "I think having a bird could be really fun." "Don't you think a parakeet would make a fun pet?" This from the guy who'd walked into a pet store for no particular reason only twenty minutes ago, and who didn't like birds. Because I doubted his self-knowledge and sincerity, I was hesitant. Besides, I really wanted a cat.
When we left PetCo, however, the thought of a cute little parakeet was clearly weighing on Ben's mind. He spent much of the remainder of the afternoon lamenting his predicament: not allowed to have a cat, not sure about the virtues of the parakeet. The week passed and when, the next Saturday, he still wanted a parakeet, I'd come around and was just as excited by the idea as he was.
I had reservations. For one thing, parakeets are supposed to live for 10-15 years easily. I am pretty sure that I don't want a parakeet for that long. For another, Ben K's bird, Birdie, while an incredibly cute, fun, and personable bird, has revealed the truth about parakeets to me. They may cost only $20, and the idea of having a "little parrot" may be a nice one, but they are undeniably noisy little suckers, and they flap around kitchens and dining room tables whenever they please, without consideration for whether the time is convenient for its friends, Ben and Julie, or not.
Ben said the bird would be his.
"Ok!" I said, "Let's go get a bird!" Not only was I relieved to know that I was not absolutely bound to the animal for more than a decade, I also figured there was much less chance of killing the animal if it was technically not my animal.
So we were in Pete's Pets on Saturday, and we picked out a very sweet-looking parakeet with a purple breast and grey wings. We took the bird home in a box hardly as big as he is, hurried home, set up all the trappings: his little cage, his little bell, his millet, a little spinny mirror toy, and eagerly let him out.
I don't really know what made us think that going to PetCo was a good idea, because, really, it wasn't. The first thing you see, walking into this store, are a tidy row of little cages containing cats up for adoption. Each cage has its own little profile of the cat. Hi! My name is... Sam/Peaches/FiFi! A cute little cat with the sweetest temperment in the world. I was found... wandering around the desert alone/pregnant in someone's backyard/half starved trying to save a drowning child...and I want to be your cat!
Great.
I mean, it's a fairly well-known fact that I have had disastrous affairs with pets...the turtle who literally decomposed waiting for me and my little sister to clean its tank, the slew of pets (including my beloved cat Lilith, my brother's bird Nipper, and Mandy's ancient rabbit) that died or disappeared while my parents were in Scotland visiting my brother, the adopted Irish setter, Darcy, that ran away after only two weeks of snotting all over the walls of our house. Chags, our dog, is the only one who remains alive, yet unscathed from whatever disaster involving my negligence awaits him. Maybe children shouldn't have pets.
So, the cats at PetCo were really, really cute...I just wanted to scoop up FiFi, pay the $100 adoption fee, and get out of there. But Ben's landlords don't want him to have a cat. Ben's landlords are a peculiar breed of neighbor. They are perfectly nice, obviously upstanding citizen types, and very thoughtful of Ben, but there's something just kind of... weird about them. For example: they don't want Ben to have a cat because they have a couple of cats themselves and don't want there to be any tension or hostility between their cats and Ben's. The thing about this is, there are cats and dogs running around Santa Fe all the time. Their many neighbors have cats, and it doesn't seem to be a problem. Anyway, no cats.
We moved on in the pet store and looked at the fish, which were very beautiful but couldn't go very far to replace the cat we would never have. One of the types of fish, with a sign saying AGGRESSIVE posted over the top of the tank, was really cute, though, and looked like it was constantly smiling at you. This sounds really creepy, I know, but the fish's smiling was actually about 80% friendly and cute and only 20% creepy/disorienting. It was a parrot fish. We looked around at all the crap you had to buy to keep a parrot fish, Ben thought about the fact that he didn't feel very comfortable keeping as his only pet an animal that doesn't even get oxygen the same way we do and has a cute-and-cuddly factor of zero, and we moved on.
Past the reptiles...woosh...past the ferret toys and guinea pigs...woosh,woosh...to the bird room. As background information, it is interesting that Ben said over break that he "doesn't like birds." This came up because we spent A LOT of time on the phone together over Christmas break and Birdie, my brother Ben K's parakeet, kept up a pretty steady monologue some of that time. So I knew- Ben doesn't like birds. It took about...hmmm...three or four minutes in the bird room before he'd changed his mind and was picking up "care sheets" about doves, parrots, finches, parakeets- anything they had.
Parakeets are appealing because:
1) They are small.
2) They are cute.
3) They cost $20 (the parrots we saw were between $500-$1400).
4) They are little parrots, which is a cute idea.
Ben started saying suspicious things like, "I think having a bird could be really fun." "Don't you think a parakeet would make a fun pet?" This from the guy who'd walked into a pet store for no particular reason only twenty minutes ago, and who didn't like birds. Because I doubted his self-knowledge and sincerity, I was hesitant. Besides, I really wanted a cat.
When we left PetCo, however, the thought of a cute little parakeet was clearly weighing on Ben's mind. He spent much of the remainder of the afternoon lamenting his predicament: not allowed to have a cat, not sure about the virtues of the parakeet. The week passed and when, the next Saturday, he still wanted a parakeet, I'd come around and was just as excited by the idea as he was.
I had reservations. For one thing, parakeets are supposed to live for 10-15 years easily. I am pretty sure that I don't want a parakeet for that long. For another, Ben K's bird, Birdie, while an incredibly cute, fun, and personable bird, has revealed the truth about parakeets to me. They may cost only $20, and the idea of having a "little parrot" may be a nice one, but they are undeniably noisy little suckers, and they flap around kitchens and dining room tables whenever they please, without consideration for whether the time is convenient for its friends, Ben and Julie, or not.
Ben said the bird would be his.
"Ok!" I said, "Let's go get a bird!" Not only was I relieved to know that I was not absolutely bound to the animal for more than a decade, I also figured there was much less chance of killing the animal if it was technically not my animal.
So we were in Pete's Pets on Saturday, and we picked out a very sweet-looking parakeet with a purple breast and grey wings. We took the bird home in a box hardly as big as he is, hurried home, set up all the trappings: his little cage, his little bell, his millet, a little spinny mirror toy, and eagerly let him out.
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Beginnings
This post is for everyone who ever wants me to call or write to them.
Geographical update: I go to what was, just today by an outsider, referred to as the geekiest college in the country: St. John's College. Fair enough. I live in New Mexico, which I always thought of as sort of a brown-colored, dry, state, but which is actually the most beautiful place I've had the pleasure to live in. The college is in the very small foothills of the southernmost part of the Rockies, and looks out onto more mountains in every direction.
Educational update: St. John's is a crazy idea. Johnnies, the name of students of the college, a name my boyfriend abhors and which I will try to abstain from using, take four years of liberal arts. Science, history, philosophy, religion, music, math, political science, psychology...we get "credits" in each of these areas for reading and discussing the great books of the western canon (although we don't like the western canon because it is from Yale...and we were sort of born out of the University of Chicago). So, freshman year you start of with the Greeks and you sort of just...breeze...through history. I'm a third year student, so I'm currently wallowing in a morass of Hume, Leibniz, Newton, Faraday, Racine, and other radicals. I miss Lucretius, a Roman epicurean we read freshman year, who got away with writing a poem about atoms and epicureanism. It's amusing in a way that, let's face it, Leibniz, is not. The funniest thing about Leibniz is how much he liked the word monad, and let's face it, that's not a lot to have going for you.
Romantic update: I really hope that I don't have to do a lot of things, but it's been a pretty crazy year and I feel that here it is warranted. So, Laszlo and I are disengaged and broken up, a process which continues to be difficult for both of us.
Family update: Yes, I fully intend to gossip about family in this blog. No, family, you can't stop me. Actually, Sam probably can because he knows about to extract lots of money from people and stop them from breaking laws, and if there is a law against talking about people on blogs, I'm sure he...oh, no, wait, he lives in England, never mind. Actually, no, it feels wrong to talk about people.
Another romantic update: So, I thought I'd have a paragraph between the update above and this one. I have a new boyfriend, whose name is Ben. He is from Southern California, is in my core group, (which means I have every one of my classes with him), and generally impresses the hell out of me.
Geographical update: I go to what was, just today by an outsider, referred to as the geekiest college in the country: St. John's College. Fair enough. I live in New Mexico, which I always thought of as sort of a brown-colored, dry, state, but which is actually the most beautiful place I've had the pleasure to live in. The college is in the very small foothills of the southernmost part of the Rockies, and looks out onto more mountains in every direction.
Educational update: St. John's is a crazy idea. Johnnies, the name of students of the college, a name my boyfriend abhors and which I will try to abstain from using, take four years of liberal arts. Science, history, philosophy, religion, music, math, political science, psychology...we get "credits" in each of these areas for reading and discussing the great books of the western canon (although we don't like the western canon because it is from Yale...and we were sort of born out of the University of Chicago). So, freshman year you start of with the Greeks and you sort of just...breeze...through history. I'm a third year student, so I'm currently wallowing in a morass of Hume, Leibniz, Newton, Faraday, Racine, and other radicals. I miss Lucretius, a Roman epicurean we read freshman year, who got away with writing a poem about atoms and epicureanism. It's amusing in a way that, let's face it, Leibniz, is not. The funniest thing about Leibniz is how much he liked the word monad, and let's face it, that's not a lot to have going for you.
Romantic update: I really hope that I don't have to do a lot of things, but it's been a pretty crazy year and I feel that here it is warranted. So, Laszlo and I are disengaged and broken up, a process which continues to be difficult for both of us.
Family update: Yes, I fully intend to gossip about family in this blog. No, family, you can't stop me. Actually, Sam probably can because he knows about to extract lots of money from people and stop them from breaking laws, and if there is a law against talking about people on blogs, I'm sure he...oh, no, wait, he lives in England, never mind. Actually, no, it feels wrong to talk about people.
Another romantic update: So, I thought I'd have a paragraph between the update above and this one. I have a new boyfriend, whose name is Ben. He is from Southern California, is in my core group, (which means I have every one of my classes with him), and generally impresses the hell out of me.
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