A Free Verse Life

How Much Does a Gas Can Cost?

2009-09-14T21:11:00.004-04:00

Today while I was stopped at a light in O'Bryonville (with my windows down), a woman approached me and asked for help. She told me her story—aunt in hospital, car out of gas, "Do you have a gas can?", "Can you take me to the gas station?"—which I'm sure is just a story. Before you blast me for being cynical, realize that I am 95% certain that I have picked up this exact same woman before—it's virtually the same story, and both times she flashed a Tennesee driver's license. Story or not, I picked her up. I only have two criteria (I think) for giving a stranger a ride: 1. Must be female. 2. Must be polite. So it doesn't matter to me whether her story is true or not. I'm willing to give her a ride regardless.

It turns out once she's in the car that she no longer wants to go to the gas station directly; she'd like to go to whatever family member's house is surprisingly close by. I think it was her uncle this time. On the way, she details the various family members who aren't answering their phones. Once we're to the drop of point, she asks if I have just $3-4 because she has $3 already and then she could buy a gas can. I look and tell her I don't have any cash, because I only have a $20 and I'm not willing to give it to her. Then she says, "Are you sure? I just need $7.99. I can get a gas can for $7.99." I say no and offer to give her my gas can, which she's not interested in. So she gets out and thanks me. She walks away and I drive on.

What fascinated me was that she knew the exact price of a gas can. If I'm stranded and in need of help, I'm absolutely certain that I'd have no idea how much a gas can costs. I did a quick search and it turns out she's right: You can get a gas can for $7.99 here. Good to know.

All in all, it was a reminder at the end of a hectic Monday that my life is not such a mess; and even when I'm tired and frustrating and sweaty and my car is making a ever-loudening, mysterious clunking noise, there's a bigger picture and I'm part of it.

Two Observations

2009-09-10T23:02:00.002-04:00

1. Eating with friends is more fun than eating alone. Since eating is one of my favorite things, I should do it more often with my favorite people. Sometimes it's nice to eat lunch at my desk or have popcorn for dinner in bed, but sometimes it's not.

2. Three year olds are a wild, diverse species. Within 8 hours yesterday, I had one such youngster spontaneously ask about my day and tell me she loved me; then later another called me a f-cker. Both adorable, blond, funny, zany kids that I love, but two ends of a broad spectrum.

Why I Haven't Been Blogging

2009-09-10T22:14:00.002-04:00

… which is basically the same as why I haven't been working out too.

busy babysitting, doing Stop Traffick Fashion stuff, etc.
busy having summer fun
reading
thinking about things I can't talk about on my blog (not as scandalous as it sounds)
too tired
sometimes doesn't seem worth the effort
apathy

Since I know you've all been sitting in silence waiting for me to write (and go to the stinking gym), I'll try to be better. Maybe I should set a goal or something. Ehhh, maybe not.

Good News for M&M Lovers

2009-07-28T17:49:00.002-04:00

I saw this on CNN today. The dye in blue M&Ms can help heal spinal injuries. So in preparation for any future spinal injuries, I'm going to start eating lots of blue M&Ms. Plus high doses of it can make you turn blue, so that will keep me entertained as I wait for any impending spinal injuries.

Also (and I hate to say this about a rodent) but, oh my goodness, that blue mouse is stinking adorable.

The Most Expensive Book I've Ever Bought

2009-07-06T20:30:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago I finished Girls Like Us by Sheila Weller. It's a combined biography of Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Carly Simon and talks about their lives and how they characterized a generation. It's part People magazine, part history book—and I loved the balance between the two. Weller does a great job weaving story and journalistic fact into a compelling and informative read.

So why was it so expensive? Well, it's a big fat book, so it cost $17. Then every stinking chapter they're talking about this or that amazing album, so I spent like $40 on iTunes augmenting my collection (including some James Taylor, since he was involved with Joni and Carly). Then I showed the book to my mom and she got really excited, so I bought it for her for her birthday. It adds up, but it was worth it.

I know more about recent cultural historical events than I ever did before. (I say historical not because the events are old, but because they had a great impact. No, Mom, of course you're not old.) I have one of the best playlists I've ever made, and I appreciate the personal significance behind many of the songs in a way that goes deeper than just their lyrics.

Joni, Carole, and Carly lived interesting, inspiring, flawed, tragic, fun- and struggle-filled lives. Weller portrays them honestly but with respect and reverence.

My new 70's-heavy playlist combined with my recent Mary Tyler Moore watching spree makes me think I may have been born at the wrong time.

Jacksonville for the 4th

2009-07-06T19:59:00.006-04:00

There was much reading and much relaxing.

I got to hang out with Megan!

My feet in the sand.

My sunglasses are cheap and my hair is yucky, but I am happy.

The late afternoon sky.

The beach at dusk.

Fireworks off the pier.

Fire over the waves in the dark.

V-a-c-a-t-i-o-n

2009-07-01T22:01:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow morning I'm heading to Jacksonville, FL for a quick vacation. Not a trip, a vacation. Plenty of rest and mental quiet. I feel like I've been running myself ragged lately. My to do list won't stop and my mind wants to give up. So I'm giddy-excited for the the beach. I'm not even really a beach person, so my excitement is a testament to just how much I need a switch to a restful pace. I'm planning to start (and finish?) Jhumpa Lahiri's Unaccustomed Earth on my trip, and perhaps do some writing. Plus, I get to see my dear friend Megan, which will definitely be an asset to my long-term sanity.

There may be pictures; there may be updates. I make no guarantees.

Hopefully I'll find a way to bring my new-found calm, cool demeanor back with me.

Thursdays with Mitch

2009-06-23T21:11:00.003-04:00

This Thursday I'm interviewing Mitch Albom for the October issue of Writer's Digest magazine. The interview will focus partly on his upcoming book, Have a Little Faith (which I finished reading just moments ago), and partly on the longevity and versatility of his writing career (sports writing, novels, nonfiction, screenplays, he's also in a band... of all authors).

So, what should I ask him?

Save Our Libraries!

2009-06-23T18:34:00.002-04:00

Governor Strickland is proposing a 50% cut in funding for libraries. This gets me fired up!

For Cincinnati libraries, this would mean that by September 2009:

Up to 20 branch libraries closed
Dramatic cuts in Main Library hours
Greatly reduced computer access
Fewer new materials available
Elimination of services to residents of all ages
250 additional jobs lost
Fewer staff to assist customers

In my view, the greatest victims of these cuts will be kids, especially in poor areas, and the homeless. Kids who have no where else to go after school (and are already victims of Ohio's unconstitutional school funding) can go to the library and find a nurturing environment. Additionally, Cincinnati's Main Library is often called the largest daytime homeless shelter in the area. Many would see that as a drawback to the library, but I see it as a strength. In both cases, the library is a positive environment for people who have no where else to go. Taking that away will be devastating to our communities.

Contact Governor Strickland and the other legislators involved to tell them that libraries are important to Ohio. Here's what I wrote:

Dear Legislators,
I sincerely value your time and your commitment to serving the needs of the citizens of Ohio. I know that times are tough financially and that hard decisions need to be made. However, I beg you to please spare our libraries such a devastating cut. Even as technology has advanced, libraries continue to be a foundation of our communities. People gather there, people learn there, people connect there.

As much as I am personally offended by the notion of slashing the library budget, I am primarily writing on behalf of the children in my community. I live in Walnut Hills in Cincinnati. Many kids here are facing disadvantages that are stacked up high against them; it's the same in other areas of my city and of our state. One of these hindrances is a school funding system that is unconstitutional. Every time I go to the library, though, I see kids who are safe, learning, and laughing. Kids in my neighborhood get excited to go to the library after school. No matter a child's background, they can come into the library and have access to books, resources, and talented and committed librarians. I beg you to consider each of these vibrant children when you make your decision.

Please don't continue to undercut the potential of kids growing up in Ohio.

Thank you for your time.

Melissa Hill

Stop Traffick Fashion

2009-06-15T18:53:00.004-04:00

Stop Traffick Fashion went live today! Woohoo! Go check it out.

This is my first purchase:
It's made by Freeset Bags in Calcutta, India.

Freeset natural jute bags are handmade by women escaping the sex trade of Calcutta, India. Each woman has been trained and employed by Freeset. Instead of remaining victims of exploitation, these women are now skilled craftsmen, living and working with dignity. Each of the beautiful bags they make tells a story of redemption and hope. Every woman who finds freedom through Freeset also brings freedom to her family.

NYC Photos

2009-06-06T16:30:00.014-04:00

Here are some photos from my quick (mostly work) trip to New York City last week.

Brooklyn Bridge in the haze.

Trying hard (too hard?) to be artsy.

The dusk setting on my camera makes the haze look blue; it's kind of nice.

Upright bass player in Central Park. Thank you, sir, for lining up perfectly for this shot.

Obligatory perty flower shot.

Quite a few times in New York, especially in Central Park, I thought, "Hey, that was in __ (TV show or movie)." This was one of those times, but I can't place what show or movie it's from.

Shiny, branchlike art on top of the Met.

Central Park from the Top of Rockefeller Center.

The Empire State Building from Rockefeller. I used the dusk setting again to make the haze blue.

We rode the Wonder Wheel at Coney Island after Audrey finished her half marathon. We were in one of the cars that swing from the outside of the wheel to the inside and back out. Fun. (Thanks, again, Audrey for letting me crash at your place!)

Faith as an Oppositional Collegiate Subculture

2009-06-03T22:11:00.004-04:00

I got a mysterious package in the mail yesterday. I came home to find it propped against my door, with a nameless Oxford, OH return address. Inside was a free book (happy day!). It's called It's All About Jesus!: Faith as an Oppositional Collegiate Subculture. (If you think the title is cheesy you'll love the cover art.) The book culminates years of research and writing by Peter Mangolda and Kelsey Ebben Gross.

When I was in college Kelsey, a grad student, and Peter, a professor in the educational leadership/college student personnel department, decided to do a research project about student organizations. They picked out a handful of organization from a variety of contexts and began attending meetings and learning about each group. They wanted to analyze how each organization worked and how they created their own subculture. One of the groups was the ministry that I was involved in.

During the first year of their research they decided our group was intriguing enough to warrant a deeper look. Our lives were different from the prevailing campus culture, and it wasn't immediately apparent to them why. So they dropped the other groups and broadened the scope and length of the project. For two years (I think) they attended meetings and social events, got to know us, and did a series of interviews with selected students. I was one of the students they interviewed several times, so I got to interact with them and help shape their research. I even got to read a near-final draft of the book and write a response to it that's printed in the book. (They used pseudonyms for everyone.)

Both researchers came at the project from different backgrounds, and while they acknowledged their biases they tried to conduct purely objective research. I enjoyed getting to know them and seeing myself and my beliefs through their perspective. They were able to see the strengths and flaws of our group that were sometimes difficult for me to articulate. I don't agree with every point in their assessment, but in most instances they were on the mark. Overall, I think they were able to understand, at least intellectually, the way I live my life and why.

I'm pretty sure it's not coming to a bookstore near you, so if you're interested in reading it, let me know and you can borrow my copy.

Kanye West, You Just Broke My Heart

2009-05-31T21:24:00.002-04:00

Kanye West just lost (almost all) my respect. His concert was one of the best I've ever been to, so that makes his completely ignorant disregard for one of the most dear things to me hurt all the more.

I wonder if Usher likes to read.

The Arts Rundown

2009-05-11T20:41:00.002-04:00

Here's what I've been reading and seeing lately:

Books:

Safe Passage—A memoir of two opera-loving sisters who rescue Jews as WWII looms over Europe. Touching, beautiful, perhaps a bit self-indulgent. What's stuck with me is their heartache over all the people they met but couldn't save. It inspired me, though, take advantage of every skill I have and every moment I can help people. Lives are saved by everyday people.
A Thousand Splendid Suns—A devastating, epic of life as a woman in Afghanistan. Heartwarming and heartbreaking, make me see clearly strongest strength and weakest weakness of the human soul.

Theater:

A Little Night Music—New Stage Collective's charming farewell production. It's been awhile since I've seen a musical. I've always hated the song "Send in the Clowns," but now I sort of like it. After seeing the show, a depressing song about clowns doesn't seem so baffling. The leads were tremendous, but special props go to my dear Margaret-Ellen who will indeed marry the Miller's son.
The Arms and the Man—A little George Bernard Shaw livens up any Saturday night. I loved the playful, yet meaningful, juxtaposition of absurdity and rationality. A show that lets you laugh out loud and think about the meaning of courage is a well-rounded show. Plus, it references chocolate quite a bit.

Movies:

Sunshine Cleaning—It was listed as a comedy, but anyone knows a story of two sisters with relationship and life issues can be nothing but a drama. I don't object to that though. It was enjoyable, and gross, and I did laugh, too.

The Economist

2009-05-11T20:33:00.003-04:00

(I'm not even going to try to justify my recent lack of posts.)

I'm not a mathematical, analytical type. I value those qualities, but they certainly aren't me. So I value The Economist all the more for sending a message about the economy that even I can understand with this image:

Things are looking up, but it might be deceptive. Read the whole article here. Frankly, I didn't; the picture was enough.

Also, Finding Nemo, anyone?

"I'm feeling happy... and that's a big deal for me."
…
"Happy feeling gone."

More Poetry

2009-04-13T20:51:00.002-04:00

Here's a more modern one I love. Simple, elegant, poignant with out being sappy. Beautiful. He doesn't waste words.

Alzheimer's
by Bill Hicok

Chairs move by themselves, and books.
Grandchildren visit, stand
new and nameless, their faces' puzzles
missing pieces. She's like a fish

in deep ocean, its body made of light.
She floats through rooms, through
my eyes, an old woman bereft
of chronicle, the parable of her life.

And though she's almost a child
there's still blood between us:
I passed through her to arrive.
So I protect her from knives,

stairs, from the street that calls
as rivers do, a summons to walk away,
to follow. And dress her,
demonstrate how buttons work,

when she sometimes looks up
and says my name, the sound arriving
like the trill of a bird so rare
it's rumored no longer to exist.

It's April... And You Know What That Means.

2009-04-06T19:28:00.003-04:00

Actually you probably don't, but that's ok. April is National Poetry Month. (You're excited now, aren't you!) Hopefully some day soon, I'll write some poetry and post it, but for today I want to share a poem that I love: "Preludes" by T.S. Eliot. I think the commentary at the top captures the essences of the poem when it says, "'Preludes,' deals with spiritually exhausted people who exist in the impersonal, tawdry modern city. 'Preludes' impressionistically captures the impoverished spiritual lives of those living in a lonely, sordid, decadent culture." Certainly applicable themes for today, nearly 100 years later.

I love the images of the poem and the way the words sound. Stanza III is my favorite, but my favorite line is at the end:

"… eyes / Assured of certain certainties, / The conscience of a blackened street / Impatient to assume the world."

Stop Traffick Fashion

2009-03-31T21:11:00.002-04:00

If you haven't already, check out Stop Traffick Fashion. It's the online boutique my sister, Emily, is creating to help combat human trafficking. The store will launch in the next few months, but we already have the blog up and running. Finding out more and see how you can help the 27 million people who are slaves today.

Melissa Likes:

2009-03-31T20:54:00.004-04:00

Some favorite things of late:

My sassy new hair. Several people have described it as such and I'm quite pleased.
UDF chocolate malts. (I've had 2 in 4 days.)
Swimming.
Eating with friends.
Franz Ferdinand's song "Oh You Girls."
Flowering trees.
Greek salad.
Lavander foot lotion.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
How my parents and grandparents make me feel loved and supported.
My faithful old blue recliner (purchased for $100 in 6th grade) in the corner of my new room.
Apt characterization in Facebook quizzes: I'm CJ from West Wing and Statler and Waldorf from the Muppets.
Having random dreams about old friends.
High thread count cotton.
Getting a cable bill for $1.19 because I overpaid last time.

Book Reviews

2009-03-20T22:25:00.005-04:00

Here are some recent reads:

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
Balram tells his story from growing up poor in "The Darkness" in India to being a prosperous entrepreneur in the growing market of outsources technology jobs. His path involves loneliness, servanthood, being manipulated, and committing murder. It's a very raw story told as letters to the Prime Minister of China. Balram wants to give the PM a real picture of Bangalore, the city where he finally finds success, and entrepreneurship in India. It's is a deftly written, intriguing, gritty story.

Love is a Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield
This is Rob's memoir focusing on his relationship with his wife, Renee, before their marriage, during their marriage, and after her death. Each chapter begins with the song list from a mix tape that he (and often Renee) listened to during that time. Music formed the core of his life and their relationship. This book is achingly hilarious, both heartbreaking and laugh out loud funny. Sheffield is a bold, honest, smart writer.

The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz
The story centers on the Oscar, a Dominican kid in New Jersey, and his quest for love and to become a sci-fi/fantasy writer; but Oscar's life (and death) can't be understood without knowing his family's past. (The generational story of a Spanish-language-culture family reminds me of Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros.) Various narrators, some named, some mysterious, tell about his mother's youth, his sister's rebellion, and his grandfather's imprisonment. His family is haunted by what may be a curse, or fuku, because of an offense to the Dominican dictator Trujillo. Díaz mixes urban slang, Spanish, and sci-fi references to tell his story. Although I don't understand Spanish and don't like sci-fi, I wasn't lost. This book is rich with voice and history.

Note: Each of these books involved a significant death, but I haven't ruined anything for you by telling you about it. All three books refer to the deaths right away, but often leave details and whys for later.

London Update: Not So Timely After All

2009-03-20T20:59:00.023-04:00

outside Waterloo Station

Here's the run down on the London trip. It was shorter than the rest of my trips, and I did more things that I'd done before. I wasn't feeling as contemplative either, so I wrote and philosophized less.

Dali Universe—art by and and inspired by Salvador Dali. His paintings uniquely explore our interconnectedness and dependence on time (which made this poem get stuck in my head).

South Bank Book Market—Open air books under a bridge. Didn't find anything irresistible this time, though. (This photo isn't as artful as I'd hoped.)

The Tate Modern—I liked some of the cubism, impressionism, and surrealism, but there is some strange modern art that I just don't get. The place was crawling with high schoolers on field trips. I ran into some of them making out in the stairwell. The exhibit below I liked, not sure I 100% got it or whatever. It had concentration camp looking bunks with no mattresses. Each bed had a book about war or oppression tied to it (like 1984). I felt like it was a statement about how literature fights oppression and makes suffering bearable. Then over top there was a gigantic spider about to lay eggs; didn't get that part.

St. Paul's from The Tate Modern

The Design Museum—Snazzy fashion exhibit; not wearable fashion, but fashion with meaning behind it. Plus, they gave you a pamphlet that explained what it all was supposed to me so that you didn't have to just look and wonder and feel left-brained.

Tour at the Globe Theatre—Didn't get to see as much behind the scenes as I'd hoped. My favorite part was when the guide told a story about how a pigeon flew into the hole during the gravedigger scene in Hamlet. The gravedigger had to get it out of there before they put the body in, so he picked it up instead of Yorick's skull and Hamlet did the "Alas, poor Yorick" speech to a pigeon. In the picture, the stage is all graffitied for an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet geared towards 12-year-olds. Apparently there's a soap star in it and all the 8th graders swoon.

Notting Hill—Fancy antiques and junk shops. There weren't any street vendors our since it was a weekday. Bought a cute dress. Spent an hour looking at pricey knobs for my dresser.

Tea at the Ritz—Classy, formal, ritzy. Yummy sandwiches and scones. No photos allowed! (Mom will probably demand that I write more about this later, so I won't waste it now.) Emily has the pictures of us all dressed up.

Behind the Scenes Tour of Parliament—Emily's friend works for Parliament so we got to take a look around. He also explained how Parliament works, which we, of course, were clueless about. We got to enter through the building across from Big Ben, go through security, get sweet name tags, and go through a tunnel under the road and under Big Ben. The House of Commons had let out so we got to look around. I love that their voting process involves running to opposing hallways: very kinesthetic, and maybe a little peer-pressure oriented.

Burrough Market—Open air market with fancy-yum foods of all sorts. Olives and cheeses and breads and pate and brownies and Turkish Delight. (And raw meat.) And coffee that's so good it will make you think that maybe you just might make it in life. We bought way too much food then took to eat by the river.

Westfield—Big fancy mall. Countless designers I've never heard of.

Snow Patrol concert—I love concerts where I know every single song. Since I've been listening to their music for a few years certain songs bring back vivid memories. And since my last computer didn't want to pass their album, Hands Open, to my new computer and I hadn't heard it much in awhile, those songs were particularly striking.

Restaurants I was particularly looking forward to:
PingPong—Yum yum Dim Sum.
Nandos—Spicy chicken salad and olives.

And yet more photos:

cute street by The Design Museum

a bird in flight

palm trees and Tower Bridge

bridge o' tourists and St. Paul's

a golden bird and The Eye

Leaving at 6:20am

2009-03-09T20:25:00.002-04:00

I leave in the morning for London, one last time before I don't have a free place to stay. I'm really excited, but I've been so busy that I haven't spent much time planning or even anticipating this trip. I can't wait for a change of pace and a change of place. I'm happy with my day to day life, but I like to break the routine and get away for a bit.

Since Emily's moved to London and I've gotten to visit a few times, I've realized how much I love traveling alone (not that I don't like traveling with other people too). I love walking around a new place, stopping and sitting when I want, walking as fast or slow as I want, seeing the sites and non-sites exactly as I want to see them. Experiencing a place in a way that is uniquely me. I'm a person who relishes in solitude. I live a place in a much deeper way when I can sink inside myself, read, write, and people watch.

I'm waiting to be refreshed and exhausted at the same time.

(And of course there will be updates. Whether they'll be timely, only time will tell.)

Did You Write This? Did I Write This?

2009-03-07T19:17:00.005-05:00

I found this on my magnetic poetry board:

Delicate and dark
my dreams of him
heavy ghosts let in by
want and wine

Did you write this? I read it the other day and was impressed. I don't remember writing this, but perhaps it could have been me. The world may never know.

Welcome to Melissa's Interior Monologue

2009-03-07T19:08:00.005-05:00

I love a good nap. I took a fabulous 2 hour nap this afternoon. It was warm; I was sleepy; I'd spent 3 hours outside in the morning; and I was expecting to still be babysitting but got off early. I ate some Girl Scout cookies and curled up for an idyllic afternoon snooze. Several blissful hours later, I was reminiscing about the nap and attempting to get myself moving again. These are the exact thoughts that went through my mind:

Mmmm, that was such a good nap. If I was a superhero, I'd want my superpower to be spontaneous napping... Oh wait, that's narcolepsy (laugh, eye-roll)... They could call me The Narc (devious chuckle).

Irony and Innovation

2009-03-04T17:19:00.002-05:00

Google is taking out $7 million in print ads? Very interesting article. Very exciting concept.

Free Book

2009-02-18T21:19:00.002-05:00

If you haven't before you should check out DailyLit.com, you can get books for free or low cost, delivered in installments to your email or RSS. Right now they're doing a Big Read where they try to get everyone reading the same thing; they've chosen "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." I've heard mixed reviews about the movie, but you can't pass up reading the story for free in 11 lovely installments.

I haven't read a ton of stuff over DailyLit, mostly because some of the classics they offer, like Anna Karenina, take like 400 installments. That's a long, slow commitment. (They have non-classics too, but I'm a nerd, and also the classics tend to be free.) They do have some short stories and collections of stories. I think next I'm gonna read The Best American Humorous Short Stories and maybe pick up some theater with Chekhov's The Seagull. Perhaps I'll give James Joyce's Dubliners a shot too. You can also pick when each installment arrives; I think the humor stories will make a wonderful lunch time read.

Thoughts About Stuff

2009-02-18T21:09:00.003-05:00

I'm in the process of moving my stuff from my current room to the room upstairs (which is a small part of the reason I haven't been posting much). Needless to say my room is a mess and everything is everywhere. I keep putting things that I might need to find soon for something important (like my passport) in my purse. This is becoming a problem because it's hard to find my keys.

Because I'm having to go through all my clothes-books-junk and because upstairs is smaller, I'm getting rid of a lot of stuff. A lot of trash, a lot of Goodwill, and even some for Half-Price Books (I scored $22 at HPB yesterday!). It's tough to look at everything you own and still claim to be not materialistic. I have so much stuff. And I'm young and don't have a house. Everybody has too much stuff. There are storage units full of everything people don't have room for. Why do I think I need all this stuff? There is no reason I should feel noble limiting myself to 18 pairs of shoes—that's how many fit on my shoe rack. No one should even need a shoe rack. I have a stack of shirts for working out and painting. Face it, I don't work out that much, and I paint even less.

What's the point of this rant. I don't know. Get up from your computer. Go to your closet. Get rid of something. You don't need it. You won't miss it.

Things I'm Looking Forward To (In Chronological-ish Order)

2009-02-13T20:52:00.003-05:00

My exclusive dinner party tomorrow night.
IKEA with Mom on Monday.
Seeing M.E. in Dead City and watching the Emmy's at Mary's (in a prom dress?) next weekend.
Getting my new stuff moved into my new room upstairs.
Seeing the first book I edited in stores.
London in March. Walking by the Thames. Snow Patrol at the O2.
Having my sister back in the same city—nay, the same house—as me. Going with my jet-lagged sister to the Ray Lamontagne concert.
Mom and Dad's (belated) 30th anniversary party.
Summer in Eden Park.
Continuing to read books I got for Christmas (or bought in December) like Safe Passage, Love is a Mix Tape, A Long Way Gone, and The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. And trying to keep moving on reading through the Bible (not going to happen in a year).

I Was Told There'd Be Cake

2009-02-13T20:47:00.002-05:00

Last week I read I Was Told There'd Be Cake by Sloane Crosley. It's a collection of essays about life in her 20s in New York. It was hilarious, especially since we have things in common. Like having sarcastic sense of humor, a job history full of potholes, and literary interests. Very good read.

Restaurant Reviews

2009-01-31T22:31:00.003-05:00

I like writing.

I like eating.

As a result I've often thought that being a restaurant critic would be a fun job, or perhaps a side job. To get some practice I'm thinking I might start posting restaurant reviews here. Any restaurant requests to get me started?

Park Poetry

2009-01-28T20:32:00.008-05:00

A quick poem I wrote after my snowy romp in Eden Park. Then some snow photos.

I set out in the snow, well-layered,
along the barren, slushy street to the park.
It's empty except for a brave parent pulling sleds full of children,
a homeless man, and
skittish, photographic-eyed loners like me.
Everyone keeps their distance from everyone else.

As I reach the lake, I begin too lope through the deep, icy snow.
Each crunch-thud is accompanied by
the ache of asthma and weak knees.
Sweat drips beneath my layer. I smile.
Then, without warning,
my face is buried in snow.
Laid out like an assassinated snow angel.
Rolling over, sinking deeper
I laugh the frost from my lungs and eye lashes.

Continuing my tromping
I take pictures of icicles, trees, sledders, stone walls.
Two red dogs gallivanting in the snow spot me.
They tear across the distance, excited.
I don't like dogs, I don't like dogs, I don't like dogs.
Attempting to be good natured, I pet them,
forcing my cold cheeks to smile.
Soon they're leashed again,
and I am gone up the hill.

There is a massive, red, I-beam, easel-like sculpture
outside the art museum.
I've never quite gotten it,
but it's stark and beautiful against the snow.
I wonder what artful photos of art are.
Art squared? The square root of art?
Is art math? Is math art?
It's best to capture a few images and walk away:
Art is not answers.

Back down the hill, I walk cautionless on the yellow lines.
The sidewalk is too treacherous.
The trees arch over, heavy and glistening,
beautiful crystal daggers waiting to strike.
The avalanche-like crunch of the snowplow
barrels around the corner behind me,
and I bound through the slush to the sidewalk.

Soon I'm home again, coffee in hand,
steam moistening my wind burned cheeks.

Theater Reviews

2009-01-27T20:22:00.007-05:00

I've seen three plays in the last week and a half: The Seagull at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company (the play is by Chekhov, not Shakespeare); The Travels of Angelica at Playhouse in the Park; and The Nina Variations at Cincinnati Shakespeare Co., put on by the Playhouse interns. I'd much rather go to a good play than a movie. So it's been a good week in that regard. Here are my thoughts:

The Seagull
First of all, if you've never seen a play at CSC, what is your problem? They've been my favorite theater company since high school. Go see a show there. (Though perhaps their next show, Shakespeare's Timon of Athens, might not be the best place to start. It's one of Shakespeare's lesser known plays. Lesser known by a lot. I will be going to see it, however, because I'm a nerd like that.)

So I decided to go to The Seagull alone last Saturday. (Not that there was no one to go with me—spare your sympathy—it was more of a solitude thing.) I didn't know much about the show, but it was absolutely phenomenal. Chekhov's writing is brilliant and startling, as is Tom Stoppard's translation. I've come to expect great acting from CSC, but even still they surprised me. Each character was so uniquely and precisely formed. They are all flawed and they hurt each other and fight their deep unhappiness with life. Each presents something raw and relatable.

As an added bonus, I recently joined CSC's Young Professionals group (another star on my Nerd Card), so I got to hang out with some of the cast and crew after the show. I enjoyed talking over the play and getting their insights into their roles. We talked about the differences in translations (a seagull vs. the seagull), how genres can mix (The Seagull is a terrifically funny, tragic play), and which characters we see ourselves in (I'm an odd mishmash of Masha and Konstantine). A behind the scenes look at a great play at my favorite theater... yes, please!

I'd definitely recommend The Seagull (playing for a few more weeks!), but will warn you that it's quite dark, albeit quite funny, too. That may not be your brand of entertainment.

The Nina Variations
The Playhouse interns put on this show that showcases 43 variations on the end of The Seagull. Don't bother to see it if you haven't seen or read The Seagull; however, if you have seen The Seagull, do see The Nina Variations. The variations were funny and heart-wrenching and unanimously well done. Instead of a variety of outcomes it struck me more as a character study, a look at the intricacies of their lives and motivations. The Seagull makes you ask why and what could of been; The Nina Variations explore these questions.

The Travels of Angelica
I was excited by the premise of the play: alternating a man and his daughter on the run from Puritan authorities with modern day grad students searching for the truth about a little known writer from the past. I enjoyed the play, but it felt like a play version of a good novel. It felt like the story was a little too condensed and the characters just a smidge too flat. It wasn't bad, not at all; I just felt like it could've been better. All in all a good show. Still a good night out.

One thing though, the commercials on the radio talk about The Travels of Angelica as a story of hope and realizing dreams of what could be. I hadn't heard them before I went to the show, but once I'd seen it, I wondered why they'd describe it that way. All the characters have hopes and desires at the beginning, but by the end they're mostly let down and empty handed. I'm not opposed to that in a play, but the false advertising made me laugh. Perhaps I just missed the message of the show.

Two Good Books

2009-01-27T19:29:00.003-05:00

Last week I read Monique and the Mango Rains by Kris Holloway. It's about her time in Mali with the Peace Corps in the early 90s. Monique is the midwife and health care worker who hosted Kris. Their friendship is unique, and Monique's dedication to the health of the women and children in her village is inspiring. It's shocking how little knowledge and how few resources whole societies must survive on.

This week I read Look Me in the Eye by John Elder Robison (brother of Augusten Burroughs who wrote Running With Scissors). It's his story of his life with Asperger's Syndrome. He wasn't diagnosed until he was 40 so he spent most of his life as an outcast, accused of being everything from lazy to a sociopath. To top it off his dad was an alcoholic and his mom suffered from severe mental illness. I enjoyed seeing how in his adulthood he learned to work with who he was and understand himself and his uniquness. There were a lot of times where understood (to some degree) his limitations; difficulty relating to people and knowing how to respond to them, for example. His story confirmed for me that understanding our own oddities and quirks is half the battle.

IKEA Fun

2009-01-21T20:29:00.003-05:00

IKEA lets you decorate the Oval Office. Super! Check out my creation.

The Shack

2009-01-17T15:15:00.005-05:00

I finished reading The Shack last Sunday and I've been trying to get around to blogging about it ever since. I was skeptical from the start. I'm not into Christian fiction; it's usually too cheesy and poorly written. (I'm a snob, OK?) Also, The Shack seemed a little too allegorical for my literary tastes; I like a story with meaning, not meaning with a story. Even if I agree with a story's meaning I want the meaning to flow naturally from the story, not have characters and events forced on it to reinforce it. Truth doesn't need to be coerced. But my parents and my grandma like The Shack and I got it for Christmas, so I decided to read it—if nothing else, to see what all the fuss was about.

Well my worst fears were confirmed, not surprisingly. I wasn't impressed with the writing and often found the story a little cheesy and contrived to fit a specific meaning. Since I expected that coming in I tried my best to set aside my pathetically haughty disdain (disdain is too strong a word, I just liked the phrase pathetically haughty disdain). I decided not to be a snooty, pretentious piece-of-work, and instead try to be honest and non-combative. (Points for trying?)

Here's what I found:
I pretty much agree with the ideas behind the picture of God that William Paul Young creates. God is a god of love and a relational being. He is not limited by our ideas and misconceptions. He cares for us always and lives in a way that is wholly outside our comprehension. He is all-knowing, all-loving, and infinitely-gracious; yet he has chosen to let humanity make choices and mistakes for themselves. I like the broadness of God's love and his ability to relate and feel with people.

The book helped me think about God's love for people and how he relates with them and with himself. It pushed me to take an honest look at suffering and what it means and doesn't mean. That is never a bad thing.

Also, no one warned me that the little girl who died in the book, Missy, was a Melissa Anne like me, spelled the same way—that got my attention. Especially since I have not experienced any major tragedies in my life, it was important to stop and think what if this was me or what if this was my child. Despite my reservations about The Shack, it tackles serious issues and questions that everyone—really, everyone—has to face (or suppress) in life.

What's missing from the book? The story did not portray God's justice, righteous anger, or grief at our sin. People don't like to think of God's justice and anger, but those characteristics are just as true as his love. The book shows a God who is sorry for our pain—and that's true—but it's not the same as being grieved by our choices. Perhaps it was just the situation that the book portrayed; God's love was more relevant and truthful to the situation than some of his other attributes. Maybe, but I'm still skeptical. If God is just, he's just all the time; if he loves, he loves all the time. It's bold to take a stab at tough questions like God's role in our suffering. I seem to struggle more with how God can be wholly-loving and wholly-just at the same time—and the book didn't deal with that question.

There were times that seemed too universalist, too it's-OK-everyone's-cool-with-God-in-the-end. It said that the only way to know God was to have a relationship with Jesus which is true, but there were parts that implied something else. I don't think everyone needs to be a Christian, church-going, poster child, but I think it would be very difficult to come to know Christ as God through another belief system. Lack of clarity made the book's message seem a little wishy-washy at times.

That's my quick, semi-educated analysis. All in all, an interesting book. It made me think, reflect, evaluate, and question.

Tilt-Shift Photography

2009-01-13T18:55:00.016-05:00

Apparently there's a type of photgraphy called Tilt-Shift. You use a special lens, tilt it, and use a wide aperture. The result is an image that looks like the objects are miniature. (I only sort of understand how that works.) Here's an example from Google images:

But online you can create a tilt-shift effect in your existing photos. Here are some that I tried. I don't think they look miniature, but there still cool. The before photos are the small ones, and the large ones are the afters. The first is The Grand Canyon (obviously); I tried a wide focus and a narrow focus. Next is Charring Cross Station in London, taken from the London Eye. Then Stonehenge. Then a tree in Wimbledon Commons.

Don't Mess With (My) Kids.

2009-01-12T20:35:00.002-05:00

My favorite kids are the ones who are a little bit of a mess.

As a teacher, my favorite kid was a foster kid who was taking a second stab at 8th grade, bound and determined to make it this time. He was small for his age and practically oozed ADD. He'd come in some mornings jump roping his belt, so wired he couldn't sit still. Other mornings though he'd come in an tell me about what books he was reading from the library; he loved Up From Slavery and told me all about everything Booker T. went through (apparently they were on a first name-middle initial basis).

That's why I love babysitting kids whose moms are recovering addicts. They're wild and crazy kids who have issues and history and smiles, who love to run around and have fun and give hugs. An hour and a half with them wears me out and cheers me up.

Last Saturday when I was babysitting, some of the older kids (2nd, 4th, 7th grade) told me about how they had an incident on the bus. Somebody was yelling at the 4th grader and throwing things at her. One of the moms who was helping me asked why the other kid was doing that. "He says we're drug house kids." The conversation came to a halt.

If I were on that bus, that kid would get a serious talking too—or worse. Like these kids don't have enough to deal with without some punk treating them badly. (Yes, I know I should have compassion for the other kid, too.) I would tell him how cool these kids are, and how smart, and how hard their moms are working to make things better. I can't imagine how it would feel as a mother to hear that your kid was being made fun of, and that you couldn't do anything about it, and that in a very real way you're at fault (on top of all the other guilt you're wading through). I hope these kids' teachers take the time and energy to have compassion for these kids, even if they're only at that school for a short time.

Most of all, I worry about the identity my so-called drug house kids are developing. Even though things are getting better with their moms, most have some ground to make up. Not to mention relationships with dads. (One "dad" sold his 7-year-old son's cat while he was gone.) I don't want them ever to think of themselves as "just drug house kids." I know they're worth more to their moms and the people who care about them. They're worth more to me. And they're worth more to God.

Commitment/Insanity

2009-01-12T20:32:00.002-05:00

This guy is either very determined or very insane. I wonder what would happen if I screwed up his Rubik's cube again. I think he'd totally lose it.

Editing and Cat Humor

2009-01-09T18:55:00.003-05:00

This is from ICanHasCheezburger.com, one of the more inexplicably hilarious sites out there. (I know that the spelling and grammar on most of the pictures is beyond terrible, but when you read it phonetically it sounds so funny that I'll allow it.) (I am also willing to admit that they're mostly stupid, 5th grade level humor. I laugh anyway.)

Hey, Wanna Go to the Mull?

2009-01-07T19:35:00.004-05:00

According to this article, China plans to open a mall that carries only knock-off brands. Interesting concept. I can't decide if that would ever fly here; it depends on prices—and they'd have to make it so it doesn't look like a mall of typos. People would definitely go for a laugh, if nothing else. My favorite part of the article is that some people concerned that others will be confused and think they're getting the real thing instead of a fake. Really? People are going to confuse this with the real Starbucks? If they're that unobservant they deserved to be swindled.

I think I'd shop at a mull with Nabana Perublic, Pag, P. Ewe, and Kacy's. But that's just me...

Goals for the Future—2009 and Beyond

2009-01-05T20:34:00.000-05:00

Save money, while at the same time not worrying about money so much. (This might be the toughest one.) (Today I saved $18.44, 25%, with my Kroger Plus Card!)
Continue to avoid being boring—new friends, new hobbies, new adventures. (Not sure what this will look like; it's not really planable.)
Stop worrying about my life and instead help this year to be a groundbreaking year for other people. (I think this one will be my favorite to fulfill.)
Read and write more (When I told this to Emily she said, "More?" Yes, it's actually possible.)
Integrate reading and memorizing the Bible into my daily life. (So far so good. It helps that I like reading, in general, and the Bible, in particular.)

Uncle Tom's Cabin

2009-01-05T19:50:00.004-05:00

I finally finished Uncle Tom's Cabin yesterday. It's taken me a long time to get through it. I've enjoyed it, but it's not too fast moving and I've been busy.

The book has be criticized for being sentimental, unrealistic, stereotypical, tedious, and boring. But I liked it. If nothing else you have to give the book credit for its historical significance: Abraham Lincoln said that this book started the Civil War which put an end to legal slavery in the American South. Harriet Beecher Stowe does get a little soft sometimes, but that reflects her perspective on humanity and her desire for readers to feel attached to her characters—she knew that was the power of her story. There are more coincidences than are probably possible, but that's just fiction. It is a slow-moving story, but I found it intellectually gripping the whole way.

Beecher Stowe did craft one of the most well-known stereotypes in American history in the character of Uncle Tom, the loyal, pious slave. These days we like to jump all over stereotypes without hesitation; they're not true, they're misleading, they're damaging. But in this case, I think it's important to look at Beecher Stowe's purpose in writing the book and the valuable role this stereotype played. Her purpose was to call people to action, particularly northerners (and moderate southerners) who wanted to turn away and let slavery be someone else's problem. Throughout the story she introduced a variety of characters from different places and in different positions and we see that none of them are without fault. Whether they're tyrant masters, non-slave owners who turn their backs and hold misconceptions, or slave owners who think it's enough just to be kind to the people they've purchased—no one's hands are clean.

The character of Uncle Tom humanized a dehumanized people. He had a heart and soul and strong character that were evident to all around him. He forced people, particularly in the North, to put aside their previous misconceptions and grapple with the issue of the gross abuse of human life. While he was a kind and obedient slave, he lived his life away from those he loved and died painfully in the worst situation of his life. The character of Uncle Tom reached out to the readers of the time and showed them that something had to be done. That is incredibly valuable.

Today, though, with a more complete view of slavery can see that Uncle Tom is just a character, a slice of a very diverse group of people in a very complicated place in history. That doesn't mean we should throw out everything he stood for; it just means that we have a broader lens through which to see his significance, flaws and all.

Literally the Worst Thing Ever

2009-01-03T12:20:00.007-05:00

"I was literally busting my butt to get the project done."
Yikes, do you need a band-aid?

"I'm literally gonna throw everyone in the car and go."
That's no way to treat your friends!

Some of you may know about my wrath against misuse of literally. It sparked the longest string of facebook status commenting I have ever experienced.
Here's what Merriam-Webster's says:

lit·er·al·ly
Pronunciation: \ˈli-tə-rə-lē, ˈli-trə-lē, ˈli-tər-lē\
Function: adverb
Date: 1533

1 : in a literal sense or manner : actually (took the remark literally; was literally insane)
2 : in effect : virtually (will literally turn the world upside down to combat cruelty or injustice — Norman Cousins)

Usage Since some people take sense 2 to be the opposite of sense 1, it has been frequently criticized as a misuse. Instead, the use is pure hyperbole intended to gain emphasis, but it often appears in contexts where no additional emphasis is necessary.

The usage section points out people like me who are a little cranky about definition 2. It's not that I don't accept the figurative, hyperbolic use of the word ever. It's just that many people don't understand that they're using literally figuratively; they're not using it that way intentionally because they're ignorant of definition 1. Others who using intentionally as a hyperbole overuse it, and it becomes a lazy way to try and make a point—and this overuse limits its point-making power.

Wow, I sound like Granny Grammar. I just needed to explain my ire at this linguistic misstep. Now I feel better, and you know how to keep me from mocking you.

Books I Read in '08

2009-01-03T11:58:00.004-05:00

Here's a somewhat complete list of books I read last year (somewhat in order), and a small bit of commentary on each book:

The Principles of Uncertainty, Maira Kalman—beautiful illustrations

The Best American Non-Required Reading 2007, edited by David Eggers—gems found off the beaten path

A Woman in Jerusalem, A. B. Yehoshua—very interesting story about a woman's mysterious death in a very interesting city

Caucasia, Danzy Senna—a story of culture clash in the lives of mixed-race sisters in the '70s

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, David Eggers—semi-ADD story of grief and identity in your 20s

Mansfield Park, Jane Austin—my new favorite Jane Austin, why do the critics not like this book?

Gone With The Wind, Margaret Mitchell—classic, gorgeous, got so attached.

101 of the Most Influential People Who Never Lived; Dan Karlan, Allan Lazar, and Jeremy Salter—fun, unique look at culture-shaping icons

Grace (Eventually), Anne Lamott—I love Anne. This is my second favorite book of her 3 in this series; Traveling Mercies is still the best.

Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov—fabulously written, compassionate, truthful story of an unlovable character

Infidel, Ayaan Hirsi Ali—an inside look at growing up female in fundamental Islam. Excellent and brave.

Zigzag, Tom Romano—Tom Romano is my favorite prof ever. This is his story from childhood to teaching college. Interesting as I reflect on my journey.

My Antonia, Willa Cather—no, it's not high action; no, it's not boring. Poignant look at life on the plains.

The Color Purple, Alice Walker—I loved the letter format, but I think I'd heard too much about how great the book is. I wasn't overly impressed. Good, classic read though.

Me Talk Pretty One Day, David Sedaris—So far, my favorite Sedaris. It takes a lot for me to laugh out loud while reading.

Emma, Jane Austin—I would marry Mr. Knightley. In a second.

Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, David Sedaris—More joyous Sedaris.

An Arsonist's Guide to Writer's Homes in New England, Brock Clarke—Funny; mocks the literary life I hold so dear, but that's the way I like my humor.

I, The Divine; Rabih Alameddine—a story of searching for self through writing, crossing culture, and trying to forget the past

The Road of Lost Innocence, Somaly Mam—a tough-to-read, unforgettable story of a woman who was sold into sexual slavery who escaped and has rescued thousands of others. Amazing.

(in progress) Time: 85 Years of Great Writing, edited by Christopher Porterfield—gripping, immediate, insightful accounts of recent history

(in progress) Uncle Tom's Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe—an honest, though sometimes sentimental, look at the complicated problem of slavery

So what do I recommend? It's hard to say. Tastes—mine and others—vary, and I hate to recommend something that you won't like. So if something sounds interesting, ask me more about it!

Refresh

2008-12-23T20:41:00.002-05:00

December has been busy, tiring, sick, sad, and fun at varying times. It's left me rung out and not feeling overly festive (much like Henrietta and Merna). I need to rest, relax, and reflect. Tonight I'm reading and writing and refocusing so that Christmas isn't just one more thing to cross off my to do list. I should be able to get some extended introvert time by the end of the year. Maybe I'll even do a snazzy, year-end, state-of-the-world-as-I-know-it blog post.

So enjoy your family (heck, for many of you reading this, I am your family, so enjoy me) and your Christmas. And don't forget to refresh yourself, whatever way is best for you.

Winter Song

2008-12-23T20:05:00.005-05:00

I stumbled across this gorgeously animated music video for "Winter Song" by Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson. I hadn't heard the song before and it's been chasing me all afternoon. It's so solemn, heartfelt, and harmonious. I will warn you that it might make you want to go sit in a corner, hug your knees to your chest, and cry a single tear down each cheek—the end picks up though. My favorite part of the video is the hot air balloon (which reminds me of balluminaria).

(The video is by Crush at AgencyRush. You can check out more illustrations and animations on the site.)

Would You Like Fries With That?

2008-12-14T09:39:00.003-05:00

I was running a little early and feeling a little run down this morning. I decided that a sausage biscuit with cheese from McDonald's was in order.

I pulled up the the drive-thru and waited for the car ahead of me to pull up. They did, and I rolled my car forward to the speaker to order. As I came to a stop the employee said, "Welcome to McDonald's. Can you hold, please?" I said sure, noting that they couldn't possibly be very busy, but oh well, McDonald's is no place to go if you expect efficiency.

A minute or so later the McD's worker returned to the microphone. "Welcome to McDonald's. Can I hold you?"..."Oh sorry."

I so wanted to say yes, or launch into some fictitious sob story about how long it's been since I got a hug, or how my parents never loved me (I said fictitious), or say "Hmm, I didn't know that was on the menu?" "How much does that cost?" "Yes, and I'd like it super-sized." (Yikes!) "Is that good with Big Mac?" "How many calories does that have?" "Yes, with cheese, please." "Yes, but without pickles." "Sounds good. Can I get fries and a coke too?" "That's exactly what I have a buy-one-get-one coupon for!"

But instead I collected myself ordered and pulled up, pretending for her sake like it didn't happen. She was like 17, working at McDonald's at 8am on Sunday, she doesn't need me to make her day worse but rubbing her mistake in her face.

Nonetheless, it's a good story, and I will share it. Plus I needed to use all my good comebacks.

Nice Try...?

2008-12-12T20:33:00.004-05:00

HarperCollins is putting out digital books for Nintendo DS, a hand-held video game contraption. (It looks like they might only be available in the UK.) I'm all for ebooks. Well, not for me personally, if other people want them I have no problem with that. If the industry begins to shift further that way, high five! Fine with me. But Nintendo DS, really? I picture a bunch of 5th grade boys with these things playing whatever video game kids play right now. Maybe I have the market wrong, but I can't see this audience choosing to read a book over shooting things. To top if off, they're starting by putting out a collection of 100 Classics. Now I see this kiddo's mom saying, "Sweetie, why don't you read Great Expectations instead of playing Grand Theft Auto." Not gonna happen. Ever. I don't even want to read Great Expectations that bad.

Can the Nintendo DS consumer really be the same as the ebook consumer? Obviously I haven't done the research and I don't know the market, so I could be completely off base. To me, though this looks like the big bosses were saying, "Make some ebooks!" And the underlings did as they were told. Why the classics? Well that's what HarperCollins is known for (in my mind), and since their authors' are long dead HC probably owns full rights to the book and won't have to renegotiate contracts with living authors for digital rights.

But, seriously, I'd love for HC's plan to prove me wrong. I hope this works out, but I'm (as always) a skeptic.

What's Not in the News

2008-12-12T20:18:00.002-05:00

This video, a short talk by Alisa Miller of Public Radio International, is an interesting look at how news agencies fuel Americans' ignorance about the world. I'm well aware of our society's lack of knowledge about the world; and, although I try to keep up to date on world events, I know I'm not immune to apathy and ignorance toward the world. Though Miller aims to hold news organizations accountable, I think we can all hold ourselves accountable, regardless of what the news agencies do. It challenges me to go out of my way to find out more about different parts of the world and what's going on there—and to understand and care about what I find out.

Cool Stuff

2008-12-10T17:56:00.005-05:00

After that apple on eBay (which you can still bid on for another 44 hours! $0.18 what a deal!), you probably don't trust me to suggest good things to buy online. This post is where I'll redeem myself (at least temporarily).

I spotted these on Boing Boing today: antique books turned into music boxes. Boing Boing truly is a directory of wonderful things, as their tagline says. (They also showcased an Umbuster today, combination umbrella and brass knuckles—which are apparently also known as knuckledusters... I learn so much online.) Here's the musicbox-book artist's site. This is the one I want:
Now, if only I had $165.00 to spend on a book you can't even read.

P.S. I realize that including the Umbuster doesn't help redeem me as a suggester of good stuff to buy, but it was too good to pass up.

Word Pictures

2008-12-10T17:33:00.003-05:00

One of my favorite book blogs, litmob.com, has a new series of banner ads that use pictures to depict famous book titles. They kept me entertained for a while. There was one that quite confounded me. I emailed Lindsey and Kelly and Steve and they couldn't get it either. I finally emailed the site to ask and they told me... Let's see if you can get them.

Also, is it just me, or does the city in #4 look Cincinnati-like?

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

December Saturday: A Photo Essay

2008-12-07T13:03:00.008-05:00

Fluffy new slippers from TJ Maxx.

Coffee and hot chocolate: the stuff holiday spirit is made of.

My Christmas tree.
(Not too bad looking considering I've only put it up by myself once before.)

Sleeping on the couch.
(I'm faking in the photo, but I did really take a nap.)

The fountain at night from the ice rink.

Found: The Elusive Perfect Gift

2008-12-05T22:13:00.003-05:00

Not sure what to get that special someone for Christmas? My roommate Laura's coworkers are eBaying this apple. Apparently someone brought it in last year with some St. Nicholas Day candy. Of course no one ate the apple, and thus, it still sits in their office today. And it can be yours for as little as $0.12 (the current minimum bid). What more could you ask for? According to Laura, it's only in the past month or so that the apple's begun to look bad, so I'd say there's a good chance it's a magic apple. Bid now, before it's too late!

A Language Barrier, Hospitality—and a Liquid Relationship

2008-12-05T18:22:00.010-05:00

The first time I drank a whole cup of coffee was the summer after eighth grade. I was on a church trip to Ecuador and was staying with a family there. I didn't like coffee and didn't intend to drink it; but between the language barrier, my hosts' overwhelming hospitality, and the fact that somehow it's easier to say yes than no I ended up with a cup of instant coffee in my hand and two sets of eyes watching to make sure I enjoyed it. I tried to oblige, smiling and drinking it all the way to the end. "Gracias, gracias," I said smiling and nodding awkwardly. It wasn't good; I didn't like it. But they gave me more the next morning and every morning for a week and a half. By the end I got used to the routine—"si," drink, smile, nod, "gracias"—and had resigned myself to the fact that coffee wasn't so bad.

My relationship with coffee began its slow escalation from that summer. In high school my parents brought me rum cream coffee from the Caribbean and I drank it with plenty of cream and sugar. Then a Starbucks opened in Loveland and I discovered frappucinos and white chocolate mochas. By senior year of high school I was studying at Starbucks after school, drinking caramel macchiatos, and waking daily to home-fresh coffee. I even wrote a research paper about caffeine, quoting baristas from the local Starbucks as expert sources.

For graduation Emily got me what was to become one of the dearest friends of my college career: a 4-cup, black Mr. Coffee coffee maker. In the dorm Jo sat next to my alarm clock; I'd load her up at night and hit the on button in the morning right after I hit snooze, waking up 15 (or 20 or 30) minutes later to the sumptuous aroma. I also started cutting back on my coffee additives. I ran out of sugar, milk, and motivation to go to the store all at the same time, but simultaneously needed my coffee more than ever. So I drank it black. It wasn't bad; in fact I kind of liked it.

Since college coffee has been elevated from the status of necessary enjoyment to cherished companion. It's one of the small things in life I've learned to savor in my tumultuous twenties. I long for the smell, the flavor, the feeling—the calming energy. The best mornings are the ones where I decide a cup isn't enough and opt to take my shiny pink thermos to work to sip all morning long (which is one thing I love about having a desk job rather than gulping down thermos-lids full between teaching middle schoolers). On Friday nights like to tonight, I sip coffee and read or take a cup with me while I grocery shop. Sometimes I even crave coffee more than chocolate, but I prefer them both together: dessert's not dessert without coffee. These days I drink it lightly sweetened, no creamer, and I typically get plain coffee or a latte at coffee shops. A year ago for my birthday Mom and Dad got me a fancy Tassimo coffee maker, so I can have individually brewed cups of quality coffee anytime. As a result I'm becoming more of a connoisseur, settling just shy of snobbery.

Who knows where coffee and I will go in the future. Perhaps I'll succumb to the second-grade retort, if you like it so much why don't you marry it, and become Mrs. Coffee when the courts finally legalize marrying inanimate objects. (Although I reject the notion that something so fabulously vibrant—and spillable—can justly be called inanimate.) Come what may, I will face life with a mug in my hand.

That's a short memoir of my coffee life, and thus I was delighted to find illustrator Christoph Niemann's coffee story on his NYT Blog, Abstract City. He has great skill as an illustrator; I love the light tone of his work and his apropos choice of a napkin-canvas with coffee-hues.

A Moose?

2008-12-01T17:52:00.005-05:00

Today after work I stopped by Trader Joe's, mostly for a frozen pizza (which I ate by myself in its entirety). Of course, I was tired and hungry and it's Monday and snowy, so I fell under the spell of the gingerbread cookie mix display. Tragic, really. I was able to overcome the peppermint Trader Joe's brand Oreos, but I did not prevail in the battle against the gingerbread cookie mix with its molasses and ginger. Mmmm.

When I got home I set about finding out if I have any cookie cutters. One would think that I'd know for sure if I had cookie cutters (maybe unsure where they are), but I've had so many roommates that have left so many things that, well… I just might have cookie cutters without my knowledge. It turns out that, unbeknownst to me, my corner cabinet contains a bag of cookie cutters. I was excited, understandably, but then noticed that the first one I saw was a pumpkin, then a dinosaur. Gingerbread dinosaurs just won't do. So I dumped out the bag find a few Halloween, a set of dinosaurs, a Christmas assortment (a snowman, a tree, and a bell)… and a moose. Not a reindeer, a moose. I knew you wouldn't believe me, so I took a picture:

I know reindeer are heftier than regular deer, but still. It has a bump on its back, and check out the snout on that thing: it's a moose.

So what holiday is that for? … There ought to be a punchline here, but I'm at a loss.

An Arsonist's Guide to Writer's Homes in New England

2008-11-28T19:53:00.003-05:00

I just finished reading An Arsonist's Guide to Writer's Homes in New England by Brock Clarke. I'm pretty sure this title worries my mom. She already wonders why I read so many depressing books. Now I read one about arson and tell her it's funny. I can see where that would seem concerning...

(Sidenote: I got the book for free for through the publishing blog, GalleyCat. All I had to do was email Algonquin, Arsonist's publisher, and tell them what book is a romantic turn-off for me. Harry Potter, was my answer by the way. It's not that I'm totally against adolescent wizards, but if you're a grown man and that's your chief reading accomplishment, we have very little in common. And honestly I'm a little repulsed.)

(Another sidenote (no I'm not sure I don't have ADD): Brock Clarke apparently teaches at UC. I didn't know that until I got to the author bio at the end of the book. Am I the only person who reads the author bio? Also, am I the only person who goes through the Reading Group Questions... alone? If so, I'm ok with that.)

Now about the book: It's a novel about a guy who accidentally burns down Emily Dickinson's house and then is blamed for copycat burnings of other writer's homes years later—after he's gotten out of prison and effectively ruined life for his parents and his wife. Believe it or not, it's funny. Hilarious actually. It took me awhile to get warmed up to the dry, subtle mocking; while that's my favorite type of humor, I don't often read it so it took awhile for me to fully catch and enjoy the humorous comparisons and descriptions. Clarke takes a ridiculous, funny look at literature, book lovers, family, and the cliched human condition—and in the process the life and confusion of his characters seems convoluted, yet true. I think I enjoyed the book particularly because he was using a similar sense of humor to mine and making fun of bookish things that I know so well.

Here are some favorite lines (I think the humor will stick without the full context, but if not just read the book):

A description of a bookstore coffee shop: "I don't remember what it looked like, really, or whether they served food there, and if they did, whether there was any one there to serve it to you. It was the sort of place where you entered and seemed to pass out for a second and suddenly you came to and were holding a cup of coffee."
A jab at flashy promises on book covers (I will remember this as I write back panel copy for my books): "He held up Morgan Taylor's memoir, then tossed it at me. I didn't react quickly enough, and it hit me in the gut, which, coincidentally, is exactly where the book jacket promised the book would hit me."

Mad World

2008-11-28T18:54:00.004-05:00

I've been tied to world news a lot this week, watching and reading as Thailand, Mumbai, and the Congo teeter and fall into chaos. It makes me feel helpless. I want to call out, "Isn't anybody watching this? Isn't somebody going to do something?" I don't know what should be done or who can and should do it. I feel like it's my duty to at least watch and pray, not to turn my back on people who are facing heart-wrenching, horrible circumstances. I feel pulled to do more; and while there are things that I can do, there is so much more that is beyond my control. It's tempting to look away—to say a prayer and go back to my safe life. To shelter myself with the weak hope that there's nothing I could've done, that none of this is my fault, that I just have to focus on living my life the best I can. That's true of course, that I can't grind my life to a painful, guilty, pointless halt because of chaos on another contintent. In some sense I have to let go and move on—but I won't ignore what's happening. Too many people live ignorant lives complaining things that seem petty by comparison. A sagging stock market doesn't seem so bad when I realized that people in the Congo are being run out of there homes, killed, and separated from loved ones. Many will never see their homes again. Many will starve to death. Many will see their loved ones murdered. Meanwhile here Wal-Mart employees get trampled to death and Toys 'R' Us customers get shot, all for cheap toys. (I won't even get into the injustices of how these toys are produced so cheaply.)

I'm tempted to feel powerless and look away from tragedy around the world. But I know God does not look away from the hurting. I know that my goal is to be like him—to love and to care and to act. I know that he never leaves my side when I'm suffering, and he certainly is not leaving those who are suffering in Mumbai. So what can I do? Often we can't have an immediate effect on something around the world so we quit. But we forget that we can have a long range impact on the world, through organizations, projects, going ourselves, raising awareness, sending food or medicine or money, by sponsoring or adopting kids. By using whatever gifts and passions God has given us and directing them toward a hurting world, in our neighborhoods and abroad. When we're too afraid to look the world and its tragdey in the eye, we miss out on our opportunity to be a piece of the solution, however small.

More than overlooking our tangible contributions though, turning away from the world denies the greatest power we are given: prayer. We pray when we have nothing left to do about a problem instead of praying before we take action. We think that if we read a few headlines and say, "God, be with the people in Bangkok," that we've done all we can. We're so wrong. Prayer must be persistent, and specific prayer has power. We can't be persistent if we've moved on with our lives. We can't be specific if we don't take the time to find out what's going on, no matter how devastating and difficult that knowledge is. It's easy to discount prayer because we don't understand it. It seems passive and pointless, but the Bible and history and, hopefully, our lives have shown us that this isn't the case. Honestly, too, it sounds kind of cheesy and overdone. But prayer is taking God at his word. If we truly believe that, then why aren't we praying.

I've certainly not figured this all out, and I'm far from being an example of how God wants people to respond to the world. But I refuse to stop wrestling with these issues. Yes, I'm idealistic; yes, I'm a hypocrite; no, I will not give up.

I'm Impressed. Are You Impressed?

2008-11-26T20:43:00.003-05:00

Barak Obama has been spotted carrying a book! This is semi-big news in the book world.

Sure, it's lovely that the president-elect is carrying Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer by Fred Kaplan, but I'm not swept off my feet by it. For one, who knows if he's really reading it. For two, I refuse to be happily surprised that a literate person is reading; I still (naively?) hope that reading is the rule rather than the exception. As for his book choice, it could just be a well placed prop.

It should be noted that my skepticism is not limited to Obama. I'm a bit skeptical of everyone—political and otherwise. My skepticism is not a political statement; it's a reflection of how I interact with the world.

I sincerely hope that he does read. If he is reading, Lincoln is a good subject. Our country needs a strong Lincoln-like leader (oh, I love that alliteration!) and we've elected Obama. I do sort of wonder if a person in Obama's position has time to read; but then again, with the task he's facing, does he have time not to read?

Mischievous me can't help brainstorming books that Obama shouldn't be caught carrying:

Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned the Political Establishment Upside Down
The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality
Michelle: A Biography (what a way to get to know your wife!)
Dreams from My Father or The Audacity of Hope
The Koran or the Bible (he'd get bad press for either)
Twilight
The Art of War
So You Want to Be President?
Politics for Dummies
Living Well in a Down Economy for Dummies
Confessions of a Shopaholic
How to Win Friends and Influence People
The 4-Hour Workweek
Instant Self-Hypnosis: How to Hypnotize Yourself with Your Eyes Open
Self-Esteem: Motivational Affirmations for Building Confidence and Recognizing Self-Worth
Great Escapes Around the World
South Park and Philosophy: You Know, I Learned Something Today
All I Really Need to Know I Learned from My Cat
All I Really Need to Know I Learned from Star Trek
America: A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction
I Am America (And So Can You!)

I'll stop now. Seriously though, I wish America the best, and I'm cautiously hopeful. Keep reading Obama!

I Like Penguin

2008-11-24T19:25:00.002-05:00

Penguin Books, publisher of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, has helped to build a school for Afghan kids. Read more here. This is my favorite part:

Ground was broken for the school earlier this year, and its construction provided much-needed employment for men in the village of Arababshirali. Now completed and open to students, the schoolhouse has six classrooms and is staffed by six teachers, four women and two men. Approximately 270 Afghan students, in grades one through six, now regularly attend classes. Despite anonymous threats demanding that they not be allowed to attend, girls make up a third of the enrollment. Before the school was completed, students were taught by teachers outside, often under shade trees or in tents that served as makeshift classrooms.

Birthday Books

2008-11-24T18:45:00.003-05:00

Anyone who knows me knows that I kind of have a thing for books. A month or so ago when Mom and Grandma wanted a birthday/Christmas list, I had to severely narrow down my book list to about 25. I started with over 60. My to read list has gotten more out of control since I started working in publishing. Every day I read blogs and websites and newsletters that talk about books. Every time I read about one that sounds good I get out my iPod Touch and put the title and author on my book list. When I began the narrowing down process, I created a spreadsheet organizing the books by title, author, hardcover/paperback, and whether I want to read them for fun or because I think they'll make me smart. (I'll probably write more about that last point sometime.) Then I tabulate all those factors using a completely subjective system. I mark the must-haves with a 1, the really-wants with a 2, and the I'd-really-really-likes with a 3. And thus, my list.

(Normally when I tell people I'm a book nerd, they say, "Oh, you're not a nerd!" I notice that right now all of those people are sitting silently at their computers. Don't feel bad, I embrace my nerd status.)

So what books did I get for the big birthday? Time: 85 Years of Great Writing and I, the Divine: A Novel in First Chapters (Alameddine). I'm excited for both. Time will be interesting from a quality writing perspective and from a historical perspective. So many turning-point events have taken place since 1923. I'll enjoy it and I'll learn something; that's the best kind of book. (Oh my goodness, teacher's pet!) This is probably a book I won't read cover to cover. It's organized by topics so I'll probably sift through it that way over time.

It's hard to say what doesn't fascinate me about I, the Divine. It's told through the narrator's repeated, failed attempts to write her life story. She's the product of a Lebanese-American marriage and grows up in war torn Beirut. I love stories that are told in a non-traditional, sometimes non-linear way (The Poisonwood Bible, The Sweet Hereafter, Up the Down Staircase, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Bronx Masquerade, and Tears of a Tiger to name a few). It's intriguing and engaging to me as a reader and challenging and invigorating to me as a writer. I also know this book will teach me about a culture that I don't know a lot about; it will show me new people and help me understand what we all have in common—that's what I love most about reading. I'm guessing I'll get sucked into this book and have it done within a week after I start it.

The Week in Photos

2008-11-23T21:57:00.006-05:00

It's been a busy week. I'll catch up more later, but for now here are some pictures of my birthday week.

Singing karaoke. "Sweet Dreams" by Eurythmics.

Being serenaded. "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'"

After yummy Bella Luna dinner with Mom and Dad.

Balluminaria in Eden Park.

At my birthday party.

So far I'm liking 25.

Hamlet and Context

2008-11-15T22:02:00.005-05:00

Last night I went to see Hamlet at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company with Lauren, Mary, Lindsey, and Kelly. Not surprisingly, I loved it. Hamlet is one of my top two favorite Shakespeare plays, my favorite tragedy for sure. (Much Ado About Nothing is my favorite comedy, by the way.) I've seen Hamlet there once before, and I love pretty much every show they do. I thought the set last night was good, minimal yet creating a strong tone. I also liked the staging: King Hamlet's ghost being pulled down into hell by hands reaching through a trap door; his ghost rising from the middle of Queen Gertrude's bed to remind Hamlet of his duty; the use of candles, flash lights, and the color red. The actor who played Hamlet was excellent. His tone and facial expression conveyed the frailty, fear, and resolve of a tormented young man. Ophelia played a madwoman well swinging from crying to dancing to flirting to throwing rocks in rage.

Seeing or reading Hamlet always reminds me of all the famous now-cliches that come from the play. Here's a mishmash of some:

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. ...it is a custom more honoured in the breach than the observance. Murder most foul. The time is out of joint. Neither a borrower nor a lender be. This above all: to thine own self be true. Frailty, thy name is woman! Brevity is the soul of wit. What a piece of work is a man! Though this be madness, yet there is method in it. The play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king. The lady doth protest too much, methinks. I must be cruel, only to be kind. Sweets to the sweet. A hit, a very palpable hit.

Beyond the fact that this is culturally interesting, I'm always a little irritated when people misuse these quotes (or other literary quotes). It's not really that people botch the wording, but they totally miss the context. For example, people often proclaim, "To be, or not to be" as if it's a cry of victory. I'm not sure why. I think it must be their special Shakespeare quoting voice. But it's certainly not a statement of victory. Hamlet is in his darkest moment contemplating suicide. Continuing in that monologue I've heard people quote, "To sleep; perchance to dream" like a soothing bedtime mantra, completely missing that Hamlet is talking about death: the line before is "To die, to sleep."

Or people use "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy" as an exhortation to expand your mind and welcome new ideas. Here, though, Hamlet's mostly just talking about believing in ghost and eternal torment in hell—which isn't really the enlightenment most of these quoters are chasing.

I think my personal favorite is when people whisper "Good night, sweet prince" (perhaps with the rest of the line "and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest) to their sleeping infant sons. When Horatio says this to Hamlet, Hamlet is dead (and so is everyone else). Not a soothing bedtime message from mom and dad.

Yes, I am elitist and mean. At least now you know what not to do, so that the other mean elitists out there won't make fun of you on their blogs. I'm really just here to help.

And now my night will move on to a totally non-elitist form of entertainment: The Office and Arrested Development.

What do you want, a cookie?

2008-11-15T21:30:00.002-05:00

The other morning I stopped at McDonald's to get coffee on my way to work. Later I peeled off the Monopoly game pieces (not because I play the game, it's just fun to peel them) and noticed a McD fact printed on the cup under the game piece: We use 100% beef in every burger. Um, what else would you use. You say that like 100% beef is going above and beyond what a hamburger should be. It would be much more noteworthy (and disturbing) to me if they didn't use 100% beef.

So I'll checked out the McDonald's website to find out more. Apparently they have a See What We're Made Of campaign, as part of the image and healthiness upgrade they've been chasing the past few years. Overall, I do think McDonald's is improving its image. The salads are good; the coffee is good. (Though I still think you can't go wrong with an old-fashioned, artery-clogging sausage biscuit with cheese and a hash brown shaped like a surfboard.) But this campaign is a little suspect: They're asking for credit for doing what they're supposed to do. It makes me more uneasy than confident. By stating what I would hope to be the obvious best practice, it makes me think of all the shadier things that could happen. What could they (or did they!) make burgers out of besides beef? Sawdust? Spam? Snake? Tell me that you inspect all your eggs and I start to smell rotten eggs and feel the sliminess of undercooked (and oddly disk-shaped) McMuffin eggs.

But our society does this. It's an entitlement thing, somehow disproportionately carried over from our pre-school days where we got stickers for going to the bathroom and learning our own phone number. Real grown-up life's not like that. I don't get a high five every day I go to work. I don't get a medal for not running over pedestrians with my car. Those are things I'm just expected to do. You do them just because you're supposed to. Just because it's the right thing. As a former teacher I can tell you many kids aren't learning this. It'll be interesting to see how this will go as new generations are rising up. My generation is certainly guilty of these attitudes.

So go reward yourself for paying your bills or putting on matching socks with a delicious 100% beef hamburger.

*The title of this post is a reference to a Chris Rock sketch about the idea of wanting credit for doing what you're supposed to do anyway, particularly in reference to segments of the African American population. While I agree with his sentiments in a broad, non-race-related way, I cannot recommend watching the sketch. It's typical vulgar Chris Rock. For those Office watchers, its the skit Michael got in trouble for reenacting in Diversity Day.

The Google Flu and the Russian Orthodox Church

2008-11-13T18:37:00.004-05:00

Often while I'm eating lunch at my desk at work, I check out cnn.com for the latest news. I like the way their site is set up, and I find it's a good mix of national news, world news, and randomly interesting news. In the randomly interesting category, I watched this video yesterday about a chimp who helps take care of tiger cubs, pretty cute. But not as cute as the little girl in the video talking about how tigers look like cats. She's gonna love that clip when she hits middle school and her parents still show it to everyone.

Today I read about a new Google initiative, not only are they saving gmail-ers from drunk emailing their exes at all hours, now they're tracking the flu across the United States. I don't know how I feel about this. I'm a Google fan, and I appreciate that they trying to do something that helps people; it just seems strange to me. Next they're going to team up with Facebook to alter your status and message your friends whenever you google "sniffles": "Melissa is sick. Avoid her at all costs." Or maybe they'll text all your co-workers and neighbors "Joe Mama, resident of 350 Main Street Apt. 2 and cubicle number 4398 at Big Bucks Brokerage Firm, has a mild sinus infection. Furthermore, he does not wash hands after blowing his nose."

OK, quite far-fetched, I know. I do have more realistic doubts. I feel like most Americans are familiar with flu symptoms and won't need to google them, therefore cutting of google's information source. Data is on a state level, but it really doesn't pose a huge risk to me if there's an outbreak in Cleveland. Also, the deviant in me wonders how many times I'd have to google "flu symptoms" before Ohio goes dark blue on the map. It is true, though, that people would google symptoms before going to the doctor, making the Google system faster than the CDC. As prone as it seems to error, Google says it has data to back up that it's system work. And if Google says it, it must be true.

So if Google can track a microscopic virus across 50 states, why can't Russia keep track of this church? As much as this headline made me laugh, I think there's a deeper meaning. The church officials hadn't seen the building since July; church leaders of any sort are responsible for taking care of the church, the people not just the building. Taking care of the building is the easy part, and they failed at that. How can they hope to guide the people of the town? In addition, when the people did what they thought would help them the most, the church's first reaction was to condemn them. This sort of ungracious unleadership begs the question of Romans 10:14, "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?" This is what happens when a church is not relevant to and engaged in the community it serves. It's probably not fair of me to issue such a harsh statement when I know so little about the Orthodox Church in Russia and its leaders. The article does cite the resurgence of the church as a whole in Russia, which is great news. Hopefully that resurgence will have an impact of these villagers one day soon.

Melissa the Mule

2008-11-11T20:52:00.003-05:00

So I've settled on the coffee cup template for the blog. The other one was having too many problems and causing too much frustration. It's not worth it if there are issues every step of the way. The simpler layout and coffee image probably fit my personality better than the funky, cool template anyway; I want to be edgy and cool, but I'm just a simple, well-caffeinated girl.

Most people would think this template switch is the obvious logical choice: these people are right. Nonetheless, I'm kind of surprised that I made the change. You see, I'm kind of stubborn. Maybe more than kind of.

When I was a kid I had a tooth that was barely, barely loose. I showed it to my dad, and he said that it wasn't ready. I was mad. I wanted my tooth out, and I wanted my dollar. So I marched up to my room, sat on the edge of my bed with arms crossed and my forehead creased, as pouty as possible. Then I wiggled—nay wrenched—that tooth out of my head in less than a half hour.

My sister, who I love dearly, used to dig her nails into my arm. "Just tell me it hurts, and I'll stop," she said sweetly. My teeth gritted, I muttered, "It doesn't hurt!" I would end up with moon-shaped welts on my arm every time, rather than admit defeat.

The best way to get something done is to tell me I can't do it. Don't doubt me, don't test me. I will not be stopped, no matter the cost.

So I think I deserve some commendation for making the mature choice to choose my battles and quit while I'm ahead. I'm proud of me.

I Always Fall in Love With the Difficult Things

2008-11-10T22:01:00.004-05:00

I fell in love with this blogger template several weeks ago. I love that it looks like you're writing on real paper and that it looks kind of a mess, but beautiful. Unfortunately it had one tragic, devastating flaw: archive was spelled arhive. Not only is this just generally unacceptable, it's particularly unacceptable for me, an editor and former English teacher. It took me days to resign myself to the fact that I couldn't use this layout. I tried to fix it myself, and I asked around for help, but to no avail.

Then Kelly said that Steve might know a trick. (I say trick because I have so little understanding of how this all works, that anything you do seems like magic.) He graciously spent time working on it today, fixing the arhive issue and working out a few other things. Then I spent the evening trying to add the little links and gadgets on the left. For what seemed like hours I couldn't get them to stick in the right place. I was so frustrated, I almost gave up, but my love for this template prevailed. Now, inexplicably, they're working. Now all that remains is to figure out how to get the date to show up at the bottom of the post instead of "undefined undefined" then maybe get the archive tab to link to an actual archive.

It's a work in progress, but I'm not giving up on it yet.

Hello and Welcome!

2008-11-09T14:43:00.009-05:00

Hi! I've organized this as an FAQ. Except no one has asked any frequent questions yet, so frequently asked questions doesn't quite apply. It's more of a questions you should be asking. I'm sure as time goes by you'll start asking questions like "Why is she still writing?" "Why am I reading this?" "Why didn't I think of that?" "When does your first book come out?" "How did you get to be so awesome?" etc. So maybe then I'll have a real FAQ; for now a QYSBA will do.

What's up with the blog title?
Life is a free verse poem: It has no predictable beat, yet it mixes rhythm into its meaning. It is composed of sometimes stark, sometimes baffling, sometimes beautiful images and is often best understood through an apt metaphor. It can’t be imposed upon to make sense or be simple, but sometimes when you’re not expecting it, it does just that. It is unique, humorous, messy, and ultimately worth all the trouble. It’s best approached with your mind free, your guard down, and your expectations open.

Who is this chick?
I am a follower of God who wants to know Christ and act as an agent for change in his name everyday. I’m a writer. I’m a reader. I’m a friend, a daughter, a sister. I’m a laugher and a thinker, a care-er and a doer. I am a compassionate, rosy-eyed pessimist. I’m stubborn and tough, tender and sensitive.

Why doesn't Melissa already blog?
I’ve been avoiding starting a blog for a few years. First it was because I was a teacher and I wouldn’t want students to find my thoughts online (dangerous!). Mostly it’s because I know people don’t (and shouldn’t) care about the play-by-play details of my life. My sister, Emily, blogs about her world travels; I can’t match that. So why am I starting a blog now? I’m not quite sure (other than Kelly told me to). I like to write, and I’ve realized that I do have interesting, non-neurotic things to say sometimes. And maybe if Mom reads about my life here, I won’t have to call her so much (I won't have to, but I will anyway). Plus this is a good week to start because I can just skip the obligatory political commentary.

A disclaimer, of sorts, or perhaps a challenge:
I’m an editor so I know you’ll be excited to point out my every waking typo. Points for you! Good job, you’ve found out that I’m fallible; but of course you’ll realize like I do that there are some times when there are more important things than misspelled words. I would ask that you not point them out, but I know that I have been a bit vigilant and hawk-like in pointing out mistakes on some of your blogs and in your everyday speech, so have at it. I can dish it out and take it.

So look out for excessive book discussion, dry humor, and honest, hopeful skepticism about the world. Enjoy!