Hello! So after a few weeks of feeling like anything but myself, I feel that the old me is finally returning. This is a welcome return to all involved. I pity those who have had to spend the last few weeks with "cranky pants me" as opposed to "quirky weird me." The other day I finally hit the apex of my "cranky pants" days and I spent most of the day trying not to verbally express the long diatribe running through my head. Have you ever noticed that people tend to say bitter diatribe? But if diatribe means bitter criticism, why would you need to clarify that it is a bitter one? Interesting... Anyway, luckily most of my diatribe stayed inside my head. I think I get most frustrated with myself on days like that because I realize that "cranky pants me" digresses all too often. I get sidetracked by my annoyance with some minor issue and forget about the things in my life and my daily activities that really matter. Argh...being human really stinks sometimes...oh well. Glad the cranky pants have left for a while.
Now enough about unhappy times, summer time is coming soon, and I can't wait!!! I have so many plans. I willing to make a conjecture that most of these will probably go undone, but I refuse to be a realist. I will forever be the girl who plans two thousand things to do in the summer, and this summer is no different. I am already planning my daily schedule in my head (yep-I'm that girl...schedule girl--maybe she could be a super hero--saving the world one perfectly planned day at a time? what do you think? oh-but I digress!) I have a fairly complaisant schedule in mind--one involving plenty of reading and writing along with some "projects" I've been putting off for years. It's weird--but this will be the first summer in ten years in which I haven't been working. It's a bit of irony that getting my first real job allowed me to not work in the summer. :) I want to fully enjoy myself this summer, but I'm thinking that having a "plan" in mind with circumvent the laziness I so often fall into when given too much free time.
One of my main goals this summer is to really work on my writing. Living without a computer for the past 5 months has kept me from really writing anything substantial. If I can get my new laptop before the summer begins, maybe I can actually get some stuff done! This will require spending at least part of my vacation in a somewhat cloistered setting. I don't do too well with that, but it would probably really help me in the long run. We'll see. It seems like writers, if they want to write what's real, are required to balance their time between fully living their lives so they have a life to write about and secluding themselves so they can actually write about their experiences. I tend to land on one side or the other. I once heard one of my favorite singers say that he had to get off the road for a while because he was out of things to write. He'd spent so much time outside of his life that he had no source for writing. Does that make sense? I guess if you spend too much time in either extreme, your writing life becomes a bit dilapidated.
Well- speaking of lives, my running life has been a bit exciting lately. I've now been running for about 4 months. This is a big deal for me since I am the queen of dropouts. I get all into something, and then after a little while, I drop it. This could explain the many half-finished projects I have around my room. So, last week when I noticed my body seemed to be lobbying for an end to the running routine, I became a bit worried. It got really bad last Saturday when I was attempting to complete my "long run." I really thought my body was staging a coup. My craven will began to cave in. I even started to wipe off the machine and go home. Then, as the Rocky music began to play in my head, I thought, "I don't think so missy. We quit running when I say we quit." Suddenly my will became iron strong, and I just kept running. At first I was worried, but this week's long run was the consummate run, so I think I must have done the right thing.
So--on that note, here are the new words:
1. disaffect: to cause someone to lose feelings of loyalty or affection
2. discern: to perceive
3. discomfit: to make uneasy; to thwart
4. discord: strife; a harsh mix of musical tones
5. discourse: communication; the formal discussion of a subject
6. discrete: separate
7. disdain: scorn; to reject as unworthy
8. disparage: to belittle; to discredit
9. disparate: entirely different
10. disabuse: to free from deception or misconception
on a random side note--these words came out of the big box. i have finally moved past what i supposedly learned before. yippee
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Melissa S., you will not be the next Pussycat Doll...
Sad news, huh? I was watching this show with my roommate tonight. This was my first venture into the Dolls' world, and it was a strange trip. So I know it's been a while since I blogged. To the two people out there who read this--I apologize. Last week was complete chaos--grades were due, we had out-of-town visitors at school, I proctored the ACT for the first time. It was non-stop action, so there was no time for blogging. But I'm back now. Sadly, I have lost the 10 words I was going to post last week. I knew leaving them out of the baggy was a bad idea. I guess I should explain that. There is a system to this madness. Each week I take 10 cards out of the "bag 'o words I memorized last time" (all the words I memorized back when I had grandiose dreams of going to a very impressive PhD program); I put a paperclip over the 10 words and then I put them in a bag with the rest of the words. Last week I was feeling a bit cavalier, so I left the words in my planner. Obviously they ran away. But--I have new words anyway--one of the perks of having 750 words. And, these are the last words in the old bag (do you hear the music reaching a crescendo as I pull those last cards out of the tattered Ziploc bag?) How exciting! Or maybe sad--if you look at how quickly I let go of my PhD dreams and submitted to reality. But whatever. On to the next challenge.
Finishing the bag of words I had, theoretically already memorized reminded me of my previous ambition. I must say that I am a much more complacent person than I was back then. The weird thing is that using that word seems so negative. Why, if the word means contended, does complacent seem to be used negatively? I have noticed that learning these words over the past few months has caused me to pay more attention to the colloquial language I use. I've tried to add more interesting words to my language instead of just using the easy and convenient words. Now that I've finished this stage of the process, I feel like I should make some kind of word collage. I'll be thinking about this as the week goes along. Maybe I'll have something clever for the next post...
Today was an interesting day in a few ways. I read one of my favorite passages to my students today. It's a passage from a book by Donald Miller called To Own a Dragon. This particular passage talks about the importance of character. He says that a friend called him out on taking a free cell phone when he knew that his old phone was out of warrantee. I've read this passage to other classes before, so I knew we would get into some interesting conversations about the truth, your word, and character. I must say with a contrite spirit, that I haven't always told the truth. I've lied about little stupid stuff--like saying I was still a student in order to get the student discount. Reading this passage always reminds me of the value of my word. It challenges me to make my word mean something. I want my deeds to always be above question. I was also a bit bothered by some of the things that came up in conversation. In Miller's book, he gives an example of someone getting too much change back and not saying anything. While I would say the person is culpable for taking the money, some of my students thought that wasn't the case. I always want to think that my students cleave to the truth, and when they say the truth isn't really the ultimate thing of importance, I worry. I want people to live by a code of honesty. Maybe I can start a one-woman campaign for truth. We'll see! I'm going to take down the theory that the truth is just a construct.
On that soapbox note, here are the new words:
1. complaisant:agreeable
2. conjecture: guesswork
3. circumvent: to get around something
4. cloister: to seclude; a place devoted to religious seclusion
5. coup: a brilliant, sudden action; a sudden overthrow of a government (I love this word)
6. craven: cowardly
7. consummate: to complete; perfect; supreme
8. diatribe: a bitter criticism
9. digress: to depart from the main subject
10. dilapidated: ruined by neglectand
there you have them. bye.
Finishing the bag of words I had, theoretically already memorized reminded me of my previous ambition. I must say that I am a much more complacent person than I was back then. The weird thing is that using that word seems so negative. Why, if the word means contended, does complacent seem to be used negatively? I have noticed that learning these words over the past few months has caused me to pay more attention to the colloquial language I use. I've tried to add more interesting words to my language instead of just using the easy and convenient words. Now that I've finished this stage of the process, I feel like I should make some kind of word collage. I'll be thinking about this as the week goes along. Maybe I'll have something clever for the next post...
Today was an interesting day in a few ways. I read one of my favorite passages to my students today. It's a passage from a book by Donald Miller called To Own a Dragon. This particular passage talks about the importance of character. He says that a friend called him out on taking a free cell phone when he knew that his old phone was out of warrantee. I've read this passage to other classes before, so I knew we would get into some interesting conversations about the truth, your word, and character. I must say with a contrite spirit, that I haven't always told the truth. I've lied about little stupid stuff--like saying I was still a student in order to get the student discount. Reading this passage always reminds me of the value of my word. It challenges me to make my word mean something. I want my deeds to always be above question. I was also a bit bothered by some of the things that came up in conversation. In Miller's book, he gives an example of someone getting too much change back and not saying anything. While I would say the person is culpable for taking the money, some of my students thought that wasn't the case. I always want to think that my students cleave to the truth, and when they say the truth isn't really the ultimate thing of importance, I worry. I want people to live by a code of honesty. Maybe I can start a one-woman campaign for truth. We'll see! I'm going to take down the theory that the truth is just a construct.
On that soapbox note, here are the new words:
1. complaisant:agreeable
2. conjecture: guesswork
3. circumvent: to get around something
4. cloister: to seclude; a place devoted to religious seclusion
5. coup: a brilliant, sudden action; a sudden overthrow of a government (I love this word)
6. craven: cowardly
7. consummate: to complete; perfect; supreme
8. diatribe: a bitter criticism
9. digress: to depart from the main subject
10. dilapidated: ruined by neglectand
there you have them. bye.
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
My life with caterpillars and other things I've noticed...
Many may wonder how much interaction I could really have with caterpillars since I grew up in the subdivision world, but I must say it might surprise you. In the ever-expanding list entitled "creatures I've run into while living on a farm," caterpillars are now found. Their appearance actually usurped the horseflies place of latest encounter. As I was walking in from church the other day, I noticed that our carport had become home to a rather large number of caterpillars. They almost seemed ubiquitous. I'd never noticed before how turbid and untenable these little guys are. They just seem to wonder around with no real clue as to what's going on. I must say that this did not really bother me because I really like the furry little guys. My parents actually still like to tell the story of the caterpillar I "loved to death" because I held it for too long, but I still claimed the thing drowned when the "home" I made for it flooded (first sign I should not build houses). Anyway- this was one of the more pleasant encounters with nature. Previously we have had run-ins with spiders, mice, skunks, ladybugs, and flies. Most of these were minor encounters--except for the mice and skunk. At least these creatures don't undermined anything.
Not only have caterpillars emerged as a result of this lovely weather, but my spring mindset has returned as well. I am not one of those who gets really bummed during the winter, but I definitely feel more productive and motivated in the spring. Something about sunshine and warm weather makes me feel like I ought to be doing stuff. :) So--in that spirit, I've been really trying to stick to a schedule I made for myself a few months ago. Truth be told, I am somewhat of an odd mix--I'm kind of an anal hippy. While I'm all into recycling, etc. I'm also a big stickler for structure in my everyday life. I seem to do better if I have some external force telling me what to do and when to do it. This is especially odd since, in reality, it isn't really an external force since I made the schedule. Confused yet? Good. You might have noticed that I said I made the schedule a few months ago, but I am just now starting to really abide by it. This is because I tend to vacillate between being completely organized and being a complete couch potato. I also have a hard time finding a balance between having a completely utilitarian schedule, and having a completely leisurely schedule. I think my latest efforts have somehow found some middle ground.
Along with this overwhelming desire to "be productive" in the spring time, I also tend to take on new adventures. My latest adventure is to expand my knowledge of history. I've noticed that teaching the books I teach in my classroom requires me to be quite familiar with many different aspects of history. I also just like the thought of being smart enough to carry on a conversation with people about different time periods. All of that to say, this weekend, I purchased a book about the American presidents. I'm planning to read about one president each week. So far I've read about George Washington. It was really interesting. I found myself being confronted with my previous attitude towards history books. The chapter I read really confronted some of the information I thought was unimpeachable. Basically the chapter said that Washington was unfeigned, but maybe not the smartest of the founding fathers. Although, looking at the brilliance found in that bunch, it would be pretty hard to be the smartest.
Well- I'm now off to run. Oh- but I almost forgot--here are the new words...
1. construct--something fabricated; an image or theory
2. collage- a composite made from odd parts
3. code- a collection of rules or principles; instructions in a computer program
4. colloquial (I always think of this as being a negative word)- conversational; pertaining to informal speech
5. cleave (this reminds me of that verse in the Bible that says a man should leave his parents and cleave to his wife)- to cut forcefully; to be faithful to; to bond emotionally
6. contrite (once again- Bible verse reference) - remorseful
7. crescendo- a gradual increase in intensity (this gives me images of my jr. high band teacher trying to get our little band to get louder)
8. culpable- deserving blame
9. deed- a conspicuous act; a document of ownership
10. complacent- contented
I don't have time to check this over, so I apologize for any glaringly obvious spelling/grammar issues.
Not only have caterpillars emerged as a result of this lovely weather, but my spring mindset has returned as well. I am not one of those who gets really bummed during the winter, but I definitely feel more productive and motivated in the spring. Something about sunshine and warm weather makes me feel like I ought to be doing stuff. :) So--in that spirit, I've been really trying to stick to a schedule I made for myself a few months ago. Truth be told, I am somewhat of an odd mix--I'm kind of an anal hippy. While I'm all into recycling, etc. I'm also a big stickler for structure in my everyday life. I seem to do better if I have some external force telling me what to do and when to do it. This is especially odd since, in reality, it isn't really an external force since I made the schedule. Confused yet? Good. You might have noticed that I said I made the schedule a few months ago, but I am just now starting to really abide by it. This is because I tend to vacillate between being completely organized and being a complete couch potato. I also have a hard time finding a balance between having a completely utilitarian schedule, and having a completely leisurely schedule. I think my latest efforts have somehow found some middle ground.
Along with this overwhelming desire to "be productive" in the spring time, I also tend to take on new adventures. My latest adventure is to expand my knowledge of history. I've noticed that teaching the books I teach in my classroom requires me to be quite familiar with many different aspects of history. I also just like the thought of being smart enough to carry on a conversation with people about different time periods. All of that to say, this weekend, I purchased a book about the American presidents. I'm planning to read about one president each week. So far I've read about George Washington. It was really interesting. I found myself being confronted with my previous attitude towards history books. The chapter I read really confronted some of the information I thought was unimpeachable. Basically the chapter said that Washington was unfeigned, but maybe not the smartest of the founding fathers. Although, looking at the brilliance found in that bunch, it would be pretty hard to be the smartest.
Well- I'm now off to run. Oh- but I almost forgot--here are the new words...
1. construct--something fabricated; an image or theory
2. collage- a composite made from odd parts
3. code- a collection of rules or principles; instructions in a computer program
4. colloquial (I always think of this as being a negative word)- conversational; pertaining to informal speech
5. cleave (this reminds me of that verse in the Bible that says a man should leave his parents and cleave to his wife)- to cut forcefully; to be faithful to; to bond emotionally
6. contrite (once again- Bible verse reference) - remorseful
7. crescendo- a gradual increase in intensity (this gives me images of my jr. high band teacher trying to get our little band to get louder)
8. culpable- deserving blame
9. deed- a conspicuous act; a document of ownership
10. complacent- contented
I don't have time to check this over, so I apologize for any glaringly obvious spelling/grammar issues.
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