Show us the book you're reading right now.
Submitted by Strive2Be.
I know that this is "young adult" literature, but I was looking for an easy, captivating read, and I found it. After so many years reading heavy, serious literature, and analyzing every little aspect in them, I've recently begun desiring books that exist strictly for entertainment, something I can read just for kicks. A co-worker suggested this, and I really loved it. It's fast, fun, and subtly sexy. Plus, it's a vampire story, which I can't resist. I've already ordered the next two on Amazon.com.
I loved this one.......So sweet.
This one is sick.
And this one made me laugh because my husband always gives me shit about the fact that I love ABBA music!
What's the closest thing you have to a time machine?
Submitted by Verisimilitude.
I'm not sure if I understand the question correctly, but I guess my son, since he has reintroduced me to the wonders the world holds when your mind has youthful curiosity. I mean, to take an example, I learned why the sky is blue way back in elementary school, right? And at the time, I found it wonderful, that little molecules could conspire so to produce something that we can see and call beautiful--not just the blue, but also the rainbows and the sunsets and clouds and all of it. Somewhere along the way, though, I started taking it for granted. I guess I can only marvel at molecules for so long.
Now, I get to teach him about it, and I am once again finding myself smitten with awe and wonder at the careless, incessant beauty of the world. I say "careless" because it's not as if the molecules of the world have really set out to make beauty, though perhaps we are made in some way to see the things they make as beautiful.
Seeing things with him again and watching him thrill at the deliciousness of the world especially as he comes to understand reminds me of a time when I had just explained--oh, I don't know, let's say I had just explained why the sky is blue to a friend. And she asked if it didn't seem less beautiful and romantic or something once you understood. I told her I thought it was more gorgeous because it wasn't intentional. If we assume a god to be omnipotent and intentional, then it's not a miracle that beauty exists; it would be simple enough to just make a rainbow if you were God. If, on the other hand, it's just a fortuitous alignment of raindrops and sunlight that are acting with no intent to create something at all, that's a fucking miracle. That's something worth celebrating.
And, thanks to my son, I'm remembering how much I loved it all the first time around. I can't wait to build a mock volcano with, like, dry ice and shit. Woo!
In an Education Week article regarding McCain and Obama's likely different approaches to education funding, I came across these quotes regarding federal spending on education, which induced a moderate degree of mental constipation. I believe the quoted individuals are referring to the same federal government, and the same educational system, so I'm having a bit of trouble reconciling the two. I'll bold the source of my confusion.
- "Dan Lips, a senior policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation, based in Washington, said that federal education spending has risen by more than 40 percent since the enactment of the No Child Left Behind law more than six years ago, and that the boost hasn’t led to a significant increase in student achievement."
- "Mr. Kealy of the Committee for Education Funding said, though, that Sen. Obama’s proposal could represent a 'turning point for education funding, which has seen only modest increases in recent years.' "
- Bodybuilder increases lean mass by 40%. (a modest gain).
- Patient loses 40% of blood (a modest flesh wound).
- Diet increases risk of heart attack by 40% (modest risk).
- School suffers from 40% dropout rate (a modest lack of success).
- Man spends 40% of salary on gambling (a modest lapse in judgment. Wife should not be upset).
And now, a rendition of the words from my NEW favorite Sara Groves song:
"It's Going to Be All Right" from the album "Add To The Beauty"
It's going to be all right
It's going to be all right
I can tell by your eyes
that you're not getting any sleep
And you try to rise above it,
but feel you're sinking in too deep
Oh, oh, I believe, I believe that
It's going to be all right
It's going to be all right
I believe you'll outlive
this pain in your heart
And you'll gain such a strength
from what is tearing you apart
Oh, oh I believe, I believe that
It's going to be all right
It's going to be all right
When some time has passed,
and the story is retold,
It will mirror the strength
and the courage in your soul
Oh, oh, I believe I believe,
I believe
I believe
And I did not come here
to offer you cliches
And I will not pretend
to know of all your pain
Just, when you cannot, then I will hold out faith, for you...
I believe that it's going to be all right,
I believe that you're going to be all right,
I believe that we're going to be all right, I believe
It's going to be all right
It's going to be all right
***
This song has become my touchstone in recent weeks. Any number of recent issues, and some of you know some of them, and I'm not going into them now, but when I my brain starts to race in circles like a hamster on a wheel, on caffeine, I just touch this song in my head, and it all smooths out. Aa-a-hh-h-h. Calm.
The music that goes with these lyrics is so perfect too, just the most wonderfully apt sound to complement the sentiments.
(And, dear A., I thought of you the first time I heard this song, and how true it has been for you, over the past few years in your struggles to help J. with his late-talking.)
***
Sent out my two contest-finalist stories now -- having revised them based on the contest judges' feedback, plus feedback from my wiki buddies. So now have 5 stories out at various venues. So we'll see how that goes.
And, I have plans for the next two stories I want to finish up and get crit on, and then it's on to my next NaNo Novel! I'm going to start outlining and pre-writing for that in August, so that the result after November will (one hopes) be less flawed (possibly even worthy of being edited and submitted somewhere, who knows???) than the result from last year.
***
Now as for the job-search --
I've been taken aback by the response of someone who, when I called to follow up on my email application, essentially said she was going to toss my resume entirely and only because I'm not presently working. And, the others have not called back in response to my applications or, in some cases, my follow-up phone messages. It seems likely, for the same reason, and they just can't be bothered to tell me that.
Why am I taken aback? It's not like I didn't know this phenomenon existed. I've read the career columns in the Wall Street Journal over the past three years, even though I didn't then expect to be pursuing my former career. I guess the offer I got a few months ago made me over-confident.
But, I can tell you, from having taken long maternity leaves in the past -- 1 year, and then 6 months -- that my project management and analytical skills do not evaporate. And haven't still. It's just like riding a bike. Seriously. After a year off after Eldest Son's birth, when I finally went back to the office, it felt literally like I had left the week before. And I performed FINE until my next maternity leave.
Did I suddenly un-earn my Master's degree? Did my IQ really drop 50 points over the past 3 years? Did my quest for excellence lose its edge? Did my ability to learn new skills and absorb new info really atrophy to uselessness?
Or did I learn greater patience, greater tact, and the lesson that the direct approach is not always the effective one?
(Um. Those were rhetorical questions, BTW...)
Must think on this one.
How to convey this, without coming across as defensive and causing my overtures to be tossed with the cover letter, never mind the resume...
Hm.
Actually, I have an idea or two on that... We'll see how that goes. Yep, the old personal network -- it's really the only way...
But, it's gonna be all right. I believe that. (music humming in head)
Fortunately, I started this search before I HAD to, so I can afford not to land a job tomorrow.
***
Welp, that's all for now.
Cheers.
In a fitting end to a summer school session that began with an admnistrator telling us that "these kids have been beaten down all year long," this group of enjoyable youngsters has proven that they are no slouches when it comes to administering a little beat-down of their own.
We put my son on the potty when he wakes up and after meals. He'll often poop in the potty rather than his diaper if we give him this opportunity. Sometime in the last month or two, he has started to only go if he has privacy. So I'll put him on the potty and leave him in his room for a few minutes. I did this today after he finished breakfast. My husband went into the room to see if he had gone yet and found that, not only had he gone, but he had picked up a piece of poop from the potty and was playing with it!
I'm glad he did this when my husband was around, that was someone could hold his hands while I ran to get wipes to clean him (and the carpet!) off.
Ick.
I post this rather sheepishly
because I know it's not extraordinary to grow tomatoes. I've read they're
some of the easiest vegetables to grow. But, for me the following photo
does show a gardening feat (as I tend to kill anything green)...or at least vast
improvement from where I was in garden cultivation a couple years ago.
They taste amazing. Which is definitely worth the little bit of work it takes. Also, in the age of the salmonella scare the peace of mind knowing these were grown in my backyard helps.
I will definitely be growing more of these babies in subsequent years. Now if only I could move to a new residence with a little more land...
He loves me not?
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