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January 31, 2007
Little Women
One of my 'resolutions' was to read more books this year. I started well, but then I got to reading Little Women. I started with the title page, and was shocked to find that my good old (tear-stained) copy is an abridgement! Horrors!
Good thing, though, about being married to another English teacher: we have a lot of the same books. (That's also a bad thing. We sold lots of our college textbook duplicates, but some of them--some of our textbooks that we marked up even more during our stints teaching--have a great deal of character and value besides the text printed there. Sigh. So we have a lot of books to move when we move!) I dug around and found the Dude's copy of Little Women and read it. Being the first time I read it unabridged, I suppose it counts.
Here are some thoughts:
Alcott certainly has a perspective. She crosses the line into preachy quite often, though I haven't read many of her peers. Are all those other Transcendentalists preachy? How about novelists of all kinds from the late 1800s? Preachy or no? Someone comment and tell me.
She has no problem mixing Christianity with Transcendentalism. I, being a 21st century Reformed Presbyterian Christian, have a real problem with this! All her emphasis on self-reform and effort to make oneself the best he or she can be gets my goat! How many times have I been told (indoctrinated, even) that only Christ can reform me.
On the other hand, her heroines work very hard, and while I love being Reformed, I wonder if it's just me, or if others have also found that we put a little too much emphasis on relying on Christ alone without putting emphasis also on putting effort into our sanctification.
She's such a good novelist. The book is peppered throughout with foreshadowings of Beth's death, the Jo-Laurie-Amy love triangle, and all the sisters' eventual destiny in wifehood. So the big Beth-is-dying chapter is hard to read and poignant, but not really a surprise.
Overall, I still think the book is charming and witty. The plot is well-developed, the morals are interwoven instead of being tacked on at the end, and I love it even better for reading all that Alcott intended me to read.
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Wednesday Errata
I hope that's the right use of that word. I mean to say that it's this'n'that.
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Driving home from school (dropping the Dude off at work!), I listen to NPR and the news. They were reporting on the reaction of the Turks to the situation in Iraq, esp. in relation to their own internal racial tension what with the Kurds getting in the way and all that. (I'm sorry. I can't resist a good pun this early.)
Back to the point. I also can't resist telling about when a non-native English speaker gets an idiom just a little off...this Turkish man was saying that this group wanted to have the best of both worlds: "They want the cake and to eat it all." (Get it? It's usually "They want their cake and eat it too," even though that's gramatically incorrect.)
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Here's another non-native gaffe. A Bosnian friend of mine from The Department Store was sitting with me in the break room, and she was giving me advice about working. She said that my husband would understand if so-and-so didn't get done this week because I had a lot of hours to work. "You're a working girl, after all." I giggled and told her I understood and then lovingly (because she's also a Christian) explained about that idiom. She blushed and then thanked me for telling her about idioms.
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It's amazing about idioms. They have meaning you'd never suppose. They catch you by surprise and then you make a fool of yourself. Oh well...que sera sera, after all.
Posted by The Newest Worker at 08:35 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
January 29, 2007
Unknown?
I am working on an online job application at Large Local Insurance Company. They are apparently a federal contractor and have to keep track of employee genders and races, so one of the questions (strictly voluntary) was the following:
Gender (choose one):
- Male
- Female
- Unknown
Posted by The Newest Worker at 04:53 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Monday Morning
Mondays are tough for me. I get so taught and excited and 'revived' on Sundays what with church and a great preacher and Sunday potluck and another service and sermon...I get so excited about really, really tackling all the stinky rooms in my heart (a la My Heart, Christ's Home)...but then Monday morning comes and I'm tired and I hate waking up early and I struggle with doubt and self-centeredness and the same old sin, laziness.
This weekend was the same old cycle for me, except last night I was bound and determined that this really was it! I'm doe with the cycle and tomorrow I'm really going to do it...I'm going to be good.
Sheesh, I'm such a weakling. I am, but I'm being pretty good today! Step one: turn off the TV. And I've done that. I've gotten so much done already. I'll keep you all updated.
Posted by The Newest Worker at 12:11 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
January 26, 2007
Stupid Things
My parents gave me the "365 Stupidest Things Ever Said" page-a-day calendar. Here are some gems so far:
Ice Cream Flavors Available at Ice Cream City, Tokyo
Raw Horseflesh Ice Cream
Lettuce Potato Ice Cream
Shark's Fin Noodle Ice Cream
Goat Ice Cream
Deep Sea Water
Slogan on Tampons in Japan
Be Half as Fresh as the Day is Long
Continue reading "Stupid Things"
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January 24, 2007
This n That
The first woman speaker of the house. How cool, right? "Madam Speaker!"
And Webb had either 1) the worst toupee ever or 2) the worst man-dye-job ever. He should either lose the rug or go totally over the top, pull Donald Trump hair, and show everyone he's totally stopped trying to have normal hair. (Seriously, it was bad hair.)
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I want to reprocess my peach pie filling but I can't find the other 7 jars of peaches. And if I can't do my peaches, I want to try to re-jell my grape-plum jelly, but I can't find my recipe for re-jelling. And I don't think I have enough lemon juice anyway. Sheesh.
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I found the peaches, hidden in plain sight. Now they are reprocessed and ready for piemaking tomorrow.
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I HATE commercials where the woman makes fun of her dopey husband. There's a tax-commercial where the wife says to her husband, "We're being audited? Ask the people who did our taxes for help. Oh, we didn't use people, we used a box. Ask the box, Frank." She's a real treat. And then there's the internet-protocol-telephone commercial that features the woman telling about how easy it is to install while the husband is doing a silly dance in the background. She sees him, looks back at the camera, and shakes her head, embarrassed. What the hell? Why can't he dance if he wants to? And tax lady, don't go making fun of your husband for using a box to do the taxes. Why didn't you do the taxes? I don't see you doing that chore, so shut up when there's a flaw in someone else's plan. You can be sarcastic when you do that chore!! Sheesh.
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January 23, 2007
Some Blogthing Fun
| Your Russian Name Is... |
 |
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Aaaaaw. Not to toot my own horn, but it's true. You can all admit it now!
| People Envy Your Compassion |
 People envy your compassion, and more importantly, the connections it helps you build. And compassionate as you are, you feel for them. |
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I've been talking about a Muppet movie fest, but I've really got to do it. I love the Muppets. Someone join me!
| You Are Kermit |
 You're a big thinker, and sometimes you over think life's problems. Don't worry - everyone know's it's not easy being green. Just remember, time's fun when you're having flies! |
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| Your Dominant Thinking Style: Exploring |
 You are a challenger. You tend to challenge common assumptions and beliefs. An expert inventor and problem solver, you approach everything from new angles. You show people how to question their models of the world. |
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Yay! Blogthings is CERTAIN to finalize this decision for me!!
| You Should Go to Grad School |
 You have a pretty good idea of what you want to study - and how it will further your career. So go ahead and go for it! You're ready to be a PhD. |
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I knew a Gwendolyn in junior high.
| Your 1950s Name is: |
 |
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But I won't have a dog. Does that mean I'll have some sort of dementia?
| Your Famous Last Words Will Be: |
 |
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I don't want to be any %! Please let me be 0%!!!
| You Are 5% Redneck |
 You ain't no redneck - you're all Yankee! |
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This is a better percent. I approve. And don't you love the picture? (You know, one of the questions had to do with premarital sex, and I said it's not ok. Do you think the test-writer thought that was normal or weird?)
| You Are 45% Normal |
 Other things you do are downright strange You've got a little of your freak going on But you mostly keep your weirdness to yourself |
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| If You Were Born in 2893... |
 And You Would Be: A Time Traveler |
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| You Are 71% Grown Up, 29% Kid |
 Although you have your moments of moodiness, you're usually stable and level headed. |
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I hate purple.
| You Should Paint Your Room Purple |
 Your purple room will inspire you to trust yourself more and go with your intuition. Purple has also been known to facilitate healing and a feeling of protection. |
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I hate purple yet I take a purple test:
| You Are Grape |
 People know you as a straight shooter. You're very honest, even when the truth hurts. You are also very grounded and practical. No one is going to sneak anything by you. People enjoy your fresh approach to life. And it's this honesty that makes you a very innovative person. |
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Have you noticed that the more you feed your anger, the worse it gets? I have. What's the deal with the rage therapies that encourage venting anger in angry ways?
| Your Wrath Quotient: 52% |
 Just make sure to keep your revenge fantasies just that... fantasies only! |
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Maybe I should start a new blog and write crappy romances.
| You Should Be a Romance Novelist |
 You can find the romance in any situation, and you would make a talented romance story writer... And while you may be a traditional romantic, you're just as likely to be drawn to quirky or dark love stories. As long as it deals with infatuation, heartbreak, and soulmates - you could write it. |
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Yay! This is a good percent. (It can't be 0, come on. I know I'm a little nerdy!)
| You Are 28% Nerdy |
 You sometimes get into nerdy things, but only after they've become a part of mainstream culture. |
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And that's all! Thanks for making it all the way to the bottom.
I took a lot more tests than I posted (put that in your pipe and smoke it). It's funny...I need to do something new. Get a job, for sure, and add another activity, too. I've spent way too much time not liking myself, and I need to get off my tail and get busy. Anyone else find it hard to motivate themselves, or is it just me? I need outside motivation.
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January 22, 2007
47,282,923.
(I was going to blog a whole post full of stuff, like a whole bunch of post-its scattered all over a desk, but instead I will blog about today's anniversary.)
January 22, 1973. Our Supreme Court voted to legalize abortions. (More specifically, they voted that it was illegal for a state to forbid abortions.)
There's a lot of rhetoric around about prolifers and prochoicers. I'm not going there, not into all that NOW stuff. For me, this post is about the sadness of all that lost life.
National Right to Life has this page. 47,282,923 people have lost their lives since 1973. Just stop and think about that. I'm 27. This statistic means that there are 47,282,923 people who should be here -- around -- from ages 34 and younger. How many classmates, schoolmates, colleagues, church friends, students, little buddies, and kindred spirits should be here who aren't?
We look across the pond (not that one...the other one to the West) at China and marvel at a whole generation of only children, most of whom are boys, because of their strict population-control policy. We fail to look here and think that we could have a whole nother 50 million people here in our country.
I don't know them. I don't know any of them. But I've wondered who I've missed out on knowing and loving and caring for and laughing with and looking after.
I've never had an abortion. I don't know anyone who has. I've read plenty about it and wonder how someone could do that, but I've never been in that sort of situation. I haven't walked a mile in your shoes, friend, and I don't understand. I ache for you if you have suffered from abortion. Have you had an abortion? Did your girlfriend have an abortion? Sister? Mom? Friend? I'm sorry. I wish I could reach across this monitor and give you a hug and grieve with you over your loss, but I can't.
Please go here and read about how you can find someone who will give you a hug, some counseling, some help, and the best news of all (coupled with the worst news ever):
It's wrong to take a life. It's sin. (That's the bad part.) But Jesus gave his life up willingly to make way for forgiveness for those of us who have taken lives. (That's the good part!) Sin causes consequences--there are penalties we have to pay when we commit sins. (Bad part again.) But with Jesus there is healing, redemption, and restoration. (Good part!) Jesus died, so he knows the deal with consequences. He experienced them. But then he came out of the grave, un-did that most horrible of consequences, and showed us that when we are united with him, deadly consequences can be un-made.
If you're suffering from consequences, please, please ask for help. These people can help. So can these. And so can I. Drop me an email: mrs.janedoe [at]yahoo[dot]com.
47,282,923.
Posted by The Newest Worker at 07:10 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
January 16, 2007
chapter two
of my married life, that is.
no, not pregnancy. a new abode.
we're all moved out of our first place. that's a big step. as much as that apartment irritated me, when it was all said and done, when the dude and i shut off the light and locked the door for the last time last night, it was tough. sad. that poor apartment, so empty.
honestly, though, there's so much turnover in that apartment complex that it'll soon be filled again. and then there'll be lovin' and arguments and eating and sleeping and playing and thinking and writing and...well, it'll all be there again. good for it.
but now, off to home #2. it's a wreck...so much stuff, and no places where it belongs yet. some of the stuff isn't even mine (the previous tenant left a lot of her stuff), so it'll go to 1) church people 2) ebay or 3) goodwill. goodbye, stuff. some of our stuff will go, too. it's too much stuff for just two people, some of which i haven't thought of in a year and a half, since the last time we moved. sad, eh?
upcoming: how it takes a village to move a household.
Posted by The Newest Worker at 03:13 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 10, 2007
Corporeal/Virtual
I was following blog-trails a bit and ran across some blogs of people I've met or been acquainted with just a few times. Their blogs are so different from my perception of them. I thought they were kind of boring or square or shallow or insipid. (I'm sorry...I told you they were just acquaintances! And my momentary impression was 'kind of ____ insert adjective.') But their blogs are really insightful. We have a lot in common...we think about the same things (they just write about these things).
It makes me think, you know? Why are our corporeal impressions so different from our bloggy impressions? Which one is correct? Which one is preferred? How do you balance the two?
Posted by The Newest Worker at 11:41 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
January 08, 2007
More submission thoughts
Fueled on by the slightest of input, I will now wax eloquent...well, I'll think aloud some more on the topic of submission.
When I was folk dancing, I was a vital part of the male/female dance unit. The pair flies around the room in a tight polka, and have to hold on tight to fight centrifugal force. I mean, I had to hold on to the dude's shoulder! None of this namby pamby ballroom frame...I had to be there and maintain:
*rhythm
*momentum
*balance
...all while following his lead. That's right: I'm doing the same steps, in heeled shoes, going backwards and spinning. Yep. And when I didn't dance with Aleks (he was my favorite dance partner, cause he was good and a good leader), I had to adjust my following-technique. (Being a good dancer myself, the adjusting was mostly intuitive.)
I think s. is like that. No rag doll business! Gotta be a strong, firm dance partner. Gotta follow his lead. Gotta know the steps. Gotta have a leader who will communicate (that's COMMUNICATE) with you! Gotta keep the counterbalance going, the momentum, the rhythm of the dance going.
Ooh, ooh the metaphor gets better when you add the other couples in the dance. We wove and danced in big circles and little circles and did the Grand Chain and spun polkas with other partners and finally ended up back at home base. That's a thought on the Body of Christ.
And rehearsals. We worked hard. We'd work a particular section over and over, and then speed the tempo up, then did the whole dance together. We kept going when someone stumbled. But we had to work hard to make the performance beautiful.
AND the spectators thought they were getting the most beautiful show, but I knew better. We had the most fun. We had the sweat and challenge of the rehearsal, the fun of finally hitting it and dancing it again because "We finally got it!" We had the pleasure of weaving in and out and spinning and going and being carried along by the tempo.
Whew. All that to say that s. is not for ragdolls. It's a co-worker's activity. Not just like "Co-captain" but truly a parallel, a fellow, a comrade (in the strictly non-USSR sense).
AND s. is not just for wives. It's the way we are best able to show our love and devotion to our Lord Jesus--by respecting and s. to our husbands--but other non-wives are certainly able to take part in s.
Posted by The Newest Worker at 11:45 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Query: Stylesheet
Who likes the red? I'm not sure about the blazing bright red behind my soothing greens...
Posted by The Newest Worker at 01:57 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
One AM and I can't sleep
I've been lying in bed trying to relax for a couple hours now. Hope I'm not getting insomniacal. Like maniacal.
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I'm working on a project that's a wedding gift for my friend Heather. She's getting married in just a few weeks...let me go get a ticker for her...
There you go, Heather. Anyhow, I'm working on a gift for her but am having a bit of trouble finding just the right fabric. I might have to settle for a second choice which would be just as cute.
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Regarding this project for Heather...I have to make buttonholes now and I am nervous. I'll have to practice on other fabrics.
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Here is a personality test:
| You Will Keep Your New Year's Resolution |
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The sad thing is that I lied to the test. Here it is again, being totally truthful:
| You Will Keep Your New Year's Resolution |
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Sigh.
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The button on the blogthings "Submit" got me to thinking about submission, a topic often and heartily recommended to women, esp. to married women. But here are a few thoughts to chew on:
*How can a woman be in submission to a man who is not himself in submission to the authority of Scripture and Christ?
*What does it mean to be submitted one to another? Surely s. isn't something just 60% of the population should do.
*Some members of my family think s. is becoming like a rag doll, totally devoid of energy, vim, personality, or opinion. Just going along with his plan, even when it's stupid.
*Other members of my family thing s. is the activity of covering for his every flaw. This is stupid too. It's not loving to allow the consequences of his sinful choices not to fall on him. It's codependent and enabling.
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We are moving Saturday. To N. GA, just 10 minutes south of where we are right now. Please call (I am not about to post my number here) or email (again, not gonna do it, not gonna just post my address here) or comment if you can spare a few hours Saturday or Monday, MLK Day. To load/unload boxes, furniture, and possibly clean a bit.
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When some friends of ours moved to FL last year, we went and helped them. The Dude loaded boxes while I scrubbed down the fridge. That' loving (just to toot my own horn) and truly a service. Do it for someone if you can...anyone, it doesn't have to be me.
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Ok. Those were some random thoughts. I'll go get some milk and microwave it. And watch some late-late tv (not Jessica Simpson's zit cream, though, nor a rotisserie, spaghetti steam-boil-cooker, oxygen based laundry soap, or an abdominal muscle exerciser + cardiovascular exercise regimen). I'll go find some silly SciFi or maybe Craig Ferguson. Night night, all.
Posted by The Newest Worker at 01:18 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
January 04, 2007
Ringing in the New Year
Usually, my clan celebrate by playing board games till 11:30 or so, then Dad goes and gets the champagne toast ready, then we turn on the tube and watch the Times Square ball drop at midnight. With no electricity, that was a no-go...and with the InLaw clan, there was no hugging and crying with my family.
But we still rang in the New Year.
Being the pastor's family, they can do things like go into the church and ring the church bell. So that's what we did. The moon was nearly full and so, so bright. There were no city lights, there was ice on all the tree branches, and snow all on the ground. The moonlight was so bright and so cold and blue. The tree branches were all lit up. We stood outside and marveled at our little candle lantern (which we needed inside the dark church to find the bell rope) looking so dim in the bright, bright moonlight.
It was once in a lifetime. So bright, so cold, so blue, so snowy, so shiny. And the cold church bell ringing.
I tried to talk them into ringing it two thousand seven times. (Get it?) But SiL only rang it 7 times. It was lovely.
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Jr. High and Hi School Classmates
I run across a photo or a blog entry about someone I knew from Jr. Hi or High School (because my world is a small world, after all), and I find it hard to believe they actually grew up and became men and women. We were such kids. I daresay they run across something about me and can hardly believe I'm a grownup.
The thing is, I've spent time with some of them since those days, and one in particular never grew up...at least not in the way this person treated me. Why is that? Is it something about me?
Sheesh. It's got something to do with that whole "High School Reunion" thing...you know, you're so desperate to prove yourself you behave like the same old heel, while being simultaneously underwhelmed by your former classmates.
Here's a maxim to remember: when you're going through a crappy season in your life, being pruned like mad, remember that this is what it takes to stop being the same old heel. At least change comes and we grow, eh?
Posted by The Newest Worker at 01:59 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 03, 2007
B-O-R-E-D. and C-O-L-D.
Now, I love my in-laws. But compared to my clan, they are not talkers. Practically anybody compared to my clan are not talkers, though, so that's not saying much. (Laugh now if you know my family. We visit, talk, and chat incessantly.)
So when I'm with the InLaws, I rely on things like movies, TV, music, and other electronic entertainment to grease the wheels and give us all something to do. It has been working out well. Until Saturday morning.
The Dude was chilled, so he got out of bed to turn on the space heater. "What the?" I heard. I mumbled in my hazy half-sleep, "Maybe the power's out." We had gone to sleep with 32-degree weather and slushy rain the night before. Lo and behold, the electric alarm clock was not glowing red. So we knew: no power.
Hence the chilly room. No heater. Hence the quiet downstairs: No stereo. Hence the dim rooms: No lights. We dressed, went downstairs, and found MiL and FiL looking for the camp stove, rustling up candles and camping lanterns, and finding extra blankets for the beds.
All day Saturday. The phone was working, so the elders conspired and decided to call of church...because the sanctuary was dark and cold. It was still raining and it turned to lovely large flakes of snow puffs gently falling (a lovely sight for my snow-starved eyes), so we didn't head outside if we didn't have to.
All day Sunday in the cold and dark. The cold inside the house was growing, so Sunday some of us bundled up and went outside for a walk and a change of scenery. The trees and everything were so beautiful, but you could see how it could cause so much damage to the power lines: an inch of ice on every tree twiglet causes branches to bend and break off, and if there are power lines under the trees, that's that. An inch of ice on each and every power line, each insulator, each cross-pole on the power poles, each coupling...power lines break off and power poles break in half.
The radio reported that a state of emergency has been declared in Western Kansas, Eastern Colorado, and parts of Nebraska. People can't get food. People can't get warm. Cows can't drink (water wells in the country have electric pumps. No electricity, no water!) and if they don't get the power on soon, they'll start dying.
Thankfully, we were in a house in town, so we had water. (I've been in a power outage in the country. We drank other drinks and went to the spring house for water to drink. But with no water pump, there was no flushing. Yes, that's right No flushing in the country houses.) We were in town, so even though it was cold in the bathroom (cold seat yikes!), we could flush. And drink water. But nobody bathed or showered. We didn't know how long the outage would last, so we conserved hot water. And when everyone doesn't-bathe, it's ok. We can all laugh at each other. And wear hats. Because it's cold anyway and we want to conserve body heat.
Monday morning you could see your breath inside the house. For real.
And The Dude and I left Monday. The Interstate was ok, especially as we drove east. But as we drove we saw many, many power lines down. I personally saw 5 power poles that had been broken in half (in half!). I saw power poles with the cross-trees down and lines on the ground. If the lines are along a highway, ok. The line crews can just drive up and fix it. But many of the lines we saw were in the middle of ranch fields or wheat fields or cornfields. What then?
Let me just say that the Motel 6 in St. Louis (with their light ironically turned off) was lovely, and I took the longest shower ever. And I had clean hair that looked better after I brushed it. We turned the heat way up and gently roasted while we had the TV on for no reason and showered luxuriously long. Aaaaah.
They still don't have power.
Posted by The Newest Worker at 02:16 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack