Cheekyness

Congressman Oberstar at the Texas Trails Conference

2012-02-16T12:00:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, when I was writing about the Mission ride, I was referring back to my tweets from the day of the event to refresh my memory. One of my coworkers asked, "So you were tweeting to your future self?"

Yes. Yes, I was. Thanks, Past Su. Present Su appreciates your foresight.

Sadly, this is the last of my posts about the Texas Trails and Active Transportation Conference. On the off chance that you've managed to avoid the previous four posts: San Antonio B-Cycle; Bogata, Seville, and Dallas; Texas Senator Rodney Ellis; Mission Trail Ride in San Antonio.

Today: Former U.S. Representative Jim Oberstar.

Representative Oberstar and BikeTexas' Fernando
Martinez at the end of the Mission Trail ride.

Rep. Oberstar was the keynote speaker at dinner (which was delicious, BTW). Earlier in the day, he had been on the bike ride (the ride was called "Riding with the Stars". He was one of the stars. It took me the entire day to figure this out) and I happened to be near him when we stopped for a second. I immediately whipped out my phone to send a tweet and chatted with him a bit before another man walked up and said something like, "It's an honour to meet you, Congressman. Can I get a picture with you?" I then became the designated picture-taker for a couple of minutes until we shoved off again, all the while thinking, "Congressman? Did that guy say Congressman?" Yes, he did. I don't think one needs to speak differently to civil servants, but I wish I'd said something more intelligent than, "I'm posting this on Twitter."

Robin Stallings, BikeTexas Executive Director, and
Congressman Oberstar. Source: BikeTexas / Ann Harkness

Anyway. So Rep. Oberstar took the mic and began with a nice history lesson: "Forty-three years ago, a man stepped on the moon, but he couldn't have biked to work safely." (My personal aside: The astronauts living in Houston still can't.) Twenty years ago, Rep. Oberstar was pushing for grassroots activism for cycling. From 1971 to 1991, the U.S. invested $40 million in cycling; since '91, it's been more like $3 billion. I can't tell you how much I appreciate that, as a daily user of some of the bike lanes and other cycling-friendly improvements that came from Austin investing in cycling. The result in Oberstar's home state (Minnesota) is pretty impressive: Minneapolis is one of the top cities in the U.S. for cycling.

Rep. Oberstar said that cycling should be "inclusive and bipartisan." He shared some statistics with us: In 2010, more bikes were sold in the U.S. than cars (bicycling is an important sector of our economy), and the average car trip in the U.S. is shorter than three miles. So, if people have a safe place to ride, many of those trips could be done by bicycle instead of by car.

And finally, Rep. Oberstar asked that cycling users and advocates stand up to let Congress and the President know that we expect them so support cycling. No arguments from me!

After he finished, Rep. Oberstar got a nice ovation from the crowd. But we weren't done yet, because BikeTexas had an award for Bike Friendly Oak Cliff, and Rep. Oberstar congratulated them on receiving it. In French. It was brilliant.

And that brings me to the end of my coverage of the Texas Trails and Active Transportation Conference. (Kinda... I've asked someone to do a guest post about a Friday session, which I hope to have up next week.) I hope it was moderately enjoyable. Tomorrow, your regularly scheduled silliness shall return!

Mission Ride! at the Texas Trails Conference

2012-02-15T14:34:00.000-06:00

Yep, still covering the Texas Trails and Active Transportation conference. Previous posts: San Antonio B-Cycle, Bogata and Seville, and Texas Senator Rodney Ellis.

The pre-ride mechanics.

I missed the afternoon sessions at the conference in favour of a mobile workshop on the Mission Trail. Truth be told, I should have been working during this time, but I pulled all my best rhetoric out to pathetically beg to be allowed to go on the ride. My major point was that I've lived in Texas for 12 years without ever seeing the Alamo, in the hopes that all the Texans around me would jump at the chance to educate the northerner.

What happened in real life is that my coworker who I was supposed to be helping in the afternoon sent me on my way on the grounds that we weren't that busy. It's possible she was acting out of self-preservation, but I really wasn't planning to whine if I didn't get my own way. But hey, whatever it takes.

On the Riverwalk.

So, I dashed out, got a helmet, got a bike, borrowed (okay, took: she didn't want it back) a ponytail holder from Mellow Eileen, and then stood around while everyone else got themselves sorted out. It's possible that I smiled and helped hand out helmets, but I was so excited to be seeing the missions! And taking part in a group ride! With BikeTexas! That I was more exuberant than helpful. Yes, inside I'm still about eight years old.

The Alamo.

We finally set out (yep, eight!) and headed to the Alamo first. Now, I've heard that one's first visit to the Alamo is always a bit anticlimactic, because you expect it to be a big huge building with historical markers and open fields or whatever, but reality is that it's an old building in the middle of downtown San Antonio, with tons of larger buildings all around it. We stopped, we took a group photo (many thanks to the woman who was innocently standing around before we rolled up and pressed her into service to operate our cameras), and then we rolled off again towards the Riverwalk.

I don't really know what this is, but
I liked it.

A guy who was riding not too far from me had some running commentary going on the historical buildings that we were passing-- presumably, he's from San Antonio and is up on the tour guide bit. Or he was just really good at making things up. Either way, we were riding past some really pretty buildings that apparently have been there for a while.

Mission San Juan.

Our next stop on the tour was Mission San Juan. We walked around, we took pictures, I discussed with a coworker whether or not we would really manage a 20-mile ride that day (we didn't), and then we loaded up again to head to...

Mission San Jose

Mission San Jose. It's absolutely gorgeous, and the park around it is huge. Basically, San Jose is what I've always thought the Alamo looked like. It was at this point in my day that I realised that I had turned into one of those people that goes to amazing, beautiful, and/or historical places and can't tear their eyes from their phone. In fact, I was caught on camera doing it, because a local TV station was interviewing a former Congressman about cycling stuff when I emerged from the church behind him in the act of tweeting. I was only doing it because I was supposed to be working! Honest!

After doing some chatting, networking, and generally having a good time at Mission San Jose, we headed back to the hotel for the final session of the evening. Which, if all goes according to plan, I will tell you about tomorrow.

Stylish Enough for Fiction?

2012-02-14T09:00:00.000-06:00

I wrote this book review of Writing with Style: Conversations on the Art of Writing for one of my classes. And since I wrote the review from the perspective of a fiction writer, I got permission from my instructor to post it online. So, here you are! Enjoy!

For the fiction writer, the problemhas never been, “Where can I learn about writing?” The reams of advice availablefor would-be authors are such that the question is rather, “Who should I listento?” or possibly, “Which way to the exit?”

Even if you keep to the vauntedmust-reads, like Stephen King’s On Writing or Robert McKee’s Storyor Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird, writing about writing is a crowded space.It would be easy to ignore John R. Trimble’s Writing with Style:Conversations on the Art of Writingjust on the basis of his intended audience: Trimble is writing to nonfiction,expository writers, not novelists. A casual internet search will showthat his writing guide is popular, but does it have anything for the fictionwriter?

Yes and no. If you’re a fictionwriter who never intends to write any nonfiction—no blog posts, book reviews,or letters to the editor—then you can probably skip Trimble’s book. If yourwriting is swimming along just fine but you aren’t yet ready to revise, thenwait to pick this one up. If you’ve read everything in the writing section atyour local bookstore (twice), you’ve attended every author event in a 100-mileradius, and you have a shelf of notebooks filled with all you’ve learned, thenfor goodness’ sake, stop reading and start writing.

For the rest of us, Trimble can’thurt.

He knows fiction writers well enoughto use our best pick-up lines: being smart about adverbs (70), choosingsensible dialogue tags (155), breaking the “rules” of English (76-87), and ofcourse, Mark Twain’s bit about the right word and the lightning bug (53). Thathe managed to hold off bringing the Twain until the sixth chapter shows admirablerestraint.

Trimble even mentions creativewriters, although he has us shunted into a footnote: “Poetry, fiction,plays—that’s all termed ‘creative writing,’ even though it’s sometimes far lesscreative than good expository writing” (29). Fire up your laptops, ladies andgents; he’s baiting us. I can imagine fiction writers everywhere shouting, “Putthis creative writing on your expository needles and knit it!” But is that abad thing? Not at all. The writer who was frustrated enough in the first place topick up a book not designed for creative writers might profit from somebackhanded motivation. Or maybe it’s time to set your tired manuscript asideand write some nonfiction, just to see if he’s right about the creative side ofexposition.

The chapter that fiction writerswill want to spend some time and a highlighter with, however, is the one onreadability. “A readable style is one that invites reading” (58), he says. Ah,now Trimble is speaking our language. He sums up the elusive “voice” we alllabor to develop when he writes, “If a person accepts herself, she will beherself, and will speak her mind in her own idiom without inhibition” (60). Healso doesn’t try to hide the sweaty reality of good writing: “Considerablelabor has been lavished on these sentences, we can be sure, not a little of iton concealing that very labor” (63). If you are looking for something on how tobecome a writer in five easy steps, then this is the book for you, if only todisabuse you of the “easy”.

Is Trimble’s book earthshaking? No.Is it useful? Somewhat. He assures us that “Writing is hard” does not equal“I’m a bad writer,” something all writers could stand to remember. Plus,looking at our craft through another genre’s eyes might lend some newperspective. That’s never a bad thing.

But give Mark Twain a rest.

Senator Ellis: Texas Trails Conference

2012-02-13T09:00:00.000-06:00

Yes, I'm still posting about the Texas Trails and Active Transportation Conference. It was a very good day.

I remember that the food for lunch was very good. I do not remember what it was, except that we had chocolate cake for dessert. And I could have eaten just chocolate cake and been perfectly happy.

Source: BikeTexas / Ann Harkness

So the lunchtime keynote speaker was State Senator Rodney Ellis, from Houston. I've heard Senator Ellis' name a lot at BikeTexas, because he's good friends with the director, and they work together on a lot of issues. (This is the point in the conference when I gave up note-taking for live-tweeting, so I'm having to piece together what he said from my tweets and from memory. Here goes.)

Senator Ellis leads a lot of bike rides during legislative sessions, in his district, and this past year, as the national conference of state legislators. He said, "I make it my business to get as many of my colleagues as possible out on a bike ride." He talked about the benefits of cycling, not the least of which is that everyone relaxes and for a few minutes it's not about red vs. blue, but instead is about having fun and seeing things at a slower pace than the usual breakneck legislative crazy. Plus, once lawmakers have been on a bike a few times, they are a lot more open to the idea of making sure streets are safe for people to continue cycling.

He also talked about how city bike rides are great for showcasing the city and getting people to be more active. This came on the heels of sharing the success of Tour da Hood, a bike ride that the Senator leads in Austin through less-than-wonderful neighbourhoods, which "generated excitement".

He mentioned the problem with getting a statewide Safe Passing Law passed in the '09 legislative session (it passed through the state legislature with bipartisan support, but then the governor who I will under no circumstances mention by name on my blog vetoed it). Despite that disappointment, Senator Ellis said he was proud that several cities in Texas have their own Safe Passing ordinances (including Austin and San Antonio).

It was great to hear from Senator Ellis. And that takes care of part three of my conference posts. I bet you're glad that I don't recap all of my days in this kind of detail, eh?

A Much More Fun Campaign...

2012-02-12T19:00:00.000-06:00

...than the ones the news keeps talking about.

Yes! I'm posting twice in one day. Because I keep forgetting to sign up for Rachel Harrie's Writers' Campaign, and before I can sign up, I must blog about it. Kind of like sending up a blogging Bat Signal to all the other campaigners. Here I am!

The Campaign is for all writers: published, aspiring, or somewhere in between. We offer encouragement, support, and ideas, and some of us from previous campaigns have remained blogging friends and still read one another's blogs and follow one another on Twitter, long after the original Crusade (former name) was over. Yep, we seem to like each other a bit.

Wanna get in on the action? Great! Pop on over to Rachel's blog to read more and sign up. But hurry, because she closes the list on Wednesday and you'll be stuck waiting until Campaign #5!

How Not to Be a Jerk in One Simple Step

2012-02-12T10:31:00.002-06:00

I was on campus Friday (okay, I'm on campus every day), and I passed some people holding a sign that read, "You Deserve Hell." Oh, good grief.

I passed them twice, because I went from my work to an event and back to work again. When I came back, the man had a small crowd of students around him. Now, this blog is G-rated, because I don't want any of my friends' kids seeing anything untoward on my blog, so I'll put this as delicately as possible: The man inquired into a student's reproductive life, and upon hearing his answer, suggested that since he's already going to hell, the student should indulge in the actual deed instead of the poor substitute he's been contenting himself with.

How's that for delicate? Gosh, I love euphemisms.

Anyway, I walked faster at this point because 1) I was late for work and 2) I was embarrassed for the man speaking, which is a really uncomfortable feeling. I got back to the office and promptly tweeted:

My irritation with these people is on several levels:

1. I'm also a Christ follower, and unlike those people, I'm on campus every day interacting with students. I don't come in once for a stunt and leave. I wear Christian t-shirts and it's no secret that I go to church. I would really hate for someone to walk past those people, then see me with a Bible bowl t-shirt, and refuse to talk to me because of association. I'm not the same as them.

2. That's terrible, terrible advice. The loss of morals is hardly the only danger involved in doing the deed.

3. Scaring people into following Jesus is so 1700.

I don't for one second believe that my Christianity will just rub off on those around me because of the t-shirts I wear. But here's what I know: Because I tweet about being at church or Facebook about going to prayer group, because I don't swear every third word, because I wear my t-shirts along with a smile and a desire to get along with my classmates... because of those things, sometimes people come talk to me when they need help. Sometimes I get a Facebook message from someone I haven't seen in years asking me to pray for them. Sometimes I'm asked if my church is a judgement-free place. (It is.) And sometimes, I'm a point of safety for 20-year-olds who aren't as advanced in their faith as I am and who have to cope daily with the onslaught of atheism and agnosticism that is as characteristic of our campus as it is of any other state university. I love being the person who can reassure my friends that they aren't alone in loving Jesus.

Source.

So, the One Simple Step? Don't. Don't be a jerk. Don't be so aggressive in your faith-sharing that you drive people away. Do a favour to other believers around you, and don't be a poor representation of what it means to love Jesus. Just don't.

So, I know that my readers aren't jerks. What do you think? If you're a believer, how do you love your neighbour? What's your favourite thing about your church (or whatever you call your gathering of believers)?

And if you aren't a believer: I'm trying really hard not to be a jerk. I hope everyone around you is doing the same.

Bogotá & Seville: Texas Trails Conference

2012-02-11T21:08:00.000-06:00

Previously on Cheekyness: I went to the Texas Trails and Active Transportation Conference, and afterwards I wrote about B-Cycle in San Antonio.

Source: BikeTexas / Ann Harkness

We continue our saga with the second session I attended: Lessons from Bogotá and Seville - A City Council Perspective. Three Dallas City Council members went out of the country last year to have a look at how cycling is done in other places, and they came back with changed perspectives and enthusiasm to try some things in Dallas.

In Bogatá, Ciclovía started with two blocks of city streets being blocked off for families to enjoy. Now, 75 miles of streets around Bogatá are closed every Sunday, and over one million people participate weekly. Very cool.

Here in the U.S., cities are starting to catch on and have their own events from time to time. It's coming to Austin in May-- yay!-- and I'll be blogging about that later on once their publicity gets going.

The coolest thing (IMO) from Seville was their smart signage. Suppose you're on your way to work during rush hour-- along your route, you'd see signs in real time telling you how long it is projected to take from your position to get to major landmarks via different types of transportation. For instance, it might say, "DOWNTOWN: By Car, 15 minutes; By Bike, 8 minutes; Walking, 10 minutes."

So, the point of these ladies going abroad was to see what they can do in Dallas. Currently, Dallas has no bike lanes, but they're on track to install some this spring, and the trips to cycling-friendly cities were to see what works and what does not. A comment was made during this session that Dallas has really done other cities a service by not putting in bike lanes for all these years; they've proven that just making your lanes wide enough for cars and cyclists to use the street is not enough. Hoping that all road users will magically be courteous doesn't work, and Dallas does not have many cyclists in consequence. (Actually, I read in Mia Birk's Joyride that the previous 'bicycle coordinator' in Dallas thought that anyone who isn't confident enough to take the lane on a bicycle has no business cycling on the street. I think that's dumb, as does Ms. Birk. But that didn't come up during this session. And as mentioned, Dallas has changed their collective minds about the use of bike lanes.)

Happily, since Dallas has made such wide streets, they have plenty of space to go around striping bike lanes. And the sooner, the better, IMO. Some day I may actually visit there, and I'd like to ride my bike in relative safety.

While on the subject of Dallas-- later on in the day, BikeTexas gave an award to Bike Friendly Oak Cliff for their work to promote cycling in their section of Dallas. It would be absolutely, crazy-awesome fantastic if Dallas could take off to become a leader in cycling-- not only would that be good for Texas, but it would be great for the entire South, since most bicycle-friendly cities in the U.S. are in the North. The sooner a southern city steps up to show us it can be done, the happier and safer we all shall be.

Do I have any readers from Dallas? Do you ride your bike? Everyone else: Did you see that Dallas is returning to cable TV this summer?

The Depressing Route

2012-02-08T09:00:00.000-06:00

It's the day you've all been waiting for: the glorious return of Have Bus, Will Travel!

Yes, I know that no one has been waiting that much. However, today's little adventure is all about route #37, which it the bus that comes by my apartment. You know the saying "Familiarity breeds contempt," yes? It does. A lot of contempt.

A fountain at UT that is on the 37 route. (More pics coming
ASAP! My camera is on the blink!)

This route is long and has a lot of stops. A trip from my apartment to UT, in theory, takes 35 minutes. In practise, it's more like 45-60 during rush hour, because we stop at every stop. If I stay on and go all the way downtown, it's a 45 minute trip that can stretch to over an hour. And it's usually packed, hot, and noisy. The worst trip all day is the one right after school gets out, because there are four schools on the route and so the (generally) already-full bus has to take on massive groups of kids. I will say that the kids are always well behaved (better behaved than most of the adults, anyway), but they have us seriously outnumbered. And any small ones, like kindergarten or first graders, have to have a seat, which is hard to manage. And kind of a dumb rule, IMO: When it's that packed, how could they possibly fall down?

To their credit, CapMetro has adjusted the schedule a couple of times to address the problem, but with no success so far. At least they're trying, but in the meantime I go out of my way--to the next nearest bus line 1/2 mile down the road--to avoid taking this route. On the other hand, we used to have an express version of this route that was at least 15 minutes faster, but it was eliminated last summer, despite all my e-mails of protest. I'm still mourning its passing.

Anyway, on to the highlights. From my house to downtown, the bus passes two libraries, four schools, four shopping centres (one of which is quite nice; I'll write a whole post on the Mueller shopping centre one of these days) and one cluster of locally owned Mom & Pop-type shops, a handful of bike routes, two hospitals, and UT. One could, in theory, get a lot of places while riding this route, if one were willing to sit for a while. There are faster buses in the neighbourhood, though.

So, not my happiest bus post. But I'll balance that out by posting about the bus route near my house that I love, I promise.

B-Cycle at the Active Transportation Conference

2012-02-06T09:00:00.000-06:00

I finally got to go to a BikeTexas event! Yay! They paid for my ticket, so I took an excused absence from class and had a day in San Antonio last Thursday.

I started my day at the Texas Trails and Active Transportation conference in the same way I start a lot of days: I got on a bus. My coworker that I rode with had agreed to meet me downtown at 6:30 AM so we could drive to San Antonio in time for the first session. Unfortunately, we hit some massive traffic delays even before we got to the San Antonio city limits, so we arrived about 30 minutes later than expected. Also? That's why I don't drive. I'll take a sweaty bike ride any day over road rage.

One of the B-Cycle stations.

So we missed the first keynote speaker, which was a real bummer: It was the CEO of Trek Bicycles, John Burke, and by all accounts his presentation was fabulous. But I had no time to be sad before I dashed off to my first chosen breakout session of the day: San Antonio's B-Cycle, the only bikesharing scheme in Texas. They talked about the difficulties involved in permitting and planning-- since bikesharing is still new, city departments are at a bit of a loss when it comes to issuing permits for installing stations.

It's their successes, though, that are astonishing. First, they've had one-- and only one-- bike go missing in a year. One! And they got it back! They've also had some issues with tagging, but the bikes are painted with graffiti-resistant paint, so it all came right back off. The only major problem they've had was a tire-slashing incident in which an entire station of bicycles was vandalized overnight and thus were unusable the next morning.

As of December, when the system had been in use for nine months:

22,709 total trips
82,740 total miles traveled
3.5 million calories burned
941 annual passes sold
4,336 day passes sold

I'm amazed at this level of success. Of course, it helps that the two top tourist attractions in Texas-- the Alamo and the Riverwalk-- are in San Antonio, but wow. That's a great start. I hope other cities in Texas take note.

Another success: People are buying bikes after using B-cycle. The presenters did downplay this a little bit, pointing to better infrastructure as also helping boost the numbers of cyclists in the city, but they shared a story of a woman who called one day to let them know that she wasn't going to be using her B-cycle card as much. She wanted the main office to know that she loved the program and wasn't walking away from it because she didn't like it, but because she loved it so much she had bought her own bike. There's nothing not to like about that. Additionally, a local bike shop owner spoke up to say that the local bike industry all love B-cycle and don't see them as competition or a threat. Well, no wonder, if B-cycle has turned out to be a gateway to cycling.

One other cool thing they shared: The company has a converted bike trailer that they can use to transport bikes between stations. So they move bikes... by bike. It's brilliant.

So, it looks like my report of one day of the conference will take a few posts. Maybe it's a good thing I wasn't there all three days.

Sparkling Clean

2012-02-03T09:00:00.000-06:00

So I didn't mean to leave you all hanging on my Green Living posts-- I've had this one in my head for weeks, but apparently they've been busy weeks. Or something. Usually I realise at about 10 PM on Friday that I forgot, again, to post.

This is what came up when I searched
for 'toilet'. I bet they don't worry about
getting the bowl clean. Source.

This week, I'm not so much going to make a suggestion as share something that I'm having trouble with, in the hopes that perhaps some bright spark out there will have a brilliant idea. My problem? Cleaning the toilet bowl. I can't think of an environmentally-friendly way to do it.

For years, I used the traditional blue goo and toilet brush. When my last brush broke, I decided to look into alternatives and have since owned about every handle + disposable cleaning head combination currently on the market (I can rarely find the refills I want when I'm looking. This had become an expensive habit for a while). Right now, I use the Clorox wand, which at least I can eject by picking up the trash can and holding it over the toilet, so I don't drip blue chemicals + toilet water on the floor. However, I'm sure you see the problem here, because it's a single-use product. I'm not wild about that sort of thing.

A few weeks back, I was out of refills and the two shops nearest my house (a supermarket and a dollar store) did not have the correct ones. So, I decided to make do and was scrubbing our guest toilet with Comet and a rag for a little while. But I wasn't happy with this solution, either, because 1. I wear disposable gloves when I put my hands into a toilet, so I was still throwing something away, and 2. The rag went into a hot water and bleach solution to disinfect afterwards. That's a small thing, true, but it's still more hot water and more chemicals. Not the solution I was going for.

On the chemical front, I know that Seventh Generation makes a toilet bowl cleaner. Perhaps I'll try that next. But that still leaves me with the problem of what to scrub with, and I fear that I am being pushed back into the icky, probably-falling-apart embrace of a regular toilet scrubber. I guess that's better than throwing so much stuff away.

Do you have an environmentally friendly solution to your toilet woes? Or is this outside your realm of worry?

Texas Trails

2012-02-02T09:00:00.000-06:00

I hope it's a beautiful day where you are, because here in Austin...

Wait. I'm not in Austin.

Source.

Today, I'm in San Antonio (for the first time ever!) at the Texas Trails and Active Transportation Conference. I'm here as part of my ongoing internship with BikeTexas, and speaking of firsts, this is also the first time I'll be at an event when I'll actually be introduced/acting as a BikeTexas staff member. That's mostly because I don't get to do a lot of events, not because they don't want people to know that I work for them.

So, Day Two of the conference is in full swing. I had to meet a coworker at an ungodly hour this morning to drive to SA, and we'll be headed back to Austin tonight so I can go to class and work tomorrow. I only got to attend today, in fact, because one of my professors was gracious enough to call it an excused absence. (What with it being educational and fitting in with my intended career and all.)

I can't wait to blog about what I've learned today, but in the meantime, I really hope that I get to see the Alamo before we head back to Austin. I've lived in Texas for 12 years without seeing it, and I have a suspicion that may be illegal.

What are you doing today? Did you have to get up at a ridiculous time this morning?

I Never Think of Anything This Fun...

2012-02-01T09:00:00.000-06:00

MG over at Chasing Mailboxes has come up with a great cycling challenge called Utilitaire 12. As someone who commutes by cycling, this is a perfect challenge for me... kinda. Some of the categories to fill in (e.g. movie, hair cut) are things I'm unlikely to get to in the next six weeks. Others, like work or the library, are places I practically live, so I'm in luck there.

So, in case you haven't gotten enough of me blogging about riding my bike, you'll get to read some me. And if you have gotten enough, well... Look! Over there! *rides away*

What fun challenges have you joined in this week? The A to Z Blogging Challenge is open to sign up now... are you in? Did you see anything exciting when you looked over there?

In My Mailbox #4

2012-01-31T09:00:00.000-06:00

One thing I love about college is all the free stuff. Somebody is always handing out stuff on campus-- usually something small like pens or cups, but we also get CDs, t-shirts, and books.

Technically, then, this book was not in my mailbox, but was shoved into my hands as I was walking to class one day last week. And who can argue with that? I haven't started reading it, but from the blurb it seems to be fantasy. The girl handing them out said I should listen to the CD while reading, which makes me wonder how fast I'm supposed to read it.

Also, look how pretty! I love the cover of the book and the CD. There's no telling when I'll get to read it, but in the meantime, it looks great on my shelf.

What's in your mailbox?

How Will You Perform Today?

2012-01-30T09:00:00.000-06:00

I'm taking a class called "Intro to Theatre" this semester. It's an elective, entirely for fun (you'd think I would have learned not to take classes "for fun" after French, which nearly killed me), and I think I'll come to love this class, for all that it is at eight in the morning.

Wednesday's lecture was about defining theatre vs. performance. It was the sort of thing that seems obvious, but we rarely put into words. The gist is, not all performance is theatre, because life is all about performance.

Source.

I know! Makes sense, right? When I get up in the morning and get dressed, I'm performing a ritual, a restored behaviour, that we all do every day. The same goes for brushing my teeth, fixing my hair, and eating my breakfast. Routine, yes-- but still a ritual, still a performance.

And of course the performance is bigger than that, because these rituals I perform in my home have effects once I leave. What do the clothes I choose say about me? (In my case, they say, "This was the t-shirt at the front of my closet this morning".) What kind of performance am I making when I choose fresh breath and tidy hair over the less-pleasant alternatives?

But it goes further than that, because these performances not only affect the performer, but also the audience. What does it do to you when someone near you is wearing a cheery colour and a bright smile because she had breakfast and is in a good mood? What about the opposite? Or how about the range of reactions when two people are wearing the same thing, from, "Hey, cool," to "How dare you?" Our performances all bump into each other, mixing and mingling at the edges, and bounce back to affect the respective performers in a new way. No wonder we all have sensory overload.

Do you ever think of life as a performance? What do you want your performance to say about you?

Still Here

2012-01-28T16:05:00.001-06:00

Two weeks of the semester are done, which is enough time for me to get overwhelmed but not long enough for me to exit the fantasy land that is "I'll get my act together soon".

Source.

Last semester, I stayed in "I'll get my act together" until about two weeks past the semester's halfway point, at which time I had to acknowledge that my act was about as together as it was going to get. Unfortunately, that wasn't very together.

However, it hasn't been so bad. I only missed one class this week, and (this is ridiculous) that was because we had heavy thunderstorms overnight that knocked out traffic signals, and so the bus I chose ended up getting stuck in traffic. What should have been a 35-minute bus ride took over an hour, so I was late for class, and elected to skip it instead of coming in late. I listened to the lecture online later, and I have to tell you, it was such a good lecture. I have a blog post coming that was inspired by the lecture, that's how good it was. I'm sorry I missed it, but I'm thanking goodness (and the IT department at UT) that the recording was available online.

Other than that, my week was good. The water is exactly at my head as far as the homework goes, but I wasn't expecting my senior year to be easy, after all! And I'm sure I'll get more overwhelmed as the semester goes on, but at least this is the semester with a week-long break in the middle.

In related news... one of the grad schools I applied to has promised me a status update in two weeks. Wow! Also, yikes! I'm anxious to know, but only if it's good news, I guess. :) And, I applied for and interviewed for a job this week, and I'm expecting to hear back by the end of next week. Again, I only really want to know if it's good news. Bad news should stay as far away as possible, for the sake of all the chocolate, which I am sure to eat when stressed or depressed.

How was your week? Are you enjoying your weekend? What's your favourite chocolate?

First Week

2012-01-21T10:35:00.001-06:00

Things have been a bit crazy at the Cheeky house this week, since university is back in session. The short version is, this was not my best first week ever, and included multiple schedule changes. If that's all you want to know, you can skip to the end now. For those interested in details, here's a (long) recap:

The week before class started, I got an email that one of my classes had been cancelled. Bummer. It was one of my rhetoric classes, and one that I have an immediate use for. However, it was not to be, so I scrambled around on the course schedule and found a Shakespeare class to take its place.

On the first day of class (Tuesday), I went to all of my scheduled classes. However, I had a linguistics class called Bad Language. The description said it was about racial and gendered language, so I thought that would be cool to be in. News Flash: It was more about swear words than anything else. Now, I use about three mild (by most standards) swear words that I find meet all of my needs, with no desire to use anything stronger. The instructor had an entire unit planned around the f-word, with the linguistic aspect that it can be used as any part of speech (I find that pretty remarkable, too, truth be told), and with the stated intention that he make the word not special. He also encouraged us to use the words we were studying in class freely, and is using Twitter to gauge in-class participation. I like the idea of the class, but I had to concede that there is no way I can be exposed to that kind of language for three hours a week and walk away not using it. It would have been interesting to be the member of the class who exercised my freedom of speech by not swearing in class, but I couldn't do it. Another scramble to find a replacement, which was: Sign Languages and Signing Communities. After two class sessions (Tuesday & Thursday), I loved it.

On Wednesday I had a meeting with my instructor Do Not Cross (I should get her a new nickname), who is supervising my independent research project. It was a very encouraging, very productive meeting. I have two classes on Wednesday, both rhetoric: Advanced Writing and Rhetoric and the Gospels. The second one was meant to be a placeholder until I could get registered for independent research, but since I'd had some schedule changes already, I decided to go to it just to see if I really wanted to drop it or if I'd rather keep it and drop something else. And of course, that's what I decided to do. So, on Wednesday evening, Shakespeare got the boot from my timetable.

And then I got an email from a local tea shop that included this week's specials, upcoming events, etc... and the jolly news that they are hiring. I was so excited, I dashed (okay, cycled) over on Thursday to pick up an application. On the way back to campus, though, I had to ponder the fact that my schedule at the moment is not particularly job-friendly. In my "one thing at a time" way, I filled in the application and took it back on Friday. A couple of hours later, the owner called me for an interview.

So, very exciting, I'd love to work there, but there was still the problem of my class schedule. I called Chad for backup, and he agreed that if I'm serious about getting this job that I should rearrange my schedule. So, with one hour left in the add/drop period, I went on the course schedule once again, found another linguistics class and another elective that both meet early in the morning, and changed up my classes with 45 minutes to spare.

I'm so glad this is my last semester. And I really hope I get the job, because if I don't, I'm going to feel a bit silly for all this frantic rearranging.

How was your week? Any excitement for you?

Pass the (Metaphorical) Salt, Please

2012-01-19T17:45:00.001-06:00

Another semester has started (in case you missed my tweets of despair the last couple of days), and it's my last one as an undergrad. On the one hand, I feel like I just got here. On the other hand, it's like I've been here forever and I'd like to just graduate already. But here at the beginning of the semester, everything feels fresh and new and I'm all full of hope to finally have a 4.0 semester before I move on to grad school.

In case you missed it, I'm a Rhetoric and Writing major with a side order of Linguistics. And if I may push the food metaphor, Linguistics has turned out to be the greasy french fries of my academic meal. I forget what the linguistics were like last time, so I order them again. The first few bites are great, but I'm not even halfway through my rhetoric burger before I realise that I'm starting to feel full. But I press on, because I already paid for the linguistics, and maybe there's a lone learning antioxidant in there somewhere that will manage to give me some intellectual benefits. But by the end, I'm left with greasy fingers and a lower grade than I was hoping for, and I know that I would have enjoyed the rhetoric a lot more without adding on the extra calories.

Source.

It's not a perfect metaphor, because unlike greasy fries, there's nothing inherently bad about linguistics. I'm just not good at it. I'm hoping this semester's linguistics course will finally be the one that comes with mustard and ketchup so I can at least enjoy it while it makes my schedule bloated.

And in other news, the Shakespeare class I was so excited about turned out to be impossible. I've changed my schedule three times this week, with one more to go next week, because I'm doing an independent research project through the Undergraduate Studies department and they have to register me, which they said they will do on Monday. Here goes.

Do you have something that you aren't gifted at that keeps sucking you back in? Any suggestions for some metaphorical ketchup?

Previously in Car-Free Land

2012-01-11T21:01:00.001-06:00

At the Austin Bike Summit last April, we talked a bit about social marketing and ways to make cycling into normal behaviour instead of some weird quirk or fringe thing. One thing that we floated, but had no power to put into action at that moment, was that it would be really helpful for the advertising and entertainment industries to include cyclists as a normal backdrop to their settings, as they already do with cars.

Last night, I got to watch NCIS for the first time this season (and I've missed a lot-- I was so confused). And I'm not about to give you any spoilers, but this scene got me all excited for reasons that have nothing to do with the show:

Source.

See those two people in the background? They're checking out bikes from a Capital Bikeshare kiosk. Yes, NCIS was cool enough to put cyclists in their background. I have no idea what happens in this scene (okay, I have a small idea) because I was totally distracted by seeing the Bikeshare in action. There aren't a lot of bike sharing schemes in the US yet, but I'm living in hope that one will arrive in Austin soon.

Have you ever heard of bike sharing? Have you used one? Do you watch NCIS?

The Beginning of the End

2012-01-10T16:37:00.000-06:00

The spring semester starts a week from today. And I'm really glad, because...

I transferred my laundry from the washer to the dryer, cleaned the lint screen, and walked away. About 10 minutes passed before I realised that I hadn't turned the dryer on. If I'm going to be that senile, I'd like to be able to blame my homework.

Two of the three schools that I applied to for grad school have had one issue after another with keeping track of my paperwork. Meanwhile, the third one has had no issues at all. If I don't get into school #3, I think I may cry at the thought of the frustration that surely awaits me for the next few years.

We had some friends in town this weekend who wanted to go to IKEA. So we went. Holy crap, do I ever love that store. I have such visions of things I'd like to do with my house now. You can loft a queen-size bed, right? I'd better get back go work before I start trying to cram this stuff into our budget.

On the other hand...

I still haven't finished the massive stack of books I'm reading for my research project. Nor do I have any idea what my thesis will be. And I have to email my instructor, who I really like, and tell her so. Perhaps she'll be relieved to have one less thing on her plate if I can't pull this together.

One of my classes was cancelled for the semester, so I had to sign up for another one in a hurry. I chose a Shakespeare course (yay!) that meets at 8 AM (boo!) and has about 10 required books (yikes). I emailed the prof to ask if owning The Complete Works of Shakespeare is sufficient or if I really need to get the particular editions he has listed in the booklist. Still waiting.

And finally...

This is the semester I graduate. Holy cow, that went by way too fast. Anybody want to take bets on whether I remember to order my cap and gown on time?

About Yesterday...

2012-01-05T20:33:00.000-06:00

It's been a good day today. An unusual number of motorist smiled and waved at me, or slowed down when they saw me running on the road ahead, or yielded the right-of-way to me at an intersection. I can only suppose that all of Austin is reading my blog and caught yesterday's post.

As part of my work with Bike Texas, I read a lot of articles about cyclists. And as hard as I try not to read the comments, sometimes my eye is drawn down the page and I get sucked into reading, much like the proverbial train wreck. It's easy to forget sometimes that only a small percentage of highly motivated people are commenting on these forums and articles, and that most motorists aren't as angry/confrontational/obnoxious/etc. as the internet people. Thank goodness for real life.

How could you not love a car that's
this happy? Source.

I do still feel much as I do yesterday: Those who are in charge of the great big things that can do more damage have more responsibility than those who are in charge of a small thing when it comes to making room, getting along, and so on. I don't exclude individual responsibility in any way for any kinds of road users, but it's the "with great power comes great responsibility" thing. If you're going to drive, you must be responsible for what your vehicle does.

However, I'm also willing to spread the responsibility around to society. It's our collective lifestyle that pushes people to always be in a hurry, to multitask while driving, and to feel that "just this once" it's okay to be a little unsafe. And woe betide the worker who refuses to answer the phone while driving in the name of safety-- that can be a fast way to be unemployed. I still don't know the answer, but I'm pretty sure there's a better way.

And in the meantime, I don't think a couple of hours in a defensive driving class, perhaps one focusing on cyclists and pedestrians and their use of the road, would be un-called for. And for people like the unfortunate driver in yesterday's post, perhaps some therapy to deal with the regret and the nightmares he (or she) is surely suffering right now. I would rather be hit by a car than be the one to hit someone.

So, the comments yesterday were great. Let's keep them coming! What do you think?

I Almost Didn't Post Today

2012-01-04T19:00:00.003-06:00

I've mentioned a few times that I volunteer for BikeTexas, a cycling advocacy group for the entire state. We also do some things for pedestrians, and the project I'm currently working on (that I still can't share any details of... the report is due to be released early next month, so you can expect to read all about it then) is for both cyclists and pedestrians. And I'm interested in advocacy for both, being that my lifestyle means that when I'm outside I'm almost always one of the two.

Last night there was a story on the evening news about two teenagers, a 16- and a 17-year-old, who were killed when crossing the street last week. The news report didn't specify whether they were actually in the crosswalk, although the video of the intersection shows that there was one, clearly marked. I immediately got upset, since this sort of thing is the reason I got into advocacy-- people should be able to cross the street without getting killed.

A little something to lighten the rather
cranky mood here at Cheekyness
today. Source.

Chad's reaction was a bit different: they should have been watching for cars, looking out for their own safety, etc. And I don't dispute that pedestrians should be looking out for themselves. There are two things that I do dispute: 1. That the bulk of the responsibility doesn't lie with the person who is moving a ton of metal around at much higher speeds than anyone can walk, and 2. That our society is so autocentric that our first impulse is to blame the pedestrian. I'm not upset that my husband had a different reaction from me to this story. I'm upset that as a society, we can so easily shrug off auto accidents, even ones where a pedestrian or cyclist (neither of whom have a protective box around them) is killed.

I don't want to get rid of cars. They are downright handy. Nor do I wish for the driver in this incident to be treated as an example to others (he won't be charged at all, if the news report is to be believed). What I do want is for the message to go out that you can't be distracted, you can't drive carelessly, and you can't kill or injure other people with impunity. I want more responsibility on the people who can cause more damage. And just to make sure it's clear that I'm not being anti-car: That responsibility should also include cyclists who run into pedestrians because they fail to yield as they should. And I don't know what that will look like, but I'm sure it will include demanding restitution from drivers who kill or injure others, even if it's merely paying the doctor bills. We don't have to be excessive, but we should make sure there are consequences.

What do you think?

Reading, Reading

2012-01-03T09:00:00.000-06:00

I enjoyed keeping a list of the books I read in 2011 here on the blog. It was nice to have a place to collect all the Teaser Tuesdays and reviews (even though I gave up on the reviews pretty quickly). I liked it so much, in fact, that I'm launching a sequel, similarly titled Books in 2012. There's not much to see yet, although I did manage one book already.

I'm having a hard time narrowing it down, but here are some of my favourites among my 2011 reads (these links are all to Goodreads):

P.J. Hoover's Forgotten Worlds trilogy
What's Mine is Yours
The Story of Stuff
Across the Universe
Contact
No Impact Man
Uglies
The Princess Diaries
Dash and Lily's Book of Dares
A Dirty Job
The Brief History of the Dead

Source.

Currently, I have 549 books on my Goodreads to-read list, which is a bit ridiculous even for me who reads books like they're on fire. (That is to say, much too quickly.) But, I hate to miss anything, so my question for you today is:

What should be on my to-read list? What's a gem you found in 2011 that I must read ASAP? What are some of your favourites?

Resolved, or Wait, It's Another New Year Already?

2012-01-02T09:00:00.000-06:00

The other day we were discussing New Year resolutions at a casual game night at church (because it's not a proper game night without a bunch of party animals having a quiet conversation in the next room, right?), and I mentioned that I generally post mine on my blog. This got a round of undeserved amazement: I tell people my resolutions? On the internet? Guess they don't know that I don't have any of those 'hound and badger' kind of readers. You know, the ones who will pop up on February 1st to ask how those resolutions are coming.

Source.

Easy things first-- my fitness resolutions for 2012:
Cycle 1200 miles
Run 800 miles
Choose walking instead of the bus for short trips
Use the gym at UT that I'm already paying fees for (specifically, the pool)

Life goals:
Graduate! (Okay, this is an easy one, since it would be really hard to screw up at this point.)
Read 100 books.
Finish my NaNoWriMo novel and do at least some editing so I can get my CreateSpace free books this year.
Meet at least one person at church every Sunday. I tried this a couple of years ago and it worked out well; I imagine it will work even better since we're still the new people at our current church.
Finish my Have Bus, Will Travel project.
And for goodness' sake, remember to take my vitamins and wear compression socks.

I think that's all for now. But I do make new goals fairly regularly-- at least every couple of months-- so these are sure to evolve as the year goes by.

Did you make any resolutions? Are you anti-resolutions? Do you think bloggers who share their resolutions are a bit crazy?

Ten Years

2012-01-01T09:00:00.000-06:00

A lot can happen in ten years, it turns out. And while I'm not going to recap it all for you, let's pause for a second... oh, never mind. Ten years is both long and short, fast and slow, etc., and ten years ago today I was doing this:

We still look exactly like this! Tee hee...

I love you so much, Chadwick! Thanks for lighting up my life, keeping me entertained, making sure I stay tucked in at night, and cuddling on the couch. Here's to many more decades.

Denise (maid of honour) and me.

Our cousin Jimmy and my brother Billy. (Can you tell we're from Indiana? The
names really give it away, methinks.) This was just sparkling cider, but Billy
was not about to let a good opportunity for teasing our very teetotal
Grandmother get away. I think she's still not sure about what we were serving.

These are my cousin's very adorable children. They
are now teenagers (and still adorable, BTW) and according
to their mother they would never be caught dead showing
one another this much affection these days. Ah, sibling love.

This is my father's default expression.
No, seriously.
I think Jeff Dunham got the idea for one of
his puppets after a chance encounter with
my father at a restaurant. (Click the link.
You won't be disappointed.)

What Have You Done?

2011-12-31T09:00:00.000-06:00

I decided to revisit my 2011 resolution list before the year was out, to see how I did. And: It's not too bad.

Here are the ones I missed:

For some reason, last January I thought I wanted to be a vegetarian. I don't eat much meat as it is, but my semi-vegetarian ways have remained.
I still haven't done the 100 Thing Challenge.
I haven't finished either of my previous WiPs, but I did manage to start at least one more.
And I met no goal times for my running. I'm not sure why I bothered to resolve that, since we're not currently running any races.

And the ones I hit:

I can now make my own yogurt. Also my own bread, granola, granola bars, and pasta. Plus all the things that I was able to make before-- I'm not sure that resurrecting my cookie- and brownie-making abilities was a good thing.
I read 100 books for the Goodreads challenge. Actually, I read a lot more than that, but I didn't change the dates on any of my re-reads.
Thanks to us being hosts on Airbnb, my house is much cleaner than it used to be and stays cleaner with a great deal more consistency than ever before.

Okay, when I list it out like that, it looks like I did not have a banner year. But I guess I met the ones I wanted to meet and the others were just for decoration? That's what I'm choosing to believe, anyway.

Did you make any resolutions for 2011? Will you make any for 2012?

Seeds for a New Year

2011-12-30T09:00:00.000-06:00

I wanted something New Year-related, or at least something that could tie everything together or be a bit of an inspiration for my end-of-the-year green post.

Yeah. Not so much.

Source.

So, here's a bit of what I have planned for Chez Cheeky this year. Chad & I have been composting for a year now, but thus far have done nothing with our compost, which is sitting on our back porch, getting all nice and crumbly for when it is called into action. That's going to change in a couple months' time, when...

... I plant things. Yep, this year I will finally have that container garden I've been thinking about for my entire adult life. Hot-weather plants do really well down here (naturally), so I'm thinking we'll have some tomatoes and peppers growing on the porch. And probably some potatoes, too, for no other reason that they're extremely easy. I don't think you can mess up potato-growing. And some herbs. I've never used fresh herbs in my life, and I think it's time for that to change.

I had some inspiration the other day from one of the books that I'm reading for my undergrad research: Apparently, marigolds attract pests that might otherwise decide to feast on my tomatoes, so I think I'll have some of those, too, just to give the pests something to look at. Besides, there is no way that I'm getting any kind of anti-bug chemicals anywhere near my asthmatic husband, so we have to look for chemical-free alternatives. I've heard that spraying soapy water on the leaves works too, with the bonus that--once again!-- it's not harmful to us who already eat off of plates that are washed in soapy water. Nice.

Do you have a garden? What do you like to grow? Any other suggestions for a pest-free balcony?

In Grateful Chorus

2011-12-25T18:00:00.000-06:00

I would be hard-pressed to name my favourite Christmas carol. I like pretty much all of them. But my favourite verse lies hidden at the end of "O Holy Night":

Truly he taught us to love one another
His law is love and his gospel is peace.
Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we;
Let all within us praise his holy name.
Christ is the Lord! O praise his name forever,
His power and glory evermore proclaim.

Source.

I thought this was the second verse, but when I went looking to make sure I had all the words in the right order, I found out that it's the third verse. And I don't remember ever hearing the second verse before.

I love this verse for a lot of reasons (I have to say that it's the "sweet hymns of joy" bit that really gets me), not the least of which because it's more or less fiction. Yep, I'm going to be a killjoy on Christmas. Christians have not, alas, lived up to the standard of breaking chains and stopping oppression. We're as guilty as anyone else for starting wars and spreading hatred. And I'm not okay with that.

I'm not exactly setting out on a personal quest to fix all the wrongs in Christendom. Among other things, that's not really my job. I am setting out to be sure that I am doing all I can to live at peace with my neighbour. To love those who don't love me. And to be a light in my little corner of the world. And I encourage you to do the same.

The happiest of Christmases to you and yours. And have a safe and fun week between Christmas and New Year.

Teaser, erm, Thursday?

2011-12-22T15:00:00.000-06:00

So this isn't a proper teaser, not least of which because I've shared from this book before, but also because I'm not finding the passage at random. And it's a passage, not a teaser. I've been proclaiming the wonders of Dash and Lily's Book of Dares all over Facebook, because I really want all my friends to read it and revel in the delight that it is. Word lovers, Christmas lovers, and happiness lovers should all enjoy this book even more than the average person.

So this is the passage that, even if I hadn't previously fallen prey to the charms of this book, would have had me hooked. It's a conversation between Lily's Great-Aunt Ida and Dash:

"Before I ask you some questions, perhaps you would like some tea?"
"That would depend on what kind of tea you were offering."
"So diffident! Suppose it was Earl Grey."
I shook my head. "Tastes like pencil shavings."
"Lady Grey."
"I don't drink beverages named after beheaded monarchs. It seems so tacky."
"Chamomile?"
"Might as well sip butterfly wings."
"Green tea?"
"You can't be serious."
The old woman nodded her approval. "I wasn't."
"Because you know when a cow chews grass? And he or she chews and chews and chews? Well, green tea tastes like French-kissing that cow after it's done chewing all that grass."
"Would you like some mint tea?"
"Only under duress."
"English breakfast."
I clapped my hands. "Now you're talking."

First: Would that I could write that well. Second: This is exactly how I feel about tea. Well-meaning friends have pressed all the above-mentioned flavours upon me at one time or another, but I only drink breakfast tea. It doesn't strictly have to be English; I'm perfectly happy with Scottish or Irish breakfast (although those three are the full extent of my experimentation with breakfast teas. Why mess with a winning formula?).

Anyway, this is great holiday reading. Run out and get it now before your local library/bookstore closes for the weekend. But I do want to add my usual caveat that it really is young adult; it's probably not a good one for your younger kids. And really, I can't imagine anyone younger than about 12 having sustained interest in this plot line anyway.

Have you read Dash and Lily? Did you like it? Do you have any other good holiday reading recommendations?

Owning a Choice

2011-12-21T16:17:00.000-06:00

As I've shared many, many times before, we are car-free at the Cheeky house. We made this decision when we moved to Austin in July 2010, deciding to rely on the local public transportation and cycling. Since then, we've also added a local carsharing scheme to our repertoire, and we've taken a taxi or two in the past 18 months. Apart from the occasional snafu (usually the reason for the taxi) or having to turn down an invitation every now and then, it works.

Yep, this is where I live. Source.

Sometimes, though, it doesn't work. Sometimes we get an invite to a Christmas party with people we really enjoy hanging out with but they live out of reach of the bus system. Sometimes we forget to buy Chad a new bus pass and have to scrounge for change when we get on board. Sometimes we'd just like to go downtown on a Sunday evening but dangit, the buses stop running at 9:30 PM. And sometimes we just like getting home from church in a timely manner without having to wait 30 minutes for a bus.

A lot of times, people will offer us a lift to or from wherever we're going. A lot of times, we accept. Every now and then we'll outright ask for a lift. But I don't like doing that, because being car-free was our choice. It wasn't forced upon us. And I don't feel like we have the right to allow our lifestyle choices to become a burden on other people. Besides, I feel that as an advocate for non-car alternatives, I shouldn't be turning to car-owning friends every five minutes and asking for a bailout. I can hardly say that I'm living without a car just fine when I'm not.

And there's that little detail that for the majority of the country, choosing whether to have a car or not is not even on the radar screen. There's the group that can't possibly afford a car, no matter what, and have to get around however they can. Then there's the group that lives or works in areas where there are no alternatives to car ownership. And some fit into both categories, which is even more a cause for concern. And that's one reason why I advocate for alternatives to car ownership in this country: We shouldn't be forced into one default mode. We should have choices. And no one should have to feel that their choices or circumstances make them a burden on others.

Do you ever take car-free trips? Is it even feasible for you?

Funny Thing, Education

2011-12-20T15:53:00.000-06:00

Remember that stack of books I showed you all a couple of weeks ago so you would be 1. impressed and/or 2. sympathetic? No? Well, here it is again:

This is the stack of books that I'm reading through over Christmas for my undergrad research project that I'm doing in the spring semester. My supervising instructor (or whatever she's called) approved my proposal last week: I'm reading a bunch of environmental stuff to find the common rhetorical devices. And then I'm going to write about them. She tells me this is called generic criticism. I call it a great way to beat insomnia.

I kid! Only one of the books put me to sleep so far! And I finished it yesterday. I have all the books sorted by due date, because that seemed like the most sensible way to read through them. And as I'm reading along, I've made this magical discovery: They're all talking about the same things.

Okay, I probably should have know this ahead of time, being as I picked the topic and all, yes? But for some reason, I get really excited when I learn about an incident in one book, and then see mentions of it in other books. Because, hey! I know what they're talking about! And as I understand it, this is in fact the point of education, that you learn something, and the next thing you learn builds on your knowledge of the last thing, and so on in this great long chain until eventually you wear a funny hat and someone with a funnier hat gives you a piece of paper.

So, education works. Good to know I'm not wasting my time and money here.

Have you made any magical and/or obvious discoveries lately? Are there any good rhetoric or environmental books I've left out? Do you want to come and help me read them?

A Part By Any Other Name...

2011-12-19T09:00:00.000-06:00

So the other day a friend at church-- okay, it's time for nicknames. This particular friend is responsible for (among other things, I'm sure) keeping everyone abreast of stuff going on. Seriously, she posts a bunch of cool things on Facebook about concerts, service events, and family-friendly stuff going on in town. And so I dub her Social Butterfly. Please only think of the nice things related to butterflies and totally ignore any possible negative stereotypes associated with the term.

So, Social Butterfly said she has a "bike thing" that she can't use but I might be able to, so she wanted to pass it on. I said "Sure thing!" as is my wont, but I was really concerned that I've given anyone the impression that I know about bike things. I assure you, I can operate a u-lock and an air pump, and for anything more complicated than that I call Chad.

I got the bike thing home and we had this conversation:

Chad: What is it?
Me: It's a screwdriver and... (opening the little box)
Chad: A key holder?
Me: A patch kit. A key holder? Really?
Chad: Well, I didn't know.

Aside from the fact that cyclists have pockets, panniers, saddlebags, etc. for holding keys, I can't really fault Chad for thinking the little box with the patch kit inside was a key holder, because as you can plainly see, the pointy thing is not a screwdriver, at least not in the traditional sense. And I've mulled it over for quite a while and still can't think of what it's called. We don't use proper names here in the Cheeky house. So, screwdriver it is!

Actually, the non-use of proper names is my fault, anyway, because much like the Smurfs, I replace any word I don't know (or can't remember) with an all-purpose word: in my case, "thingmy". I did this so often in the early days of our relationship that Chad picked up on it, and our memory has gradually worsened ever since, to the point that I barely know what anything is called any more. To paraphrase Tolkien, I only know my own name because people say it all the time. If my friends and acquaintances suddenly start calling me anything but Su, I may have an unofficial name change. Which will be very problematic if I ever get called to jury duty again.

What do you do when you can't remember the name for something? Do you know what that pointy thing is called?

Wrap It Up

2011-12-16T18:36:00.000-06:00

In the spirit of the holiday season, let's talk about wrapping paper.

I don't use much wrapping paper. I've managed to amass quite a collection of gift bags over the years, and I like them so much that I use them almost exclusively. So, yes, my lesson here is: Reuse those gift bags! And if you must buy a new gift bag, please choose one that is durable and nice-looking enough that the recipient will want to reuse it.

This is wrapping paper that is totally
worth rescuing. Source.

So, wrapping paper. My obvious suggestion is of course to remove the paper from your gifts carefully, fold the tape under, and roll or fold it neatly for reuse. If all the gift recipients in your house are old enough to do this, brilliant. If not, don't toss that ripped up paper right away! You'll need confetti for your New Year party, right?

For paper that is ripped too small for reuse later but is too large for confetti-making, get creative before you toss. Save the pieces with your gift bags to use as tags next year. Do you have a kid at the paper-tearing stage? You just got a few minutes of non-destructive amusement. Use the non-colourful side for scrap paper or for the kids to draw on. Wad it up as packing in your next package. If all else fails, recycle.

And it wouldn't be Christmas without one more bonus suggestion. If you have some scrap fabric laying around, or a colourful t-shirt that has outlasted its usefulness as a shirt, or a scarf that you don't really wear, consider using those to wrap a gift instead of paper. Break out the hot glue or the string to hold the bottom together and tie it up on top. This is an especially good option for the crafty friends in your life, who will likewise not throw the fabric away but will find something creative to do with it! Even if the friend uses your old t-shirt for dusters once the gift is put away, you've still saved one more thing from the landfill plus relieved your house of a tiny bit of clutter. And I don't know anyone who doesn't love that.

How do you wrap gifts? Do you have another environmentally friendly, stress-saving, creative suggestion?

Still Time-Travelling

2011-12-15T18:15:00.001-06:00

Yep, I'm still attempting to go backwards in time and share all the thoughts I didn't write down during November. But I think I've reached the end of actual memory, so I may have to start making things up now.

On Thanksgiving Chad and I ran the local Turkey Trot with some new acquaintances from church. (I hope they don't read this and get offended, but I'm kind of European when it comes to calling people friends.) This was our first race since the weekend we moved to Austin, but you know what? It was pretty much the same. Right down to my really awful race pictures. Seriously, I do weird things with my fingers while running.

Chad was disoriented at the finish line, which is also pretty much the same, so he didn't meet us at our prearranged meeting spot. I was a bit worried, because he has been known to seek medical attention during races and we were both seriously undertrained for this one. Fortunately, our pal Guy For Whom I Do Not Yet Have a Nickname (now I really hope he doesn't read this. Good thing he has a busy schedule and doesn't spend a lot of time online, huh?) is tall, so when he went looking for Chad, Chad spotted him. Which was just as well, because I didn't want to have a full-blown panic attack in front of people we don't know that well.

Also in November... The Celtic Festival! I love the Austin Celtic Festival. We looked at pretty jewelry, laughed at all the jokes, and heard some fabulous music. And we heard a guy lecturing about William Wallace, which was not only cool, but also stuck me into Scottish accent mode for the rest of the day. I probably should have written things down about how much fun I had that weekend. But hey! Come to Austin the first weekend of November for the foreseeable future and see with your own eyes how great the Celtic festival is.

That's probably everything... now maybe I can finally catch up with all those Book Festival posts I never got around to writing.

What is your preferred method of time travel?

NaNoWriMo, UT Version

2011-12-14T15:55:00.000-06:00

So I may have mentioned once or twice (or never-- it's been that kind of semester) that I started a NaNoWriMo/Script Frenzy club on campus with TARDIS Girl, co-conspirator extraordinaire. We decided to call ourselves Frenzied Novelists, because that was the best we could come up with to encompass both events. A couple of other people came along for the ride, and we have something like 55 people who have joined us in our noveling and other writing craziness (we're the only creative writing group-- that we know of-- at UT, so we've flung open our figurative doors to any creative writing types, not just novelists).

Our recruiting poster from earlier in
the semester.

The Sunday before NaNo ended, I got a couple of text messages from TARDIS Girl that someone from the Daily Texan (the campus newspaper) wanted to interview her. Which I thought was all well and good and fabulous-- the more publicity, the better, right? I was just sad that they waited until the end of NaNoWriMo to write about us, but hey, I'll take what we can get.

Later that afternoon, the intrepid reporter called me as well, so I spent the rest of the afternoon in an excited frenzy while I was also trying to do homework, finish my grad school applications, and write some more of my novel. The article (you can read it here, if you are interested) went live before I went to bed that night, and I read it quite happily until I came to this line: “I’m taking more hours this year than I did last year, but it’s actually been easier,” she said. “It’s definitely been an exercise in time management. You kind of get this feeling like you’re on drugs, like you always have to be doing something.”

Yes, that was me that said that. Or rather, me that didn't say that. I said the bit about time management, and I said the bit about always doing something, but I most definitely did not say anything about writing being like doing drugs. First of all, I have no basis for comparison, and secondly, that's not the sort of thing one says to a complete stranger who is writing down one's every word.

So the next morning, TARDIS Girl sends me as text wondering why on earth the reporter had chosen my quote about doing drugs. I told her I didn't know, considering that I never said it in the first place. And once we were done being mortified, we decided to have some fun with it, posting it all over Facebook and Twitter (we even made it onto one of the Twitter daily round-up things), as well as cutting out the article, highlighting my quote, and hanging it up in the Undergraduate Writing Center for the amusement of our coworkers.

A couple of days later, one of our coworkers told us about how last spring, the Daily Texan grossly misrepresented some activities of one of the fraternities on campus, so that the organization got lots of hate mail. Yikes! That makes this little goof seem rather small by comparison, being as we've yet to receive any mail at all.

Have you ever been interviewed? Misquoted? Both? What do you think I should say next time?

Heard at University: Semester's End

2011-12-12T21:25:00.001-06:00

I completely forgot about compiling a list of goofy things I heard on campus as the semester went by, which is a pity, because there were some good ones. So, instead, some things from the last day of class:

Caffeinated: You can never have too much coffee! That's ridiculous!
He went on to tell us that caffeine is what gives him all his energy. And quite frankly, I am so envious, because I need about three cups of tea in the morning just to be functional. It never gives me his level of energy. Mind you, there is a lot less caffeine in three cups of tea than in three cups of coffee.

***

The next one needs some background: On the next-to-last day of class, Honours Teacher was giving us some pointers on our final papers, including that we should not use "continuance" for "continuation". He went on to insist that "continuance" isn't a word anyway. I turned to the girl next to me and said, "Isn't it a legal term?" She wasn't sure, so I didn't say anything. So, on the last day of class:
Honours Teacher: I was wrong about the word "continuance". It's something you ask a judge for, so it is a word.
Girl next to me: Hey, that's what you said!
Me: Yeah.
Teacher: Why didn't you say something if you knew it was a word?
Me: Because I was getting this information from the movie Liar, Liar.

***

French teacher: You really need to come to the study session on Tuesday.
I decided that this was because he believed there was no point on giving up on me altogether, instead of it meaning that I needed all the help I could get.

***

Linguistics teacher: Do you even know what time class starts?
Okay, this one didn't happen. But it probably should have. When I ride the bus, it's a crapshoot as to whether I'll get to campus by 9:30, unless I want to be very very sure and get there an hour early. I was rarely in class on time.

And that was the last day of my semester. So, what memorable quotes have you heard lately?

New Church

2011-12-11T19:32:00.001-06:00

I'm so far behind on things I want to blog about. I may have to sit down and make a list. Tomorrow may be Write Lots of Blog Posts Day in addition to be Catch Up on Blog Reading Day.

(Follow-up on Friday's post: I'm done applying to grad school! I still need to get my transcripts and GRE scores sent, but the part that involves me writing statements of purpose and begging teachers for letters of recommendation is finished. And now, I wait.)

Chad and I decided a few months ago that the church we were attending wasn't quite the right fit for us. It didn't really feel like home, and since when we moved to Austin we left behind a church that had been a family to us in every sense of the word for our entire marriage, feeling like we were at home is pretty important. You might say we have ridiculously-high standards, and you would be correct, but the former congregation wasn't doing it for us.

The church we go to looks nothing
like this. Source.

So, we started looking. And a few weeks into our search, I took a wrong turn on the way home from UT one day, and ended up on a very busy street during rush hour. I was considerably freaked out, since this street had no bike lane, and was relieved when I got to the street that I had actually been aiming for (a much quieter street with a bike lane). I got a good look at the building across the street while standing at the red light, and since that building was a church, I Googled it when I got home. Chad and I liked the looks of it, so we went to visit. And kept going back to visit. We went off-and-on all summer long, and finally decided in October that this church that I found by accident is the one for us. We really do feel at home there.

I'm sure I'll end up giving them nicknames eventually. Maybe I'll wait and see if any of them decide to start reading my blog first. In the meantime, they're all lovely people.

What's important to you when choosing a church? And for my non-church-going readers... What do you like to do on Sundays?

Crickets

2011-12-09T19:07:00.001-06:00

So, since we last met...

I finished NaNoWriMo. (71129 words! Beat my goal by 1129!)
The semester ended. Final grades are still pending.
I finished applying to UT grad school, and made a sketchy start on the other two schools I'm applying to.
Chad and I went to Lubbock to see a friend get married.
While there, we also got to have a look at some brand-new twins.
And the Christmas Tea, which I was chairwoman of for a couple of years, has new life and a new name under some new leaders. I got to go to that, too.
I've already started reading for next semester.
And I went back to volunteering more often than once a month at Bike Texas. A surprising number of them still recognise me.

This is my stack of
books for undergrad
research. Minus one book.
And ten scholarly
articles. Holiday reading
at its finest.

The thought of everything I managed to finish in the last couple of weeks makes me want to go lie down, because it didn't seem so bad when I was in the thick of it but looking back I'm surprised more people don't hate me from me being über-cranky at them.

This weekend is Grad School Application weekend here at the Cheeky house. And also Finish my Research Proposal weekend, because that reading I've started is for my undergrad research project for next semester, but I haven't turned in my proposal yet. I'm hoping my thesis adviser is patient and understanding.

What does all this mean? Well, I hope that next week can be Catch Up with All My Blogging Friends week, once I get through this weekend and finally feel like my semester really is at an end, instead of mostly at an end. Wish me luck.

What are you doing this weekend? Anyone else applying to grad school? Do you think we should organize a Let's Take A Nap blogfest?

Shop With Care

2011-11-25T11:44:00.001-06:00

I hope all my US readers had a fun and relaxing Thanksgiving! Chad and I celebrated by going to the local Turkey Trot with some new friends from our new-to-us church (that makes it sound like a secondhand church, doesn't it?) and running five miles, something we hadn't done in months. Today we are sore but feel great. Afterwards, we came back and cooked our dinner slowly over the course of the afternoon, finally eating at about 6 PM, except for our sweet potato fries, which we grazed on while cooking so they were gone when it was time to eat. A good time was had by all.

So in this part of the world it's the start of the Christmas shopping season, and already tales of people being stupid are floating around Twitter. I'm starting to think the retailers can't possibly be making enough money to justify opening early, having all their staff working all day, risking losing a lot of staff after the frenzy, never to mention breakages, thefts, and general havoc wreaked in the store. How is Black Friday possibly profitable? (BTW, if I'm participating, I call it Red Friday. I have a feeling it's the same for a lot of people.)

It's not used, it's vintage!

So, today's green-living, wallet-friendly, sanity-saving tip is this: Don't go out and buy a ton of new stuff for everyone you know. Buy some new stuff, sure. But for other gifts, consider looking in secondhand stores or on ebay. If you have small kids, do a toy swap with other friends. Sign up for your local Freecycle and keep an eye on the emails. Remember that previously-used (and loved!) items come with their own history and you can mix your stories with the other stories that the new-to-you gift already has. And on a practical side, also remember that new-to-you things can frequently be cleaned up to look new.

Do you shop on Black Friday? Do you do any secondhand shopping for Christmas/birthdays/etc.? Was it a normal Thursday for you yesterday?

First Date

2011-11-22T10:30:00.000-06:00

This is my final short story for my creative writing class. It's kind of long, but I could't find a good place to split it. Enjoy!

Dustin’s heart pounded as if he’d already run ten miles. Hetried taking deep breaths to settle down. Should he breathe into a bag? Wasthat for times like this? He shook his head. He was more likely to throw upinto the bag than breathe into it, anyway. He’d barely eaten any lunch, butthat handful of french fries was looking for revenge.

Everyday after school, he and Shanna ran in the park across the street from theirhouses. She was on the cross-country team and this was her off-season training.Her parents had been nervous about her running alone, so she had asked him tocome along and her parents had no objections. They had known him since birth,after all.

Thedays were short now. It didn’t get dark until after they finished running, butthe late-afternoon sun was more in the business of casting shadows than makingthings brighter. Dustin thought the sun had a split personality—six months ofhappy and six months of cranky.

Eventelling himself lame jokes wasn’t working, because his stomach was stillchurning and he had goosebumps that had nothing to do with the cold. He hadn’tintended to fall in love with Shanna. She was his childhood friend, a knownTinker Toy thief and an expert at Chutes and Ladders. But she also shared herM&Ms—she sorted them by color and let him choose which ones he wanted first.It had been their game for as long as either of them could remember, atradition they kept long after she returned his Tinker Toys and Chutes andLadders gathered dust in her closet. And now he wanted more than her greenM&Ms.

Shannadashed up from across the street, sending the butterflies in his stomach into afresh frenzy. She smiled at him and he got warm all over. She was much betterthan the sun.

“Hey, Dustin! Thanks forwaiting,” she said. “My running clothes were buried in my laundry and it tookme a while to find them.” She raked her hair back from her face with herfingers and wrapped a rubber band around it, leaving hair sticking out in alldirections. “Ready?”

“Yeah.”

Shannatook off. It was a three-mile loop around the lake and she always took thefirst mile too fast. They could talk during the second mile, after she sloweddown. Today he hung back, going over his plan again. Once they finishedrunning, he would ask her to go ice skating. The outdoor rink opened this weekendand he thought it would be perfect: Shanna loved skating but had an awful senseof balance. She always had to hold onto someone to stay upright, and thisweekend, Dustin would be that someone.

“Whatare you doing back there?” Shanna called over her shoulder.

“Huh?”

“Whyare you still behind me?”

Hecame up level with her. “I can’t keep up. You’re a speed demon.”

Shannarolled her eyes. “Right. After all the meets I ran, I have one third-placeribbon. And that was the time everybody else had the flu. I’m only faster thanturtles and slugs.”

Dustinwas in safe territory when they were teasing each other. “Probably other things,too,” he pointed out. “Snails. Possoms. Babies.”

“Gosh, that really makes me feel better,” Shanna said. “Hey, Dustin,do you have any tutoring time available this week? I think my algebra teacher isjust making things up now.”

“Sure,” Dustin said. More time with Shanna? Yes, please. “I havesome time tonight.”

“Can’t,” Shanna said. “I have plans. What about tomorrow morningbefore school?”

“Yeah,that works for me. Your kitchen or mine?”

“Yours.It’s a date. I’ll bring Pop-Tarts.”

Dustin’s stomach twisted around itself. Did she say date? Did shemean it?

“What are you doing tonight?” he asked, hoping he sounded normal.

“I’m watching a moviewith Brad.”

Dustin tripped and staggered a few steps. Shanna slowed down.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he muttered, trying to hide his red face. “Can we stop so Ican tie my shoe?”

“Sure.” Shanna stopped and pulled a tissue out of her pocket.

Dustin re-tied both shoes. Shanna with Brad? His wholeworld had just flipped upside down. Since when did she hang out withthat guy? Dustin and Shanna had been in the same circle of friends since kindergardenand Brad was not part of the gang.

Shanna blowing her nose brought him back to reality. She may havea gorgeous smile, shiny hair, and lots of green M&Ms, but she blew her noselike everybody else. He hoped she wouldn’t do that on Saturday—he wasn’t surehow he felt about holding a snotty hand. Although Shanna’s snotty hand wasprobably better than anyone else’s.

He stood up in time to see her stuff the damp tissue back into therear pocket of her pants. Did she see him looking at her backside? Maybe heshould run behind her again for a while. No, too obvious.

Theystarted off again and Dustin’s legs protested.

“Ow!”

“What?”

“Mylegs. I think I stopped for too long. So, what movie are you watching withBrad?” He tried to sound like a friend, not a stalker.

“Much Ado About Nothing. Have you seenit? It’s one of my favorite Shakespeares.”

“Shakespeare?Since when is Brad interested in Shakespeare? He can’t even spell Shakespeare,”Dustin said. He needed to remember MuchAdo About Nothing for later. Never mind. This crushing avalanche ofjealousy would probably remind him for a while.

“Heneeds me to translate it from English to idiot for him so he doesn’t flunk atest. He was standing around in the hall the other day when I needed to carrysome drama club stuff upstairs. I could only get him to help me if I promisedto do him a favor.”

Shannapromised a favor to Brad? This girl needed a security detail. “Why didn’t youjust ask me if you needed help?” Dustin asked.

Shannashrugged. “You weren’t there and he was.”

Dustinwondered how awkward it would be to follow her around so she didn’t have to askany other guys for help ever again. And especially not Brad.

Frightenedsquirrels ran away ahead of them as they ran, scattering leaves that wouldprobably be covered with snow by morning. Dustin hadn’t been interested inrunning until two months ago, but he could see why Shanna loved it so much. Hejust hoped she didn’t want to start training for a marathon anytime soon.

“So,Dustin, I have a question,” Shanna said. His heart leaped. Was it a goodquestion?

“What?”He tried to sound calm.

“Doyou think we’ll be able to go on running together? Like, after Christmas? Oncebaseball starts? It’s just that running with you feels really safe. Like Idon’t have to worry about what you’re thinking, you know? It’s like runningwith my best friend.”

Asurge of joy hit every one of Dustin’s nerve endings at once. “Yeah, that wouldbe great. I mean, I’ll have to ask Coach first. But he wants us to be in shape,you know? It should be okay.” Shanna was always talking about a runner’s high,and Dustin thought the sudden energy he was enjoying right now was prettyclose. Except it didn’t come from running.

Theend of the loop was coming up. “Race you to the finish!” Shanna shouted. Sheliked to sprint out the final quarter mile. Sometimes Dustin tried to beat herto the line they had spray-painted in the dirt, but today he stayed level withher and they crossed at exactly the same time.

Shannabent double to get her breath, while Dustin walked around in circles to keep hismuscles from cramping up even more. And to enjoy the view while it lasted.

Shestood up and grinned at him. “How do you feel? Are your legs still sore?”

“Nah,I’m good,” he said. It was true; his nervousness was almost gone, and he didn’tcare about his legs. Now was the time to ask her, before he changed his mind.

Butshe was already talking. “I gotta get some homework done before Brad comes over.See you in the morning?”

“Yeah.Hey, Shanna, I was wondering…” He hesitated.

“What?”she asked, still smiling. Her face was red and sweat-streaked and her hair wasa mess, but her smile was perfect. An unexpected wave of terror crashed down onDustin and he forced the words out.

“Youknow the ice skating rink is opening this weekend? I think just about everybodywill be there, so I was wondering if you’d like to go.”

“Oh,great idea!” Shanna exclaimed.

Reliefand joy flooded through Dustin. “Really?”

“Yeah,I’ve been wanting them to open it for weeks. I was thinking the other day thatit’s been too long since the last time we all went out together. I’m so gladyou were thinking the same thing. Everybody is always so busy.”

Wait.“What?”

“SoI guess you’ve talked to everybody else already, then? Okay, I’m in.”

“No,I meant—”

“Doyou know what time it opens?”

“What?Oh, uh, one, I think.” Dang, this conversation was going the wrong way. Dustin wasn’tsure how to clear it up without sounding like a moron.

“I’llcheck the website when I get home and send everybody an email so we can decidewhere to meet up.”

“That’snot exactly…” he hestitated.

“Oh,I’m sorry. You should send the email. It was your idea.”

“Oh,no. No, it’s fine.” Dustin gave up. Whatever he had said wrong, he wasn’t goingto act pathetic. “Go ahead and send it, I don’t mind.”

“Cool.I’ll bring the M&Ms.” She smiled, and his whole body tingled again. “We canall grab some hot cocoa or something afterwards. It’ll be fun. Well, I’ll seeyou tomorrow morning.”

Dustin watched her jog across the street, upthe steps, and through her door. He turned back toward the trail and startedrunning again. Shanna always said that running helped her think better, or atleast made her tired enough to go to sleep.

Hewas going to find out if it worked.

Heard at University. Kinda.

2011-11-18T10:50:00.001-06:00

Apparently all posting schedule and theme days has gone to the winds. Ce la vie, especially during November.

So here's another "Su is a walking disaster" story that I know you all enjoy so much. It all starts with my rhetoric teacher, hereafter known as Caffeinated by virtue of saying at the beginning of every class, "I'm really excited, but that may be the three cups of coffee talking." In case you're wondering, yes, I have written him into my NaNoWriMo novel.

This is the sort of thing that really
adds to camaraderie and
embarrassment in the classroom.
Source.

So I really like his class, but the work is a bit time-consuming. The other night I was chatting with a classmate on Twitter at about 11:30 PM and she said that her rhetoric homework took her about an hour. I was not excited about the news that I was going to be up late, so I said back, "Oh, good, because I've been looking for a reason to be as caffeinated as (insert Caffeinated's real name here)."

Now before you freak out, I do have a pair of filters that I run everything through before I put it on the internet. The first, and most important, is: Would I be okay with my friends' kids seeing this? Number two only applies in situations like this one, and it's: Would I say this if (insert name) were in the room? Since Caffeinated has a sense of humour and, more importantly, occasionally tweets about class himself, this remark passed both filters.

Next morning, I walked into class, fresh cup of tea in hand, and was greeted by a grinning Caffeinated who asked, "Are you highly caffeinated enough this morning, Wilcox?" Heh. I was about 10% embarrassed and all the rest amused. Well, another 10% chuffed that he read my tweet, since we don't follow one another on Twitter. I'm not real clear on how he found it, actually, but I didn't ask for details. Also, I can't remember the last time someone called me by my last name only. This guy is writing me a recommendation for grad school, so I guess I should tone down the cheekyness to below normal levels. (Unlikely.)

So after class I sent a message to my classmate, who missed all the excitement, and she said, "Sounds like I missed a good class, then." Yep.

Do you ever have any Twitter crossovers into real life? Any real-life people in your NaNoWriMo novel? How much caffeine have you had today?

We Remember

2011-11-11T12:45:00.001-06:00

I think I'll dispense with my usual practise of reciting In Flander's Fields for you, partly because everyone else is doing it. And if you'd like to read it, Delores has a lovely post for Remembrance Day with that and other poems that you should go have a look at.

Source.

I admit to being a bit put off by all the fuss over it being 11/11/11; while that's exciting and all, I'd rather focus on the day of remembrance that happens every year at this time. There's a solemnity to Veterans Day, as there should be, as we consider what all veterans, those who came home and those who did not, had to sacrifice. And the sacrifice their families made, too.

Blessings upon you on this day of remembrance.

Oh, Dear

2011-11-08T12:25:00.002-06:00

So I'm behind on NaNoWriMo (that didn't take long!) and I'm having trouble writing a statement of purpose for grad school. However, I am miraculously caught up on my homework, so I should probably make a note on my calendar.

This is just sad.

I was anxiously awaiting the arrival of word count widgets on the NaNoWriMo site, but now that I'm behind I think I'll just skulk off. There aren't any yet, anyway.

So, my general topics of interest for rhetorical research are (in no particular order): controversies over YA literature, public debate in the U.S., environmental issues, and transportation issues. I'm hoping to talk to an instructor ASAP about these to see if they qualify as viable interests from which I could draw out a dissertation topic in a few years' time.

In the meantime, happy novelling!

How is your NaNoWriMo going? Do you have a PhD? Should I find a happy place with no grad school in it?

Breakdown

2011-11-04T10:26:00.001-05:00

Four days into NaNoWriMo and I'm already neglecting you all! That's mostly because I didn't get my posts auto-scheduled last weekend as intended. Maybe this weekend, if I'm very very lucky, but I'm going to the Austin Celtic Festival most of the weekend so my chances of that kind of luck are looking pretty slim.

This is what I'm like... I'm the one
looking the wrong way because
I want to make sure all the other
chicks are doing it right. Source.

So today's tip isn't necessarily green, but I'm also into general healthiness, and I think that's what this falls into. But first, some backstory! I have this tendency to approach the whole universe like I'm its older sister. One of these days I hope to grow out of it, and start leaving the universe alone to do whatever it wants to do without me bossing it around. (I'm not really that bossy. I'm the older sister who offers you a tissue and says "there, there" and only bosses you if you ask my opinion.)

And the other downside is that I tend to take on other people's stress and worries. Specifically, this week, it's some of my coworkers at the Writing Center. We've hit the stressful point of the semester, plus the onset of cold season. And when you add to that the normal "what do I do with my life" and the hormonal garbage that comes with being in your early 20s, my coworkers are carrying around a lot of stress. (Yes, a lot of it is self-inflicted. That doesn't make me feel any less sorry for them.) And I absorb that anxiety off of them and add it to my own.

So, coming back round to the point, my tip this week is partly adopted from Sleeping Naked is Green and partly my own experience: Search for healthy, uplifting ways to deal with your stress.

Maybe you need a cup of tea. Maybe you'll go for a walk. Maybe you'll read a book or watch a funny movie. Maybe you just need a nap (easier said than done, I know). For me, it's been NaNoWriMo... I've been inflicting my own stress upon my characters, which frees me from carrying it around. Works great.

What do you do when the world gets to be too much? Should I write you into my novel?

Youve Painted a Quite Picture

2011-10-31T13:00:00.000-05:00

I should start a regular post about my spam comments. Really, we all should. I get some serious entertainment in my spam filter.

Perhaps brinkka2011 should
ponder this. Source.

So, this one came from someone called brinkka2011 who, a casual Google search tells me, gets around the blogosphere and sneaks past some spam filters to leave ridiculous comments all over the freaking place. This particular comment was on my post about it being my 1000th post. If he (or she) is looking for cheap publicity, well, here it is! His (or her) statements are in red; my hypothetical replies are in blue.

How is it that just anyone can publish a blog and get as popular as this? I know, it's a scandal. What can I say? I bribe my readers! Its not like youve said anything incredibly impressive more like youve painted a quite picture through an issue that you know nothing about! Funny, my rhetoric teachers say the same thing. Well, sort of. They say it with better spelling, correct punctuation, and fewer adverbs. Although I did write about my own blog in this instance, so I'm confident no one knows this issue as well as I do. I dont want to sound mean, right here. Oh, don't you? You're doing it wrong. But do you genuinely think that you can get away with adding some quite pictures and not truly say something? Yes. Yes, I do.

And now if you'll all excuse me, I'm off to figure out what a 'quite picture' is.

Anybody else get good spam comments? Should we have a spam comment blogfest wherein we all make fun of our spammers? I bet you all would come up with some brilliant stuff to answer back.

Libraries, Amazon, Goodreads...

2011-10-28T17:15:00.000-05:00

I'm still in the throes of trying to get homework, grad school applications, and my proposal for undergrad research next semester all done before next Tuesday hits and NaNoWriMo commences. Oh, and pre-scheduling some blog posts, so you don't all think I died. (Although, if I pre-schedule... never mind, let's not go down that garden path.)

So! Today's green tip is meant to be in keeping with the book theme I have going this week (like that's different from any other week): Make sure to get as much use out of your books as possible.

No, I'm not going to say to never buy new physical books, even though I know that technically, that's a darned green thing to do. But as we booklovers all know, to give that kind of advice is to dance on the edge between "taking care of the earth" and "enjoying my time on earth". If I didn't buy books that I love, I would be depriving myself of one of the great joys in my life and I'm not going to do that.

So, what do I mean, then? Well, try before you buy. Borrow a book from the library before deciding to buy it, and if you love it and you know you want to have it available to read over and over, then absolutely, go buy it.

Next, try to buy secondhand. Look on Amazon, Ebay, or one of the dozens of secondhand booksellers online. Better World Books donates some of their profits to literacy programs, as well as donating actual books. Plus, they send the best "your order has been shipped" emails that I've ever read. Seriously, order a book from them just to get the email. You won't regret it-- unless you buy a book that you didn't really want. You might regret that. Also in good-karma-land: Chegg donates to education programmes and they plant a tree for every book they sell or rent.

At the risk of entering the realm of broken records, e-books save paper, shipping, and for most titles, some of the sticker price.

If you get a book that you thought you would want to keep forever but it turns out it wasn't meant to be between the two of you, find it a new home. Swap with friends (either in person or virtually), post it on one of the aforementioned sites, donate to a local library... you get the idea. Old textbooks or books that you can't unload get a bit tricky... here in Austin, we have Recycled Reads that actually recycles books that they can't sell (and anything they do sell benefits the local library system). I turned to my good friends at Earth911 for a solution, and they do have a search page where you can find book recycling near you.

And finally, I can't leave this subject without a strong plug for local secondhand bookshops. Every place I've lived, I've been a frequent customer and donater to a secondhand bookshop. They have mixed results if you're looking for something in particular, but I've found just going round every couple of weeks and browsing yields some really nice fruit. Good place to bring the books that no longer fit on my shelves, too. And, if you get a really good one, where you can get to know the owners, they just might take note of your reading preferences and keep something back for you if a book they think you'll like comes in. No guarantees... but it has happened.

What do you do with old books? Any good secondhand bookstore stories (those are the best, imo!)?

NaBloWriMo

2011-10-27T21:49:00.002-05:00

You know, I'm crazy enough for filling up my schedule like a nutty person. Why I thought I should throw my hat in the ring for NaBloWriMo I'll never know.

Anyway, I wandered over for a prompt (I'm saving the rest of my book festival posts for when I have a bit more coherence), and found: 1. Who is your favourite author? or 2. What is your favourite book? or 3. Do you find yourself talking like the characters in the book you just read?

Hey, look. C.S. Lewis and Elinor M.
Brent-Dyer, hanging out on my
shelf. (They were contemporaries,
after all.)

1. I don't have a favourite. I like most authors that I read. BUT, according to Goodreads, here are my most-read authors: Terry Pratchett, Elinor M. Brent-Dyer, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and in a 3-way tie for 4th place: J.K Rowling, Beverly Cleary, and C.S. Lewis. Sounds about right.

2. At this moment, my favourite is probably Spindle's End, by Robin McKinley. Love love love that book. My perpetual, life-long favourite? Well, favourites, actually, because it's the Little House series. Little House on the Prairie was the first 'real' book that I read and I've been a fan ever since.

3. Always. Chad can usually guess what book I've been reading by the way I talk. It's ridiculous. What's even worse is that I think the way the characters talk x 25-- it's no wonder I talk that way, really.

What about you? Same questions!

Nefarious Plot

2011-10-25T22:35:00.000-05:00

Our UT NaNoWriMo group had a plotting party tonight, with lots of people in attendance. Yay! Not much plotting was done, I'm afraid, but we did have a good time talking about our novels and deciding on write-ins. And finding out what sort of things we have in common.

I may be the only one of the group not writing a fantasy novel. (I'm writing a school story.)

Are you a Wrimo? Let's be friends! (Once the Writing Buddies are activated, that is. Using the word 'activated' makes me feel like we are writing Power Rangers. Ooh, maybe we are. Get your Zords!) I'm cheekysu, the one from Austin. Chad was kind enough to find another cheekysu on the NaNo site the other day, so I know there are at least two of us.

Not a Wrimo? Well, okay, but most of what I post for the next month probably isn't going to make a lot of sense.

Okay, well, I already asked one question. How about: What is your genre? Favourite writing music? Will you bring me a cookie?

Texas Book Festival: The Late American Novel

2011-10-24T21:00:00.000-05:00

I chose this particular lecture because my Creative Writing teacher was one of the speakers. And I'm so glad that I did, because it turned out to be an informative and thought-provoking session. Jeff Martin and C. Max Magee compiled 25 short essays about the future of books, basically getting the spectrum of people who have a good grasp (or so it seems) on the future of books right across to my creative writing instructor, who readily admitted in class on Friday and at the festival on Saturday that she has no idea what is coming next.

This picture is the artist's attempt to
build an e-reader from stuff laying
around his house. Source.

Mr. Martin began with the story of the lectors in the cigar factories in Tampa (I think?) during the '20s and '30s, who would read to the workers as they rolled cigars. The point he wanted to make was that the cigar workers didn't care what the lectors were reading, so long as they were receiving the content and the entertainment thus provided. His larger point was that it will be the same with e-readers-- as long as we get the content, we won't care about the delivery system.

Now after reading about this very issue across the blogosphere and even starting the conversation a bit here, I know that many readers do not feel this way. You don't get the same texture and smell that a paper book has on a Kindle. It just doesn't engage the senses in the same way. Having said that, it's hard to argue with having a ton of free classics that I got from Amazon via their free PC app. So I do agree to some extent that it's the content that I really want, but I also kinda want the book as a thing. He also quoted a recent study that found that 1 in 6 Americans either have an e-reader or plan to purchase one in the next 12 months. I don't know anything else about the study, including how loosely they define an e-reader (would I count, since I read books on my PC?), but if they're anywhere near close... that's huge.

As to books that will never be digitized: Children's picture books, especially the ones with things to feel and move. You can't get that on a Kindle, either. Coffee table books. And here's one for my YA writerly friends: the YA market is currently keeping the physical book market afloat. In other words, keep writing!

I don't really want to ask an e-book question, since I just asked one the other day. So: when's the last time you read aloud to someone? Or had someone read aloud to you?

Texas Book Festival: Juan Williams

2011-10-23T21:18:00.000-05:00

So I've decided that the easiest way to cover the book festival in all its glory (which I fully intend on doing, so if you hate books or festivals, now is a good time to take a vacation from Cheekyness) is to start at the beginning and write about each talk or panel in order. Here goes.

Mr. Williams' latest book.

When I saw Juan Williams on the list, I was delighted. I read his book a couple of months ago and promptly decided that he is about as close to a voice of reason as we have on political TV in America today. He's a champion of civil rights, freedom of speech, and honest debate-- all of which are sorely needed now as much as they have ever been. You can read Mr. Williams' story that led to his latest book at the Wikipedia page.

Some of the takeaway points: We can't have a healthy national debate when the slightest dissent leads to people, and politicians in particular, being labeled RINOs or DINOs (Republican or Democrat In Name Only). This isn't limited to one side; both parties do it to their own. Unfortunately, this leads to a niche landscape, which is where we are now, with everyone locked into boxes. Mr. Williams said, "We need the freedom to debate and the freedom to be wrong." (In case you pay even less attention to politics than I do: Politicians aren't allowed to change their minds about things, for fear of attack, even if their previous position is wrong/untenable/really embarrassing/whatever. It's really dumb, IMO.)

A nice moment: During the Q&A, one participant noted how guests with opposing viewpoints will appear on those news analysis shows and all talk over each other (think Crossfire), and asked, "Do the producers think this is good TV?" Mr. Williams laughed and said, "No." He then went on to elaborate, but I was too busy applauding along with everyone else to write it down. But hey, "no" sums it up pretty nicely!

Have you read this book? Do you have an opinion on debate in the US? If you're not from the US... how is your weather?

Texas Book Festival

2011-10-22T19:28:00.001-05:00

... day 1. I definitely got multiple posts' worth of stories from the first day at the book festival, so I'll start with the easy ones. (Don't worry; I took notes! I won't forget too much!) We went to a Pitchapalooza session with the intent to watch and learn-- Chad doesn't have anything book-length planned at the moment, and I don't have anything worth pitching, except an idea that I want to give some life to before pitching it around.

So we listened as one stellar idea after another came out. I don't remember them all, but one guy is telling his uncle's (really interesting) life story; one was a historical fiction involving a cache of guns somewhere in Texas; one was a boxing noir story set in Austin; a couple more historical fictions, a couple of middle grades, and one racy romance, and a handful of YAs. The eventual winner's story is about a boy who doesn't communicate well with others, so he draws pictures as his connection to other people.

Most of what the panel said to help people improve was stuff I've read on various author blogs already, so I don't have anything new to report. However, it was insanely helpful to hear other people giving pitches. Also, they all looked so calm. I would have been shaking so hard that my hair would have been vibrating. People would have thought I had a mysterious tremor in my scalp.

One notable moment: The moderator, wanting to call on someone to come pitch, pointed at a skinny guy with long hair and a beard and said, "Jesus!" I think I laughed for five minutes. The guy looked embarrassed.

And the sweetest moment of the day: A 13-year-old young woman pitched her book about a girl whose sister is kidnapped. The girl gets a text from her sister in the middle of first period, but the sister is gone by the time she gets home. So, the girl sets out to rescue her sister. The pitch was actually crazy-good (much, much better than my recap) and the panel didn't have much to critique. One of them asked, "Do you have the book written?" And she said, "It was written, but it caught fire. I live in Bastrop." Yeah, you'd better believe that a groan went across the audience. Such a gut-punch moment. In case you missed it, the wildfires across Texas a few weeks ago were mainly concentrated around Bastrop. Lots of houses are gone. And so is one young writer's WIP.

However, she didn't say it like she wanted us to feel sorry for her. And as one member of the panel said, "Sounds like you have another book to write." I don't know if having to completely re-write her MS will help the editing process, but I hope she re-writes it. I hope it gets published. I want to read it.

More to come! In the meantime: Have you ever been to a book festival? Have you ever been to something like Pitchapalooza? Don't you want to come visit me now that you know we have stuff like this?

The Future is Today!

2011-10-21T17:39:00.000-05:00

So today's green living tip is a little bit cheating and a lot born out of my frustration with having to tear down half a forest all by myself just to get through a couple years of school. And it is:

I still like this, too, but I'm a bit
stingy with it. Source.

Do as much as you can electronically.

I love the instructors who ask for homework electronically. I even more love instructors who assign books that are available as e-books so I don't have to pay for shipping. I am so enamoured with people who don't require me to print things.

This is not an anti-book or anti-paper post, btw, but just a reminder that services like Google Docs and email attachments and Kindle for PC might save you a bit of cash on paper and ink while also keeping trees in the ground. And I'm all in favour of that, because I live in Austin and think any part of the city without shade is doing it wrong.

Are you a teacher who assigns (at least some) homework electronically? Do you avoid printing things? Should I go around Austin in the dead of night planting trees?

A Car That Goes-- Creative Writing #2

2011-10-20T20:39:00.000-05:00

I wrote this little story the day after I took a car2go home and missed my exit. One 'cultural' note: UT's colours are orange and white, so the people wearing orange are college students.

***

Source.

A littleblue-and-white smart car, illuminated by street lights, zooms through Austin.

Thisparticular car had its beginnings in a factory in Europe, a land where streets arenarrow and all cars are small. It boarded a boat to cross an ocean, bound for aplace where streets are wide and some trucks merit their own zip codes. Cars donot usually think, and this car was at the beginning just as naïve as any other.And for the sake of its mechulinity, that was probably just as well. The not-so-smartcar might have developed an inferiority complex once it got a look at Austinvehicles, since it could have fit inside some of them with plenty of room leftover to pick up some groceries.

Any hopesthe car might have had of finding a nice home with a young couple and a prettygarage were dashed when it was accessorized with all sorts of fancy locationaldevices and then released to the care of the general public. At least it wouldnever get lost, although if it had been looking forward to quiet drives in thepark or occasional time to itself, those plans were on permanent hiatus. Thecar now served at the pleasure of the hip and trendy.

Some days thecar carried serious people in suits. The car noticed that they were hooked upto electronics all the time, much like itself. Perhaps they also were prone togetting lost. They never had any interesting messages on their phones for thecar to read, and to judge by the local paper (and the car did not), they nevergave anyone else anything interesting to read, either. They did a lot ofshouting about words that sounded like ‘duck’, ‘shell’, and ‘dam’. The carcertainly had cause to admire their concern for aquatic life.

Then therewere people who wore a lot of orange and carried heavy backpacks which were alsoorange. The car had no measuring devices, but it had a hunch that the backpacksweighed almost as much as the people carrying them. One day one of them got inand the car amused itself by reading her texts while she punched numbers on theGPS and muttered something about “go, cod”. She zoomed off as if she had seenthe green flag and ignored the GPS until just after she missed her stop. Andthen she started yelling about ducks.Once the car delivered her to her destination, she stormed off and left thedoor unlocked. The car had to send a call downtown for help to get its doorslocked, so it had plenty of time to ponder Austin citizens’ remarkable awarenessof the plight of smaller animals.

Sometimesgrey-headed people would drive the car as though they wanted to make sure it hadtime to take in all the sights of Austin. They said things like “Oh, my” whenevera stoplight turned yellow, but did not seem to be interested in ducks. They didnot shout, although other people often shouted at them.

The car wasunaware at first that it had started thinking. Little things, like passengersleaving him in the sunlight or dropping their trash on his floorboards, started to annoy him. He triedsending polite messages via the GPS system, like “Please refrain from drivingas if you were at Indianapolis,” or “The next passenger does not wish to sit ina seat covered in McDonald’s grease”. No one ever paid attention when he triedto speak to them. Sometimes they laughed and talked about the programmers havingsome fun with this car. So he went for a more passive-aggressive approach, likeswitching between his automatic and manual transmissions mid-trip, to alert passengersthat they were displeasing him. He also noticed, after a while, that he wasnever in the vicinity of water when people started yelling about ducks.Considering how little regard his passengers had for his own well-being, he suspectedthat they were not as enamored with marine wildlife as he had once believed. Hepuzzled over this for a while, then gave it up as one of the great quirks ofhumanity.

And his passenger this night is really confusinghim. The kid stumbled up to the car a few minutes ago as if he had tripped oversomething. It took him two tries to scan his card and punch in his code. He smellsfruity, but not in a good way, like the time someone left a bunch of grapes underthe seat for a week.

The car doesn’tlike this passenger. He’s using every stunt in his arsenal to irritate the kidenough to take his orange-shirted self elsewhere—he even turns himself off at stoplights—butthe kid responds by screaming about ships, pounding the steering wheel, anddriving faster. The car gives up trying to reason with this kid and sends out adistress signal in case someone is watching who can call for help.

The kid speedsup again and swerves around a truck in front of him. The car feels a strangesensation: gasoline burning faster than usual. He is confused: What is this kiddoing? He enjoys the rush, and that adds to his bewilderment. Is he supposed togo this fast? There is nothing he can do but wait for help, so he decides thatif the kid is going to drive like one of the Andrettis, he may as well have funwhile it lasts.

The lightson the freeway come at him like a rope of white. Other vehicles beep and honkas the kid swerves, speeds up, slows down for a second, then whips around. Thecar enjoys the rush of gasoline and the pulse of the road beneath his tires. Itis every car’s dream to go to Indianapolis, but this feeling is a good substitute.

High-pitchedwails come up behind them. Blue and red lights stab through the darkness. Theyoung man screams again and speeds up. I called the police, the car thinks.That was dumb. This is really fun.

But the kiddoesn’t stop for the blue and red lights. The swerving and zooming continue.What had been a game for the car now frightens him. I’m going to fast, hethought. He tastes his oil burning. Gasoline spurts through his system, makinghim whine. “I’m going too fast!!” he says through the GPS. But the kid doesn’tlook down.

The car isterrified. He is doing over 80 now, faster than he is supposed to be able togo. The kid takes a flyover. Is he trying to get away? the car wonders. “I havea GPS! They can track me!” the car shouts. The kid still doesn’t notice thatthe car is talking to him.

His tires skidon the road as the kid takes the first bend too fast. They swerve, recover, speedup again. His lights illuminate a second bend up ahead, and the car sees what willhappen: He will crash through the guardrail, his tires will lose contact withthe road, and he will fly off into open air. There is nothing he can do to stopit, because for all his newfound consciousness, he is still not in control. He sendsa final message through his oily tears, an instant before the impact willrender him forever mute:

“Duck.”

Book Festival!!!

2011-10-18T09:00:00.000-05:00

I don't see there being much new reading for me in the next few weeks-- I didn't even finish my last two library books, and had to return them-- so Teaser Tuesday is going to have to happen without me.

Poor, neglected library.

But I am going to snag a few hours this weekend to go to the Texas Book Festival. I don't even remember how I found out about it last year-- I think it was a fellow blogger-- but it was brilliant and I'm headed back again for Round 2. At least one writer who I've read recently is going to be there (Juan Williams) and I can't wait to hear him.

Plus, there are a lot of other cool people who I haven't yet heard of on the schedule. And Paula Deen. How cool is that?? Not that I get to go to her session; it happens during church on Sunday, and there's a long gap between her and the next session I want to go to, so I can't really justify going just to sit around for a few hours.

So! If you're around Austin this weekend, drop by the book festival! And hey, if you are around, let me know and we can drop by the same food trailer at the same time.

Have you ever been to a book festival? Are you going to be in Austin this weekend? Am I crazy for skipping Paula Deen?

Ways to Feel Like Dirt, #84

2011-10-17T09:00:00.000-05:00

On Thursday evening, I rented a car2go to go home, missed my exit off the freeway, and took much longer than necessary getting home.

On Friday afternoon, our writing prompt in class was "Describe the life history of a thing." I decided to write about a car2go and came up with a cutesy, somewhat funny tale of a little car in Austin, who misunderstands swear words (e.g., 'duck', 'shell', 'cod', 'slick'... you get the picture) and therefore thinks that Austinites have a thing for aquatic life.

On Saturday, I did a massive amount of editing and more or less rewrote the whole thing. I threw in a few IndyCar references because I'm from Indianapolis and that's what I think of when I think of fast driving. And then I gave it a sad ending (think Hamlet) with a dash of dark humour.

I'm sure dozens of cartoonists will
draw a checkered flag welcoming
Mr. Wheldon at the Pearly Gates.
So I thought I'd avoid the rush.
You'll dominate Heaven's go-cart
circuit, Dan. Source.

On Sunday I logged on to Twitter when I got home from church to read that there had been an accident at the IndyCar race in Las Vegas. I watched the video of the worst crash I've seen in 33 years of watching auto racing. And I sat on my couch in tears as drivers filed out of their meeting, all of them in tears, and the head of IndyCar announced that Dan Wheldon had just crossed his finish line.

And then I still had to do edits on my story. It's too late to rewrite; it's due today. I'm sticking with the storyline, dark humour, IndyCar references, and all, but I feel like an insensitive jerk. It happens from time to time, that writers write things that are within the realm of possibility, and then those things happen. (How much did it suck to be the writer on The West Wing who wrote the episode with Leo's (John Spencer) heart attack, when 18 months later John Spencer died of a heart attack?) It still feels wrong, though, and I'm torn between hoping that I someday can write without having this feeling, and hoping that I retain enough sensitivity to always have this feeling. Either way, I need to be able to work through it.

And that's why I'm still doing edits on the same story.

Anyone ever have a similar experience? Want to share thoughts race yesterday? Just looking for a good place to be sad?

Words That Changed My Life: I Can Only Imagine

2011-10-16T10:00:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I wrote a slightly (ahem) cheeky post about what heaven must be like on a Saturday morning. So, let me follow that up with some real thoughts on heaven.

Source.

I first heard the song "I Can Only Imagine" early in 2003, and I remember that because it was permanently seared on my memory a few months later. You see, I managed to contract a blood clot two years into taking birth control pills. (In case you were wondering about that 2% of women who manage to get blood clots... I'm one of them. The warning label on the box is talking about people like me.) And since I had no idea of what having a blood clot felt like, I walked around for a week thinking I had somehow damaged the muscle. Finally, it hurt too much and I went to the doctor, who booked me into the hospital so fast the revolving door spun for five minutes behind me.

On our way to the hospital, Chad and I had the radio on in the car and "I Can Only Imagine" was playing. This is going to sound weird, but I wasn't so much worried about a blood clot killing me as I was worried about Chad being left behind without me. This song brought comfort to us both that day. And I'm happy to report that I'm not a ghost, and am in fact alive and well to this day. Although I do have to wear nasty compression hose, which are from Satan.

I can only imagine what it will be like, when I walk by Your side.
I can only imagine, what my eyes will see, when Your Face is before me.
I can only imagine. I can only imagine.

Surrounded by Your Glory, what will my heart feel?
Will I dance for you, Jesus? Or in awe of You be still?
Will I stand in Your presence, or to my knees will I fall?
Will I sing 'Hallelujah!'? Will I be able to speak at all?
I can only imagine! I can only imagine!

Not so bad, really. Lyrics from lyricsmode.

Do you have a song/poem/thought that gets you through the tough times?

The Hours

2011-10-15T12:00:00.000-05:00

This post has nothing to do with the movie of the same name. Although it was an incredible movie, if memory serves.

So I was walking along yesterday, thinking about how I was going to have to get up at an ungodly hour on a Saturday so I could get some research done at UT's collection of old things. (By the time you read this, I'll have been hard at work for a few hours.) (Really hard at work, not what usually passes for 'hard at work' around here.)

This is what heavenly beings drink
out of, yes? Source.

Presumably, God is awake at 7 AM on a Saturday morning, but perhaps he's only just awake and still on his first cup of coffee. After all, he has to stay up late on Friday night and save a lot of people from themselves. Friday night must be a busy night in Heaven, what with all the guardian angels having to report back about their respective humans doing really stupid things, again.

So there's probably a lot of stumbling around in heaven on a Saturday morning. Angels in their bathrobes, trailing the belt behind them because it came untied, lining up at the coffeepot. The angels who have sensible, non-going-out humans are all bouncing around in a good mood, watching the cartoons and annoying the I-was-up-too-late crowd. Angels in the administrative department are fielding requests for power outages, cold snaps, or beer shortages to happen the following Friday evening so celestial beings can get a decent night's sleep.

And meanwhile, God is watching over everything and thinking about striking with lightning anyone who dares mention an ungodly hour.

Were you up at an ungodly hour today? Yesterday? Tomorrow?

Hot Water

2011-10-14T16:52:00.000-05:00

This week's green living tip is one I got from reading sleeping naked is green, by Vanessa Farquharson. One of her green changes was to only boil the exact amount of water she needed. So a couple of weeks ago I decided to try it.

This is what my kettle looks
like when it's not in use. And
when it is in use, too.

Upside: I don't have to measure boiling-hot water to make my oatmeal any longer. After I pour out the water for my tea, the water left in the pot is the exact amount needed for oatmeal.

Downside: All my tea mugs are different sizes, so I don't know how much is the right amount from one day to the next.

Verdict: I am, once again, skeptical about whether or not this really makes a difference. I suppose it uses more electricity to boil water that I don't use, so by only boiling the correct amount I am saving a little bit of energy. Either way, the upside alone is enough to keep me doing it, because anything that prevents me from burning my fingers on a daily basis is good. And this is one of those easy-to-make changes, since I measure the water anyway, and it doesn't add to the number of dishes I have to do. (If you're one of those people who must wash a measuring cup when it's only held water, I'm afraid there is no hope for you.)

Do you pre-measure water that you're going to boil? Do you wash out your measuring cups after every use? Do you think my kettle is really really cute?

Multi-Modality and Me

2011-10-13T22:48:00.001-05:00

So I got home today and said to Chad, "The universe is telling me that I was not meant to drive. I wonder when I'll decide to listen".

Cars2go are actually blue and white.
But otherwise, they look like this.
Source.

Why? Well, I was up late with two papers yesterday, and decided that if there was a car2go (the local carsharing scheme) in our neighbourhood when I was ready to leave, I was going to take it. Lo and behold, there was one, so I jumped in and drove to school. (I haven't driven to school in years!) Unfortunately, when I parked it, I got an error message that the car couldn't connect to the network so I should park somewhere else. Since I was already running late for class, I called customer service and got them to lock the car so I could go to class.

And then I decided to take a car2go home, too, because I was in a hurry after work. We have an airbnb guest coming tomorrow, and our apartment desperately needed to be cleaned. So I'm driving along, thinking to myself how much I love having all these options for transportation: car, bike, bus, foot... and then I miss my exit off the freeway. The GPS in the cars2go doesn't announce turns, but you also aren't meant to be distracted by it, either, so I hadn't looked down to see that my exit was coming. Le sigh.

I still got home faster than I would have done by taking the bus. My apartment has been cleaned. And tomorrow I'm taking my usual bus/bike combination, because it's a very efficient way of getting around. I love being multi-modal, but I think the 'driving' mode may not be my thing.

Is there something the universe wants you to stop doing? Do you ever go multi-modal?

Heard in Bible Class

2011-10-12T22:37:00.004-05:00

Well, not so much 'heard' as 'said'... you know, by me.

Someone raised the question of how Paul managed to keep track of so many churches. We discussed it seriously for a few minutes, and then:

Me: I just don't know how he managed without Facebook.
Someone else: He tweeted. (general laughter)
Me: Think how much longer the Bible would be if Paul had had the internet.

And that, my friends, is the full extent of today's ~~snark~~ brilliance.

Teaser Tuesday #18

2011-10-11T08:20:00.000-05:00

Possession, Elana Johnson

Horrified, I watched Jag battle with himself. He really couldn't speak-- because of my command. This was so bad.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Cries for Help

2011-10-10T10:00:00.000-05:00

NaNoWriMo is three weeks away, my first round of grad school applications are due in seven weeks, and the end of the semester is looming just after that. Holy smokes.

All that to say: Guest bloggers wanted! Specifically for the month of November, but if you're burning to say something October-ish, let's negotiate. If you have something to say that's off-topic for your blog, you can say it here (unless it's X-rated or something). Or if you aren't a regular blogger but you have something to say that is too long for a Facebook post and too short to start your own blog, let's talk! Leave me a message in the comments, catch me on Twitter or FB, or email me at cheekysu AT gmail DOT com.

This has nothing to do with my
post. I just think it's hilarious.

So, my creative writing class. I need to nickname these people, because they are delightful-- I guess that's something to mull over. We've had our first workshop this past week, and suddenly all the awkward silences are gone as we chat and are much more comfortable with one another, thank goodness. Today's my turn to be workshopped. The problem with going in alphabetical order (and more specifically, with me being at the end of the alphabet): The comments have gotten progressively bolder as we've gone along, that is to say, less 'this is great!' and more 'fix this!' I'm a bit sensitive about my writing, just like everyone else, so I may have to go hide in the bathroom after class.

Also making my list of Awkward Things I'm Doing Today: I have a consultation this morning at the very Writing Center where I am a consultant, for that very creative writing story. It's going to be an entertaining conversation at the front desk as I explain: No, I'm not joking, look, I'm right there on the schedule. And after that, I'm going to a meeting with French Teacher in which he will clear up all my confusion about the French language so I can go forth and be fluent. Or maybe he'll just tell me how to pronounce a French 'r' and where the adjectives go. Either one.

Fortunately, my meeting with Chicago (linguistics teacher) isn't until Wednesday. Yes, it's Help-Me-I'm-So-Confused week here at Cheekyness. I'm thinking of just wearing that on a name tag on campus.

Are you doing anything awkward today? Do you want to guest blog during November? What colour should I make my "I'm Confused" name tag?

At Home

2011-10-09T12:00:00.000-05:00

I mentioned a couple of months ago that we were in the process of changing churches, complete with a story of how we found a particular one: I was on my bike one day, took a wrong turn onto a really busy street, thought I was going to be killed, and then got a good look at a church building when I finally got to the safety of a red light. There was no particular denomination or name on the outside, so I googled them when I got home, and Chad and I decided to go visit.

Source.

Four months later, we've decided that Red River is our new church home. We have a lot of reasons for liking it, so I'm not going to bother naming them all. Suffice to say that we feel that this is a place where we can love and be loved, and where we can serve the community alongside our new friends. And where it's okay that we aren't all in the same place in our spiritual walk. That makes me so happy.

Also at the new-to-us church: They have a praise band. I've spent my entire life (minus a few Sundays) worshipping a cappella. I'm well and happy and good singing with instruments, but it should be a really interesting conversation when my grandma comes to visit. Also, they're really good and a pleasure to sing along with. The band, that is, not my grandma, who is a pleasure to sing with for reasons that are not the least bit music-related.

It was at Red River that we first saw this video, which makes me giggle every time I see it:

I asked this a while ago, but now seems like a good time to rehash it all over again: What are your favourite hymns? Do you have a preference between instruments or not?

Does anyone remember 1993?

2011-10-08T13:01:00.000-05:00

I can't believe this, but I'm having trouble coming up with a blog topic today. That could be due to the stack of textbooks waiting to be read, the business proposal I'm supposed to be writing that I am in complete dread of (and it's mocking me, btw. I have my Google Docs tab up and I keep averting my eyes, but it is calling my name. Dang proposal), the list of French words that are still unlearned for Monday's vocab quiz (and all of French Teacher's gentle but still guilt-inducing suggestions that perhaps I could put a bit more effort into the vocab are ringing in my ears, because he is 263% correct about that), and The Help sitting on the other shelf, to be ignored until homework is done. You might say my thoughts are divided this afternoon.

So, I wandered over to the NaBloWriMo site for a prompt, but it looks like Not Hannah is having an exhausting week, so today's prompt is not up. Instead, I'm taking Tuesday's: What advice would you give your fifteen-year-old self?

Hmmm. Here's the thing: I don't really remember 15 that well. I remember 14 (freshman year of high school) and 16 (that was a fun year), but 15? I think I spent most of that year waiting to be 16. But, I'm fairly certain that 15 was the year that I discovered the not-at-all delightful combination of Sominex and Stay Awake. I've had insomnia issues since I was born (or so my mother says), but I was a teenager before I found out that I could take medication for it. And it didn't take long for me to find out that Sominex lasts longer than the 8 hours or whatever promised on the side of the package. Enter: Stay Awake.

Source.

And of course, we all know how this sort of story ends. These non-habit-forming chemicals magically become habit-forming, and have the same kind of cycle of needing more for the same effect as any other chemical. I do understand that sleep aids and caffeine are not the worst drugs in the world, and that other teens had way more destructive habits than this. I also know that I was very lucky that I didn't venture down that path, considering how easy it was to get addicted to sleep aids and caffeine. I don't remember how long it lasted, although I think I stopped using them before I graduated. And I'm pretty sure that some of my long-lasting quirks-- frequent lightheadedness, headaches, a tendency to be insane under the influence of caffeine-- date back to those days.

So, my advice to my 15-year-old self? Leave those things on the shelf and out of your body. You don't need them!

What advice would you give you the 15-year-old you?

Imperfection Allowed

2011-10-07T17:25:00.001-05:00

The symbol is smoking because
of all the stress I've put on it. Source.

Something that bugs me about today’s public climate is the insistence upon perfection. I’m all for practising what one preaches, walking the talk, or whatever cute phrase you use to say ‘don’t be a hypocrite’. However, we seem to leave unfortunately little room for changing one’s mind, having a bad day, or just plain screwing up.

I don’t want to come across that way with my environmental-ness. I share tips that work (usually) for me or for others, but I’d hate for anyone to slink away from my blog thinking that I’m issuing booming earth-friendly proclamations from on high and that you aren’t welcome if the suggestions are impractical for you. Quite the opposite, in fact; if my suggestion doesn’t work for you, tell me what does work. That’s the sort of information that I love. And as a gesture of “hey, look, we’re all human,” here’s my own Bad Week on Earth story.

I’ve gone through two reusable water bottles this week. Two. The first one was my metal water bottle, which was actually Chad’s metal water bottle that I’ve been carrying since I lost my own six months ago. I lost his on Tuesday. Or possibly Monday. Either way, the bottle and I have parted ways. I grabbed another (plastic) one out of my cupboard, which I promptly destroyed on Thursday by pulling on the nozzle with too much force. I recycled the bottle, but the lid didn’t have any kind of number or other indication that it was recyclable, so into the rubbish it went. My coworker Triple Major was right on top of that, since I wrote a paper just last semester about how long things stay in landfills. Alas, some things are just meant to be thrown away when they’re broken.

Also making the list of “oh, crap”: Our office (I work at UT’s Undergraduate Writing Center) has a Keurig instead of a regular coffeemaker, which is all well and good practical, especially since it does coffee AND tea AND hot cocoa AND apple cider. Unfortunately, the cups are not recyclable. I thought they were, as I’m almost sure that all the people who have encouraged me to buy one have assured me that Keurig has some sort of recycling programme. Well, they do-- for the recyclable parts of the machine itself. The cups are still single-use, non-recyclable plastic and foil. Drat-- back to bringing my own compostable tea bags (or leaves) it is. And I was so hoping to spearhead the Keurig recycling effort at the UWC.

And finally, it was raining this morning on my bus ride here. I put a plastic bag on my bike seat, as it my wont, only for it to blow off somewhere along the route. Not only did I have a wet seat, but I’m also a litterer now.

How about you? Is there something that sometimes goes wrong for you, despite all your best intentions? How do you avoid it? Do you think I should wear a name tag that reads “Earth Destroyer” as penance?

Old People On Campus: Je Ne Comprends Pas

2011-10-06T17:12:00.001-05:00

So I'm taking a beginning French course, entirely for my own entertainment. I see snippets of French in books and whatnot, and for ages I've wanted to know how to pronounce all those words. To that end, I enrolled in French this semester.

French Teacher is actually from France, which is nice, since I'm reasonably confident that he knows what he's talking about. In fact, he's such a good teacher, I feel really guilty that 1) I'm really an awful French student, and 2) I mangle his language every time I try to speak it.

This is what I'm like in French class.
I sit there and stare. With my
mouth open. Source.

We often do group work to practise speaking with one another, and lately he's been hovering near me and my usual partner, Louisiana (so named because she used to live there). Yesterday, Louisiana decided that he must be hovering because we do a lot of giggling when we're meant to be practising French, so she told him, "You need a tape recorder back here. She (meaning me) is so funny! The other day she said that she feels bad that she's bad at French because you're such a good teacher. (And it was at this point that my face went all red.) And yesterday, she said this would be much easier if she spoke French!"

It's true, I did say both of those things, but I didn't actually intend for French Teacher to hear it. Louisiana explained later that she wanted him to know we weren't goofing off. When I told Chad about it, he said French Teacher may be hovering because he knows the two of us need help. Really, it could go either way. I do know that our TA has started hovering, too, because one of us always has a question during group work.

To French Teacher's credit, he lied through his teeth and said that I'm not doing bad. Nice guy.

Do you speak French? Do you ever feel guilty about being a poor reflection on a teacher/boss/whoever? What's your theory on why French Teacher is hovering?

The (Not-So-) Magical E-bus

2011-10-05T21:35:00.000-05:00

So it turns out that it's not called "NaBloWri Except When I Forget Mo". Dang.

Way back when we first plotted out Have Bus, Will Travel, I shared that there were a few routes that were just too impractical for me to take. Among them was the E-bus, the late evening/early morning service that runs between student housing centers and the downtown entertainment district. Since I neither live in a student area nor do I go downtown at night, I thought I was never going to take that bus.

Whaddya know, I was wrong.

Last Friday evening, I went to a birthday party for one of the really sweet, really tolerant 'normal' students who I've become so fond of over the past year. Sprained Ankle, in fact, is her wildly inaccurate nickname around Cheekyness. She's a lovely person and très fun and it was her 23rd birthday and she kindly invited me to come. So of course, I took 10 seconds to think long and hard about how I don't really do late nights or loud music and before agreeing to go.

Confession: I'd never been to a college party. I've been to parties where college-age people were gathered, but the loud music, bad dancing, crazy talking stereotypes you see on the movies? Not once until last weekend. You know what? It was fun. And there really were impossibly beautiful people there.

Anyway, the bus! As the evening wore on, the group decided to head downtown, so we made our way to an unusually crowded (by my experience) bus stop. And then the bus pulled up, already packed. That made me really nervous, because I so have personal space issues, and also because we were worried that we might not all get on the bus. Despite being rather independent when it comes to transportation, I was not excited at the prospect of having to ride a bus downtown with complete strangers if I got separated from the two people in the group who I knew.

I worried for nothing, since we did all get on, but the driver had to change the sign in front to 'Drop-Off Only' once our group was in, because there was no more room for anyone else. But then he also had to follow his normal route downtown, which strikes me as beyond silly. Why not have a back-up plan to go straight there once the bus is full? Running the complete route just results in a lot of frustrated people standing by the bus stops.

So, I'm on a really packed bus, fortunately standing (more or less) between the two people I know. This turned out to be a good thing, because at one point Sprained Ankle (in front of me) lost her balance and fell into me, so I fell into the guy behind me, who is one of our fellow consultants at the Writing Center. He was paying enough attention to catch us both and get us back on our feet. (God bless the strong young men who work at the Writing Center!)

Overall, what is the E-bus like? Lots of shouting. Since it was so packed, and since everyone was excited about heading downtown, they were all trying to talk over each other. And since it was her birthday and she was extra-giddy, Sprained Ankle led us all in our school song and a cheer. Apparently this is normal E-Bus behaviour, except that it's usually reserved for on the way home (i.e., once everyone is drunk), not the way there.

And when we got off downtown, everyone-- or at least the ones in my earshot-- thanked the driver. They may be rowdy, but they have manners.

And that was me on the E-Bus. I probably won't be repeating the experience anytime soon.

Teaser Tuesday #17

2011-10-04T16:00:00.000-05:00

The Help, Kathryn Stockett

But here's the thing: I like telling my stories. It feels like I'm doing something about it. When I leave, the concrete in my chest has loosened, melted down so I can breathe for a few days.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Nothing to Read Here...

2011-10-03T15:32:00.000-05:00

This is how I feel about editing: Lots
of words, all in the wrong order.

I was going to post another in-class writing sample from my creative writing class today, but unfortunately the revision is going backwards. I'm about to scrap all my edits and start over, I think! BTW, many, many thanks for the encouraging and helpful comments here and on Twitter last week. My initial submission got me a B+.

So, rather than give you something I've written, I'll tell you about an exercise we did. We had a lecture about titles, and then she asked us to jot down 15 possible titles quickly. I wrote 20, and here are my favourites:

Back in Junction
Green Like the Sky
Interpreting for the Idiots
The Line at the Coffee Shop
Reused Life
Always in Reverse
Occasional Light Showers
Blue Stained Glass
One of the Five
One Mad Weekend

And I can give you an explanation on how I thought of all of these, but it's probably more entertaining just to leave it to your imagination! Details available upon request, as ever. ;)

Do you have a fun title with no story attached? Do any of these strike your fancy? (If so, you can grab one and take it home with you; I have nothing in particular in mind for them yet.) Have you ever scrapped edits and gone back to the beginning with something you've written?

From Mane to Wig

2011-10-02T16:57:00.001-05:00

Normally, if I post on a Sunday, I like to make it something spiritual or devotional, since Sunday is my day of worship. But today, I'm just going to regale you with the tale of my haircut.

Yesterday, I went from this:

To this:

Why? Well, it's too hot around here and I probably should have done it four months ago. Also, it was getting problematic for putting on a bike helmet and time-consuming for everything else. I can't leave my long hair down for class or I'll play with it, so up it must go.

Here's a little tip for your future: A Google search is not the best way, at least not in Austin, to find a hair salon that participates in Locks of Love. It's definitely not a good way to find ones that will do it for free. You're better off asking people who have done it where they go. In the end, I went with a local shop that does not cut the hair for free but encourages people to donate their hair. The conversation was something like this:

Stylist: What are we doing today?
Me: Cut it all off.
Stylist: How short?
Me: Oh, about here. *indicate what I'm after*
Stylist: Great! And are you donating your hair today?
Me: Yes, absolutely.
Stylist: Oh, thank goodness! I was thinking, 'Please, God, say yes.'

I think he might have cried if I had said no. Also, stylists seem to love my hair. I guess if you have an hour of time and a bunch of equipment at your disposal, my hair is fun to mess with-- it's thick and very straight. So thick, in fact, that 45 minutes after washing it still needed about 10 minutes of blow drying. (Which, in case you were wondering, is why I don't bother.) He said, "Wow, that's a lot of hair." Yes. Yes, it is.

So, my hair is sitting here in an envelope with a form, waiting for me to take it to the post office tomorrow. In a few weeks' time (I guess-- I don't know how long their turnaround is), a sick kid will have a new wig made of the hair that used to be on my head. Two takeaway thoughts from this: 1) This must be how sheep feel, and 2) If I'm going to donate my hair, I suppose the least I can do is take better care of it while it's still attached to my head.

Anybody else get a haircut this weekend? Have you ever done Locks of Love? Do you think sheep ever wonder where their wool will end up?

It's a Blogversary!!

2011-10-01T10:11:00.000-05:00

After the birthday party I was at
last night, I decided against a
party hat.

Seven years ago today, I did a Google search for "free blog" and this is the result! As is my wont, I re-read my first post a couple of days ago and found out that my life has not gotten any more interesting over the course of the last seven years. Good to know!

So, I'll be having another giveaway for my blogversary. Details coming... soon. As in, as soon as I make them up.

Coincidentally enough, my blogversary is also the first day of NaBloWriMo. Today's prompt is: "Why do you blog?" Seriously, could that have worked out any better?

I'm pretty sure I started blogging because I read someone else's blog and thought, "Hey! I want one!" However, since then my posting and reasoning have evolved, through various hot topics and on-again, off-again streaks, to today's nonsense that I post mostly to empty out my brain and share my colossal goofiness with the world. I'm so glad that nearly 300 people have at least a passing interest in what I have to say. And I find it very cool to see what everyone else has to say, too. The blogging community is très fun.

So, that's about it for my Saturday, except that since October is here, and it's only 31 short days until NaNoWriMo begins, I'm concentrating on getting ahead in my homework. Which (of course!) when translated means, I'll be around to your blog to comment in December.

Do you keep track of your blogversary? (I had to get a gadget in the sidebar to remember when mine was.) Are you doing NaBloWriMo? Would you like to help me with my homework?

Unplug, Part 2

2011-09-30T09:00:00.000-05:00

So, on the heels of last week's post encouraging you to unplug for the sake of your sanity comes this week's reminder that there are a couple of other reasons to unplug, too.

Source.

Reason #1: Your electricity bill. Basically, anything that has a little light on it is drawing electricity when it's plugged in, whether you have it turned on or not. It really is a good idea to unplug computers and other electronics when you are going to bed, or going out for a few hours, or whatever. Of course, if unplugging your (insert device here) means you'd have to completely reprogram it when you plug it back in, don't put yourself through that kind of madness. Lowering your electricity bill won't do you any good if you've lost all your sanity.

Reason #2: The usual energy-saving stuff.

Do you unplug your electronics? Do you have another reason for doing it or not that I missed? How's your sanity?

In the Darkness

2011-09-28T17:10:00.000-05:00

If you come to this blog specifically for my Have Bus, Will Travel posts... I'm very sorry. I'm quite eager to return to the Exploring Austin Almost as Slowly as Possible life, as soon as I get caught up on homework. And once I do, you will all be the first to know. Second. Third. First me, then Chad, then you lot.

Instead, let me tell you a sad tale about my bicycle light. I don't have one anymore. I did have one this morning, and in fact up to about 12:45 this afternoon I had a perfectly functional bike light perched on my handlebars. But as I was locking up the bike before class, I somehow bumped it and knocked it loose. So I picked it up and put it back on its clamp, and went on my merry way.

When I came back out after class, I unlocked the bike and went about half a block before I noticed that my light clamp was empty. So I thought I must have knocked it loose again and decided to look around when I got back (it was a quick errand). I did look around, and walked back and forth between my parking spot and the spot where I noticed the truancy a couple of times, to no avail. I even checked my panniers, all my messenger bag pockets, and my locker. Nope. Not there.

If I had a bike made of light, I
wouldn't need one on my handlebars.

(I got a locker! It is so exciting! There are only about 100 available, so I applied without much hope, but it must have been my lucky day. Whoever thought that college students don't need lockers is cuckoo!)

So here's my problem: It's illegal to ride a bike after dark in Texas with no light. Not to mention that it would be a bloody stupid thing to do. And I don't get off work until 7. So, I have three hours to decide what to do, but I have a sneaky suspicion I'll be taking the bus home today.

What's something important that you've lost lately? Does it make you feel like you might be going prematurely senile? Who else feels neglected in the locker department?

A Place to Forget

2011-09-26T12:00:00.000-05:00

In my Fiction Writing class, we usually have 20ish minutes for in-class writing. Here's one I wrote last week, touched up a bit for your reading pleasure. The prompt was, "Describe your least favourite childhood place." (This is my first attempt-- ever-- at writing in the second person.)

This building still depresses you. It depressed you for years without you even knowing it, and now it looms over your consciousness like a dead redwood that should have been cut down long ago.
It's the smell that bothers you. The janitors have a different cleaner for every room, and they all clamor together in a cacophony of antiseptic that clings to your clothes long after you leave. You can taste the smell, even now, just thinking about it.
Or is it the light that you hate so much? The building is unevenly lit: too much florescent glare in one room, not enough in another. It gives you a headache. And the windows don't help. Even during the only three months of the year when the sun bothers to shine on Iowa, any light that might creep into this building is discouraged, turned away by the hideous blue stained-glass windows. You hate those windows, especially the ones with the unrepaired bullet holes that the wind whistles through in the winter. They keep the light out but let the cold in.
Then there are those ugly accordion doors that divide one big room into three small ones. The doors that were installed back when your mother was too young to drive. They're made of glorified paper, but for all that they are still heavy and bulky and they clack when anyone touches them. You wanted them taken down for your wedding, but it was universally announced to be 'too much trouble'. If you ever decide to burn this building down and be done with it, you're starting with those doors.
The attic makes your list of hate, too, with its lack of heat or air conditioning. Up there you trip over junky old speakers that are laying around because no one volunteered to haul them off to the dump. The squeaky cabinets hold the same scissors and crayons and jars of paste that you used when you were a kid here. Reams of musty paper, printed with Sunday School lessons older than you, are stacked on the shelves, still waiting for the children that never materialized to learn them.
But it's none of these that you truly hate, is it? It's the room that you despise. The Sanctuary. Except that you would never call it that, in your plain Protestant way-- 'sanctuary' is too holy a word for a mere man-made room in a man-made building. But the adults you knew treated it as holy, all the same. You and your friends played hide-and-seek here after church, and later used the old ladies' cushions as frisbees, until you got caught. You remember the puke-green carpet with matching curtains that used to be in here, until it was replaced 30 years ago with the depressed red that remains to this day. The hymnals you remember are long gone, now replaced with a version that was last popular when you were a teenager; every other church in town has gone to Powerpoint for their hymns, but in this building a hymnal was good enough for your grandfather and one day will be good enough for your grandchildren and by God, it's good enough for you, too.
When you're in this room can still hear the echo of every off-key note sung in here, bouncing around the rafters looking for some glass to shatter. You remember every heated argument, and every difference of opinion that led to someone leaving in a huff. You remember the friends you never saw again after their parents fell out with your parents.
In this room you were married. In this room you said good-bye to your grandfather and you're back to witness the same ceremony for your grandmother. Any happiness you may have had in this building was long ago washed away, baptized in a flood of tears.

Unplug

2011-09-23T20:08:00.000-05:00

This seemed like a reasonably non-stressful
picture.

Happy first day of (insert appropriate season for your hemisphere here)!

At this blogging rate, my 1000th post may well end up being on my 7th blogversary. Sheesh! I have a plan to get all caught up on homework this weekend (seriously, how do I get so behind only a few weeks into every semester?), and then give my poor neglected blog some attention. And possibly apply to grad school. That's kind of important.

So, today's green living tip is probably better for you personally than the impact it will have on the planet, but those are the best kind, yes? It is: Unplug. Turn off your computer, turn off the TV, turn off the lights. Have a little period of peace in your house where nothing distracts you from taking some deep breaths. Even better: grab this time to go out for a walk. It doesn't have to be long-- just a few minutes' break to de-stress and relax is a long way better than continuing to be stressed!

The impact of using less electricity for a few minutes will probably be minuscule for both the planet and your electricity bill, but if you are less stressed, then your interactions with others will likely be more pleasant, and your little corner of the planet may be a happier place as a result.

Do you have a "turn it off" time? What do you do? Or do you have other de-stress ideas?

A Blogversary Giveaway!

2011-09-19T09:00:00.000-05:00

No, no, not my blogversary. That is still a couple of weeks away.

I'm playing a happy tune to help
celebrate. And I can't tell you the
source of this pic, because I found
it on the internets many moons ago.

No, it's the amazing blogger JE Fritz who is celebrating her first blogversary, with a giveaway of some great books or a gift card! Yay! All you have to do is run on over and join in the fun.

And you should run on over there anyway, because her blog is très fun. (Yep, now that I'm taking French I totally reserve the right to use French words from time to time.) Especially for word lovers.

What are you waiting for? Go! Enter! And see how fab her blog really is.

Have Some Tea

2011-09-16T09:00:00.000-05:00

There's part of me that thinks you can't go too far wrong with tea or coffee made at home. Presumably, you'll be using a reusable mug instead of a single-use disposable cup, it's much much much cheaper than stopping off at a coffee shop, and all the parts are either wash-and-reuse-able or compostable.

So I haven't tried too hard to green up my tea drinking. And then in comes Groupon with two offers in about two weeks for two different loose-leaf tea places: One of them local (Tea Embassy) and the other online (Tea District). So, I armed myself with a tea infuser and got out the cute little teaspoon that the Penciler of Songs gave me a couple of years ago, and made my first foray into loose-leaf-ness. When I ordered a sampler pack from Tea District, they even sent me some reusable cloth bags, useful for brewing tea or for any cooking in my future that requires simmering spices that need to be removed before serving. Result!

My new tea setup: Sampler bags of
yumminess, cloth reusable bag,
teaspoon, stainless steel infuser.
I am ready for all tea-related
emergencies.

As ever, I would encourage going the reusable route whenever possible, so if you're brewing coffee every day, consider a reusable filter instead of paper ones. If you are using the paper ones, go ahead and compost them right along with the grounds. If you have a Keurig or similar fancy contraption, please be sure to recycle the cups (I can't make any recs on reusing them, because I've never tried-- any suggestions?)

If you are a tea drinker like myself but you aren't into the loose-leaf thing, then again I recommend composting the bags. The leaves, whether inside a bag or loose-leaf, are also compostable, or here's a suggestion from Green Is Sexy: Save the tea leaves in a sealed container and rub them on your fingers after you've chopped or otherwise handled something smelly in your kitchen (fish, garlic, onions, etc.). The original post recommends using green tea leaves, but I don't drink green tea, so I've started saving my black tea leaves to see if it works just as well (because I kept forgetting to save the leaves before now). I'll let you know how it turns out.

Now, if you've had a look at that pic above featuring my new set-up, you'll see the snag here: I have nine plastic bags of tea sitting on my counter right now. They are all resealable, so I'm already plotting their reuse capabilities, but in the future I'm definitely going to go for larger packages instead of sampler sizes to avoid such an abundance of packaging. I did ask the guy at the Tea Embassy (the local store) if his bags are recyclable, but he said he didn't think so. I didn't press him at that moment by suggesting that I bring a bag back for refilling, but I will probably email him when my stock of tea gets low to ask if he's cool with refills.

Are you a tea or coffee person? Both? Neither? Do you have a fantastic low-waste suggestion for your beverage of choice?

Teaser Tuesday #16

2011-09-13T20:39:00.002-05:00

Bossypants, Tina Fey

I tie my Sauconys.*

*This is a paid endorsement from the Saucony Corporation.

(I totally flipped to my random page and then got engrossed in reading. The great thing about memoirs is that you can do that and not ruin the story. And as a runner, this was the line for me.)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Live Better

2011-09-11T09:11:00.000-05:00

I'm fairly certain that every blogger in America is contractually obligated to write about The Anniversary today. So I shall content myself with saying:

Source.

What unites us is stronger than what divides us.
The things we have in common are greater than the differences.
One word of kindness is better than 1000 words of complaint.

Remember, at home and at work, in our streets and in our schools, at the office, at the game, or at the restaurant: We are better together.

(And if you came here looking for a blog post that will both make you cry and give you hope, I suggest you try this one instead. It's brilliant.)

Sharing Good Ideas

2011-09-09T09:00:00.000-05:00

I love reading environmental stuff (mostly-- some of it is kind of depressing), especially the memoir-ish, "here's-how-I-do-it-if-you-want-to-try" type. That's more or less what I'm trying to do with my Green Living posts on Fridays, although I realise that sometimes it's more miss than hit.

So this week I'm reading Happy-Go-Local, by Linsly Donnelly. I wish I could remember who recommended it to me, so I could tell you, but my memory is indeed slippy. Anyway, Ms. Donnelly is a mum who decided to go environmental for the sake of passing on a clean Earth to her children (one of the best reasons for going green, IMO), and then wrote a book about it to help other mums navigate the murky waters of local, organic, and other scary enviro-crazy words. What's also great about this book is the progression from easy to hard in her suggestions and ideas. I'm not done with it yet, so I can't give it a wholehearted recommendation, but so far, so good.

But, I want to share a suggestion from early in the book. I've pointed to Earth 911 before as a good source to find recycling centres near you, especially for hard-to-recycle things like batteries. Plus, it's just one of my favourite websites. Ms. Donnelly takes it one step further, recognising that busy parents (or anyone else) don't want to run to the hazardous waste site every time a light bulb burns out. She recommends putting a bin on each floor of the house-- in a closet, bathroom, or wherever-- for those small items like batteries that shouldn't go into the regular trash but also aren't worth a trip across town in and of themselves. I would just add CFLs should be wrapped carefully or kept in a smaller box inside the bin so there isn't a mercury-containing mess when your six-year-old slam-dunks a battery on top of last week's burned-out bulb. Then, once there is a full bin of small items (or you have a larger item that justifies a trip), there is only one journey to be made to the hazardous waste site. Brilliant.

Do you recycle batteries and other difficult-to-recycle items? Do you have a system that works for you?

I'm Getting Smarter (Theoretically)

2011-09-07T09:00:00.000-05:00

No Have Bus, Will Travel post this week or next week (unless I have a few minutes to go take pics along our "home" route), because I'm taking the GRE next Wednesday and I'm doing my best to devote every spare moment to prep. (I've no idea if the GRE is used outside North America, so if you're confused: It stands for Graduate Record Exam, and it's the baseline exam for getting into graduate school. I kinda want a good score.) So this post, as well as every other one over the next week, is scheduled ahead of time.

So, I'm going to take a moment to do some blog housekeeping. First of all, WELCOME to all new followers! I think most of you are from the Writer's Campaign, and I'm delighted to meet you. If you're in Adult Fiction #3 or Chick Lit #1, I should have come round to visit and follow you already, and you are safely tucked into my blogroll labeled "Write Campaigners" in the sidebar. If you're missing, or you don't recall seeing me at your blog, please do let me know so I can rectify this mistake! Also, if you have a WordPress blog, WordPress hates me. I'm may be in your spam folder-- a few visitors have already told me they found me there and have set my comments free. I don't know what it is about me that upsets WP so much, but I tried everything I could think of-- making my name longer, leaving off my blog address, signing in with Twitter or Facebook-- and I still couldn't get WP to believe that I was legit. Sigh...

Also, I'm closing in on 300 followers, 1000 posts, and my seventh blogversary. (Yes, you'd think I could manage more than 1000 posts in seven years. Well, I took a year off.) So, I'm planning some sort of bash. I don't know what yet, but we'll get there in the end. So, look for that coming up around the end of September!

So, how about you? Anything interesting going on?

Teaser Tuesday #15

2011-09-06T09:00:00.000-05:00

Here's another thought to further yesterday's discussion: It's hard to "open to a random page" in an e-reader. I chose a random location on my Kindle for PC instead.

Source.

The Pickwick Papers, Charles Dickens

'You may try, and try, and try again, Messrs. Dodson and Fogg,' said Mr. Pickwick vehemently, 'but not one farthing of costs or damages do you ever get from me, if I spend the rest of my existence in a debtor's prison.'

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

They're Freaking Me Out

2011-09-05T07:00:00.000-05:00

So we've had an interesting series of conversations in my Technologies of the Book class, about the nature of technology, what is meant by "the book", where technology and the book will go next, etc. As you might expect in a room full of kids who have grown up with computers and iPods, there are some in the room who are all for digital formats and eliminating the printed book, if not altogether, then at least from general use. Others are purists who insist that an e-reader, no matter how good, will never replace a physical book.

I really would love to have a room
like this in my house. Source.

In this as in so many other things, I'm on the fence, with a stack of books at one hand and an e-reader in the other. I own somewhere around 400 books (probably closer to 500 or 600 if you count all the books that I've never retrieved from my parents' house), and nothing makes me happier than sitting down with one. I love the smell and texture of books. I like how it feels in my hands. I enjoy putting a literal bookmark at my literal page in a literal book. My friend Brandon likens them to trophies-- once read, a book sits on the shelf to proclaim its read-ness to all. That's a fair way of looking at it, but considering that I re-read my books until they are in pieces, I can't say that I treat them like trophies. (And further considering that I get many books from the library, most of the ones I've read are in someone else's trophy case.)

On the other hand, my 600 books could all fit onto an e-reader with room to spare for expansion, and the reader itself doesn't take up the amount of shelf space of a single one of my literal books. And quite frankly, it's the words themselves that I'm after, not the texture or smell. So I'm almost to the point of saying about the kind of book the same thing that I say about tortilla chips-- I don't care what kind of chip it is, as long as it delivers the salsa to my mouth.

Anyway, on to the freaked-out part. One of the young men of the "we don't need paper" persuasion (who I've nicknamed Walking Argument) was talking about the future of interface-- we'll all have chips implanted, and can access books or the internet or whatever with a literal blink of the eyes, so that the image is projected across the visual field. (I leaned to the girl next to me and said, "I hope we stop using cars before that happens." I mean, really-- we think texting and driving is bad! Imagine playing Mario Kart while driving!) The general consensus of the room was that none of us were going to volunteer for chipping, so Walking Argument said, "No one is going to volunteer. That's why we should just experiment on prisoners."

Ew. Ew ew ew ick ick ick. I get that to him this seems like a reasonable idea, but to me it's abhorrent. First of all, we don't incarcerate people because we need test subjects. That's a lot too much like a dystopia novel to me. And even more to the point, I seem to remember my high school history teacher telling us that the Nazis did a great deal of medical experimentation in the concentration camps. I do not, under any circumstances, want to start down a road that the Nazis thought was a good idea. No, no, no. So while having a computer in my brain may be the future, the future will have to wait until willing test subjects come forward. In the meantime, we have computers and e-readers and phones and actual books that are working just fine, thank you.

What kind of reader are you? Real book? E-book? Either one? Or are you in the "computer in the brain" camp?

So Dry

2011-09-02T17:00:00.000-05:00

I've started this post about four times now, and I keep getting distracted. Oops! So you haven't had a green living post for three weeks because I have poor time management skills. Nice.

Anyway! In case you haven't heard, this part of the country is in a bit of a heat wave. So much of a heat wave that despite our A/C never going lower than 80 degrees, we've still had the highest electricity bills that we've ever seen the past couple of months. So, I'm fighting back.

Our apartment complex (I hope the manager isn't reading this) bans drying laundry outdoors. This isn't unheard-of or even that strange, of course; plenty of apartment complexes, homeowners associations, and the like have similar bans on putting one's undies out for everyone to see. It even made an episode of The Colbert Report:

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

Even though I dutifully signed the lease that included the ban when I moved in, I've been sneaking our clothes outside onto a corner of our patio that isn't visible from anywhere else. Why? Because I refuse, when I'm already having to battle 100+ temps from getting indoors, to introduce more hot air to my apartment. That's just dumb. Plus, I grew up with line-dried clothes and prefer the smell of the outdoors to the smell of a dryer sheet.

I wish there were a way to get a happy medium between "No, you can't hang out your laundry" and the eyesore that can result from towels hanging off of every balcony. I am not without a sense of the aesthetic, after all, so I am aware that it's not the prettiest sight when there is drying laundry all over the place. Perhaps a policy allowing drying racks, but not clotheslines? But of course, it's much easier to enforce a complete ban than a do-this-not-that policy. Still, I think it might be worth a try. And I'm debating in myself whether or not to start petitioning our apartments to allow outdoor drying, in case they decide to come investigate to see if I'm already ignoring the policy. (And I am. So I hesitate to annoy them too much.)

Do you line-dry your clothes? Or do you live in a place with a ban? Do you live in a place with a ban and line- (or rack-) dry anyway?

In a Hurry? There's a Bus for That.

2011-08-31T17:30:00.000-05:00

In our continued mission to use Capital Metro to see all the wonders of Austin, Chad and I had a go at a couple of express buses: The 982 and the 983.

This is the Lakeline P&R,
which is also a train station.
Enlarge the pick to see the
"Kiss and Ride" sign in the
background, designating
the drop-off zone.

First of all, the express buses are nice. Cushioned seats that recline, reading lights, free wifi, very quiet inside-- I can see why people prefer these buses over the regular ones. All we were missing was the in-flight movie. The point of the express buses is to get people from downtown to the outskirts of town in a reasonable amount of time, so they have fewer stops and take the freeways. So, we didn't get off and on like we would normally do, but instead rode each route from one end to another.

Both routes stop mainly at park and rides. So, I totally see the wisdom in this; you drive to a (free!) park and ride, take the bus into town, and then back again, saving the hassle of dealing with traffic and having to find parking. And all of the P&R stations that we stopped at had plenty of cars in them, so people have caught on that this is a good idea.

A couple of things in particular that I noticed: 1. The freight rail track runs down the middle of the freeway. I've seen this before, but it bears repeating, I think, just because it's such a good idea. Way to use space wisely! As to which was first, the freeway or the tracks, I don't know, but putting them together just makes so much sense. 2. The P&R stations, while being very nice in themselves, are some distance away from shops and even (in a couple of cases) residential areas. My transit-oriented self would like to see a transit station more as a part of the neighbourhood than stuck off to one side so that no one has to see it.

We actually rode all three
of these buses, but you'll
have to wait for the 383
report.

So, here's our picture of one of us with the route sign, as usual. If you enlarge the pic, you might be able to read the larger sign, but I'll just tell you what it says:
Park-N-Ride Parking Rules
No Soliciting
No Littering
No Loitering
No Peddling
No Advertising
No Loud Music
No Skateboarding
No Overnight Parking
No Alcoholic Beverage Consumption or Open Containers
So now I'm wondering... how long do I have to wait for a bus before I go from "waiting" to "loitering"?

Conclusion? Well, the express buses aren't much use to me, since none of them come to my neighbourhood. But I think it's a brilliant idea. And the P&R concept is so well done, apart from my aforementioned qualm. Definitely something I'd use if I were in a position to do so!

Have you ever used a Park and Ride or similar scheme?

Let's Go Hunting...

2011-08-30T09:00:00.022-05:00

... book hunting, that is.

So, devoted readers, I am now back in the land of academia, where mountains are made of molehills, minutia is debated, French words are mangled by students who have no experience in such an area (that would be me), etc., etc. In the midst of dodging the debates and trying not to sound like a complete idiot in French class (which ship has already sailed, btw), I'm also taking my first honours class: Technologies of the Book.

Isn't the name of this textbook
magnificent? It's a reader. I'm
feeling so very Laura Ingalls
right now. Pretty cover, too!

I know fellow readers and writers are filled with as much delight and glee as I am at the thought of such a class even being offered, never mind one's being allowed to take it! But taking it I am. I read the introductory chapter of our textbook as assigned, and throughout I had this overwhelming urge to get up, dash outside... and head for the nearest used bookstore.

What can I say, bookstores call me. Used bookstores, even more so. I love the smell of old books, I love seeing notes in the margin to show that this book was used and loved before. I don't even mind the occasional coffee stain, as long as it doesn't obscure the words; that tells me that a kindred spirit once sat with this book and read with coffee in hand, much as I do with my delicious cups of tea. Unfortunately, one of the curators of the university book collection spoiled that for me a bit by telling us that the smell of old books was merely the old chemicals off-gassing. Dang-- I'll never smell a library in the same way again.

So, who's with me? Let's go hunting! Grab your tote, head out, and see what treasures await you in the used bookstores of your vicinity. And don't come back until you find some good ones!

Third Time's a Charm

2011-08-25T20:51:00.000-05:00

This, my friends, is why I should never bother saying "I'm not gonna." It never ends the way I thought it would.

Rachel Harrie is running her platform-building campaign (previously called a crusade) for the third time. I was going to sit this one out, what with uni and me probably not having time to write much in between all the other stuff I managed to cram into my schedule this semester.

Over the summer I was on a wait list for a Fiction Writing class, and since on Tuesday night (the eve of the new semester) I still hadn't gotten in, I gave up on it and prepared myself to enjoy my alternative class. You all see where this is going... Before I left for class on Wednesday, I checked my schedule for the final time only to discover that some crazy person had dropped the class overnight, leaving room for me. Ta-daa! So glad I checked before heading to campus! So, it turns out I'll be writing this semester after all. And so, I'm throwing in my hat for the campaign.

Here goes! Let's all have fun together, shall we?

Are you a campaigner? If not, head over to Rach's blog and see what all the fuss is about!

I'll Meet You at the Station

2011-08-24T09:00:00.006-05:00

I bet you all thought I forgot about my bus adventure, didn't you? Well, I'm here to tell you that I haven't forgotten, but for some reason our schedules got more tight, not less, once my internship finished, so we've had fewer trips than anticipated. Weird.

The train after we got off it.

Anyway! We've managed to get a few train rides in, one of which I live-tweeted the other day (I bet that was *lots* of fun for my followers). A bit of backstory: An urban rail line in Austin was approved by bond election quite some time ago, and was followed by delays, more expense than anticipated, and the sort of thing that makes taxpayers really frustrated. By the time we moved here last summer, it was up and running, but really empty most of the time. Now that it's been going about 18 months, ridership is up and the people who ride it regularly are agitating for service on weekends; meanwhile, people who don't live near enough to a station to get any benefit out of it are still complaining bitterly. Not without some justification, I suppose.

I missed all the controversy, though, being a recent arrival. So let me just skip straight to the fun bits. The downtown portion of the Red Line runs right next to the local bikeway, so I love it when I'm riding through just as the train is coming or going; the signal gates stop the traffic, but I get to keep going. Fantastic. There's a cool drawing on Wikipedia of Austin in 1873, and you can see the rail line on the east side of town. There is still a lot of old railing around over there, mostly paved over, but you can still see it. Kinda cool really. I often wonder, when riding along, if that's the sort of thing that I notice because I'm on my bike that I might miss if I were in a car. That was a bit of an aside, but the point is that the railway downtown still runs in more or less the same place as did in the illustration.

Waiting for the train.

The best thing about riding on the train is the little slices of life that you see in a hurry as they go by. There's a park that the train passes through that I want to go to, only because I've seen it so many times. (It's on two different bus routes, so it's a planned stop for the future.) There's a house right on the rail line that has a sign that reads "I ♥ Local", except it's a tomato instead of a heart. I love it. The bit where the train passes under the freeway feels like a tunnel but isn't. Dozens of backyards stand open to the train tracks (no privacy fence, or the fence is too short for the tall train), revealing their drying laundry, their toys, or just people enjoying the sunshine. We see them all for a couple of seconds and then move on. It's strange and totally normal at the same time.

Another funny thing about being on the train instead of watching it from atop my bicycle: the intersections click by so quickly. Really. We zoom through them, leaving them behind in one quick swoosh, so fast that it hardly feels like we've been there at all. But for the drivers who are waiting, it isn't quick. The signal jangles, the gates come down, and traffic waits. And waits. And waits. It has to be especially irritating at intersections near stations, because the train triggers the signal before it stops at the platform. So, anyone waiting at the intersection has to wait for people to load and unload before the train will finally pass and the traffic be free to flow again. I was on a bus a few months ago and saw a firetruck and ambulance get stuck that way, and of course the train driver doesn't know who is waiting and can't do much about it even if he or she did know. The operators don't control the signals. Some days I wonder: Do the same drivers get stuck at the train every day? It seems that they would, since people leave for work at about the same time every day, and the train runs on a fixed schedule.

When I'm on the train, I feel like there is so much to share about the experience. But really, it's transport. Point A to Point I, stopping at points B through H in between. A fun experience, but hard to describe.

Does your town have a train? Do you ever ride it? Do you ever get stuck at train signals?

In My Mailbox

2011-08-23T09:00:00.040-05:00

I thought about a Teaser Tuesday today, but I've been through so many books lately it seemed like a pity not to share them all. SO, here are all the books I currently have out from the library (except for a really boring GRE revision guide; who wants to read about that?):

Save This Shirt, Hannah Rogge
Picked this one up on a whim at the library, because it looked like it had some fun ideas for re-purposing old t-shirts. I'm not quite convinced enough to buy it, but there's at least one design that I want to try.

Dorm Decor, Theresa Gonzales and Nicole Smith
Another "I'll-just-flip-through-this-and-see-what-it-says" pickup. More fun designs.

Your Green Abode, Tara Rae Miner
There's nothing groundbreaking in here if you have been following environmental news/suggestions for more than ten seconds. A nice refresher and some good ideas for renters, though.

20 Things You Didn't Know About Everything, Discover Magazine
Sorry about the cruddy picture quality; I had no luck photographing this one! This is a DNF; it was interesting, but not attention-grabbing enough to keep me reading when I have so many other books to get through.

Muzzled: The Assault on Honest Debate, Juan Williams
I requested this one from the library after I saw Mr. Williams on The Daily Show. Definitely worth the read if you are at all interested in (or tired of) American politics. Pretty fair to both sides, I think. I thought it was fabulous, and will probably write more about it later on.

Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
Another cruddy photo. :( I'm currently reading this one and liking it so far.

Here, There Be Dragons
The Search for the Red Dragon
The Indigo King
The Shadow Dragons
The Dragon's Apprentice
James A. Owen
I finished the first one and am just starting on the second. I wasn't sure if I would make it all the way through book #1, actually; it was pretty slow going at first. But it got better, and the ending made it totally worth it. I do admit that it was fairly predictable. However, I enjoyed it enough to start the second one; we'll see after that.

What are you reading this week?

One-Person Chocolaty Snack

2011-08-22T09:00:00.049-05:00

The land of learning is upon us once more! All my FB friends from across the country (and Britain, too) have been talking First Day of School for about three weeks; Texas students return today; I'll be back on Wednesday. The lucky ones who still have a week or two to go are also staring down the start line. All that to say, back to some collegiate blogging and other fun stuff.

I make my cake in this mug.

This recipe I'm about to share with you comes from the University of Texas student paper, The Daily Texan. Now, I make fun of this paper from time to time, because some of the content makes me wonder what the writers were smoking, but then I wonder that about pretty much every newspaper, so that's nothing new. Case in point: The same issue of the paper that had this and other dorm-friendly (but mostly unhealthy) recipes also had tips on beating the Freshman 15. To be fair, though, while it sounds like a student paper, it can also be seen that these young journalists are learning their craft. Some articles are downright outstanding.

Diversion over! So, if you're a chocoholic like me and are likely to eat a whole cake in one go, this is a great recipe to use instead. If your kids can be trusted to stir, this might be a good weekend or rainy day project (or science project, if you homeschool). If you just don't want to share your cake with others, it's also a good one.

Microwave Molten Lava Cake

In a mug that will hold more than 1 1/2 cups, mix together:

3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa
3 Tbsp sugar (or Splenda, or whatever floats your boat)
1 Tbsp flour

Make a well in the middle, and add:

3 Tbsp milk
3 Tbsp vegetable oil (I use unsweetened applesauce)
3 Tbsp egg whites or 1 large separated egg (I use the whole egg and cut back on the applesauce)
1/4 tsp vanilla

Stir for two minutes. Sprinkle chopped chocolate bar bits and/or chocolate chips on top of the batter, concentrated in the center. Microwave for two and a half minutes; the batter should solidify a bit and pull away from the sides of the mug. If not, put it back in for 10-second intervals until it's done. Allow to cool and enjoy!

What other desserts could be improved by making them single-serving size in a mug?