Here is my thought process at 6:30am the third day in a row of waking up that early:
This isn't worth the money. My body is confused and it's pitch black and I don't know why I willingly chose to do this. Was I insane?!
WAIT. I am never sleeping again.
Actually.
For some illogical reason involving Christmas and Fairleigh's coming to Boston on Monday, I can't sleep in this weekend.
And I am working this break.
And then I will go back to school and start doing work and have customs and I won't sleep.
And that will continue until graduation.
And then I'll become a part of the real world and have a 9-5 job and I'll have to get up this early EVERY DAY UNTIL RETIREMENT AND I WILL NEVER GET SLEEP EVER AGAIN.
And then somewhere between turning off my alarm and brushing my teeth I realized that was completely 100% ridiculous, and also false.
In other news, Hyperbole and a Half completely owns my soul. I dare you to read it without laughing. Seriously. It's amazing.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Also,
I recently came across this website. I think I have an unhealthy obsession with names. Potential names for my own future child/children, yes, but also just names in general. Much procrastination has occurred and will continue to occur, despite my deactivation of facebook until I get my finals done.
(Yes, I do have a "Procrastination" folder in my bookmarks. Between that and StumbleUpon, I don't think deactivating facebook really has all that much of an effect.)
(Yes, I do have a "Procrastination" folder in my bookmarks. Between that and StumbleUpon, I don't think deactivating facebook really has all that much of an effect.)
Ramble on Morality and the Global Economy
In advance, I'm really sorry that this is super not-uplifting. I think it's legit though.
For today's Quaker class, we read this Pendle Hill pamphlet by David Morse called "John Woolman on Today's Global Economy." Basically, John Woolman was this Quaker dude in the 1700s who wasn't a fan of slavery, and he boycotted slave-made products and traveled around telling other people why slavery was bad. That was super radical for his time. In the pamphlet, Morse uses Woolman's life as a point of comparison to today's world and all the injustices that go on - how would Woolman have responded? (WWWD?)
The clothes you're wearing, unless you got them all from American Apparel or another sweat-free source, were probably made by slave labor or children or under other horrible working conditions in some other country. Seriously. Check the tag. Does it say "Made in the USA"? Didn't think so. My sweatshirt says "Made in Lesotho." I've never even heard of Lesotho and I as a consumer am probably exploiting people there. (It's this one, for the record, one of the ones that's landlocked in the middle of South Africa.) My t-shirt was made in Pakistan, my jeans in China, and my leggings in Latvia. Children weave carpets in Nepal who sleep next to their looms, get no education or medical care, don't eat enough, end up with horrible ailments, and will probably be sexually abused in their lifetime. Where do those carpets end up? In the homes of people who live in the wealtheir parts of the world. (For the sake of academic integrity, I tried to paraphrase but really I just plagiarized a lot of that wording. Page 9, if you're wondering.) Oh, and bananas? Banana pickers in Ecuador are exposed to pesticides, and their union leaders are beaten or they "disappear." So what IS safe for the moral consumer to buy?
Well that's the kicker - we're left in the dark. It's nearly impossible for our "actions [to be] consonant with [our] beliefs" (10). Clearly Morse's words describe this way better: "Today we are invited to sit blindfolded within the box, to feel overwhelmed by the complexity of the world, to experience a paradoxical choicelessness before the glut of information and goods that bombards us daily. How can we restore our own field of moral choice" (19) when everyone is out to make a profit rather instead of paying attention to human rights and fair treatment and sustainability and honesty? The media doesn't report on it, the government doesn't regulate it, and the companies don't tell us what really goes on behind it.
So then he goes on about how we often praise the work of John Woolman or Gandhi or MLK, but we view ourselves as insufficient for that "depth of moral conviction" and "content [ourselves] with lesser goals and lesser degrees of passion." Maybe I could be the next Woolman. In fact I could be if I wanted to be. But realistically I probably won't be, since I'm not about to devote my life to attaining that level of goals and passion. I still plan on functioning within the confines of my society, quite frankly, even if it means not reaching my full moral potential. The question is, what CAN I do? What can I do today or tomorrow, small or big? Morse suggests things like working for non-profits and networking and talking to people, and he says something about "finding God in the supermarket," but I don't get that because he had already said we're denied information about the products we buy. Of course, that left me incredibly frustrated, because I got all worked up and then didn't get any real solutions or answers to my questions.
Here's another good one (last one, I swear): "When we are systematically denied a basis for making moral choices, we are forced to make amoral choices; this knowledge of our own complicity in turn reinforces our apathy, and thus we deny ourselves the possibility of a moral choice" (24). I fear that I fall into this category. I'll probably forget about this pamphlet within a month, even though I hope I don't. I'm so overwhelmed by my desire to end sweatshop labor and profit-focused greed and implement organic-ness and sustainability everywhere.
So then, our homework assignment was to come up with and do, in the next 48 hours, something to improve our moral choices. Something small, since we only have 48 hours. No leading a campus-wide fruit boycott or something drastic. So I cleaned out the brita pitcher in which the water has literally been gathering dust in my fridge (it tasted funny so I left it there to rot), so now I can stop gathering plastic water bottles. I also looked up American Apparel and sweatshop-free products on Google. I was surprised by how much is out there, but EVERYTHING IS SO FREAKING EXPENSIVE! Which it would be, since the whole point of exploiting people is to create cheap enough products to compete in the global marketplace. Which leads me to the conclusion that living a moral lifestyle within the context of the global economy is impossible unless you're privileged enough to be able to regularly afford $250 jackets and $40 leggings and $50 t-shirts. Which leaves me even MORE bitter and helpless-feeling. Why is it so hard?!
On a slightly more hopeful note though, John Woolman never saw slavery get abolished. He definitely didn't do all that work for nothing - he just unfortunately never got to see his efforts come to fruition. And for Thursday we have to skim through everything and find our favorite quotes from everything we read in the class, and one of the ones I found from another Pendle Hill pamphlet by Daniel O. Snyder was: "Together we learn to discern the contours of hope, for although we yearn to see and to celebrate the visible results of our work, we dare not anchor hope in the visible results of our work, for we are working toward a future that may be many generation in the making, a future that we may not see in our lifetime, indeed a future that may never exist. We learned that the work itself is our sign of hope ("Quaker Witness as Sacrament" 30). So I guess that's kind of pessimistic and optimistic at the same time - despite the fact that I'm still not entirely sure what I can do, in terms of being overwhelmed by trying to end all evils in the world ASAP, it's just not going to happen in my lifetime and I need to accept that. That doesn't mean I can't or shouldn't work towards improvement so that it might happen in generations to come.
For today's Quaker class, we read this Pendle Hill pamphlet by David Morse called "John Woolman on Today's Global Economy." Basically, John Woolman was this Quaker dude in the 1700s who wasn't a fan of slavery, and he boycotted slave-made products and traveled around telling other people why slavery was bad. That was super radical for his time. In the pamphlet, Morse uses Woolman's life as a point of comparison to today's world and all the injustices that go on - how would Woolman have responded? (WWWD?)
The clothes you're wearing, unless you got them all from American Apparel or another sweat-free source, were probably made by slave labor or children or under other horrible working conditions in some other country. Seriously. Check the tag. Does it say "Made in the USA"? Didn't think so. My sweatshirt says "Made in Lesotho." I've never even heard of Lesotho and I as a consumer am probably exploiting people there. (It's this one, for the record, one of the ones that's landlocked in the middle of South Africa.) My t-shirt was made in Pakistan, my jeans in China, and my leggings in Latvia. Children weave carpets in Nepal who sleep next to their looms, get no education or medical care, don't eat enough, end up with horrible ailments, and will probably be sexually abused in their lifetime. Where do those carpets end up? In the homes of people who live in the wealtheir parts of the world. (For the sake of academic integrity, I tried to paraphrase but really I just plagiarized a lot of that wording. Page 9, if you're wondering.) Oh, and bananas? Banana pickers in Ecuador are exposed to pesticides, and their union leaders are beaten or they "disappear." So what IS safe for the moral consumer to buy?
Well that's the kicker - we're left in the dark. It's nearly impossible for our "actions [to be] consonant with [our] beliefs" (10). Clearly Morse's words describe this way better: "Today we are invited to sit blindfolded within the box, to feel overwhelmed by the complexity of the world, to experience a paradoxical choicelessness before the glut of information and goods that bombards us daily. How can we restore our own field of moral choice" (19) when everyone is out to make a profit rather instead of paying attention to human rights and fair treatment and sustainability and honesty? The media doesn't report on it, the government doesn't regulate it, and the companies don't tell us what really goes on behind it.
So then he goes on about how we often praise the work of John Woolman or Gandhi or MLK, but we view ourselves as insufficient for that "depth of moral conviction" and "content [ourselves] with lesser goals and lesser degrees of passion." Maybe I could be the next Woolman. In fact I could be if I wanted to be. But realistically I probably won't be, since I'm not about to devote my life to attaining that level of goals and passion. I still plan on functioning within the confines of my society, quite frankly, even if it means not reaching my full moral potential. The question is, what CAN I do? What can I do today or tomorrow, small or big? Morse suggests things like working for non-profits and networking and talking to people, and he says something about "finding God in the supermarket," but I don't get that because he had already said we're denied information about the products we buy. Of course, that left me incredibly frustrated, because I got all worked up and then didn't get any real solutions or answers to my questions.
Here's another good one (last one, I swear): "When we are systematically denied a basis for making moral choices, we are forced to make amoral choices; this knowledge of our own complicity in turn reinforces our apathy, and thus we deny ourselves the possibility of a moral choice" (24). I fear that I fall into this category. I'll probably forget about this pamphlet within a month, even though I hope I don't. I'm so overwhelmed by my desire to end sweatshop labor and profit-focused greed and implement organic-ness and sustainability everywhere.
So then, our homework assignment was to come up with and do, in the next 48 hours, something to improve our moral choices. Something small, since we only have 48 hours. No leading a campus-wide fruit boycott or something drastic. So I cleaned out the brita pitcher in which the water has literally been gathering dust in my fridge (it tasted funny so I left it there to rot), so now I can stop gathering plastic water bottles. I also looked up American Apparel and sweatshop-free products on Google. I was surprised by how much is out there, but EVERYTHING IS SO FREAKING EXPENSIVE! Which it would be, since the whole point of exploiting people is to create cheap enough products to compete in the global marketplace. Which leads me to the conclusion that living a moral lifestyle within the context of the global economy is impossible unless you're privileged enough to be able to regularly afford $250 jackets and $40 leggings and $50 t-shirts. Which leaves me even MORE bitter and helpless-feeling. Why is it so hard?!
the margin of page 21
On a slightly more hopeful note though, John Woolman never saw slavery get abolished. He definitely didn't do all that work for nothing - he just unfortunately never got to see his efforts come to fruition. And for Thursday we have to skim through everything and find our favorite quotes from everything we read in the class, and one of the ones I found from another Pendle Hill pamphlet by Daniel O. Snyder was: "Together we learn to discern the contours of hope, for although we yearn to see and to celebrate the visible results of our work, we dare not anchor hope in the visible results of our work, for we are working toward a future that may be many generation in the making, a future that we may not see in our lifetime, indeed a future that may never exist. We learned that the work itself is our sign of hope ("Quaker Witness as Sacrament" 30). So I guess that's kind of pessimistic and optimistic at the same time - despite the fact that I'm still not entirely sure what I can do, in terms of being overwhelmed by trying to end all evils in the world ASAP, it's just not going to happen in my lifetime and I need to accept that. That doesn't mean I can't or shouldn't work towards improvement so that it might happen in generations to come.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Winter Break and Kona Coffee Swirls
Seeing as I am a haver-holic (phrase shamelessly stolen from Sam Shain), leaving here for extended periods of time is always kind of bittersweet for me. I'm change averse, and I miss this place, and my friends, and my routine terribly. Plus since I live here, there are always things at home that I seem to be missing or left here or can't find. However, in the spirit of being positive (and also copying Jessi's facebook note), here is a list of reasons why I'm looking forward to break:
(if you go to Haverford and are reading this come by and get some cause they're delicious!)
- No more work! For a whole month!
- Which means no procrastination, and no feeling guilty for being social because I should be doing something else right now
- Sleeping in my own bed, which is not three feet off the ground
- Showering without shoes on
- Driving around Needham late at night
- Indian food
- Adventures in Boston
- Seeing my wifey, Neelima, and spending all too much time together while she's home
- Same for Charly and Sarah - maybe some pool? movies? food-eating? Friendly's-ing for sure.
- And of course Jessi (speaking of adventures in Boston...also watching movies!)
- And probably Moder and Leah and Peter and Deb and.........
- Work, which leads to paychecks
- Fairleigh is coming to visit!
- And then we are going to Vermont to see Maia for New Years!
- Maybe sleeping in a few times
- Seeing my parents and my puppy (and by "puppy" I mean 12-year-old beardie Delilah who is currently in adorable little diapers)
- Playing in the snow
- Christmas, and hopefully seeing family in CT, which means stories and warmth and a fire and a Christmas tree and delicious beef wellington
- Non-DC food for a whole month
- Not having to remember to water my plant
- Not having to do my own dishes...having a dishwasher at hand is highly underrated
- Boston in winter, in general
- Did I mention paychecks?
- Or seeing friends?!
- Or food??!?!?!
- You get the picture...
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Bad Dreams
What does it mean if I've had dreams two nights in a row that I was almost certainly going to die? Two nights ago it was blood poisoning; last night it was rabies. I think I really need winter break...
^The rabid cat from my dream that was going to bite me and had already bitten a girl who bit her boyfriend who lived on my hall and was at some point sure to bite me, if the cat didn't get to me first (except it had red eyes and was foaming at the mouth and was a lot scarier and was in the hallway outside my bedroom)
Note: when I woke up this morning I immediately realized that there is a rabies vaccine, so even if the rabid cat / hallmate had bitten me, I probably wouldn't have died. Also when I woke up my neck was a little stiff and since I have a cold I was convinced I had meningitis and was going to die...then I watched this funny movie trailer and felt better.
Note: when I woke up this morning I immediately realized that there is a rabies vaccine, so even if the rabid cat / hallmate had bitten me, I probably wouldn't have died. Also when I woke up my neck was a little stiff and since I have a cold I was convinced I had meningitis and was going to die...then I watched this funny movie trailer and felt better.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Things I Am Thankful For This Thanksgiving
Well, there are a lot of things, but here's a brief and incomplete list in the spirit of Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving!
- My friends - and you in particular, dear blog reader!
- Being home for Thanksgiving
- Being here with Josh!
- Getting to see some of my family today
- That my cousins, whom I would normally see today but won't, seem to be having a good time in San Diego
- My health, and the health of everyone close to me
- Being at Haverford! And the community in general...I feel so lucky to be a part of it (awwww)
- That my classes aren't completely killing me, even if I am a little miffed about all the work I have to do this weekend
- My lovely freshmen and my kick-ass customs team!
- Hopefully getting to see a lot of home friends tomorrow morning, and already having seen Sarah and Pargol
- That this year has been pretty incredible so far overall
- That certain people have been there for me when I really needed it
- The support of my friends, in general, and the support of my community
- Everything I'm learning, in classes and in life
- An awesome Customs Committee!
- GSpot's being generally awesome/successful
- The new friends I've made this year, and my old friends too! ♥
- My parents and all their support
- The fact that all of my high school friends have for the most part managed to keep in touch
- The fact that my freshman hall is for the most part still close
- Everything I have, in general
- That I got to see some teachers (and baby Mina!) yesterday at NHS
- That Boston is just as beautiful as ever
- That my bedroom is big enough to harbor an air bed and pretend to be a comfortable double for 4 nights
- And a lot more...
Happy Thanksgiving!
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Parts 7 to 11
Part 07 - Quote one of the nicest messages you have ever recieved on ask/formspring.
"I love you. I think it's rare that people make that declaration without expectation but with sincerity. But look. I just did. <3"
Part 08 - List the people you have slept with by their initials.
No. And those aren't initials.
Part 09 - A song that has lyrics you’d consider getting tattooed.
I don't think there are any. The only words I'd currently consider getting tattooed are "If you're going through hell, keep going." And that's only if I ever have a reason.
Part 10 - A photo from the last social event you went to.
I can't find any pictures of me at any recent social events, actually. I guess no one was taking pictures - I swear I leave my dorm room on occasion. Here's one of me, Emily, and Josh from before Halloween.
Part 11 - What would I find in your bag?
phone, ipod, wallet/onecard holder, chapstick, lip gloss, chamsa charm, worry stone that says "listen to your heart," little mirror, gum/mints, pencil, keys, camera
"I love you. I think it's rare that people make that declaration without expectation but with sincerity. But look. I just did. <3"
Part 08 - List the people you have slept with by their initials.
No. And those aren't initials.
Part 09 - A song that has lyrics you’d consider getting tattooed.
I don't think there are any. The only words I'd currently consider getting tattooed are "If you're going through hell, keep going." And that's only if I ever have a reason.
Part 10 - A photo from the last social event you went to.
I can't find any pictures of me at any recent social events, actually. I guess no one was taking pictures - I swear I leave my dorm room on occasion. Here's one of me, Emily, and Josh from before Halloween.
Part 11 - What would I find in your bag?
phone, ipod, wallet/onecard holder, chapstick, lip gloss, chamsa charm, worry stone that says "listen to your heart," little mirror, gum/mints, pencil, keys, camera
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Parts 2 through 6 (why am I doing this again?)
Part 02 - Write a letter to someone who has hurt you recently.
(wow, way to start this off on a depressing note.)
Dear _____,
What needs to happen for you to realize that the world doesn't revolve around you?
-Liza
Part 03 - A photo of you in a drunken state.
I really don't think one exists, but I'll go through facebook...
Technically this picture was taken post-pregame, so I think it's the best I can do.
(3/3 ♥)
Part 04 - The best concert/gig you have been to.
Well, when I saw Nsync in 4th grade it was the BEST THING EVER. I mean there were lasers and shit, and at one point they launched themselves at this velcro wall and danced on it. But I really loved the Indigo Girls concert I went to summer before senior year, cause we got up close and met them after (see the picture below). I also saw some English teachers from my high school there and it was mad awkward. Also everyone was middle-aged and really gay (except for those high school English teachers, incidentally), so it was kinda weird for us.
Me, Emily, and Eva with Emily (top) and Amy (bottom)
Part 05 - A photo of yourself, not taken by you.
Well neither one of those photos was taken by me, but here's another random one.
What? I said it would be random. This is me in the trunk of a car. We were on the highway on the way to Cape Cod this past summer, but obviously there was a ton of traffic cause it was a Friday afternoon. When this photo was taken we were moving, but very slowly, and I had discovered that climbing into the trunk backwards was possible if I put half the seat down and pulled all the shit out of the trunk (orange shovel?!). I think this photo was taken by Neelima from the passenger seat, and Sarah was driving, cause we were on our way to visit Charly in Wellfleet. Oh yeah, that was the time Charly's family met Jacob Horn on the Cape and then we invited him to s'mores but he had already left! Good times.
Part 06 - What you did today- in detail.
Woo! So I woke up at 11:30, texted Aubree that no I would not be going to brunch at 11:15 but thanks for the text, and showered. Then, I once again found that I had not left myself enough time to eat in my room before the Customs Committee meeting, so I went over to the DC and grabbed coffee and some cereal/milk in a cup, and headed to the DC basement for our meeting. That lasted until 4 (SUCH AN AWESOME GROUP OF PEOPLE!), and I stayed in the Customs room until 5:30 editing my Spanish paper. Then I went up and ate dinner with Fairleigh and Gina, and then I went back down and Aubree and I recorded this thingy for the Listening Project. So basically we talked to each other (but really a tape recorder) for a bit about Haverford. Then I drafted my Quaker interview reflection paper. It still needs a lot of work, but I've actually been productive today. Then I walked back to Gummere, checked Facebook etc., and now I'm updating my blog. What I should be doing is my Spanish reading, but the night is young...
(wow, way to start this off on a depressing note.)
Dear _____,
What needs to happen for you to realize that the world doesn't revolve around you?
-Liza
Part 03 - A photo of you in a drunken state.
I really don't think one exists, but I'll go through facebook...
Technically this picture was taken post-pregame, so I think it's the best I can do.
(3/3 ♥)
Part 04 - The best concert/gig you have been to.
Well, when I saw Nsync in 4th grade it was the BEST THING EVER. I mean there were lasers and shit, and at one point they launched themselves at this velcro wall and danced on it. But I really loved the Indigo Girls concert I went to summer before senior year, cause we got up close and met them after (see the picture below). I also saw some English teachers from my high school there and it was mad awkward. Also everyone was middle-aged and really gay (except for those high school English teachers, incidentally), so it was kinda weird for us.
Part 05 - A photo of yourself, not taken by you.
Well neither one of those photos was taken by me, but here's another random one.
What? I said it would be random. This is me in the trunk of a car. We were on the highway on the way to Cape Cod this past summer, but obviously there was a ton of traffic cause it was a Friday afternoon. When this photo was taken we were moving, but very slowly, and I had discovered that climbing into the trunk backwards was possible if I put half the seat down and pulled all the shit out of the trunk (orange shovel?!). I think this photo was taken by Neelima from the passenger seat, and Sarah was driving, cause we were on our way to visit Charly in Wellfleet. Oh yeah, that was the time Charly's family met Jacob Horn on the Cape and then we invited him to s'mores but he had already left! Good times.
Part 06 - What you did today- in detail.
Woo! So I woke up at 11:30, texted Aubree that no I would not be going to brunch at 11:15 but thanks for the text, and showered. Then, I once again found that I had not left myself enough time to eat in my room before the Customs Committee meeting, so I went over to the DC and grabbed coffee and some cereal/milk in a cup, and headed to the DC basement for our meeting. That lasted until 4 (SUCH AN AWESOME GROUP OF PEOPLE!), and I stayed in the Customs room until 5:30 editing my Spanish paper. Then I went up and ate dinner with Fairleigh and Gina, and then I went back down and Aubree and I recorded this thingy for the Listening Project. So basically we talked to each other (but really a tape recorder) for a bit about Haverford. Then I drafted my Quaker interview reflection paper. It still needs a lot of work, but I've actually been productive today. Then I walked back to Gummere, checked Facebook etc., and now I'm updating my blog. What I should be doing is my Spanish reading, but the night is young...
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Part 1
The celebrity you’d do unthinkable, illegal things to, male and female.
I feel like this is implying sex, but all it sounds like to me is serial killing.
And I'm not the biggest celebrity person anyway, so I'm trying to decide which way I want to go with this...well I'd rather do naughty things with someone than kill them, but these "things" probably wouldn't be unthinkable or illegal.
Can I just take Brangelina out of Mr. and Mrs. Smith? Technically that's characters, not celebs, but I'm okay with that.
I feel like this is implying sex, but all it sounds like to me is serial killing.
And I'm not the biggest celebrity person anyway, so I'm trying to decide which way I want to go with this...well I'd rather do naughty things with someone than kill them, but these "things" probably wouldn't be unthinkable or illegal.
Can I just take Brangelina out of Mr. and Mrs. Smith? Technically that's characters, not celebs, but I'm okay with that.
They just can't wrap their head around all the naughty/illegal/unspeakable things I want to do to them, apparently...
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Ramble on Grammatical Correctness
I realize that by posting this, the world might come to an end, so I apologize in advance if it does.
I just watched this video, and now I'm rethinking my pickiness when it comes to grammatical correctness. Yes, it makes me cringe when people mix up "you're" and "your." I don't see myself losing that anytime soon. But maybe I like grammar so much because I like rules. Grammar organizes the complex, and it creates consistency in language. So does my grammar-stickler-ness just show how I'm an uptight sheep that follows the rules because they tell me to? Maybe. But this guy says that we should take more time to really appreciate the beauty of language, and to stop bitching about apostrophes in the wrong places. Plus, when someone says "your" when they mean "you're," or "whose" for "who's," or even apostraphes for plurals, I know what they mean. I can't pretend I don't. So maybe I don't have a right to be so snobby about my being well-educated and concrete and pretentious and whatever else causes me to bitch about who vs. whom. I'm not advocating for the decline of usage and grammar, probably for the same reasons I'm not an anarchist despite the fact that certain laws suck. And it's also not like I'm going to start deliberately messing up stuff that makes me cringe in my own speaking and writing either. But maybe this guy has a point - maybe it's not worth being so uptight about.
(Note that I just ended that sentence with a preposition.)
I just watched this video, and now I'm rethinking my pickiness when it comes to grammatical correctness. Yes, it makes me cringe when people mix up "you're" and "your." I don't see myself losing that anytime soon. But maybe I like grammar so much because I like rules. Grammar organizes the complex, and it creates consistency in language. So does my grammar-stickler-ness just show how I'm an uptight sheep that follows the rules because they tell me to? Maybe. But this guy says that we should take more time to really appreciate the beauty of language, and to stop bitching about apostrophes in the wrong places. Plus, when someone says "your" when they mean "you're," or "whose" for "who's," or even apostraphes for plurals, I know what they mean. I can't pretend I don't. So maybe I don't have a right to be so snobby about my being well-educated and concrete and pretentious and whatever else causes me to bitch about who vs. whom. I'm not advocating for the decline of usage and grammar, probably for the same reasons I'm not an anarchist despite the fact that certain laws suck. And it's also not like I'm going to start deliberately messing up stuff that makes me cringe in my own speaking and writing either. But maybe this guy has a point - maybe it's not worth being so uptight about.
(Note that I just ended that sentence with a preposition.)
Monday, November 15, 2010
OMG, not another one
oh wait, yes it is:
Part 01- The celebrity you’d do unthinkable, illegal things to, male and female.
Part 02 - Write a letter to someone who has hurt you recently.
Part 03 - A photo of you in a drunken state.
Part 04 - The best concert/gig you have been to.
Part 05 - A photo of yourself, not taken by you.
Part 06 - What you did today- in detail.
Part 07 - Quote one of the nicest messages you have ever recieved on ask/formspring.
Part 08 - List the people you have slept with by their initials.
Part 09 - A song that has lyrics you’d consider getting tattooed.
Part 10 - A photo from the last social event you went to.
Part 11 - What would I find in your bag?
Part 12 - Someone/something you don’t like.
Part 13 - What you want more than anything right now.
Part 14 - A letter to someone. Anyone.
Part 15 - Something you regret.
Part 16 - A list of songs that make you emotional.
Part 17 - A picture of you last year and how you have changed since then.
Part 18 - What you think about your friends.
Part 19 - A picture of you and your family.
Part 20 - A habit you wish you didn’t have.
Part 21 - Another celebrity you’d like in your bed.
Part 22 - Song lyrics you can really relate to at the moment.
Part 23 - The next plan you have coming up that you’re really excited for.
Part 24 - The last photo taken of you and someone else.
Part 25 - A photo of someone you fancy at the moment.
Part 26 - A secret.
Part 27 - A photo of someone who has had a big impact on you.
Part 28 - A photo of anything.
Part 29 - Plans/dreams/goals you have.
Part 30 - What have you learned in the past 30 days
not that i don't like rambling about random stuff that pops into my head, but i feel like this blog can get kind of deep and serious, and sometimes when i'm bored i just want to post random things. so i guess i'll try to go in order, but other than that im not taking this one too seriously. it's just something for inspiration when i'm bored and don't really have anything to ramble about.
Part 01- The celebrity you’d do unthinkable, illegal things to, male and female.
Part 02 - Write a letter to someone who has hurt you recently.
Part 03 - A photo of you in a drunken state.
Part 04 - The best concert/gig you have been to.
Part 05 - A photo of yourself, not taken by you.
Part 06 - What you did today- in detail.
Part 07 - Quote one of the nicest messages you have ever recieved on ask/formspring.
Part 08 - List the people you have slept with by their initials.
Part 09 - A song that has lyrics you’d consider getting tattooed.
Part 10 - A photo from the last social event you went to.
Part 11 - What would I find in your bag?
Part 12 - Someone/something you don’t like.
Part 13 - What you want more than anything right now.
Part 14 - A letter to someone. Anyone.
Part 15 - Something you regret.
Part 16 - A list of songs that make you emotional.
Part 17 - A picture of you last year and how you have changed since then.
Part 18 - What you think about your friends.
Part 19 - A picture of you and your family.
Part 20 - A habit you wish you didn’t have.
Part 21 - Another celebrity you’d like in your bed.
Part 22 - Song lyrics you can really relate to at the moment.
Part 23 - The next plan you have coming up that you’re really excited for.
Part 24 - The last photo taken of you and someone else.
Part 25 - A photo of someone you fancy at the moment.
Part 26 - A secret.
Part 27 - A photo of someone who has had a big impact on you.
Part 28 - A photo of anything.
Part 29 - Plans/dreams/goals you have.
Part 30 - What have you learned in the past 30 days
not that i don't like rambling about random stuff that pops into my head, but i feel like this blog can get kind of deep and serious, and sometimes when i'm bored i just want to post random things. so i guess i'll try to go in order, but other than that im not taking this one too seriously. it's just something for inspiration when i'm bored and don't really have anything to ramble about.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Ramble Inspired by Quaker Meeting
Just a heads up: this one is mostly for me to sort out my thoughts. I just feel like posting it online in case someone else is interested or feels like commenting on anything I'm saying, which is always welcome. It's going to be a long and convoluted ramble about Judaism, Quakerism, and agnosticism, and it's going to be mostly about myself.
So this morning I went to Quaker Meeting with Josh and Olivia. Olivia goes every week, and Josh and I were going because we have an assignment for Quaker Social Witness class to attend a Quaker event and then reflect on it. I really like that class - it's giving me a whole new insight into a really cool religion, and beyond that the set of beliefs and ideals that have led my school to run the way it does.
The thing is, I feel like I'm kind of on this spiritual journey. Gag me, that sounds so cliché. But I feel like a lot of people hit this around college; you've been brought up one way, and all of a sudden the whole world is open to you and you're not sure what you believe in anymore. Not that I've always believed in the Judeo-Christian God, or in Adonai, or whatever you want to call him/her/it. I have a really hard time with the concept of faith in something that you can't prove is there, but something that a book said did thus-and-such thousands of years ago. I'm not okay with ruling out the presence of (a) higher power(s), because hell, life exists and that's crazy. But I don't think that whatever power or powers that exist are within the realm of human understanding. And anthropologically, it makes sense that people create religion for themselves, and Christianity happens to be the one that's dominant in this country, and Judaism happens to be the one I was brought up in, and Quakerism happens to be the one I have started experiencing more of this year.
That said, I do want some sort of spirituality in my life. It doesn't have to be related to God with a capital G, nor does it have to be related to Light or Truth with a capital L and T. I am ridiculously small, and I am part of things greater than myself. And anyway, religion isn't just about God; it's about values and morals and how a person should live his or her life.
So during this class, I've been entertaining the thought of Quakerism in my mind. The main testimonies of Quakerism are the SPICES - Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, and Stewardship. In other words: not living too lavishly, living peacefully and not supporting war/violence/conflict, being honest in words and actions, valuing the communities of which we are apart and collective opinion, understanding that all humans are equal and that there is the Light of God in everyone, and concern for the environment. These are all things that I agree with, and things that I want to work on in my life. Plus, a lot of Quakers have come to Quakerism from other faiths, although most of them are from other divisions of Protestantism. I mean, Quakerism is a sect of Christianity. Quakers are Christian. That's kind of a problem for me I think. And at first I just thought it was about guilt, the amazing Jewish value. But I think it's more than guilt and a sense of obligation. I still want to raise my kids Jewish, and stay a part of the community, because the community is ridiculously important to me and has played a pretty big role in my life. However, there's also this voice in my head saying that sending said kids to a Quaker school would be a really awesome environment for them (hypothetically), and that those are values that I'd want them to be strongly exposed to, and that I like the ideas of silence and an individual relationship with whatever it is you want to believe in.
Also, going to Meeting today made me see a lot of the differences between Quaker worship and Reform Jewish worship. First of all, I really like the silence. I like that everyone can have their own personal relationship with whatever it is they believe in - God, Truth, Light, the Inner Guide, themselves, the community, whathaveyou. Also, I like the idea of being moved by said force(s) to speak out of the silence and share a message with the community. Plus, I like how decisions are made in the Quaker community - consensus, because everyone is equal and every voice counts. But it's missing so much of what I was brought up in. Music, for one. Emotion. The silence is very calming, but the prayers I'm familiar with are joyous, sad, exciting, solemnly reflective. They have a lot in them that one doesn't get from silence, even if I don't find that everything in every Jewish prayers resonates with me. In fact, there is a lot in them that doesn't resonate with me at all, particularly about God, because I don't think that's the God I believe in, so why should I pray like that? But at the same time, I have no real desire to leave Judaism. I'm okay with being connected mostly to the community and the traditions of it. (And hello, the FOOD.)
So I guess that leaves me with answers, but at the same time not really at all. But I shouldn't have answers at this point in my life. I think I want to keep going to Meeting. In the future, like way in the future, I wouldn't mind going to Meeting, but I don't know if I want to be a member (there's a difference between member and attender) because I'm not Christian. And I don't think I want to give up Judaism for Quakerism, or give up Judaism in general. I think that if I'm doing Quakerism, I'm doing both. I don't know if that makes sense or can be done, but when I think about it, it's perfectly okay to like both or to be somewhere in between. And who's to say that I can't send my kids to a Quaker school (if I have that kind of money...) and take them to Meeting but also to Temple too so that they're part of that community? Although I guess that gets kind of confusing after awhile, since what do you do about First Day School vs. Hebrew School? But thinking about this now is honestly kind of silly, and probably unrealistic, since whoever I end up with will obviously weigh in a lot, like 50%. But Meeting got me thinking, and I hadn't really told anyone that all this was on my mind. So here you go: my ramble for today.
So this morning I went to Quaker Meeting with Josh and Olivia. Olivia goes every week, and Josh and I were going because we have an assignment for Quaker Social Witness class to attend a Quaker event and then reflect on it. I really like that class - it's giving me a whole new insight into a really cool religion, and beyond that the set of beliefs and ideals that have led my school to run the way it does.
The thing is, I feel like I'm kind of on this spiritual journey. Gag me, that sounds so cliché. But I feel like a lot of people hit this around college; you've been brought up one way, and all of a sudden the whole world is open to you and you're not sure what you believe in anymore. Not that I've always believed in the Judeo-Christian God, or in Adonai, or whatever you want to call him/her/it. I have a really hard time with the concept of faith in something that you can't prove is there, but something that a book said did thus-and-such thousands of years ago. I'm not okay with ruling out the presence of (a) higher power(s), because hell, life exists and that's crazy. But I don't think that whatever power or powers that exist are within the realm of human understanding. And anthropologically, it makes sense that people create religion for themselves, and Christianity happens to be the one that's dominant in this country, and Judaism happens to be the one I was brought up in, and Quakerism happens to be the one I have started experiencing more of this year.
That said, I do want some sort of spirituality in my life. It doesn't have to be related to God with a capital G, nor does it have to be related to Light or Truth with a capital L and T. I am ridiculously small, and I am part of things greater than myself. And anyway, religion isn't just about God; it's about values and morals and how a person should live his or her life.
So during this class, I've been entertaining the thought of Quakerism in my mind. The main testimonies of Quakerism are the SPICES - Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, and Stewardship. In other words: not living too lavishly, living peacefully and not supporting war/violence/conflict, being honest in words and actions, valuing the communities of which we are apart and collective opinion, understanding that all humans are equal and that there is the Light of God in everyone, and concern for the environment. These are all things that I agree with, and things that I want to work on in my life. Plus, a lot of Quakers have come to Quakerism from other faiths, although most of them are from other divisions of Protestantism. I mean, Quakerism is a sect of Christianity. Quakers are Christian. That's kind of a problem for me I think. And at first I just thought it was about guilt, the amazing Jewish value. But I think it's more than guilt and a sense of obligation. I still want to raise my kids Jewish, and stay a part of the community, because the community is ridiculously important to me and has played a pretty big role in my life. However, there's also this voice in my head saying that sending said kids to a Quaker school would be a really awesome environment for them (hypothetically), and that those are values that I'd want them to be strongly exposed to, and that I like the ideas of silence and an individual relationship with whatever it is you want to believe in.
Also, going to Meeting today made me see a lot of the differences between Quaker worship and Reform Jewish worship. First of all, I really like the silence. I like that everyone can have their own personal relationship with whatever it is they believe in - God, Truth, Light, the Inner Guide, themselves, the community, whathaveyou. Also, I like the idea of being moved by said force(s) to speak out of the silence and share a message with the community. Plus, I like how decisions are made in the Quaker community - consensus, because everyone is equal and every voice counts. But it's missing so much of what I was brought up in. Music, for one. Emotion. The silence is very calming, but the prayers I'm familiar with are joyous, sad, exciting, solemnly reflective. They have a lot in them that one doesn't get from silence, even if I don't find that everything in every Jewish prayers resonates with me. In fact, there is a lot in them that doesn't resonate with me at all, particularly about God, because I don't think that's the God I believe in, so why should I pray like that? But at the same time, I have no real desire to leave Judaism. I'm okay with being connected mostly to the community and the traditions of it. (And hello, the FOOD.)
So I guess that leaves me with answers, but at the same time not really at all. But I shouldn't have answers at this point in my life. I think I want to keep going to Meeting. In the future, like way in the future, I wouldn't mind going to Meeting, but I don't know if I want to be a member (there's a difference between member and attender) because I'm not Christian. And I don't think I want to give up Judaism for Quakerism, or give up Judaism in general. I think that if I'm doing Quakerism, I'm doing both. I don't know if that makes sense or can be done, but when I think about it, it's perfectly okay to like both or to be somewhere in between. And who's to say that I can't send my kids to a Quaker school (if I have that kind of money...) and take them to Meeting but also to Temple too so that they're part of that community? Although I guess that gets kind of confusing after awhile, since what do you do about First Day School vs. Hebrew School? But thinking about this now is honestly kind of silly, and probably unrealistic, since whoever I end up with will obviously weigh in a lot, like 50%. But Meeting got me thinking, and I hadn't really told anyone that all this was on my mind. So here you go: my ramble for today.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Stuck in my head...
On occasion, I get Hebrew prayers stuck in my head for no reason. I guess something about a tune and a string of syllables I know by heart but don't understand is conducive to popping into my head at random times. Anyway, my ramble on prayer is a whole 'nuther issue, but right now I have the Mi Shebeirach stuck in my head (the prayer for healing), specifically the version by Debbie Friedman, which is part in Hebrew and part in English. There are a couple English lines in there that are resonating with me right now:
May the source of strength who blessed the ones before us
Help us find the courage to make our lives a blessing
And let us say, Amen
I feel like it's a lot of what I'm feeling in Quaker Social Witness right now, of not knowing what I believe in (whether this source of strength is a "who" or not, for example), but knowing that I want to make a difference and live a good life. So may whatever has motivated and strengthened all those who came before me, give me the strength and courage to make my life a blessing as well.
May the source of strength who blessed the ones before us
Help us find the courage to make our lives a blessing
And let us say, Amen
I feel like it's a lot of what I'm feeling in Quaker Social Witness right now, of not knowing what I believe in (whether this source of strength is a "who" or not, for example), but knowing that I want to make a difference and live a good life. So may whatever has motivated and strengthened all those who came before me, give me the strength and courage to make my life a blessing as well.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Nocturno Preso
Normally I don't like poetry analysis even in English much less of avant-garde Spanish poetry, but I really like this one we have to read for class, so I'm posting it.
Nocturno Preso
Prisionero de mi frente
el sueño quiere escapar
y fuera de mí probar
a todos que es inocente.
Oigo su voz impaciente,
miro su gesto y su estado
amenazador, airado.
No sabe que soy el sueño
de otro: si fuera su dueño
ya lo habría libertado.
My translation (although the original one rhymes):
Nocturnal Prisoner
Prisoner of my forehead
the dream wants to escape
and outside of me prove
to all that it's innocent.
I hear its impatient voice
I see its gesture and its state:
threatening, angry.
It doesn't know that I'm the dream
of another: if I were its owner
I already would've freed it.
Nocturno Preso
Prisionero de mi frente
el sueño quiere escapar
y fuera de mí probar
a todos que es inocente.
Oigo su voz impaciente,
miro su gesto y su estado
amenazador, airado.
No sabe que soy el sueño
de otro: si fuera su dueño
ya lo habría libertado.
My translation (although the original one rhymes):
Nocturnal Prisoner
Prisoner of my forehead
the dream wants to escape
and outside of me prove
to all that it's innocent.
I hear its impatient voice
I see its gesture and its state:
threatening, angry.
It doesn't know that I'm the dream
of another: if I were its owner
I already would've freed it.
Monday, October 11, 2010
More Pictures
Two new posts? WHAT?!
Basically these pictures make me happy, so I'm posting them. I took them in New Hampshire yesterday and today.
Basically these pictures make me happy, so I'm posting them. I took them in New Hampshire yesterday and today.
