25 posts tagged “qotd”
Did you order Girl Scout cookies this year? What kind?
Samoas, samoas, samoas! They're the best sort.
Incidentally, Girl Scout cookies were what broke my dollar-a-day resolve. Or rather:
1. When I was eating a dollar a day very strictly, I got almost no sugar whatsoever except whatever I could find on the scrounge.
2. My roommates bought a lot of Girl Scout cookies. I needed those things like I have never needed anything before. Now I know what a REAL sugar craving feels like.
3. It occurred to me that, if I make a $100 donation to the Village Enterprise Fund (which is where I decided my $$ would go) then I could feel morally okay -- if a little defeated -- about not being hardcore about a dollar a day. I would rather spend what little money is left in my bank account on, you know, fruits and veggies and Girl Scout cookies.
So that's what I did, and I think I might start tithing some of my income each month to VEF. My roommate's father is in charge of it, so I know enough about their operation that I feel really good about giving them money. I won't be able to afford $100 every month, but $20 is do-able, and it really did feel awesome to be able to cut that check. I hope that I can sit down with Tim's dad sometime and talk about what they're doing there, get a real first-hand impression.
I'm still not sure what I think of the racial and socioeconomic implications of charity to Africa, but I do know that it's a definite moral BAD to ignore the situation there, so I'm going to stick with that assessment and worry about the rest later.
What's your musical horoscope? (Put your player on shuffle and write down the first 10 songs that come up.)
Inspired by Stephanie.
Intro (Lauryn Hill, from "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill")
Moto Perpetuo, No. 2 - Bluegrass Version (Béla Fleck)
What A Little Moonlight Can Do (Karrin Allyson)
Jesus Walks (Kanye West)
Punky Reggae Party (Bob Marley)
Blue Sky (The Allman Brothers)
Poor Butterfly (Isobel Campbell)
Selingelethu Sonke (Ladysmith Black Mambazo)
Jack Straw (Grateful Dead)
Gin and Juice (Snoop Dogg & Dr. Dre)
A curious mix. Until "Gin and Juice," it almost hangs together!
In which fictional world/universe/land/city would you most like to live?
Submitted by glenn is the new chuck.
Time City, from A Tale of Time City by Diana Wynne Jones. One of the best things ever would be to be able to drop in to many, many times, from a city that takes the best parts of all of them.
And that's all, I'm too gross for more -- but I had to answer this question!
What books did you love as a child?
Submitted by hearts.
This book still stands out to me today because of the sheer quality of the writing, the timeless illustrations (done by the author herself), and the simplicity and beauty of the story. Certainly there are jokes that only adults will get (for instance, the names of all the kingdoms are hilarious) but they don't break the spell of the book for children. Without reading the copyright date, I couldn't ever have told you when it was written -- in 1905 or in 2005. It seems like all the childrens books written lately are about as well-written as your average piece of ad copy, which is terrible. (A few other books that I believe are well-written, despite being written for children in the latter half of the 20th century: The Lives of Christopher Chant, by Diana Wynne Jones; Dealing With Dragons, by Patricia C. Wrede; The Ancient One, by T.A. Barron.)
Furthermore, the introduction to this book was the first thing that ever seriously got me thinking about becoming a writer. It's written in such a way that young readers will be able to understand the author's thoughts, not just adults -- and that made me feel so grown up, like I was reading the preface of one of the big books my father was always buried in. And the message of the book, I think, is pretty healthy and empowering, in a world where little girls are told they have to be the smartest, the thinnest, the prettiest to be worth anything.
Anyway, even if you're not a kid, I recommend this book to anyone. I know that it's a book I'll be passing on to my children and my friends' children, when that time comes.
If you came with a warning label, what would it say?
Submitted by chris.
"WARNING: Despite confident and bubbly exterior, this Madeline may unexpectedly erupt in emotional outbursts. DO NOT REMOVE THIS LABEL."
Ellen once told me that the first time I cried in her office, she was astounded - astonished - shocked. Now, she understands me better. But the point is, I cover up negative emotion really well and most people are taken completely aback the first time I open up in front of them. I guess I seem pretty open, normally, and I am. I'm just not open about everything.
Anyhow, on another note (and following my decision to blog every day), I've been reading the first Harry Potter fanfic that's grabbed me in a while. It's an alternate universe, but what I really like about it is that it neatly sidesteps J.K. Rowling's simplistic view of morality by changing the series form the boot-up. In execution, it's rather like what my friends and I tried to do with Alternity, though it's different in premise. Anyhow, the story is seven novels, The Sacrifices Arc. Very much worth a read, although you should avoid it if you think Dumbledore is a neato-keen guy, or if you don't like lots of moral shades of gray & watching characters deal with that reality.
I can't wait for this semester to be over, though I really have very little to do between now and then -- just papers. I'm okay with papers. I wish I could just not go to class for the last three weeks and write my dang papers, but of course that's impossible. I think mostly I just feel frustrated at the workload I took on this semester and at having to drop Greek. C'est la vie, I guess.
Do you keep a journal or diary? How often do you write in it?
Submitted by Kim.
This is a pretty appropriate question, since I was just thinking about my journaling habits of late. They've been spotty. This isn't like me; normally, I keep both my blog and a journal and write in both nearly every day. Somehow, over the past few months, my journaling has tapered off. Maybe it's because my life is mostly focused around things that don't involve inter-personal interaction. Maybe it's because I just don't have anything to say. I don't know, but it makes me a little uncomfortable.
So here goes: I'm going to do NaBloPoMo, except starting -- well -- from now to forever, I guess. Blogging is easier than journaling, anyway.
Yesterday, I ended up wandering around Hawthorne instead of doing my qual. It's going to be okay; I mean, I didn't need to do it that desperately anyway. Instead, I went over to the Chance of Rain café and wrote Christmas cards. I wish I lived in the area; it seems like it would be a great neighborhood coffee house with a little younger and more hipster clientele, but as it is, I feel like an outsider there. I really like the Funky Door, anyway. Oh well; maybe someday I'll move closer to Hawthorne.
Eventually Matthew called, and I went over to his & Jesse's place to play Risk. The game petered out (I came in second, though I ended up surrendering; I could have kept fighting it out, but I had lost interest) and Jesse & I rented "Trapped in the Closet," I.E. the first and greatest hip-hopera of all time! Any movie which features a midget stripper who hides from a policeman under a sink has to be, well, amazing. And it was: so very unintentionally hilarious! I kind of want to make this a Thanksgiving tradition now. You know, some people watch "It's a Wonderful Life," some people watch "Trapped in the Closet"...
Anyhow, it was a good day, and I did get some important things done. Most importantly, I got out of the house. Since I've been trying to save money and pay off my computer, I hadn't done so much as go out to coffee in a really long time. It was a good thing for me to get out of the bubble a little bit.
In other news, I am an enormous geek who cried at the last episode of "Buffy The Vampire Slayer," which I saw for the first time this weekend. Please mock me, because I might start taking myself seriously sometime and then where would we be?
What is your stupid human trick?
Submitted by Scarlett.
I can wiggle my ears without moving any part of my body other than my ears.
For a long time I thought this was genetic, but turns out it isn't. Interesting.
Anyway, I don't know anyone else who can do this, except my grandfather.
(Thanksgiving was nice, but I haven't been in a blogging mood. Oh well.)
What's the most drastic change you've ever made to your appearance?
Submitted by Laurie
"Before" is on the left, "after" is on the right.
This is actually pretty topical, because today I got an email from someone I didn't know, someone who had just broken up with her long-term boyfriend. She said that she had heard about my breakup with John through the grapevine, that she really needed an ear and some advice.
I tried to give her some, mostly just "you will someday get through this." Which is true. I told her that I still have bad days (true) where I think, I really believe, that I will never love anyone else. But they don't hurt me like they used to. I feel like I've re-channeled some of the energy that was going into that relationship into other parts of my life: writing, exercise, school. I don't know whether that's a better or more productive use of that energy, but at least it's going somewhere that isn't grief.
When I broke up with John, I knew it was time to do what I'd always said I would someday, and get a buzz cut. I waited awhile because I didn't want to be on display, as the crazy person in very visible mourning. But that was really what my haircut was about: a purification of sorts. The "nigredo" stage of my re-vivification, where everything is removed and beaten out and left empty. It feels good to have moved on from that stage, now, with my hair slowly growing out into a pixie cut (and from there it will keep growing: I want to have the waist-length hair I once did). It feels like spring, funnily enough, in fall, no matter how irritable I've been over deciding to drop Greek.
In many ways, I'm still more guarded than I used to be. I've not been willing to give myself over freely to any relationship; I've not been willing to take that chance. I'm trusting in my parents and Tim and Allie and Randall to stick around, but pretty much not anyone else. But at the same time I feel like I'm coming back full circle to my roots. Once, when I was in high school, Moe told me that I was the only person he knew who could genuinely be happy as a crazy cat lady. He meant that I didn't need anyone, that I could be whole and complete in myself without friends or family, that I could delve into my writing and be free from outside concerns.
Moe was wrong in some ways. No one is an island. But in other ways he was right. Then, I didn't need to be validated by anyone else's love. I needed one or two people unconditionally to support me, but beyond that, I was free. And I want to be there again. That was a good place. I'm getting there.
What's your sign? What do you think of astrology and horoscopes?
I'm a Capricorn, and I'm not sure what I think about it. In many ways, I fit my sign to a tee. I'm pretty much motivated by a desire for security and respect, and while I'm not conservative in the political sense, I can certainly clean up and behave like I'm not a snot-nosed kid or slob college student. And, like they say about Capricorns, I often appear more stable than I really am. Then again, I'm not nearly as temperate as people say Capricorns should be.
Nevertheless, people who know me well can usually pin me as a Capricorn.
I think that horoscopes are mostly bunk, but I enjoy the idea that they might mean something.
What are your plans for the weekend?
this evening i went out to the delta, which is a southern place bigger on mood than it is on food. but it is pretty tasty, if you're in the mood for grease. the highlight was the company, though: a former professor of mine and one of the smartest people i know. among other things, welsh and basque were spoken. i was pretty amused and pretty amazed. there was also an exciting discussion of mormonism. sam thinks that the l.a. temple is more important than the salt lake city battle. we are duelling now.
tomorrow, i'm watching the lion, the witch and the wardrobe with oh for christ's sake, then hopefully indulging in a little dark angel/roman holiday goodness (bad t.v. and excellent movies: the best way to end a break). i ought to do some more homework, and i will, but i've done plenty. in the morning... well, i ought to do some; but instead i suspect i'll find myself working on the novel. which is, at least, productive.
