Sadness

Remember this post? Well, that dear cat is dead. For real. No ifs, ands, buts, or regrets. I'm glad I had such a cat, and do not expect to have another like Fluffy any time soon. Poor girl.

My Professor Might Hate Me

Well, actually, the TA might. She's gonna be the one reading this ridiculous essay I have to hand in at 9 AM on Sunday. What kind of weird time is that? Even if it is a digital paper!

And I can't get the silly thing written. It's supposed to be relatively easy, but the topic is just too interesting and I keep obsessing over little things.

Wikipedia
Oh how you enable me
I used to love you
But now I hate you
Sorry
Please forgive my
linguisti-geek-y-ness

~by Yours Truly

BUT, I've gotta finish it before 7. 'Cos I gotta get ready for church and be there by 7:30 ( ? Yeah, right. You Calvettis are probably laughing at that).

I don't think I'm going to sleep this weekend. Downer. I wonder what in the world I'm wearing to church tomorrow--er, today, rather.

Just in case you're wondering, I'm writing about essays concerning bilingualism and bilingual education. Black Vernacular English (Or African American Language, or Ebonics, or...pick your acronym) in particular, though I've also delved into Spanish, Gaelic, Welsh, and basically any indigenous language on the African continent. Quite fun, really...until you put a deadline on it.

What Does A "Lost Generation" Look Like?

I know I have Jason's blog link on my sidebar, but I was particularly affected by this post. It has a rather unusual writing style for him, but he picked a great writing method to communicate his story.

Originally uploaded by -gadgetgirl-.

Not Dead Yet

I've had the same stereo for about 10 years. I love it. I paid $70 for it all that time ago, and it's served me incredibly well. It's balanced very well and has a good range. It may be small enough for me to pick up, but the bass can shake the floor. But the tweeters are quality too...and it puts out good mids. It's got a somewhat weak 3-band EQ, but hey--it's an EQ. The only thing I don't like about it is that it lacks an auxiliary input.

During the Christmas season, when I was making peppermint fudge like it would solve the problem of world hunger, this stereo resided in the kitchen to assist in the fudging process. When I moved it back into my room, it didn't work. Weird. I switched out the power cord to see if that would help. It didn't. I tried a third power cord. No go. So today when I cleaned my room, I put it outside my door to trash it. I was sad--this thing had been the instrument on which so much good music had become auditory. Its bass had bothered my parents to no end (sorry, Mom) and caused me much rejoicing. Ah, well. Maybe, in a few months, I'd be able to afford another (used, of course) stereo. Until then, I'd assault my ear drums with headphones. *sigh*

On my way through the house looking for a cord to connect my camera to the computer, I found yet a fourth power cord that could work for my stereo. Hmm..why not? I tried it. IT WORKS!

It's stuff like this that makes me sure that God is very present and cares deeply about me. You probably are confused and amused that I'm so excited to have my stereo back, but God seems to understand the significance :-P I can't wait to blast Mae's Everglow album on that thing :-D But for now I gotta get out of my PJs and fence...

New Music

I had no clue that not buying music this year would be so hard. I also had no clue that my favorite beatboxer/flautist was recording a CD with his band, PROJECT. They're pretty sweet! I'm definitely going to be looking out for this album in 2009...and hey, maybe they'll come visit my city! (Not my father's cave-city in Mirkwood, silly! Although I'm sure they'd be welcome there, if they could find the place.)

Can Anything Be Truly Random?

Certain readers of my blog would find it interesting to know that I found my iPod this morning. It was in my backpack...which I had vigorously searched on several occasions. It fell out when I shook the dust off the backpack. Although, for those interested readers, Mom's iPod is with my sister, and once Mom has it back she plans on using it. Sorry!

Also, I will buy a new racquet today (or tomorrow) for my racquetball class. I took my mom's racquet to class today, but it's about half the size and not bouncy (dense?) compared to "modern" racquets. I'd look in thrift stores for a new one, since it seems like something people would toss out a lot, but I don't have enough time :-(

Tonight I'll be writing two columns for my University's student newspaper as part of the application process to be a columnist. I think it'd be fun to write again...we shall see what they think of my writing!

Mom just told me that the beater arm for her stand mixer is gone. No one knows what happened...but the last time anyone saw it, it was in my mouth. She asked if I'd accidentally tossed it out. I highly doubt it (seriously, who would throw out an enameled metal thing?), but wouldn't that make for a great blonde joke? Hm...kinda...NOT!

NYR Again

Well, that lovely plastic folder thingy that tempted me to break my resolution is getting the axe. It looks great and seems like it would work, but getting a folder outside of the bigger folder which is in my backpack is a hassle. So I'm going back to the old-fashioned binder system (blue binders are M/W/F classes, black are for T/H classes). So, Lane...if you're interested in that folder thingy, give me a call :-) Or you could go to Office Depot...that's what I did...

As for getting new paper: Have you never heard of the 3 R's? (What DO they teach children in schools these days? :-P) Reduce, reuse, recycle. I rarely throw paper away. If I've got a sheet of paper with a mostly-clean side, I reuse it to print stuff like map directions, school assignments, etc. Only when I have to present a paper do I use new stuff. Also, recycling is great, but unfortunately our society (if it cares at all) likes to start with recycling, rather than use it as a last resort. BUT, if you've gotta buy new paper (and who doesn't at some point?), you could try to get recycled stuff. It's not that hard to find any more.

Jon, thanks for commenting. I don't like "cheap" stuff, either. Annie Leonard's statistics do seem unrealistic, and I did wonder if she got tired of speaking in such an emphatic, high tone. Did you listen to the sermon? I'd be interested to get your take on that, too. I do plan on writing about my Year of Used Stuff, because it will hopefully get creative. (If I can't find black dress shoes that are second-hand, could I make them out of duct tape? :-P )

NYR Update

So, I go 8 days without buying anything brand new. That's pitiful. But I don't mind. The New Year's Resolution came with a caveat (which I didn't mention earlier) that guilt must be prevented at all costs--yes, even the cost of destroying the Resolution. So it's still on, I'm just not suffering from guilt :-P

I need some way to organize recently acquired academic materials, and the resources in my basement weren't sufficient. So I got an expandable folder with removable folders in each slot. This way I can fill it with lined paper (that I already have) and can order my notes and class handouts chronologically (which is hard to do with a spiral bound notebook and I never get around to hole-punching handouts for binders). Sweet! But I plan to use it for more than just this semester, 'cos plastic is a terrible thing to throw away.

By the way, the website says it fits about 20 sheets of paper per folder. The folders are small, but I'm going to fit lots more than that in there...trust me ;-)

Irrevocable

So my last two posts have had pretty much no original content. Sorry. But still, I wanted to reference this post about happiness and decision-making. I love that the psychologist proposed to his girfriend after analyzing data.

"...knowing the future is not the same as knowing how much one will like it when one gets there"
~Daniel Gilbert

Comedic

Most of this blog's readers would appreciate this parody (you gotta click on the "Homeschool Family" video near the bottom left). Anyone else (or those who don't get the inside jokes) might enjoy the rest of Tim Hawkin's videos.

New Year's Resolution

I've never made a New Year's Resolution before. That tradition, in my opinion, would create more guilt than good, and so is harmful. But this year, I'm making a lifestyle change. Calling it a New Year's Resolution just happened to be convenient. Also, every time I write "2008," hopefully I'll think about it and keep myself from slipping back into my old ways.

First off, you should go watch this video. It's long, but it's worth it. Then you should go check out this blog post. Then go listen to this sermon.

I listened to the sermon first. It was incredible, and one of the reasons why I went to New Attitude '07. Eric Simmons is a great preacher. A few months later, I can't even remember how, I discovered one of the Compact people, via the blog link above. Just today, I watched the video after finding the link on Josh Harris' blog. Over the past year or so, I've had all these realizations that are, finally, resulting in action.

I solemnly swear to buy nothing new for the next year. This includes a new championship ring (should my team earn another championship), a new computer, a new cell phone, new clothes (with a few logical exceptions), and...music. (That's going to hurt more than most things!) Also, I'm going to recycle more purposefully than in the past. I recycle at school, and my family recycles plastics, but the trash that comes out of my room will be sorted accordingly.

Why? The statistics stated by Annie Leonard and the Compacters may or may not be 100% true, but the concepts they present and the problems they reveal about consumerism make me think. I agree with their solutions, and am following their examples to make the solutions personal. Consumerism is part of my culture. I choose to reject this part of my culture. Some people take offense to aspects of foreign cultures; this part of foreign culture has offended me enough to reject it.

Foreign culture? Yes. Being a Christian, I am in this world, but not of it. God commanded us (me) to subdue the earth. Not destroy it. We've done an incredibly poor job of cultivating God's creation, and instead have plundered and pillaged. I am not turning into a tree hugger or anything quite so extreme, but I'm doing this because God created the world to sustain humanity, and it may be hard to see at first, but there is plenty of physical suffering in the world that is aggravated (if not created) by our lust for affluence. I don't want to cause others to suffer just so I can have a green shirt that matches my striped vest. That's sick.

You may be asking why I singled out music. Music is a good thing! I love it! I got 6 CDs of fresh goodness for Christmas, and hope to enjoy them for a long time. I'm "fasting" from new music for the time being, because music is a "financial distraction" right now. Some day I may have it in my budget...but not now. Besides, free music can be found if one looks for it.

What will I buy, then? Most of my money will be going for my college tuition right now...but I still plan to go to concerts, eat food, and buy college textbooks (though I'll get those used through half.com).

Hopefully I'll blog about this throughout the year, and my first New Year's Resolution will result in positive change.