Random bits of my weekend

~Irises are blooming. I love irises, at least in part because they remind me of my much-loved mil...and now of my granddaughter since Iris is her middle name.

~I'm not preaching this week, no meetings on the calendar except for having dinner with the Rite 13 kids tonight, no funerals...so I've had a quiet and relaxing couple of days. Both yesterday and today I met someone from church for breakfast, and today it was definitely work, but it was okay. Getting up and out of the house early reminds me that no matter how good it feels in the moment to stay in my jammies half the day, overall I'm happier when I get up and get out of the house.

~Tomorrow is June, and it's STILL not very warm here...not in the 70s yet. Sigh....this afternoon the sky kept getting darker and darker and I felt sure we were in for a big storm, but it never arrived. It is raining, but it's a gentle rain ansd so far no wind or thunder and lightning.

~I was pretty incensed when I read this article in the NY Times about women being denied health insurance or paying significantly higher rates after c-sections. It's bad enough that women have to deal with doctors who actually think c-sections are preferable and then they get penalized by insurance companies? It's a no win situation.

~I still don't understand the behavior of HRC's supporters in Florida and Michigan, who today were yelling "McCain in 08" after the deal to give their delegates half a vote each. And I hope that Howard Dean is right when he says, “We are strong enough to struggle and disagree and to even be angry and disappointed and still come together at the end of the day and be united.”

~I spent some time taking pictures yesterday afternoon. I've probably taken 800 pix in the last week...the only downside of that is that it takes a long time to go through them and pick out the best ones to process. And I need to find some new places to take pictures, too.

~I saw one oriole flying around this afternoon, but he never came to the feeder. But at least I know there are still some orioles in the area. Meanwhile the grackles are still coming by occasionally to try the feeders, but they don't stay very long and there are fewer of them.

It must be the season...

An apropos Friday 5 since my church had its semi-annual rummage sale last weekend...

1) Are you a garage saler?

No, not at all, and I'm not a rummage saler either. I try to avoid the rummage sale, but it's hard when there is STUFF everywhere for a week. Really, there's an amazing amount of STUFF.

2) If so, are you an immediate buyer or a risk taker who comes back later when prices are lower?

I'm more of a waffler, and generally talk myself out of buying anything...I don't need more STUFF.

3) Seriously, if you're not a garage saler, you are probably not going to want to play this one.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking...

That wasn't really #3

Oooooookay then...

3) This is the real #3: What's the best treasure you've found at a yard or garage sale?

Never have found a treasure...maybe that's one reason I don't like garage/rummage/yard sales.

4) If you've done one yourself, at church or at home, was it worth the effort?

Never had one. When I move and need to get rid of stuff I generally give it to Salvation Army or Goodwill.

But the church ladies make a lot of $$ with the rummage sale which is used for outreach, and they love doing it, so I guess it is worth the effort.

5) Can you bring yourself to haggle?

Not really.

And no, I don't usually do e-bay, either.

Birds on an extinction schedule

~In a comment on a previous post about the grackles, Ianqui mentioned that from a behavioral psychology standpoint it would be interesting to watch the grackles who can no longer get food from the feeders. I don't know if I've talked about it here, but as a matter of fact, I spent some time in a behavioral psych program, and spent my last undergrad year running mice in Skinner boxes. So I know reinforcement schedules and extinction curves and the like. And yes, the grackles have behaved just as Skinner would've predicted. Put on an extinction schedule (no more reinforcement, i.e., food) they try very very hard for a while and then taper off. And then they come back occasionally to try a little and then finally quit responding.

~It's actually pretty funny how much my feeders are like a Skinner box, although I hadn't thought about it until Ianqui mentioned it. For the grackles, landing on the perch is like a bar press in a Skinner box. Before I adjusted the feeders they were on a continuous ratio reinforcement schedule--they always got food. But fixing the feeders meant that landing on the perch produces NO food for them now. So the one grackle who was literally jumping up and down on the perch madly was just like a mouse madly bar pressing trying to get a food pellet in a classic extinction burst. Pretty cool. (And probably more than you ever wanted to know about operant conditioning! But I could so still teach that...)

~But I think I should have fixed the feeders sooner--my other birds really seem to be gone. I've only seen one cardinal in the last few days, and not a single oriole whereas I had 4-5 orioles earlier. I'm afraid that the grackles who are omnivores and not above eating baby birds may have raided some nests and driven the orioles elsewhere. The orioles stuck around all last summer, but the year before that they were only here for a little bit, and I wonder if the same thing happened that year. I will be really sad if they are gone for the summer. I have some finches and chickadees still, but it's awfully quiet out there now, and the feeders are still almost full after a few days which is unusual.

Let it go, let it go...

~...sung to the tune of "Let it Be"

~That's my new mantra (seriously, I sing it to myself and it helps--so call me crazy. Whatever).

~I'm singing it a lot today and it's not noon yet. I'm just saying...

Writing style and other observations about a very busy weekend

~The weekend just past was a very busy one for me. I had three funeral services (one Friday evening, one Saturday morning, and one Sunday afternoon) in addition to the regular Saturday evening/Sunday morning schedule, and the rector was away so I was preaching and in charge of everything else as well. It all went very well, I'm thankful to say. But what I've been reflecting on is my sermon writing process.

~As I've mentioned here before, I write best with a deadline looming--nothing like a little pressure to get the words flowing (although that sounds and sometimes feels a bit risky). Combine that with the fact that I've tried to preserve Friday as a day off and the result is that I write my sermons on Saturday morning. I've been thinking about and processing material all week, but it still takes me a good 3-4 hours on Saturday and then I have to jump in the shower and rush down to work.

~When I have something to do on Saturday I try to get the sermon written on Friday, but it feels harder. This was one of those weeks--I started early Friday evening and sat there until I had 600-700 words (I aim for 1200-1400 total). Then I got up early Saturday morning and finished it off.

~The funeral was at 11:30 and because it was a brief graveside service I was home by 12:15. I did a quick edit on the sermon, but then what to do all afternoon? It felt odd to have free time. So eventually I decided to take some advice garnered from several sources and practice the sermon out loud, from the pulpit. so that's what I did--several times. (I haven't done that since my earliest preaching days in seminary.) And when it was time to preach, it went very well.

~I've ALWAYS done my best writing at the last minute with some pressure on. But maybe, just maybe I need to try harder to write on Friday and practice it on Saturday. We'll see. Preserving time off is still an issue. Mondays are off days, too, but because I have some sort of small group every Tuesday that requires some reading for prep, Mondays aren't totally free either--sort of like being an academic--there's always reading or writing to be done.

~It also struck me this weekend that I actually like having several services to lead. As an introvert I'm pretty wiped out by the time I get home, but I have plenty of energy in the moment. Which is a good thing. But it makes me wonder why my boss thinks that adding an additional service on the weekend would be too hard --he's an extrovert, too, so it ought to be easier for him. Whatever. Maybe I'm just a workaholic.

~And once again I meant to go to bed early tonight, but now I've blown it. Nothing new there.

Birds and other wildlife

~I've had a larger than usual population of grackles this spring. They are nuisance birds in my book because they don't play well with others. When they are at the feeders, very few other birds come around. So I've been trying to outwit them. I have two feeders that have spring-loaded perches--they're made that way to be squirrel proof--enough weight on the perch and the feeding holes close up. The springs are adjustable and so I've been tweaking them a bit every day--I finally have them set so that when a grackle lands, the feeder closes, grackles being bigger and heavier than most of the other birds. I'm a bit worried that the red-bellied woodpecker won't be able to feed, but I haven't seen him/her lately anyway.

~The grackles don't give up easily though. One of them was literally jumping up and down (by fluttering its wings) trying to get the feeder to stay open long enough to get something. The good news is that there were fewer grackles here today but the bad news is that there haven't been many other birds here either--I think they've been throughly scared off. I do think they'll be back if the grackles stay away for a bit.

~Lately I've been seeing a groundhog prowling around. I saw one the first summer I lived here, but not since then. We had a fox that summer, too, but I haven't seen a fox in more than a year.

~Last night I heard something scratching around outside the window. I thought it was a raccoon but when I peered out I saw an opossum instead.

~And this afternoon I saw a bunny hopping across the yard.

What's your Sesame Street persona?

As seen at profgrrrrl's place:

Your Score: Snuffleupagus

You scored 66% Organization, 61% abstract, and 66% extroverted!

This test measured 3 variables.

First, this test measured how organized you are. Some muppets like Cookie Monster make big messes, while others like Bert are quite anal about things being clean.

Second, this test measured if you prefer a concrete or an abstract viewpoint. For the purposes of this test, concrete people are considered to gravitate more to mathematical and logical approaches, whereas abstract people are more the dreamers and artistic type.

Third, this test measured if you are more of an introvert or an extrovert. By definition, an introvert concentrates more on herself and an extrovert focuses more on others. In this test an introvert was somebody that either tends to spend more time alone or thinks more about herself.

You are somewhat organized, both concrete and abstract, and both introverted and extroverted.


I bet you didn't think you were Snuffleupagus. Let's find out why.


You are both somewhat organized. You have a good idea where you put things and you probably keep your place reasonably clean. You aren't totally obsessed with neatness though. Alloyius Snuffleupagus (and all Snuffleupagus') is not sloppy by nature, but he moves so incredibly slowly that it is impossible for him to be totally organized.

You both are about equally concrete and abstract thinkers. You have a good balance in your life. You know when to be logical at times, but you also aren't afraid to explore your dreams and desires... within limits of course. Snuffy generally has very basic interests, but he explores his abstract sensitive side when he plays his snuffleflute.

You both are somewhat introverted. Originally Snuffleupagus was very shy and was only Big Bird's invisible friend. However as he has aged he has started to build new friendships with new characters. Like Snuffy, you probably like to have some time to yourself. However, you do appreciate spending time with your friends, and you aren't scared of social situations.

Link: The Your SESAME STREET Persona Test

Crazy request

~Friday I was reading blogs and clicked through some links in comments and found myself at at a blog I don't usually read. There was a very interesting post about this blogger's reactions to applause in a worship service at the Festival of Homiletics. I left a comment and I wanted to go back and read what other people might have said, but I can't remember what the name of the blog was or how I found it (yeah, it's kind of dumb...) I tried the mostly likely places that I thought could've led me to this blog, but to no avail...

~So if you posted something like that, or if you know who did, let me know in the comments, okay?

Trying to figure it out

~The squirrels are mightily vexed that they can't reach the two feeders mounted on the bay window. But one of them has been trying and finally managed to get up on the outside edge of the window. I don't think it's possible for a squirrel to get to the feeders from there, but I guess we'll see. They are very persistent!

Holiday?

~I totally forgot that this was Memorial Day weekend until the Kid reminded me that he has no school on Monday. In New England, Memorial Day really does usher in the summer season, but it just doesn't feel like summer yet--it's barely warm enough to be spring.

~This time of year I have a small twinge of nostalgia for academia. Even though I taught summer classes every year and worked on other things all summer, there was still something delicious about the prospect of three months with less structure, less routine. I miss that.

~This weekend for me is sermon writing, three funerals, and regular Sunday services. At least the sun is supposed to be out.

More political thoughts

~Listening to the second discussion I've heard today on NPR on how sexism has affected HRC's candidacy. One person went so far as to imply that if Clinton does not get the nomination it's a slap in the face of all women, who should then boycott the general election.

~I hope that there is a woman president in my life time. But I don't think it's smart to vote for a woman JUST BECAUSE she's a woman.

~It all smacks just a teeny bit of sour grapes at this point. I mean, if the table were turned, couldn't the same arguments be made about racism and black voters? Neither racism or sexism is okay. But you know, ONE of them has to lose. And then it's time to think about how to beat McCain. I'm just saying...

Another quiz: Politics this time

You are a Social Liberal (63% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (10% permissive) You are best described as a: Socialist Link: The Politics Test

Random bits of my week so far

~Is this the week for brain tumors or what? I don't mean that to be as flip as it might sound, but I was shocked to hear that Ted Kennedy has a malignant brain tumor. I grew up in the era when the name Kennedy was magic, and I have to admit that voting for Kennedy for my senator last year was a bit of a thrill.

~And I don't know how my sister is doing or what kind of tumor she had. I did talk to my mother who had no more information than I did at the time.

~I'm still processing all the crap that blew up last week, and still feeling a bit tender. Add to that the things that are going on at work, and I've had better weeks. But my new mantra is "Let it go, let it go, let it go" about things I can't control and I'm working on it.

~Note that letting it go is not the same as denial.

~It is raining and cold here AGAIN. Hello, it's the end of May? I am so ready for warm weather.

~The Kid downloaded some music for me to use as ring tones on the crackberry--very cool!

~Lilacs seem to be in bloom all over the place, but that is one thing I don' t have in my yard or in the church garden. I miss them. I had some outside my office when I was teaching and I used to (surreptitiously) pick some for my desk from time to time. I love lilacs.

I took it twice to be sure...

and I got the same thing both times. (as seen at Dani's place)

The Neurotic Test

Your Score: Well-Adjusted

You scored 42 anxiety, 39 awkwardness, and 34 neuroticism!

You scored low in all categories--so there's no need to worry! Not that you were worrying, anyway. You are so Well-Adjusted that I almost feel the need to worry for you.

Your low anxiety score implies that you are able to relax, can enjoy the here and now, and have a healthy amount of self-confidence.

Your low awkwardness score implies that you are socially capable, are personable and charming, and probably go to parties and have fun.

Your low neuroticism score implies that you don't exhibit subtle neurotic behaviors--your nails are probably an acceptable length, your pencils aren't covered with bite marks, and your bookcase isn't arranged alphabetically by genre. Congrats!
__


Try it yourself:

The Neurotic Test written by littlelostsnail

Oriole

Meme of fives

As seen at Crunchy Granola's place...

What were you doing five years ago?
Finishing my first year of seminary and getting ready to begin CPE (clinical pastoral education).

What are five things on your to-do list for today (not in any particular order)?
The only thing on my to-do list for today is to get to bed earlier than I usually do. For tomorrow and Monday, though, I need to:

1. Buy a new chair for the computer desk.
2. Buy a light bulb for the fluorescent light fixture over the sink (a task that has been surprisingly difficult).
3. Do reading for the Tuesday bible study group
4. Take pictures, which I've sadly neglected doing for the last few days.
5. Go for a walk

What are five snacks you enjoy?

1. Peanut butter crackers with iced tea or diet coke
2. Popcorn
3. Ice cream
4. A nice cup of tea or latte with a biscotti
5. A bit of chocolate

What five things would you do if you were a billionaire?

1. Give a bundle of money to my seminary.
2. Pay off all my student loans and all my kids' student loans
3. Buy an apartment in New York and a house in Vermont
4. Set up a foundation to support causes near and dear to my heart
5. Travel

What are five of your bad habits?

1. Staying up too late for no good reason.
2. Procrastination
3. Taking showers that are way too long
4. Being too sedentary
5. Not taking good advantage of my days off

What are five places where you have lived?

1. North Carolina
2. West Virginia
3. Iceland
4. Maryland
5. Florida

and five more

1. Virginia
2. South Carolina
3. Vermont
4. New York
5. Illinois

What are five jobs you've had?

1. Waitress at a diner
2. Child care worker
3. Library assistant
4. Retail clerk
5. Preschool teacher

Tag: Anyone who wants to

What it's all about

~My sister had surgery yesterday for a brain tumor. That's not my fault.

~Every single time something happens in my family the fact that we are largely estranged and don't communicate well becomes an issue; that, it seems, is my fault.

~If you've read here long, you may recall that my relationship with my mother and my sister is, well, difficult. There is plenty of fault to be had on all sides. I'll take my share. I have chosen in recent years not to be very involved with them. But it goes both (all) ways. And it's not helpful to have it thrown up at me how awful I am. Just. Doesn't. Help.

~To make it all more complicated, it was Elder Son who was taking me to task about it this time. I've never posted much about Elder Son--for different reasons, we have a complicated relationship, too, and he has a different relationship with my mother and siblings than I do. But him going off on me at 11 pm after a long and hard week--um....not helpful either.

~The good news is that my sister came through the surgery fine. I don't know what the prognosis is, nor what kind of tumor it was--still waiting to hear that.

~I'm really tired of being the Evil Awful Person in the family. It's not a role I sought, nor one I enjoy. And I'm not sure that it's one I can get rid of easily--especially when everyone else just thinks that it is all.my.fault.

~Cosmic sigh.

It's all my fault

~Once again there is angst in my extended family, and once again I'm getting bitched out because I am the evil awful person and it's all my fault.

~I'm tired of it.

~That's all.

Race, gender, class--and other naive political musin

~Listening to the commentary about this week's primary in WV--low income people with no college degree are more like to vote for HRC. Hmm...can we keep this straight? Young? Obama. Old? Clinton. Black? Obama. White? Clinton. Female? Clinton? College degree? Obama. Not? Clinton. Blue collar? Clinton. White collar? Obama. If it were really that simple....what happens when you are, for example, an older (Clinton), black (Obama), female (Clinton), professional (Obama)? Which category most influences one's vote? Is gender more salient that race? Does either trump class?

~I just don't follow the thinking of the Clinton supporters who claim that, if Obama gets the nomination , they'll switch their votes to McCain. Huh? I've heard Obama supporters say that they just won't vote at all rather than vote for Clinton, a position that I don't especially agree with but at least (sort of) understand. But to switch your vote to someone who is diametrically opposed to what your original candidate stood for? That just makes no sense to me.

~Meanwhile this article from the NYTimes magazine looks at McCain's views on the war in Iraq in light of his experiences in Vietnam. One friend of McCain's came to the conclusion that I was coming to in reading this piece--McCain is to some extent refighting the Vietnam war--like GWB finishing his daddy's war? Scary.

Yummy dinner for a change

~Once upon a time I was a good cook. When the kids were little I was the master of 101-ways-to-use-ground-beef-and-chicken-breasts. And we had lots of salad and veggies, too. But over the years as the number of people at home dwindled, so did my desire to cook. After NSLS went off to college and it was just the Kid and me, it really went downhill, and at seminary because we could eat at the refectory during the week, and eat (relatively) cheaply out on the weekends, I rarely cooked.

~Here we sorely lack the diversity of eating places we had in the city. But I have no real desire to cook. I hate planning meals. I'm uninspired. I don't feel like spending a lot of time in the kitchen after work. So we eat a lot of salads. Frozen pizza (and I've found some really good frozen pizza actually). Pasta. A big pot of soup from time to time. And out--though it's not nearly as much fun.

~I hate shopping as much (or more than) I do cooking. So I put it off as long as possible. But this afternoon, I had to shop. I was picking out a chunk of Parmesan when I saw the container of fresh mozzarella in olive oil with artichokes and sundried tomatoes--yum! So I circled around and picked up some fresh basil and some of the tomatoes that come on the vine, and some crusty bread--still warm. And I brought it all home and we had panninis for dinner. And they were sooooo good.

Bambi

~Seen briefly in my yard this afternoon.

Crackberry

~My mother's day present to myself, I guess.

~I've been considering one of these for while, but was thinking about the Pearl instead of the Curve--but the fully qwerty keyboard is great, and so is the bigger screen.

~Nothing like something else to feed my internet addiction!

Sticker shock

~Gas is up to $3.81 /gallon here now. It's gone up .20/gallon in the last three days. I am very grateful I drive a small car and I don't have to drive much.

When one's identity is a "disorder"...

~I have NPR on my car radio all the time, but I have to confess that I am half listening most of the time. But Wednesday afternoon as I was coming back from a service at a retirement home, thinking about all sorts of things, something about the story being broadcast caught my attention--a mom, talking about her son's fascination with all things girly, and his desire to have a dress. When she finally took him to Tarjay to pick out a dress, she says, she had never seen him so happy.

~The story shifted then to talk about another family with a son who also was fascinated with girl things. This family, however, on the advice of their therapist, no longer allowed their son any contact with "girl things"--no Barbies, no little ponies, no stuffed animals, nothing pink, not even drawing pictures of girls. He was adjusting, his mother said, but he was quieter, more subdued than before.

~You can read or listen to this piece on gender identity here. And the second installment is here. It was both fascinating and troubling. I've never liked the label "gender identity disorder" with its implications that preferring something outside the norm (a boy wanting to play with Barbies for example) is something that needs to be labeled, something pathological even. Of course the children featured in this piece wanted more than to play with "girl toys"--they wanted to dress like girls and play with girls, to BE girls.

~The therapists featured had wildly divergent opinions about these children and others like then. One therapist refuses to use the term "gender identity disorder" and believes that children should be supported in their efforts to determine their own identity. The other believes that children should be trained to accept who they REALLY are (i.e., the biological gender they were born with--penis=male and no questions allowed). This therapist advocates what feels to me like fairly punitive therapy--strict restrictions on who and what the child can play with, teaching boys to be more "manly"and so forth. What made me really sad was the way the child undergoing this therapy was portrayed--he's adjusting, he draws boys now and says to his mom that he has to stay away from pink--but at what cost? Even his mother who believes she is doing the right thing sees her child as subdued and conflicted. Does being "well adjusted" mean denying some part of yourself to fit into other people's norms? I don't think I've ever come across a case study that raise this issue more poignantly for me.

~Of course there are all sorts of physical issues to address if one accepts the notion that a child can consider him or herself transgendered, and the second installment of this piece addresses this (including a pretty controversial therapy that delays puberty). But beyond those concerns and beyond all the issues this pieces raises about our conceptions of "normal" (which other people have written about far better than I can elsewhere in the blogosphere) are the underlying assumptions being made about gender--the very notions that only one gender is "allowed" to like certain categories of things, that little boys (toddlers even) need to be "manly." I'm old enough to have grown up when these ideas were mainstream, but naively perhaps I'd thought that we'd moved on a bit.

~Really, what does it mean to be born male or female? When I was teaching I emphasized how much gender was a social construct, and talked about the many ways parents "gender" their children even before they are born. The children in this piece had very strong notions at a very young age (1-2 years) that the gender labels placed on them didn't fit. If our gender categories were more fluid would these children have felt more comfortable in their bodies? More importantly perhaps would their parents have felt more comfortable with their children's choices?

Tomorrow is another day...

~to quote Scarlett O'Hara, and today was a better day, in part at least because I just didn't think or worry about those things that were wearing me down yesterday. And I came home early and read a novel and watched the birds.

~My backyard was just FULL of birds this afternoon--grackles and cardinals and redwing blackbirds and chickadees and goldfinches and woodpeckers and ORIOLES. It didn't take them long to find the oranges and grape jelly.



~The orioles are a little skittish about the window feeder when I am sitting at the table. If I move (like to pick up my camera) they take off. But I'm hoping they will get used to it. And I did manage to get a couple of pictures.




~And I have to say, I think spring is FINALLY here. It's been warmer, things are green, lots of stuff blooming.

Can I whine for a minute...please?

~I feel completely worn down by my job today.

~I just wrote a long post describing why, and then deleted it. Sigh. I'll simply say it's not the work, per se.

~Tomorrow will be better, won't it?

Uninspired

~You may have noticed that I've been attempting a post every day. I didn't sign on for NaBloPoYear or whatever; I just decided that it was a good discipline to write something every day--anything. But I'm finding it harder and harder to have something to say. Hence the string of memes below. But I'm even struggling to find a good meme these days. And I don't have any cute little kids or dogs to write about.

~It's not entirely true that I have nothing to say. There are a few things I've been thinking about lately, but they are mostly unbloggable. And possibly unspeakable for that matter. Most of them have to do with work. But not all of them.

~I thought I might say something about today's primaries, but really, what's to say? She won one, he won one. The beat goes on...I really want to believe that Obama will win the White House, but I'm worried. And I just can't imagine four (or 8!) years of McCain. Did I really hear him say on NPR this morning that Alito was his idea of a great justice? Or was that a nightmare?

Ready for the orioles

~May 1 is the earliest date orioles are expected to be back in this area. But because it's been so cold and rainy I decided not to put the oriole feeder out -- until this afternoon when the sun finally came out. I went out to the garage and rummaged around to find the feeder, but when I did it looked just awful--the wood has turned all black; I'm not sure if it's mildewed or rotten or what. And it may not matter to the birds, but it looks awful.

~And the squirrels have become quite proficient at scaling the new (since last summer) feeder pole, and the oriole feeder is no way squirrel proof. So it's time to find a new one.


~Meanwhile, I put some orange slices in the suet feeder and hung a jelly cup on the window. I have no idea if the orioles will eat that close to the window or not, but I'll be waiting, camera at the ready if they do!



~view from inside

One word meme

Answer in one word only:

Where is your mobile phone?
~pocket

Your hair:
~silver

Your mother:
~old

Your father:
~RIP

What is your favourite gadget?
~camera

What did you dream last night?
~forgotten

What do you prefer to drink?
~tea

Dream car?
~52MG

What room are you currently in?
~kitchen

Your ex?
~jerk

Your biggest fear?
~flying

What do you want to be in 10 years?
~healthy

Who did you spend last night with?
~self

What are you not?
~athletic

The last thing you did?
~read

What are you wearing?
~jammies

Favorite book?
~many

The last thing you ate?
~grits

Your life?
~good

Your mood?
~eh

Your best friends?
~faraway

What are you thinking about right now?
~sleep

Your car?
~cute

What are you doing right now?
~blogging

Marital status?
~not

What is on your TV right now?
~nothing

When did you last laugh?
~afternoon

When did you last cry?
~yesterday

School?
~done

Meme of the mundane

This is an old meme, but I never was a trend setter :)

Favorite laundry detergent:

~I've been using Seventh Generation for a few years now, and like it as well as any--plus it's eco-friendly.

Favorite item used for an unintended purpose:

~I love this question, but I can't think of a single thing ...

Favorite way to buy music:

~I guess I am out of sync with the rest of the blogosphere...I don't buy much music. Occasionally I will get the impulse to buy a CD, but I guess now that I have an iPod, I should just use iTunes.

How clean is your car?

~Eh, not very clean at all. The inside is worse than the outside--it collects junk no matter how I try not to let it happen.

How clean is your apartment/house/room?

~Really, it's pretty clean. That's because a) I have a cleaning fairygodmother who comes every two weeks (the best present I ever gave myself) and b) in preparation for last night's gathering I stashed what little clutter there was out of site. So it looks really nice....well, I wouldn't go up and look in the Kid's room, but the rest of it does.

How clean is your office?

~Well, it's better than it was a few weeks ago. You can see the top of the desk in spots and the books are all reshelved. But it's not immaculate. And probably never will be.

Favorite weekly free time:

~Mondays. MOST of the time I can avoid any work related activities on Mondays, and it feels like a real day off.

Is there a word, phrase, or gesture that is identifiably yours?

~Wicked, y'all
~A true testament to my southern roots and New England allegiance

Most effective medicine for one (or more) of your ailments:

~I don't take much medicine but this winter I have become a true believer in AirBorne--I don't care what the clinical trials say, this stuff works or else it has a great placebo effect.

A favorite thing you try to sell/push/encourage your friends to try:

~I am reluctant to do this, for a variety of reasons. My mother used to get really pissed at me when I tried to share my enthusiasm about something with her--I have one really bad memory about this. Most of the time I tend to try not to push things.

Favorite new (or new-to-you) thing:

~My newest thing is my 50mm/f1.4 lens and I've been having lots of fun experimenting with it.

Tag! You're it.

The party's over...

~and actually it went quite well. We had a "newcomers' reception at my house tonight and about 20 people came-only about a quarter of them actually new, but that's okay. Because I live in the rectory, people are often curious about my house, and it is a kind of interesting house--not nearly as old as many houses around here, but with its own quirks. So people mingled, drank wine, ate veggies and dip and admired the house.

~I love people but the thought of inviting twenty or so people to my house was intimidating--it's the flaming introvert in me I guess. But someone else did all the organizing, and all I had to do was make sure the house was clean and make some spinach dip and veggies.

~I keep my house much cleaner and less cluttered than I ever have before in my life, but piles of papers--bills, receipts and the like--manage to pile up, along with all those random bits of stuff you don't want to throw away but don't know what to do with either. I wanted to get those thigng out of sight so I didn't something I've trying to avoid doing the whole time I've lived here--stuffed them all into an empty drawer and cupboard. If I don't make myself get it all back out and go through it soon, I know I will regret it when it's time to move and I find all sorts of junk to deal with. Eh.

~My only complaint is that my back is wicked stiff....it hasn't' been this way for a long while, and it seems like just all of a sudden it stiffened up. No fun.

~And now I'm going to watch last night's Grey's Anatomy on-line, and then go to bed, because I have an 8:00 am meeting tomorrow-why does anyone think 8:00 am on Saturday is a good time for a meeting??

Age and generalizations

~I heard a statistic on NPR this morning indicating that Obama is the favorite among voters under 45 and Clinton is the favorite among those over 45. I'm sure there is data that backs that up (though I wouldn't mind seeing the actual numbers), but it really doesn't jive with my experience. Among the people I know preference doesn't really break down by age --or gender.

~I guess it is important for the candidates to know where their support lies--but I get really tired of hearing these generalizations. Wouldn't it be more interesting to hear how things break down over the issues--like the war and health care and the economy?

~I think that I may be oversensitive to age generalizations because they RARELY describe me, and I feel like I'm being (inaccurately) pigeon-holed. As I've written here before, I haven't done things in the same order as the norm. And I've always had friends both older and younger than myself. In seminary, in fact, I had far more in common with the women in the late 20s and 30s than I did with the women who were my age.

~I get really impatient, too, with being lumped as a baby boomer (the same would be true if I were gen x or gen y or millennial). I just don't find the labels all that useful; in fact I think they are the basis for some miscommunication when people make too many assumptions based on them.

~Ageism abounds, too. It doesn't get as much attention as some of the other -isms, but it's real and it works against both younger and older people--again based on assumptions about what a person can or can't do, will or won't do, should or shouldn't do at a given age, assumptions that may not be in sync with any particular individual's reality.

~I don't know if there is actually a point to this rant (and it probably could be better written, but I'm tired). Cognitive psychology tells us that we are predisposed (maybe even hardwired) to put things into categories to make the world understandable, and age is a salient category (as is gender). I just don't think it's all that useful.