Perhaps the closest to Inside the Actor's Studio I will ever get.
Props to Terence and the folks at IDEAL for choosing me as the feature interview this month!
Showing posts with label online class. Show all posts
Showing posts with label online class. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Monday, October 8, 2007
The Mini-Vaca of Fall Break
As some of you know teaching full-time (face-to-face and online), doing university admin work, developing an new online course, reading, writing, housekeeping, and participating in online communities can be exhausting. Thank God our university (BGSU) acknowledges the mid-semester burn-out and rewards students and instructors with a Fall Break.
I needed it more than I thought I did.
Of course, I worked during Fall Break--revising lesson plans, developing my next semester's online class, housekeeping, etc.--but I managed to sneak a little bit of fun.
Thursday afternoon after some much needed vegging FD and I drove down to Findlay to buy some fresh veggies at the Farmers Market.
My only regret is that we just now found about this locally produced heaven. We got tasty heirloom tomatoes, fragrant basil, a perfect cauliflower, crisp peppers, just-dug-up potatoes, a ziploc baggie of very sweet lettuces, an gorgeous eggplant, delicious zucchini bread, homemade granola, a mouth-watering mini apple pie, awesome goat sausages, freshly ground turkey, and some jams.
Needless to say, we've been eating like royalty for the past few days.
There's nothing like getting food straight from the farmers, not some refrigerated, fluorescent-lit supermarket. Honestly, we didn't pay much more than grocery-store prices. And if we did, I'd rather support local farmers than Kroger.
Sadly, though, the Farmers Market's last week is this Thursday. FD and I teach during its 4:30-6:30 hours, but come May we will be visiting it all summer long. I can hardly wait, even though I'm dying for fall to get here.
(90 degrees in October...And there are still freakshows who think Global Warming does not exist!?! WTF?!?
In addition to our Farmers Market trip, my parents came in for a visit, which was super-nice.
We hung out at the house for awhile, grabbed a nice lunch at Biaggi's, and then looked at a mini-storage unit. (Yes, I got my masterful multi-tasking from my Pops. In addition to his work addiction. Pictures do speak a thousand words--one cliche that totally accurate.)
FD and I caught up on some movie watching too: The Last Mimzy (totally AWESOME--a family version of Donnie Darko in a way--5 out of 5 Hello Kittys) and 300 (rad camera work that slowed down footage so sequences replicated frames in a graphic novel--too bad the ending kinda sucked--4 out of 5 Hello Kittys).
We got a bike ride or two in and lots of reading.
Goodbye, Fall Break. I'll miss you until next year.
Hello, Final Drafts of Essay 2 and a very, very busy week.
I needed it more than I thought I did.
Of course, I worked during Fall Break--revising lesson plans, developing my next semester's online class, housekeeping, etc.--but I managed to sneak a little bit of fun.
Thursday afternoon after some much needed vegging FD and I drove down to Findlay to buy some fresh veggies at the Farmers Market.My only regret is that we just now found about this locally produced heaven. We got tasty heirloom tomatoes, fragrant basil, a perfect cauliflower, crisp peppers, just-dug-up potatoes, a ziploc baggie of very sweet lettuces, an gorgeous eggplant, delicious zucchini bread, homemade granola, a mouth-watering mini apple pie, awesome goat sausages, freshly ground turkey, and some jams.
Needless to say, we've been eating like royalty for the past few days.
There's nothing like getting food straight from the farmers, not some refrigerated, fluorescent-lit supermarket. Honestly, we didn't pay much more than grocery-store prices. And if we did, I'd rather support local farmers than Kroger.
Sadly, though, the Farmers Market's last week is this Thursday. FD and I teach during its 4:30-6:30 hours, but come May we will be visiting it all summer long. I can hardly wait, even though I'm dying for fall to get here.
(90 degrees in October...And there are still freakshows who think Global Warming does not exist!?! WTF?!?
In addition to our Farmers Market trip, my parents came in for a visit, which was super-nice.
We hung out at the house for awhile, grabbed a nice lunch at Biaggi's, and then looked at a mini-storage unit. (Yes, I got my masterful multi-tasking from my Pops. In addition to his work addiction. Pictures do speak a thousand words--one cliche that totally accurate.)
FD and I caught up on some movie watching too: The Last Mimzy (totally AWESOME--a family version of Donnie Darko in a way--5 out of 5 Hello Kittys) and 300 (rad camera work that slowed down footage so sequences replicated frames in a graphic novel--too bad the ending kinda sucked--4 out of 5 Hello Kittys).
We got a bike ride or two in and lots of reading.
Goodbye, Fall Break. I'll miss you until next year.
Hello, Final Drafts of Essay 2 and a very, very busy week.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
So Pissed I Could Spit (And I Just Might)!
Get this silly shit:
I've been walking to and fro campus everyday in an attempt to avoid the mess of traffic and fist-clenched fight for an open parking space. Also, I'm trying to be healthy and environmentally conscious. I'm a good girl.
Apparently, a good girl with not so good "teacher" shoes.
I have the WORST blisters on the face of this planet. They're on my heels. They're on my ankles. They're on the top of my feet. WTF?!
My summer "teacher" shoes suck!
The obvious answer: buy a pair of summer "teacher" shoes that don't suck and match almost all of my outfits year round (which means I could spend a little more on them...).
Of course, I think Camper. I looked on Shoebuy.com, but they don't carry Camper shoes.
Then I went Zappos.com because they carry Camper and usually for a little less than other places.
I found the dream pair.
I ordered the dream pair. Zappos said I got free overnight delivery. My precious Camper shoes were slotted to arrive Wednesday by 3 p.m. Perfect: right before my trek to campus.
They didn't arrive Wednesday, so I called Zappos last night to see where they are.
Damon, the Zappos customer service rep, told me he doesn't know where they are. They should be with me.
"Well, they're not, Damon."
He gave me a $20 off coupon, and said to call back if they don't arrive by 3 p.m. Thursday (today).
During my chat with Damon, I was polite and laid-back. I figured I'd get them today. FedEx likes to come first thing in the morning in our neck of the woods.
I got up early. I skipped the gym. I took my shower when I knew FD was going to be reading on the couch by the front door.
They didn't come this morning. I had a bad feeling.
I called Zappos and spoke with a very kind and compassionate Camille. I seriously couldn't get bitchy with this woman. (And those who know me know I can get very bitchy about fashion...)
I did calmly tell her I was so pissed I could spit.
FedEx never picked up my shoes from the warehouse. And Zappos is now out of the black in my size; they only have the white. And Camille said she could send the "Resource" people to find my pair, which was the LAST pair in black in my size. Or, she proposed, she could send me a black pair in size 9 with some free insoles to force them to fit. I rationally explained to Camille that the whole point was finding and wearing comfortable shoes, and that wouldn't be comfortable. So she put the "Resource" people to work trying to find my pair of shoes.
Camille promised me her "Resource" people will call AND email me once they locate my shoes. But it will take some time--at most a couple of months. WTF?!
She refunded my money.
She called me "sweet" and "baby" as I wept.
She gave me a $50 Zappos coupon.
I now have $70 worth of Zappos coupons, but all I really want are my Camper shoes.
As I blog away, right now, my Camper babies are in some crazy 4-football-fields-length warehouse with 3.2 million other products. (All stats provided by Camille.)
They're crying for their mommy. I'm crying for them.
Even though Camille was one of the best customer service reps I've ever had, I wouldn't spend another dime at Zappos if I didn't have these coupons and if they didn't sell Camper shoes.
I'm torn between "half full" and "half empty."
No, I'm not torn. This is an instance of "half empty."
Yes, definitely "half empty."
*Searching desperately online for them for 50 minutes while thinking, "My students better be good today." And, "What if I lose track of time and forget I have to teach altogether?" And, "I really should be working on my next online class..."*
I might break down and buy them from the actual Camper site. I can't even find a pair that looks anything like this, and this is exactly what I'm looking for. Oi!
*More tears.*
I've been walking to and fro campus everyday in an attempt to avoid the mess of traffic and fist-clenched fight for an open parking space. Also, I'm trying to be healthy and environmentally conscious. I'm a good girl.
Apparently, a good girl with not so good "teacher" shoes.
I have the WORST blisters on the face of this planet. They're on my heels. They're on my ankles. They're on the top of my feet. WTF?!
My summer "teacher" shoes suck!
The obvious answer: buy a pair of summer "teacher" shoes that don't suck and match almost all of my outfits year round (which means I could spend a little more on them...).
Of course, I think Camper. I looked on Shoebuy.com, but they don't carry Camper shoes.
Then I went Zappos.com because they carry Camper and usually for a little less than other places.
I found the dream pair.
I ordered the dream pair. Zappos said I got free overnight delivery. My precious Camper shoes were slotted to arrive Wednesday by 3 p.m. Perfect: right before my trek to campus.
They didn't arrive Wednesday, so I called Zappos last night to see where they are.
Damon, the Zappos customer service rep, told me he doesn't know where they are. They should be with me.
"Well, they're not, Damon."
He gave me a $20 off coupon, and said to call back if they don't arrive by 3 p.m. Thursday (today).
During my chat with Damon, I was polite and laid-back. I figured I'd get them today. FedEx likes to come first thing in the morning in our neck of the woods.
I got up early. I skipped the gym. I took my shower when I knew FD was going to be reading on the couch by the front door.
They didn't come this morning. I had a bad feeling.
I called Zappos and spoke with a very kind and compassionate Camille. I seriously couldn't get bitchy with this woman. (And those who know me know I can get very bitchy about fashion...)
I did calmly tell her I was so pissed I could spit.
FedEx never picked up my shoes from the warehouse. And Zappos is now out of the black in my size; they only have the white. And Camille said she could send the "Resource" people to find my pair, which was the LAST pair in black in my size. Or, she proposed, she could send me a black pair in size 9 with some free insoles to force them to fit. I rationally explained to Camille that the whole point was finding and wearing comfortable shoes, and that wouldn't be comfortable. So she put the "Resource" people to work trying to find my pair of shoes.
Camille promised me her "Resource" people will call AND email me once they locate my shoes. But it will take some time--at most a couple of months. WTF?!
She refunded my money.
She called me "sweet" and "baby" as I wept.
She gave me a $50 Zappos coupon.
I now have $70 worth of Zappos coupons, but all I really want are my Camper shoes.
As I blog away, right now, my Camper babies are in some crazy 4-football-fields-length warehouse with 3.2 million other products. (All stats provided by Camille.)
They're crying for their mommy. I'm crying for them.
Even though Camille was one of the best customer service reps I've ever had, I wouldn't spend another dime at Zappos if I didn't have these coupons and if they didn't sell Camper shoes.
I'm torn between "half full" and "half empty."
No, I'm not torn. This is an instance of "half empty."
Yes, definitely "half empty."
*Searching desperately online for them for 50 minutes while thinking, "My students better be good today." And, "What if I lose track of time and forget I have to teach altogether?" And, "I really should be working on my next online class..."*
I might break down and buy them from the actual Camper site. I can't even find a pair that looks anything like this, and this is exactly what I'm looking for. Oi!
*More tears.*
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
It's A Go!
My online class has 8 students, and I got official word it's going to run this semester!
I can't find language for how relieved and excited I am!
I can't find language for how relieved and excited I am!
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Monday, July 30, 2007
The Curse of Web 2.0
Don't get me wrong--I LOVE all the great things that make the internet so much more three dimensional. I just hate all the online time I'm devoting to changing my status of "wannabe techie" to "techie."
My new favorite Web 2.0 thingy/widget: Wink. It's a great people search engine, but more importantly it's a fab way to keep your online life organized. Seriously.
While Wink rocks, MySpace does not. I'm sick of trying to find the perfect background while learning basic html code in order to change the font, font size, paragraph breaks, etc. Facebook is just so much better. It's prettier and cleaner. I like clean. MySpace is a friggin' mess I have no idea how to make pretty. I hate it. I'm happy to have found some old friends, though.
In other (yet related) news, I'm putting together another new online class. This one is for ENG 112, which is called Varieties of Writing, which is the Part II composition course (in BGSU's Two Part program) that uses academic research and source synthesis. I'm excited! In preparation for creating this online class I'm exploring more Web 2.0 apps in order to make it even more stellar than my ENG 111 online course (more on that one soon).
At least today I did manage to spend the morning working outside weeding, organizing the garage, cleaning our new patio furniture (Thank you, Andy and Tracie!), and reading while tanning. So I haven't been a complete shut-in today.
For tonight: Pilates class, dinner, more online course planning, and reading. I just wish there was more time. I would use it to look at this. Which would still keep me online...
My new favorite Web 2.0 thingy/widget: Wink. It's a great people search engine, but more importantly it's a fab way to keep your online life organized. Seriously.
While Wink rocks, MySpace does not. I'm sick of trying to find the perfect background while learning basic html code in order to change the font, font size, paragraph breaks, etc. Facebook is just so much better. It's prettier and cleaner. I like clean. MySpace is a friggin' mess I have no idea how to make pretty. I hate it. I'm happy to have found some old friends, though.
In other (yet related) news, I'm putting together another new online class. This one is for ENG 112, which is called Varieties of Writing, which is the Part II composition course (in BGSU's Two Part program) that uses academic research and source synthesis. I'm excited! In preparation for creating this online class I'm exploring more Web 2.0 apps in order to make it even more stellar than my ENG 111 online course (more on that one soon).
At least today I did manage to spend the morning working outside weeding, organizing the garage, cleaning our new patio furniture (Thank you, Andy and Tracie!), and reading while tanning. So I haven't been a complete shut-in today.
For tonight: Pilates class, dinner, more online course planning, and reading. I just wish there was more time. I would use it to look at this. Which would still keep me online...
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Guess Who Has a Camera Crew?!?
You missed me yesterday, didn't you?
I was super-busy filming my intro-to-essay short videos for my online class on campus. I recorded six total, and whoever tells you that acting is a breeze, they're lying! It's exhausting work! It's hard to be on all the time. My Academy winning roles included a regular teacher, a reader, a Monopoly player, a blogger, and a very serious interviewer--all of which who wore a fabulous outfit. (Oh, you'll see the it all once the films go through final edit.)
Move over, Jennifer Hudson! Here comes the new "it" girl.
I jest a bit, but, in all seriousness, I did have a two-man camera crew with me as we walked across campus from my office to the Union and from the Union to the Library. How could I NOT feel a little bit celeb?! And to boot, my camera/audio team were the BOMB--two funny guys who were great conversationalists between takes and all business during takes! A shout out to Terence and Mike! And to FD for his guest appearance! And, most importantly, to Mary Ann Robinson who talked about domestic violence in Wood County and really opened my eyes!
I was super-busy filming my intro-to-essay short videos for my online class on campus. I recorded six total, and whoever tells you that acting is a breeze, they're lying! It's exhausting work! It's hard to be on all the time. My Academy winning roles included a regular teacher, a reader, a Monopoly player, a blogger, and a very serious interviewer--all of which who wore a fabulous outfit. (Oh, you'll see the it all once the films go through final edit.)
Move over, Jennifer Hudson! Here comes the new "it" girl.
I jest a bit, but, in all seriousness, I did have a two-man camera crew with me as we walked across campus from my office to the Union and from the Union to the Library. How could I NOT feel a little bit celeb?! And to boot, my camera/audio team were the BOMB--two funny guys who were great conversationalists between takes and all business during takes! A shout out to Terence and Mike! And to FD for his guest appearance! And, most importantly, to Mary Ann Robinson who talked about domestic violence in Wood County and really opened my eyes!
Sunday, May 20, 2007
DO WORK, Son! DO WORK!
Theme song: "Let me tell you about my best friend!"Stokes introduced me to the TV show Rob and Big a couple of months ago. And this weekend I introduced them to FD. We TiVo'ed the marathon on MTV and have been laughing our tushies off ever since. It's a fab show! Check it out! And their dog Meaty makes it even more worthwhile.
~
Speaking of WORK, I've been hard at it on my online class. I've got the schedule and work all loaded. All that I have left to do is revise typos and record my videos and podcasts. I created a blog dedicated to discussing the creation of the online class and when it's up and running, I'll reflect on its execution. If you'd like to read more about it, please visit this site.
~
This weekend we also discovered that Tina the TiVo has games! Our favorite: Wordsmith. It's like Scrabble meets Solitaire. Good stuff.
~
I started reading The Jane Austen Book Club. I with I would have read all of Miss Austen's novels before beginning it.
~
I got my pink RAZR phone this weekend. It rocks. I wanted the iPhone, but much like my Chrome Heart sunglasses, it's out of our price range. A Pink phone suits me perfectly, though.
~
OK, enough babbling. More serious reflections coming soon.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Put Aside the Ranger...
I'm on another one of my Lord of the Rings kicks.
Melinda went home on AI; she'll have a better career for it. Blake and Jordin still on. My pick to win might make it. I called Jordin and I'm sticking with her. If she wins, I might start gambling on TV in Vegas. Then we could buy a house AND I could buy my $1100 Chrome Heart sunglasses. Blake, my sweet angel, might give me a run for the money, though. Oh, the suspense of AI, as refreshing as a cool spring breeze!
Sayid, how much do I love you?!?! Basically, you told Jack to "Put Aside the Ranger and Become the King." You rock! I'm so sick of Jack like I am Locke! Put the smack down and take charge, Sayid. If only we could get rid of that ho-traitor-beast Juliet too. Then all would be a little bit merrier on the island. Speaking of Merry, if Charlie dies, I might die. He was Merry the Hobbit, as we all know; he could die off and still be very wealthy. The island would just be an even sadder place without him.
And even weirder regarding TV news, I can't wait for the season to be over with. I know, I'm surprised I said it too. I just have so much I want to do, and TV is holding me back, keeping me down, not letting me get stuff done. Yeah, we do have Tina the TiVo; thanks for reminding me. However, I feel I must find out LIVE who leaves AI. Lost lasts longer when you watch it LIVE. In other words, I can't wait to the next day or several days, I need to know what happens NOW, so come morning I can chat it up with everyone about what happened on TV last night.
This summer TV break will be good for me. The online class development is taking a little longer than I thought it would. I'm through one essay cycle, but I still have four essay cycles to go, intro videos for each essay to make (I KNOW MY DREAM COME TRUE! ME ON THE BIG SCREEN! AN OUTFIT UPDATE IS COMING SOON!) and podcasts of my lectures to record (ANOTHER DREAM COME TRUE, MY CLASS WILL BE ON iTUNES!!!! Much thanks to Terence who is my online class consultant! Without his help my dreams of stardom might not come true!) We all know I'm thorough and very anal retentive. The job of creating an online class is perfect for me; it's all about details, anal retentive details, and making sure everything is perfect. It's just an exhausting job. I want to do it right, so I'm spending a lot of time doing it right. TV is holding me back. As well as hot days when I must tan and read. It is summer for crying out loud! I'm really proud of what I've done so far; I just want to keep it going strong, so I can finish by June and focus on tutoring for Student Athletics part-time. I don't want to be juggling too many balls; I do need a somewhat of break.
Some of you probably think teaching and tutoring and having summers off is the easy life. Let me assure you, teaching and grading 2 drafts for every one of the 5 essays written by 88 students each two 15-week semesters of a academic year is exhausting. And as you can see I'm working this summer tutoring and creating an online class and working on projects you don't know about--it is exhausting. Even for me, the worker bee. I'm not complaining; I'm just letting you know I don't really have a summer off where I sit around and do nothing--that life doesn't exist for me and most other teachers I know! But it is my first summer off in a long time so I must try to work and relax. I'm trying to put aside my own ranger-ness and become the tanner I've always wanted to be. (It didn't work so well that time...)
It's a cold day (60 degrees) here.
I have to get working so I can tan tomorrow.
Melinda went home on AI; she'll have a better career for it. Blake and Jordin still on. My pick to win might make it. I called Jordin and I'm sticking with her. If she wins, I might start gambling on TV in Vegas. Then we could buy a house AND I could buy my $1100 Chrome Heart sunglasses. Blake, my sweet angel, might give me a run for the money, though. Oh, the suspense of AI, as refreshing as a cool spring breeze!
Sayid, how much do I love you?!?! Basically, you told Jack to "Put Aside the Ranger and Become the King." You rock! I'm so sick of Jack like I am Locke! Put the smack down and take charge, Sayid. If only we could get rid of that ho-traitor-beast Juliet too. Then all would be a little bit merrier on the island. Speaking of Merry, if Charlie dies, I might die. He was Merry the Hobbit, as we all know; he could die off and still be very wealthy. The island would just be an even sadder place without him.
And even weirder regarding TV news, I can't wait for the season to be over with. I know, I'm surprised I said it too. I just have so much I want to do, and TV is holding me back, keeping me down, not letting me get stuff done. Yeah, we do have Tina the TiVo; thanks for reminding me. However, I feel I must find out LIVE who leaves AI. Lost lasts longer when you watch it LIVE. In other words, I can't wait to the next day or several days, I need to know what happens NOW, so come morning I can chat it up with everyone about what happened on TV last night.
This summer TV break will be good for me. The online class development is taking a little longer than I thought it would. I'm through one essay cycle, but I still have four essay cycles to go, intro videos for each essay to make (I KNOW MY DREAM COME TRUE! ME ON THE BIG SCREEN! AN OUTFIT UPDATE IS COMING SOON!) and podcasts of my lectures to record (ANOTHER DREAM COME TRUE, MY CLASS WILL BE ON iTUNES!!!! Much thanks to Terence who is my online class consultant! Without his help my dreams of stardom might not come true!) We all know I'm thorough and very anal retentive. The job of creating an online class is perfect for me; it's all about details, anal retentive details, and making sure everything is perfect. It's just an exhausting job. I want to do it right, so I'm spending a lot of time doing it right. TV is holding me back. As well as hot days when I must tan and read. It is summer for crying out loud! I'm really proud of what I've done so far; I just want to keep it going strong, so I can finish by June and focus on tutoring for Student Athletics part-time. I don't want to be juggling too many balls; I do need a somewhat of break.
Some of you probably think teaching and tutoring and having summers off is the easy life. Let me assure you, teaching and grading 2 drafts for every one of the 5 essays written by 88 students each two 15-week semesters of a academic year is exhausting. And as you can see I'm working this summer tutoring and creating an online class and working on projects you don't know about--it is exhausting. Even for me, the worker bee. I'm not complaining; I'm just letting you know I don't really have a summer off where I sit around and do nothing--that life doesn't exist for me and most other teachers I know! But it is my first summer off in a long time so I must try to work and relax. I'm trying to put aside my own ranger-ness and become the tanner I've always wanted to be. (It didn't work so well that time...)
It's a cold day (60 degrees) here.
I have to get working so I can tan tomorrow.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Catch All
Several Quick Things and Definitely More Tomorrow:
Renewed Faith in Summer TV: Thank God for Bravo! Hey, Paula may become my new fav & Top Chef Miami will be fun! Now all I need is Tim Gunn on a new Project Runway, and I'll be completely set.
I'm working hard on my online class, and this week I'm going to hit it even harder! It will be awesome and time consuming. Very cool deets on it to come.
Been reading poetry in the place of my fiction book listed (don't worry, I'm getting to The Jane Austen Book Club): Order, Or Disorder by Amy Newman (more to come on that book and her others soon, but a teaser: a must read) and the poetry chapbook Through Which Footsteps by Kate Northrop---totally awesome and really this world-other worldly, a must read.
How much do I LOVE the new Mac "Genius" commercial???
We're looking at houses in BG. Please keep your fingers crossed, say a rosary or prayer for us, and/or send us your good energy. More on this soon too.
And last, but definitely not least, SK tagged me! My first tag! I'm so excited! I have to sleep on it and then respond tomorrow. I can't wait! I LOVE TOP 5 LISTS! And Top 10 and 20 lists too.
(Now, imagine I said all this to you in about a minute flat. You can imagine it. Totally.)
Renewed Faith in Summer TV: Thank God for Bravo! Hey, Paula may become my new fav & Top Chef Miami will be fun! Now all I need is Tim Gunn on a new Project Runway, and I'll be completely set.
I'm working hard on my online class, and this week I'm going to hit it even harder! It will be awesome and time consuming. Very cool deets on it to come.
Been reading poetry in the place of my fiction book listed (don't worry, I'm getting to The Jane Austen Book Club): Order, Or Disorder by Amy Newman (more to come on that book and her others soon, but a teaser: a must read) and the poetry chapbook Through Which Footsteps by Kate Northrop---totally awesome and really this world-other worldly, a must read.
How much do I LOVE the new Mac "Genius" commercial???
We're looking at houses in BG. Please keep your fingers crossed, say a rosary or prayer for us, and/or send us your good energy. More on this soon too.
And last, but definitely not least, SK tagged me! My first tag! I'm so excited! I have to sleep on it and then respond tomorrow. I can't wait! I LOVE TOP 5 LISTS! And Top 10 and 20 lists too.
(Now, imagine I said all this to you in about a minute flat. You can imagine it. Totally.)
Friday, May 4, 2007
My First Day of Summer
Some of you are jealous.
The same some of you think I'm an overachiever. Or more so OCD.
I think I'm crazy. I get bored and anxious so quickly. Hence, this blog.
On my first day of summer, you would expect me to: sleep in, not shower, catch up on marathons such as Work Out or Shear Genius, maybe take a nap outside in the sun.
I have done none of these things.
Instead, I got up at 7 a.m., did Pilates, emailed, reorganized my closet (washed and stored winter clothes, made a donate pile, & made a consignment pile), started our regular laundry, cleaned stained coffee mugs (put 2 T. of baking soda in each mug, boil water, pour water in mugs and let stand for an hour, wash by hand & stains will be gone), called our CPA about tax write-offs, called State Farm about life insurance, cleaned outside furniture, grocery shopped, and searched for favorite poets who might have web sites/blogs (only found Matthea Harvey's web site, but wanted to find web sites/blogs for Eula Biss, Daisy Fried, Alice Fulton, Barbara Maloutas, Amy Newman, Harriette Mullen, Laura Mullen, Kate Northrop, Claudia Rankine, Carol Snow, and Dean Young--I'd be happy to create a kick ass web site for any of these fine poets, just let me know!).
See, I'm crazy, but you loved my cleaning tips! Admit it...
Seriously, how can a writer be bored? I'm bored because I'm procrastinating. Because I don't feel like writing. And then I feel guilty because every writer should want to write, right? So then I start working and cleaning. (You can totally see now why Mrs. Meyers is under my favorite things. And I like the whole uniform smell thing. Lavendar is the best scent. I'm OCD. I know, I know.) Then my problem is I work too quickly and multi-task too well that by 3 p.m. I was bored again. (Believe me, I HATE 8-5 jobs. I could do all the work is 2 hours. Teaching is way better for me.)
I pray summer isn't like this...bored, OCD, bored, OCD again. I'll drive myself and hubby mad!
I know if I start reading, I'll start feeling like writing. I'm just nervous. It's been awhile. And I'm interested in writing non-fiction, which I haven't done before, so I'm even more anxious, which makes me OCD. What's my problem?
[I'm writing this more for me than you. Is that OK?]
I'll make more to-do lists, I think. I have to make my summer home improvement list and my summer reading list. Of course, I'm going to refer to the Common Reading Experience blog for fiction and non-fiction suggestions as well as recommendations from friends and mentors.
I'm grateful I'm creating an online class this summer. That will keep me busy. A whole lot of busy. And I have trips planned...
My problem is I have no idea how to relax.
I inherited that from my father.
Thank you, Pops.
The same some of you think I'm an overachiever. Or more so OCD.
I think I'm crazy. I get bored and anxious so quickly. Hence, this blog.
On my first day of summer, you would expect me to: sleep in, not shower, catch up on marathons such as Work Out or Shear Genius, maybe take a nap outside in the sun.
I have done none of these things.
Instead, I got up at 7 a.m., did Pilates, emailed, reorganized my closet (washed and stored winter clothes, made a donate pile, & made a consignment pile), started our regular laundry, cleaned stained coffee mugs (put 2 T. of baking soda in each mug, boil water, pour water in mugs and let stand for an hour, wash by hand & stains will be gone), called our CPA about tax write-offs, called State Farm about life insurance, cleaned outside furniture, grocery shopped, and searched for favorite poets who might have web sites/blogs (only found Matthea Harvey's web site, but wanted to find web sites/blogs for Eula Biss, Daisy Fried, Alice Fulton, Barbara Maloutas, Amy Newman, Harriette Mullen, Laura Mullen, Kate Northrop, Claudia Rankine, Carol Snow, and Dean Young--I'd be happy to create a kick ass web site for any of these fine poets, just let me know!).
See, I'm crazy, but you loved my cleaning tips! Admit it...
Seriously, how can a writer be bored? I'm bored because I'm procrastinating. Because I don't feel like writing. And then I feel guilty because every writer should want to write, right? So then I start working and cleaning. (You can totally see now why Mrs. Meyers is under my favorite things. And I like the whole uniform smell thing. Lavendar is the best scent. I'm OCD. I know, I know.) Then my problem is I work too quickly and multi-task too well that by 3 p.m. I was bored again. (Believe me, I HATE 8-5 jobs. I could do all the work is 2 hours. Teaching is way better for me.)
I pray summer isn't like this...bored, OCD, bored, OCD again. I'll drive myself and hubby mad!
I know if I start reading, I'll start feeling like writing. I'm just nervous. It's been awhile. And I'm interested in writing non-fiction, which I haven't done before, so I'm even more anxious, which makes me OCD. What's my problem?
[I'm writing this more for me than you. Is that OK?]
I'll make more to-do lists, I think. I have to make my summer home improvement list and my summer reading list. Of course, I'm going to refer to the Common Reading Experience blog for fiction and non-fiction suggestions as well as recommendations from friends and mentors.
I'm grateful I'm creating an online class this summer. That will keep me busy. A whole lot of busy. And I have trips planned...
My problem is I have no idea how to relax.
I inherited that from my father.
Thank you, Pops.
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