A Day In the Life Pt. 2

This new semester started off in stark contrast to the fall semester. Instead of dripping in sweat and wishing I had a shirt to change into, I found myself dripping snot and wishing I had an extra shirt or two on. Oh Kansas, what would I do without your four beautiful seasons?

My classes this semester will prove to be a much needed challenge, as I am taking two seminar classes which will be very reading intensive and involve at least two 25-35 page papers by the end of the semester. One of the seminar classes is another theory class, so more Freud, Durkheim, Marx, Jung, etc... and the other seminar class is Native American religions. All this is balanced out by my third class, Women and Violence, which will be my first class in the Women's Studies department. Hopefully I'll leave KU not only with my MA in Religious Studies but also with a certification in Women's Studies. Whew...

Women and Violence won't be an easy course by any means. We'll spend literally the first half of the semester covering rape, a fourth on domestic violence and the final fourth on childhood sexual abuse. It's a large class, I would guess at least 40 people, which means statistically speaking 10 of us have been raped or sexually assaulted in some form or another. I expect that over the course of the class, many of those stories will be told. It will definitely be a test of inner strength.

In other news, I now own a juicer. I'm pretty psyched because I've gotten hooked on fresh apple juice. Mmmm! As I walked out of Bed Bath and Beyond carrying my new favorite appliance, I decided today is the day that I start really eating right. For months now I've been saying "I need to eat healthier, I need to eat better food" but now I'm actually doing it.

I'm cutting down on refined sugar and yeast (I can hear the Riesling and Left Hand Milk Stout bottles crying as I write this), and I'm going to add more fruits, veggies and water to my diet.... right after I finish this Pop-Tart (Last one! I swear!). Wish me luck :-)

What a day. I'm tired.

Oh Technology...

First of let me say that I can't wait until I'm old enough to just be crazy in public. Well not crazy crazy...more like paranoid and slightly senile. When I finally reach this age I fully intend to go shopping and drive unsuspecting 20-somethings just trying to work their way through grad. school absolutely nuts.

Today Zach and I politely listened as a lady told us all about how she never gives out her phone number or her social security or any personal information, and even if someone did steal her identity her checking account never has more than $75 unless they were to get her before rent...yup. We smiled and nodded and wished her a great day. Ohhh I can't wait to be that lady!

But it made me think about identity theft, which made me consider the internet and just how easy it is to find out anything about anyone. We're so free with our information on online networking sites like Facebook and Myspace as well as other sites. I'm an expert at google-stalking, facebook-stalking; give me a name or screen name and a town (home town or otherwise) and in a few minutes I can dig up all sorts of information on anyone.

For example, I can tell you Mark's time in the 200 meter dash at the Missouri Relays his senior year of high school. I can also tell you what time Gabe's movie "Night Watch" was shown at the KAN Film Festival in 2004. My brother has all sorts of TCU student government sites to be found, but you can also locate his xanga from highschool.

Innocent stuff really, but I can also tell you which of my ex-boyfriends likes looking at certain...well...nevermind. It's disgusting. (And no, it's not anyone who has a blog. Relax.)

We act so at home on the internet, so relaxed.
It offers us so many different ways to connect to people, but at what cost?

I'm starting to feel like we no longer have private lives.
(She writes to the absolute strangers who stumble upon her blog looking for song lyrics and quotes from Eternal Sunshine...sigh.)

Long Time No Blog...

I guess I decided to take a little bit of a hiatus from blogging during my winter break from classes. I've been working more and traveling and trying to just relax, so really the internet hasn't been a priority for me. So here are a few thoughts from between now and then...

Christmas was a wonderful time for me. My family came together at my grandparent's house in Topeka and it was great to see them. My only regret is that I let my job in retail completely spoil the magic of the Christmas season. So here I am, 3 verses in to "Silent Night" at the Presbyterian church in Topeka on Christmas Eve and I am almost in tears because I realize I've been blinded by the pre-packaged jolliness sold at Pier 1. Needless to say I made sure to enjoy every moment spent with my family from that point on.

After Christmas I was fortunate enough to join Mark's family in St. Louis to see "Wicked" at the Fox Theater. Wow. That's really all I can say. I'd forgotten just how breathtaking live professional theatre is, and this particular musical showcases some amazing female talent. I'm so grateful to the Walter family for letting me come with them. And I can't wait for February when Mark and I get to see Avenue Q!

On a less happy note, Harry passed away. I miss my little stinky friend, but after a nasty struggle with e.coli poisoning, I'm glad he's not suffering anymore. I wrote an entry about it for Peter Clothier's project, the "Accidental Dharma" blog, so if you'd like to read more you can click here. (And while you're there you should think about submitting your own entry!)


One last thought, inspired by (of all things) "America's Next Top Model" (okay and a few conversations with Mark)- I need to find a passion, or at least discern where my passions really lie. Every season of ANTM Tyra questions the girls who are competing, asking them "Is this what you really REALLY want? Is this what you're the most passionate about?" which made me wonder...what am I really REALLY passionate about?

I have this nasty habit of wanting to be good at everything I do, and the end result is that I'm mediocre at a lot of things but not good at one thing specifically. So that's my goal for this new year- trying to figure out exactly what it is I want out of life and what I am passionate about. I want to focus my energy and get excited.

What are you going to do with 2008? Hmm?

PS: My current passion that is keeping me away from the internet-


Cross stitching! :-)

A Shot at Celebrity

So as hard as this is to admit and still maintain my dignity, I've been watching, nay, HOOKED on "A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila".

For those of you over the age of 25, or those of you who have been living under a rock, Tila Tequila is "famous" for her presence on Myspace. She has like a million friends and a couple horrible songs and now this reality show.

In the first episode we find out that Tila is bisexual. She had 16 guys and 16 girls to pick from in the very beginning and narrowed it down to only two- Dani and Bobby. (Dani's the girl...on the left.) There were all sorts of characters on the show, all sorts of crazy drama and fighting and drunkenness and stripper poles and what have you... but as silly and smutty as it sounds, it was addicting.

Who would she pick? A guy? A girl? The drama kept me tunning in every week, and honestly I found myself routing for the girls. For a female to come out on national television and say "Yes, I'm a lesbian" is very courageous. The girls seemed the most genuine and caring, whereas the guys reminded me of every other jerk every other girl has ever dated.

Fast-forward through the cross-dressing, animal parts eating and chocolate pudding to tonight's finale- Who will Tila pick... Bobby or Dani?

After some smoochy scenes, "I love you"s and a few flashbacks, it's the moment of truth.

My jaw is literally dropped open as Tila takes her dear sweet time to completely crush my hopes by picking Bobby. Ugh.

I'm not doubting her "bisexuality" or who she's in love with, and I promise I won't ramble on about "reinforcing the patriarchal ideal"...it's just...come on! Dani was so real, so nice, and so loving! She knows who she is and what she wants! Luckily there wasn't anything heavy within my reach at the end of the episode.

But wait...why should I care?
What is with this trend in Reality TV voyeurism? First it was Survivor, Amazing Race, and Fear Factor, those shows I can handle. The competition is real.

But now we've made a competition out of love. I was hooked on the drama of someone else's supposed love life? I'm starting to feel a little icky for watching.

Hopefully this trend will be over sooner rather than later.
Hopefully we'll stop giving celebrity status to people just for being "Myspace whores".

Hah. Yeah. :-\

Half-way to 40!

I'd like to take a minute to say a big

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

to John Mark Thomas...aka Marko Polo!

In honor of Mark's birthday, I'd like to share a few important things that happened on this day in history-

- Emperor Nero was born
- The first street cleaning machine was used in Philadelphia in 1854
- World premiere of "Gone With The Wind in 1939
- Pirates of Caribbean ride opens at Disneyland in 1973
- Playboy goes back on sale after 36 year ban in Ireland in 1995
- And hey it's Bill of Rights Day!

Happy Birthday Mark! Enjoy 20...once you turn 21 it's all down hill from there. ;-)

Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful?

I'm starting to think that the Weather Channel is just as inflammatory in their stories as certain so called "news" channels. While I understand Tulsa and other areas in Oklahoma, Missouri and parts of Kansas do not have power, and tragically people have died in auto accidents related to the weather, the worst thing I encountered on my way home from Springfield today was me driving a little too fast thanks to the buzz from the crazy combination of Monster energy drink and coffee.

I wanted my final to be canceled tomorrow. Thanks for nothing Weather Channel.

In other news, I turned in my first official "big" grad. school paper. When I say big I actually mean that it was supposed to be 15 pages but mine is only 14.5 because I just couldn't B.S. any more. Long story short I think I managed to prove using Eliade and Durkheim that religion and the sacred can exist in both religion online (real world religions with a web presence) and online religion (religions based exclusively in the cyber world)...more specifically in Second Life. Woohoo.
I'm ready for winter break.

I'm starting to think my thesis work will be over religion and popular culture to some extent, I just don't know what yet.

Tomorrow is my only final exam and once that's done I'm taking myself to the public library to get some books that I want to read... I couldn't be more excited!

Good-bye Second Life...it was fun while it lasted.

Star of Wonder...

(The picture is the view from my apartment's back door.)

I love the light pollution winter brings.

The remaining snow on the ground reflects the light from the street lights, the stadium and parking lots and it is gorgeous.

It reminds me of those longs summer nights at camp, but instead of a campfire I'll take a fire in the fireplace and the ice cold beer has been replaced by peppermint schnapps in hot chocolate.

It is beautiful crisp evenings like this that I walk a little slower to my apartment door and take another cold deep breath.

Life is beautiful.

I'm off to Springfield for a few days to celebrate birthdays, finish my Second Life paper and possibly get snowed in. :-)