But things change. The main character in this novel has pushed me in ways I didn't expect. He really does have his own voice and he can be very, very convincing. It doesn't help that I keep having dreams that flesh out this story more and more.
So here is the challenge: I have 90 days (88 remaining) to sell as many pre-orders as possible. The more sales, the better the publishing deal I can win. I've entered the book in a contest on Inkshares, a crowdfunding publishing platform, but I can't do this alone. Likes are great, shares even better, but I need SALES. And when it comes down to it it's all about the number of buyers of the book (i.e. you buying three copies is cool, but you, your mom, and your brother buying one copy each is how I win). Please support me by buying a copy of the book! An e-book version costs less than two drinks at Starbucks and makes a huge, indescribable difference to me. And here's how you can help make this dream a reality: www.sarapolk.com
Category:
#amediting,
#amwriting,
#DelArt,
awesome,
crowdfunding,
Delicate Art of Soul Ripping,
dreams,
Inkshares,
NaNoWriMo,
promotion,
publishing,
social work,
writing
0
comments
Tomorrow's my 28th birthday, and I must say that every time another year passes it just seems that the numbers make less and less sense.
Hear me out. All along the first 2.5 decades there are real, solid milestones: you turn 16 you get to drive; you turn 18 you are now responsible for your own welfare; you turn 21 and you can drink; and you turn 26 you get a discount on your car insurance (hey, I was really excited for that one).
But now it seems there aren't hard and fast reasons for the age. Sure, the "big ones" or decade numbers make you feel like they are important but if we are all honest with ourselves 30 is a lot like 29 or 31. It's still a wishy-washy year. The next solid and real external milestone is what? Retirement? Even that is fluid. Social Security? Likely won't exist by the time I get there.
So I've decided that from now on each year I will set one solid goal for my next rotation around the sun. I'm not sure what 29 will be, but I have set my sights on 28.
I am going to publish my novel. I've been setting faux deadlines and contemplating for too long. I'm actually going to do it. Delicate Art of Soul Ripping will finally stop being a wish-washy thing and finally be a solid thing.
First, I need to finish it. Then I need to market it/get the publishing "deal," hopefully through Inkshares since they seem to make sense. Then actually finish the rest of the process. I can totally do this.
Right?
Hear me out. All along the first 2.5 decades there are real, solid milestones: you turn 16 you get to drive; you turn 18 you are now responsible for your own welfare; you turn 21 and you can drink; and you turn 26 you get a discount on your car insurance (hey, I was really excited for that one).
But now it seems there aren't hard and fast reasons for the age. Sure, the "big ones" or decade numbers make you feel like they are important but if we are all honest with ourselves 30 is a lot like 29 or 31. It's still a wishy-washy year. The next solid and real external milestone is what? Retirement? Even that is fluid. Social Security? Likely won't exist by the time I get there.
So I've decided that from now on each year I will set one solid goal for my next rotation around the sun. I'm not sure what 29 will be, but I have set my sights on 28.
I am going to publish my novel. I've been setting faux deadlines and contemplating for too long. I'm actually going to do it. Delicate Art of Soul Ripping will finally stop being a wish-washy thing and finally be a solid thing.
First, I need to finish it. Then I need to market it/get the publishing "deal," hopefully through Inkshares since they seem to make sense. Then actually finish the rest of the process. I can totally do this.
Right?
Category:
#amediting,
#amwriting,
#DelArt,
aging,
Delicate Art of Soul Ripping,
Goals,
Inkshares,
life,
NaNoWriMo,
writing
0
comments
If I had an artistic or visually oriented bone in my body, I could make some awesome stuff. I can visual how I want things to look, but then in practice what I produce winds up being worse than any pinterest fail you've ever seen.
Then there is my brother who can just say "I want to make this new form of art" and bam! His stuff looks amazing. Case in point:
Then there is my brother who can just say "I want to make this new form of art" and bam! His stuff looks amazing. Case in point:
I can't even take a picture of his awesome artwork without it being not straight and slightly blurred. Jason sucked up all the artistic ability in from the womb before I was even a twinkle in my dad's eye.
Category:
art,
brother,
siblings
0
comments
When I was at Knox, I had to take an art class. After determining that I was not cut out for the standard studio art class due to my complete lack of artistic ability (I can't even color inside the lines) I decided it would be best to pursue an art credit that would still challenge me a bit while still being reasonably accomplished.
Enter "Introduction to Poetry." Every week, we wrote a different type of poem. Every week, we workshopped the previous week's poem. It was both fun and painful at times, mostly more fun than painful. I was recently reminded of one of the poems I wrote and worked on quite extensively and have decided to share it here because I really, really liked it. Who knows, maybe in the midst of this regularly blogging thing I will post an old poem every once in a while Throw-Back-Thursday style.
So here it is! The first of possibly, but maybe not, many! This is an ekphrastic poem based on the piece of art by Ben Shahn titled Concerto for Clarinets and Tinhorn. The image can be found here. I got to bring my love of the clarinet into my poetry with lots and lots of research into different kinds of clarinets, its history, etc., so it wound up being a lot of fun to write.
Concerto
Enter "Introduction to Poetry." Every week, we wrote a different type of poem. Every week, we workshopped the previous week's poem. It was both fun and painful at times, mostly more fun than painful. I was recently reminded of one of the poems I wrote and worked on quite extensively and have decided to share it here because I really, really liked it. Who knows, maybe in the midst of this regularly blogging thing I will post an old poem every once in a while Throw-Back-Thursday style.
So here it is! The first of possibly, but maybe not, many! This is an ekphrastic poem based on the piece of art by Ben Shahn titled Concerto for Clarinets and Tinhorn. The image can be found here. I got to bring my love of the clarinet into my poetry with lots and lots of research into different kinds of clarinets, its history, etc., so it wound up being a lot of fun to write.
Concerto
That tin does not, can not, stand up to the beauty of the
clarinet.
How dare it sit there, among those real instruments?
A bad doppelganger, not worthy of standing in that line.
Altissimo. A member of the wide clarinet family, not to be
lost,
but celebrated, that clarinet knows his place. He can play
you
the highest note, C7, but he only does so when he
knows
it to be necessary.
Bringing that high-pitched note in to pierce
even the darkest of spaces. He has purpose with his pitches,
unlike that excuse for an instrument a tin horn.
Clarino. The
reed is set, ready to fill the space of the hall with bright,
happy notes. Ready to blend with the rest of the clarinets,
harmonizing, five voices ascending. She can feel the breath
passing through her, fingers licking her silver keys.
And she is a clarinet, B♭, warm
with her tones.
Not harsh, like a tin horn.
And see that clarinet? Bechet. He burns with disobedience,
He’s jazz and funk, bouncing from note to note
with such grace that you think they are all one.
But he sticks to no rules, changes rhythm and meter,
so you know where he stands. A tin horn would bend over
at the idea of playing such an fiery line.
Chalumeau. That clarinet stands tall, carefully built of
wood.
The sweet, low timbre she expels through her bell sends
chills up and down your spine. It’s as if you know
that clarinet has a song for you, to smooth away
your concerns, and relax your muscles with her
soothing pitches. She doesn’t make your hair stand
on end, like that tin horn does.
Romanesca. That
one, there on the end, plays Greensleeves
in perfect pitch. Sorrowful at the loss of love,
that clarinet can bring you to tears with his melody.
And the keys glide with the finger tips against that black
wood,
trills and slurs, to tell its story. But a tin horn can’t
tell
a story beyond its squeak for attention.
And that piece of tin thinks he can ruin this scene.
A common piece of metal that just happens to make a noise
when blown through. That screeching, pathetic excuse
for an instrument.
What is this I see? Those arms are reaching past Oehler’s
formulations
for that cheap piece of metal. How can this be? It has no
range,
no real musicality!
That tin horn does not belong in a concerto
of clarinets. It barely belongs in a circus.
And I will be the one to make sure
that it does not cross its boundaries.
Category:
#TBT,
art,
clarinet,
ekphrastic,
Knox College,
poetry,
Throw-Back-Thursday
0
comments
I had a friend at work today ask me for my top ten books I
have ever read. I really had to think about it, because there are different
ways books are my favorites, but then there are others that I look at and say, “I
loved this book…hated the writing, but loved the story…story was ‘meh’ but the
writing was beautiful…” etc. I figured it would be fun to post it here along with
explanations of how I came to them, what they are about, or what I loved about
them.
10. The Shadow of the
Wind (2005) by Carlos
Ruiz Zafón, translated
by Lucia
Graves. An epic mystery set
in 1945 Barcelona that I randomly picked up in an airport bookstore when I
forgot my reading material and it hooked me in a way that I really didn’t
expect. I’m not normally into mysteries, but this one was great. Something
about how it is written just had me, which is really saying something for a
book that I expected to read half of and then potentially “forget” at my mom’s
house before flying home.
9. The Mouse that
Roared (1955) by Leonard Wibberly. It’s a classic about a small duchy that
decides it is economically sound to declare war on the United States. I found
an old copy of this at a used bookstore where you filled a paper bag with books
for only $5, and it tugged at the international relations major in me.
8. The Art of Racing in
the Rain (2006) by Garth Stein. A dog’s whole life told from his
perspective and how his family changed over time. I read this after my old man
puppy, Zero, was put down at age 16 and it was quite possibly the absolute best
thing I could have read at the time.
7. The Tripods
Collection (1967-1988) by John Christopher. It’s a series of four books
about a young man who refuses to be enslaved by the alien race that at age 13 “caps”
people making them the dutiful little servants humans should be. My fourth
grade teacher read these to us and I searched for years to find old copies of
them here and there until they republished them in the early 2000’s. It’s kind
of a young adult scifi from before the young adult genre existed.
6. Stardust (1999)
by Neil Gaiman. Amazing fairy tale with witches and spells and stars falling
from the sky. A favorite book of mine by a favorite author. Oh, and the movie
is also a personal favorite (on the top ten list for movies).
5. The comics that make up the Civil War series in the Marvel Universe. Okay, technically comic
books, but they put what you need to get the story line together. Ironman vs.
Captain America: should super humans register with the government? I am fully
on Cap’s side of the superhuman civil war in arguing that they should be free
to protect their identity as well as society. Yes, the movie is coming out but
oh, the comics are soooooooo good. #teamcap
4. Nickel and Dimed: On
(Not) Getting By In America (2001) by Barbara Ehrenreich. A woman reports
on what it is like to live on minimum wage. The first non-fiction book on my
list and one of the reasons I decided to do Americorps as well as why I decided
to become a social worker. Poverty sucks, yo.
3. Orange is the New
Black (2010) by Piper Kerman. The book that inspired the Netflix series is
about a woman’s experience in prison years after she had completely changed her
life. I wrote a whole review of it here, something I rarely do. This book is another
one of the major things that inspired me to go into social work and work with
the population I chose to dedicate my professional life to (youth with
substance use problems and juvenile justice involvement).
2. Ella Enchanted
(1997) by Gail Carson Levine. Cinderella with a curse that she must obey
everything. The world is well developed; it’s a light and fun fairy tale. I
loved it so much that I stole the copy I have from the middle school library when
I moved at age 10. I even took this book to college with me because it seems
like no matter how I am feeling (sad, angry, elated, etc) re-reading this book
always ends well for me. I think I pick it up every 2-3 years or so and read it
again.
1. The Stand (1978)
by Stephen King. Completely engrossing story of a super flu wiping out 95% of
the population and how people come together afterwards. Just don’t read it if
you have the sniffles. Summer colds are the worst.
Honorable mentions: Almost anything by Chuck Palahniuk, The Tortall Series by Tamora Pierce, The Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling, and The Kronos Series by Rysa Walker. All also great, possibly even considered to be life-changing. They just got edged out a little bit in how different books have impacted me over the years. (I am still completely an HP nerd. I swear.)
Category:
#OITNB,
#recommendsday,
books,
Civil War,
good books,
Harry Potter,
Marvel,
Neil Gaiman,
OITNB,
Orange is the new black,
Piper Kerman,
stardust,
Stephen King
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comments
For some reason, I decided to see what was going on with my blog. Read that as "I decided to see when I blogged last" only to find that my blog was staring me in the face and saying "YOU SAID YOU WERE GOING TO JOURNAL EVERY DAY AND THEN ABANDONED ME FOR 1.5 YEARS."
Yeah, I did. I really, really did. But as I have decided to pursue a lot of new and different things lately, I have also decided to revive my blog.
And I mean it this time.
No, guys, I REALLY mean it. Mostly because I am in the process of editing my 2014 NaNoWriMo novel for publication and blogs are darn useful for general interest, but also because I kind of miss having an outlet. Now that I am no longer dying the slow and painful death that is grad school I think I can actually do this again.
No, really. I mean it!
Everyone else look away right now for the next few lines. I need to have an aside with myself in the future.
Ok, self. Are we alone? Good. Consider this Past Sara putting Future Sara on check. If you look at your blog at first glance 1.5 years from now and this is what you see, you are done. Finished. Blogging is not for you.
And you are a jerk. Remember that Past Sara said that.
EVERYONE CAN LOOK BACK NOW. I just needed to get that off my chest. But now that I am back to blogging, you know, that last bit will never be seen again.
I am so bad at holding myself accountable.
Category:
2014,
blogs,
graduate school,
NaNoWriMo
0
comments
Today begins a 31 day journaling challenge. It's basically like National Novel Writing Month but less of an overall big project with a deadline and stress and kookiness and more of a "please try to jot down your thoughts daily, ok, thanks, bye." So the premise is similar (the premise being that writing is a good thing overall), but it is a slightly different focus and avenue.
To try to make it a bit easier on the participants they provide daily prompts and inspiration, the first of which boils down to "why?" Why try to write daily? Why make it part of a daily routine? Why bother?
If there is one thing that the rush and thrill of NaNoWriMo has taught me over the last 4 years it is that writing is cathartic. Whether or not anyone ever reads what you write, you have a concrete product at the end of whatever writing session you just finished. Journaling (or blogging, in my case) every day doesn't give you the bragging rights of "I wrote a novel", but it does provide an outlet for a lot of things, whether you need a place to vent, mull over ideas, or a task to take your mind off of the here and now.
Any long-term social worker will tell you the value of self care. If they don't, they are more likely to be one of the majority of social workers that burn out in the first few years after beginning their career. Self care can be a lot of things, from doing nothing for a few hours to rock climbing. For me, it is keeping busy. Being idle for too long makes me antsy and I start to feel like I am forgetting about things or just wasting my time.
Journaling is often something we ask clients to do in order to provide them with insight or to gather more information about a situation. It is a useful tool that provides them with a method of self-care and reflection while also giving us a solid way to begin helping them figure out where they are. So to the question of why journal everyday, I say why not? Maybe taking time out every day to journal, even if it is for just a short time, will provide me with deeper insight and a chance to figure out where I am and what I need to do to get to the next par
Category:
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comments
The five stages of beginning the semester:
Denial: I still have plenty of time before I need to worry about school. It won't be that bad. It doesn't start until next week.
Anger: The textbook costs how much?!? WHAT, IS IT MADE OF THE PAPER FROM A SACRED TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OR SOMETHING?
Bargaining: I'll volunteer instead of school. I'll read on my own. I'll do good things with my time. Just don't make me go!
Depression: Go on to class without me. I can't take this cruel existence anymore.
Acceptance: I'll show up. I'll participate. But I will sit in the back of the room and I will not have fun.
Category:
grad school grind,
pain and suffering,
UTEP
0
comments
I had forgotten how exciting an upcoming break from the daily grind of school could be. However, at Knox Spring Break meant very big things: 1. no homework or studying at all since you just finished your winter term finals; 2. Winter term, the worst ten weeks of the year, was finally over so professors would stop piling on massive amounts of homework because they figured you had nothing better to do than stay inside studying; and 3. Flunk season was coming.
Flunk Day, for those who have not experienced the mystique for themselves, is the most magical day of the year. At around 5 a.m. on a random day during Spring term you wake up to (or stop writing a paper you were pulling an all-nighter for) dozens of people screaming the best three words you will ever hear, "IT'S FLUNK DAY!" Classes are cancelled. Carnival games roll in. There is a foam pit that really turns into a dirty water pit from the mud of the unsanctioned mud pit; ice cream trucks drive around and hand out free treats; Abraham Lincoln, Elvis Presley, and other famous people walk around chatting and taking selfies with students; and so many other amazing things that it truly is the best day of the year. It's like having a snow day, but replace the snow with fun, so much fun.
Alas, now that I have left the wonder that was Knox College I will be spending my spring break not dreaming of the flunktivities to come, but rather studying for an exam the following Monday and still meeting with clients for my internship. Mix in a quick weekend trip to Albuquerque just to get away and throw in grown up things like going to the doctor and my spring break is gone before I can even think about Flunking.
But that doesn't mean that I can't look at old pictures of myself covered in paint or chilling with good old Abe and wish that UTEP could call me at 5 a.m. some day during the rest of the semester just to give me a much needed mental health day.
Flunk Day, for those who have not experienced the mystique for themselves, is the most magical day of the year. At around 5 a.m. on a random day during Spring term you wake up to (or stop writing a paper you were pulling an all-nighter for) dozens of people screaming the best three words you will ever hear, "IT'S FLUNK DAY!" Classes are cancelled. Carnival games roll in. There is a foam pit that really turns into a dirty water pit from the mud of the unsanctioned mud pit; ice cream trucks drive around and hand out free treats; Abraham Lincoln, Elvis Presley, and other famous people walk around chatting and taking selfies with students; and so many other amazing things that it truly is the best day of the year. It's like having a snow day, but replace the snow with fun, so much fun.
Alas, now that I have left the wonder that was Knox College I will be spending my spring break not dreaming of the flunktivities to come, but rather studying for an exam the following Monday and still meeting with clients for my internship. Mix in a quick weekend trip to Albuquerque just to get away and throw in grown up things like going to the doctor and my spring break is gone before I can even think about Flunking.
But that doesn't mean that I can't look at old pictures of myself covered in paint or chilling with good old Abe and wish that UTEP could call me at 5 a.m. some day during the rest of the semester just to give me a much needed mental health day.
Category:
0
comments
My last post about never having time ever was apparently totally true. Also I have forgotten how to use commas.
I am 15 days into 2014 and have remembered that I have a blog. Fancy that. I have also recently been roped into using Goodreads, which is a good thing because otherwise I kind of forget about reading for enjoyment when I get really busy (i.e. during the semester) and setting a book goal to read for the Goodreads challenge as well as playing book bingo with a friend are both things that will help me think of reading not with a cringe but with at least a little bit of a smile during the semester. That is a really long sentence.
What I've done since I last posted on my blog:
*Completed TWO semesters of graduate school for my Master's of Social Work (even though there were forces at work to get me kicked out). In doing so I have realized that I have chosen the correct field for me.
*Successfully not gotten divorced yet.
*Adopted a second rescue pup. His name is Loki and he is wonderful. He had been sold on Craigslist 5 times before he got to the shelter at only 9 weeks old. I can't imagine life without him or Apollo.
*Wrote another novel in November and survived being municipal liaison for NaNoWriMo.
*Begrudgingly accepted that I need to learn APA style. I hate APA style. I think it looks ugly and wastes paper.
*Gotten into and watched all of Doctor Who. Yes, this is life changing.
Granted there is a lot more that I have done besides all of that but it's been awhile since I have written a blog entry and I'm a bit rusty.
What I've done since I last posted on my blog:
*Completed TWO semesters of graduate school for my Master's of Social Work (even though there were forces at work to get me kicked out). In doing so I have realized that I have chosen the correct field for me.
*Successfully not gotten divorced yet.
*Adopted a second rescue pup. His name is Loki and he is wonderful. He had been sold on Craigslist 5 times before he got to the shelter at only 9 weeks old. I can't imagine life without him or Apollo.
*Wrote another novel in November and survived being municipal liaison for NaNoWriMo.
*Begrudgingly accepted that I need to learn APA style. I hate APA style. I think it looks ugly and wastes paper.
*Gotten into and watched all of Doctor Who. Yes, this is life changing.
Granted there is a lot more that I have done besides all of that but it's been awhile since I have written a blog entry and I'm a bit rusty.
Category:
1 comments
As I sat in the mini-orientation for the graduate school program I begin in June, one theme repeated itself: You will never ever ever have time for anything other than school while in this program.
Now, I realize most graduate school programs feel that way, but that was just for the full-time, 24 month students. It is what seems to be a fairly standard class load: 9 credit hours in the summer and 15 in the fall and spring. When you do the calculations on a standard of "for every hour of class you should be studying three hours outside of class" it comes out to 36 hours. Easy-peasy.
What that doesn't include is a 15-hour per week on-site practicum that must be completed, which comes out to an additional 240 hours per semester. That brings the grand total "time commitment" up to 51 hours per week, all because of the on-site practicum.
Oh, and did I mention that I am actually doing all of this in 20 months as opposed to 24? Yeah, it's expedited. So during the second summer I get to do a 30-hour per week practicum on top of two classes.
Don't get me wrong, I'm actually really looking forward to the practicum more than anything else. A lot can be learned in the classroom, but being out doing is an entirely different kind of learning.
That doesn't mean I'm not going to die.
Now, I realize most graduate school programs feel that way, but that was just for the full-time, 24 month students. It is what seems to be a fairly standard class load: 9 credit hours in the summer and 15 in the fall and spring. When you do the calculations on a standard of "for every hour of class you should be studying three hours outside of class" it comes out to 36 hours. Easy-peasy.
What that doesn't include is a 15-hour per week on-site practicum that must be completed, which comes out to an additional 240 hours per semester. That brings the grand total "time commitment" up to 51 hours per week, all because of the on-site practicum.
Oh, and did I mention that I am actually doing all of this in 20 months as opposed to 24? Yeah, it's expedited. So during the second summer I get to do a 30-hour per week practicum on top of two classes.
Don't get me wrong, I'm actually really looking forward to the practicum more than anything else. A lot can be learned in the classroom, but being out doing is an entirely different kind of learning.
That doesn't mean I'm not going to die.
Category:
0
comments
Turning 24 brings with it very few new perks, the best of which has to be the reduced car insurance rates. I still don't understand how in 26 hours I will be seen as a better driver based solely on my age. I struggled with the same issue understanding how being 20 and 364 days old made me less responsible in alcohol related decisions. I know plenty of people that are over 21 that still have no clue how to responsibly enjoy alcohol and about as many that are under 21 that have many clues. Go figure. I'll file it under "arbitrary things I will never understand."
Oh, and I made calla lilies out of gumpaste for my birthday cake this past weekend. They were super cute. I need to do my frosting homework, though. If I don't frost a cupcake onto a cake I'm sure my frosting instructor will have some very harsh words for me this Sunday when I come to class.
Oh, and I made calla lilies out of gumpaste for my birthday cake this past weekend. They were super cute. I need to do my frosting homework, though. If I don't frost a cupcake onto a cake I'm sure my frosting instructor will have some very harsh words for me this Sunday when I come to class.
Category:
0
comments
I have not written a post on this blog in 8 months. I keep meaning to update, even sit down and start to write about something or jot down ideas as I come up with them occasionally during the work day or while in the middle of something but never see those scraps of ideas come to full-fledged blog fruition. Sometimes I'll even be lying in bed and think, "I really wish I had written a blog about that major life event, but it seems like too late now."
Since disappearing from the internet in such an abrupt way (I think I have logged on to twitter twice in the last 9 months), a lot has changed in my life. There are the obvious huge life happenings (like getting engaged) and smaller, less obvious ones (like learning how to make a rose out of gumpaste for cake decorations).
Oh, and I wrote a novel in there. NaNoWriMo was so much fun last year that I am already planning my novel for this year. (hint: There is a girl literally going crazy from planning a wedding. Planning our wedding has actually been super easy, so I'm going to have to make a lot of stuff up, but I feel like it will be a fun thing to write.)
Also, Texas changed their law regarding selling baked goods from a home kitchen, so now I am pursuing taking my passion for baking and making a little bit of money out of it with a side business. I have the baking part down pretty well, but the decorating is where I am a bit lacking (hence the gumpaste rose). I did so badly in art in middle school and have never really been all that good at visual arts that I am kind of scared. I mean, at Knox I thought the art requirement was going to be my downfall until I found out I could take poetry instead of an actual studio art class. This should be an adventure.
Since disappearing from the internet in such an abrupt way (I think I have logged on to twitter twice in the last 9 months), a lot has changed in my life. There are the obvious huge life happenings (like getting engaged) and smaller, less obvious ones (like learning how to make a rose out of gumpaste for cake decorations).
Oh, and I wrote a novel in there. NaNoWriMo was so much fun last year that I am already planning my novel for this year. (hint: There is a girl literally going crazy from planning a wedding. Planning our wedding has actually been super easy, so I'm going to have to make a lot of stuff up, but I feel like it will be a fun thing to write.)
Also, Texas changed their law regarding selling baked goods from a home kitchen, so now I am pursuing taking my passion for baking and making a little bit of money out of it with a side business. I have the baking part down pretty well, but the decorating is where I am a bit lacking (hence the gumpaste rose). I did so badly in art in middle school and have never really been all that good at visual arts that I am kind of scared. I mean, at Knox I thought the art requirement was going to be my downfall until I found out I could take poetry instead of an actual studio art class. This should be an adventure.
Category:
baking,
Knox College,
NaNoWriMo,
wedding
0
comments
Dear Michelle Bachman,
I realize we don't talk much, what with you being kind of a crazy tea-partier and me being a bleeding heart liberal, but I just thought I'd write you a little letter about one of your recent attacks on Rick Perry.
Don't get me wrong: I am all for any attack (of a political nature, not a physical or violent nature) on Rick Perry, especially if it helps to derail his bid for president. But the thing that gets me is how you have decided to go about attacking his recent "every girl must get vaccinated against HPV" law a little over a week ago.
See, you decided to go with the age-old and dis-proven "vaccines will cause mental retardation in your children" argument. First off, it's been proven that they don't. Second off, the guy who did the study that found that back in the 80's has confessed to tampering with the data and participants chosen because he wanted to find that result whether or not it was a scientifically sound study. He was even bought off by supporters of the anti-vaccine movement at the time to publish such false results.
Also, the vaccine is given after age 9. If that lady told you her daughter developed mental retardation after getting that vaccine at age 9 that is rather remarkable. I bet lots of doctors would like to study her daughter: mental retardation developing that late in a child's life is rather remarkable, if in a very sad way.
If you want to attack Perry's law, go for it in a way that makes you look like an intelligent human being rather than someone that read one headline 30 years ago and hasn't bothered to check the validity of the statement and just keeps repeating it. Here are a few options:
1. How about you say it is ridiculous that he requires the HPV vaccine only for girls? Boys are actually more likely to carry HPV without showing symptoms, so they are more likely to pass it on to their sexual partners. The vaccine is also thought to be more effective in males.
2. How is he expecting people to pay for the vaccine? It costs roughly $128 per shot without health insurance and requires three shots within 3-6 months of each other. That can be pretty costly. And since Texas has more uninsured or under-insured residents than any other state, that mandatory vaccine is going to be pretty costly.
3. As far as women's health is concerned, you could have mentioned how he took approximately 2/3 of the budget away of every women's clinic that offered any kind of contraceptive or made referrals for abortions. None of that money was used for contraception or abortions (none of the clinics performed them). The money taken away was used for things like pap smears and breast cancer screenings. All of that money was re-allocated to "crisis pregnancy centers" that only offer care for pregnant women that are willing to keep their baby or put it up for adoption. Those centers to nothing in the form of cancer screenings or health exams at all. If he is really worried about women's health enough to make girls get those vaccines one would think he would be behind them getting screened as a cancer preventative measure as well.
4. You could have even gone with the "if girls think they can have sex without worrying about the consequences of STDs they will start having sex at age 9" argument and would have sounded like a more intelligent person. (Note: that is a ridiculous statement and is not to be taken seriously in any way. Also, girls already can have sex without having to worry (as much) about STDs: they are called condoms.)
Okay, I know you are busy, what with trying to ruin the free world and all. So I'll just leave you with this: I would be okay if you win the Republican primary, because I know that Barrack Obama will eat you alive when it comes time for the real election.
Most sincerely,
Sara Belger
I realize we don't talk much, what with you being kind of a crazy tea-partier and me being a bleeding heart liberal, but I just thought I'd write you a little letter about one of your recent attacks on Rick Perry.
Don't get me wrong: I am all for any attack (of a political nature, not a physical or violent nature) on Rick Perry, especially if it helps to derail his bid for president. But the thing that gets me is how you have decided to go about attacking his recent "every girl must get vaccinated against HPV" law a little over a week ago.
See, you decided to go with the age-old and dis-proven "vaccines will cause mental retardation in your children" argument. First off, it's been proven that they don't. Second off, the guy who did the study that found that back in the 80's has confessed to tampering with the data and participants chosen because he wanted to find that result whether or not it was a scientifically sound study. He was even bought off by supporters of the anti-vaccine movement at the time to publish such false results.
Also, the vaccine is given after age 9. If that lady told you her daughter developed mental retardation after getting that vaccine at age 9 that is rather remarkable. I bet lots of doctors would like to study her daughter: mental retardation developing that late in a child's life is rather remarkable, if in a very sad way.
If you want to attack Perry's law, go for it in a way that makes you look like an intelligent human being rather than someone that read one headline 30 years ago and hasn't bothered to check the validity of the statement and just keeps repeating it. Here are a few options:
1. How about you say it is ridiculous that he requires the HPV vaccine only for girls? Boys are actually more likely to carry HPV without showing symptoms, so they are more likely to pass it on to their sexual partners. The vaccine is also thought to be more effective in males.
2. How is he expecting people to pay for the vaccine? It costs roughly $128 per shot without health insurance and requires three shots within 3-6 months of each other. That can be pretty costly. And since Texas has more uninsured or under-insured residents than any other state, that mandatory vaccine is going to be pretty costly.
3. As far as women's health is concerned, you could have mentioned how he took approximately 2/3 of the budget away of every women's clinic that offered any kind of contraceptive or made referrals for abortions. None of that money was used for contraception or abortions (none of the clinics performed them). The money taken away was used for things like pap smears and breast cancer screenings. All of that money was re-allocated to "crisis pregnancy centers" that only offer care for pregnant women that are willing to keep their baby or put it up for adoption. Those centers to nothing in the form of cancer screenings or health exams at all. If he is really worried about women's health enough to make girls get those vaccines one would think he would be behind them getting screened as a cancer preventative measure as well.
4. You could have even gone with the "if girls think they can have sex without worrying about the consequences of STDs they will start having sex at age 9" argument and would have sounded like a more intelligent person. (Note: that is a ridiculous statement and is not to be taken seriously in any way. Also, girls already can have sex without having to worry (as much) about STDs: they are called condoms.)
Okay, I know you are busy, what with trying to ruin the free world and all. So I'll just leave you with this: I would be okay if you win the Republican primary, because I know that Barrack Obama will eat you alive when it comes time for the real election.
Most sincerely,
Sara Belger
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New blogger. I like it. It feels nice and fresh.
So I have started this new job at an organization I am not going to state the name of here in case it gets searched, and it is kind of a "We're going to give you a job and pay you a bit and want you to do these few things and maybe come up with new things but we aren't really sure about what we want and have a lot of bureaucracy to go through and have gotten really stagnant and don't really do anything anymore but some of us think we might like to so can you figure it out while we work on the figuring out of the structure of the organization until January" -thing. It has been...interesting. I have tons of great ideas of programs and events I could do but would have to take place well after January and whether or not I will be here is still up in the air. There is also the question of money when it comes to trying to figure out how to fund these new programs I want to create. I've mostly just been researching grant opportunities and outlining fundraiser and member event ideas, but it is all so...squishy (that was the best I could come up with for an antonym to concrete without saying non-concrete).
Otherwise, life is pretty good. We still don't have internet in our apartment, hence the lack of posts and my general presence on the internet overall. But that should change in the coming weeks.
We have also been fighting with our older apartment that has issues (as most older apartments do) and a language barrier with the landlady. It's kind of fun, not knowing if she understands what you mean and not understanding 100% what she means.
I really need to learn Spanish.
Funny boyfriend act of the week: I really wanted chocolate last night but was already in my comfy clothes. So Andrew said to think of what I wanted and he would run to the gas station to get it. I couldn't really decide (it's chocolate, how can you go wrong?) so he decided for me. He came back with 15 candy bars, spent a total of $22 on nothing but chocolate in various forms. What a goofball. <3
So I have started this new job at an organization I am not going to state the name of here in case it gets searched, and it is kind of a "We're going to give you a job and pay you a bit and want you to do these few things and maybe come up with new things but we aren't really sure about what we want and have a lot of bureaucracy to go through and have gotten really stagnant and don't really do anything anymore but some of us think we might like to so can you figure it out while we work on the figuring out of the structure of the organization until January" -thing. It has been...interesting. I have tons of great ideas of programs and events I could do but would have to take place well after January and whether or not I will be here is still up in the air. There is also the question of money when it comes to trying to figure out how to fund these new programs I want to create. I've mostly just been researching grant opportunities and outlining fundraiser and member event ideas, but it is all so...squishy (that was the best I could come up with for an antonym to concrete without saying non-concrete).
Otherwise, life is pretty good. We still don't have internet in our apartment, hence the lack of posts and my general presence on the internet overall. But that should change in the coming weeks.
We have also been fighting with our older apartment that has issues (as most older apartments do) and a language barrier with the landlady. It's kind of fun, not knowing if she understands what you mean and not understanding 100% what she means.
I really need to learn Spanish.
Funny boyfriend act of the week: I really wanted chocolate last night but was already in my comfy clothes. So Andrew said to think of what I wanted and he would run to the gas station to get it. I couldn't really decide (it's chocolate, how can you go wrong?) so he decided for me. He came back with 15 candy bars, spent a total of $22 on nothing but chocolate in various forms. What a goofball. <3
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Big things have been going down for this girl. I have moved into an apartment with the boyfriend, gotten a job doing something I find interesting and also entirely too much to take on, and I am looking at cars.
Also, I saved over $40 in one grocery trip with coupons and comparison shopping. It was an exciting day.
Also, I saved over $40 in one grocery trip with coupons and comparison shopping. It was an exciting day.
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I love to read. I like to read lots of different books, most of which are fiction. I think I generally like fiction better because at the end I know that no matter what happened in the book, it wasn't real. Those characters I connected to are not real people, no matter how real they may have seemed. When they die or have something horrible happen to them I am sad because one of my new friends just got hurt, but at the end of the day I can separate the fact from the fiction and be perfectly fine with the outcome.
That being said, I tend to stay away from non-fiction.This is mostly because I know that I can't just fake my way out of the sorrow and heartache I have for the characters in whatever non-fiction book I may be reading because they aren't characters at all. At the end of the book when a character dies or has some kind of horrible circumstance, it is real. Every person you meet in a non-fiction book is out there somewhere, living their life and suffering their pains (if they have them).
I don't know why, but I have been on a non-fiction kick lately (I define kick here as having read two non-fiction books in the last three months that weren't assigned by a professor). Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that I am growing up and opening myself up to the strife of the real world. I am okay with reading about real issues for pleasure (does it count as reading for pleasure if it makes you cry?) and accepting that they are real. I might not be able to save the world and solve the issues presented, but I can make myself a little more aware of them and help in what little ways I can.
The two books that have prompted this musing are Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. I highly recommend both of them (one of which I already mentioned in another blog in May) and think that many of you will enjoy them.
Orange is the New Black is about a woman who enters the federal prison system ten years after committing the crime of which she was convicted. The book chronicles the interesting make up of the group of women in the low-security prison she is sent to and brings up some very interesting issues with how the system is handled. The book reads like a letter from a good friend, and at the end of it I felt like I knew some of the women personally. The whole thing is made even better knowing that Kerman now works with non-profits to improve how they use media to get their messages out.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is about cells taken from a woman in 1951 that have since been grown and regrown in the billions and used in extensive medical research. These cells were the first human cells to successfully live outside of the human body and have led to the polio vaccine, HPV research, and countless other valuable medical miracles. The main issue is that they were taken without the consent of Henrietta Lacks or her family. I am not a science person at all, but Skloot was able to write all of the technical science in a way that I had no problem understanding. I was able to get past the science and look at the issue of cell ownership, how research has been done in the past, and a very moving story about how Henrietta's family has dealt with finding out years later that a part of their mother was not only still alive but very important to medicine. Like Kerman, Skloot has taken the issue to heart and formed the Henrietta Lacks foundation, and proceeds from the book are donated to ensure that Lacks' grand children will have resources to go to college.
Moral of the story: don't be afraid of non-fiction. I don't think I am anymore.
Moral of the story 2.0: go buy both of these books. They are wonderful and you won't regret it.
That being said, I tend to stay away from non-fiction.This is mostly because I know that I can't just fake my way out of the sorrow and heartache I have for the characters in whatever non-fiction book I may be reading because they aren't characters at all. At the end of the book when a character dies or has some kind of horrible circumstance, it is real. Every person you meet in a non-fiction book is out there somewhere, living their life and suffering their pains (if they have them).
I don't know why, but I have been on a non-fiction kick lately (I define kick here as having read two non-fiction books in the last three months that weren't assigned by a professor). Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that I am growing up and opening myself up to the strife of the real world. I am okay with reading about real issues for pleasure (does it count as reading for pleasure if it makes you cry?) and accepting that they are real. I might not be able to save the world and solve the issues presented, but I can make myself a little more aware of them and help in what little ways I can.
The two books that have prompted this musing are Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. I highly recommend both of them (one of which I already mentioned in another blog in May) and think that many of you will enjoy them.
Orange is the New Black is about a woman who enters the federal prison system ten years after committing the crime of which she was convicted. The book chronicles the interesting make up of the group of women in the low-security prison she is sent to and brings up some very interesting issues with how the system is handled. The book reads like a letter from a good friend, and at the end of it I felt like I knew some of the women personally. The whole thing is made even better knowing that Kerman now works with non-profits to improve how they use media to get their messages out.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is about cells taken from a woman in 1951 that have since been grown and regrown in the billions and used in extensive medical research. These cells were the first human cells to successfully live outside of the human body and have led to the polio vaccine, HPV research, and countless other valuable medical miracles. The main issue is that they were taken without the consent of Henrietta Lacks or her family. I am not a science person at all, but Skloot was able to write all of the technical science in a way that I had no problem understanding. I was able to get past the science and look at the issue of cell ownership, how research has been done in the past, and a very moving story about how Henrietta's family has dealt with finding out years later that a part of their mother was not only still alive but very important to medicine. Like Kerman, Skloot has taken the issue to heart and formed the Henrietta Lacks foundation, and proceeds from the book are donated to ensure that Lacks' grand children will have resources to go to college.
Moral of the story: don't be afraid of non-fiction. I don't think I am anymore.
Moral of the story 2.0: go buy both of these books. They are wonderful and you won't regret it.
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good books,
non-fiction,
Orange is the new black,
science,
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
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Things to remember after moving to the desert:
1. You will start to get tanner no matter how much SPF 75 sunscreen you use. I'm okay with being a bit more tan/less ghostly pale that I was, but it seems a bit ridiculous that even after generously applying and reapplying sunscreen I am still noticably darker.
2. 100 degrees is a nice break from the heat.
3. Where shade in the heat didn't make that much of a difference in the midwest because the humidity was so high you always felt like suffocating here it means the difference between life and death.
4. STOP FORGETTING TO PUT THE REFLECTOR THINGY IN THE DASH OF YOUR CAR SARA. One day my luck will have run out and they will find a baked Sara souflee because I forgot to put the sunshield up in my car when I ran into the grocery store.
5. Upper arm strength is key when you have to carry in all of the groceries ASAP so they don't die in the trunk of your car.
6. Do all of your baking at night. I started baking a chocolate cake after 9 because this way the house won't be unnecessarily heated during the day when it is god awful hot outside.
And last but certainly not least...
7. I really am a desert rat at heart. By far the most beautiful sunsets and natural scenery I can recall seeing in my time.
1. You will start to get tanner no matter how much SPF 75 sunscreen you use. I'm okay with being a bit more tan/less ghostly pale that I was, but it seems a bit ridiculous that even after generously applying and reapplying sunscreen I am still noticably darker.
2. 100 degrees is a nice break from the heat.
3. Where shade in the heat didn't make that much of a difference in the midwest because the humidity was so high you always felt like suffocating here it means the difference between life and death.
4. STOP FORGETTING TO PUT THE REFLECTOR THINGY IN THE DASH OF YOUR CAR SARA. One day my luck will have run out and they will find a baked Sara souflee because I forgot to put the sunshield up in my car when I ran into the grocery store.
5. Upper arm strength is key when you have to carry in all of the groceries ASAP so they don't die in the trunk of your car.
6. Do all of your baking at night. I started baking a chocolate cake after 9 because this way the house won't be unnecessarily heated during the day when it is god awful hot outside.
And last but certainly not least...
7. I really am a desert rat at heart. By far the most beautiful sunsets and natural scenery I can recall seeing in my time.
23. George Harrison was 23 when the Beatles released Revolver.
23. Twenty-three is the ninth prime number, the smallest odd prime that is not a twin prime.
23. Nobel Prize-winning economist John Forbes Nash, the inspiration for the film A Beautiful Mind, was obsessed with the number 23 and it featured prominently in his nervous breakdown. He claimed that Pope John XXIII was in fact himself, the evidence being that 23 was his favourite number. Nash also published only 23 scientific articles.
23. Michael Jordan wore number 23.
23. 23 is the atomic number of Vanadium.
23. Julius Caesar was stabbed 23 times.
23. Psalm 23, also known as the Shepherd Psalm, is possibly the most quoted and best known Psalm.
23. The 23 in South Africa refers to the 23 conscientious objectors who publicly refused to do military service in the Apartheid army in 1987. The following years the number increased to 143 (in 1988) and 771 (in 1989), with Apartheid being dismantled from 1990 onward.
23. The sum of the first 23 primes is 874, which is divisible by 23, a property shared by few other numbers.
* In accordance with the Knox College honor code, I hereby state that my sole source for this information was Wikipedia.** While I realize Wikipedia isn't exactly a reliable resource when it comes to academic integrity, it's my birthday, so I will cry if I want to (and pretend like Wikipedia is the end-all be-all of knowledge). ***
**The George Harrison one I knew without Wikipedia.
***Blogger should have footnotes so one can properly cite one's sources.
23. Twenty-three is the ninth prime number, the smallest odd prime that is not a twin prime.
23. Nobel Prize-winning economist John Forbes Nash, the inspiration for the film A Beautiful Mind, was obsessed with the number 23 and it featured prominently in his nervous breakdown. He claimed that Pope John XXIII was in fact himself, the evidence being that 23 was his favourite number. Nash also published only 23 scientific articles.
23. Michael Jordan wore number 23.
23. 23 is the atomic number of Vanadium.
23. Julius Caesar was stabbed 23 times.
23. Psalm 23, also known as the Shepherd Psalm, is possibly the most quoted and best known Psalm.
23. The 23 in South Africa refers to the 23 conscientious objectors who publicly refused to do military service in the Apartheid army in 1987. The following years the number increased to 143 (in 1988) and 771 (in 1989), with Apartheid being dismantled from 1990 onward.
23. The sum of the first 23 primes is 874, which is divisible by 23, a property shared by few other numbers.
* In accordance with the Knox College honor code, I hereby state that my sole source for this information was Wikipedia.** While I realize Wikipedia isn't exactly a reliable resource when it comes to academic integrity, it's my birthday, so I will cry if I want to (and pretend like Wikipedia is the end-all be-all of knowledge). ***
**The George Harrison one I knew without Wikipedia.
***Blogger should have footnotes so one can properly cite one's sources.
Category:
23,
birthday,
Blink-182,
Caesar,
George Harrison,
honor code,
John Nash,
Knox College,
math fun,
Michael Jordan,
prime numbers,
Psalm 23,
Revolver,
South Africa,
The beatles,
Vanadium,
wikipedia
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