if you have a few bones to throw, sponsor me please!!!


my friends lost their little sister last year due to the irresponsibility of some jerk.
in order to show them my support, i'm doing this walk with them.

even if it is only like a dollar, that is still a whole dollar and i'll gladly take it!


thanks in advance!!!


http://support.madd.org/site/TR/WalkLikeMADD/SFC-PhiladelphiaPA?px=2279963&pg=personal&fr_id=2550

it has been half a year since i updated this.
i totally forgot my password.

this is what i just made:
lunch.

asparagus
broccoli
tomato
peppers
penne
in olive oil


sooo good.

p.s. life is pretty amazing.

1. swift just got me the most amazing little hp mini. it is like...6x8 inches or something and fits into my purse. HELLLLLO nerdy!!

2. last night s and i took emily to see IRA GLASS for her 14th birthday.
as expected, he was fantastic and i had such a great time.

3. i still love my job, i love the 4 classes i'm taking this semester, and i love s. so much about which to be happy!

i just saved about $500 by switching to GEICO!

week one:

i love my class.
my kids are amazing and sweet and hysterical.


happy as a clam on the work-front.

my desk is empty and everything is cleaned up.


i'm just waiting for them to tell me i can go home.




so long to this place, seriously.



also, mega happy hour at 430 at the Vanguard equivalent to Saved By the Bell's The Max.

seriously, i took this picture from a book of dogs. is this really the BEST representation of a scottish terrier they could come up with??

How many people have you kissed in the past 2 months?
hmmm...3.

Would you rather spend a whole day with your mom or your dad?
my dad, because I haven't seen him in years and I'd love to show him what's changed. I am lucky to be with my mom all the time. <3

Where will you be 12 hours from now?
at emily's, trying to make her finish her homework.

Is it easy for others to make you feel awkward?
not really.

Do you know what you are going to wear tomorrow?
probably just life uniform.

Who do you wish you were with right now?
good old s, the one who causes me all the inner turmoil.

Is it easy for people to make you smile?
generally.

How many hours of sleep did you get last night?
so many. i skipped class because i was falling asleep while driving. so...7pm-6:30 am.

Is your life simple or complicated?
complicated. full time school. full time work. full time friend. part part time sister/mama to a giggling teenager and full full full time mess.

Are you easily confused?
no. that's why i was so upset when i couldn't build my new ikea secretary desk and hutch.

Is anything currently annoying you?
my soon to be former boss. totally.

What's your favorite kind of ice cream?
mint chocolate chip

Are you taller than 5'4"?
yes. by one inch.

Do you fall for people easily?
no. i hardly fall at all, really.

Have you ever liked anyone on your myspace?
yes, but i liked them in life and they happened to be on my myspace.

When is the last time you saw a big group of friends?
October 18 when we went out for susie's birthday.

How has the week been?
insane. i won't be sleeping at home all week and i'm responsible for the homes of two families. i also have school and this is my last week at my present job.

If you had 1,000 dollars what would you buy?
if i weren't allowed to pay off some debt and had to actually buy something, i'd probably buy a nice camera and a few paint brushes.

Are you different now than you were six months ago?
yes. six months ago i was buying a home with my future husband and planning my wedding. now i'm taking a slightly strange job with a pay cut and living with my mother.

When/Where was the last photograph you took?
i took a picture of my sisters at my cousin's junior sailor yacht clubhouse.

Where were you last night around 9:30?
asleep or talking to d.

Justin Timberlake shows up at your door, what do you do?
be so confused and probably call mary and kay screaming into the phone laughing like a ninny.

How was the last egg you ate prepared?
that was over ten years ago. i have no idea.

Where did you last wear sunglasses?
on sunday, walking out of the art museum with emily. it was still bright enough. by the time we got to kay marie's it had dimmed itself a little.

What are you wearing?
life uniform, obv. white shirt. black sweatervest. black pants. black maryjanes. blue scarf.

What was the last hair product you used?
aveda self control.

Who was the last person to make you really laugh?
mary

To what song did you last sing along?
ella fitzgerald, a foggy day

has been solved.

i feel like nancy drew.

pictures to follow.

God Got A Desk Job

Just to see what it
would be like.
Made his back hurt.
God's always had a
bad back anyway-
the weight of the world
and all that.
He thought His job was tough,
'til He sat at a desk all day.
It was torture.
He could feel the Light
inside Him grow dimmer
and He thought that
if He had to pick
up that phone
one more time,
He'd just start the
whole Armageddon thing
people keep talking about.
(Not His idea, not His plan,
but in a pinch, He's
sure he can come up
with something.)
The only thing that got
Him through to the
end of the day was
Snickers bars.
He ate thirty-seven.
Plus thinking about the Eagle Nebula
in the constellation Serpens.
That helped.


by Cynthia Rylant



I had to read this for class and it made me feel so glad for what happened yesterday.

it is official!


i just took a new position as an instructional assistant for kindergarten/early intervention
aka
practically a teacher!!!


and they pay 75% of my tuition for finishing grad school! HELLLLLLO AWESOME!!

HOW TO PICK SOMEONE UP FROM THE AIRPORT (as opposed to at the airport, which i'll cover some other time. that includes lipstick and batting of the lashes.)


Going to the airport is surprisingly easy. Everyone driving there is going slow, looking for people and moving from lane to lane, so if you just stick to the middle lane and be aggressive, you'll be fine.
If you're picking up a friend/parent/brother/uncle/coworker/handsome stranger, just follow the signs for baggage claim/arrivals.
EVERYONE is going slow because they are waiting for people. This is a fine introduction to airport driving because you haven't got the stress of the departures with procrastinators scurrying to catch flights. The arrival area is divided by airlines (not in alphabetical order as I'd like to see it.) Each airline is assigned a letter and number. Your loved one will probably be outside on the curb, slow down and let them in after waving frantically and talking to them on your cell phone. Watch out for the wild drivers of the parking lot buses, they are ruthless.
Once reunited with your passenger feel free to take some pictures and stop at Taco Bell on your way home.

I hope this information was helpful.

i think the job was obtained!!!


confirmation to follow. also:

DOES ANYONE KNOW OF A GOOD DOCUMENTARY ABOUT PLATE TECTONICS OR PANGAEA?
i love the shifting of continents and got a craving to watch more. (amanda g. this is where you come in, maybe?)

Cara Schmidt
Wednesday 15 October 2008
ENG 398

The Loud Silence of Francine Green
Like so many girls her age, Francine Green is torn between fitting in with her peers or saying and doing what she believes. Fitting in, to Francine, means many things. She could just go with the flow or she could make waves in many circles.
At home Francine keeps quiet and does what is asked of her in terms of chores and babysitting. She takes Artie along for walks to the store, endures his embarrassing episodes and allows him to be himself without acting ashamed around Sophie. She can follow Dolores’ lead and act interested in things she does not care for to please boys. Everyone in her home feels as though they know what is best for her. Always one to play it safe, while in the house she accepts and respects her parents’ rules and does not really disturb their universe.
Among her friends she has two options for her behavior as far as conforming is concerned. She can conform to their universe of drawing on skirts and thinking alike. Or she can conform to Sister Basil the Great’s little army of favorites, playing with paper doll saints and sending their classmates to the trashcan for talking when no adults are around.
Instead, finally, Francine Green discovers, after much searching and observing her friend Sophie’s behavior, that she does in fact have a voice of her own. In defending her friend and her non-communist shop owning neighbors, the little girl blossoms into an opinionated and outspoken young adult. The novel seems to fit nicely within the parameters of the genre presenting the reader with a girl who finally finds her voice and overcomes the barriers put forth by her parents, siblings and authorities at school. Even when she is expecting to have her thoughts and knowledge supported by leaders in her school, she is let down. They only half pull through for her.
The novel brings to the reader an interesting era in American history. Francine is expected to meet certain criteria to fit into society as a good little girl, but instead she has a tremendous urge to be an outspoken adult. Hilariously enough, she’s got this confused with becoming a movie star.
The perfect opportunity lies with this book to get students to discuss current events in society. As the honorable Mr. Bowman asks Francine what she thinks about the state of the world, so can a teacher ask their students. He expresses concern, telling her that she really needs to form her own opinions so that she isn’t hemmed in by the opinions of others. Students could be asked to consider their opinion on a topic, research and support it through a paper then discuss it with classmates, keeping in mind their original well-thought our idea. Hopefully they would not just change to be in the more popular area of thought.
There were some aspects of the novel that were somewhat unappealing to me. While I tried to believe the dialogue, expressions like “drooly” and “dish rag” made it difficult. I’ve no doubt that the author was sincere in her language; I just had a hard time grasping the vernacular and could not easily wrap my head around Francine’s behavior at times. I am an open minded reader, so I predict others may struggle with these points. The reference to Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was very nice to see as it is one of my favorite novels. I appreciated the intertextuality and comparisons from Francine’s life to the life of Francie Nolan.
The Loud Silence created by Francine is only an oxymoron when she is afraid to speak up. Once she realizes her thoughts are valuable she becomes able to project her voice and make a difference earning respect from all the people around her.

In order to have an effective tutoring session it is necessary for the dialog between the tutor and the tutored to really delve into the subject matter. Superficial conversation has no place in the writing center. For the seed that is an idea to grow to fruition, it is imperative that the tutor pair open up to each other. The best way to find out what one wants to know is for them to ask. Open-ended questioning on the part of both the tutor and the tutored will be the key to success in the writing center environment.

To start, the tutor should strive to get a solid idea of the assignment placed before them. Asking the tutored to summarize what is expected and how they plan to complete the paper will provide a solid foundation for the remainder of the session. The tutor can determine the style of thought and writing of the tutored and use this to encourage them to express themselves as best as possible.

After the work is initiated, the tutor should ask for clarification in area in which they the writing is unclear. To help the writer achieve the desired level of clarity, open-ended questions are crucial. They will give the tutored the chance to vocalize their concerns and opinions which can translate to more cohesive thoughts for those with stronger speaking skills. Something along the lines of “How do you see that the protagonist is working to improve his image?” or “What do you think is the most valuable outcome of the recycling program described in paragraph three?” can bring forth a plethora of unrealized information. These questions can, in turn, be brought back to the paper before them, outlined clearly to persuade or inform the audience.

Once the paper has been fully reviewed the opportunity arises for reflection. At this point the tutored should be asked what aspects they see as strong and which opportunity areas they have discovered. The tutored should be comfortable enough with their work to give honest answers leading to more open-ended questions from the tutor. Working together throughout the session, one hopes the tutor has developed a rapport so that the tutored may return the questions, asking what they might improve upon or what insight may be given.

Through open-ended questioning the pair can work together to improve the writing of the tutored and the tutoring skills of the tutor. The discussions and ideas that come from appropriate questioning can lead to a more fleshed out and complete final product. A tutoring session had without the use of this technique is a missed opportunity for both the tutor and the writer.

on sunday i am seeing "safety last!" a silent film from the 20s.
there will be a LIVE ORGAN ACCOMPANIMENT!!

anyone want to come along??
(if you take the train out, i'll pick you up, pup!)

p.s. i think i'm the only one who actually wants to see this.

happy baby
glass pig
happy baby
happy baby
glass baby
paint it new york
paint it new york
paint it new york
happy baby
glass pig

i'm going to devise a master plan to become truly happy for once.

i'm afraid it will involve giving some things up.

the mystery person made the sign say AROD EIRA
so after a few days of that, i changed it to:

Not Qualified

This was finally the day. I, the nerdy girl, would at last woo my soccer-playing, Umbro©-shorts-wearing crush.

I hadn't done it yet and, naturally, couldn't do it alone. He didn't seem to appreciate my serious concern for the state of the quickly deteriorating environment. He didn’t know much about me, and what he did know didn’t seem to pique his interest in anyway. But he was cute and therefore, it made perfect sense for me to like him. On this day, I knew the key to my certain success was held in the hand of his unknowing mother.
Weekly Theme Readers were the parents who kindly signed on for a day to review our poetry, short stories and persuasive papers. They worked with us on our content and showed us the proper usage of grammar and punctuation. Presented with a red pen, they were sat at the horseshoe shaped reading-group table in the back of Mrs. Lee's fourth grade classroom. We took turns sitting politely, taking feedback and remembering what to fix in order to earn satisfactory grade on our final submission.
I have no idea what I was thinking, or even more importantly, what the adults in this situation were thinking. Allowing parents to come in to review our work is a nice idea; in no way am I upset that were seeking out ways to be involved. I have no doubt that our school could afford to hire actual professionals to come review our work, though I realize parents like to be involved. In this situation though, we might have benefitted more sans their involvement.

On this particular day, Mrs. Farley was our Theme Reader. I was absolutely certain that I wanted to marry her son some day, and knew if I presented myself in just the right way, she would insist he take interest in me in some way, even if that just meant saying hello for once.
I'd always written nice papers. I was creative and responsible with commas and apostrophes. This week's topic focused on our aspirations. I knew from a very young age that my purpose was to save the planet, as displayed by my globe earrings and t-shirt selection on that particular day. (The image on that shirt: A little girl, hugging a planet next to the text: "Hurt not the earth, neither the sea nor the trees." At the time, I thought this concept was just remarkable.) I'd written my paper about my dream of becoming a marine biologist, living and working off the coast of Maine.
As Mrs. Farley read my paper, I told her about my plan to save all the various forms of sea life. She told me she was a nutritionist.
Things seemed to be going swimmingly until I realized she was going along my neatly scripted, well crafted theme, marking it with red circles, red arrows, and red dashes.
I froze, petrified at the very thought of her telling her son that I was some sort of idiot.
"Why do you want to do this?" she asked me.
"I think it is important to save the whales, and it would be fun," I replied. Fun. FUN. The limits of my fourth grade vocabulary constrained me. Without a more colorful way to express myself, the noble goals I was certain to achieve seemed trite.
On the bottom margin she jotted "fun, nice, awesome" along with some of the other words she'd pulled from our discussion. “You love animals,” and “You like to be the center of attention.” She’d pulled that from my comment about wanting to be an actress. I knew, even at my young age, that theater was a competitive field. Though I wanted to be the star of the show, I figured I’d have better luck with my other love: aquatic animals.
Ultimately, my ideas were misconstrued and the whole theme presented something far from what I wanted to say. I had this cute little paper about training dolphins at Sea World. It was so far from the truth and in my fourth grade mind, so stupid.

Looking back though, it stands out clearly that this woman was a nutritionist, not necessarily someone qualified to work on writing. Sure, her feedback on spelling was useful but we need more than that.
Clearly the impression she left was an unfavorable one. When asked to select a time I worked one on one with a person, I chose this one rather quickly. I have always loved writing, going so far as to get my degree in English with a minor in Creative Writing. This incident is now a strange memory in the mind of a person who truly loved and enjoyed school. I really did, I thought my teachers were always right, I never missed assignments, I got good grades and thrived on challenges. After the nutritionist marked up my paper I spent a little time doubting my abilities. Of course it quickly passed, as did my crush on Jeff Farley.