Snow Queen

I love reading Folding Trees because there are some marvelous images and neat projects there. I saw a post on shadow decorations and really wanted to try it out, but we didn't decorate much for Halloween. I put out a cute little pumpkin from Apple Hill, but otherwise I've been focused on school. I signed up to decorate a car for Trunk or Treat at church, so that I'd get to at least give candy to cute little kids (since we don't get trick-or-treaters). After some pondering and plotting, I finally decided that I would see if I could still fit into my wedding dress. I did fit, so I decided to dress up as a Snow Queen (a good one, not the one from Narnia) and use the shadow decoration concept to create my castle.

I didn't have a lot of time to put things together so Lost Boy stepped in to make my dream come true. He arranged my lighting (a flood lamp plugged into an inverter which was attached to a spare car battery in the trunk) and called me from work to tell me that there was a castle sitting on the table at Mother's for me. I had been planning to cut up a box between errands, but he knew I didn't really have time. When I walked into Mother's house I found a very sturdy, beautifully cut wooden castle cut out bolted to a piece of plywood (so it would stand up). It was lovely!

Nobody guessed I was a Snow Queen, but that was okay. People thought I was a Princess, a Bride, or an Angel and I like all those too. One little girl looked at my trunk and said "This isn't scary at all!" Well, good.

I had some cheap plastic rings left over from Girls Camp, so I took those and put several on my fingers (like the wicked Prince John from Robin Hood). Whenever a little girl in a princess (or bride, or fairy) costume came up, I would give her a piece of candy and then tell her that she looked like a princess (or bride, or fairy) and that she needed a ring. I would hold out my hands and let her pick which one she wanted. That was my favorite part.

I really like the shadow concept for Trunk or Treat; my car was well lit and it was easy to see my decorations. I'm thinking about developing a flat screen to go on the car (maybe a frame with muslin stretched across it. Then we could do something new each year!

Imagine if

Sometimes I wish things could be accomplished by just thinking about them; by imagining the process of completing them. Driving home from school or work would be so much more worth my time! On the way home from work tonight (~30 minute drive) I was attempting to prioritize what I needed to do when I got home. If imagining could make things happen, this is what I would have accomplished:

• picked up the livingroom
• sorted some papers
• brushed and flossed my teeth (I've been chewing gum and sucking on cough drops all day and my teeth are grody!!!)
  
• looked up my new Bishop's address and phone number
• fixed the address on an envelope
• packed the couch pillows
• emailed my boss
• maybe emailed one of my professors
• gotten at least half way done with my cramming for my midterm in Climate tomorrow
• cleaned out the humidifier
• wipe the marker off my dry erase map
• written this blog.

So far, I've done four of those things and it's been 90 minutes since I got home. Obviously, the imagination could be three times as effective as having to go through the motions!

Time, Sanity, and Perfection

This weekend marks the end of Week 9 in my semester. I have seven more weeks, so I'm just over half done and I'm not sure how I'm going to make it (successfully). My goal is to get Bs (or higher) in all my classes (I really need to raise my GPA). But I'm starting to slip behind and skip classes because I feel like I can't handle the increasing load (and backlog). At least once a week I find myself reminding myself that "this is why I don't take twelve units a semester!" But I'm moving forward and I am still aiming for perfection...

Actually, I'm aiming a little lower than perfection, because I've learned that at some point I just have to accept my good, but not perfect work and move on. Its a time management thing. And a sanity thing.

Good Things happen on Fridays

I felt pretty stressed today. But I got quite a few things done, which made me feel good. Here are a few of the highlights from today:

1. Reading my scriptures first thing!
   
2. D&D's netbook (which they kindly let me borrow for the semester)
3. Turning in my graduation application (on time!) and being allowed to apply for Spring 2010 graduation instead of having to wait for Fall 2010.
4. Doing laundry (um. I love clean clothes. and Mother's washer and dryer are wonderful)
5. Turning in an assignment a week early!! (Ok, so I'm also turning in another assignment a week late, but still!)
6. Making flashcards. (I think I learn more by making the flashcards than I do from listening to lectures and reading textbooks.)
   

Thoughts on Forgiveness

In July I posted about a method I use to study the scriptures. I finished reading all of the scripture references under Forgiveness on my Topical Guide sheet in mid-September. I had a lot of notes of thoughts, impressions, and scriptures that struck me as I was reading. I tentatively allocated ten minutes of my scripture study time to type up these notes. I'm almost done transcribing my notes and am excited to compile everything into the themes and answers to questions I started to notice as I read.

Here is something I rediscovered as I was typing up my notes:

I read 1 Nephi 7:21 in which Nephi forgives his brothers for trying to kill him:

And it came to pass that I did frankly forgive them all that they had done, and I did exhort them that they would pray unto the Lord their God for forgiveness. And it came to pass that they did so. And after they had done praying unto the Lord we did again travel on our journey towards the tent of our father.

Pondering on the phrase "I did frankly forgive them" reminded me of a story I heard when I was living in Humboldt. I really looked up to the older girls at church (I was 19, they were 23-ish) and one day Megan Schlutsmeyer told about an experience she had on her mission. She hurt her companion's feelings (not intentionally) and felt she needed forgiveness. Upon being told "it's okay" she insisted that it wasn't. The details of the story are all very fuzzy (it's been ten years...) but the concept of forgiveness she illustrated with her experience has stuck with me ever since.

Saying "it's okay" is like sweeping dust under the carpet. Forgiving someone is like putting Neosporin and a Bandaid on a cut. You can leave a cut alone and it might heal eventually, but if you tend it properly it will heal faster and cleaner.

When it's not okay, frankly forgive.

Forgiveness, like faith, is a choice*.

The more I write, the more ideas I have. I expect myself to write about the larger themes I've noticed in the scriptures. Maybe I will learn more, or evaluate what I think compared to what the scriptures say as I write.

*(Sometimes a hard choice, or one that needs to be made every two minutes.)

Megan - if I've got the details of the story wrong (or spelled your name wrong) please let me know! ♥

Calming down.

Just a quick update to let you know that I have calmed down considerably since I wrote my rant about having to take an Anthropology 101 class. I'm attending class about once weekly and working on crochet projects in the back of the classroom.

I haven't talked to anyone in the administration yet... I feel so overwhelmed with getting homework assignments in on time that I don't feel like going from office to office to track down the right person to talk to. I have talked to my professor a little bit and that has helped too.

I grudgingly admit that this exposure to academic anthropology terms and concepts has enriched my understanding of human geography (in the sense that I can now identify anthropological concepts in geography discussions).

What lights me on fire?

When I opened blogger to post earlier this evening, I didn't intend to rant for two hours about about a GE class. I wanted to tell you that I love geography. I think it is sublime. I love my professors, talking to them lights me on fire.

"This world is made up of regions and each region has its own personality, its own set of significant conditions. A Tibetan yak driver, an Egyptian fellah, an Uros fisherman, an Argentine hacendado, a Kansas farmer, a Peace River pioneer -- each lives in a world whose conditions and outlook are almost completely unlike the others. To apprehend those earth qualities, conditions, outlines, measured components, and interactions that enable us to look understandingly at man in relation to the pervasive elements of his complex regional environment -- these are the most distinctive as they are the culminating purposes of geographical research (1934:4)

from All Possible Worlds by Isaiah Bowman

Why do I have to-- ?

I have really been struggling with one of my classes this semester. We've only met for class three time so far, but it is driving me crazy. My poor teacher. She hopes that we are in the class because we want to learn more about the field of anthropology even though she knows that most of us are in it to fill a GE requirement. There is a good amount of participation in the discussions for the number of people in the class, so I hope some of my classmates are being are inspired and edified. It just isn't working for me.

I've ranted about the class several times in the past two weeks. I was frustrated to discover that a class I'd worked really hard to pass, and only taken to fill the university's Race and Ethnicity requirement, didn't count for anything but units. I had to register for Anthro 101: Cultural Diversity ASAP to jump through the hoop (after all, I'm trying to graduate here!).

I'm frustrated with the course content, which seems empty and circular compared to similar topics discussed in geography classes (see below*).

I'm frustrated by the presentation method (so far: a visceral movie that very clearly made it's point about a perceived problem in our society, and vague discussion management about topics I would rather discuss in a smaller or more controlled setting).

What makes the class worse is the absence, and the presence, of two geography classes:

My Anthropology class shares a day with my Climate class (a geography class), which was canceled on Tuesday because my Climate professor was on a furlough day. But my Anthropology professor has a different furlough day (you wouldn't believe how crazy this whole budget-cutting-furlough-day-thing is - especially for the teachers!). So I only had Anthropology and I was so bugged that I had to go to school and not get to go to my geography class. (I didn't mind sleeping in though...)

Then, today, I had my Seminar in Geographic Thought class. My course capstone. The class that proves I learned something about geography. My professor is a Human Geographer (meaning her specialty is human and cultural geography) so, of course, we tend to focus on the human side of geography in her lectures and discussions. As I was preparing my assignment for Seminar, I realized that the stuff I've been learning in various geography classes for the past three years (especially the human geography classes?) is the *same stuff we're vaguely talking about in Anthropology. Only more interesting! And more concrete.

Suddenly my internal self is screaming: "Why do I have to take this Anthro class? Why-- [hysterical 397 word rant removed for readers' sanity]"

Ahem. Short summary of the rant: I feel I have sufficient life and educational experience to meet the university's learning goal for me without having to jump through this particular hoop. I don't find value in the class. I would rather take something else that offers me greater depth of personal or career development.

Thank you. I feel so much calmer.

What to write about first....

Blog posts have been running around in my head for the past two weeks, but I haven't managed to force them to coalesce into anything concrete. I want to write about my Star Charts and my summer. Lost Boy and I did some political digging last week inspired by some initiatives that may (or may not) be on the ballot in the next California election. I've been having adventures on my bike (Oh! By the way, I got a bike this summer!) and have been feeling stronger and tireder. School started and things fell apart and are turning out how they're supposed to be. I'm bugged about taking a GE class (I probably should not write about that class, but I maybe I'll write about GE requirements). And people are getting married and having babies. Oh! And I figured out how to get a $40 textbook for $6 (University Library. Copier. 8.5"x14" paper. Two sided copies....)

Hmm. I think I have a lot to say. Maybe I better say it.

Fiance, Fiancee, or Affiance?

I just learned that I've been using the word fiancé wrong!

I just always say "fiancé" when I'm talking about someone who is engaged, but did you know that fiance actually refers to an engaged male? Fiancée should be used if you're talking about a girl. If you're talking about both a male and a female who are engaged, do you say fiancés? Grammar Girl said maybe, and asked "Merriam-Webster Editor at Large, Peter Sokolowski" for his opinion. Grammar Girl found out that:

Peter believes the proper way to identify a group of male and female people engaged to be married is to call them "affianced couples" or simply "the affianced." "Affiance," the verb, is pronounced with the emphasis on the middle syllable: \uh-FYE-unss

So today I learned that Kristi is Matt's fiancée, Matt is Kristi's fiancé, and Kristi and Matt are affianced.

P.S. For randomly relevant grammar tips, get Grammar Girl's newsletter!