Craptastic

I really couldn't think of a more creative title for my first blog since November. A lot has happened to me since then, but what you need to know right now is this: the only thing that could make the shit cake I'm calling life right now better is getting into grad school. Otherwise that rejection would be the icing on the shit cake. More to follow.

Be honest, what do you make?

Last night in my Lit for Children class, we did a unit on poetry. To wrap up the evening, Dr. Phillips had us watch a segment from HBO's Def Comedy Jam that featured a KSU grad. The poem is as follows:

There is a dinner party and and a guest (a lawyer) says to our poet "Be Honest, Taylor. What do you make?" (We all know that money is the most important thing in the world and those who don't have enough of it are considered second class citizens). Taylor's response was one that gave me a little bit of hope for humanity. He said "What do I make?" and then went on a tirade about how he pushes his students harder than he ever has before and how he makes parents see the potential in their children. Going over a list of what he "makes" is the bulk of the poem, but it was the end that really got to me. "Teachers make a goddamned difference. What about you?" I think you get the general idea.

The world is so wrapped up in a person's salary that they often miss the point of their job. Teachers don't become teachers because they want to take a huge paycheck to the bank. They do it to make a difference in the lives of many and maybe, in the world. I am angry that I live in a society where it is acceptable for a presidential candidate to spend millions of dollars on a campaign, but where teachers (who spend countless hours and an unimaginable amount of money getting their degree) are one of the lowest paid professions. You only make decent money if you go into the country or the ghetto (read: where no one else wants to go).

This is for all the people that get past the lure of a six figure paycheck and decide on a profession that changes humanity. This is for my friend, Nicole, who has the courage and the decency to become a teacher knowing that she will owe more money in loans that she will make in a year. Here's to you for making a goddamned difference in the world.

FOREVERRR

So it has been more than awhile since my last post. I can't decide if that is due to my busy schedule or that nothing 'blog worthy' has happened to me. I will give you a quick overview of what is/what has been going on since classes started.

*I am staying in St. Mary's with Darren's sister, Lisa, and her family. I can honestly say that I am enjoying myself. It is very refreshing to be away from jerks who have no respect for me or my stuff.

*Commuting to class isn't as bad as I thought it would be. Traffic hasn't been a problem and for the most part, neither has parking.

*I am in my last semester at KSU, but it is likely that I'll go back in the Spring to take a class or two. So far classes are going all right, even if I don't like 3/4 of them.

*I need to start applying to Grad School in the next few weeks.

*I recently got a second job at the OZ Museum in Wamego. It is definitely different.

*I am looking forward to going to Nashville, TN in about two weeks (or 10 days!). I didn't get to go anywhere this summer and even though this trip will be short, it will be most enjoyable.

I guess that is really it...I suppose this answers the question above: I haven't blogged because I've had nothing 'blog worthy' to write about. I promise I will try to do better and write at least once a week, even if it has been uneventful. Perhaps I could write a political blog...

It has been so long!

This is my first post in almost two months, mostly because we haven't had Internet. (also I've been spending time with my "awesome, studly" boyfriend)Anyhoo, I have finished numerous books and had a few adventures during this time.

One book that I read was "Blonde" by Joyce Carol Oates--it is the story of Marilyn Monroe, although fictional. It was pretty interesting and made me wonder about her 'real' life. 3 1/2 stars out of 5.

I also read "Make Lemonade" by Virginia Euwer Wolff. It is the first book in a 3 book series ( I read "True Believer" for my Lit for Adolescents class). Not as good as "True Believer" but it gave me more background for the main character, LaVaughn. 3 stars out of 5.

I've also been reading a lot of the books that I've been assigned for my Lit for Children class. So far they aren't bad and I don't think it will be a challenge to work ahead in this class.

Other updates-- I finally broke down and bought a car. A 2001 white VW Jetta. Not bad and I got a pretty good deal on it.

I am seriously looking forward to classes starting in a few days. One thing I'm not looking forward to is driving, but I'll be saving money living with Darren's sister Lisa's family (it's about a 30-45 minute drive from St. Marys to Manhattan). And I won't have to put up with shitty, inconsiderate roommates!!

As usual I'm broke because I've taken time off work to get my stuff together and work has been slow lately. I'm trying to come up with ways to come up with money easily, this is what I have so far:
----Lottery tickets. Scratchers or Powerball, either will work
----pick up cans. I'd have to get a few bags full to make it worth my while, but any money is good money, right?
----selling plasma. I'm going to look into this when I get back to Manhattan. (I can probably make an extra $50-70 a week!)
----Selling my eggs. The downside is the hormone shots I'd have to take:(

Sorry I've rambled for so long, but I've gotten you all nice and caught up! Enjoy. And I promise that I will be more diligent about posting once classes start.

The Heroin Diaries by Nikki Sixx

This was an awesome story, I would recommend it even if you aren't a Mötley Crüe fan because it gives a person some insight into the life of celebrities. Basically the book is a diary that Nikki Sixx kept from December 1986 to December 1987 and it chronicles his personal life, the band, and his drug use. It took me a little while to read this book because it was so intense that often I could only read a few pages at a time. The things this guy did to his body and lived to tell about is amazing, in fact, he has literally died twice and been revived not to mention other countless over doses. What really amazed me was the lack of response his behavior got from people. Most people just laughed off his drug use and paranoid behavior and allowed him to continue his destructive behavior. As I said earlier, it gives some insight into the celebrity world of today. No wonder some people are so screwed up or act like the law doesn't apply to them: when you have people laughing at your actions and doing nothing more than suggesting you go to rehab once a year, it isn't likely that you'll change. So if you're interested in reading something a bit more intense than you're used to, pick up "The Heroin Diaries". 4 out of 5 Stars.

Since finishing Nikki Sixx's diary, I have picked up "Blonde" again. I'm hoping to be done with it within a few weeks. As much as I miss reading when I can't read for fun, I've read so many books so quickly that I'm getting a little burnt out. I'm going to try to go through this one a little more carefully than the others.

Something to think about

With my birthday came thoughts of getting older and what I'm going to do with my life, where I'm going, etc. These are thoughts I'm sure everyone has, no matter what age they are, but I'm at the point where I feel like I should be doing more with my life. I'm actually beginning to think about my future and where I'd like to be in the next 5-10 years and since I'm graduating in December, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Planning ahead is no longer a pipe dream. Anyway, I'm telling you all of this because it seems to me that I am living in a world where in an instant, I could be gone. And so could you. I got an email from a friend the other day telling me that a former co-worker had committed suicide earlier in the week. She was MY AGE. She had had a rough go of it the last year or so and I'm sure she felt this was the only thing she could do to make things better. My friend is not the only person to pass away suddenly, Tim Russert died just a few weeks ago and George Carlin only recently (not that I knew these people personally, but I think you get my point). I feel like I wake up everyday and someone else has passed away and this has forced me to take stock in my own life. As I said earlier, I've been doing a lot of thinking and I've decided that I'm going to take a page from Mr. Keeting's book and "Seize the day" (for any of you who don't know, that is a "Dead Poet's Society" reference. You should go watch it, it's a little slow at first but the end is good). Wish me luck!

ps-A Summer Reading List note: I have put down "Blonde" for now and am reading "The Heroin Diaries" a diary that Nikki Sixx (of Mötley Crüe) kept from 1986-87 while he was a severe heroin and coke addict. Pretty interesting read so far, I'd recommend it even if you aren't a fan of that kind of music. I'm almost through with it, so I'll head back to "Blonde" when I'm done. Darren also bought me "Son of a Witch" by Gregory Maguire. It is the sequel to "Wicked".

Oh Johnson County, I loathe thee

This post is in honor of Amanda's post about things that annoyed her in one hour. Mine is a little different because It's a post about how much I am annoyed by JOCO and it's pretty much an on going process, not just an hour.

1. Darren and I don't mow our lawn much (on average once every two weeks--usually longer), so you'd think when we finally got around to it that the neighbors wouldn't come over and criticize...you'd be wrong. "Could you please not cut your grass so short? It just kills it." Um, maybe that was my plan so I don't have to EVER MOW AGAIN.

2. Same Person--"Do you mind if I mow your side yard when I do mine? My wife and I are trying to sell our house and it just looks better if it's all uniform." Of course I don't mind if you mow my side yard, however that doesn't mean I'm going to mow my other side yard or front yard any more frequently...not to mention chop down the forest that is growing in the middle of the front yard (damn stump causes weeds to grow 10 feet high!). Good luck selling your house, though!

3. The night of my birthday party Darren called me over to the front window...do you know what I spied with my little eye when I got there?? A horde of neighbors standing in a yard a few houses down pointing at all the cars parked ON THE PUBLIC STREET! Jesus people, get a life!

4. Mothers in JOCO who don't have to work and have nothing better to do than go to the gym or make more babies and then go to "Baby and Me" classes. Enough said.

5. People in the JO who work all week and then get up early on Sunday to do yard work or vacuum their cars. Of course Sunday is the one day I get to sleep in after working two doubles in a row.

6. Wal*Mart. I don't really think this is only a JOCO thing, but when I go into Wal*Mart on the KCK side, at least I know what I'm getting in to. It really annoys me when people saunter in with their Vision card to pay for food for their ragamuffins and then pay cash for their smokes and booze (did I mention I usually go to the Olathe Wal*Mart? How can people afford to be on welfare and live in Olathe??)

7. JOCO Mothers who drive huge SUVs but can't really 'drive' them. What makes you think that you can drive a huge vehicle that you can't control and endanger me in my tiny car? Jackass.

8. See above--It also annoys me that you drive a car that gets 4mpg which causes gas prices to go up because you'll pay any price for gas, even $7 a gallon. Thanks for screwing over the poor man.

I'm going to wrap this up because Darren is wondering how much longer I'll be, but rest assured that my list of complaints is much longer than this. I, like Amanda, hate living with/near stupid people.