the arbitrary entry from university land

So, I sort of went back and forth about this. Should I save each of the letters I want to write as drafts and tackle them when I'm not reading, writing, studying, working or teaching? Or, should I just communicate them in an unoriginal haphazard list that does not give you the benefit of understanding my reasoning?
The list won. I will address them in descending length order.
So:

1. There is something decisively perverted about purity balls.
-A. When I was 14, talking to my Dad about sex was right up there with stabbing myself in the chest. When I was 17, we had moved beyond that, and our shared thoughts about sex were composed of an understanding that if Joe was ever in my room someone would die. Now that we are both adults, we are far too mature for such things, and communicate about sex the way any father and daughter should: change the subject when it comes up and fumble for the remote when something gets too steamy on TV.
-B. With the aforementioned in mind, I find it screwed up to have an 11 year old devote a whole night to NOT having sex. And, if it is the case that they are shielding the daughter from what the symbolism means and it is more for the father, he could just take her bowling or something. I find the whole thing to be an event where a father gets together with a bunch of guys from church to show off that he owns his daughter's body (for now.) Don't even get me started on the T-Shirts. *


2. There is an appliance at my house that is totally underrated. It's called a WaterPick, and the one we have is way older than I am. I will overlook the fact that it is yellow and at one time was probably white. I will take solace in the fact that it was been thoroughly cleaned a million times, and, in my mind, is as good as the day it was new. If you have never experienced the wonderful goodness of warm water and mouthwash shooting at your teeth at 10 miles per hour, you have no idea what you are missing. If you have the means, I highly recommendpicking one up. The proper name for it is a Personal Oral Irrigator, which I'm glad is not printed on mine anywhere, or I would have never used it.


3. There is one thing Canadians do way better than us. They say "washroom" instead of "bathroom."


4. Ever wonder what was happening at the teachers lounge while you were at lunch? Now I know. It was the same thing you were doing at lunch: talking trash about your classmates. And yes, they use the same language. This is not a judgement call. Just a fact.


5. It makes no sense whatsoever to suspend a student for skipping. Try to add that one up.
-A. If you agree with me on this, do not voice this opinion at the aforementioned teacher's lounge. You will be shut down.

Spring, come quickly

At the risk of sounding too American, or too male, for that matter, I would like to share with you the two things that make Michigan winters worth living through:

Bell's Oberon

and

Tiger's Baseball


Belle's will resume brewing Oberon on the first of April, while Opening Day is the second. Come quickly, April, spare me the rest of evil March!



An excerpt from a conversation with my cousin, about the Zumaya situation:
hippieange83: right. but if you had a million dollar contract, and the WORLD SERIES rested on your wrist, you would probably give it a rest, right?
MaGicMan23: yes
MaGicMan23: or just use some bengay and not be a baby
MaGicMan23: i mean i can play guitar hero for hours and then still through a balled up hot pocket napkin into the trash can from across the room at like 5 miles an hour

Things to Do...

If you are me, you should do this stuff soon:
1)Take 75 million blankets on your floor to the laundrymat
2)Get Geary to sign elegibility form
3)Contact Sanjian about 339 grade? Repeat?
4)Make appt, ask Carolyn if I can wait till end of semester to calculate G.P.A.
5)if not, cry
6)write "expericence" paper for Spitzberg, TONIGHT!!!
7)make a point to never sit next to poopy smelling guy in computer lab ever again
8)make sure poopy guy is gone before typing about him
9)Iron for practicum Wed.
10)call Mr.P about day off for Flogging Molly
11)look recipies: what goes with cajun salmon that is not mashed potatoes or green bean cassarole?
12)Do READING JOURNALS! DUE NEXT THURSDAY!
13)Begin Units. I mean, seriously start them. No. Or you are going to want to kill yourself in about three weeks.
14) catch up on your stupid bills, your fiscally irresponsable waste of space!

R.I.P J.T. York

Dear Survey Nuts,

Dear Survey Nuts,
Here is another.
Yours,
Cinnamon Birch

A standard juvenile uncreative survey. I'm lazy and it was funny(ish).
My Alter Ego (stolen from Andie)
1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current street name)
~Cinnamon Birch
2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fav icecream flavour, favorite cookie)
~Lemon Samoa
3. YOUR "FLY Guy/Girl" NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name)
~Adar
4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)
~Blue Turtle
5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)
~Marie Southfield
6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name, last 3 letters of mom's maiden name)
~Daranwin
7. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink put "The")
~The Orange Lemonade
8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)
~Bill Floyd
9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne)
~Be Delicious
10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother & father's middle name )
~Marie Odell
Wow. Those sort of worked.

William J. Gwin

In celebration of my Grandpaw's life, here are things he got a kick out of:

1)Leadin' tha singin' at church. What a Friend We Have in Jesus was his favorite.
2)Telling stories. (About growing up in southern Illinois, the navy, and General Motors)
3)Arguing with and teasing his sister Flo via long distance phone call.
4)His grandkids, neices, and nephews.
5)When his pastor would tell a joke on Sunday. (And we would, in turn, hear it each and every day until the next time he told a joke on Sunday.)
6)Monte Carlos
7)Werther's Originals (which he always had in his front pocket.)
8)Assorted crap from mail order catalogs.
9)Oprah. I forgave him of this only in death.
10)Life!

P.S. 2007, you are SLACKING.

A Conversation

Scene: Joe and Angela at Buffalo Wild Wings.
Backdrop: Large televisions broadcast John Keating interviewing Brett Hull about Steve Yzerman's career and the future of the Red Wings.

~A Conversation~

Angela: "I don't understand how there can be such a large audience for watching two people TALK."
Joe: "It is two interesting people talking about something that you are very interested in."
Angela: *shrugs*
Joe: "It's like Walt Whitman and Kurt Vonnegut talking about weddings."
Angela: "Oh. Gotcha."

Pressure

A selection from PostSecret 12/3/06:

Thank about this:

Do you ever feel pressure to make a statement (about ANYTHING)? What is the statement? How do you make it? What, in this process, do you not really want to do? How does this change who you are? Do you think your statement is made? What is the importance of making it? Is it worth it? Why?

inventions, and such

DollFinn: Remember you took that QBasic class w/ me in 9th grade?
hippieange: I did take the q basic class. With Roni Travis
hippieange: We did a semester of GW too, I think
DollFinn: You remember that project we did w/ the framed screen saver slideshow picture frame thing?
hippieange: yep! The tech invention assignment.
DollFinn: we had to come up with some invention. Right.
DollFinn: they have those now!
hippieange: SHUT UP
DollFinn: I mean they've had them awhile actually, but I saw some yesterday at Brookstone. I was like SHEESH!
hippieange: That’s funny. Especially because its sort of lame.
hippieange: I wonder what they would be called, I want to find one online
DollFinn: I forget what they're called. They're basically picture frames, just hi-tech
hippieange: exactly.
hippieange: They will market anything, apparently. I hope we got an A, by the way.
hippieange: We probably didn't
DollFinn: Here they are.
hippieange: AAAHHHHH!!!! That’s like, EXACTLY it, its just like we described it in the description section.
hippieange: simply excellent. I hope it makes no money.
DollFinn: I know, it's so funny. I wish I still had the project just because.
hippieange: Remember we made it out of crinkly silver left over wrapping paper?
hippieange: and we made the pictures like a circle so we could pull it through?
hippieange: If I remember correctly
DollFinn: Yeah. I just saw them and was like no way! So I told Adam the whole story
hippieange: The residuals would have been nice for tuition
DollFinn: yep.

Dawson's Creek

Pacey: "Well, I hope you enjoy Rochester."
Miss Jacobs: "I hope you enjoy high school."

Books!

This is an old post, but I just got tagged by V to fill it out again, so I redated it. It is also a way better feeling this time around, since last time no one really tagged me. Another reason to re-post is that I don't think anyone that I tagged (except A Good Story) completed the tag. Ta-daa:

1. One book that changed your life: Maniac McGee, by Jerry Spinelli.
It is a YA fiction about a homeless teenager and a racially divided city. It made me think about and challange ideas that I held for no reason. ~Like, Wait a second..why can't white and black people get married again? Hold on, you mean, not all parents are good people? Are you telling me that sometimes people who used to be rich an famous can end up with nothing to eat? There are people who have nothing to eat?! ~ It also taught me how to LOVE reading and showed me what a book should be like.

2. One book that you’ve read more than once: Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger
I have probably read it about 40 times. A close second is The Giver, Lois Lowery.

3. One book you’d want on a desert island:
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. I think the only way I would ever have time to figure out Joyce is if I were on a desert island.

4. One book that made you laugh:
High Fidelity, Nick Hornby. The movie is funny, but the book is hystarical. And moving, and insightful.

5. One book that made you cry:
A tie.
All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Remarque. Lord of the Flies, William Golding.

6. One book you wish had been written:
Instructions on How to be Kind in All Situations - A Church Mom Handbook for Closet Wenches by Della Darty

7. One book you wish had never been written:
Any book of hate. Mein Kampf, and the like. I wish they had not been written, but I think that since they were, it is right that they were published and that we still have copies. Now they can be used as learning tools.

8. One book you’re currently reading:
Praise Habbit, David Crowder. related quote "On the way to Red Robin I had David Crowder on and I was making up a song about my new Bible being red and sitting on my seat. I think I was finding God in my car."~Kristin

9. One book you’ve been meaning to read:
The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power Is Destroying the Church, Gregory Boyd. I have purchased it and have decided it is a topic I want to explore. Now I have to find time.

10.One book you will eventually read again:
Custom of the Country, Edith Wharton. It is such an involved story line that spans almost an entire lifetime. Yet, it is a quick read in relationship to how long it is. Its just...great.

11. Tag 5 others: AndieAnn, Lindsay, Juliane (on facebook if you have to), Stefanie, and Kristin

a conversation

Scene: Joe and Angela in Ranger.

Backdrop: Eureka Road and Telegraph area.

~A Conversation~

Joe: *silence*

Angela: *silence*

Joe: "So. What are we going to do about your public speaking?"

Angela: *silence*

Joe:"What?"

Angela:"What?"

Joe:"Hello?"

Angela:"I guess, when I'm in public, only ask me about tennis, crocheting, and camping."

Joe: ~mute chuckle.~*inaudible*~snort~

Angela: *silence*

The OAD, and such

We have recently been schooled on the joys of the OED. I, too, sing its praises daily. I happen to have a bad back, so my volume is electronic. True, it doesn't smell like a basement, and it doesn't provide the same satisfactory "thwack, thwack, thwack," page flipping sound as its bound counterpart, but it the spell checker and calculator function help me get over it.
Mine is actually an Oxford American Dictionary. Though the war wages on as to whether the OAD is as comprehensive or academically relevant as the OED, I find that every word I have cross checked is present in each.
Proof: "bloody" is found as "a vulgar slang" (with origins noted the same,) in both editions, except mine mentions that it is "chiefly British." That's helpful anyway, because I wouldn't want to go around saying chiefly British expressions, for fear that I could be misidentified as such.
This has a point, I promise.
Because I have a "history" function, I thought I would share the last five words I looked up.
1. pasha
2. Pict
3. Nahuatl
4. debauchery (for origin purposes)
5. Navarino, Battle of
There is also a phrase search, which has only been used once in earnest, for looking up "hell for leather." The remainder of these searches is chiefly made up of Joe and I wondering just what kind of phrases it offers to define. ex: "up a creek."

Hola,

To: myemail@comcast.net
From: heremail@umich.edu

Subject:Spanish grade
Date:
Friday, April 28, 2006 10:38:20 PM
Sat, 29 Apr 2006 02:38:20


Hola,
You got an 80 on the exam, and a C- in the course. See, I told you that you could do it!!! Muy bien!!
Take care,
Profesora

Overheard at the Supper Table

Eater#1 - "why are they called deviled eggs on Easter? why would Mom make deviled anything?"
Eater #2 - "they should be called Jesus eggs."
Eater #3- "or resurrection eggs."
Eater #4- "ReserEGGsions. "