throwback

I wrote this in the 8th grade. The assignment was to write a haiku about a scene from the book My Antonia by Willa Cather.

Sitting side by side,
Watching the vivid blue sky.
A friendship began.

The funny thing is, I actually memorized it. And still remember it - 10 years later. We had to recite it in the front of the class. I was nervous. Maybe my nerves caused the words to become seared into my memory.

mystery of genetics

I discovered something today and thought I'd share...




This is a "Zonkey" or more correctly called a Zedonk. What is that you may ask? It's a cross between a donkey and a zebra. Yes, my friends, they do exist. And yes, looking at this picture makes me laugh a little bit.

where history comes alive

I'm in the midst of reading a book entitled Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. It's written by Jamie Ford, a great-grandson of a Chinese immigrant. The story centers around Henry Lee, a first generation Chinese American citizen, living in the aftermath of the bombing of Pearl Harbor and subsequent Japanese evacuation and transportation to internment camps.

I'm familiar with this time period in history. I know that thousands of Japanese American citizens were forced to live in the most desolate of places for years. The President allowed it and a majority of people thought it was the right thing to do - because of fear. They were afraid not only of external attacks, but attacks from their own neighbors. The man running the local restaurant or the woman teaching in a nearby school. These events occurred only 60 years ago.

Reading a book like this reminds me of the Dear America series. I was absolutely in love with those books for at least 4 years of my growing up life. My most favorite was Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie. It was about a teenage girl traveling the Oregon Trail. There were broken limbs, cases of Typhoid, fording rivers, and of course, falling in love. My 12-year-old self recipe for book-dom perfection. I've always been fascinated with history. To see and try to understand how people lived before us. I mean, what seems like a story to us was a reality to them.

There is something rich about understanding history. It's a shame to me if history is made into something dry - chronological dates, long detailed-filled lectures, etc. I was fortunate to have a wonderful history teacher growing up. She made history seem...well, applicable. They were people too and look! this is how they lived. This is what they experienced, this is what they saw...and yes, what can we learn from it?

I am definitely pro-reading. And pro-understanding history.

reality television

This makes me sad. Jon and Kate Gosselin started out as a "normal" couple...complete with a set a twins and a set of sextuplets. Okay, so maybe their lives were never destined to be normal, but I do believe that the blaring media spotlight and attention did not help in their quest to Normalville. (note: maybe they never wanted normalcy, who knows.) Point being, I for one will be very deeply saddened if the couple decides to divorce.

All those little children, all the lampooning and/or libel, the fact that they have become role models...the list goes on. I would argue to say that nothing good has come out of the Gosselin family being on reality television.

Yes, I believe the first couple of seasons were wonderful. (Their kids are absolutely precious.) I was a big fan. But, as they gained a larger fan base, Kate's hair became crazier, and then the paparazzi - it only went downhill. And I don't even want to get into the effects of having a large camera crew following your every move as a 5-year-old.

I guess we'll see come Monday...

inspired

the future of comfort

Now, I would venture to say that approximately 99% of all women have been in this situation. You're dressed up and have places to go. The dress is just right and then you grab those pair of heels. They're cute and go with your dress perfectly. Except, the memories hit you. Like a tidal wave of excruciating pain. They're deceptive. They don't hurt for the first hour and then you find yourself limping with a disguised grimace and waving off people who suggest you should just take them off. (I mean, have you seen the floor...) But, like someone who is a glutton for punishment, you put them on...again.

Eureka! Someone thought of an oh-so ingenious idea. Flats out of a vending machine! Err...what? Yes, flats out of a vending machine. Unfortunately, they are not available in the U.S., but I'm sure that's only a matter of time. It's one of those, why-didn't-I-think-of-that moments...

lovely lemon chiffon

I love this Tommy Hilfiger dress. Again, I don't really think it's my style, the neckline especially. But the color is great and retro-ish. And also, January Jones looks fantastic in pretty much anything she wears. January is a cute name. I wish I was gutsy (or oblivious?) enough to name my child (read: "what's in a name" post for more on my obsession with baby names) something like that or maybe a day of the week. Imagine a little girl named Tuesday running around...(I have met someone with the name Tuesday.)

Anyway, randomness apparently abounds in my brain today. Sometimes its nice to be silly and then blog about silly things.

the reality is

¹O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

- Psalm 63:1

¹How lovely is your dwelling place,
O LORD of hosts!
²My soul longs, yes, faints
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
to the living God.

- Psalm 84:1-2

the interpretation of dreams

I've been having a reoccurring dream. The location and situation frequently changes, but one factor remains the same. I'm somewhere (e.g. a concrete sidewalk) and all of a sudden, the path becomes impossibly steep. It gets so steep to the point that I'm backsliding. I'm trying to grasp onto something (usually a shrubbery - you can imagine how effective that would be), but it causes me to panic even more. I'm grasping, my feet are slipping, and I really, really don't want to skin my knees (yes, I actually consciously think that in my dreams.) Why am I dreaming these things?

I have my theories, but I don't like them. Something along the lines of my life is changing, anxiety, stress, blah blah blah. Dreams are funny. Not ha-ha funny, but funny because they can be telling. Some dreams can be thrown out the window. You know, the ones were neurons were obviously firing haphazardly. But sometimes dreams can tell us how we're feeling - internally.

Another example took place shortly before I graduated from high school. I dreamed that I was walking around a school complete with long linoleum halls that are a beige-y pale yellow. I was the only person there and was lost. A spiral staircase even made an appearance (note: my high school did not have a spiral staircase.) Clearly, I was anxious about my next step in life: COLLEGE.

Like I said, dreams can be funny sometimes. I was obviously feeling something, but mentally telling myself other things. Sometimes we just need to feel what we're feeling and know that its okay. Even when it may involve getting a little lost in a long beige-y yellow hall or suddenly scaling a concrete hill.

So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
- Isaiah 41:10