samantha and sarah, thank you for responding to my post a week or so ago with questions for me! samantha, i think this was a wonderful thing you started. i hope others follow suit. here are my answers to your questions:
--Now that you are a mom to all boys, do you feel that boys are intrinsically different than girls?
interesting one. you know, i was always a loud voice in the nature vs. nurture debate during our grad school years. i always admitted that nature had an affect on people through genetics and such, but i felt that nearly all behavior was a result of environmental factors. i still believe strongly in environmental affects on gender roles and other traits, but having children has definitely knocked me on my butt with my anti-nature ideas. i can tell you that my boys are always (and i mean, ALWAYS) wrestling each other. they are active, they are physical. neither mike nor i has ever wrestled with them, nor have they watched t.v. that could have affected them (okay, jack started watching thomas the tank engine a year ago, but i gurantee there is no wrestling on that show. the claymation trains can't even touch each other). they are not interested in coloring or crafts, no matter how much i push them to try. they both throw things--everything, and organization is NOT their strong suits. i watch friends' girls who like to carve out their little space at a table, and do crafts or color or concentrate on a toy. rarely do my friends' daughters chuck toys at my boys' heads, as my kids do to their them. could this be personality? absolutely. not all boys are as physical as my two. but i really do feel there are differences from birth between boys and girls. lexi tells me that testosterone is not produced in the body until puberty, so i can't blame it on that hormone. once this doctorate is completed, i'm actually looking forward to reading some books on my goodreads "to read" list that have been written by researchers looking at this very question.
that was the long asnwer. so the short answer is, yes, in some ways, i see intrinsic differences.
--Do you give money to to the homeless when you encounter them? Why or why not?
on a daily basis, i never (and i seriously mean never) encounter homeless in my community. in an affluent suburb of iowa, where we get everywhere by cars, there just aren't many hangouts for the homeless. so this isn't something i'm faced with very often. in new york, i did pass homeless people a few times. i guess i would have to admit that if they asked someone else but not me, i'd pass by. if asked, though, i usually gave them what i had. i rarely carry cash, though, so sometimes i had to say honestly that i had no money. this happened more in the dominican republic when i lived there in college. i'm ashamed to say that i often did not give them money. i think at that time it was a response to the fact that it happened all the time. there was the potential to be asked by at least a couple people every day. it got to be overwhelming.
--What is your favorite color?
red
--if you could go back and choose whether or not to do grad school, would you still go?
oh yeah, i would. because truth be told, i only worked a full-time job one time, and it was only as an intern for the DNR for one summer. it nearly killed me. the thought of working at a desk, in a cubicle, for 40 hours a week was suffocating. even if i went back to undergrad graduation and had the chance to re-choose my future, grad school would again be the most likely path. i had no actual career goals, and continuing with school seemed comfortable and safe. for the record, i really wanted the life of a tenure-track anthropologist. i enjoyed everything about it during my first 3 years of grad school. i never knew that when i had kids my life would change in the ways that it has, nor would i have been able to predict that i'd want to stay at home with my kids. i don't regret grad school at all. although i do wish i could close that chapter once and for all, sooner rather than later.
--one book you will likely never read, but keep on your pile of things-to-get-to anyway?
there are several, but the first two that come to mind are: "the tarot: history, mystery, and lore" and "on becoming cuban: identity, nationality, and culture"
6.30.2009
6.29.2009
my friend Bridget
so i have a friend named bridget. we met in 8th grade, when she had long curly hair and big glasses, and i had short, boyish hair. and at one point, an afro. i think we met through mutal friends, but honestly, it's a vague memory. my memory has been wiped clean of much of my childhood, given that my brain has to work overtime these days, it seems. anyway, i believe our friendship really took off after i wrote her a 52-page note while on a family vacation, sitting in the rear-facing seat of my parents' blue station wagon, much of it about my then obsession with michael jackson. (i feel a little freakish admitting that.) why did i choose to write a 52-page note to someone instead of just a journal? i have no idea. why did i address it to someone who i was newly friends, but not yet super close, with? and why did she not run away fast in the other direction? very good questions. thank you, bridget, for liking me during times when i wonder if i would've liked meeting someone like myself.
we've been friends ever since---i believe that makes 18 years of friendship. since high school, we have only lived in the same city/state one time-- when i lived in new york city for 6 months. we are different in many ways, but she is one of my oldest and closest friends. there is tremendous comfort in a friendship that is long-past comfortable. one that you depend on because you know each other well, and have seen each other through many life changes. i often go to bridget (by phone, of course) in both happy and challenging times because one of her most admirable traits is always responding perfectly. she doesn't try to fix problems or even cheer me up, but somehow always responds with the appropriate behavior, be it empathy, anger, excitement, or whatever else happens to fit. i don't usually know what response i'm looking for, but i know i feel better after talking to her. bridget has a remarkable ability to support but not judge or force her opinion.
with that said, it amazes me how many times she's gently suggested something that became huge in my life. when i was a sophomore at drake, and still an open major, the college was pushing me to define my career path. i had been to the student career center classes time and again, taking tests about what jobs would fit me, and had taken every last one of my general education requirement classes, hoping something would jump out as the "perfect" major. one day bridget sent me an email that said something very simple. she had taken a cultural anthropology course at the university of iowa, and said she had thought of me often while taking it. she wondered if i knew much about anthropology, said i may like to take a course if drake offered any. i guess we all know where that went, as i now am in the final stages of getting a phd in cultural anthropology.
i learned that when bridget speaks, i should listen.
so a couple months ago when she emailed me, out of the blue, with a somewhat random and unexpected question, it caused me to think. she asked if i had thought about what i would do a few years from now, when my degree is finished and the kids have started school. she wondered if i had any plans to become a lactation consultant, a midwife, or doula, since she thought that "my interest seems to go beyond my own experience." huh. i've long been feeling that the politics and competition of academia are far from my dream career life at this point. i will finish my doctorate, but i'm unconvinced that i'll want a job that requires it. i've toyed with the idea of looking for a job at an international adoption agency, or on a unversity campus at an international center, where i could work with cultural exchange programs but not do the teaching thing. from there, though, i hadn't thought much more about jobs. i'm just worried at this point about finishing this degree and moving on. i do want to continue to stay at home and be a full-time parent, finances allowing, until our youngest enters kindergarden. from there, though, i'm stumped. over the weeks following bridget's email, i found myself wondering if my goodreads list was filled with books on homebirth stories, breastfeeding research, and maternity system surveys because i've been pregnant off and on for the last three years, or because my interest, does indeed, go beyond my own experience. i wonder if i'll leave some of this interest behind as my kids grow and i enter new stages of parenting that don't revolve around birthing, nursing, and babies. or could it be that perhaps i have really come into something i don't to leave behind? midwifery is definitely out, as i have little interest in the nursing/pysiology/health care side of things. but i'm now thinking very closely about doula work, and lactation consultations. i guess the future is wide open with possibilities. until then, i'll be listening closely to bridget when she speaks, because perhaps she sees things in me i can't always reveal to myself.
we've been friends ever since---i believe that makes 18 years of friendship. since high school, we have only lived in the same city/state one time-- when i lived in new york city for 6 months. we are different in many ways, but she is one of my oldest and closest friends. there is tremendous comfort in a friendship that is long-past comfortable. one that you depend on because you know each other well, and have seen each other through many life changes. i often go to bridget (by phone, of course) in both happy and challenging times because one of her most admirable traits is always responding perfectly. she doesn't try to fix problems or even cheer me up, but somehow always responds with the appropriate behavior, be it empathy, anger, excitement, or whatever else happens to fit. i don't usually know what response i'm looking for, but i know i feel better after talking to her. bridget has a remarkable ability to support but not judge or force her opinion.
with that said, it amazes me how many times she's gently suggested something that became huge in my life. when i was a sophomore at drake, and still an open major, the college was pushing me to define my career path. i had been to the student career center classes time and again, taking tests about what jobs would fit me, and had taken every last one of my general education requirement classes, hoping something would jump out as the "perfect" major. one day bridget sent me an email that said something very simple. she had taken a cultural anthropology course at the university of iowa, and said she had thought of me often while taking it. she wondered if i knew much about anthropology, said i may like to take a course if drake offered any. i guess we all know where that went, as i now am in the final stages of getting a phd in cultural anthropology.
i learned that when bridget speaks, i should listen.
so a couple months ago when she emailed me, out of the blue, with a somewhat random and unexpected question, it caused me to think. she asked if i had thought about what i would do a few years from now, when my degree is finished and the kids have started school. she wondered if i had any plans to become a lactation consultant, a midwife, or doula, since she thought that "my interest seems to go beyond my own experience." huh. i've long been feeling that the politics and competition of academia are far from my dream career life at this point. i will finish my doctorate, but i'm unconvinced that i'll want a job that requires it. i've toyed with the idea of looking for a job at an international adoption agency, or on a unversity campus at an international center, where i could work with cultural exchange programs but not do the teaching thing. from there, though, i hadn't thought much more about jobs. i'm just worried at this point about finishing this degree and moving on. i do want to continue to stay at home and be a full-time parent, finances allowing, until our youngest enters kindergarden. from there, though, i'm stumped. over the weeks following bridget's email, i found myself wondering if my goodreads list was filled with books on homebirth stories, breastfeeding research, and maternity system surveys because i've been pregnant off and on for the last three years, or because my interest, does indeed, go beyond my own experience. i wonder if i'll leave some of this interest behind as my kids grow and i enter new stages of parenting that don't revolve around birthing, nursing, and babies. or could it be that perhaps i have really come into something i don't to leave behind? midwifery is definitely out, as i have little interest in the nursing/pysiology/health care side of things. but i'm now thinking very closely about doula work, and lactation consultations. i guess the future is wide open with possibilities. until then, i'll be listening closely to bridget when she speaks, because perhaps she sees things in me i can't always reveal to myself.
6.28.2009
chemical-free lawn service
I hate to think of myself as a "keeping up with the Jones'" kind of person. That's not really a trait I want my kids to take on, nor do I wish to partake in such competition myself. But I will admit that living in a suburb lends itself to these feelings occassionally. The biggest challenge for me has not been about "stuff" (cars, etc.) but the aestics of home ownership. We have a number of neighbors in our culdesac who are die-hard lawn tenders. Mowing every 3 days (diagonally, with a pattern like a football field). Personally, I could care less about dandilions. I've always been of the ilk that some flowers may be classified as "weeds," but they are still flowers and I have no problem with them. Most of our neighbors disagree, though. I refuse to put down lawn chemicals--especially because of the kids (and us) walking on them, but also because I think it's silly to expose our community to more chemicals for no purpose other than greening a lawn. Still, I found myself obsessing early this spring about the number of dandilions rearing their yellow heads across our yard. In years past, I took my (pregnant) bum out and dug them up. This year, there were FAR too many to even consider digging. We also started getting those prickly, spiny plants here and there. So I went on a search for eco-friendly alternatives to pesticides.
I'm happy to say that I found a local company, thanks to the Attachment Parenting and Holistic Moms list-serv folks, that does lawn service without chemicals. It doesn't work as fast as pesticides (think more than one application), but it works. We signed up for the budget package, which is three visits for the season. After visit #1, we were left with only a small handful of dandilions rather than the crop we started with. I'm very happy thus far with the results. Thank you Safe Earth!!
I guess this allows me my "keeping up with the Jones'" weakness (more of a "hate to be the sore thumb of the neighborhood" attitude) and still hold my values in check.
I'm happy to say that I found a local company, thanks to the Attachment Parenting and Holistic Moms list-serv folks, that does lawn service without chemicals. It doesn't work as fast as pesticides (think more than one application), but it works. We signed up for the budget package, which is three visits for the season. After visit #1, we were left with only a small handful of dandilions rather than the crop we started with. I'm very happy thus far with the results. Thank you Safe Earth!!
I guess this allows me my "keeping up with the Jones'" weakness (more of a "hate to be the sore thumb of the neighborhood" attitude) and still hold my values in check.
6.27.2009
Okoboji 2007
Today is our first full day in Okoboji. Let's hope that the boys slept okay in the big cabin with the other kids!
Our 2007 trip also coincided with my parent's trip, which was great because we had built-in baby-sitters so that Mike and I could escape for a dinner alone. Jack swam for the first time on that trip--he was 10-months-old. He had a fun time.
Jack with my dad on the Sunrunner
Vacation is tiring!
We didn't go to Okoboji in 2008 since Benjamin was born just 3 1/2 weeks before our normal trip week. So I guess I won't be able to use up another post on old photos...
Our 2007 trip also coincided with my parent's trip, which was great because we had built-in baby-sitters so that Mike and I could escape for a dinner alone. Jack swam for the first time on that trip--he was 10-months-old. He had a fun time.
Jack with my dad on the Sunrunner
Vacation is tiring!
We didn't go to Okoboji in 2008 since Benjamin was born just 3 1/2 weeks before our normal trip week. So I guess I won't be able to use up another post on old photos...
6.26.2009
Okoboji 2006
Today we leave for Okoboji. Yeah for vacation! Though there won't be any photos of this year's trip until next week at this time, I thought I'd show a few shots from previous years we've enjoyed at the Iowa Great Lakes.
Since I'm worried about running out of posts topics for the next SEVEN days, I'm breaking this little photo-walk down memory lane into a couple different posts. I know, cheating.
On our 2006 trip, we went the same week as my parents. No kids yet, although Jack would make his first appearance two months later.
My favorite part of staying at Fillenwarth Beach Resort (where my family has gone every year since I was 12 or so) is that everything is included with the room price. Paddleboats, canoes, fishing boats, arts and crafts classes, beer/wine tasting events, and other sorts of activities. They have an oudoor and indoor pool and several lakeside docks. My all time favorite activity is taking a daily cruise on one of their 49-ft boats, complete with cocktails and hors devours.
Ah, the lake
Our only tagalong kids this year were the two puppies, Hawkeye and Hawkette
Since I'm worried about running out of posts topics for the next SEVEN days, I'm breaking this little photo-walk down memory lane into a couple different posts. I know, cheating.
On our 2006 trip, we went the same week as my parents. No kids yet, although Jack would make his first appearance two months later.
My favorite part of staying at Fillenwarth Beach Resort (where my family has gone every year since I was 12 or so) is that everything is included with the room price. Paddleboats, canoes, fishing boats, arts and crafts classes, beer/wine tasting events, and other sorts of activities. They have an oudoor and indoor pool and several lakeside docks. My all time favorite activity is taking a daily cruise on one of their 49-ft boats, complete with cocktails and hors devours.
Ah, the lake
Our only tagalong kids this year were the two puppies, Hawkeye and Hawkette
6.25.2009
Packing galore
Our morning began with a little chicken pox scare, which I thought Jack had. He spent last weekend with my parents, and my mom got shingles. We were told he wouldn't be at risk because he had a chicken pox vaccine, plus she had no blisters (which makes shingles contagious). But lo and behold he developed several faint red bumps last night and I freaked. There went our vacation, fading before my eyes, as we obviously couldn't take him to a cabin for the weekend with 5 other kids (1 of which is only 4 months and has not had a chicken pox vaccine). Luckily the pediatrician said it does not look like chicken pox at all, but is probably just a heat rash that hasn't yet gone away and is slightly the result of going in and out of the kiddie pool without rinsing. Phew.
Tomorrow begins our trip to Okoboji, and since Alison is here from 8-4 today, I should be mad working on chapter 4 of my dissertation. But there is SO MUCH packing to be done, that I'm a bit tied up with that. Little people require so much. Or maybe they don't, but we think they do. Either way, that minivan will be full. And we don't even take pack n' plays or strollers along! The first weekend of our trip will be spent in a cabin part owned by a college friend of our's. It will be a mini-Drake reunion, with 4 families and their kids (6 kids under age 5!) all in one cabin on the lake. I think the kids will have a blast...although sleeping may be interesting. Most of the beds are in one big loft area, so my imagination is running as I think about trying to get them to calm down and sleep--together. Sunday night we'll check into our hotel, since we are staying the rest of the week on our own. Hopefully the weather cooperates and affords us nice, sunny, but not over-the-top heat for that week.
My goal is to keep up with Samantha's challenge while we're gone by writing up a bunch of posts ahead of time that will go up each day we're gone. I'm not even half way there yet and am running out of topics. I wish I was more creative! We'll see how it goes.
Tomorrow begins our trip to Okoboji, and since Alison is here from 8-4 today, I should be mad working on chapter 4 of my dissertation. But there is SO MUCH packing to be done, that I'm a bit tied up with that. Little people require so much. Or maybe they don't, but we think they do. Either way, that minivan will be full. And we don't even take pack n' plays or strollers along! The first weekend of our trip will be spent in a cabin part owned by a college friend of our's. It will be a mini-Drake reunion, with 4 families and their kids (6 kids under age 5!) all in one cabin on the lake. I think the kids will have a blast...although sleeping may be interesting. Most of the beds are in one big loft area, so my imagination is running as I think about trying to get them to calm down and sleep--together. Sunday night we'll check into our hotel, since we are staying the rest of the week on our own. Hopefully the weather cooperates and affords us nice, sunny, but not over-the-top heat for that week.
My goal is to keep up with Samantha's challenge while we're gone by writing up a bunch of posts ahead of time that will go up each day we're gone. I'm not even half way there yet and am running out of topics. I wish I was more creative! We'll see how it goes.
6.24.2009
littlest man
having a non-working scanner poses some pains in the rear. so i've tried several times taking photos of photos in order to share things on this blog. it often doesn't work out well, as some of you may have noted. however, i wanted to share my favorite ultrasound pic of the newest little guy in our lives. he's laying on his side, with his head on the placenta like a pillow. his bottom eye is covered, but you can see the top eye and rest of his face, and some of his little round tummy. the eye that is showing looks like a black eye! i've been joking that he's so active, he's beating himself up. he's likely just getting ready for a rough and tumble life with two big brothers.
***just an interesting note: all of the dates you see at the bottom of the pic. are the machine's predictions for my due date, based on the different measurements it takes of the baby (head, femur, etc.) granted, at this time the baby could be on the larger side but still set to come out in october, but note that only one of those measurements puts me due at oct. 2nd--all the others are around the 3rd week of september. yikes! come on baby, stay in there--i have GOT to get a draft of this diss. done before your grand entrance!!!!
***just an interesting note: all of the dates you see at the bottom of the pic. are the machine's predictions for my due date, based on the different measurements it takes of the baby (head, femur, etc.) granted, at this time the baby could be on the larger side but still set to come out in october, but note that only one of those measurements puts me due at oct. 2nd--all the others are around the 3rd week of september. yikes! come on baby, stay in there--i have GOT to get a draft of this diss. done before your grand entrance!!!!
6.23.2009
computer is back...photo update!
so our computer came back to us yesterday afternoon. the good news is that all the previously non-working files (dissertation interviews, home videos, etc.) are working. the bad news is that they flushed our harddirve completely, and erased all useful software by which we run programs. anti-virus software, gone (ironic, since it was viruses that caused all this mess in the first place). microsoft money, where we keep ALL info. on our finances, plus One Note, which has the list of all internet passwords and account numbers, gone. things could be better. but at least it's "fixed."
now that ye old computer is back up and running, i uploaded about 52 photos from the past 2 weeks. don't worry, i'll spare you the majority. here are the highlights:
next step in the patio face-lift, leveling off existing cement
Then we left for our weekend in Cedar Rapids, and came back to--HEY! Look! It's almost done!
The finished product looks mostly like this:
Last week we went to a BBQ at a friend's house, and the boys played in the sprinkler and had a grand time. Benj especially liked being pulled around by "Big Jackson"
Jack got reacquainted with his old friend, Symone, who was born 6 weeks early and a week after Jack. They spent time in the NICU together during those early days. Here'a a photo from when they were about 2 months old:
Now here's the latest:
This past weekend Benjamin and I accompanied Mike to his Iowa Pharmacy Association conference in Cedar Rapids, where he was to get an award for "Innovative Pharmacist of the Year." Benj screamed the whole way to CR, refusing to sleep, so when he hit that king bed after arrival at the hotel, he was super tired
He was like a king in that bed
After a nice long nap, he enjoyed his first of many trips to the hotel pool.
That boy is a fish
He enjoyed the pool toys, even IN the room
Here he is with his little girlfriend Shelby, whose parents watched him while I went to the awards banquet with Mike Saturday night (thanks Kelly and Kevin!)
Mike and I before the dinner (my greatest accomplishment was fitting a 6-month-pregnant belly into a size 12, non-maternity dress.)
Mike, Colleen, Logan and I at the banquet
Mike receiving his award (I know, shabby photo)
His little thank-you/acceptance speech (also a shabby photo)
Since returning home, it's been SUPER hot and muggy, so we've been spending a lot of time in the kiddie pool.
now that ye old computer is back up and running, i uploaded about 52 photos from the past 2 weeks. don't worry, i'll spare you the majority. here are the highlights:
next step in the patio face-lift, leveling off existing cement
Then we left for our weekend in Cedar Rapids, and came back to--HEY! Look! It's almost done!
The finished product looks mostly like this:
Last week we went to a BBQ at a friend's house, and the boys played in the sprinkler and had a grand time. Benj especially liked being pulled around by "Big Jackson"
Jack got reacquainted with his old friend, Symone, who was born 6 weeks early and a week after Jack. They spent time in the NICU together during those early days. Here'a a photo from when they were about 2 months old:
Now here's the latest:
This past weekend Benjamin and I accompanied Mike to his Iowa Pharmacy Association conference in Cedar Rapids, where he was to get an award for "Innovative Pharmacist of the Year." Benj screamed the whole way to CR, refusing to sleep, so when he hit that king bed after arrival at the hotel, he was super tired
He was like a king in that bed
After a nice long nap, he enjoyed his first of many trips to the hotel pool.
That boy is a fish
He enjoyed the pool toys, even IN the room
Here he is with his little girlfriend Shelby, whose parents watched him while I went to the awards banquet with Mike Saturday night (thanks Kelly and Kevin!)
Mike and I before the dinner (my greatest accomplishment was fitting a 6-month-pregnant belly into a size 12, non-maternity dress.)
Mike, Colleen, Logan and I at the banquet
Mike receiving his award (I know, shabby photo)
His little thank-you/acceptance speech (also a shabby photo)
Since returning home, it's been SUPER hot and muggy, so we've been spending a lot of time in the kiddie pool.
6.22.2009
day 6
of our computer's second stay at the geek squad. i'm getting impatient. mike's work computer keeps crashing and i'm afraid to put any diss. stuff of real value on it in the event that it crashes and loses it all. they tell me it should be done today. we'll see....
the weekend in cedar rapids was nice. mike's award dinner was very nice and benjamin did great at kelly's, my friend from h.s. who baby-sat him. i've got photos...some day when our computer comes home, i'll post them.
a bright note was coming home on sunday and opening up the downstairs curtains to discover that the patio was nearly finished. i missed seeing the actual stenciling of the concrete, but it was even better to see that so much had gotten done while we were gone. it's a tad pinker/redder than we had planned, but looks great. again, photos to come later. he's finishing up today, so assuming the final coat dries this evening, the deck stairs will go back on tomorrow and we'll have your backyard back again. yeah!
the weekend in cedar rapids was nice. mike's award dinner was very nice and benjamin did great at kelly's, my friend from h.s. who baby-sat him. i've got photos...some day when our computer comes home, i'll post them.
a bright note was coming home on sunday and opening up the downstairs curtains to discover that the patio was nearly finished. i missed seeing the actual stenciling of the concrete, but it was even better to see that so much had gotten done while we were gone. it's a tad pinker/redder than we had planned, but looks great. again, photos to come later. he's finishing up today, so assuming the final coat dries this evening, the deck stairs will go back on tomorrow and we'll have your backyard back again. yeah!
6.21.2009
To DO List
anyone have one of those lists of things you want to do/see/accomplish before you turn 30/40/die? i never made one before 30, so i guess now i'm stuck with "before i turn 40" (i'm not too keen on the "before i die" list). i don't actually have one, but occassionally i find myself thinking "someday i want to __". so i thought maybe i'd start one now. the list is so far pretty short, and a bit mundane. i'm not a thrill-seeker, so there are no "go skydiving" or "climb everest" type of items on it. i'd love to hear things others have on their "lists" for inspiration and just for fun, too, if you'd be willing to note them as a comment.
so far i've got these:
--publish something (admittedly, this is an old one. something i used to want. i figured it'd be anthro-related, and i was willing to be satisified with a journal article, not necessarily a book. i've got a book review or two under my belt, but that's not exactly what i was going for. now, i wonder how committed to this one i really am. but who knows what the future holds....perhaps something non-anthro will eventually make its way into the written world...)
--learn to play "out of range" (ani difranco) on the guitar. this involves first learning to play the guitar.
--learn to garden
--visit every continent. antarctica is a question mark. ideally i'd say "every country," but the reality is probably slim on that one.
--learn to read tarot cards
--take a pottery class
--volunteer or take a job with a cause i really believe in and which i believe will lead to a better society, be it animal rights, environment, GLBT, or women/children-related (i used to spend a lot of time volunteering at animal shelters in iowa city and new york, but find that time for this is pretty limited now.)
--attend a protest
--learn to dance (this is also a bit of a has-been goal...not sure how much i am committed to it now...i can merengue and salsa, but i'm a bit weak. any dance will do)
--read, read, read (at least a book a week, fiction, non-fiction, newspapers whatever. i just miss reading)
so far i've got these:
--publish something (admittedly, this is an old one. something i used to want. i figured it'd be anthro-related, and i was willing to be satisified with a journal article, not necessarily a book. i've got a book review or two under my belt, but that's not exactly what i was going for. now, i wonder how committed to this one i really am. but who knows what the future holds....perhaps something non-anthro will eventually make its way into the written world...)
--learn to play "out of range" (ani difranco) on the guitar. this involves first learning to play the guitar.
--learn to garden
--visit every continent. antarctica is a question mark. ideally i'd say "every country," but the reality is probably slim on that one.
--learn to read tarot cards
--take a pottery class
--volunteer or take a job with a cause i really believe in and which i believe will lead to a better society, be it animal rights, environment, GLBT, or women/children-related (i used to spend a lot of time volunteering at animal shelters in iowa city and new york, but find that time for this is pretty limited now.)
--attend a protest
--learn to dance (this is also a bit of a has-been goal...not sure how much i am committed to it now...i can merengue and salsa, but i'm a bit weak. any dance will do)
--read, read, read (at least a book a week, fiction, non-fiction, newspapers whatever. i just miss reading)
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