January 30th, 2013 → 8:01 am
“Honor, riches, marriage blessing,
Long continuance, and increasing
Hourly joys be still upon you!” – The Tempest
My niece just got engaged and is getting married in less than four short months! Congratulations Jackie, we’re all looking forward to the May wedding!
Filed under: Blog & Other & Self/My Life
January 28th, 2013 → 8:22 am
“What is a man, if his chief good and market of his time be but to sleep and feed? a beast, no more. – Hamlet
My life feels so busy, as though all I do is sleep, feed, work, and take care of my family. I haven’t found time to write in ages… Is such a life beastly? Devoid of higher purpose? If so, I imagine most of humanity is indeed rather beastly…
Filed under: Blog & Other & Self/My Life
January 26th, 2013 → 8:38 am
“Since I received command to do this business
I have not slept one wink.” – Cymbeline
My son is going through another one of his not-sleep-through-the-night-at-all phases and it’s exhausting. 1:30 am, 2:30 am, 4:30 am cries, and then 5:30 am he’s up for good. My husband and I feel like we haven’t had a good night’s sleep in two and a half years, and, because we’ve never pawned him off on anybody for a long weekend, that’s probably true. Oye, the joys of parenthood!
Filed under: Blog & Other & Self/My Life
January 21st, 2013 → 6:46 am
“The King’s name is a tower of strength.” – Richard III
Happy Martin Luther King Day. I pray for peace and nonviolence the world over.
January 16th, 2013 → 6:34 am
“Rich she shall be, that’s certain;
wise, or I’ll none;
virtuous, or I’ll never cheapen her;
fair, or I’ll never look on her;
mild, or come not near me;
noble, or not I for an angel;
of good discourse, an excellent musician, and her hair shall be –
of what colour it please God.” – Much Ado About Nothing
I keep reading about booming fracking towns like Williston, North Dakota, where unemployment is less than 1% and money and men abound. The problem is that women do not, and in many of these places the ratio is like 2:1 men to women. Apparently this scarcity of women has led to a lot of crazy things, but what stuck me in the article this morning was the coining of the term “Williston 10” for women that normally would be considered average, but in Williston seem a perfect 10. I can’t tell if this is funny, or offensive. I mean, it does follow basic economic theory, that as scarcity increases so does value, so I should praise its core economic logic. But at the same time, we’re talking people here! All I know is that Benedick would definitely have a hard time getting a date in Williston.
January 14th, 2013 → 8:06 am
“[Aaron] is in his grave;
After life’s fitful fever he sleeps well.
Treason has done his worst: nor steel, nor poison,
Malice domestc, foreign levy, nothing,
Can touch him further.” – Macbeth
In all honesty, I did not know who Aaron Swartz was until he committed suicide on Friday, though his life did touch mine rather directly through the JSTOR imbroglio (a current research project of mine utilizes copious amounts of JSTOR articles, which I had trouble getting because of what he did). But for some reason, I’m captivated by his life, his death, and everything that’s being written about him now. I feel like he could have been my friend. I don’t agree with everything that he did, but I deeply recognize the passion with which he did it. My heart goes out to him, wherever he is.
January 10th, 2013 → 6:09 am
“I’ll put a girdle round about the earth
In forty minutes.” – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
I get on a plane today to return to St. Louis. I wish the plane ride home only lasted forty minutes; instead, with a two-year old, it’s probably going to seem like forty days. Ach, wish us luck!
Filed under: Blog & Self/My Life
January 8th, 2013 → 6:18 am
“Close up his eyes and draw the curtain close;
And let us all to meditation.” – Henry VI, Part II
I’m not all that good at relaxing, so for the holidays I was given a book on meditation. I’ve read the first few chapters and mostly it seems to recommend closing your eyes, drawing the metaphorical curtain shut, and breathing deeply. I don’t know if it will work to help me let go of my worries and angst, but it’s worth a try. Here’s to meditation, and not just after a death (as in the quote above)!
Filed under: Blog & Other & Self/My Life
January 5th, 2013 → 7:37 am
“Come unto these yellow sands,
And then take hands.” – Tempest
I’m on vacation with my family at the beach this week. And my two year old son is precious; tightly holding mommy’s hand as he tentatively steps into the waves, and then, suddenly backtracking into the sand to demolish daddy’s sand castle instead. I’m just adoring all the running, hugging and hand holding that is going on here right now…
Filed under: Blog & Self/My Life
January 1st, 2013 → 8:16 am
“Falser than vows made in wine.” – As You Like It
I’ve seen a number of Top Ten lists for New Year’s resolutions lately; they are all relatively similar and include things like: lose weight, go to the gym, spend more time with family, enjoy life more, read more, get out of debt, get organized, etc. Admittedly, I’ve made resolutions like these myself in the past, but you know what? I still need to lose weight, I still could use to go to the gym more, I should spend more time with family, and I definitely need to enjoy life more. Thus, I am not making any New Year’s resolutions this year. So there.
Filed under: Blog & Other & Self/My Life