The Iron Woman

This is a small shout out and "thank you" for my mom who ironed five shirts for me last night. I brought her nine and kept the pants and eight other shirts for myself to press when time allows. Trying to stay on top of my schedule in clean clothes has been rough. I've prided myself for years with my ability to iron my clothes, maintain laundry, do the indoor and outdoor chores, while keeping to my career as an educator. This semester, though, I've fallen short and the ironing overwhelms me. I am very appreciative to have my shirts pressed so I can get through the rest of this week. Thanks mom!

Easter on Eastman

The second annual Easter dinner was held at my house yesterday from 12:30 until 6:15. The above movie is a nine-minute slice of the cacophony that occurred throughout the festivity and offers the joy my family noted I must miss when I'm home all alone reading and studying with only a passive dog for my company. I now have the quirky sounds of family in a safe place to cherish forever and always. Let peace reign forever.

Nisse

In Denmark, they are called "Nisse." Gnomes, the neglected entities to the Harry Potter film series that was a HUGE mistake. At the Weasley's, gnomes are common place but the film directors chose not to include them. Tsk Tsk. In the meantime, the gardening season is upon us an no lawn should go gnome-less. They are meant to inhabit all our yards because they are much more important than humanity. Gnomes are God's fingernail clippings and they deserve to be spread around the world.

Pounding stone with Paula

On Wait! Wait! Don't Tell Me a regular guest is Paula Poundstone. I love her sense of humor and with my dedication to quirky in 2009, I needed to have some of her stand up comedy. Her dry humor cracks me up whether it's visual on YouTube or auditory on the radio. She makes me crack up and that's a good thing, no?

April is Poetry Month

I was asked to teach a group of Masters students last night about how I came to teaching poetry. The above clip is a partial film of my presentation. I began with my grandmother, AnE.Rip, moved through my college years and ended with the irreplaceable education my students at Brown gave me. It was Kelly Ruff, class of 1999, who made me see Nikki Giovanni's words for how RICH they actually are She teaches at Virginia Tech and those who know about the shooting from a few years ago should also know she had that young man in her class. She worried terribly about him. My point for posting this, however, is to remember poetry heals. Poetry speaks. Poetry challenges. Poetry defies. Poetry defines. Poetry is.

Poetry is.

h2o

I read somewhere once that the human body is water's secret ploy to transport itself around the world. Actually, water runs the world.

With a headache today, I drank a bottle of water and it went away.  A quirky remedy, indeed, and it replenished the dryness I'm feeling in April cold, heated, indoor air.  Given the fact I sweat most of it out in a matter of seconds, I know there is truth in the need to drink as much water in a day as a human can.

And I thank the great whatever for tap water to fill the empty bottles always lying around.  I think of droughts and how horrific a lack of water would be.

Now, I am thinking of swimming.  That day is coming again soon, I hope.

I have spent the last three days working on life narratives of the three students I've interviewed this semester:  a boy from Nepal, a boy from Liberia, and a boy from Sudan. With two to three hours of interviews with each student behind me, and six hours per transcription of the audio, and now the twenty-four hours of writing their life stories, I am enlightened, but tired.  Now, I am creating posters of their life story so they can showcase their world to their school.

I've never made a poster before and I relied on my Apple to do this.  It turns out Powerpoint allows for larger posters, so I had to redo my work in Powerpoint.  

The point is, however, I have the quirky power to take on such a challenge and after three straight days of working on these posters, I believe I'm getting closer to my goal.