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JFK

Next week, the 22nd, is the 50th anniversary of the assassination of JFK. Consequently, there's been a flurry of media events. At the moment, we're watching some sort of TV movie of the timeline. I've watched a number of documentaries, but I have never seen a movie.

It's actually refreshing to see everything without any sort of analysis. There is obviously some bias in interpretation, as we see in any sort of historical piece. Fascinating to me is that I have learned new information despite being interested in Lee Harvey Oswald for a long time.

Some bits I didn't know about the surrounding events:

1. The Kennedy family lost a child due to premature birth and respiratory distress syndrome. In the modern era of medicine, Patrick would have had a 95% chance of survival.
2. Oswald also shot a police officer as he fled from the law.
3. Oswald hid in a movie theater and was arrested there not for the assassination but for killing Tippit.
4. According to the documentary, Oswald and Kennedy were buried on the same day: November 25th, 1963.

Lifehacks

A little weekend fun -- here's a youtube video written by my little bro. Enjoy!

Teacher Clothes

One of the more difficult parts of my job is actually dressing myself each morning. This is so challenging that I have taken to laying out my clothes the night ahead of time (a trick I mastered in college, because it is rough picking out clothes before 8 am organic chemistry). In addition to the mental calculus of whether or not I look good, there's a whole additional set of questions. Does this show too much, both on top and bottom? Can I bend over, squat, or kneel down in this outfit so I can answer student questions? Is my outfit flammable? (Essential to know, especially on lab days. Hence the scarf/no scarf in the outfit below.) I've sought inspiration in other places. One of my favorite blogs, which is sadly not being updated anymore, is academic chic. On the bright side, they have a great set of archives.

A few things I have learned:

- tank tops are your friend. They can take a top from "hmm, not sure if it is too short when I write at the top of the board" to "this might ride up, but my tank top tucks in and covers the skin!"

- I need to find some better shoes, especially for when I am wearing skirts. Being on your feet all day definitely doesn't mix with heels, and it's not so forgiving even on small wedges or platforms.

- Even with fancy clothes, I still sometimes get mistaken for a teenager. But the fancy clothes help.

- I can wear skirts, but they are often not compatible with my frigid arctic classroom.

Next on my purchase list is definitely adding to my collection of belts. I only own two belts, and they are both black and fairly utilitarian. I am hoping to make some belts with the new sewing machine I received for Christmas, but I've got to practice on something simpler first. A few varieties will really help add a colorful pop to my wardrobe and hopefully expand my options. For now, I am hoping to try a ribbon belt that I've seen on some blogs so that I can wear a sweater dress to school.

What challenges have you encountered when dressing for work? Are there any great resources I am missing for being stylish yet appropriate?

Friday fun reading

Here's a really neat article on order and organization. It's mostly just pictures. Worth a read.

In other news, we're headed up to Fargo for the weekend for a wedding. School is keeping me crazy busy. I am enjoying the crisp fall weather. I've got so many bits of news to share, both big and small, but not enough time to write it all down. One of these days, my patient readers, one of these days.

Spending Out

Gretchen Rubin of The Happiness Project champions the concept of "spending out." In a nutshell, Rubin asserts that sometimes it is important to spend more to get a good benefit, even if the spending seems frivolous. In this term at school, every day, I am appreciating my instance of spending out.

At my school, there are several parking lots. The lot that is furthest away is a free parking lot. Last year, on the rare day when I drove to school, I used the free lot. This year, I am commuting. To use the free lot, you need to arrive at school by 9 am or drive around hoping for a spot. Rather than stress about finding a spot, I chose to spend $50 on a semester long parking pass. My lot is only 50 years or so closer, but the ease of parking makes it completely worthwhile. Thus far, I have been able to score a parking spot immediately upon pulling into the lot.

Where are places you spend out? Have you ever regretted spending out, or do you find it is usually worthwhile?

Reading

Perhaps I sound like a broken record, but I am still quite inspired by decluttering posts. I especially love this post about giving up your fantasy life. It is okay to keep things you use. But if you don't use it, perhaps giving it up is for the best. I especially love the example of the author's own life. She always dreamed of being a princess and collected antiques, fancy tea sets, beaded dresses, and other fineries. But it was only once she let go of these items that she had the freedom to truly move to England and pursue her life.

I'm still contemplating my dream life. But while I work at "finding myself," I can still let go of some things. For example, I am making a future with a physics teacher. We will always have physics books around. I really don't have to save the physics notes. It was hard to let them go, but I know it is for the better.

*****

Another set of great reading I've been doing concerns raising kids as a community. It is the responsibility of all of us to take care of children and be responsible for their growth. Part of this is being intentional in our actions. I don't think people intentionally mean to skew children, but even out best intended actions might not come across as we mean them to.

The first article is called How to Talk to Little Girls. The author focuses on encouraging girls in reading or other pursuits rather than always focusing on appearance. It can be hard to do; it is simple to compliment young ladies on how they look. But always emphasizing the physical aspects can teach girls that looks are all that matter. Definitely worth a read.

The other great blog post comes from Mighty Girl, entitled Here We Go. In the post is a video Maggie did with other moms that covers how they talk (or don't talk) to their kids about sexual abuse. The real gem, in my opinion, is what Maggie says wasn't covered by the article. She, and many of the commenters, write thoughtfully about how to honor your kids' space and autonomy. If you click over, read through all the comments for a great discussion.

*****

Overall, I'm keeping quite busy here. I am hoping to get pictures from this summer up one of these days (and finish my recounting of our trip!). We had an amazing time visiting Oregon and seeing my parents and friends. We came back running and have been catching up with friends and enjoying the area. This is the first year in a decade that neither Matt nor I have to move in the summer. In the past ten years, I have lived in 14 different places! Maybe someday I'll do a roundup of all these homes.

What to do with old jewelry?

For years now, I've had a ring from an old boyfriend. Received as a Christmas present, it looks suspiciously like an engagement ring (white gold, tiny diamond, quite sparkly), so I never wear it. I've always wanted to do something with it, but I think I'd feel dirty about selling it. Somehow, I want the ring to go to someone who needs it and will use it.

Therefore, I was really excited to learn about a Seattle group that takes donated jewelry and gives it away to women's shelters, as read about in the Seattle Times. Members of the Seattle Metals Guild clean and fix the jewelry before passing it along to women in need. Several of my pieces will probably find their way there, as I've got lots of jewelry I no longer wear.

However, the group does not take any engagement- or wedding-style bands; they take received bands and donate them to Goodwill. And I'd really like my ring to go to someone for free. I just have no idea how to do this. Any thoughts, readers? Surely, there must be some good use for my unneeded ring.

About Time

for a random post about my life.

This past weekend, my roommate and I went to the Minnesota Naturalists Association Annual Meeting. It was a lot of fun to meet people who work at other nature centers, and the talks were all really awesome. I honestly do miss going to random talks about cool biological stuff, and I wish I knew how to get that back into my life (other than going to grad school or getting my PhD, of course). The keynotes were about weather phenomena -- namely, tornadoes -- and catching snakes. I went to breakout sessions about writing children's books, the secret insides of fish, and osprey sex. In the fish one, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I still remembered all the interior portions of fish, including the location of the gall bladder. Go vertebrate zoology!

The meeting was mildly depressing at times. Turns out that you have to do a lot of seasonal work (ie 2 years or so) before securing a permanent position. I'm not sure if that's something I want to do. I'm currently researching my options and considering where I want my career to head next.

In the intern house, there's a rule from last year written on the fridge: "music must be played while cooking." We mostly adhere to this rule, thanks to the stereo in the dining room and the excellent collection of CDs. I added a lot of my own to the mix due to the number of CDs I inherited when my grandfather passed on. Interestingly, one of my grandad's CDs has become a favorite around the house: the Chocolat soundtrack. I'm currently enjoying the strains of vaguely Spanish/Arabian/Moorish/French combined music as my roommate cooks stuffed peppers for us all (it's her week on the Tuesday "family dinner" rotation).

This weekend, I'll be headed to Orlando to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family. I doubt our festivities will involve turkey, but it will be nice to see my brothers. I haven't seen them since last Christmas, and I've only seen my parents one day (graduation) more.

I've been working out at the gym. Sometimes, it's hard to get myself motivated. I've got to work out at least 12 times a month in order to qualify for a discount through my health insurance, and I have to go tomorrow to get this month's discount. In December, I will only be in town until the 18th, so I'll have to be much more diligent regarding my attendance.

I do enjoy the gym. I've been running intervals on the treadmill for about 30 minutes or so as I get my fitness level back up. On Monday and Wednesday, I go to a deep water aerobics class that involves aqua jogging, kickboards, water weights, and some wicked ab workouts. I definitely feel that the next day. I'm looking forward to lifting weights again in December -- I slacked in November -- and I am considering lap swimming again. I'm not a fast swimmer, but does speed really matter?

That's all for now. But I'll be back again later with more randomness, so don't worry!

thanks!

Useful things I learned from my dad that have come in handy this week:

* it's better to be lucky than smart (referring to serendipity in packing)

* use pliers to hold a nut while loosening a tight bolt

* boxes can be had for free (yay dumpsters!). only pay money for buying reusable rubbermaid tubs.

* consistently being a nice person will eventually pay off (mostly in friends willing to do kind favors)

Little Bits

1. I fired my physical therapist this week. I'm going to a new office next week (one recommended by a number of my friends that play ultimate with me). The office I was going to only had walk-in times available, and I'd often end up being there for 1.5 or 2 hours to have a half hour appointment. I also saw different therapists each time, and they gave me conflicting information about what I needed to be doing outside of PT. So no more of that, and I'm hoping this new place will be better for me. On the bright side, my initial problem (wicked shin splints) are much better thanks to all the stretching I've been doing.

2. It's been a scorcher for the last few days in Ann Arbor. 90F or thereabouts with plenty of humidity. I don't mind it, but it was really hot on the boat trip we took yesterday. For my job, my coworkers and I take our campers on a three mile trip down the river in canoes/kayaks. Thanks to the hot weather, a lot of kids get worn out kind of fast. My boat ended up towing a boat full of 4 smaller guys because our boat was last back and was tired of waiting for them to paddle faster.

3. This is a slow month for me in terms of the 101 things. I've been working on it a bit, but I'm not making a lot of progress. I've got more mental energy occupied by decluttering and preparing for my big move. On the bright side, I'm a bit ahead on the monthly tally, so I really only need to finish one or two goals this month.

4. I recently re-discovered Back to the Future. I know I liked the movies, and I remembered some of the plot lines. I'd apparently forgotten how truly awesome they are. I'm so happy that the trilogy is -- thus far -- standing up to the test of time. I wonder if they'll be enjoyable to my eventual future children.

5. Speaking of children, one of my friends here is pregnant. I'm super excited for her and her husband! Yay for babies.