Friday, November 13, 2015

one year, 27 books




When I turned 26, I made myself a goal of reading 27 books by my 27th birthday.  Somehow, I actually met this goal.  This works out to about two books every two weeks.  Most of the books I read were new but a few were re-reads.  Here's my list!
  1. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain
  2. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
  3. Uncle Tom's Children - Richard Wright
  4. The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
  5. Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut
  6. Tracks - Louise Erdrich
  7. The Ramayana - R.K. Narayan
  8. Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali - D.T. Niane
  9. A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini
  10. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling
  11. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling
  12. Flapper: A Madcap Story of Sex, Style, Celebrity, and the Women Who Made America Modern - Joshua Zeitz
  13. America Since 1900 7th Edition - George Donelson Moss
  14. Technical Communication 11th Edition - Mike Markel
  15. The Broke-Ass Bride's Wedding Guide - Dana LaRue
  16. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
  17. Call Me Zelda - Erika Robuck
  18. Ruth Hall - Fanny Fern
  19. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling
  20. The Awakening - Kate Chopin
  21. Wide Sargasso Sea - Jane Rhys
  22. The Woman Warrior - Maxine Hong Kingston
  23. Four Souls - Louise Erdrich
  24. ...every bedtime story Ari and I have read, which would really probably put me at over 300 books total for the year.

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

User Manual for Tess



User Manual for Tess
©1988

WARNING:  To guarantee quality of product, please read the user manual fully before continuing.

About Tess:  

Tess has many different roles, depending on user and location.  Tess is a senior at Ferris State University, in the Integrative Studies program.  Tess aspires to become a university professor.  English and Literature are its specialties.  It is programmed to do film and digital photography, and performs best outdoors.  This product is the fiancée of an Englishman, scheduled to be married in October of 2016.  Tess is also mother to a social and intelligent five year old male.  Additionally, Tess is a library specialist, with an emphasis in circulation, at the Grand Rapids Community College Library.  Please note that Tess may function as one or all of these at the same time.

Description of Contents:

Package contents subject to change.  Your Tess comes with the following:

·         stands 5’2” in height
·         pale epidermis, partially marked with freckles
·         tattoos of various size and design
·         one silver nose ring
·         one engagement ring
·         brown and purple hair of medium length, with a fringe over the forehead
·         cup of coffee in the left hand
·         tendency to speak before thinking
·         multiple laughs which are prone to happen for no apparent reason

How to Care for Tess:

While Tess is not extremely high-maintenance, there are requirements in order for it to function properly at all times.  Make sure Tess gets seven to eight hours of rest each night.  Upon awakening, Tess will need an Americano immediately, and will not be able to speak until consuming one.  If Tess is forced to speak beforehand, it cannot be held responsible for what it says.  Tess requires a large breakfast each morning, complete with orange juice for washing it down.  Throughout each day, Tess calls for approximately 60 ounces of fresh water, preferably chilled.  Exercise is recommended.  Activities from yoga to spinning to boot camp classes should suffice.  Please allow for a minimum of thirty minutes of leisurely reading each day.  This product is most contented after all of the former have been followed, when it has received many snuggles from its male offspring, and when it is with its fiancé.    

Troubleshooting for Tess:

Is Your Tess Cranky?

·         Check coffee intake level.  If it is too low, it is recommended that conversation with Tess is kept to a minimum.  An alternative solution would be to provide Tess with more caffeine.  Soda is not acceptable.
·         Ask if Tess is “hangry,” as this is a common malfunction.  If so, please feed immediately.  French fries and cheesecake are common fixes for this problem.
·         Make sure the product had enough rest the night before.  Five hours is the bare minimum that it can function on.

Is Your Tess Sad?

·         Cute baby animals are a short-term fix for sadness in Tess.
·         Find out when Tess’s fiancé was last seen.  As they are located on different continents, it is possible that withdrawal is a factor in Tess’s sadness.
·         If too many responsibilities are given to Tess, and not enough time to take care of them, sadness may ensue.  Please be cautious not to overload.
·         Check that all instructions in the “How to Care for Tess” section have been followed.

Is Your Tess Unresponsive?

On rare occasions, your Tess may become unresponsive.  While the reasons for this may vary, the most common are as follows:

·         Tess has not had enough coffee.
·         Tess has not had enough sleep.
·         Tess has not spent enough time with her loved ones.
·         Tess knows that opening her mouth may get her into trouble.

(I had to write an introduction for my online Advanced Technical Communication class as a set of instructions, in case you're wondering how this came about.) 

-teddy x

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

for the nosy ones



When I put up a poll on my blog a couple weeks ago asking for input on topics to write about, I never expected that personal stories would be one of the top picks -- if I had, I probably wouldn't have included it!  I guess all you people are pretty nosy and just can't help but to want to know all the juicy, gossipy details of my oh-so-exciting life, right? . . . Can you sense the sarcasm??

I'm not big on blabbing all my life's details on the internet, or in person for that matter, but the following question continues to pop up:  WHAT ARE TOM AND I GOING TO DO?!  It is the pressing concern of all friends, family, and strangers.  Maybe you don't realize it when you ask it, but this is a very loaded, daunting question.  There is no simple answer and it is actually breath-takingly overwhelming to really stop and think about.

Well, let me begin by telling you this.  This is no easy thing to decide, and I really don't think anyone, except for people who have been through it, understands what is involved.  I don't even fully understand what is involved.  So all I can do is tell you what I know for sure.

Plain and simple, Tom and I are in love (queue the gagging, I know).  So, we've decided to get married - woohoo!  We ain't lettin' no Atlantic Ocean rule our lives.  While we are unsure of what the future holds for us, we know that we're going headstrong towards it.  We are now in the process of planning a wedding reception to be held in Grand Rapids.  I say "reception" because, as far as our actual marriage is concerned, due to visas and rules and regulations and all those things that nobody likes, we don't even know if we'll be able to technically get married on the day we celebrate it.  But guess what?  That's okay.  And if it's okay with us, let it be okay with you.  Nothing about our relationship is conventional so why should our wedding celebrations be?

We've chosen the date of October 13, 2016 for this big shin-dig.  It's far away, I know, but this is simply for the reason that weddings are quite an expensive affair, and Tom and I plan on paying for everything ourselves.  We are extravagant people and will be happy with something modest, but in terms of wedding receptions, modest is still money.  On top of that, we have a whole extra pile of expenses that other couples do not ever have to deal with -- visas, moving someone's life across the world, oh, and still seeing each and maintaining a relationship in the process.  Yes, it is our choice to go through all of this to be together, but honestly, if you were in our shoes, I bet you'd do the same.

So, in short, we are going ahead and planning this celebration, and we'll get dressed up in our suit and gown and we will have a fantabulous time, whether we're technically able to get married that day or not.  Marriage is a celebration of love, and that is what we'll have.  I'm sure, as time goes on, that more details will begin to fall into place, and things will work out just the way they're supposed to.

I hope this is enough to ease all your prying minds.  ;)

-teddy x