goals

i'm starting back up on this blog.  i am starting on my comps soon, got papers to finish for this semester, and i can't keep messing around looking at facebook and other timesucks.

First Words

Order of words:

For most babies, two of the first words are ma-ma and da-da (or pa-pa). As you read in the behavioral section of chapter 4, the order of acquisition is not based on the number of times a baby hears a word, or else one of the first words would be a, an, or the.

The (fictional) controversy over who is mama.

In cave times, children did not call their parents by pet names mama and papa/dada, they called their parents' by their handles when they were old enough to say them. Until then, babies would simply play with their voice until they grew into language. There came a time when sentimental parents across the valley would sit and stare adoringly at their child and argue over what the child was trying to say. When the first acquired sounds formed a pseudo-word, "ma-ma," both the parents were amazed at this and tried to claim inspiration.

Cave-daddy: I think he's talking about me. I think he wants to call me "Ma-ma." It's probably a pet name for me. He wants to grow up to be just like me.

Cave-mommy: I don't think so, it's his way of calling for me. I think he's saying my name because he wants me to sing him a song again.

The arguments continued until one night when the cave-baby was crying and needed attention.

"Ma-ma!" suddenly, papa is ready to agree that the baby must be talking about his mother.

Neither of them knew about the first 14 morphemes and that one of the first is "mmmm."

update on a really old post

update on a really old post.
What have I read?
These are the 25 most popular overall books at What Should I Read Next?

I liked it!

I didn't like it!

I want to read it!

The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy - Douglas Adams

The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger

The Great Gatsby - F.Scott Fitzgerald

To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

1984 - George Orwell

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling

The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman

Animal Farm: A Fairy Story - George Orwell

The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien

Life of Pi - Yann Martel

Catch-22 - Joseph Heller

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon

Lord of the Flies - William Golding

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Slaughterhouse 5 - Kurt Vonnegut

The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card

The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien

Angels and Demons - Dan Brown

Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk

Take the 'What" have I read?' test now!
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i'm back

wow. it's been a long time since i read this old blog. it's weird to have things unravel for you while you uncongeal your memories with the reality of dates intertwined with events you can't remember the actual date of, but events which you can remember vividly.

wow. some of the writings are embarrassing, just maybe because of typos or maybe cuz i was taking poetic license or just being silly. one person that i complained about as a teacher became a friend in the intervening couple of years since i left this blog.

i guess maybe i'll start writing on this thing again. i like it still, and the old graphics i had found and linked to stirred my insides a little.

i'm still sitting here with this church group. reading this old blog, one thing stood out: all these writings are from a time when i did believe in god. now i wanna go back and read them all and just compare with what i think now.

later though, i gotta go.

temporarily moved to new location

i may or may not be coming back to blogger, but until i decide, i am at livejournal...for kicks. we'll see.

good newses

i woke up today to big t-storms. there was hail and loud wind - a piece of hail almost hit me when i closed one of my windows! i haven't looked at my car yet to see if there's damage, but i doubt there is. the ground was really soft, i think we hadn't had much rain in a while.

but when i checked my email, i had one from tim who said he and raeanne are moving to the peoria area where tim will take a job at caterpillar! woo hoo! they've been living in the champaign area for the last few years and it'll be really good to have them back.

also in the email were the results to my comprehensive essays: i passed! i've thought all along that it would be ridiculous not to pass, but you never know and i didn't want to jinx myself.

my flight out of o'hare leaves in 7 days and 41 minutes.

it was four years ago that i heard of the england program from my advisor, and she said that i should try to go, and that they go every two years. well, at that time i was just starting the program; i took one class that may-june and then i stopped for a year and a half because i got pink-slipped. i didn't wanna take classes 1) that i would not be reimbursed for, 2) for a program i may not have been able to finish if i had to move away for a job 3) for a program that almost requires you to be teaching so that you can research in your classroom...

so dr. black told me to shoot for 2004 when i began, but it turns out i had to wait for 2006, and i think that may be better, i'm a slight bit more mature at least and also can afford the trip better now.

skimming reality - listening to counting crows 'sullivan street' & remy zero 'fair' and outkast 'hey ya'

rode the bike yesterday to pick up my car from dave's house - i realized that when i posted last night, i didn't specify that i didn't drive once i started to party. you know.

when i got within a mile of dave's apartment, i there was a hill that probably goes for .25 miles. on hills, especially steep ones or long ones, i average between 6-8 miles an hour, which people can jog easily, i know, but hills on bikes are hard! anyway, going that speed, i was able to get a good long look at a smooshed snake in the middle of the road. looked pretty fresh. it was probably 1.5 inches in diameter! nice pattern too, i could have used it for a belt.

so when i have read books written by writers, for writers, they advise listening to real conversations to pick up phrases and thoughts expressed in reality. the thing about that is, everyone, myself included, thinks what they say aloud is pretty coherent. i know that listening to myself at a later time having been recorded, i wish i had a built in editing machine. i wish i spoke as well as i think i write. but i don't. although i think my meanings are usually conveyed well enough, i sound like a buffoon sometimes: i seem to abandon thoughts mid-sentence - though what i actually do is enter the silent inner monologue for some reason. i get frustrated speaking cuz i know that there will never ever be enough time to convey what i want to, and even if i do, other people may decode my spoken message differently from the way i meant it.

anyway, i am yet again at panera. and when i sat down i started overhearing someone who was not really trying to hide what he was saying. he was coherent enough, and i don't think he was shy about talking. he did most of the talking in the group he was in. he sat with a married couple (i assumed at first and it was confirmed later).

"... so people kept telling me about this place. everyone i talked to said the same thing, 'you meet someone at lunch, have sex with them, then meet another guy at dinner and have sex, and it doesn't matter.' and whenever someone said that i just thought, 'i, i don't know. i don't know if that appeals to me, really.'

i didn't assume his sexuality then, i wondered if maybe he was quoting women who were talking about a cruise ship or something, where there is just tons of sex going on.

then it got pitiful for a minute. and a morpheme of the conversation kept getting muffled, maybe cuz i was listening extra hard for it, maybe it was cuz he didn't want to be that obviously flaming.

"and i want a ___friend, but i don't have one. if i want a ___friend, why don't i have one? i am involved in a group of writers up in chicago. there's six of us, and two of them are couple, and the other ones are not my type."

then he was inaudible for a minute...

"one guy was really not my type, you know he was large, grossly obese. and he asked me if i knew anyone he could date. i don't know this guy at all, but 'do you know anyone i could date?'

back to my thoughts: i was not offended at this guy's speech, but i wondered how the family sitting nearby felt about their small children hearing this. they either didn't hear, weren't listening, were resolved not to react, like me, or wanted to eat quickly and get out. i'm just being honest right now, a conversation with heterosexual content would be equally offensive to adults with small children in earshot.

and as for not wanting to react, i'm just saying that you don't get a chance to be around people having frank conversations about their dating/sex life, especially homosexual people. i won't pretend that i am totally comfortable around all gay people, nor that their conversations are not intriguing at times. it's more of that 'collecting people's speech' concept.

friday, june 9 blending to saturday june 10

so here we are 4 days later and comps are almost done, they are due next thursday but i want to turn them in monday. i went out with dave and some of his friends tonight. it was okay... one dude was pretty full of himself, but what can you do? we were at dave's house for most of the night, i think. but i just got home. we were out to see a band: mike and joe... they're alright. well, i gotta go to bed. i'm watching lotr - fellowship of the ring. such a good movie about such an even better book...

three weeks to england. unbelievable.

june 2006

this may be the only post i make this month, i am split so many ways right now and i feel like i'm doing things on autopilot. school is over, this is the second weekday of summer vacation, yesterday i was at school finishing up the summer cleaning and taking care of the frogs and fish.

sunday i worked on my research class at panera, and then went grocery shopping. after that, i went frisbee golfing and had my personal best game - finishing with 10 over par... i had two birdies, one of which i threw the frisbee through a bunch of trees and got it in the basket.

walking back from frolfing, i heard my name shouted and turning i saw dave and amy partying on a porch on main street with a bunch of people i don't know, but who i pass every time i go down to the park. i sat with them for a while and they invited me camping that night. this is all sunday, and i felt that i had put in my time working on stuff, and i agreed to go. it took 20 minutes to run to my house and pack up my stuff, then tell the neighbors where i was headed (i check in with them more than i ever did with my parents).

camping was awesome! lisa and her friend tina came out for a while, and things got funny but also annoying on dave's part ... but dave's friends are really cool, and now that i know the people i am passing on the way to the park, perhaps i can stop by from time to time. i was the oldest person out there, which was unusual for me these days.

okay, i came to panera to work, and work i shall, but i just wanted to update on the weekend's events and stuff. i'm gonna try and finish comps by this weekend... we'll see. i need motivation or something. i need a study hall teacher to tell me to "Get To Work."

nice kitty

last night i took measures to protect my skin and all furniture in my home, and i guess oscar would benefit too...

i bought these rubber claw covers for snuffy to wear, and he was not happy when i snipped his claws and glued these things on, and it looks funny when he bears his claws now, cuz these things are shiny and just goofy looking. but now he won't scratch me or the sheets on my bed while he sharpens his front claws.

this cat had been very gentle with me until recently, and i finally decided after waking up with scratches on my feet that he needed something.

oh, one comprehensive paper is written, 3 to go... research is under way for 2 others. it's slow-going, but i'm pacing myself. if only i didn't want a nap so badly after school everyday! if only i were more self-motivating! i'm doing alright, though, i think.

cubs are in the biggest slump ever! this sucks!