The Unhappy Hypocrite

I'm in speech teacher mode again today.  I've taken great pains to avoid being "political" during this election season.  My day to day of world of carting kids and dance class and work and church and whatever else comes my way is filled with people from all across the political spectrum.  I am sure many of us have very strong beliefs and very opposing beliefs, but when you're talking about ear infections and birthday parties and course scheduling, it doesn't really matter.

However, I've been biting my tongue on how political discourse and interpersonal communication are not playing well with each other.  With the election only a few days away, my tongue is practically bleeding, so it's time to let it wag.

Throughout the election season, the role of social networking has been undeniable.  A while back, I talked about using fact checking before forwarding or re-posting ideas, and it goes beyond that.  I love social networking for its ability to keep me connected to people with whom I might otherwise lose touch, but as a means of discussing politics with friends, it sucks.  I'm going to talk about two negative effects. 

Better

Today is Spirit Day, a day when folks are asked to wear purple to speak out against bullying and to show their support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth. This event was spawned by a wave of suicides among gay, lesbian, and transgendered youth.  Specific statistics have been difficult to attain, in large part because people haven't always been able to be open about their identity; however, it's estimated that LGBTQ youth are four times as likely to attempt suicide as their heterosexual counterparts. 

Over the past couple of years, many celebrities and other individuals have participated in the "It Gets Better" campaign, wherein they share inspirational messages of hope to GLBT youth who may be bullied or just feel lost. 

More in the Middle

Yesterday, the new semester started.  Wait.  Actually, tomorrow marks the start of the fifth week of the semester.  What the heck?  How did that happen?  I'm assuming I must have missed a time warp in September because there is no way October begins tomorrow.  Excuse me while I stomp my feet and shake my fists at the universe for allowing time to pass so dang quickly.

I guess I should have known we'd breezed out of the beginning and into the middle based on how swamped and frazzled I am.  Forget about writing or editing or anything other than just getting through the day right now. 

The Long Run

With my mom's arthritis, she'll never run even a half a mile with me, but last week, I carried her for five. No, more like I took her for four, and she pushed me to go one more. Because of course, that's what mom's do.  Maybe it's all the talk about the American Dream in the convention speeches the past few  weeks, but I was thinking a lot about this whole life journey on my run that day.  There's no simpler way to say it.  My mom's childhood sucked.

Don't ask her about it because she doesn't want to talk about it.   Among other things, they called her dirty.

A little dirt never hurt anyone, and in my opinion, it's a sign of good play. Of course, they weren't really talking about the mud on a cheek. It was a deeper mess. Caked on so hard, maybe it never really comes off even with vigorous scrubbing.  No, I imagine no matter how far she traveled from that childhood, she always carried that dirt with her, a heavy burden.

My Summer Vacation

The end is a matter of hours away.  I know I've said I love beginnings, so I'm sure I will be excited once I walk into my classrooms tomorrow.  However, that doesn't mean I like the fact that summer is over.  This was a particularly good one for a couple of reasons.  First, I'm a college professor which means I'm not on contract, but typically, that doesn't mean much for me.  This year, I took it more seriously, doing next to nothing for work.  Second, I stepped back from my lists and goals and just lived a lot.  I had so much fun.

Now, of course with the end about to smack me upside the head, I feel guilty. I didn't do enough. I revised my goals too far in the other direction, and now I'll never get it all done.  Doesn't matter that many items on my to do list are arbitrarily placed there by me.  I still feel like I failed.

Be a better idea shopper

It's safe to say I love the internet. For at least twelve years, it's been an integral part of my daily life.  I've used the internet to build new relationships and to maintain old ones.  I can give credit to the web for my trip planning expertise. I would not be writing fiction or a blog (obviously) today if it weren't for the various communities I've encountered.  I quite literally can't imagine my life without a search engine or a social network.

How to ruin a hobby

I haven't blogged in a long time, so I feel obligated to write something. I sat here for a few minutes trying to decide what to write about.  I ended up with a list of things that annoy me.  It included everything from fallacious reasoning on the internet (and let me tell you the sub-list on that one could end up covering blog topics for the rest of my life) to the trend of bad fanfiction taking over the publishing world (ask me what I think.  Come on, give me a reason!). 
Sure, I've got a lot to say on a lot of topics, but as I faced that blank screen, it was the sense of obligation that hit me.  Why did I HAVE to write this blog today?  Why is it even on my "to do" list?

Because I'm a writer and writers blog, right?  It's what I SHOULD do. 

And if I'm a writer, that means, I better start adding more writing tasks to my daily list as well.  Edit three more chapters, write more, network more, query more.  All of which sound like work. Writing began as a hobby for me—a sidetrack of a reading hobby.  It was fun.