Blog Assignments: Readings and Intake Forms

Austin is distracting me with his tales of Freerunning and Tracing.

Nummer Einz: The Readings.
So I have officially decided that I am keeping my Field Guide and Easy Writer after I get out of Mister Andy's class; they're much too handy to sell. I will keep them forever. Anyhoo, I'm glad he assigned these readings. Never once in school has an instructor described the fundamentals of a research paper to a class of mine. Public education = shit. But I definitely learned a lot. I can't remember any of it right now lol, but it's just one of those things you refer back to during the process.
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Ok I totally forgot to blog on the actual readings, lol. Here it is: =]

Meet Joe Blog.
I have to admit, I've never thought of researching the history of such an obscure subject as the blog. A blog isn't one of those inventions that revolutionized the world like the printing press or the sock, but blogs do play a hefty role in Mr. Andy's class. Nevertheless, it was very interesting reading about the development of them=]
Note: remember Russ Kick. Because I'm pretty sure that my mother follows his blog lol
My grandmother is watching The Holiday and Jude Law is extremely distracting so I'll wrap this up.
Blogs are the voice of the little guy, the average joe. They are so important today because they provide a way for every person to express themselves. Not everybody can handle the life of the struggling artist. That's how I think about it.

Homeless on Campus.
I am so glad this article was picked for this text. Sure, it was a great source during my group's research project on runaways and juvi/student homelessness, but it was truly moving. It was written before the horrible recession. Hearing some of the stories of the students interviewed really made me think about how many more people have been affected, even at a smaller college town like Cookeville.
All together, I think the Field Guide provides a student with more than just a great learning resource. The stories chosen as examples always manage to open my eyes to important issues that don't get exposed.

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Nummer Zwei: Churched-Up Intake Forms
When Debbie originally commented on the two different intake forms, I was astonished to find myself insulted by the fact that the church-based form asked religious questions. I am not a religious person; far from it. I call myself a spiritualist, because I believe in spirituality, but not in organized religion. Anything with some kind of organized hierarchy is not good for Miss Kati. Back on track... When Viktor Kline came to class to talk about Chartwell's, he commented on his activism in assisting the homeless of Putnam County. He said there are many people who refuse money and food if there is a bible, or even some God-related message, in the hands of the donator. Many just won't accept help from a religious establishment. But WHY?? I mean it's help... Maybe after all of their struggles, they don't believe in a divine being of made love. They have no more hope. Or maybe they're just like me. The point is, any information that is asked of a needy individual on an intake form has to do with a)personal information for record and/or b)factors that affect the help they'll recieve. Debbie, a person who does what she does for personal religious reasons, doesn't even ask of this on her form. Maybe this does have to do with the fact that Helping Hands is government-funded, and if she could have it her way she'd ask religious questions. I don't know.

I would really like to fill that form out. Dangit. Well, the worst they could do is tell me they can't help me because my income is too high, right? One day I will do it. Just because it bothers me that much.


Well. My brain has been overrun with homeless peoples' problems and potential solutions, and I think it's time for bed. OF course, I have a fitting in Livingston in the morning so I'm driving there tonight and spending time with my man... so sleep won't come for a while 8(
8)

Peace-Raisins!

Halt, bitte!

Ok, before I blog about anything else, I have homework to make up. I'm hitting the brakes and we're kicking it into reverse.

David Sedaris' Us and Them

I really appreciated and enjoyed this memoir. In terms of literary techniques, Sedaris made use of the pop culture theme on several different levels. The presence of television, the traditions of Halloween, and even the theme of manners when interacting with people resonated with the theme. This observation kind of makes me sound like I can't read anything for pleasure, but it was the first thing I noticed and I dig it. Actually, I found the story to be very enjoyable. The author's change in voice from a reflective adult to a cute, cynical little kid. There was one paragraph that really spoke to me... The narrator mused on what it must be like to be "so ignorant and alone" to be without television. He claims, and I quote, "Staring at an Elmer Fudd lunchbox, I tried to divorce myself from everything I already knew: Elmer's inability to pronounce the letter r, his constant pursuit of an intelligent and considerably more famous rabbit. I tried to think of him as just a drawing, but it was impossible to separate him from his celebrity."

Susan Jane Gilman's Mick Jagger Wants Me

Ok, so after everyone in class talked about our reactions to the blogs, I found out that I didn't dig this story like everybody else did. I couldn't really relate to the author, as the last band I went "crazy" for like she did was probably the Spice Girls. As it is somebody else's memoir, somebody's memory, I can't be critical. But personally, I found the actions of the girls to be pretty lame. The only redeeming quality I found throughout the text was at the very end, when the narrator refused to spoil her perfect fantasy by intersecting it with reality. I'm sorry, but she totally let herself go, and if she had chosen to go after Jagger, she probably would have been hungover, smelling of B.O. and Mary Jane. It wasn't my favorite.

I'm Just the Worst Kind of Person. But I'm still Red.

So I can't count how many significant experiences and events that I haven't blogged about. It has been 15 days! Ok, I will attempt to list, then elaborate, the gaps.

One thing that I made a point to blog about was the dead birdI found while walking to class one day. When an animal or feather or token of some kind speaks to you, presents itself to you, you are supposed to accept the gift and keep it. It's the Indian way. What the hell was I supposed to do with a dead bird in German class? And let me tell you, it was presenting itself. It's wings were spread and it was lookin' right at me. I didn't know what kind of bird it was, but the first thing that came to my head was "Sparrow." It didn't look like roadkill, it didn't even look dead! I could only tell because of a portion of guts was hanging of of one of its sides. Well I tried to ignore it, but I swear I took a step and I heard this LOUD bird-call. I turned around; there were no trees in sight. Whatever. It took about 15 steps for it to stop. I may not have taken the gift, but its impact was great enough that the spirit stayed with me just the same.

I'm going to try to keep this short.

My boyfriend, Cody, isn't into the Spirit like I am. He's just a punk drummer kid. I didn't tell him about my bird experience because he wouldn't have really understood. But of course a couple of days later, he asks me: "Baby, what does two dead birds mean? Is it an Indian sign?" I kept my cool and asked him what they looked like. He remembered how one looked, and his description paralleled mine of my sparrow.

Wednesday afternoon I picked up Dove, who is the fifteen year-old girl who is teaching me how to dance. I started telling her about the bird experience and her jaw dropped. She told me that she had a vision the night before of the exact same thing. Dead sparrow. But it didn't look dead.

We went to the Elders and they were convinced that I had a name-change coming to me. It's kind of a big deal, because you only have about three in your lifetime. My current name is Whispering Willow.

Well, I tried to keep this short, but that didn't happen. So I'll put that into action now.

My official new name will be formally presented to me at the fire circle on Indian Day this weekend, but it will be somewhere between Chattering Sparrow and Song Sparrow. It's exciting to finally have an identity. I just found out a couple of hours ago.

But aside from that, I have been super busy (and therefore super-behind) on everything, thanks to Indian Day. Wednesday I had to go buy materials to MAKE my formal dancing regelia. It's done now. But I was very sick on Thurs, Fri, Sat, and Sun of last week. Plus I had to work Thurs and Fri, so that contributed. Which reminds me, I AM FREE OF LABOR!! I quit Domino's on Fri night and my life is awesome.

AND my wonderful daddy came to spoil me this past weekend. He bought be some modest, practical furniture, a bed, a cute pink and vintage bike, FOOD, cleaning stuffs kitchen stuffs, the works.

SO. Is there anything else? I'm close to falling behind on my Profile. Well, I already am behind, but the assignment is short and it shouldn't take long. I just have to figure out my purpose. And I am SO behind in math it's retarded. First I didn't go to class because I didn't think I would miss anything, but now I don't go because I'm so behind that I'd get confused lol. Anyhoo, it's 12:28 am and I be tired and cold! Much love and peace, K.

Ta-Ta!

Time for new blog on the other subjects, I think lol.