My job changed my curriculum AGAIN today. This would be the third time in three weeks. As a personal moment of revenge, I had the kids in my first class work on writing a good persuasive paragraph by talking about how [SCHOOL NAME] should not change the curriculum again.
I also got accosted by two parents who demanded to know why I wasn't giving the children their essays back. The answer would be that I was ordered to hold on to the essays by the school's director, so the kids wouldn't lose them. Why couldn't the front desk workers tell them that? Because they don't know school policies. *headdesk*
In other news, what is up with the new trend of people watching tv shows/movies on laptops in public places? Without headphones? I'm sure the guy at the table across from me really loves his anime, but would it be so hard to put headphones in and save the rest of us from listening to it? I swear, one of these days someone is going to sit down in a coffee shop and just start watching porn.
July 7, 2009
July 5, 2009
No fun job for me
After spending most of a day driving to LA and back for my third (and fourth, and fifth) interviews for the office assistant position, I didn't get it. While I was really disappointed (mostly because now I can't leave my current job), I'm doing better now. I figure I can enjoy the easy schedule at my current job for awhile, even if I don't really enjoy teaching all that much.
Speaking of enjoying teaching, I now get to teach The Catcher in the Rye, along with two other books of my choosing. Now, I realize that I'm in the general minority on this, but I hate Catcher in the Rye with a passion. I've only read the book once, but all I can remember is the main character whining and being generally unlikable. It doesn't help that every time I've met a really bad writer (who's extremely pretentious), they tend to tell me that their favorite book is Catcher in the Rye.
So I'm thinking that the other two books should be controversial and entertaining, just to make up for the mental deprivation that will occur thanks to Catcher.
Speaking of enjoying teaching, I now get to teach The Catcher in the Rye, along with two other books of my choosing. Now, I realize that I'm in the general minority on this, but I hate Catcher in the Rye with a passion. I've only read the book once, but all I can remember is the main character whining and being generally unlikable. It doesn't help that every time I've met a really bad writer (who's extremely pretentious), they tend to tell me that their favorite book is Catcher in the Rye.
So I'm thinking that the other two books should be controversial and entertaining, just to make up for the mental deprivation that will occur thanks to Catcher.
June 25, 2009
Back on the interview train
So my interview for an Office Assistant position today was at 3.
I left their office at 5:15. 2 hour and 15 minute interview? Not really.
I was interviewing with the president of the company, since this was my second interview with them. And she was late, and then she had to meet with the office staff at that branch, and then there was a fire alarm and we all had to evacuate, and then, FINALLY, I got my interview.
It went pretty well, and I still hope I get this job, although my tutoring job has gotten a lot easier suddenly. It turns out that I have FOUR teachers manuals for the classes I'm teaching, a different subject each day. However, on the first day I only got one, so I'd been trying to stretch one day's worth of lessons over a week. Wheeee. Organizational skills for the win! But the job is a lot less stressful now that I won't have to spend two hours every morning searching for supplemental material.
In other exciting news, I finally bought and finished reading Kushiel's Mercy by Jacqueline Carey! I started her Kushiel series years ago, and they were instantly some of my favorite books. And while I have my issues with this one (the last book in the series), it was still amazing to finally get a conclusion to all the stories. I also just started reading Santa Olivia, which is her newest, and a total departure from the tone of her other novels, so we'll see if I love this one as much as I love her other books.
I left their office at 5:15. 2 hour and 15 minute interview? Not really.
I was interviewing with the president of the company, since this was my second interview with them. And she was late, and then she had to meet with the office staff at that branch, and then there was a fire alarm and we all had to evacuate, and then, FINALLY, I got my interview.
It went pretty well, and I still hope I get this job, although my tutoring job has gotten a lot easier suddenly. It turns out that I have FOUR teachers manuals for the classes I'm teaching, a different subject each day. However, on the first day I only got one, so I'd been trying to stretch one day's worth of lessons over a week. Wheeee. Organizational skills for the win! But the job is a lot less stressful now that I won't have to spend two hours every morning searching for supplemental material.
In other exciting news, I finally bought and finished reading Kushiel's Mercy by Jacqueline Carey! I started her Kushiel series years ago, and they were instantly some of my favorite books. And while I have my issues with this one (the last book in the series), it was still amazing to finally get a conclusion to all the stories. I also just started reading Santa Olivia, which is her newest, and a total departure from the tone of her other novels, so we'll see if I love this one as much as I love her other books.
June 22, 2009
Entering the working world
As of about 3 hours ago, I'm "officially" part of the working-after-graduation world. I taught my first class at the after school test prep academy, which I now work at. It didn't quite go as planned.
To start with, I got a phone call at 10 o'clock this morning, telling me that I "might want to come in early, since we changed the curriculum". That would be the curriculum that I'd been prepping with for two weeks. Luckily, they changed it to make it easier to follow and more intuitive, but it wasn't the start I'd been hoping for. After spending an hour trying to track down the roster for my first class, and figuring out that their student manuals hadn't been printed yet, I was finally (semi)prepared for class to start.
The first class went pretty well, despite boring both myself and my students (hey, there are only so many things you can do to make reading a bunch of passages and answering questions about them interesting). I'm planning on looking up some games we can play that peripherally involve English (to keep the parents happy), and that aren't terminally boring (so I don't die).
I have one more class later, but I retreated to a coffee shop across the street to get some sugar into me. Verdict: this job isn't a bad way to ear $20 an hour, but still not exactly what I want to be doing. Which is why I have an interview on Friday, for what literally sounds like my dream job. Office assistant for an extremely nice law firm. Pretty offices, interesting people, and a job where I can sit down at a desk all day.
I do feel a little bad shopping for a job under the noses of my current employers, but conversations with other "working adults" seem to indicate that this is how it's done. Can't say I'm looking forward to giving a two-week notice if I get the job though...my people pleasing nature will take a bit of a beating.
To start with, I got a phone call at 10 o'clock this morning, telling me that I "might want to come in early, since we changed the curriculum". That would be the curriculum that I'd been prepping with for two weeks. Luckily, they changed it to make it easier to follow and more intuitive, but it wasn't the start I'd been hoping for. After spending an hour trying to track down the roster for my first class, and figuring out that their student manuals hadn't been printed yet, I was finally (semi)prepared for class to start.
The first class went pretty well, despite boring both myself and my students (hey, there are only so many things you can do to make reading a bunch of passages and answering questions about them interesting). I'm planning on looking up some games we can play that peripherally involve English (to keep the parents happy), and that aren't terminally boring (so I don't die).
I have one more class later, but I retreated to a coffee shop across the street to get some sugar into me. Verdict: this job isn't a bad way to ear $20 an hour, but still not exactly what I want to be doing. Which is why I have an interview on Friday, for what literally sounds like my dream job. Office assistant for an extremely nice law firm. Pretty offices, interesting people, and a job where I can sit down at a desk all day.
I do feel a little bad shopping for a job under the noses of my current employers, but conversations with other "working adults" seem to indicate that this is how it's done. Can't say I'm looking forward to giving a two-week notice if I get the job though...my people pleasing nature will take a bit of a beating.
June 18, 2009
Whew
So I escaped both finals week and graduation week unscathed...and will have more information on that later. Catch-up posts galore! But I found something awesome on a blog I read today and wanted to put it down here. It's from http://www.healthytippingpoint.com/2009/06/operation-beautiful.html and the premise is that negative body image talk destroys ourselves and our relationships. Her idea is that by leaving anonymous, positive notes about how beautiful everyone is, we can help spread not only positive body image, but positive and uplifting thoughts to tons of people.
Now, since I don't leave my house much since I'm all graduated (haha), I'll have to do this next time I go somewhere. But I love the idea! And I think I want to post one on my own mirror. :)
Now, since I don't leave my house much since I'm all graduated (haha), I'll have to do this next time I go somewhere. But I love the idea! And I think I want to post one on my own mirror. :)
May 28, 2009
Pirouettes, Spotting Difficulties and Pique Turns
Ballet was a little frustrating today. Our teacher has added a second part to our pirouette combination: plie, passe, plie, pirouette, plie, passe, plie, pirouette, plie, pirouette, plie, pirouette, plie pirouette. It's the last four that screw me up, I just can't seem to get from one pirouette into another quickly. I'm probably not over my leg entirely, but the spottting is throwing me off also, as evidenced when I couldn't do pique turns across the floor because I couldn't straighten out.
My hips are getting more flexible though, and my arms have gotten noticeably better since I started taking ballet. I can fill out a musical phrase without having to think about it, which gives me more options than standing and waiting for the count to come around again.
I'm having trouble with my demi-pointe though...the ball of my foot hurts like crazy after a few minutes standing in demi-pointe. It might be a muscle, but it feels like it's the bones in my foot. Either way, strenghtening the foot is probably a good idea.
Definitely going to try to work on spotting before our final on Thursday.
My hips are getting more flexible though, and my arms have gotten noticeably better since I started taking ballet. I can fill out a musical phrase without having to think about it, which gives me more options than standing and waiting for the count to come around again.
I'm having trouble with my demi-pointe though...the ball of my foot hurts like crazy after a few minutes standing in demi-pointe. It might be a muscle, but it feels like it's the bones in my foot. Either way, strenghtening the foot is probably a good idea.
Definitely going to try to work on spotting before our final on Thursday.
May 26, 2009
Too Much Weekend
The Boyfriend and I went down to visit his parents this weekend, mostly because his grandparents and his uncle were in town and there's not much chance to see them more than once a year. It was a lot of fun, his family is big, loud, and extremely entertaining. We had a great time hanging out, but it was exhausting having to deal with so many people for so long. I'm definitely on the introvert side of the spectrum, and even one full day of people is a little over my limit.
Also watched the end of American Idol off Boyfriend's Mom's DVR. And I have to say, as someone who has seen the final two episodes, Adam was totally robbed. I couldn't watch Kris (I'm probably totally spelling his name wrong) perform, he kept doing this weird thing with his jaw and making funny faces. Very strange.
Today I had to make a quick trip to Student Health and pick up some antibiotics for what I'm pretty sure is a sinus infection. It's been off and on for around a month, but yesterday it became blinding sinus pressure, and I'm ready for it to be gone completely. I ditched my day of classes, and spent it in bed reading. Which I feel horribly guilty about, but we all need a break sometimes, right?
Also watched the end of American Idol off Boyfriend's Mom's DVR. And I have to say, as someone who has seen the final two episodes, Adam was totally robbed. I couldn't watch Kris (I'm probably totally spelling his name wrong) perform, he kept doing this weird thing with his jaw and making funny faces. Very strange.
Today I had to make a quick trip to Student Health and pick up some antibiotics for what I'm pretty sure is a sinus infection. It's been off and on for around a month, but yesterday it became blinding sinus pressure, and I'm ready for it to be gone completely. I ditched my day of classes, and spent it in bed reading. Which I feel horribly guilty about, but we all need a break sometimes, right?
Book Review: Faye Kellerman's "Justice"
While visiting The Boyfriend's parents over Memorial Day Weekend, his mom gave me a few Faye Kellerman books. While I'm not normally a mystery reader (although I make an exception for J.A. Jance), I desperately needed something to read. I read quickly enough that sometimes recommendations are the easiest way to find books that aren't TOTALLY crappy.
I really liked the premise of the plot. The murder of a prom queen sets certain characters lives in motion, and reveals the true nature of several high school stereotypes (the nerd, the jock, the popular kid, etc.). The main character, Detective Decker, was also well drawn and interesting. He practices Orthodox Judaism, and the interjections throughout the novel about Jewish culture and faith made the book more developed than your run-of-the-mill mystery.
I did have a problem with the way the teenage characters were written. While some of the emotions felt true, and many of the actions were logical, most of the dialogue felt like I'd fallen into a Lifetime movie or a porno. It made all the supporting characters that I was supposed to care about flat and uninteresting.
It's a mark of the book's age (1993) that a main plot point involves the mob. It's interesting to look back at literary trends and see what used to be the big thing.
All in all, an interesting read, but not something I'd pick up again. 2/5
I really liked the premise of the plot. The murder of a prom queen sets certain characters lives in motion, and reveals the true nature of several high school stereotypes (the nerd, the jock, the popular kid, etc.). The main character, Detective Decker, was also well drawn and interesting. He practices Orthodox Judaism, and the interjections throughout the novel about Jewish culture and faith made the book more developed than your run-of-the-mill mystery.
I did have a problem with the way the teenage characters were written. While some of the emotions felt true, and many of the actions were logical, most of the dialogue felt like I'd fallen into a Lifetime movie or a porno. It made all the supporting characters that I was supposed to care about flat and uninteresting.
It's a mark of the book's age (1993) that a main plot point involves the mob. It's interesting to look back at literary trends and see what used to be the big thing.
All in all, an interesting read, but not something I'd pick up again. 2/5
May 22, 2009
Officially Employed...For Now At Least
I have officially joined the ranks of the employed. Technically it's only a summer position, but there's a possibility to extend it further into the year. It's also part-time, but the pay is such that it will work just fine, as long as I'm working more than 10 hours per week. I should know my schedule in a few days.
I'll be working for a test-prep company, one of those places that gets huge sums of money to teach kids how to pass the SATs, APs, and other tests that are named by acronyms. It shouldn't be too bad, since I get handed the curriculum and quizzes. Much better than my TA position at my University over the summer, where I basically filled 50 minute classes by myself. I am a little worried about having to control a classroom full of high schoolers, but it can't be too bad right? At least at a test prep place they're there semi-voluntarily.
This is definitely not something I want to do forever though. This fall I'm applying to grad school, and will hopefully come out the other side as a librarian.
Another bonus to part-time hours? Hopefully I'll be able to continue ballet. I've signed up for classes at a local community college, but if I won a zillion dollars there's a private studio that I'd love to be able to take classes at. I spent a large chunk of time today drooling over Gaynor Minden pointe shoes. A few more years and I could be in them!
I'll be working for a test-prep company, one of those places that gets huge sums of money to teach kids how to pass the SATs, APs, and other tests that are named by acronyms. It shouldn't be too bad, since I get handed the curriculum and quizzes. Much better than my TA position at my University over the summer, where I basically filled 50 minute classes by myself. I am a little worried about having to control a classroom full of high schoolers, but it can't be too bad right? At least at a test prep place they're there semi-voluntarily.
This is definitely not something I want to do forever though. This fall I'm applying to grad school, and will hopefully come out the other side as a librarian.
Another bonus to part-time hours? Hopefully I'll be able to continue ballet. I've signed up for classes at a local community college, but if I won a zillion dollars there's a private studio that I'd love to be able to take classes at. I spent a large chunk of time today drooling over Gaynor Minden pointe shoes. A few more years and I could be in them!
May 18, 2009
The Question Never Stops
I had a job interview today, with a small little company about a 20 minute drive from my house. It was very laid-back, with 20-30 year old employees all running around in jeans or stretch pants and zip-up hoodies. I have a feeling I'm going to get a second interview out of them, so I have to figure out whether it's the job I want.
I keep getting the question at interviews though... "What kind of position are you looking for? Do you want to grow within the company or are you looking for another career?" I thought that once I got over the "Where are you going to college" question, and the "What are you majoring in" question, and the "What do you want to do after college" question, that there wouldn't be many left. But, apparently, I'm still supposed to have my future all figured out.
Which I don't, obviously.
Despite that, it's been a relatively good start to the week. I had an opportunity to present my thesis at a symposium over the weekend, and it was a lot of fun to speak about my research, and hear my classmates present theirs. It really made me want to continue in school, and hopefully it will lead to an idea for my grad school personal statement. Where I'll have to tell them what I want to do with the rest of my life.
*sigh*
I keep getting the question at interviews though... "What kind of position are you looking for? Do you want to grow within the company or are you looking for another career?" I thought that once I got over the "Where are you going to college" question, and the "What are you majoring in" question, and the "What do you want to do after college" question, that there wouldn't be many left. But, apparently, I'm still supposed to have my future all figured out.
Which I don't, obviously.
Despite that, it's been a relatively good start to the week. I had an opportunity to present my thesis at a symposium over the weekend, and it was a lot of fun to speak about my research, and hear my classmates present theirs. It really made me want to continue in school, and hopefully it will lead to an idea for my grad school personal statement. Where I'll have to tell them what I want to do with the rest of my life.
*sigh*
April 27, 2009
No News Is...at Least Not Crazy-Making
I'm trying to stay away from the news, which is hard since GoogleNews is usually my stop two or three times a day. But with the media throwing the pandemic word around, it just makes me too crazy for my own good. And since I'm trying to finish editing my thesis before Thursday, my usual coping strategies of watching movies all day are not productive.
I've been thinking about coping strategies quite a bit lately. On Friday night, I was ushering a dance performance, so that I could write a review of it for my ballet class (my school allows you to volunteer to usher, and therefore watch a performance for free). I got a call just as it had gotten out from Boyfriend, saying that he was hanging out with some friends who live about 45 minutes north of our house. He asked me if I wanted to come, and I freaked out. Full-on meltdown.
This isn't unusual for me. I've had hour long meltdowns over trying to decide whether or not to go to swim practice. I don't do decisions well, especially when triggers are lined up. And I was primed well for one, since I was hungry, it was late, and I'd had plans set up in my head for the night. But I was able to sit quietly in the car for awhile, figure all that out, get some food, and go have a good time. I'm getting better at those, but stressors from the outside world (example: the world is ending) still throw me into a sugar-eating, movie-watching tailspin. So I'm trying to work on eliminating the stressors, at least until I can figure out better coping strategies.
That said, anyone have any good movies? I've already run through Steel Magnolias, Stepmom, and a season of Mythbusters. I can't believe I watched two movies starring Julia Roberts in a row, and reviews may be forthcoming.
I've been thinking about coping strategies quite a bit lately. On Friday night, I was ushering a dance performance, so that I could write a review of it for my ballet class (my school allows you to volunteer to usher, and therefore watch a performance for free). I got a call just as it had gotten out from Boyfriend, saying that he was hanging out with some friends who live about 45 minutes north of our house. He asked me if I wanted to come, and I freaked out. Full-on meltdown.
This isn't unusual for me. I've had hour long meltdowns over trying to decide whether or not to go to swim practice. I don't do decisions well, especially when triggers are lined up. And I was primed well for one, since I was hungry, it was late, and I'd had plans set up in my head for the night. But I was able to sit quietly in the car for awhile, figure all that out, get some food, and go have a good time. I'm getting better at those, but stressors from the outside world (example: the world is ending) still throw me into a sugar-eating, movie-watching tailspin. So I'm trying to work on eliminating the stressors, at least until I can figure out better coping strategies.
That said, anyone have any good movies? I've already run through Steel Magnolias, Stepmom, and a season of Mythbusters. I can't believe I watched two movies starring Julia Roberts in a row, and reviews may be forthcoming.
April 5, 2009
Confession
I am, in fact, a geek.
I started writing fanfiction when I was 13, creating my own tales with the characters from Tamora Pierce's world of Tortall. They were embarrassing pieces of writing, not punctuated well, stilted dialogue, bad storylines. But I enjoyed writing them, and spent hours planning my next piece.
I moved to Star Wars soon after, and wrote pieces that were poorly disguised self-insert fics, with hapless female protagonists who were always needing rescue by Luke Skywalker (this was before I found out that there were people who were PAID to write Star Wars fanfiction...best job in the world).
But it wasn't until the Lord of the Rings movies came out that I fully entered the fanfiction universe. I'd read the books many times from the age of about 11 or 12, but after seeing the movies, I planned and wrote a nearly novel length original character fanfiction, set during the last two movies. I began posting in a fanfiction community, getting my first feedback on my writing, leading me to write several shorter fics set in the LOTR universe.
My stint with fanfiction ended soon after I entered college, when my writing time was taken up by original fiction, judged to be more grade-worthy by my instructors. I wrote a short fanfic set in the Matrix universe after I was unhappy with the ending of the third movie, but that was it.
I recently spent an evening rereading my old fanfiction, and remembered why I loved writing it so much. It's fun, and easy. Someone has created a fantastic world and vivid characters, and you get to play around with them, inventing new elements and new storylines as you see fit. It's pure joy in writing, unlike the slog finishing my thesis has become.
I'd never try to publish my fanfics, or gain from them in any way, but I love the springboard they gave me for my writing, and the way I can go back to them when all other writing has become less than enjoyable.
I started writing fanfiction when I was 13, creating my own tales with the characters from Tamora Pierce's world of Tortall. They were embarrassing pieces of writing, not punctuated well, stilted dialogue, bad storylines. But I enjoyed writing them, and spent hours planning my next piece.
I moved to Star Wars soon after, and wrote pieces that were poorly disguised self-insert fics, with hapless female protagonists who were always needing rescue by Luke Skywalker (this was before I found out that there were people who were PAID to write Star Wars fanfiction...best job in the world).
But it wasn't until the Lord of the Rings movies came out that I fully entered the fanfiction universe. I'd read the books many times from the age of about 11 or 12, but after seeing the movies, I planned and wrote a nearly novel length original character fanfiction, set during the last two movies. I began posting in a fanfiction community, getting my first feedback on my writing, leading me to write several shorter fics set in the LOTR universe.
My stint with fanfiction ended soon after I entered college, when my writing time was taken up by original fiction, judged to be more grade-worthy by my instructors. I wrote a short fanfic set in the Matrix universe after I was unhappy with the ending of the third movie, but that was it.
I recently spent an evening rereading my old fanfiction, and remembered why I loved writing it so much. It's fun, and easy. Someone has created a fantastic world and vivid characters, and you get to play around with them, inventing new elements and new storylines as you see fit. It's pure joy in writing, unlike the slog finishing my thesis has become.
I'd never try to publish my fanfics, or gain from them in any way, but I love the springboard they gave me for my writing, and the way I can go back to them when all other writing has become less than enjoyable.
April 1, 2009
Last First Day
Of college at least. Who knows if more education will be in my future, but 4 years of college (and 7 years of public education) are almost over.
I'm taking three courses this quarter, along with finishing up my thesis. Ballet (purely for personal enjoyment), Education (for personal enjoyment and to fill up on credits), and English (for degree requirements). And...thanks to the wonderful classroom scheduling system, I get to run my ass off for 10 minutes between classes in order to make it through the door on time.
Which, honestly, isn't too bad. At least I get 20 minutes of cardio in on my ballet days.
I have all sorts of grandiose goals for the quarter, most of which I won't end up keeping. My counselor last quarter told me I had a problem with my "all or nothing" mentality, which I'm trying to work on. But I'd like to keep up with my reading for English, and to really work on increasing my flexibility for Ballet. It'd be really cool to finally be able to do the splits for once in my life. My Ballet instructor in Japan used to sit on my back, and tell me (in Japanese) that a truck could fit underneath me. Still didn't make my splits better. English should be a really interesting class. My professor has a fantastic English accent (think Eddie Izzard with a deeper voice), and sang us a sea shanty on the first day. We're studying Romanticism, looking especially at how the younger Romantics responded to Wordsworth and Coleridge after the failure of the French Revolution.
I've also been thinking about trying to add yoga to my exercise. I read http://carrotsncake.com/ while she was doing her 30 Day Yoga Challenge, and it sounded like a good idea, but with my aforementioned "all or nothing" issue, I don't want to try and set myself up for 30 days right now. Maybe 15 days over the month?
I'm taking three courses this quarter, along with finishing up my thesis. Ballet (purely for personal enjoyment), Education (for personal enjoyment and to fill up on credits), and English (for degree requirements). And...thanks to the wonderful classroom scheduling system, I get to run my ass off for 10 minutes between classes in order to make it through the door on time.
Which, honestly, isn't too bad. At least I get 20 minutes of cardio in on my ballet days.
I have all sorts of grandiose goals for the quarter, most of which I won't end up keeping. My counselor last quarter told me I had a problem with my "all or nothing" mentality, which I'm trying to work on. But I'd like to keep up with my reading for English, and to really work on increasing my flexibility for Ballet. It'd be really cool to finally be able to do the splits for once in my life. My Ballet instructor in Japan used to sit on my back, and tell me (in Japanese) that a truck could fit underneath me. Still didn't make my splits better. English should be a really interesting class. My professor has a fantastic English accent (think Eddie Izzard with a deeper voice), and sang us a sea shanty on the first day. We're studying Romanticism, looking especially at how the younger Romantics responded to Wordsworth and Coleridge after the failure of the French Revolution.
I've also been thinking about trying to add yoga to my exercise. I read http://carrotsncake.com/ while she was doing her 30 Day Yoga Challenge, and it sounded like a good idea, but with my aforementioned "all or nothing" issue, I don't want to try and set myself up for 30 days right now. Maybe 15 days over the month?
March 20, 2009
Remembering The Dead
There have been two relatively high profile deaths that impacted my circle of Facebook friends recently. One was a much-loved professor at my school, and one was the recent death of Natasha Richardson (whom most people knew from Parent Trap). When both deaths occurred, lots of people put out status updates with some version of "RIP" on them, maybe with a few memories or condolences added.
And I've seen two entries by friends on LiveJournal bitching mightily about those status updates. Both arguments seemed to be centered around the idea that the Facebookers hadn't really "known" these people, and were therefore unqualified to offer condolences or feel anything at their passing. The other argument was that a status update was somehow a grief faux-pas, and that those who offered it were demeaning those who had died.
Obviously, both of these deaths are different. One was someone whom people at my school had interacted with, or at least seen. The other was a high profile movie star, whom nobody had really personally interacted with. But both had touched people in some way, even if it was just portraying a character on a screen. And I don't think it's a horrible thing to mark someone's passing, and to remind people that life is short. After all, funerals are merely exercises for those who are left behind to grieve publicly. I feel like the Facebook status phenomenon is just another level of that. People will always want some way to mark events that move them, and this is one of the best ways people have of sharing opinions and feelings with their own social circle.
Plus, on a slightly less reverent note, when people are twittering the birth of their children, why is twittering/status-updating on the occasion of someone's passing such a huge deal?
And I've seen two entries by friends on LiveJournal bitching mightily about those status updates. Both arguments seemed to be centered around the idea that the Facebookers hadn't really "known" these people, and were therefore unqualified to offer condolences or feel anything at their passing. The other argument was that a status update was somehow a grief faux-pas, and that those who offered it were demeaning those who had died.
Obviously, both of these deaths are different. One was someone whom people at my school had interacted with, or at least seen. The other was a high profile movie star, whom nobody had really personally interacted with. But both had touched people in some way, even if it was just portraying a character on a screen. And I don't think it's a horrible thing to mark someone's passing, and to remind people that life is short. After all, funerals are merely exercises for those who are left behind to grieve publicly. I feel like the Facebook status phenomenon is just another level of that. People will always want some way to mark events that move them, and this is one of the best ways people have of sharing opinions and feelings with their own social circle.
Plus, on a slightly less reverent note, when people are twittering the birth of their children, why is twittering/status-updating on the occasion of someone's passing such a huge deal?
March 19, 2009
Not Quite There...
I'm still not quite a graduate, but I'm getting closer. I have exactly one quarter left, after one glorious week of Spring Break. 10 more weeks of classes, before I get to...do what exactly? I'm still not sure, but I'm wearing my fingers to the bone sending out cheerfully upbeat emails and resumes to craigslist and help-wanted ads.
At least interviews will be a little easier, because Boyfriend's parents just helped us get a second car (an automatic! That I can drive!).
It feels really weird to focus simultaneously on school, and on life after it, but right now I'm trying to not focus much at all. West Wing marathon, here we come!
At least interviews will be a little easier, because Boyfriend's parents just helped us get a second car (an automatic! That I can drive!).
It feels really weird to focus simultaneously on school, and on life after it, but right now I'm trying to not focus much at all. West Wing marathon, here we come!
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