posted 2006/07/30 at 19:42
Sure enough, each of the past two days we've also had false alarms with the smoke detectors, although both times happened when I was either awake or close enough to awake that it wasn't as much of a bother as Friday's rude awakening. It's probably got something to do with the combination of heat and humidity here (the heat wave that socked the central states last week is now over us and will stay through Wednesday) plus other factors like the cooling problems in the roof above the office and the large amounts of steam produced by those of us in the family who like to take very long, very hot showers. It's still a huge annoyance, but it's one I'm tolerating better now than I was a couple of days ago.
In other news, I just ordered the last of the books I need for the MA exam through Amazon. I'll have plenty of reading to tide me until they come, but as the semester draws closer, it's also closer to go-time for that exam. I've also decided that I'm going to go ahead and do my thesis this coming semester as well, so that I can (hopefully) graduate in December and then immediately move on to a full-time teaching position, either at UT or another nearby college. Given how incredibly light my courseload will be this coming semester, and given that my thesis will probably focus on navigating political issues in the modern composition classroom -- something I've already written about and have a great deal of personal experience in -- I don't think it'll be too much of a problem.
School stuff is one of the big reasons I think I haven't been writing much of substance here lately, both because I've been doing a lot of internal debating about this stuff and because I find it hard to write about that stuff in a way that I think will be understandable and engaging for the rest of you. I'll probably write about it soon, but for now I have some Toni Morrison awaiting my attention ...
posted 2006/07/28 at 18:02
It is amazing how easily I can be tempted to fall into old, dangerous patterns of behaviour here.
Quick setup here: Last night was my mother's birthday celebration, and owing to the occasion and all, I decided to go off my diet to have some birthday cake and ice cream. I had some soda with that, because of course you have to have more sugar to wash down all that sugar with. This, of course, led to more cake and ice cream, and more soda, and ... sigh, I'm just a big sugar addict, okay?
The point of all this is that I got so wired up that instead of going to bed between one and two in the morning like I had been recently, I went to bed around six. I don't think I actually got to sleep there until seven or so. The worst part is that I didn't spend all those extra hours last night being productive in any way, as I just wound up bouncing around the Internet here looking up marginally useful information all over the place.
So, of course, at around 0930 or so the smoke detectors start blaring like crazy and wake me up quite rudely. We all stumbled around looking for the fire, and of course there wasn't one. We figured that the detectors were being set off because of the oppressive humidity, so we closed the house up and sure enough the detectors didn't go off again. (Last year we had a similar problem with the smoke detectors going off because the space between the roof and the ceiling of the office was getting incredibly hot.) I fell back into bed after that and stayed there until around 1300 or so, but I never really fell back asleep so now I'm really feeling out of it.
The worst part of all of this is that, given how much trouble the smoke detectors have given us here, I am sorely tempted to ask that we simply power them down over the summer. This in spite of the fact that I know how terrifying it is to see your house burn before you, this in spite of the fact that I watched my sister lose pretty much everything but the clothes on her back five years ago, this in spite of the fact that I lost a fair amount of stuff in the fire, this in spite of the fact that I would do pretty much anything to avoid having to spend another ten-plus months sharing a hotel room with my family. I know how incredibly stupid it is for me to want the smoke detectors to be shut off, but at the same time I'm so sick and tired of these false alarms that I'd probably scream about it if I weren't so damn tired right now.
posted 2006/07/27 at 17:01
A happy sixty-first birthday to my mother today.
Yeah, I don't know what else to write here either.
posted 2006/07/26 at 23:03
Sure enough, my copy of The Scarlet Letter came in the mail today. I really don't know what to make of the tape itself since it seems to pop in and out between restored parts and older, grainier, darker reel footage, but the film itself is acted incredibly well. Now, however, I'm reminded that I really want to get all my favourite Marx Brothers movies (basically all of them) on DVD.
Yeah, like I've got the money for that ... le sigh.
posted 2006/07/25 at 12:22
In the midst of everything that was happening last week, I forgot to mention that I made my first eBay purchase. A class I took last fall on film adaptations of women's novels got my film senses tingling a bit, so I bid on (and won) an old out-of-print copy of a silent film adaptation of The Scarlet Letter. Now if only it would actually get here ...
This isn't the first time I've ever gotten something off of an Internet auction -- I bought a couple of computers through uBid several years ago, including the HP Pavilion that was my main computer before Yggdrasil Mark I -- but this was my first eBay purchase. I don't know, it's not like there's much else going on in my life I can mention here right now.
posted 2006/07/23 at 16:45
Can I just state for the record right now how fucking sick and tired I am of always trying to do the right thing?
I've certainly done the wrong things in my past more than I care to remember, and I can't say that I necessarily do the right thing every time in my life now, but I try. I try to be the good person, I try to always put the needs of others over my own trivial needs.
What the fuck has it gotten me, though? When my friends don't turn on me when they realize how much of a pushover I am, I end up doing something to freak them out (accidentally, never on purpose), and everything winds up going to shit anyway.
I realize that being the good person is supposed to be its own reward, and that I will likely be rewarded for my actions in the next life, but fuck it, is it too fucking much to ask for a little reward and recognition in this life? Huh?
posted 2006/07/21 at 16:36
I don't think anyone can truly understand the weight behind the phrase "Pyrrhic victory" unless you've actually experienced one yourself.
On an unrelated note, a happy thirtieth birthday today to my high school crush, Chantelle Marshall, who in addition to always being better than me at everything will always be younger than me.
posted 2006/07/17 at 03:40
Hi.
I said I'd write again when I got back, and, well, I just got back.
Just letting you know, is all.
posted 2006/07/16 at 20:26
Hi.
I'll write some more when I get home tonight.
posted 2006/07/15 at 23:06
I am so nervous right now.
Why didn't I get nervous like this when *I* was the one traveling all that way for the first time, hmm?
Wish me luck, everyone. This is either going to be the greatest week of my life, or final confirmation that I was never intended to experience any real kind of happiness.
posted 2006/07/13 at 19:23
One of the things that I've struggled with throughout my life is knowing when to shut up.
There are so many reasons to shut up -- not letting slip details you want to keep secret, not saying something bad about a person and then having it get back to that person, not goading on people who work at pissing you off (those of you who knew me from the pre-.org days doubtlessly remember how much trouble I used to have with that last one) -- and even though I'm a private person, a woman of few words, still I manage to struggle with saying entirely the wrong thing at entirely the wrong time.
I am going through one of those rare moments in my life where I actually have something I want to say, and not just to friends or to everyone here reading this entry, but to the whole world. If I say it, though, I could really fuck something up that's more important to me than I dare mention. I'm turning into a real basketcase here, and I don't know what to do.
Besides, of course, shut up.
If entries here suddenly become even more sparse than they have been in recent months, at least now you know why. All will be revealed in due time, probably, but for now let's just say that I'd better keep my lips sealed.
posted 2006/07/11 at 17:05
Happy fortieth birthday to my sister today. As usual, I'll be getting her one of those free Slurpees for a present ... oh, I kid. Actually, her present finally arrived here today after quite a bit of searching around for it.
What the crap did Music Choice do to their visuals?
posted 2006/07/10 at 18:28
Honest question here, and I'm looking for honest answers: Would your opinion of me go down any if I tried out for Mensa?
(Answers like "My opinion of you couldn't go any lower than it already is so go for it" will be deleted post haste.)
posted 2006/07/09 at 16:14
SHANNY, NO!!!
Sigh, what was that I said yesterday about the Wings starting to suck? It'll only be a few years just because our farm system is so strong and we have such good scouts, but still ... sigh.
posted 2006/07/08 at 22:16
Now, regardless of whether or not the Tigers drop their final two games before the All-Star Break, they're guaranteed of having the best record in baseball at the break with Boston beating the White Sox today. Wow.
I won't go so far as to call Detroit a lock for the Series at this point -- they still lack the experience as a team they'll need to get that far -- but I'd be surprised if they didn't at least make the playoffs at this point. Now the only problem is the possibility of the Tigers and Yankees battling it out either in the playoffs or for the wildcard spot. Tigers and Mets I've got no problems with because I know Don and I can take it in stride; a Tigers-Yankees showdown might cause some bloodshed in the Shannon house, though, likely my own.
Gee, the Tigers and the Bengals both stopped sucking here. Guess it's the Red Wings' turn to start dropping turdburgers on the ice. Le sigh.
posted 2006/07/06 at 14:02
I HATE GOING TO THE DENTIST. ;.;
Sorry for the recent lack of updates, but there just isn't much going on right now apart from me reading books to prepare for the MA exam. I need to do something to make my life more interesting again. Actually, something like that is going to happen soon, but I can't really give out too many details about that. Let's just say I'll be taking care of something I should have taken care of a looooooooooooong time ago.
In the meantime, YOU NEED GOOD MUSIC IN YOUR LIFE.
posted 2006/07/03 at 13:37
Yahoo! News -- Steve Yzerman Announces Retirement
There is crying in Hockeytown today.
posted 2006/07/02 at 22:04
We lost Internet access for most of the day today for seemingly no reason, but it's all clear now. Our cable company says that even they have no idea what's causing this. I'd kind of like to know here myself. This is when I wish I had a laptop, because then I could use the hotspots at the coffeehouse chain I frequent here in town.
Anyway, these past few nights the fireworks have been going hot and heavy around this time of night, and of course that just makes us all miss Rowan all the more here since there's nothing like a bunch of fireworks to make cats all anxious and stuff. Sigh. I still miss that furball.
posted 2006/07/01 at 19:58
One of the things I've been doing this past week to distract myself from my sore throat (I don't think I'm actually getting sick here but I don't want to take any chances) has been to go through my old video game collection here and just play a large variety of games. I can't say that I hadn't expected my video gaming skills to have deteriorated somewhat, but good grief do I suck now. I'm looking at my old save files and high scores here and wondering just how in the hell I ever did any of that stuff.
This was only to be expected given how intense my schooling has gotten in recent years, I know, but I suppose what bothers me the most is knowing that, in all likelihood, I'll never have the time or dedication to play video games as well as I used to ever again. I've got too much grown-up stuff to do now as it is, and of course that will multiply exponentially once I get a good-paying job and move into my own place.
I don't think I can adequately convey to you just how depressing this is to me. I think I'm going to go string myself up with one of my old NES controllers ...
copyright © 2008 Sean Shannon