Final 2017 Goals Check In

2017 is dead, to which I would say thankfully but 2018 doesn't bode to be much better. Well as another year has ended, it's time to check in on the goals list and see how I did.  About as usual from previous years. You win some and you lose some.

Goal Number One - Read at least 12 books: Without a doubt I made this goal.  My goal was to read one book per month, and I ended up nearly double of that, with a total of 22 books.  As I realized how many books I was at, I considered trying to cram two more in, but that was just too much to get in the final days of the month. I think given how I've been reading I'm going to have to increase the goal, maybe 1.5 - 2 books per month.

Leisure Reading

1. March: Book Three
2. The Silkwork
3. Turtles All The Way Down

Graduate Class Reading

1. Victory in the East: A Military History of the First Crusade
2. The First Crusade and the Idea of Crusading
3. De Profectione Ludovici VII in Orientem
4. Lionhearts: Saladin, Richard I, and the Era of the Third Crusade
5. The Fourth Crusade
6. Carthage Must Be Destroyed: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization
7. Discontented America
8. The United States in the 1920s, Closer to Freedom: Enslaved Women and Everyday Resistance in the Plantation South
9. The Woman in the Zoot Suit: Gender, Nationalism, and the Cultural Politicsof Memory
10. At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape, and Resistance: A New History of the Civil Rights Movement from Rosa Parks to the Rise of Black Power
11. The Myth of Senca Falls: Memory and the Women’s Suffrage Movement, 1848-1898
12. Bad Girls: Young Women, Sex, and Rebellion before the Sixties
13. Men in the Middle
14. The Secret History of Wonder Woman
15. Not June Cleaver
16. Beyond Combat: Women and Gender in the Vietnam War
17. The Male Body At war: American Masculinity During World War II
18. The Lavender Scare: The Cold War Persecution of Gays and Lesbians in the Federal Government.
19. Imperial Brotherhood: Gender and the Making of Cold War Foreign Policy.

Goal Number Two - Lose 1.25 pounds per week: Major failure here.  I didn't lose a single pound this year, but I also know that I really didn't get as active as I wanted to.  This is the story of my life, never really getting around to this one and ending up right where I left off.  I would say that it's disappointing, but I know that I'm lazy and can't drag my ass out of bed in the morning to actually work out even though I know that as a whole I feel better on days that I do.

Goal Number Three - Log my meals and activity every day: I still made this one, though there were times when I forgot to do it one day and had to go back and try and remember what it was that I ate.  That's not usually too hard because I basically eat the same thing every day.  The problem is that I snack way too much and I don't think I log those accurately. I mean, since I didn't gain or lose weight that means if I was off, it wasn't by much.

Goal Number Four - Digitize and organize my photos: I didn't do a ton on this one, but I did get a little bit done, I scanned in around 520 photos this year, which is a small amount considering how many I have to do.  Though, part of the problem is that the majority of what I have to scan is in a terrible format that I don't have an easy way to scan because no tray really holds the film properly. I spent a few hours building my own frame, which worked out ok. I also tried some different methods on how to feed them through the scanner. I think I have a way, though it's not necessarily kind to the film.  The upside is that the rough part comes after I scan, so I may only get one good shot at this.

Goal Number Five - Landscape the backyard: This didn't happen, and I've been thinking about some ways to make sure it happens in 2018. I'd like to enjoy a deck before we move out of this place, and if we want to be somewhere else for when Sal starts kindergarten, then we don't have much more time for that. If we can get it next year then at least we can get three summers of enjoyment out of it.

Goal Number Six -  Create a long term goals list:  I created a list, and as I mentioned when I actually did, it's not a final list, but a working list. I think that's the best thing with these sort of long term goal lists. You can never have a final list because things are always changing and updating.

Goal Number Seven - Have Seven New Experiences:  Depending on how I feel like counting these, this year had a lot of new experiences. I kind of grouped some things together, which ended up giving me ten, though they could also be spun out a little if I wanted to be technical and probably double that and more to around two dozen.  It was a good year for experiences. I feel that if I keep trying this as a goal it's going to become harder to meet.

1. I got to see three new shows that I've never seen before, Sunset Boulevard, with the amazing Glen Close, Anastasia (a huge disappointment), and Amelie which was absolutely fantastic
2. We visited the Grange (Hamilton's home in New York), the New York Public Library, and Hamilton's grave at Trinity Church
3. We also got to see Hamilton at the end of June 
4. I visited the new locations of Antietam, Yorktown, Monticello and Mount Vernon
5. I went to the Belfer Conference in July at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in D.C.
6. I visited a number of new states: Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and Nevada
7. I visited new National Parks: Rocky Mountain National Park, Arches National Park, Grand Canyon National Park
8. I visited Las Vegas, The Hoover Dam, and saw the light show at the Bellagio hotel
9. I visited Denver, Red Rocks, and a state park near Parker Colorado
10. I took a cooking class today, so squeezed one last thing in at the end there.

And so ends 2017, it was quite a year! I ended up hitting about 4.5 of my 7 goals, which isn't too bad. I'll update tomorrow with the 2018 goals list, I suspect that it will have some familiar things on it, but I'll also have some new things. Happy New Year, and goodbye 2017!  Here's to 2018!

Picture(s) of the Day: 
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After making pasta in our class today we decided to come home and try it again with some different sauces. So there is the last meal for 2017, delicious homemade fettuccine in lemon butter and shrimp, garlic bread, and then more fettuccine and shrimp with a *not* spicy tomato sauces (though it was supposed to be spicy.

I May Cut A Bitch

Most of my relatives are shitbags.  This isn't new, in fact as far as I can tell they've just always been this way.  Therefore it really shouldn't shock me when they do things that shitbags do, I mean, they are shitbags so why would acting like shitbags be surprising?  Well, my grandma has always had a favorite grandchild, this isn't surprising either, it's long established and well known.  Well it's been years since my sister has come to visit, and when I visited her earlier this year when I was down in D.C. for my conference, and I kind of talked to her about coming up for a visit for a holiday. My idea was that I'd even help cover the cost to help clear some of the hurdles that could prevent it from happening. I was surprised when she told my gran that she was coming up for Thanksgiving about two weeks before Thanksgiving. That's great, my gran will be so thrilled.  Well then not too long later she said she wouldn't be able to make it, then posted stuff on Facebook about how unreasonable it is to expect people who work in the service industry to get time off around holidays.  It was a weak response, but whatever.

Fast forward to Christmas, and who has a freaking week off of work??? And guess who went to visit friends in Pittsburgh for Christmas.  Pittsburgh, a mere four hours away. And of course, guess who didn't come visit her grandmother.  I mean, even if you don't want to spend an entire week, how about a few days? I mean, it's been years, and grandparents aren't getting any younger. It just pisses me off that people think only about themselves. Do something for someone else once in a while! I was ready to burn the house down on Christmas when I read it on social media, and though, well maybe it will be part of the trip, a surprise, but now a week later it clearly wasn't.  Fuck that.

Picture(s) of the Day: 
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I've been working on my scanning goal for the year and scanned a few rolls of film over the past couple days. I found this one of the Cow Parade cow in Grand Central Station back in 2000. Thought it was a fun one.

The Troubled Omnivore

I love food, eating, and a good meal with friends. I love flavors and savoring something that is totally delicious. However, much of that involves some sort of meat. Maybe some bacon or sausage with breakfast, a turkey sandwich, or some chicken fried rice, hibachi or tempura, spicy rice bowls. There are so many delicious things. However at the same time for quite a while I also feel uncomfortable about eating meat. I limit what and how much I eat, I look for how the animals are treated but when I sit an think about it I just feel ick about it all.

Well while trying to clear out the TiVo I was watching some Anthony Bourdain episodes and they were in Portugal and they slaughtered a pig. They didn't necessarily show the entire thing, but they showed the people pushing the pig who was clearly afraid and wanted to get away. They showed the set up of the knife and bucket, and they kept the audio going the entire time. The sound of pain and suffering was terrible. It really bothered me, and made me think about how possible it would be to switch to become vegetarian.

I don't actually eat a ton of meat, and I think it would be hard to do a complete shift. I'm not sure what exactly I would eat. I think I need to do some research into it and see what options I'd have. At the same time, as I said I enjoy eating and cooking, so I'm not sure I can fully flip, but perhaps being a bit more diligent about cutting down and being more careful about what I eat. I also can see if I can find more recipes that could work as an alternative.

I suppose it's nice that I can be in a position where I can worry about this. Like, this is the most that I hat to worry about? better than having actual problems to worry about. haha!

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Sal is kind of getting into dress up. She's not super big on it yet, but sometimes she'll want to put on her cook gear, or her new doctor coat she got for Christmas.

Adolescent Mindset

I think at some point a large portion of the population decided to just not grow up anymore.  I'm not sure if they decided or if it just kind of happened and they didn't know about it. You know, where people are just on autopilot and just end up somewhere and have no idea how they made it to that point in life. In manifests itself in a lot of ways. For some they simplify all things the way that my middle school students do. They have simple answers for complex problems, and even try to simplify those complex problems into simple issues.  Basically they turn into Yzma when she says to the starving guy and his family, "Well you should have thought of that before you decided to become peasants!" Yes, sure there are things people can do to improve their situation, and sometimes they don't do that for a variety of reasons, but also a lot of things are outside of their control and that really stacks the deck against them.

The other way that I've noticed lately is grown ass adults posting things that I see my former students, who are young and immature, posting the same thing. It's the "share if you agree" kind of posts, and the "you don't need that negativity in your life" sort of things.  Basically talking about haters, about toxic other people, about doing what you need to do to be "happy" and basically all the things you don't see any well adjusted adult posting about. Like, you are way to old for that kind of thing. It's kind of like when a disgruntled teenager yells about how they are "their own person" to justify making a decision. Like, real adults just make the choice without qualification.

The problem with these people is that they are the kind of people who can't take any sort of conflict in their lives, or "negativity" and isolate themselves. They also then tend to have a history of making terrible choices because anyone who questions them are "haters" and trying to rain on their parade. I mean, I expect that sort of simple minded things from teenagers, they're still trying to figure out how to be adults, but if you are like MUCH older than that, then you have problems.  That sort of thing should be resolved by the time you're in your 20s and starting to figure out how to be a functioning adult. Like, just grow up. It's not that hard, you just do things and stop complaining about how hard they are. Life is hard, people can be shitty, conflict happens, not everyone will agree or like what you're doing, that's life. Suck it up cupcake and just move along. Like, you do know that 100 year ago children worked in factories, teenagers marched off to war, and none of them complained about haters and negativity, nor did they whine about having to "adult" so maybe we can get our shit together or something.

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Sal got to pick out some Christmas presents for everyone. She promptly told me that mine was a hammer, but she was able to keep the other ones secret.  I think the best one she picked was this shirt for Jasmine. It's so weird and Jasmine like, that I was pretty shocked that she thought it was a good gift for her. Good job on first time Christmas shopping.

Survivor And High Ho Cherry O

I feel like I've done nothing all day, though one of my tasks was to clear off the TiVo, and we did make a nice dent in that by getting rid of all the back episodes of Survivor, as well as the Doctor Who christmas special. We were up to having about 73% of the memory filled, but now we're down to around 50%.  Still a lot to go, and I don't know that I can get it all cleared before we both head back to work and I start teaching and grad classes again.

The other thing on the To Do list was to spend some time with Sal because I've been far too busy the past couple of months. She asked me if I could go in and play with her pet hospital, but then she decided that we needed to go play in her room. However when we got up there she saw that she had two gamed she got on Christmas that we hadn't opened yet and decided to go back downstairs so we could open them up and play with mommy. 

Let me just say, High Ho Cherry O was a big hit.  We played it about a dozen times at least. She got a little tripped up the first few turns figuring out when it was her turn to play and when she would have to wait.  However, once that was sorted out she was hooked. She would count her little fruit pieces and spin the wheel on her turn (though a few times she didn't like what she spun and decided to just spin again). She laughed and squealed every time she got one of the spaces on the wheel that makes you put some of the fruit back on the board. She all around just loved it.

We didn't really leave the house until evening when we went out for dinner with Becky's family so we could see the niece and nephew. We probably would have gone out sooner, but we had the delivery guys here replacing the damaged bet with another slightly less damaged bed (not amused but that's for another story). Tomorrow we have an early morning appointment to get the car serviced, so that will surely get us out of the house for a bit.  So far, I've found the break quite relaxing now that we've got the whole holiday out of the way.

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A little bit cool, but also a little bit creepy? Only a few more days left before this all comes down and it's back to the less festive house. Traditionally we always decorate on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and then take everything down on New Year's Day. Well, except that one year I was so over Christmas that I basically threw everything out the window on the day after Christmas.

Deja View?

Tonight we sat down and decided to watch the DVD we got in Netflix back at the end of October. As you may have guessed, I didn't get a chance to watch it because with school my life was way too busy. The movie we got was Jason Bourne, and as we started watching it I felt like I had seen it before. It all seemed familiar, but not enough so that I could definitely say that I'd seen it. For the first, at least, thirty minutes I kept debating if it was new or if it was old. Should we turn it off and watch the other movie we've had since October, or should we continue in the hopes that we haven't seen this one.

In the end we decided to keep watching because for the familiar parts there were also parts that I had no memory of.  Perhaps it was just that it was something that I saw in a trailer, or maybe flipping through HBO or something? As I thought about it, it occurred to me that the confusion regarding if I'd seen the movie or not reminded me that the same thing is why I stopped reading the books. I basically couldn't remember if I had read the next one or not, or if the last one was the one that I read, or had I done both? Maybe it was neither.

I think that if it's so confusing, then that says something about the storytelling, and how it's probably not great. I mean, it's no surprise that there is a lack of original entertainment. I suppose that's what happens when you base everything on making money. Gotta stick with the safe choice to ensure there is a return on investment. However, that doesn't mean it's the best for storytelling.

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The snow is quite lovely, thought the temperature isn't. It's way too cold. You can tell how cold it is the instant you step outside and the inside of your nose starts to freeze. Looks like it will be this way for the foreseeable future. BOO!

Happy Christmas

Another Christmas has come and gone. As has been standard for the past bajillion years, we started our day at home before heading over to one family for the morning and the other family for the afternoon. It can be kind of tiring going all over the place, and sometimes I wish we could just do shifts where we do it at different houses so that once in a while I could just cook breakfast and stay home, even if it's just once every 3 or 4 years. It almost makes the idea of moving far away kind of tempting.  That being said, it is nice that the entire family can get together for holidays. Sal gets to spend it with her aunts and uncles, and of course all her cousins. My direct aunts and uncles were never around for me when I was little, and never any cousins either. All I had was my (awesome) uncle Danny on Christmas, and then the grandparents. Sal at least gets the benefit of having a close relationship with some extended family, which is nice (though tiring from all the travel).  It also is a little sad at this age because all she wanted to do was open up her toys and play with them, but we had to tell her she had to wait until she got home so she didn't lose all the little pieces. She was pretty much pooped by the end of the day.

Sal did have a great day though. This was the first year that she really understood the concept of Santa, and so when she woke up she was pretty astonished that the cookies and milk that she left were gone. She said in kind of a breathy voice, "WOAH! SANTA! Presents!" She got exactly what she told us that Santa would bring for her, a set of binoculars, so she can look for a red dragon. She was old enough to understand that presents and unwrapping. She smiled, and laughed, and played. It was really fun to watch her experience like this for the first time. I realize that my first memories were from when I was around 3 or 4, so I kind of wonder what her first memories will be. It will be sometime soon that she'll have something that she'll remember back to. Will it be a Christmas memory? She loves Christmas! It's kind of an interesting and exciting thought.

Thinking back the first Christmas that I really remember was probably 1985 (I seem to recall my mom was married to Bernie and Misty wasn't born yet). I don't remember much, but I remember laying on my grandma's stairs and looking into her bedroom as she was coming out from wrapping and she had these two stuffed bears sitting on her floor next to her bed. I think that year we got this Alvin and the Chipmunks van, though it didn't come with any figures, so it was kind of useless.  We ended up just pushing it really fast into the step up into the dining area of our trailer so that it would crash. This eventually broke it. Beyond that I don't have any clear memories of most Christmases. I recall the one in 5th grade when we got in a car accident. I remember one in Virginia (though I don't recall the year) that we went to my aunt and uncle's for the first/last time ever and went sledding down the mountain. I recall the year we moved back to Michigan, and the year that my mom married Dan. But really, there's a lot of Christmas blanks in my memory.  However, probably my favorite memory was that my Grandpa had this ornament that made sounds like a bird and he'd try and trick us into believing that there was a bird in the tree.  My least favorite was when we were living in the trailer and I woke up in the middle of the night and apparently my sister was awake at the same time and thought she saw Santa so she yelled "I SEE YOU!" and it scared the shit out of me. I laid there paralyzed thinking that I was going to be taken by some evil person who could see me. lol.

So, Christmas 2017 is now over, and the excitement and energy has broken. The house is still decorated, and will be for a few more days. The new year is on the way, and things are going to shift back to normal until next year. Hopefully everyone had a lovely Christmas, we sure did.

Picture(s) of the Day: 
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Disclaimer, this was not intentional, however it just looks so wrong. Harvey Elfstein here and his giant blue ball. Not even the North Pole is safe from harassment it would seem.

Christmas Eve!

I think Christmas Eve is my second favorite day, right behind Christmas Tree Day. Christmas Tree Day kicks everything off. The house becomes festive, filled with the smell of fir tree, and spruced up with beautiful decorations. Lights shimmer in the corner of the living room, a wreath on the door. We watch our movies, we play out our traditions, it's all great.  Christmas Eve is the night before the big event. It's the last moments of anticipation, the last moments of mystery. The effort that people have put looking for the perfect gifts still sit under the tree, clad in festive paper. Kids have their last night of looking forward to what Santa is going to bring them, and what lies in store for them under the tree. It is the crest of the wave before it breaks and flows to the shore. Christmas day is fun too, but it's different. All of that energy that has been building over the past month has released, and it almost feels disappointing at times that it's all over. But Christmas Eve, well, that's different because all that energy is still there.

Tonight is a lovely night. I was able to get out and finish up my shopping at the snow started to pile up outside. It was amazingly shopping friendly out there today. The lines weren't too bad, and people weren't too crazy. The worst was at Kroger as they were almost closed (I made it just before they closed up for the holiday). I got to wrap all my gifts as I watched It's a Wonderful Life, a movie that I had never seen until a few years ago, but now greatly enjoy. I got to search for our 2017 donations, which is usually my favorite part of the christmas shopping experience. Now, the snow is still falling outside, and it looks picture perfect. All is calm, all is bright.

Merry Christmas Eve!

Picture(s) of the Day: 
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The stocking were hung by the chimney with care... though St. Nicholas was already there. It's a quiet night, the snow is falling, and the house is lovely.

Cookie Day, 2017

Today was our annual cookie day, where we make a ton of cookies (486 to be exact, and two loaves of bread), and then give them all away as gifts to the people we care about. This year we went with the usals of sugar cookies, butter cookies, chocolate chip, snickerdoodles, cocoa balls, and banana nut bread. Becky got a head start on things last night and took care of butter cookies and chocolate chip cookies. The rest we finished up today and then had to get them all boxed up and delivered. While I was making my snickerdoodles the nice spatula I was working with broke, so Becky said "hang on!" and then dashed upstairs. She came back down with a pretty awesome Darth Vader spatula, so I guess they turned into Sitherdoodles instead.

We were able to get things done by late afternoon, and then boxed things up to go make most of our deliveries. We also got stopped at the Robertses (though only Eila is still a Roberts), and got to visit with them. Kara and family are in town for the holiday, and Eila and Clay were down from Lansing. It's so rare anymore to get all three of them in the same spot unless it's a big event. I enjoyed being able to sit and visit with them. I also love the family dynamic between them and their parents, and of course the kids and husbands. It's, generally speaking, just so nice and is the kind of family that I think a lot of people long for.

At the same time, I also felt a little drained when we went tonight. All the running and working the past few weeks left me feeling just kind of quiet and not engaged the same way that I usually do when we get to hang out with the entire crew. I found that I didn't have as much to say as I usually do. I felt unsure about what to answer when people asked what was new and what was going on. I fell into these terrible pre-recorded "oh busy with school and work." I took me way too long to actually get into conversations about things going on. I don't like that, and I need to get some more rest so that I avoid that kind of thing. Clearly stuff has been going on, and it's not just polite questions, but rather things they want to hear about.

I did get to spent some time with Charlie, which I think he often wants me to hang out with the guys, and when I declined to play video games but instead visit, I sensed disappointment. So I hung out with him for a bit while he was cooking and talked about some stuff from my classes, and current events, and for a brief second about some anime. Though, I also sensed some tension around him with other people, which was weird. Alas, that's the holidays, right?

I need to do better about handing out with them. Really, I need to do better about my social life in general. I don't see people, and I get so buried by the never ending and always growing list of things to do. It grows like credit card debt when there is no budget. I think that may be something that I need to add to my goals list for 2018. I'll have to think about it.

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Merry Sithmas!

Holiday Break!

Well, I made it to the holiday break. I'm not the kind of person that really does countdowns for the breaks from teaching. But I do count down for trips and for the end of semesters. I really just want to have some time to myself that I don't get when I'm in classes. It takes time from my family, it takes time from doing things that I want to do, and it also takes time from my work because I'm not able to plan the way that I want to. By the end of the semester I'm usually pretty burned out and tired. It's really good that fall semester ends so close to the holiday break at school because that means that I have some time to recharge before going into winter semester, and the second half of the school year.

As it turns out, the Women's History class that I was so over, and felt that my paper wasn't all that great was actually received well. The professor said that it was "argued beautifully" and that it would earn "high honors" if it were for a Master's Exam question. That was pretty exciting to hear. I appreciate that she gave me actual feedback. Many of my professors don't give any feedback, they just give a grade and I don't know what that means. Yeah, it means I got an A, but was it because I was just able to hit the requirements? I mean, some students can give me A level work when I grade with a specific rubric, but that doesn't mean it's groundbreaking, it just means that it hit all the checkboxes in a way that gave them a good grade. The feedback I got on this paper was different because it told me that it wasn't just me hitting the important checkboxes but instead coming up with good ideas and arguing them well, even when it was from difficult and complicated texts.

So, now that I'm on break I plan to get my christmas shopping done, doing the whole christmas thing, and then do some stuff that I haven't been able to do in a while. I'm going to clear the TiVo of all the things that have been building up because I haven't had time to watch. I'm going to work on cleaning up my digital life, and perhaps preserving some photos by scanning old negatives, and perhaps even work on some projects. I'm also going to grade all the stuff that's been building up, and get some lesson plans ready for the second half of the year so I'm not scrambling to get things ready while trying to take classes.

So cheers! Here's to a nice, and much needed, break.

Picture(s) of the Day: 
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This was taken a few days ago when Sal wanted to go hand out with "sissy" and was quiet for a while. I went up to see what she was up to and found her sitting on Jasmine's bed playing a game as Jasmine was working. How cute.

Christmas For Republicans

As I was sitting here watching commercials for upcoming holiday movies, I had to wonder, how much do Republicans hate Christmas? I mean, what lesson does Paul Ryan take from movies like It's A Wonderful Life? That movie is very clear about what it thinks of bankers and men at the top. Jimmy Stewart is the everyday progressive fighting against the top of society.  Does Speaker Ryan see that and think that poor Mr. Potter, a job creator, is getting a bad rap? That he's being victimized by class warfare? Is Scrooge, a job creator, being harassed? I mean, if he paid his employees more, he wouldn't be able to hire so many? Though, I suppose at the same time Scrooge would be a libertarian's model of how people should be donating and running charities, not governments. Though, those people are conveniently overlooking the fact that Scrooge was underpaying his staff, who could barely feed themselves, much less donate much to charity, and that the well off were hoarding their money, which is what they do instead of donating it to others.

It must really be the worst time of year to have this kind of nonsense shoved in their faces. Stupid liberals and their class warfare. Hm, maybe they should be careful before they start going on about the war on christmas. Perhaps we should put Jesus back into christmas, it might remind them that it isn't about consumer capitalism, but about generosity and giving to the less fortunate. These fools are wielding a double edged sword. To try and gain political points by the fictitious "war on christmas" they are forgetting (or perhaps have no idea) the ideas that Jesus stood for. I mean, I'm not a christian and even I know that. Give to the poor, love your neighbor, help those less fortunate, down with the rich and powerful. So, do it. Make it all about Jesus, because the freaking angel doesn't come down to help Mr. Potter, he comes to help George Bailey. God doesn't help the rich guy destroy his competition in the pure capitalist world, he brings together all the people who George has helped to come up with the missing money.

Likewise, for our donations this year I'm looking to charities fighting the greedy Republicans that are in office. I'm looking for charities that are working for equal rights, for women's rights, who believe in climate change and want to do something about it, and who believe in our core principles as Americans, such as freedom of the press, of religion, and that we are better together giving and helping, than we are when the rich take the largest piece of the pie. I hope they see movies like It's A Wonderful Life and squirm a little knowing that they are the Mr. Potters, and that he isn't the one who wins in the end. I look forward to 2018, because Yes We Can make a difference, and it's time to get to work doing it.

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The other day Sal wanted to go get Mexican, but we were going to the Wayne County Light Fest instead. She was super bummed about it, and so we had to take her so she could get her "chips and dip and cheese." She also like tortillas.

Cheap Movie Wednesday: Star Wars The Last Jedi

Well friends, I finally got to see The Last Jedi, and below will be my review of the movie, so of course spoilers may occur. If you don't want to be spoiled on any of the plot, then of course you should just stop reading and skip ahead to another entry.  Or better yet, you could just go see the movie right now. I'm sure there is a showing within the next 45 minutes or so, if you leave now you can surely catch it. Hurry! GO SEE IT! I'll just wait here for you... like Luke... on an island on a far away planet with an ancient Jedi temple... no rush.

Ok, so now that you had a chance to see the movie, lets talk about it. First, the hype. They've really been hyping this movie up saying how it was a game changer, how it was like nothing seen ever before in the Star Wars universe, and how it basically was the best Star Wars movie ever. Now, it wasn't all that. It was a great movie for a number of reasons, and it had some shifts in how things have gone in the past that helped reframe things for the final movie, but as usual the hype is more than is necessary for the movie. It's a great movie, but people need to calm down. It's not like everyone isn't going to go see the movie anyway. Was it the best movie? No, probably not. Was it the best movie of the new trilogy? Probably. To say something probably controversial, I think that Rogue One may be the best Star Wars movie ever made, with Empire being a close second.

So, for the plot. The movie basically picks up right after the last one. The attack that destroyed the new Galactic Republic also took out the fleet, leaving the Resistance with a couple of ships and the need to evacuate their base as a fleet of First Order star destroyers jump into orbit. After some great sacrifices (which seem to weigh more heavily than any in the original series), they Resistance is able to jump to light speed and escape the First order. However, it would seem that the First Order has been working on tracking systems that allow them to follow ships after the jump to light speed, which wasn't something they used to be able to do (however, for all the cry babies on the Internet, Jyn Erso mentions that it was a tech that the Empire was working on way back before Episode IV, so it's not far fetched that they finally figured it out). So, the Resistance can't escape because they will be followed, and they don't have limitless fuel (also, whiners on the Internet, just because it hasn't been mentioned in past movies doesn't make it suddenly impossible that these ships have limited fuel. Don't be daft, it's just an issue this time, perhaps because they weren't planning on having to high tail it out of their base). So, they're faster than the First Order ships in regular space, so they're able to keep out of range of weapons, but they have limited fuel and have to find a way to get out of there.

Meanwhile, Rey is trying to learn from Luke, who has turned into a "get off my lawn" kind of old man. Rey is also for some reason being linked with Kylo Ren, and having some intergalactic Face Time through their Jedi powers net neutrality agreements. Rey thinks she can turn Kylo, so she goes to him instead of getting her third lesson (hmmmm little Empire Strikes Back?). There, she's tricked, interrogated by the Supreme Leader, but Kylo turns on him and just straight up cuts a bitch and he's dead. Whaaa??? (Calm down fanboys, it's totally fine that the guy is dead, there's really nothing to him and being dead is fine). But then Kylo is all Darth 2.0 and tries to get Rey to join him because he read a few too many Post Structuralist books and wants to burn the world down because none of it matters and and you can't just put people in categories, and it's time to kill the old stuff. They have it out and but neither can match the other because it's all Yin and Yang. Rey escapes and goes looking for her buddies, who are still doing the whole OJ White Bronco thing across space.

So in the end the tiny remains of the rebels make it to an old base that has one way in, and the remains of the first Order land on that door to finish off the Resistance and reestablish the empire. IT looks grim. It's a really low point. There are hardly any fighters left (I mean, they all fit on the Millennium Falcon, so we're talking small), they're trapped, and it looks like it's the end. They send out distress messages but no one comes. Then, what to my wondering eyes should appear? But Grumpy Old Man Skywalker snazzed out like he was in Return of the Jedi.  He walks out right in front of the door, and Kylo loses it and fires every blaster at him, but he's still standing! So he goes out there and fights him. Meanwhile the rebels find a tunnel and escape out the back. Turns out Luke is not really there, but an astral projection and was just buying them time. However it ends up killing him, and he peacefully disappears into the force a la Obi Wan. The resistance is nearly destroyed, though it seems like the First Order is pretty bad off too. The movie ends with a message of hope for rebuilding the rebellion, and it cuts to kids retelling the story of Luke facing off with the first order, and being yelled at by their oppressive (probably slave owners), where the one kid uses the force and is wearing a rebellion ring given to him by a character earlier in the movie. Thus, though being in a dark spot, there is hope.

So, a lot of people have been bitching about how these movies are just like the original movies, but I have to object. Yes, there are some similarities, but I see them more as reflections or bookends. They show how history repeats itself. I mean, hell, half the movies out right now are sequels and remakes of old movies. Broadway is filled with stage versions of movies. Humans are like that, they take it and they remake it. Yeah, New Hope had a Death Star, and Force Awakens had a Star Killer Base. But this one I think took a lot of those ideas and turned them on their head. In Empire, Luke faces off with Darth Vader and finds out the truth about his family. In Last Jedi, Rey faces off with Kylo, but finds out that she's no one. There is no reveal, there is no great conspiracy, she's just a poor kid who got abandoned by her family. They also took the idea of the Emperor and just kill him. Taken out as if he wasn't important, and it was perfect because it wasn't what people expected. It eliminated the whole Master/Pupil dynamic that has literally been in every Star Wars movie to this point. Episode IX won't' be about Kylo resisting his master's training, it will be about him being a shitbag and having to come to terms with it, or not. In Empire they lost Han, but otherwise were still strong, in this one they lost EVERYTHING. This is a dark position to be in, and it is great, it's probably the weakest the Rebellion has been in since it formed back in the prequel movies. They have no one, they have no ships, they have nothing.

The other issue a lot of people had was that Rey was a big focus, and Luke wasn't what they wanted. The Rey thing is just sexism. She's a fucking badass, and if you don't like her then there's something wrong with you, not the movies. She's stronger than Luke was at that stage, she's not whiny, she kicks ass without much training, she's just a great character. So if you don't like her, the only reason I can see for it is that you don't like the idea of it being a female lead. Which by the way was great in this movie, because it was women who were running the show, who had the power, and who were making the good choices. They were strong, commanding, and worked together to try and save the day. Love it. The other issue was that Luke was not the Luke they wanted. But, like, what did you expect? I mean, he didn't run off never to be heard of again so that someone could find him and he could happily start training them. This was how it should have been. He was done with it, his shame for what he almost did, his anger at the Jedi order, his arrogance at being a Skywalker, it was all complex, complicated, and accurate. 

I think a neat thing it also did was it kind of shifted how we look at the original movies and the old Republic. The prequels are of course terrible, but they have a neat world, and it kind of creates this idea of a wise Jedi order that protects the galaxy. However, it didn't. It let the dark side take over, it allowed the republic to fall. I couldn't even sense what was going on from one of their own. Clearly, the Jedi had lost a lot of what they were once considered, and different from how it was portrayed when Obi Wan talked about it. Almost a nostalgic view of them from an old man who once took part in it. This movie criticizes that republic and the Jedi order. It says that they weren't wise protectors, and that many of them were arrogant. I mean, Mace Windu takes matters into his own hands and tries to execute the emperor, rather than holding him at bay until support comes. Not the wisest, and of course it doesn't turn out well for him. I think many fans wanted to see Luke rebuild the Jedi, thereby recreating this virtuous order that could restore the republic. He decides he can't do that, and takes a cynical view of the order and the past. Bad things happened, and the Jedi participated, thus it's all bad. I think that's a view that a lot of people take about our institutions. Rey and Leia don't take that view. Instead they put trust in the Resistance, the Republic, and the Jedi. They seek to learn from the past, which is a huge theme of the movie. Not to recreate, but to rebuild and part of that rebuilding is creating trust and learning from our mistakes.

This leads me to a feeling I took away form this movie. I think it was also an exceedingly relevant story given the world we are in now. Progressive causes are in a terrible spot, and progressives are far from control, there are few governors, senators, and representatives. All branches of government are being controlled by the right. We are in a dark spot, and every day seems darker. This movie shows the Resistance in the same position, but they respond with hope. They look at it and don't give up, but instead they decide to take action, decide to take a stand, and do what they can to rebuild their movement. As a progressive in the age of Trump, this is the message that I really needed. I need to feel hope, I need to understand that despite the dark clouds we can push forward and take a stand. That others will see us doing so and join the movement. It was politically relevant to me. Perhaps that wasn't the intentional message being sent, but it seemed like there was some subtext to a lot of this.

Some likes and dislikes. Things I wasn't sure about, Leia's space walk seemed a bit weird, but it wasn't the worst.  General Ginger was a bit over the top quite often, as if he was doing a caricature of an evil villain. They also left a lot unexplained, and that's not necessarily bad, but it depends on if they just let it go or if they explain it. Like the whole Rey in the mirrors thing, and the whole dark side butthole in the rocks.  Things that were good, the movie was actually pretty funny. I know a lot of people didn't like that, and felt it was too silly. But, the originals were pretty silly at times too. The opening big felt like it was straight out of Eddie Izzard's Death Star Canteen bit. It was funny, basically the Po distracts the angry ginger by acting like he can't hear him over the comm channel, which was freaking funny. The bit with the Porgs looking at Chewy as he was roasting some of their kind to eat. Yoda being all Empire-Strikes-Back-ey. It was good stuff. I also of course enjoyed the commentary about the elite classes making money by backing both sides but ensuring that they come out on stop. I like the way they handled characters. I also like the badassery of the women leading the resistance. Laura Dern kills it (and bad guys)!

Mostly, I like how complicated they made things. I suppose that's the world we live in, we want things to be complicated. At the same time, there are clear good guys and bad guys, they just have more dimension to them. I think it was a great movie, and in fact I would like to see it again, which means that I'd rate it as a "see it in theaters more than once,"  which of course is the highest rating. At the same time, I think it's not a movie for non-Star Wars fans. This is heavily about the characters, the universe, and reframing what we know about it. I don't think a casual fan would enjoy a lot of it, or would come out saying that it seemed long and slow for a lot of it. However, I'm a Star Wars nerd, so I loved it.

Picture(s) of the Day: 
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Another artsy try on the newer lens. This one turned out not so bad, and it helped to open the blinds and get some light in there.

Tax Scam

Well, they finally passed something. It had to happen eventually. Though I'm kind of shocked that given the fact that they had no problem exploding the deficit, and that they had all the power in Congress and in the White House, that it wasn't worse. I mean, they've been talking about ending the "death tax" for decades, and they could have but they didn't. Why? They also reversed course on a number of other things like taxing tuition for grad students who get it covered because they work at the university.  I'm not sure if they decided to keep the tax credit for adoption, which of course is of interest to us given it's something that we're looking into.  They passed it so fast, it's hard to know exactly what is in it, and what isn't. Plus, there were so many different versions of the thing that it was hard to keep track of the ever changing mess.

What is clear is that this bill is for the rich, as we knew it would be. This is like all the other cuts, where they throw a bit of a bone to the poor to make them feel like they got something, and then gives huge cuts to the rich. Then later the poor get pissed because the roads are shit, the schools are shit, veterans don't get paid, medicare gets cut, and all the other things that those tax dollars that just got cut used to pay for. It's a scam, and American's let it happen, and voted to let it happen. They allowed themselves to be duped into voting for people who want to fuck them over by acting macho, complaining about foreigners, and bashing LGBT and Muslim people. But it's all a distraction and a scam. Republicans are the party of the rich, and the poor are stupid to vote for them, no matter what.

For me, this probably will cut my tax rate, I'll get more back. Sure, that might be nice, but at what cost? I want nice schools, I want funding to take care of the environment. We spend too little on maintaining our national parks, cleaning our water, and doing all the good things that governments are supposed to do. I don't want that money back, I want them to make sure the rich pay their fair share, which they don't. They've been cutting their taxes since the 1950s, and they don't invest in jobs, they invest in themselves. I'm done with that. Perhaps someone should get the Republicans some history books about how the people of France felt about economic inequality, and consider that before they make comments about how we should eat cake.

Picture(s) of the Day: 
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I'm not sure if I wanted to focus on the E, the V, or the votives. It's kind of a cool picture though

The End Is Here

Well, I turned in my paper last night before bed, so I'm now officially done with classes for the semester. I also got a notice from the professor from one of my other classes next semester telling me that they cancelled that class so I had to go and find another class. Turns out next semester I'll be doing two online courses. I don't love online courses, but the only other one I could take is on a Wednesday at 5:15, and it interferes with the staff meeting.

But back to class, I was able to read all the books I needed to, and I wrote a nearly 10 page paper. It was actually 12, but I cut it back quite a bit to get it back down to 10. The problem is I then realized that there was something really screwy going on with the margins, and I over cut. It was still on the 10th page, it was just near the middle, not a full page. I don't think it really matters, but it's just goofy that I spent all this time trying to cut when I was probably fine how it was. I also have this goofy thing that it drives me nuts when a paragraph splits over pages unless it's well in the middle. I don't know why it bothers me, but there it is. It leads me to focus on seeing if I can, in any way, avoid it. It's a stupid waste of time, and it shouldn't bother me.

So, anyway, my big killer paper is done, and I'm finished for the semester. I'm sure no one is interested in reading it, but if for any reason someone does, it's about Gender and Sexuality in the Cold War, feel free if you want something to put you to sleep.

Picture(s) of the Day: 
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Some more practice with the newer lens. The focusing is really tricky. I can't see through the viewfinder very well.

Well, It's That Time Of Year Again

The holidays often bring stress in my family because no one can get it together. This year there were some shifts. My mother seems to have patched up conditions with my gran for the first time in years. It's still icy, on my mom's side of things, but they are talking occasionally.  I found this out when I went to visit my grandma and she was just pulling into her driveway. She was "down at the party" which confused me because she spoke like I should know what party she was talking about. Well, it turns out it was a birthday party for my mom, that I hadn't been invited too. Similarly, my mom's big holiday party she throws and invites everyone to, well I wasn't invited to that either. I've also hear nothing about christmas, so I'm going to just assume that one is off the table [edit: yeah, as of christmas eve, nothing].

It all stems from a fight that started because of some comments from the Trump loving side of the family. It led to some online banter, but then led to some nasty e-mails and accusations. I think people expected me to just roll over and play nice because that's just in my nature. However, I was mad, and sick of it. So, instead of letting it go I decided to speak my mind for the first time in 17 years. Much like that last time I actually spoke my mind, it led to complete isolation, though this time it wasn't my choice (last time it was my choice).

Many may wonder if it bothers me, and no, not really. It's always something, and it's not like I can trust or depend on the family, except for my uncle and grandma. There are always strings attached, grudges held, and grievances collected. I can't change how they are, and I can't change how that doesn't mix well with who I am. I don't hold any animosity in my heart for it, because I have a good life, a good family, and dependable people, and quite frankly I don't have time for that nonsense. I feel it's unfortunate that this is the way it has to be, but when things are out of your control, you either dwell and worry, or just get on with things. I'm more of the "keep calm and carry on" sort, and so I do.

So alas, another year of nonsense, but what else can you expect?

Picture(s) of the Day: 
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Testing out one of my newer lenses. I don't quite have the hang of it yet.

Cutting Back

I've cut back on my news consumption, specifically the podcasts that I've been listening too. It's just putting me in a terrible, hopeless mood. Sure, we've had some good election days in the past month or so, but everyday it's a march into darkness, and listening to it, even from a liberal perspective is just draining. The only way that this is going to get better is to flip one of the houses next year and flipping the White House in 2020. Until that happens we are just going to keep going down this terrible path.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm just too partisan, and being absurd like conservatives were during the Obama administration. However, when I sit down and think about it, the things that are pissing me off and dragging me down are things that are going to fuck over Trump voters too, they just don't realize it because they aren't versed enough in politics and how the parties and systems work so they vote against their own interest. Now that may be condescending, and that may piss off conservatives who don't like being talked down to, but that's the basic fact.  Take the tax plan that is probably going to be passed. It will fuck over everyone to help the top. This is not new, this is the same stale trickle down nonsense they've been peddling since the 1980s, and George H.W. Bush was right when he called it voodoo economics. This is what they were going to do. It's what they've been beating their drum about for ages. We all knew that if Trump won, and Republicans controlled all the levers of government that they would create a monstrosity that benefits the rich. Yet the poor fools voted for him anyway, and will now pay for it.

It kind of gives me satisfaction when I see some guy interviewed on the news who is screwed, because we all told him so. But they never learn.  But, I can't stand listening to it, at least right now when I'm in high stress school and trying to get things wrapped up with the unit I'm teaching. Maybe on break or after the break I can engage again, but right now it's too much.

Picture(s) of the Day: 
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I wasn't able to go as I had a lot of work to do, but Sal went to see Santa with her cousins. Obviously she's still not a fan of Santa.

Movie Field Trip: Wonder

I forgot to do a review of the movie Wonder back on the 1st when we took the 8th grade student I teach on a field trip. We were all really bracing for the worse when we took them, because they really can't handle themselves at school, surely in public it'll just be the worst. Turns out they were totally fine, they even cleaned up after themselves. I was shocked, and pretty happy.

The reason we went to see Wonder was because all the 8th graders read it in English class. When I went in I really had no idea what the movie was about. In fact, up until a few days before the field trip I hadn't even seen a single trailer for it. The basic movie is about a little boy in middle school who is going to public school for the first time on account of a birth defect. It's basically a boy trying to find his place in the world.

It was actually a really good movie. I didn't go in with many expectations, and it had the basic formula style of movies like this. It was a bit idealistic I feel, and there were a few moments I thought they were going to take a bit of a turn with a couple of the side characters. I also liked how they took the same event and looked at it from different perspectives. The acting was also pretty good, but how can you go wrong with big names like Julia Roberts.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie, it was worth a watch, though if I hadn't gotten in free I probably wouldn't have paid for it. I'd say wait till it is on Netflix, but certainly watch it. It's funny, heartwarming at times, and a good story.

Picture(s) of the Day: 
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Sal was rolling around on the couch and the static was pretty strong!

Snow Day, Part Deux!

Late last night I got a text from my dean, and lo and behold, we got another snow day! Yesterday probably wasn't necessary, but because it seemed like it was going to hit earlier in the day they called it anyway. Today was totally necessary, we had probably six or seven inches out there, and it was quite a mess as I went out to shovel.

Added benefit is that I was able to get a lot more done on my class work. I think I should be able to finish everything up on the research side of things. Then I'll sit down and write the freaking thing on Saturday, edit on Sunday, and who knows, maybe I'll be able to see Star Wars. I think that's probably far fetched, but if I work hard, who knows.

Just gotta make it till Monday.

Picture(s) of the Day: 
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Some beautiful snow this morning!

Snow Day!

Well, luck will have it that I had a snow day today. It's very convenient that we got a snow day because it meant that I was able to get some work done for my final class. I finished up everything for my online class, and got my grades for it earlier today. I ended up getting an A, which was really great. In fact, my final paper that I turned in my professor told me that I did a great job and that it was clear that I really cared about jazz (which was my topic). I found it amusing because before my paper I never really knew much about jazz at all.

My other class still has a huge paper to finish, and I'm so over that class. I'm really ready to just be done and have some time off from constantly working. I also wasn't in love with the subject of the class. It hasn't been very fun to read, and I still have two more books left to read before I get writing this weekend. All the more reason that I'm glad that I had today off because I was able to get through one of the books that I still had, so that's less to do later.

So, I just need to make it to Monday and I'll be in a glide to the holiday break.  Only a few more days.

Picture(s) of the Day: 
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While I was busy working today, Sal decided to decorate me. I knew she was messing with my foot, but I didn't really notice what she was doing until she told me to look at it. Not bad!

Bending The Arc Of History

Alabama.

A democrat just won in Alabama in a post Trump world.

Ok, I'm shocked to be completely honest. Hearing things, watching the polls, and knowing the mindset of the people who vote for someone like Roy Moore made me feel like there was no way he wasn't going to win. Trump voters seem happy to cut off their nose to spite their faces, and it seemed like it was impossible for them not to do it in this case.

Then again, perhaps not. There was talk about how the people didn't love the media attention, especially the kind of attention. This made me think of some of the books I read for my history class this semester. We read a book called The Dark End of the Street, and it covered the civil rights movement. I was somewhat shocked to see in that book that people in Alabama were not happy with the type of media attention that segregation and civil rights violence bestowed on their states. Is it possible that something similar happened tonight?

What is clear is that African Americans came out strong, and that's the reason for this win. This is important for a few reasons. One, it shows what happens when voters turn out. When people show up to vote, they make a huge difference. Tonight, it's a difference that could literally save lives because now they Republican control in the senate is only 1 vote. That means they can't lose votes if they want things to pass, and these Republicans can not get their lives together.  It's also important because it sends a message that people are not happy with how things are going, and they are showing up. They showed up in New Jersey, they showed up in Virginia, and now they've showed up in Alabama. We need everyone to show up next time in 2018. Finally, it makes it clear that Democrats can be competitive. Doug Jones ran on a democratic platform. He was open about his stance on many issues that don't play well (so we thought) in states like Alabama. But he won. We need to be competitive. We can't think that some areas are just a lost cause. We need to provide an alternative, even if we don't win. It needs to happen in every election at every level.

In his speech Jones quoted MLK about how the arch of history bends toward justice, and that this was that arc bending tonight. I hope he's right. I hope that our love affair with absurd politics, and vicious nonsense is waning. I've begun to worry that at the current rate the only way to repair this is to go through some calamitous event like we did in the Great Depression, World War II, or the Civil War. But perhaps we're stepping back from that brink.  Perhaps things are better than they seem. I have a little bit more faith in Americans after today. Not a ton, but a little.

Picture(s) of the Day: 
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One of Sal's photos from her christmas photo shoot. She decided that she needed to wear the hat and sunglasses after she'd spent a bit of time taking regular photos. She's so full of personality, I love it!

Goal Completing

So, one of my goals was to make a long term goal list. Kind of like a bucket list, except that my impending doom is not upon us (at least that I'm aware of, though in Trump adjusted terms no one can be sure). I got thinking about it, and I started a document with just a list of things that I'd like to do. Most of the items on them turned out to be travel, but I imagine that's probably pretty common when people think about things they want to do at some point in their life.  The list I made is by no means an exhaustive list, it was just stuff that I sat down and thought about. I ended up breaking it into different groups: Education, Experiences, Hobbies, US Travel, World Travel. I'm sure I'm probably forgetting stuff, or as I continue to work with the list I'll come up with other things to add and perhaps other ways to sort the list.  Come to think of it, maybe I should do this list in excel, then sorts and categories would be much easier, though more difficult for blogging. Though, it would save me this trouble where when I'm making the list I question if I should add or remove things because it goes onto another page and then doesn't look nice. That's a dumb thing, but it happens.

Ok, the categories!

Education
I made this section because I thought that it would be good to have some ideas of things I'd like to learn, not necessarily my college stuff, but it does include that also.  But this has things like, "learn to play the piano" or "learn a language."

Experiences
As you know from my annual goals, I'm big on experiences. I'm not a stuff person. I don't have a lot of stuff. I usually don't go out shopping unless I need something. Most of our discretionary funds go to travel and experience kind of things. Seeing plays, visiting places, having great meals. It makes sense that this is going to be my largest category other than travel, though travel itself is an experience, so perhaps those are subcategories.

Hobbies
I don't have many hobbies, mostly because I don't really have the free time to do them currently. This is a rather small list, but it is mostly things that I just want to get better at, and that I find fun.

US Travel
There are a lot of places in the US that I'd like to go, so this list is just a rough draft of things I could think of at the moment. There are also some broad items like "visit all the national parks" which I could break out if I wanted. Again, perhaps Excel is the better choice for the list.

World Travel
Same as US travel, just not in the US. This too is just a minor list that I threw together with just things off the top of my head. Both travel lists will surely expand as I think of new things.

I'll post the entire list after the picture of the day if people are really interested in reading this. It's a living list, so it will surely grow as I think of new things. It will also shrink as I do new things! But hey, that's another of my annual goals check off! Way to go at the last minute! Some are big, and who knows if I'll ever make it, but the point is to aim high and see what you can do.

Picture(s) of the Day: 
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I found this photo that I didn't upload because I didn't post on my Birthday.  This was my "cake" that Sal helped make for me. It's a bunch of spice cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. It's also apparently a fish, the the shape is a bit weird for a fish. Though, then again, there are also weird fish.

Long Term Goals List

Education

Appreciate poetry (probably not)

Calligraphy

Complete Masters in history

Complete PhD?

Cooking and baking techniques

Learn an ancient language (Latin, Greek, etc)

Learn languages for academic reasons (German or Russian)

Learn languages for fun (French, Italian, etc)

Masters in theatre education, and/or curriculum development (or other useful field in education)

Play a string instrument

Play a wind instrument

Play the guitar

Play the piano

Practice math common for my students

Read classic literature

Secondary certification in ELA or Science

Experiences

4th of July in Boston and Philadelphia (maybe New York)

Attend a movie premiere

Attend a Pearl Harbor commemorative event

Attend the inauguration of the first female president

Attend the Lexington & Concord anniversary events

Camp somewhere crazy/remote/beautiful

Climb a mountain

Concierge level cabin cruise

Go sailing

Go skiing

Harry Potter Studio Tour

Hike to Delicate Arch

Parasail

Raft the grand canyon

Red Sox game at Fenway

Ride in a Hot Air Balloon (maybe)

See wild bears!

Snorkel somewhere awesome with reefs and colors

Stay in every Disney resort (it’s kind of silly, but also fun)

Take a ride on a B-17

Transatlantic Cruise to New York

White water rafting

Hobbies

Drawing

Family history

Photo editing

Photography

Video production

US Travel

Alamo

Alaska Cruise

Alcatraz

All 50 states

All National Parks

Antelope Canyon

Antietam

Arizona Memorial

Assorted Presidential Libraries and homes

California Wine Country

D-Day Memorial Virginia

Disneyland

Drive Route 66

Drive the Pacific Coast Highway

Ellis Island

Fort Sumter

Golden Gate Park

Griffith Observatory

Hollywood Studio Tour

Kennedy Space Center

Key West

Minuteman Historic Landmark

Monticello

Natural Bridges dark sky park

Nez Perce historic sites

Oak Alley Plantation

Reagan Presidential Library

Redwoods

San Francisco

Savannah

Seattle

The Liberty Bell

Tour the White House

Trinity Test Site

USS Missouri

Valley Forge

Visit the furthest points in the US

Washington Grave

Whitney Plantation

World War II Museum New Orleans

World Travel

African savannah animal reserve kind of place

All continents

Amalfi

Arctic Circle

Austria

Bath, UK

Beachy Head

Bermuda

Campobello

Easter Island?

Egypt

Hiroshima

India?

Ireland

Japan

Jerusalem - Yad Vashem

Loch Ness

Machu Picchu

Major European Capitals

Matterhorn

Mont St. Michel

Neuschwanstein Castle

New Zealand

Petra

Poland

Pompeii

Prague

Russia

Santorini

Scotland

Spain

Stonehenge

Terracotta Warriors

Tuscany

Windsor Castle

WWI Site in France/Belgium