Springtime in Fort Collins

Our new "backyard" view from our patio. xoxo

When we got back to Colorado, we were greeted with about a week and a half  of uncharacteristically cold, grey, rain filled days. I spent a lot of time cooped up in the apartment, unpacking and organizing the house, and Bobby spent a lot of time cooped up at work. Weekend before last, the rain finally broke. The view above is what greeted me when I stepped out onto the back patio after a Sunday morning full of work. There is an enormous aspen off to the right, taller than our 3 story building, so I suggested to Bobby that we grab our books and a blanket and read in the grass under the shade.

Oh, and I took all of the pictures in this post with my 2 year old LG  phone. Who knew it could do such a good job?

 There is a little walkway that runs between our apartment building and the apartment building across the grassy park. I'm standing on said walkway, with our apartment to my right. That aspen is gorgeous when the wind blows through it and all the leaves start fluttering.

 Under the tree, view to the left. I really like how our new apartment complex is older and more established, because they built it on 24 acres of land and left tons of trees to their own devices. We're also right next door to a very large park, and we're right off of one of the many bike trails in our town. Our CSA's main entrance is actually right off of that bike trail as well, so a mile and a half bike ride along the creek gets us to our fresh picked, local, organic veggies. Hello spring, indeed.

 Bobby+toe socks

 I actually just finished reading that book today. I highly recommend Savage Inequalities if you want to be filled with a righteous anger to kick some ass and start reforming school finance on behalf of poor children.

 Ah, sunshine. Come to me (through my sunscreen) my friend.

 After about two hours of reading, we decided to go on a little exploratory bike ride. We like to frequent Sprouts grocery store, so we headed out in that direction. Those sweet pink tires were courtesy of this Facebook thread.

 

 Bobby, with his trusty steed. Side note- I've never lived in a garden level apartment until now, and I love it. We have our front porch all to ourselves, and our heating/cooling costs (especially in Colorado) are far lower, too.

 I love our town so, so, so very much when it comes to how bicycle friendly it is. The grocery store is 4 miles from us. For the first mile, we are on the bike trail, surrounded on both sides by trees. For the last 3, we are on this back road that curves around the southern part of town, avoiding all traffic. Nice wide bike lanes, empty fields, mountains in the background, and little to no traffic are all features of biking to the grocery store. Not a bad deal.

After grocery shopping, I got some coffee and we hung out in a park area of the south side of town's downtown. People were out biking, walking dogs, pushing kids in strollers, and enjoying the dog park across the street. It just felt like spring. You could tell everyone was grateful that the rain was over and the sun was out. We hung out there until the sun started to set, and then we hopped back on our bikes and rode home. I came back from the Texas trip around the same date as I moved up here last year, so it was nice to have a bit of nostalgia even in a place where I haven't lived for that long. I'm looking forward to many more sunny days on my bike this spring and summer. Walking and biking afford me an experience of day to day life that I just don't get when I'm locked up in my car, shuttling from place to place. I'm so glad I live in a town that values that.

Good Influences

This last week I've been prepping for the PLACE exam with my study guide from inter-library loan.
Well, to be more accurate- on Monday I skimmed the book and took the practice test, on Tuesday I post-it noted it and devised a study guide to encompass the 5 weeks I have to prep, and on Wednesday I didn't do a damn thing related to studying because it was my birthday. I chose to watch "Teen Mom 2" on MTV.com (blame Jezebel for that, I don't have cable or a TV and was blissfully unaware of that show until I read an article about it on that site) while eating pizza and drinking Cherry Coke. But I digress...

Today was my first actual day of studying. The test covers 22 competencies, and since I have 5 weeks I decided that I would work through the book twice by doing 1-11 in Week 1, 12-22 in Week 2, and repeating the same schedule for Weeks 3 and 4. Week 5 will be devoted to reviewing anything I need extra prep on. So tonight I sat down to knock out competencies 1-5 (I plan to do 6-11 tomorrow so that my birthday weekend can be entirely devoted to fun). The first 5 competencies are the most dense, covering basic literary terms, historical experiences that inform writers' work, and separate competencies in British and World Lit, American Lit, and Young Adult Lit and Childhood Development. It has been a good decade since I reviewed things like periods and movements in literature, and timelines of literary works, etc. So it was an immense relief to me to realize that I had read about 90% of the books referenced in each period/movement. The study guide would be talking about Romanticism, and oh look, every.single.book. they used as an example is a book I have read. And I remembered the authors, and other books they had written that were not referenced. Having such vivid memories of reading those books really helps solidify the peripheral info of dates and places and history.

It made me really, really grateful for being well read. Lest you think that is obscenely egotistical, let me clarify- I'm grateful that a love of reading was instilled in me. I'm grateful that my parents bought me books and put up with my C's in conduct in elementary school because I would read when I "wasn't supposed to". Side note- um, what was my teacher thinking?? I got C's in conduct for reading when I "wasn't supposed to"?? I'm grateful to my 3rd grade teacher Mrs. Cunningham for encouraging me to write stories and for letting me borrow her books. I'm grateful to my 5th grade teacher Mr. Parks, who let me totally ignore him in the back of the room when I would finish my work quickly and then read books while he lectured. And I'm exceptionally, over the moon grateful to Mrs. Clement. She was my English and Spanish teacher all through high school. She pushed me to read classics by refusing to give out A's on book reports unless they were over classics. She helped me study for competitions in Literary Criticism for U.I.L., and was proud of me when I competed at State both years I participated. She let all of us students ramble about our lives and complain about our frustrations in class, and she somehow had the perfect balance of free form conversational time and get down to business you WILL LEARN PROPER GRAMMAR seriousness.

I'm infinitely less stressed about this test now than I was before. But for now, it's bed time. And I want to get some reading in before I drift off to sleep.

Well, wait, one last thing. Speaking of sleep, the study guide referenced one of my all time favorite short stories, The Circular Ruins by Jorge Luis Borges. Here's one of my favorite quotes:

"He dreamed that it was warm, secret, about the size of a clenched fist, and of a garnet color within the penumbra of a human body as yet without face or sex; during fourteen lucid nights he dreampt of it with meticulous love. Every night he perceived it more clearly. He did not touch it; he only permitted himself to witness it, to observe it, and occasionally to rectify it with a glance. He perceived it and lived it from all angles and distances. On the fourteenth night he lightly touched the pulmonary artery with his index finger, then the whole heart, outside and inside. He was satisfied with the examination. He deliberately did not dream for a night; he took up the heart again, invoked the name of a planet, and undertook the vision of another of the principle organs. Within a year he had come to the skeleton and the eyelids. The innumerable hair was perhaps the most difficult task. He dreamed an entire man--a young man, but who did not sit up or talk, who was unable to open his eyes. Night after night, the man dreamt him asleep."

Good Reads- I'm Late to the Party

 My favorite art installation in San Fran- open books, suspended overhead...

and the sidewalk directly below them, covered in words that "fell out" of the open books. Lovely.

I may be the last person on the planet to catch the Good Reads train, but just in case I am the second to last I wanted to share the knowledge.

Good Reads is basically a social networking site built around books you are reading. You have a profile that is similar to a Facebook/Myspace (whoa, what is Myspace? haha) profile with your picture, some general info, and then specific info about books you like to read, favorite authors, quotes, etc. You search for books within the site, and then you add them to your bookshelf- under the categories of read, reading, or to read. Once you've read a book, you can write a review, note the date you finished it, and rate it with a star system. A lot of my friends were already on Good Reads (like I said, last one to catch that train), and friending someone is virtually identical to how you would do so on Facebook/Myspace. Once you are friends with someone they can send you book recommendations, and you can see their bookshelves and vice versa. You can also comment on the books they are reading, which show up in their feed on their profile.

They had a specific section on my profile for a "2011 Reading Challenge" and all I had to do was enter my goal- 52 books- and now I have access to a little widget for my blog. It keeps track of how many books I've read, and what percentage of my goal has been accomplished. I was also able to get a widget for my bookshelf, so I added both at the very bottom right of my blog. This is a much better system than what I was using before- entering book names into Google calendar under a "Book" calendar I had created- plus I get the dorky joy of having a little countdown widget. A special thanks goes out to my friend Jenny for giving me the heads up about Good Reads! If you're an avid reader or you have a 2011 goal for book reading I think you'll love this site.

5 Weeks and 2 Days, or, I Love My Library

Last week I registered online for the English PLACE exam- the Colorado teaching exam I have to pass in order to be admitted to the graduate program in education. I'll be taking it on April 9th, which gives me a little more than a month to prepare. The PLACE website gives very little information on studying for the test, despite the fact that they have an entire section devoted to "Study Guides". This section was basically just a description of the test objectives, and then they included only 10 sample questions. I got 9 out of 10 right and I thought the questions were easy, which I think bodes well, but I still wanted a specific study guide.

Here's where I profess my love of libraries once again. My local library didn't have any PLACE study guides, but through the Prospector system (a statewide network for inter-library loans) I was able to locate a PLACE English study guide, put it on hold, and it was shipped to me within a week of my request, for free (I realize my tax dollars paid for the library and its services, but you know what I mean, I didn't have to pay extra for shipping). The library e-mailed me yesterday when the book arrived, and I picked it up today on my trip to the grocery store. In addition, when I checked out the study guide I picked up their e-reader pamphlet, and got information on how my library rents out their e-books. The ability to check out e-books from the library was a big part of why we chose the Kobo when we bought an e-book reader.

When I was googling around the internet, there were no free study guide websites that came up, and any reference to books was within a website trying to sell a "study system" to me for anywhere from $50 to $150 dollars. But right down the street from me I received a free study guide, specific to my content area, that I can have for 3 weeks, and then renew online for another 3 weeks. If you haven't checked out your local library, I highly suggest doing so. Your taxes are already invested in it, why not take advantage of the services? Inter-library loans like the one I did are great for getting around the common complaint of "my library doesn't have a good selection", and if you can be patient most of them will come through within a week or two. One of my earliest memories around books is the day that my Granny took me to our teeny little library to get a library card. I was probably about 4 or 5, and I thought I was so grown up because I had a card with my name on it. That was back in the day when library books had a little manila pocket envelope in the front cover, and there was a lined card that went inside. The librarian would painstakingly fill it out, and stamp it with the date it was due. From the joy I got in wandering the library and finding books, to the ritual of checking them out, to the musty paper smell they had, everything about the library was so appealing to me. Even though I'm not much into owning my own books anymore, I do hope that libraries stick around for a long time.

Do you use your local library? Why or why not?

Green Eyed Monster

A little backstory must be presented so that when I circle round to the topic of this post, and the jealousy related to the topic that is referenced in the title, you will fully get how surprising this all is...

I learned to read around 3 or 4. I cannot remember not knowing how to read, and I have always loved reading. I would tear through books voraciously, and I read anything I could get my hands on (Stephen King's "It", in the 4th grade, may have been better left *out* of my hands, but it was worth refusing to turn my back on a drain for 5 years, that story is crazy good). For the most part, I shunned chick lit and silly series novels (although, ok, I fell for the charms of Babysitter's Club in the 5th grade) and I tried to read as many classics as I could. I generally- about 90% of the time- read non-fiction books of all stripes, and around age 18 I began to lovingly cultivate what I assumed would be a library that I would cherish- and lug around- forever. The frugal side of me required the purchases to be made at Half Price Books, but really, when one is dropping $25-$40 every two or three weeks at a used book store, it begins to look not-very-frugal. About a year and a half, maybe two years ago, I realized it was silly to continue buying all these books when the library was at my fingertips. I also realized I love books far too much to ever re-read them- I need to get on to the next one!- so 4 enormous boxes of books started to seem...unnecessary. I decided I'd go hardcore library only, and I'd also start to give away my books to those who would appreciate them. Now, if we stopped there, that would in and of itself be an insane change of course for this bookworm.

But here's where it gets crazy. I never thought I'd see the day when I said this, but...

After making fun of e-readers for *years*, and swearing I'd never get one...

I want an e-reader! Specifically, I want the e-reader Bobby recently purchased- the Kobo, Borders' version.
It is *perfect*. Nothing fancy, no keypad or stylus or excessive buttons. Just a book, in electronic form. And it isn't linked to a certain store- so, for example, all of the THREE MILLION free e-books on Google Books can be read on it.
Aww, who's little?
Strangely enough this weird quilted back that is kind of cushy provides a nice tactile experience. It feels good on your fingers, if that makes any sense at all. And it shines a bit like fish scales, which really has nothing to do with anything.
When you're done reading, it displays the cover of your current book, just like a regular book- I think that's a sweet touch. Neither Bobby nor I will ever give up the library- who would EVER do that?! But for trips, and for traveling, and for future "we live all over the world" adventures, this little guy is perfect.

No one is more surprised by this turn of events than I am- the last 6 months, when Bobby has been looking and comparing e-readers, I've been derisive and ambivalent at best. I am the least gadget-y person. I've had the same laptop and digital camera for 5 years. I don't have a smart phone. I don't have kitchen gadgets. I didn't even own a C.D. player until my senior year of high school, and I graduated in 2001! I'm not an electronics trend chaser, AT ALL. Kate told me I'm stronger than technology...but in this case, I think the Kobo has converted me.

Trying to Conceal Thoughts

‎"Don't join the book burners. Do not think you are going to conceal thoughts by concealing evidence that they ever existed" ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower ~

This week is Banned Books Week. I took a look at the ALA's website- love that site!- to peruse the list of books that were banned and/or challenged during the 20th century. I had read about 80% of them, all in junior high or high school. My English teacher, Mrs. Clement, wanted us to read the classics, and as a motivation to do so she gave us a book report assignment every 6 weeks. There was no way you could make higher than a 90 if you didn't read a classic. As a result, for the three years I was in her class, every 6 weeks I worked my way through at least one piece of classic literature, sometimes two or three just for fun. And I loved them.

These books were inspiring, they were sad, they made me think, they opened me up to new ideas, and yes, some had profanities, some had sexual content, some had "controversial ideas". And yet here I am, pretty far from a degenerate if I do say so myself. Books are still being banned and challenged fairly often, especially in schools, and I couldn't disagree with it more. If a parent thinks reading a story in the 3rd grade about a baby penguin named Tango with two dads is going to undermine 18+ years of religious instruction in the home... well, that's kind of silly. But fine, if you don't want *your child* to read that book, you should have that right. But don't take the book out of the library, because then you're choosing for everyone's children.

If you have a strong belief in certain morals, if you don't use certain language, if you don't subscribe to certain worldviews, reading a book that challenges those opinions shouldn't be given the power to undermine your entire life. There are lots of books that I don't choose to read, because they're not my style, or I think they're a waste of time, or yes, even because I find them offensive. But I want that choice. Intellectual freedom is fundamentally important. It matters that we, in this country, have the right to write books criticizing our President while he or she is in office. It matters that we have freedom of discourse to disagree and write books about those disagreements. It matters that investigative journalists can uncover unpopular stories and put them in books and get them out to the public. And it's just as important that people who disagree with those books can protest them if they want, write another book as an angry retort, a critic can pan it, and people can choose not to read it.

People can CHOOSE not to read it. That's what it really comes down to. People who try to ban books or burn them are people who clearly have no faith in their own morals. If everything you believe in can be toppled by a single book, maybe what you believe in isn't that strong. Or maybe you only believe in it in the absence of other information.

Have you read any of these banned books? Check and see here- http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengedclassics/reasonsbanned/index.cfm

Higher Education Has Some Dirty Low Tricks

I love to read for class. I not only purchase the required, but the recommended books. I adore books. Falling asleep with one nestled in the crook of my arm is better than sharing my bed with anything else, cat or human.

Let me reiterate- I love books. As in, real, actual books. You know, ones with sturdy covers, paper or hard back. A bind is nice. Just a good solid book kinda thing going on with yummy words and numbers at the top of them that go in order.

As opposed to, oh, I don't know, just throwing something out here... a spiral bound collection of photocopied pages of books. And maybe I also prefer real school books to this hypothetical spiral bound collection of pages because they are badly copied. And perhaps in this example some of the edges are cut off, and the incomplete sentences torture me with the infinite possibilities of completion.

And I would say that I certainly prefer real school books to a situation in which this (purely hypothetical) spiral bound collection of shoddily copied pages would cost me... hmmm, let's just estimate for the sake of the example.. $55.62.

I need to type that out to let it sink in- FIFTY FIVE DOLLARS AND SIXTY TWO CENTS.

Ok, ok, at this point I need to give you total honesty- this is not a hypothetical situation. I am in possession of this sorry excuse for overpriced educational material I have described above. And when I fall asleep with it, the pages get all flipped around, the spiral comes partly out, the flimsy cardstock cover gets crumpled, and I think my cat has been chewing on the edges, because CLEARLY even he can see that it is not literature to be respected.

Basically I'm supposed to be reading this overpriced collection of select chapters from a variety of books tonight, and I know I should be grateful that I didn't have to buy all the books separately, but mostly I just wish I could have said "look prof, just tell me the things I need to read, and I'll make copies myself. Seriously. You're gonna pass this off to a TA that's been working on a 4 year hangover, this is not the optimum environment for high quality production. Please. I can do this."

Why I don't run the world astounds me sometimes.