2.18.2025

ten things tuesday

Ten “A” things.

1. Someone I love:  all of my students

2. Something I like to eat: apples

3. A color:  aqua

4. A good movie: 
 Alien (the original)

5. A place I’ve been: Amsterdam--it was the only city I've been to that I felt unsafe

6. A thing I really don’t like: aftertaste

7. A critter I like:  alpaca

8. Something I can do: annoy you by singing slightly off-key on purpose

9. Something I can’t/don’t do: act--I have terrible stage fright and tunnel vision

10. Something I wish for:  action


2.17.2025

tough decision

I was thrilled to be a first-round draft of the Advanced Placement exam reading taking place the first week of June.  Among the readers, there's a little rivalry about when you're invited/drafted.  However, this year I am unable to attend and I am sorry to refuse the invitation.  With my vision issues, I can't physically read for 8+ hours a day on a monitor.  I just can't do it.  I'll be glad to have my next treatment and perhaps some more answers.  I have seen improvement since the last injections and no back-sliding.  I am cautiously optimistic.  A return to "normal" vision would be amazing.  Neovascular AMD with active CNV is a bummer.  I'm far too young for this.

currently

I am...

Reading:  Master Slave Husband Wife by Ilyon Woo

Listening to:  the wind howling

Loving:  vacation

Thinking:  I'm trying to get ready for my meeting with a financial planner to discuss retirement

Feeling:  relaxed and happy

Celebrating:  I've listened to a President's Day podcast that I will likely use with my history classes

Grateful for:  my apartment--it's warm and cozy on this blustery day

Enjoying:  time to relax, think, and read

Weather: currently 10° and cloudy with a wind chill warning and gusts up to 50mph

A quote I want to share


finished reading

A friend recommended this to me otherwise I would not have picked it up.  I liked that both main characters are passionate about their sports and serious about becoming professional athletes.  I liked learning about the dedication and hours it takes to compete at that level.  I liked the college setting and the stereotypical behaviors of college kids.  And there are some serious topics carefully dealt with.  Having said all of that, the book made me feel old.  I'm definitely NOT the intended audience.  I almost feel prudish about the open-door sex scenes.  

From the publisher:
Anastasia Allen has worked her entire life for a shot at Team USA. It looks like everything is going according to plan when she gets a full scholarship to the University of California, Maple Hills and lands a place on their competitive figure skating team.

Nothing will stand in her way, not even the captain of the hockey team, Nate Hawkins.

Nate’s focus as team captain is on keeping his team on the ice. Which is tricky when a facilities mishap means they are forced to share a rink with the figure skating team—including Anastasia, who clearly can’t stand him.

But when Anastasia’s skating partner faces an uncertain future, she may have to look to Nate to take her shot.

Sparks fly, but Anastasia isn’t worried…because she could never like a hockey player, right?

#52BookClub prompt 25: Breaks the fourth wall

2.16.2025

postsecret

 
PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a postcard. I like to post one that speaks to me each week.


2.15.2025

saturday 9


Cupid

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

 
1) In this song, Sam Cooke enlists the help of Cupid, the Roman god of love, to help him get a girl. In Greek mythology, the god of love and lust has a different name. Do you know what it is? Eros, if I'm not mistaken
 
2) Sam Cooke was inducted as a charter member into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The museum and hall are located in Cleveland, OH. Cleveland is proud of the six major museums featured on its website. When did you most recently visit a museum? last June I visited the WWI Museum in Kansas City.

3) Sam went to Wendall Phillips Academy, the same Chicago high school Nat King Cole attended. Can your high school claim any noteworthy alums? my friend the Tony Award-nominated actor and author John Cariani

4) "Cupid" was released in 1961. One of the major news stories of that year was the death of Ernest Hemingway. Have you read any of his works? I have read several works.  A Moveable Feast stands out
  
Since February 14 was Valentine's Day...
 
5) Sweethearts, those small heart-shaped candies printed with messages like "Be Mine" and "Kiss Me," are top sellers this time of year. Did you enjoy them as a child? Do you enjoy them now?
yes, I'm a fan
 
6) While Valentine's Day is popular in Mexico, it's celebrated a bit differently than it is here. For our neighbors to the south, it's a day for love and friendship, with no distinction between romantic, familial or platonic love. Do you tell your friends you love them? Or do you reserve "I love you" for your partner and family? I regularly tell people I love them

7) In Poland, Valentine's Day, or Walentynki, is often celebrated with a gift of "tea and sweets" -- a tin of black tea paired with candy. Do you more often drink tea or coffee?
coffee, especially iced
 
8) One of London's top accounting firms did a study and reports that in England, Valentine's Day is a 52%/48% affair. 52% of the participants planned on buying at least one card or gift, while 48% did not expect to spend anything on Valentine's Day. This year, were you one of the 52% or the 48%?  firmly in the 48% camp

9) A similar study in Rome showed that today's young lovers would prefer to share a romantic experience on Valentine's Day – a stroll through the gardens of Villa Borghese was a popular choice – than exchange gifts. Would you rather do something memorable for Valentine's Day or receive something you can retain as a keepsake? I would prefer an experience than a tchotchke 
 

2.14.2025

finished reading

This is a beautiful exploration of a multi-generational American-Irish family. It is interesting to look at generational shifts, and how family dynamics have changed over time: the size of families and what binds families together, secrets and what happens when they are revealed, and how everyday actions can drive a wedge in a relationship or create tighter bonds.

The story is told from the perspectives of six different characters: Catherine, the matriarch of the family; her eldest daughter, Kelly; Kelly's husband, Louis; their two daughters, Gracie and Lila; and Noreen Ballen, a nurse who is hired to care for Catherine after she has a fall. As the story unfolds, we learn about the secrets and lies that have been passed down through the generations, and how they have affected the relationships between the family members. We also see how each character is struggling with their own personal demons, and how they are all trying to find their place in the world.

From the publisher:
No one in my mother’s family ever talks about anything that can be categorized as unpleasant or as having to do with emotions. . . .

This spellbinding debut by bestselling author Ann Napolitano is a poignant reminder of how connected we are to those we love, even when we cannot find the words to say it. The unforgettable story of three generations of a large Irish Catholic family, Within Arms Reach is another rich and deeply satisfying novel from the author who captured the many dimensions of grief in Dear Edward and the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood in Hello Beautiful.

#52BookClub prompt 30: Audiobook has multiple narrators

2.13.2025

finished reading

I don't know what to say about this book.  It's gritty, dysthymic, and beautiful.  Maybe it's poignant.  I am not 100% sure I even know how it ended--it's ambiguous.  It's a character study like nothing I've ever read before; tackling topics of addiction and sobriety, grief, art and poetry, martyrdom, LGBT+, American immigrant experiences, parenthood, and abandonment.  Definitely not light-hearted reading.  The narrative thread has several points of view, although most is Cyrus Shams': dreams, poems, and stream-of-conscious.  

I'll be honest, this was almost a Did Not Finish.

From the publisher:
Cyrus Shams is a young man grappling with an inheritance of violence and loss: his mother’s plane was shot down over the skies of the Persian Gulf in a senseless accident; and his father’s life in America was circumscribed by his work killing chickens at a factory farm in the Midwest. Cyrus is a drunk, an addict, and a poet, whose obsession with martyrs leads him to examine the mysteries of his past—toward an uncle who rode through Iranian battlefields dressed as the angel of death to inspire and comfort the dying, and toward his mother, through a painting discovered in a Brooklyn art gallery that suggests she may not have been who or what she seemed.

Kaveh Akbar’s Martyr! is a paean to how we spend our lives seeking meaning—in faith, art, ourselves, others.

#52BookClub prompt 40: Stream of consciousness narrative

three on thursday

Thing one:   today is a remote day for school since we're getting walloped with snow.

Thing two:  I might bake some cookies.  I need something sweet to nibble on.

Thing three:  this is the assignment I gave my classes:

Snow Day Gratitude Vibe Check:

Snow days are an unexpected break—extra sleep, hot cocoa, and a little time to chill. But take a moment to reflect on someone or something that makes winter (or life in general) better for you. Maybe it’s a family member who shovels the driveway, a friend who hypes up snowball fights, or even your heated blanket keeping you cozy. Write a short, thoughtful paragraph expressing gratitude for them—why you appreciate them, how they make your life easier, or just why they’re awesome. Keep it real, keep it grateful. ❄️✨