Impending Move

It's not like I am ever religious about keeping up with the blog, but I can definitely say that the next month or so is going to have me swamped between work, school, and the move. I would like to say that things are going to slow down and I'll get a break somewhere, but it's not likely. Work hours will continue to increase with the impending GA position I'm starting in August and I'll be (ideally) well on my way to graduate next May.

After that, it's going to be finding the answer to "And then what?" as we always do with our lives and our fiction. In between, I will have photos of the new place if anyone is interested in that sort of thing. You might get to see some of the creative projects in process. The KC Renaissance Festival is on everyone's to do list, but I need to figure out a theme for my cosplayer group. I'll take suggestions if anyone's being creative.

Sadly, we're not going to be able to make GenCon this year because of my obligations related to the graduate assistant position. I'm sending someone else with my video camera in hopes of getting some decent pictures and video anyway. I may have a guest blogger or two to cover GenCon after the fact if anyone is interested.

I'm hoping to have some more interesting media content for you guys later on in the summer, but for now, I anticipate this being my last post until we are settled in the new house.

Getting out of my comfort zone

Today was my first experience with volunteering at the Dirty Kanza. I was dubbed the "bag lady" by more than a few riders. So many times I smiled and acted jovial for the same empty bag joke, the wearing of the back on the head, or the people trying to refuse the bag until they realized that it was the equivalent of an adult "trick-or-treat" bag that kept them from having to carry everything other volunteers would throw at them. 

The "royalty" jokes for Miss Flint Hills were fewer, but tended to repeat as well. I had someone from another country ask me if they would find Fred Flintstone in the Flint Hills or if they could make fire by rubbing two rocks together. I told her if she found Fred Flintstone, to say 'hi' for me. 

 For the most part, I think I acted like an extrovert. I probably fell short a few times, because, well, I wound up being stationed at the longest line for the people who were checking in for the 200-mile DK - the full race. Extroversion play fell to efficiency part of the time since I could not speak to every single person and get everyone their bag. So many interesting people, though, it was fantastic. Most were really friendly and grateful for the volunteers. 

In fact, I may have run into a distant cousin by some strange happenstance who happens to teach at ESU. Not that this is that difficult - my family's not tiny by any stretch of the imagination. I'm always surprised when more people move out here from South Carolina. I'm not sure why. It's perfectly normal to transition elsewhere in search of a career these days. 

But to be honest: four hours of volunteering at the Dirty Kanza sign-in day was enough for this introvert. (It was still fun though.) 

I ate too much at the China Buffet for lunch with a good friend, all the while still wearing my "gravel groupie" volunteer shirt. It was good to take some time to catch up.  I haven't had nearly enough time to do that lately. 

Overall, I have been giving into a trend to regularly push myself out of my comfort zone.  I took on a graduate assistantship position and I've been taking on more hours at work as they come up. I'm working through the agony of a fairly full summer semester with an impending move to a house with enough room for us rather than staying in a tiny apartment. Sadly, I will miss the late night dips in the pool before bed, but we all have to grow up and move on sometime. 

Tomorrow night is the finish line party for the Dirty Kanza. Seems like a good time for people to get out and gather. Hope to see more of my local people there. I just need a day to recharge. Oh yeah, and I have a test to complete. You know the drill: I gotta keep those grades up! 

Summer in Kansas

I do believe we experienced at least three days of spring before the harsh 90 degree weather set in. Kansas wanted to remind everyone of her propensity for unpredictable weather this year. So far, I've done well pushing my way through finals. I have one take-home final left that's due on Sunday, and I've made some progress on it.

We may have found a house to rent that will work for us for a bit, although we have some competition in getting it from the sounds of it. We still have two months left on the lease, but the sooner I can get moved out of this place, the better for me. I'm so tired of being cooped up in a tiny apartment.

Last night was my first experience with a Zumba class. I dragged my husband to it, but even he had to admit that he had fun towards the end. It does kick your butt. I think it's much tougher than the Group Power classes we had been going to the past two weeks. So, yes, I finally accepted that I am getting older and not taking care of my body is a 20-something's game. So, yeah, been trying to eat better and workout more. I'm seeing some results already, believe it or not. There's a stronger community element with the gym we joined which I think is working more for me than just trying to force myself to go on my own. Also, I've been taught the incorrect way to use weight equipment since high school so that's been fun to work on as far as retraining the muscles in my arms. That's only twenty years worth of muscle memory. Awesome.

Right now, I am currently reading Black Bodies and Quantum Cats by Jennifer Ouellette. It's an accessible read for science enthusiasts. I'm also reading through the first volume of a manga for the Infernal Devices. And, as always, I'm picking away at Herodotus' the Histories. Currently, I'm reading his comparative analysis regarding the religious differences between the Hellenes and the Persians. Interestingly enough, the Persians did not believe in erecting temples or idols, because their view of the gods did not include human forms, as such... no such things were needed. Make of that what you will. Herodotus was, after all, the father of unbiased investigative reporting so he was only attempting to report what people told him and what he observed himself.

Today is payday, although not the big one that's going to allow me to settle my rent for the rest of the lease here and put a deposit on the rental house if it's not already been rented out by that time. What will happen, however, is that some necessary smaller bills will be dealt with and life will continue to get easier from here on out.

My next big goal is cleaning this apartment and getting rid of some more stuff we do not need so that the apartment is "ready" to be inspected when we move out near the end of July. It's entirely possible that we'll just be moving into a 2 bedroom apartment but I want to keep our options open.

Strange week

The weather is reminiscent of mid-to-late spring when last week we were freezing in our boots with snow and negative wind chills! Gotta love Kansas weather: it requires you to be both hardy and flexible. In the end, though, we're not nearly as hardy with the cold as our neighbors to the north, and everyone's excited for nicer weather. All I could think yesterday was how much I wished the pool were open. Because it felt more like late April to early May than the middle of March. Although, supposedly, we may get some snow tonight. If we do, I wouldn't expect it to stick.

It's only Tuesday and the week before Spring Break. I have a take home exam to work through this week. It's only eight essay questions, but some of them require a lot of work, so, I will be doing a few questions each day until I'm done. Probably straight through to Saturday when it's due. No sense turning something like that in early and/or killing myself to get it done in a day.

Tomorrow is the meeting for my team for further instructions regarding my team's presentation for pitching our business idea. We made the first cut, so I have no reason to expect that we won't place, but I'm sure our competition is stiff. A top prize of $4K has everyone's mouths watering. There were 31 teams apply, but only 20 made it into the semi-finals. I'm not sure, but I think all the teams may have been from ESU even though the local tech college was also involved.

I've also applied for a paid summer marketing internship at one of the offices I worked in as an undergraduate student. No guarantee there, but it is strange how much of this has gone full circle yet again. Maybe I'll learn something vital to my own entrepreneurial pursuits. The extra money, again, would not be bad for our current situation.

The hours at the funeral home and the pub have not been kind to John lately. There's no guarantee with on-call work, so that's nothing new.  But we've both decided it would probably be best for John to find something else with steady hours even if it's only part-time and leave the bouncer job. I think as long as he leaves on good terms, there should be no real issue there. The pay for the funeral home is too good to give up, though, even if it's irregular work.

I suspect this summer will be a slow start to the business, but my goal is that we will have a storefront shortly after I graduate with the MBA. This summer will be about putting some stuff on etsy, getting the website going, and possibly having a booth table at the Dirty Kanza with some merchandise.

One of my goals today is to go walk around the zoo besides the necessary learning and business-building goals. It's supposed to get up to 70 again and I definitely want to take advantage of the good weather. I will probably grab some photos and maybe put a vote in for the new lion cub's name.

Now for a bit of humor to end this post since I've been getting into Magic: The Gathering lately:

Grand Prix Richmond Crackstyle

All I can say is: wear belts, gentlemen, and clothes that fit you or your exposed ass crack might be featured on the Internet. I'm all for encouraging a bit more class in the gamer community especially for widely publicized events.

This semester's looking good.

My supply chain management class finally has some grades up. So far, all A's. I think I might have a 4.0 semester as it looks now. I still have my midterm exam next week and one more project for my global marketing before going into the semester. I'll have a third class starting after break. I'm not too worried about that since it's IT oriented. I do well in those classes.

This upcoming week is the last week before Spring Break. I have exam and a paper and I suspect I'll be spending a significant chunk of my break working on headway towards final projects. Granted, my professors do seem to appreciate the sanctity of the break as an actual break (nothing's due right when we come back). However, I want a little more wriggle room what the presentation pitch for the 3D competition at ESU.

We keep coming up with so many awesome ideas. The goal is to make them real this summer. In other news, Kansas has decided that it will be spring. 60's today and lower 70's tomorrow. It's a good day to be outside and enjoy the weather especially after the nasty snows we've had the past few weeks.

The Next Step

I mentioned in last week's blog post about the 3D competition for the entrepreneurial business idea. My team (#20) was one of the top 20 selected for the semi-finals. Amusingly, I found out about it from a professor yesterday morning. It was several hours after the announcement hit the radio stations and the local paper before teams were notified by the college. After all, the university needs the good publicity. I'm feeling a bit better about our business venture which do intend to start this summer, whether or not we win prize money from the competition. We have a couple of dice trays in process at the moment, although I don't anticipate that we'll get into table or larger furniture construction until summer. Anyway, I think we stand a really good shot of getting first place then going on to compete against winning Kansas State University teams from the K-State Learn competition. (3D and K-State Learn are essentially the same competition.) 

In other related news, I've got another 2, possibly 3, semesters before I am done with my MBA. I'm not looking forward to repayment, but I'm definitely excited about the prospect of getting back to work at a more full-time basis. I like the funeral home, but I suspect my time there is going to be limited to another year at most.

 Here's what my entrepreneurial team watched last night while we celebrated with spicy fish tacos, grilled pineapple, chips and salsa, with some Apothic White. Enjoy your weekend! May it be full of happiness, laughter, and enough sarcasm to mess with the weak minded as you go about your day. 

Interesting developments

The semester has been fairly pleasant so far save for the awkward sinus infection and head cold from Hades that sneaked up on me last week. This one refused to run its course without the threat of antibiotics, but I am doing much better now. I had back-to-back group assignments last week and this week for my Supply Chain Management class. I felt I was actually able to contribute my fair share this week as compared to last week. (It's not a good idea to trust the sick person to run the numbers or make entirely reasonable assertions, but, I did what I could.)

Because I can never be satisfied with having just a few pans in the fire, I'm entering a team business plan competition for my school. Fairly excited about our prospects, though. Who knows? It might allow for investor interest and possibly starting the whole entrepreneurial gig again. At the very least, the cash prize is certainly interesting.

I need to return to Sunshine the Morning After, but I've been fairly busy keeping up with the semester, the day job, and other random projects. I have a science fiction novel idea pinging around in my brain that's wanting a bit more attention though. Just not sure where I'm going with it yet. It keeps resurfacing at random, quiet, moments so I might do some plotting for it over the next few days.

Kansas is doing that annoying thing again where it makes national news in a negative way. To the majority of the Kansas House: you're an embarrassment, go away, and stop trying to make policy because you clearly don't know what you're doing. We're all questioning your collective sanity, as well.

Hello, Friday

Kansas wanted us to remember that is indeed still winter. Snow is impending and all I can hope is that the director decides to close the mortuary on Monday. Emporia, Kansas cleans its roads in relationship to the income distribution and other signs of political power. Everyone else is shit out of luck until it melts. Not so good for our little car.

My body wanted to remind me that I can get sick still even though I've been extremely robust thus far this winter. Pretty bad timing too. I have two written assignments and some reading to make it through. Never mind the social events I was looking forward to this weekend.

It seems to be the month of losing hours (or outright losing jobs). Right now, I am to the point that I will spit or piss on anyone who praises the glories of a "right to work" state and demonizes unions. Not having any kind of recompense just lets employers walk all over their employees or discard them like trash as it suits them. Employees get no excess benefits from the arrangement. Technically, you should be able to just leave a job without any notice, but you'll get a negative recommendation when those calls start coming in to previous employers. Employers get away with practically murder these days.

In regards to the previous post about Violet the cupcake loving pit bull, she is fine. It turns out that there was some miscommunication about her status. She still needs a home, but she's not currently on a fast track to being euthanized. If that changes, there will be a further update.

Does anyone else have that one friend who seems to make drama out of pixie sparkles and pinches of stardust that they've just randomly sucked out of the air? *sigh* Yeah, I get to deal with that today too. Being sick is making my inner filter turn to a rather unfriendly setting. Don't mind me too much. Just venting ahead of time to avoid saying something later I may/may not regret. I would like to think that this is just a genuine 'misunderstanding' but with the way this week has gone, I'm not so sure.

Normally, I really love Fridays. This is just not 'my' Friday I guess. I really should be in bed, I suppose, but I need to get some work done. I just can't laze about no matter how bad I feel today. It's a hot tea kind of day. No coffee for the fiend. Wish me luck and better health!

Man Runs Back Into His Burning House To Rescue… His Xbox [Video]

Man Runs Back Into His Burning House To Rescue… His Xbox [Video]



This happened in Kansas maybe an hour or so from where I live. While I consider myself a gamer, there's no reason to return back into a burning building for a video game console. He's lucky he only suffered smoke inhalation.



The Kansas City Star wrote a short piece on this as well, but it seems as if anything that makes Kansans look ridiculous, selfish, or just plain stupid is what makes news outside the state.

Please Help Save Violet

As some of my readership already knows, I have a soft spot for pit bulls, including all bully breeds that bear the title. My first babysitters were American Staffordshire Terriers and they kept me safe from pedophiles in at least one instance. These are the dogs whose job is to babysit and offer security for their loved ones in a world where people too often become statistics.

Meet Violet:

This sweet girl gets along well with cats, other male dogs, and most female dogs although she still has some issues with feeling territorial around some female dogs. She loves people. (She also gets excited at the word 'cupcake' as evidenced by the tilted head in the final panel). Violet definitely would be a great family dog. But she's running out of time and will soon be put down if someone does not agree to foster her or give her a forever home.

If I were not living in an apartment that prohibited dogs, I would take her myself. 

If you are interested, you can contact the Emporia Animal Shelter in Emporia, Kansas. If you are local to the area, please go by the shelter if you think Violet might be a good fit for your home. Please pass the word. No one wants to see Violet put to death because she is a pit bull who has been in the shelter for too long. But she has maybe a week, if that, if no one will take her.

Counting Down

The winter solstice is only a couple of days away. Kansas is expected to see snow this weekend, so it will be nice. Despite complaints, this has been a mild winter, so a little bit of snow is welcome. I hope for a summer that will not fry us all like turkeys in a roaster. Snow, I do not mind. To be honest, I don't mind ice except for its slippery effects on roads and walkways. It is beautiful to see.

I have been such a magnet for static shock lately. Every time I walk by the lit up garland on the stairway at work, I get a painful, and sometimes audible, zap to my arm. Even my smart phone has gotten in on the shenanigans. Dry air is my current enemy.

A local resident set up a Christmas lights show to music. Obviously this trend has been going on for a few years as popular seasonal YouTube fodder, but it sometimes takes awhile for these things to catch on in Kansas.

Post by KVOE 1400 AM, Country 101.7 FM, Mix 104.9 FM and KVOE.com.

The video is not complete, but, you get the gist of it. A really phenomenal showing by a doting grandfather for his granddaughter. I believe that the entire winter holiday season gives adults the opportunity to recapture the joy we felt as children by doing good for other people. We also strive to find beauty in the stark cold of winter or we make it through the use of decorations.

May the beauty of the season bring you peace and joy. Merry Whatever and Happy Somefitzes - enjoy the entire span of holidays as it pleases you!

(But, seriously, it needs to snow this weekend and not rain down sleet upon us. That would be great.)

Silent No More

"Silent Joe", Emporia State University's iconic bell is silent no more thanks to a generous contribution from the Sauder family. The bell tower has been a part of Emporia State University since 1939 when the school was known as Kansas State Teachers College. Silent Joe got its name during World War II because the bell remained silent as students at the college went off to war.

Read more about ESU's history here.

Days 5-6 of World Building: Flora & Fauna

Flora

Native cottonwood trees are common throughout the state, as are various varieties of wildflowers and sunflowers. Big Bluestem grasses are native to the Flint Hills, but one can also find bottlebrush grass in a reasonable quantity. Chicory, with its blue flowers, is common in the Lyon County area. The flowering plant is of Mediterranean origin but has been naturalized. Tassel is an annoying, prickly, weed that is extremely invasive and tends to take over roadside ditches. Western horse-nettle, also known as the potato weed, puts on purple and yellow flowers. A member of the nightshade family, western horse-nettle is known to be toxic to grazing livestock, but I wouldn't recommend any humans trying sampling the flowers either.

Wheat, sorghum, corn, and soybeans are common crops with the expanse of farmland between towns and cities across the state. Organic farming is becoming more of a trend here as it is in other parts of the country, but there's still questions of GMO effects on vegetation that is supposed to be "organic" in the name of making produce resistant to pesticides.

Fauna

Kansas's indigenous mammals include the common cottontail, black-tailed jackrabbit, black-tailed prairie dog, muskrat, opossum, and raccoon; the white-tailed deer is the state's only big-game animal. There are 12 native species of bat, 2 varieties of shrew and mole, and 3 types of pocket gopher. The western meadowlark is the state bird. Kansas has the largest flock of prairie chickens remaining on the North American continent. The US Fish and Wildlife Service named 123 Kansas animal species as threatened or endangered in 2003. Among these are the Indiana and gray bats, bald eagle, whooping crane, Eskimo curlew, and black-footed ferret. (source: http://www.city-data.com/states/Kansas-Flora-and-fauna.html) 

The Flint Hills are known for the dickcissel birds and upland sandpiper, both of which are seasonal birds. Bison (often mistakenly referred to as buffalo) once roamed free, but are now are limited to zoos and ranches. Regal fritilarry butterflies are exclusive to the tallgrass prairie. They may be seen during the summer months of June and July. 

Blocking Education

While I would agree that parents should play some role in educating their own children, a recent decision made by the Kansas Senate might require a lot more than parents can give children to supplement pithy educational standards that are not preparing our next generation for life in a world that depends on scientific knowledge and technological innovation.

I would like to know which constituents Abrams and his supporters believe they represent in making a decision that is intended to hurt the quality of education for Kansas youth. We need educators to decide what is appropriate in terms of education, not politicians who clearly have a lack of understanding of what today's children need to know to succeed in life.

I am fairly certain that the Senate cannot block the State Board of Education from adopting new standards in terms of the law, but they are doing a damn fine job of trying to delay the decision. While the legislature bickers and dicks around, our kids miss out on a proper education and the future of Kansas becomes a bit more bleak.

Is it any wonder that people who can leave Kansas for a better future do? Why should the 20 and 30's-somethings stay here to raise families and keep the Kansas economy alive if this is the best we're going to be able to expect?

Days 1 & 2: World Building

With the July Camp NaNo approaching, I am taking June to do 30 days of world-building (courtesy of author Stephanie Cottrell Bryant) for my novel Scrapping Cinderella (working title). This is a double-post since I forgot to post yesterday.

Day 1: The World 

This is a modern-day fantasy set on Earth. Global technology is making the world increasingly smaller in terms of day-to-day contact with other people and other countries. Global warming is a serious issue that is having far-reaching effects on how people live and work. There's a remnant of a war in response to 9-11 that on its dying breath in the middle east. Gas prices keep rising, but widespread public transportation is limited to the smaller landmass countries. Independence, its definitions, and its applications are becoming a global concern, not just an American one. In most countries, space is a premium. Some countries have too many children born and survive each year; others, not enough to maintain half their current population. There are still mostly uninhabited parts of the world and no clear solution to the issue of overcrowded cities and countries. In short, Earth is getting more claustrophobic and hotter with each passing year creating a sure-fire recipe for violent anger in many of its residents.

Day 2: Geography

Call me crazy, but I am planning on setting the majority of S.C. in a fictional little town that mirrors the one in which I currently live (but with some interesting modifications of course). This area is part of tornado alley, although it is not uncommon to go years without a tornado hitting the town or the surrounding area. I have personally only seen two hit Emporia and I've lived in Kansas since 1989. Despite ideas to the contrary, Eastern Kansas is not flat, but we do have mostly grasslands with some trees. The nearest river is the Cottonwood River named for the trees that grow near its banks and cause allergies for residents of two counties every summer. The nearest man-made lake with a beach and fishing / camping areas is probably Melvern Lake to the north. Kansas, in general, is a fairly small state but with a great deal of wide open spaces. While Kansas does have a fault line, it is out in Western Kansas and runs near Garden City, I believe. It is still possible for any aftershocks to be felt in other parts of the state.

Back to the Grind Spring 2013 Edition

I have been so busy with getting back to the school that I've hardly been maintaining the blog. Working at the funeral home has become far less stressful with our new funeral director. But my time has become crunched between the business classes, work, and the normal every day things that just suck the life out of 12+ hours of my day. I'm going to try to get back on a regular blog schedule in the upcoming months as I make the transition into an MBA program and try to figure out where I am going with my thirty-first (31) year on the planet.

Next week is all about apartment gutting. Goodwill is going to have an enriched inventory by next Friday. On next Thursday, I get to welcome a good friend back to the area (Roadtrip to KC! Woo hoo!) and then go straight to a training meeting at work that evening.

But I just have to say: playing an evil Dungeons & Dragons campaign with my friends is an event to be witnessed. I think I laughed so hard, I almost started crying at one point. Here is an interesting video I watched this week about people who play D&D that looks at some of the (possible) psychological benefits from playing the game.

Save Your Own Life

Professor Amy Sage Webb from Emporia State University is definitely one of my mentors. I think it's impossible to be in her presence and not become inspired. She has done so much for the women who have been fortunate enough to be her students. I was so excited to read this morning that a volume of her short stories had been published on November 1st.


It was a nice change of pace from the bipolar reactions from my fellow American citizens regarding the election, to be honest. I'd think everyone would want to breathe and surround themselves with nicer thoughts now that the decisions have been made. But, undoubtedly, the bashing will continue for some time yet until people decide that it's better to have more friends than it is enemies. Or so I would assume.

But if you want to lose yourself in some great writing, instead, I highly recommend taking a peek at Save Your Own Life.


Now, I'm back to my own writing. 12,350 words and counting on Huntress.

Bias and Free Speech

A little over a year ago, I was stressing through the final touches on an undergraduate thesis that looked at bias as related to reader response pedagogy. For those who aren't hip on education lingo, I was suggesting that we cannot expect people to read and analyze something without viewing it in light of their own experiences, which eliminates any intent to push students towards acceptance of new views and/or experiences as relates to literature. Without new mental tools that allow them to build away from what they think they know, humans will return to the familiar every single time. We learn nothing under those circumstances.

I like to consider myself a proponent of free speech, but I am finding myself stopping repeatedly short when it comes to hate speech. I know that, technically, people should be able to say whatever they want in a public forum, but... I'd like to see the hatred stop. I'm so tired of Kansas being synonymous with Brownback (who clearly hates women) and the Westboro Baptist Church who are militant in their hatred of the LGBQT community. A discussion of irony and hypocrisy gained the unwanted attention of someone who thought it was appropriate to post the word "fag" on my Facebook wall and we're not talking in the sense of the cigarette. I felt as dismayed and disgusted as if someone had spray painted it on my home or my car. I cleaned it up, I blocked the person, and I apologized to my friends. I didn't write it, but I felt like it had tainted something I owned; therefore, it felt like responsibility has shoved my way. As if I had to say to stomp with my shit-kicker boots on and say, "No, I don't condone this." 

And I don't condone hate speech or hateful actions. I feel as if we are pushing towards an empasse in American culture. Hate speech and anti-intellectualism have created a bizarre majority that seems determined to squelch out any sense of love, independent thought, and decency in America. What are we going to be after all those things are stripped away from mainstream society? I still have to ask the question, though, does the First Amendment truly grant the freedom for hateful people to say and do whatever they chose at the loss of other people's personal freedoms? Last time I checked, we were not supposed to be the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave... but just for those people over there who are white, affluent, heterosexual males... No, every citizen is supposed to have the same rights and privileges, but even more so, I think every human being deserves to be treated like one.

So I'm biased against hate speech, but I'm okay with that.