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December 27, 2004

Happy Decemberween, and...

Just another reason why I moved to California (and why you all should too) ....


Posted by missfitsandstarts at 07:06 AM | Comments (3)

December 23, 2004

I can't write much today...

Because I can't see past the business seeping out of my face. I feel like I have been beaten about my body with a large stick. A large stick with thorns. And phlegm.

But anyway, you need to try the Refresh, citrus shampoo, from Trader Joe's.

I feel like a giant grapefruit!

Here is a picture of my new hair cut (pre-flu, of course...) Right now I'm all pale and gross and it doesn't matter what my hair smells like, I still shouldn't be allowed in public the way I look (or feel) right now.

So here's the hair:

Oh, and T-minus 30 hours until Loody gets here, thank god.

I neeeeeed my LOODY!

Posted by missfitsandstarts at 12:35 PM | Comments (7)

December 21, 2004

It's cold and I'm getting a cold.

But at least I finally cut this rat's nest that is my hair. It's nice and shaggy and chin length now, versus the split-ends down the back 'do that I was sporting for the past 4 months.

And I can still put it in a teenie, tiny pony-tail for nursing purposes.

Wheeeeeeeeee.

*Does head swish from the Herbal Essences commercial.*

Now I just need my Loody to come pet my head and make me a cup of tea.

*Sneeze* *Whine*

Posted by missfitsandstarts at 12:23 PM | Comments (4)

Daily(ish) Dose #5

It's really hard to write or think about nursing when you're 3000 miles away from the hospital (and school), sitting on the couch, curled up next to the little poochie in your warm house and reading a good book.

I'm just sayin....

Posted by missfitsandstarts at 04:48 AM | Comments (0)

Garrrrrrrrr!!!

So I used to knit. And by knit, I mean do 3/4 of a project and start something else and then do a little bit of that and start something else and work on 3 things at once never finishing anything. I think I have a bunch of hats that look like headbands hanging around the apartment.

I get bored easily. What can I say?

But the times I did finish projects were when I was having a fit -- or a start -- I'm not too sure -- of energy, and would blast through a project and end up with a lovely piece of knitted happiness.

And that's what happened last week. My aunt made a poncho. I wanted to make a poncho (and I mean, REALLY wanted to make a poncho) for Loody. I was so excited! The yarn is so beautiful (for all you junkies out there it's the Classic Elite Yarns Isabella, multi-green), an Italian cotton Yarn perfect for San Francisco weather.

But it was supposed to come on Friday. And now it's Tuesday. And it's still not here. And the energy for knitting an ENTIRE poncho is quickly fading away as the days (hours) pass.

Every day the yarn doesn't arrive is another day I get more sucked in to the mind-numbing graphic (and game engine) heaven of Half-Life 2. But keep repeating to myself, "No! Stop! Do it for Loody!" I need some good bloggy knitter vibes.

I can do this.

I CAN knit a whole project!

*Deep, cleansing, breaths*

Posted by missfitsandstarts at 04:43 AM | Comments (7)

December 19, 2004

History.

Now I may have faith to make mountains fall
But if I lack love then I am nothin' at all
I can give away everything I possess
But left without love then I have no happiness
I know I'm imperfect
& not without sin
But now that I'm older all childish things end
- Lauryn Hill


And she tells me she loves me....

Posted by missfitsandstarts at 04:57 PM | Comments (0)

December 18, 2004

Holy life changing movie, Batman!

You have to go rent Control Room, right now!

My brother and I are watching it and it is totally out of control.

Posted by missfitsandstarts at 11:41 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

December 16, 2004

Now they call it...

Travelitis!

I have arrived on Cape Cod after a whirlwind week (which I will discuss at a later date... maybe).

Today I went out to lunch with my brother and his POS car wouldn't start, so I had to push it into the driveway, we jumpstarted it, and then we drove to get the BEST CHINESE FOOD EVER. I have eaten Chinese food in quite a few states, but there is no match for the Golden Fountain, on West Main Street in Hyannis.

Luckily we got there safely, even though the car died again in the lot and we had to push it into a parking spot.

Hey, we had to eat.

Posted by missfitsandstarts at 01:01 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

December 07, 2004

Because I just need to beat a dead horse...

I promise this is my last post about BlogExplosion, else I run the risk of being one of the people on my list.

I have a proposal for the way BlogExplosion should conduct its rating system. The current one leaves a lot to be desired, to say the least. First of all, the variability with which sites can be ranked that aren't based on content or quality is just outrageous, and second, who really understands things on a scale of 1-10 anyway. We use that as a pain scale in nursing assessments, and I'll be damned if it isn't useless.

Anyway, I think the rating system should be categorical. There could be five options or something, like:

Great site!
Poor design!
Interesting, but I totally disagree!
Too cutsey for me!
Lame ass page, suckah!

You know, a system that actually described... oh, anything relevant.

Boy, I've put in enough of my cents for this week. But I think it's a good idea.

Posted by missfitsandstarts at 10:19 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Welcome to San Francisco...

So yesterday I got a full body hug from a homeless guy as I was getting on the 16th & Mission BART to head over to Oakland.

I had given him a buck, he said thank you (after bartering me up from a quarter...), and just as I was about to leave he totally hugged me. Not just a little pat on the back or shoulder, a big, straight on hug.

Ok, so it's not that I don't appreciate the thanks, but man...

And it made me realize two things:

#1. I am such a wuss.

#2. I have become a complete germaphobe since I started nursing school.

I can't decide if I should feel bad about this or not. The humanitarian/super socially-aware part of me thinks why am I tripping about this? Just because he is homeless doesn't mean he is a bad person or that he's got some weird disease, and I should be happy about the exchange and be on my way.

But the paranoid, hyper-aware that it is a fact that homeless are more likely to carry hepatitis, HIV and other communicable diseases, knowing that he was definitely high on something, part of me just got a little heebed.

I feel like a jerk, but I also still felt like I needed to wash my hands a few times.

Not to mention the fact that as I was leaving I dropped my pen and had to fish it out from a grubby, crumb-filled gutter in the staircase leading down to the train.

Bah!

Am I nuts? I feel nuts.

Posted by missfitsandstarts at 06:02 PM | Comments (7)

P.S.

For those of you who have read my blog because of my last three posts, be forewarned: this kind of stuff, while not rare, is definitely not what I post about most of the time.

Usually, I just talk about random crap that happens to me (like many bloggers). Oh, and about nursing too.

I think a lot about all sorts of other things, but it takes awhile to get it out of my head and into articulate thoughts sometimes [especially the hard stuff].

So that's all. Enjoy! :)

Posted by missfitsandstarts at 09:12 AM | Comments (1)

December 06, 2004

Blogging and White Privilege, Part II

I have had a few responses to this post that note that this issue is not about race but is about age, gender, socioeconomic status, and many other factors. I have no doubt that these play a role in who has access to the Internet (among other things). Of course they do.

The fact remains, however, that racial and ethnic inequities exist separate from those others discussed, but is easy to hide it away by couching it in these other issues, or to make ourselves feel better by saying, "See, it happens to white people too..." But by denying the role that race plays, we are not being truthful, and are doing a disservice to ourselves and our community.

Race plays a role in how we are socialized. Race is a determinant of how we are treated in American culture (because I am talking specifically about the U.S.). Race affects privileges we are granted and our access to a vast number of opportunities. Race is, because we have historically made it that way.

We can't just try to be "colorblind" now because we wish these things weren't true. I just want people to acknowledge that it's there, that white people benefit from white privilege, that this isn't going away, and that we are all a part of it.

Posted by missfitsandstarts at 12:38 PM | Comments (7)

December 05, 2004

Blogging and White Privilege

In response to my own post about the homogeneity of many of the blogs and blog topics I found in my endless surfing on Blog Explosion, I have actually been thinking seriously about this topic, and it has become more than clear that the same issues we face in our greater American culture are reflected in this world of blogging.

Blogging is about putting yourself out there. About creating a space to speak freely about issues that are of interest to you, political views, your daily life, whatever. It has "exploded" because it is an easy way to make your voice heard, and to feel like you have something to say (because we all have something to say, don't we?)

But who is doing this? Who are the people who are using their "right" to talk about whatever they want? It is mostly middle class. It is mostly white. Of the thousands of blogs listed in blog explosion, from what I can tell, only about 30 (if that) are written by African Americans. Even of all of the blogs I have read (and searched for) in general, I have only stumbled upon a handful that are written by African-Americans, and even less by Latino/a communities.

So, I bet there are going to be a bunch of people thinking, "OK, no.," or, "Why is this even important?"

But it is.

It is important because we need to think about who we are hearing from, who is given the space to express themselves, and how that can be absent even when the "right" to do so appears to be there. In this world and community (virtual and not), whose perspective are we getting and what are we missing?

If you are potentially thinking that this doesn't have to do with race so much as it has to do with people having the money for computers and other such expenses, although I am sure economic status plays a role in access to technology and in opportunities to prioritize how one spends his/her time, there is a greater cultural divide going on here. One whose roots are historical, and are pervasive.

I am just going to say it. White people are raised with a sense of entitlement about speaking up, speaking your mind, having an opinion and the right to have it be heard. This is what I would expect for all Americans, but countless people are not granted such a right all the time.

Whether it's being endlessly passed over in classes or in school because of unconscious biases (as an example), not being appropriately represented in media, singled out to represent their entire culture in a group of people, minority groups in America, regardless of legal or political rights, have been socialized to not truly use their voice, even if it is just to talk about the happenings of their every day, their political opinions or anything else that comes to mind.

And yeah, I am white. Yes, I have the privilege about which I speak. But somebody needs to put this out there, because it is a problem, and most certainly not just online.

And we all deserve more than that.

Posted by missfitsandstarts at 11:35 PM | Comments (18)

December 04, 2004

The Little Man

Whew. Now that all of the comment madness has stopped, I have to tell you that I am completely and utterly enamored with little Motoki, a baby boy born at 25 weeks (5 months ago), and the chronicles of his (and his mother's) experiences.

It's so amazing and adorable and tragic and beautiful, I can hardly stand it. So I want to do my part to help share his (and his family's) story.

I created this little button:

You have to go visit. I promise you will not regret it.

At all.

Posted by missfitsandstarts at 06:28 PM | Comments (4)

December 03, 2004

StupidExplosion

I don't know what possessed me to sign up, but I did it. I had to see what all the fuss was about.

Maybe I just needed something to click obsessively on while I'm home on vacation.

I expected lots of different blogs about lots of different things, but really, all people talk about (or at least those signed up on BlogExplosion) is:

Ahhhh, the Internet.
And yet, I still keep reading.

Must.... click... must... read.... more.... ramblings....

Posted by missfitsandstarts at 01:31 PM | Comments (38)

Daily(ish) Dose #4

It doesn't matter how strong you are, you can't escape the curse of the bad back. Even as a student.

Posted by missfitsandstarts at 01:16 PM | Comments (2)

December 02, 2004

Daily(ish) Dose #3

The stuff they teach you in the books and for the boards has almost no bearing on what you do in the hospital. You essentially learn two completely different ways of doing most nursing interventions.

Posted by missfitsandstarts at 02:49 PM | Comments (1)

December 01, 2004

I just realized...

Oh Crap! It's DECEMBER!

Can somebody tell me how that happened?

Posted by missfitsandstarts at 08:50 AM | Comments (5)

Daily(ish) Dose #2

I don't care what anybody says, it is impossible to "dart" at a 45 degree angle.

For you non-nursing folks, this is in reference to giving injections. Hold the syringe like a dart and stick it in real fast. See, you just can't do it.

Posted by missfitsandstarts at 07:57 AM | Comments (2)