You Are Ani Difranco!

Honest, real, and well liked. You're not limited by any boundaries. "And you can call me crazy But I think you're as lazy as white paint on the wall"

posted by #Debi at 7:51 PM | permalink | 0 comments |

Yesterday was the first day back in classes for me, and it was very taxing. Not that we did so much in classes--in fact, it might have been easier if we had. It was just that, on Mondays and Wednesdays this semester, my classes start at 8AM and go until 6PM. Because it was the first day of classes, nobody really kept us the entire time (except, of course, for the class that went 'til 6 :^/). That meant I had about a three hour break between the first class and the second, then the second one only lasted about 15 minutes, so there was another two hour break until my last class. So much inactivity and trying to find something to fill the time made me very tired. By the time I was outta there, I only wanted to go home and chill.

It snowed last night, and I know that makes a lot of my friends very happy, but I hate driving after it snows. Not so much because of the roads (they were fairly clear once I got to the main road), but because it seems like all the crazies come out to drive during bad weather. I don't know who's worse, the ones who think it's the Apocalypse and drive waaaaay toooooo slooooooow, or the ones who think it's a great time to test their mad NASCAR skilz. Either way, it's stressful first thing in the morning...

I have a secret (well, not so secret to those who know me) that I've been waiting to reveal until I got back to school and had a chance to surprise my classmates. Up until about two weeks ago, I looked like this:

Now, I look like this:

Yes, I went blond. No biggie, really, I suppose--no more so than anything else that goes on in my life and, therefore, on this blog :^)--but it's been getting a lot of buzz amongst my friends. Most everyone asks me why'd I do it. It's kinda like the answer for climbing Mt. Everest--because it's there, and because I'd never done it before. Certainly I've colored my hair--that's why the first photo is brunette rather than salt-n-peppa--but I've never been blond, and I figured that now, while I'm in school, is a good time to go for it, rather than later when (hopefully) I'll be in a more stable position career-wise and changes like this might be frowned upon. Twisted logic, maybe, but it works for me. :^)

Anyway, that's the scoop for now. I thought I'd catch things up before the semester gets too intensive and I no longer have the time I have right now. This semester is going to be a bit more challenging than even last semester (which I thought was plenty challenging), because all of my classes are studio classes, which means lots and lots of homework! Pray for me! :^)

posted by #Debi at 8:40 AM | permalink | 0 comments |

Am I cool or uncool? [CLICK] You are Trendy... You're a trendsetter.. well more of a trend follower. You have a few 'cool' friends who don't mind you hanging around for a laugh. It won't be long before you're climbing the ladder to cool status. Keep up the good work!! Cool quizzes at Go-Quiz.com

posted by #Debi at 4:52 PM | permalink | 0 comments |

You scored as Chalcedon compliant. You are Chalcedon compliant. Congratulations, you're not a heretic. You believe that Jesus is truly God and truly man and like us in every respect, apart from sin. Officially approved in 451. Chalcedon compliant 83% Modalism 50% Monophysitism 50% Pelagianism 33% Nestorianism 25% Apollanarian 17% Arianism 8% Gnosticism 8% Monarchianism 8% Albigensianism 0% Adoptionist 0% Docetism 0% Donatism 0% Socinianism 0% Are you a heretic? created with QuizFarm.com

Never mind that I don't know what half (or less) of those words mean...

posted by #Debi at 3:04 PM | permalink | 0 comments |

As I said, overall I liked the show and will probably watch some more episodes to see how they develop some of the themes presented. That being said, here are a few observations that struck me as I watched the second time:

~The first scene opens with Daniel (Aidan Quinn's character) going to bail his daughter out of jail for possession of marijuana. Apparently she was selling it because she needed money for what seemed like a legitimate purpose to me, and that was the only plan she could think of to raise the money. First of all, Grace seems like a pretty smart girl--this was the best idea she could come up with? The money was for buying software to do animation, and she was afraid to tell her dad what she needed it for. This brings up the second observation: what's so embarrassing about wanting to be an animator that she couldn't tell her family about it?

~One great bit of dialogue was when Daniel and his bishop were talking after a service. Daniel replied to one comment with: "I wasn't aware that we were in business." The bishop replies, "Then you should take a closer look at the church's expense account." I like the fact that Daniel didn't see what he was doing as "business", but as an Episcopal priest, perhaps he was being a bit naive.

~I like the way Jesus is portrayed--he doesn't take himself nearly as seriously as those who claim to represent him do. He's gentle, saying the right things but not forcing himself on anyone. In one scene where Daniel's getting a bit stressed, Jesus looks out the window and says, "Wow, look at those clouds," which I took as a gentle reminder that there are more important things to focus on than our petty problems.

~There is one very funny scene in which Daniel and Jesus sit and make fun of Christian self-help books and start making up names for them, such as Jesus' Guide to a Comfortable Life; Men Are From Mars, Jesus Is From Heaven; My Tuesdays With Jesus; and (my favorite) I'm OK, You're Divine.

Some of the things that "bothered" me about the show were not the things I've seen in the anti-"Daniel" comments on various websites. I mean, yeah, there's homosexuality, alcoholism (really, do all well-off women sit around drinking martinis all day?), hypocrisy, drug use, and teen-age sex all portrayed, and while I think it might be a bit over the top to portray of all those things being present in one family unit, I think of some of the families I know (mine included) and think, oh yeah... Anyway, there were some things that I didn't especially care for in the show, such as:

~The one Catholic priest in the show was practically a Goodfella, with his contacts within the mafia. I can't imagine that the Catholic Church or the Italian community will be pleased with this...

~In the midst of dialogue between Daniel and his wife, the assumption is made that homosexuality is a genetic thing, like blond hair or blue eyes. Did I miss an important piece of research? I've not heard any proof of that thesis. I think that may be where the agenda of the head writer, who purportedly is gay, may have come in. (Of course, if I have missed an important piece of research, someone please let me know...)

~Probably the biggest "problem" that I personally had with the show was in the scenes where Daniel is giving pre-marital counseling to a young couple. After asking perfunctory questions about possible money problems and whether the couple were on the same page in regards to having children, he asks, "So how are things in the bedroom?", as if it's assumed that a church-going couple would of course be sleeping together before marriage. Then later on, when the husband-to-be says something (after a late-night meeting with Daniel) that he should get back home before his fiancee started to worry about his whereabouts, Daniel asks, "So you two are living together in sin?", then when the man gets uncomfortable, Daniel says, "Just kidding." Excuse me?

So, yeah, there are problems in the story, but I'm willing to give the show the benefit of the doubt for a few more episodes. If it turns out to be, as one blogger put it, Desperate Housewives in the rectory, then I'll have to rethink things. But above all, this show seems to be about a man, one who is trying to follow God in the best way he knows how, who has all the same problems as any other family, except that because of his "position", his problems are played out in front of the whole congregation. He doesn't have all the answers, but he's not afraid to admit that. That's got to be a good thing, image-wise, for the clergy, doncha think?

posted by #Debi at 2:10 PM | permalink | 0 comments |

Your Element is Earth

Your power color: yellow Your energy: balancing Your season: changing of seasons Dedicated and responsible, you are a rock to your friends. You are skilled at working out even the most difficult problems. Low key and calm, you are happiest when you are around loved ones. Ambitious and goal oriented, you have long term plans to be successful.

In the next few days, I hope to be able to show how appropriate some of that is...

posted by #Debi at 9:52 AM | permalink | 0 comments |

I'm already well on my way to accomplishing the first goal: to get my apartment in better shape and more organized. I've been cleaning like a mad woman for the last week or so. This weekend I actually used this special attachment to vacuum my miniblinds. It went pretty easily once I got the hang of it. I have vacuumed green fuzz from the beautiful but deadly (to the cleanliness of my apartment, that is) chenille throws that used to hang out in my living room from nearly every surface of the apartment. Those dudes shed worse than a shaggy dog! It sucks to have something so lovely and not be able to actually use it. There's probably some sort of spiritual parallel in that, but I'm too lazy to go there...

My next goal, now that I've cleaned it out, is to actually use my filing cabinet to file bills and papers as they come in, rather than throw everything into a box to sort out (read: shred) later. We'll see how long that lasts...

Other goals include organizing my workroom, which is actually the 2nd bedroom of the apartment. Right now the only thing I can actually get to is the desk with the computer. I'd like to be able to use my drawing table again, and maybe even get to my sewing machine. I also plan to clean out my closets with a ruthlessness not seen in this place since the last time I packed to move, and get all the things I want to sell rather than give or throw away ready for eBay. I mostly have a boatload of books and my old iMac. I thought about listing the books on here and seeing if anyone's interested. I may have to talk to the webmaster and see if he's up to creating a separate page for me for that. Of course, first I have to determine which books I want to sell, then scan images in and figure out pricing...I'm getting tired just thinking of all that! Anyway, looks like I have my work cut out for me. I've arranged to stay part-time over the "winter break" in order to try and get a jump on some of this stuff--we'll see how far I get before school starts. After that, all bets are off!

posted by #Debi at 1:12 PM | permalink | 0 comments |