Petrarch's letter to us

For all writers who fear everything that could be written has been.

"Put this concern aside, I beg you, and never let it induce you to be lazy, for certain ancestors of ours have already removed this worry, and I [,Petrarch,] will now remove it for those who come after me: for although ten thousand years may pass and centuries pile upon centuries, never will virtue be praised enough; never will there be enough lessons about how to love God and to hate sinful pleasures; never will the road to the discovery of new ideas be closed to eager minds. Therefore, let us be of good spirit: we do not labor in vain, nor will those do so who will be born many ages in the future right up to the end of this aging world. Rather, it is to be feared that men will cease to exist before their efforts in humanistic studies will have enabled them to penetrate the most secret mysteries of truth."

~ from Petrarch's letter to Tommaso da Messina found in Letters on Familiar Matters: Books I-VIII. trans. Aldo Bernardo. Albany State University of New York Press, 1975.

Teacher for Hire

I should have listened to my brother, who told me he was going into med school because he didn't want to end up like our parents, who couldn't afford to buy Chips Ahoy!. I, on the other hand, was going to be "noble". I went to school for writing. What good will medicine do if I can't enjoy the depth of philosophy? The farther I step back from my college years, the more pretentious I realize I was.

I grew to realize, in my second year, that I would have to pay the bills at some point. Oh, yes, people told me that before, but I never was confronted by the enormity of it until it loomed in the distance. So I defaulted: went into teaching and loved it. However, English teachers are a dime a dozen out here, and so I'm left at the place I once was so afraid of in my sophomore year: paying the bills with hopes and dreams (minus the hopes and running low on dreams).

I married an amazing man, but we're on a raft that could break at any minute. The economy that so frailly holds the wolves at bay is starting to crack. And then what are we left with? A teacher, a writer, and two dogs. Makings of a great story, but not a good life.

So, 59 cover letters and 12 versions of my resume later, I'm left trying to formulate a new plan. I can't return to medicine: no science classes in an English major. I can't return to writing: no monthly support to lean upon. So, I'm left listening to CNN and Obama's rhetoric of hope. I pray he's right.

Guerrilla Gardening

I kid you not; there is such a group. Their goal: the improve the drab of cities and urban areas by doing what people complain isn't being done: making it beautiful.

What a great idea! These groups go out in the dark of night and landscape neglected areas and continue to maintain them for the enjoyment of everyone.

Seriously, what a great idea.

Check them out and see if there's a group in your area.

Crazy Running People with...their...running

Since my hubby and I are moving to Chicago, I figured it was high time I did the Bolder Boulder 10k Run. If you haven't been, think about a typical 10K run/walk, but add drunken frat boys in superman costumes skipping beside 83 year old mall-walking grandmas. It was, amazing.

My friend, Megan, and I kicked ass I must say. Neither one of us are real hard-core runners; in fact, I'm a jogger, not a runner (I got no shame). We decided to do it again next year in uniform of some sort. One problem: I won't be at Denver altitude for awhile, which means, I must become a hard-core runner if I'm to survive BB next year coming from Chicago. And I'm not going to lie, that blows! I don't want to be a real runner. But, I don't want to miss out on the crazy experience that is Bolder Boulder.

To give you an idea of how crazy this is, here are a few stats I just got in the mail:
Total number of finishers: 48,955
Winning Time - Male: 0:28:32 (28 mins! for 10K....that's CRAZY running)
Winning Time - Female: 0:32:49

And...you ready?....
My Time: 1:14:45

I know, stellar. However, considering it was my first race EVER, it rained, and the average elevation was over 5320ft., I did good.

We'll see how I do next year.

Chicken or Internet

So, my husband found the following stat regarding internet use in the EU:

Out of the people in the European Union who do not have Internet in their homes, 50% quoted the cause "remains the lack of interest in Internet".

This caused quite an interesting discussion between my husband and I. I believe that since the EU is geographically so close that many Europeans do not feel the need to have access to information in their homes (unlike Americans who almost need it since we are so isolated from each other both physically and culturally). He has different opinions.

Regardless, I'm interested in what you think. Post a comment.

Waiting for Godot...or at least feeling like it

Today a friend threw me a bone and gave me a small copywriting job. I'm thoroughly nervous- well, not thoroughly, but at least two cups of coffee nervous - about writing it for several reasons:

1. I'm not used to getting paid for my copy, thus, bar is raised internally

2. I'm not used to writing copy for someone I don't know. This leads into

3. I'm not used to having lag time between the starting of something and its completion. I'm currently waiting for said client to call me back so she can answer some of my questions. In education, you either get it done now or it doesn't get done. It's weird being on someone else's schedule.

However, this does expand my repertoire of copywriting. Hooray for expanding Chicago job options. I'm just ready for this first phone call to be over and done with; then I will have the worst part over and feel like I can come out of this thing successfully.

No more teacher's dirty looks: a eulogy

Chewed the rag with a fellow educator, lamenting the 40% increase Xcel has tacked on to its Denver customers. In the middle of this bitter-laced banter, my colleague informs me of her new technique to save money: walk everywhere. She proceeds to expound on her daily routine of walking - yes, walking - the 3.4 miles to her local gym, walking home, having lunch, reading (a feat in of itself for any educator), and walking the 1 mile to her friend's - who is on vacation - house to water the plants. I thought she was being a little overzealous in her battle against oil, but then she explains how she can't wait until October when her car will be paid off and she can start paying off her furnace. We made some kind of joke to sweeten the anger and fear of our economic situations. She said something we both laughed a little too hard at: "I just need to find a rich husband." We laughed because we knew the unspoken, somber ending of that sentence: "...so that I can keep teaching."

When did educators fall into poverty levels? Our union fought with sharp teeth this year, and although we got to keep our health insurance (which only covers us btw, not any spouse or children), we received less than a 4% raise. When Xcel energy is gearing up for battle by 40%, and I can only afford one bag of apples a month, 4% will not cover much.

As my friend and I continued on our conversation, we both talked about other people, in other industries who are able to ride out this dep...er...recession, our sad reality comes into focus: we may have to leave teaching because we cannot afford to stay. That reality depresses me greatly. We are good teachers who, if nothing changes, will be forced out of the classroom and into corporate America. I heard a rumor that for a family of for to be completely self-sufficiant (no government aid) in Colorado, the annual household income had to be above $60,000. What does that mean for my rambling buddy? What does that mean for me and my husband?

I fear I must dust off my resume.




(thanks to Chylinski Marcin for the pic of the pencils)