So, I've been a bit consumed ...

So, I've been a bit consumed with Linguistics lately. I'm taking a graduate course: Linguistic Analysis of English. And this is about as nerdy as I get =). I love language and languages and it's an intense course. So, if I'm going to share it will have to be about Linguistics! yea!

In general, my main impression has been: wow, English is way more complicated than I ever imagined! But I'm loving learning about all of the nuances and underlying rules that we unconsciously adhere to. Pat yourself on the back for speaking English if you do, it's quite an accomplishment. I will try to only mention instances that would be entertaining to a broad audience of English speakers.

Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope

It's been a while, but I just ran across this story through the TED talks website, which features videos from around the world about ideas worth spreading, if you are unfamiliar with TED, click here. William's story inspired "the undifferentiated torso/shoulder shake" in me which either precedes one of those cry for the sake of beauty cries or a heavy laugh. Here is a short video on youtube which tells his story. He also co-authored a book, called, The Boy who Harnessed the Wind, evidently it was a best seller, maybe I was out of the country at the time.

Here's the video::: Be Inspired!





William Kamkwamba's website: www.williamkamkwamba.typepad.com

Writing in the Margins

Writing in the margins may not be as profound or progressive as writing about life at the margins. But it has been a big shift in the way I live my life this year. I've started writing in the margins of books I'm reading, even fiction books. I'm making two dimensional notes: the first dimension being the subject of the writing, the second being the authors technique or style. I feel like life is short and we don't always have time to come back and re-read those books that once changed our lives, but if we want to recall something that added life to our internal current we can easily skim our personal handwriting at the tops of pages of a beloved book and be reminded of the glimpse of brilliance we once encountered. I write in the margins to remember a beautiful thought or picture, to further research an unfamiliar topic, to highlight interesting word choices and to marvel at an author's literary techniques.

Patti Digh, author of Life is a Verb and Creative is a Verb, says that, "Marginalia is a way of carrying on a larger, broader conversation" (p. ix). She goes on to say, "Instead of a book, what if we're actually writing (or not writing) in the margins of our lives? What if our lives are books? What is the sign of our presence? Are we pressing into the margins our interpretations and questions? Are we circling offending verbs and drawing furious arrows to the margin where we srawl "irony," "frustration," "voiceless," "unfair!" Or do we simply turn the pages, passively receiving what's given, furiously disagreeing but remaining silent about it? (p. ix)"

May we all write in the margins, may we take time and courage to engage with life and with books, to speak, to remember, to marvel.
~ Molly

Desperate Measures

quiet Sayulita

As I've alluded to earlier, this year has been the hardest and lowest for me: mentally, socially, emotionally and spiritually. And desperate times call for desperate measures. Therefore, Matt and I returned to our Mexican beach vacation of the year part 2. Over Spring Break we flew into Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and it was truly a time of heart and soul renewal. Although, the miles we traveled on roads and water were significant it was the escape in my spirit and mind that made the difference. I read two books lying in the shade on the sand: The Help and The Secret Daughter (more to come on those). I tried not to think about my life-sucking job at Lake Middle School and it worked I was finally able to feel young and free again indeed.

We caught a bus directly outside of the airport to the town of Sayulita, an expat oasis with rugged dirt roads, sweet and spicy locally caught fish tacos and quiet beach and a quaint plaza. After four days we returned to the throbbing and smoggy, Puerto Vallarta and caught a lancha (small, motorized boat) to Yelapa, a remote, quiet village only recently touched by electricity and small-scale tourism. Yelapa reminded my heart and soul of our time in pristine Guatemala, the relatively untouched beauty of a cascading waterfall, hilly, cobblestone streets, typical, tiny convenient stores and numerous tiny beaches dotted with handsome rocks and fine sand. We cooked most of our meals at our place. And it was simple, early to bed, refreshing drink, book-reading, hamock-rocking goodness that my soul so needed.

We ate fish tacos here every night in Sayulita!

Welcome to Yelapa! This restaurant totally reminded me of everything to do with the colorful, hippy Panajachel, Guatemala.

quaint and lovely walk around the bay in Yelapa

Matt's birthday dinner with homeade pineapple cocktails at sunset.

Everybody Needs Female Friends

I have gotten to have some quality girl talk this week over coffee, walks in the park and even while erasing pencil marks on CSAP test booklets with coworkers, and it really makes a difference to my sense of well-being. I am a verbal processor/thinker, and it sure helps to have someone to process life with, especially the difficult questions and the dreaming questions... Of course I'm always processing out loud to Matt and he's super empathetic =) but it's nice to get some female feedback! Here is what Gretchen Rubin has to say about contact with women in The Happiness Project::

"Perhaps because men have this low standard for what qualifies as intimacy, both men and women find relationships with women to be more intimate and enjoyable than those with men. Women have more feelings of empathy for other people than men do. In fact, for both men and women -- and this finding struck me as highly significant -- the most reliable predictor of not being lonely is the amount of contact with women. Time spent with men doesn't seem to make a difference" (p. 52).

Haha, of course I want no male to be offended, we need you too! But it is the female-feedback that is precious and priceless!