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my new fishie
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Sunday, October 25, 2009
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...might actually be here to stay! :) And I finally managed to snap a picture today (he's a frisky little booger - he looks like a black streak in most of the photos).
I've named him Herbie, after Herbie Hancock, but then a few days ago one of the other girls in my house bought hermit crabs and named them Richard and Herbie Hancock. SO, his name may change. We'll see.
He's lived with me for over two weeks now, and he even survived a mild bout of Ich (it's a parasite, and no, I did not make it up). Daily salt baths were no fun for either of us, but after losing Thelonius, I wasn't about to let Herbie go down without a fight.
So, that's all. We'll see if I start blogging again regularly or not...
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i love new classes!
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Wednesday, April 15, 2009
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Here's my schedule for next year (one class will probably get dropped... perhaps the honors seminar):
LING 3051H: Honors Thesis (1st Semester)
TESL 3001W: Introduction to Teaching English as a Second Language (internship 2hr/wk).
HSEM 3019H: Language, Identity, and Globalization.
KIN 3505: Human-Centered Design
DES 3311: Travels in Typography
PE 1055: Golf
I am REALLY excited that things lined up so well... Almost all of my classes are between 2:30 and 4:30 M-Th, with Golf on T-Th in the early evening (through October). Other than that, I have 1 class wednesday morning and 1 class friday morning... so, LOTS of study time. Yay! :)
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Nicodemus
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Monday, March 30, 2009
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Today I wanted to post some of my writing... I actually found this while I was cleaning out my computer. I think I wrote it in 2008 sometime...
Gray am I, but cloaked in black
- the shroud of a coward
And here spared no humility.
But you prescribe
Water and fire to wipe away the muck.
How many times must I climb back in?
Old as I am, grayed, leaving all behind
To come out again -
tiny, wrinkled, helpless?
How many times to be made new?
Still afraid, and still ashamed,
I feel the fire inside of me
But it's a slow burn
The soundless cry of anguish
The pain of labor, the push of desperation
but nothing coming
yet.
My words betray my doubt -
As if my coming had not!
Will you still suffer to answer me this:
Are you who you say you are?
and how long until your words
finally
pierce
this calloused heart?
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sharing what?
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Wednesday, November 5, 2008
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The following is an excerpt from a hopefully-soon-to-be-edited-or-re-evaluated open letter to the large number of people who, today, made statements indicating that part of the reason they're angered by the statement "Share the Wealth" (which has floated around rather eerily as of late) based on the misguided belief that "the poor" are somehow at fault for their poverty - "And why should I give those people my money?" This American "Self-made-man" ideology, the idea that "Joe the Plumber is currently poor, but could get out of poverty if he just tried hard enough" is not only extremely improbable in the majority of cases, it is also becoming increasingly utilized as an excuse for us - the Rich - to choose comfort and apathy, and in the face of others' suffering, do nothing.
If we are going to argue [against the redistribution of wealth in America], and have legitimate reasons to back up our beliefs, then perhaps we can chat. And if we decide the government cannot be allowed to take money from the Rich to support the needs of the masses, that's fine: but ladies and gentlemen, let's be honest. Maybe we need to get over ourselves (and our money)....
...Since when is it okay to consider anything material, particularly money, "Mine"? Is it not a gift from God that should be poured out? Or does God want me to keep it for myself? I would agree, and say that it is NOT the government's job to MAKE us learn to be sacrificial.... but I'm realizing that the Political Right - and the Church - may need a bit of a wake up call.
I am aware, tonight,that I myself need a wake up call. How much is my life about me? Why do I continue to see need, but do nothing? My prayer, though at times reluctant, is that I would not just TALK (or write), but DO. And BE.
"...The more these kinds of issues cross my path, the more incapable I seem to become of shrugging them off, or passing them by. A lot of it has to do with the community I grew up in and the people I've encountered over the years.
They say the best way to motivate the hearts of the masses is to give the cause a face and a name, something we can all relate to. And my memory is filled with both.
-Erin Baker, on the wake of the Obama election, 11/05/08
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Next Year's Schedule
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Tuesday, April 15, 2008
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A quick rundown:
SPAN 3015: Spanish Composition and Communication
A class I was initially taking THIS semester, but realized I had no time for. Hopefully Fall will lend itself better to all those hours of reading and writing in Spanish...
LING 5105: Field Methods in Linguistics I
Cool class where we spend one semester analyzing one language. The professor also happens to be the department honors adviser.
LING 5931: Morphology and Syntax of Contemporary English
If I drop a class, this will probably be it. It sounds interesting, however, it doesn't really fit into any career paths I'd like to pursue...
LING 5461: Conversation Analysis
Tape recording convos and analyzing the interplay between speakers. Need I say more?
LING 3101W: Languages of the World
I have no idea who's going to teach it next fall but I AM SO STOKED nonetheless! "W" means 'writing intensive.' Intense.
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Gifts and Grace
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Friday, April 4, 2008
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It was sunny in the Cities this week - finally, a chance to meander comfortably around campus without having to bundle up from head to toe! It's funny how the 'bundling' can turn into such a rote set of movements. Most of the time I make it halfway out of my apartment building before I realize 'Hmmm, I might not need this much insulation...' A buffer against the wind still helps... anyway.
Mike is in the final stages of preparation for his senior recital. It's exciting for me, (a) because it's cool to see his excitement over how things are coming together, and (b) because the end of the recital marks a significant battle won in the war of Erin vs. Mike's schedule. :) (Translation: less practice time = more free time, Lord willing!) It's funny, piano (or music in general) represents quite a large chunk of our shared interests, and yet, very little of our time together is spent in that direction - save worship - which is more than fine! When we do get to share some time enjoying music, though, I appreciate it ten times more. Today I got to sit in on his recital run through - and it was nothing short of amazing. That's one gifted man of God, there... and he handles his abilities with a measure of humility that's a very rare find indeed.
Chi Alpha's been talking quite a lot about gifts and service and how they fit together (which, in part, prompted the previous musings). Every once and a while, I still look back and with a wistful sigh wonder what happened to all those years that music was "my gifting." Don't get me wrong, I'm not writing it off. But in lieu of pursuing music at the college level, I've been discovering so many other passions and talents... cooking, for one. Well, actually, I can't say much for 'talent' in that area, but I do make a mean loaf of banana bread. ...Seriously, though. I was sitting with some friends and chatting about the sorts of things that really get us excited, the little things that we really enjoy... and more and more, I'm realizing how much I enjoy discussion - sharing ideas - not unlike Plato and his buddies, I guess, but with different subject matter. I love taking time to sit down with others and really think through and pick apart things... things you would normally write off as simple, supply a definition or maybe some scripture verses and call it good. I also seem to have a big thing for metaphors... seriously. Sit through a single discussion with me, and I'll bet you a Chipotle burrito that I'll incorporate at LEAST one analogy into what I have to say!
So I like ideas. I think some personality test told me that waaaay back in 6th grade... but some things you just have to experience yourself before they really sink in. The "theme" I've been stuck on for the last couple months is grace. (On second thought, it REALLY started almost a year ago when Mom handed me a copy of Robert Farrar Capone's chapter on The Pharisee and the Publican...) We've touched on it in The Encounter, and Sojourn just started a 6-week series on it (so fasten your seat belts, ladies and gentlemen!!) I've been blown away by the things God's been teaching me - what it really means to be saved "by grace, through faith - not by works" - and how I can barely begin to understand the depth of the love He has for me, even when I don't 'make the cut,' so to speak (And where did my notion of 'making the cut' come from in the first place, anyway?). There are so many aspects of this that I'm still chewing on... I really ought to put it all down on paper. Or perhaps, on blog.
Well, it's now officially another late night - leading into at least one more day of beautiful weather before the snow pummels us one more time...
Peace,
Erin
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A short note, and then bed.
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Friday, February 29, 2008
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Hey guys. Looks like I'm finally back on a 'blog roll' (haha... ha... wow, I'm a dork)... anyway. Another snowy day in Mpls, though not 'till later afternoon. Normally I really enjoy the snow (so long as it's not keeping me from going/doing/returning when I want), but a severe lack of parking near campus and two separate 20 minute waits for the bus ended up being the breaking point for a very frustrating day. (Although sometime, I'll write about my encounter at the bus stop... just when I think I can make the generalization that U of M students don't care about much outside themselves, I meet someone really nice.) Luckily, there were friends to be met at Nolte & at Bordertown (over homework and coffee), and I spent the remainder of my evening on a long-awaited phone call, a movie with the roomies, and homemade pigs-in-a-blanket. ...Talk about a blast from the past! I made one of the them with cheese, and it immediately brought me back to eating 'Yankee Bandito meals' at Amigo's with Nathan all those times (we're talking early formative years here, folks). They've long since done away with their beautiful hot-dog-cheese-and-tortilla concoction, but now they've got Cheese Frenchees courtesy of King's... so... I can't complain. If you don't know what Amigo's is, you're probably not from Nebraska (or, I'm told, Kansas)... and yes, I forgive you.
I have a really odd Sociology paper in the mix which requires me to do a 'social deviance experiment'... so... more on that as it develops. The outlook is bleak... playing a deviant is not my forte. Unless you count the "hooch" roles I always seemed to land in our high school plays... anyway. The other paper I've been assigned is to write an etiological myth describing, well, the origin of something. (I'm looking forward to that one a little more, at least!) Gosh... I haven't done creative writing in... well... a REALLY long time!
Also, a shout out to my friend who's celebrating his birthday tomorrow, February 29th (think about it!). Happy birthday, friend! :) And can I just say, I love the fact that, in announcing your birthday, you divided your age by four...
Peace,
ErinLabels: Cooking, Nostalgia, Vocabulary
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