Jana Remy
  • Writing
    • Disability
    • Making History
    • Digital Humanities
      • dayofDH
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      • Pacific Worlds Bibliography
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    • Blogposts About Teaching

Jana Remy

  • Writing
    • Disability
    • Making History
    • Digital Humanities
      • dayofDH
    • Canoeing
    • Creative Nonfiction & Essays
    • Feminism
    • Bibliographies
      • Pacific Worlds Bibliography
    • Social Media
      • Mentions/Links
  • Scholarship
    • Awards/Fellowships
    • Conferences & Invited Talks
    • Collaboration
    • Workshops
    • Conference Planning
    • Technical Skills
  • Teaching
    • Blogposts About Teaching
Monthly Archives

November 2005

simplicityworld

pounds

Spent the morning at the “by the pound” goodwill clothing store. It’s not a store, really, just a warehouse w/open sides and rows of tables. On the tables are heaps of clothes. Mounds of clothes. All of them discards from goodwill donations. Instead of selling them by the piece, they sell them for $2/lb.

I was ready for the store, having been to the one on Bfield a few years ago. I had a stash of plastic bags and was ready for whatever I might find on the tables.

Today I wasn’t looking for any treasures for myself or my family. Instead I was filling bags with little kids clothes for a local homeless shelter. I knew that I could spend about $20 and come out with enough winter clothing for a dozen kids. And I did. I found jackets, jeans, long-sleeved shirts, socks, sleepers, etc. All in very good condition.

Part of me was disgusted as I sifted through the clothes–to think that they were so little used and so easily cast away. To see items that were “last year’s style,” but still full of wear. To think that we live in a culture where some kids are cold at night and others have drawers full of the latest fashions. It all seems so pointless when you’re standing in a cold warehouse, wondering about those who donated the items, hoping to ease the burden of those who will receive them, feeling guilty that my own closet is so full.

November 30, 2005
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Shuzou canals
photo

Shuzou canals


IMG_4387
Originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

Yes, I’ve uploaded even more China pictures…click on this one to see more.

November 27, 2005
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school

geekly

Kids went to the San Diego Zoo today with grandma, Aunt Becky, Uncle Michael, and Suz’ Chris.

John and I stayed home to get work done.

I spent almost all day creating a bibliography of the History of U.S. Railroads. I went to the library and checked out more books than I could carry home. I made copies out of Special Collections materials. All day I sat reading musty old history books or searching for more musty old books.

What a geekly life I lead (andyet it was oh-so-fun that I can’t believe it’s already dinner time!).

November 27, 2005
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familysimplicity

holiday

Tomorrow we are off to Aunt Susan’s house to celebrate “Anti-Consumer Day.”

This festive event is always the Friday after Thanksgiving. We gather and play games for much of the day. We do crafts. We jump on the trampoline and look at photos. We eat good food. The one thing we don’t do is shop.

Chris MacMurdo started this tradition a few years ago and each year it gains momentum–the circle of celebrants widens. So my challenge to each of you is to join in the fun. Even if you can’t be with us at Suz’s house, you can be with us “in spirit” as you commemorate AC Day in your own home.

:)

November 25, 2005
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simplicity

freecycle

I’ve written about freecycle before, but today I’m feeling particularly grateful for all of the new friends I’ve made through the freecycle community and I wanted to share a few of my freecycle experiences from the last two years….

–One of my first (and most memorable) freecycle finds happened when a man from Long Beach offered composting worms. What a weird offer! But to me, an avid gardener, it was a treasure! I’d had a vigorous vermiculture bin on my back porch for several years to compost our table scraps, but the previous winter we’d had some particularly cold days and my worms had all died from frostbite. I missed the ability to compost our waste, and I also missed the “black gold” fertilizer that resulted from the process. I contacted him, got directions to his place and set out w/Caroline to meet the worm guy. When we arrived at his apartment (which happened to be above a flower shop), he then led us out to a homemade ladder that led up to his roof garden. I only made it about halfway up the ladder before my fear of heights kicked in. Caroline, OTOH, coninued fearlessly on up the ladder–her flip-floppy heels clacking on each step. After a few long minutes (where I stood at the bottom of the ladder wondering how things were going up on the roof), Caroline and worm guy emerged with a large bucketful of red worms in compost. She and I laughed about the oddness of the event, and it’s since become a favorite story for me to tell. And the worms are still happily producing fertilizer for our garden! :)

–Another favorite freecycle experience came from an offer that I posted for LDS romance novels. Because I am sent so many LDS novels to review (for Irreantum), I wanted to give a away a few of the older books. I got a response from LC, who turned out to not only be a fan of such novels, but she was also in the middle of writing her master’s thesis on LDS romantic fiction. She and I met for lunch and by the end of the conversation she’d agreed to become a member of my review team. Since then Lisa and I have met several times and she’s written some fantastic articles for me. :)

–Though it’s always a thrill to find something that I want on freecycle, it’s an even bigger thrill to fulfill someone else’s “Wanted” posts. Indeed, as I’ve been on freecycle for such a long time now, the thrill of seeing a post for an “almost new sofa” or a “cherry wood dresser” has long since worn off. So, one day a post for an LDS temple dress caught my eye. I wondered why someone had posted such a request as I thought about the extra temple dress that was hanging (unused) in the back of my closet [for those of you who don’t know what temple dresses are–they are long-sleeved, floor-length white dresses that are rather hard to find anywhere but in speciality shops and they can cost from $35-100]. I replied to this woman’s message and we had a great conversation. It turned out that she was looking for the dress for her neice who would be marrying soon. And it turned out that the dress I had was just the size that she needed for her neice. So this woman and I met and I gave her my dress. She gave me a big hug and I felt a huge endorphin rush–the kind of misty-eyed feeling where you want to sing a sixties folk song about peace, love & happiness.

–Those of you who’ve been to our home know that every piece of furniture has a story. There’s the pioneer table from Rebecca, and the blanket chest from great-grandma, etc. Since joining freecycle I now have many more stories to tell. There’s the dining room table that John picked up from a young couple in North Irvine, the canopy bed from Rita, the beanbag from K that the kids and I hand-carried across UCI campus, etc. And along with those stories are the tales of all of the people that we’ve blessed with our un-needed stuff–like E’s old fancy dresses that are now being enjoyed by another young half- Japanese girl, the spent printer cartridges that Ch used as a funraiser for his pet charity, the roller suitcase that accompanied two young sisters on a trip to their grandma’s house, etc.. Through this gifiting and receiving we’ve created bonds with many people that have lasted beyond the initial transaction.

What a joy! :)

November 24, 2005
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Summer Palace
photo

Summer Palace


IMG_4364
Originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

Downloaded a few more China pics today.

If I were a Chinese Empress, I would hang out at the Summer Palace–even if the “Dragon Lady” lived there, too. :)

November 24, 2005
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make me smile

Make me smile…

Singing the Hallelujah Chorus alongside my kiddoes, John, and many friends/colleagues at the “First Annual UCI Messiah Sing” last night.

Heavenly!!
:)

November 23, 2005
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amputeemake me smile

Make me smile…

Hook me up to your laptop computer and fix my broken cyborg knee so it bends when I walk.
And I’ll take those first few hesitant steps…
Then I’ll realize that all is right in the world again because my technology is doing what it’s supposed to.

And I’ll smile (head to toe).
:)

November 22, 2005
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skate
family

skate


E skating with her Girl Scout troop friends on her birthday! She had so much fun :)
John has accompanied her and her troop each year for their day on the ice–E and John have built many happy memories from this annual event.

November 21, 2005
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make me smile

Make me smile…

-rubbing my fingers over wooly yarn on a loom for a knit cap
-watching E cheer during the new Harry Potter movie
-sleeping for 11(!) hours on a Friday night [btw, I think the jetlag is gone now…]
-seeing Elly decide that John’s computer mouse is the perfect place to rest her haunches
-sharing a reuben sandwich w/John at Hans’ Ice Cream Parlor (and him letting me have the pickle)

November 20, 2005
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deep thoughts

massage

I came back from China tenderized. The bruises that I had up and down my shin and thigh weren’t from injuries.

They were from massages.

Yep, I’m a massage junkie. I was in China for just a few days–days chock-full of shopping, sightseeing, cultural events, etc–and I still managed almost a massage/day.

The highlights: there was the crazy guy in the Emperor’s pharmacy who practically picked me up off of my chair because he was rubbing me down so briskly [he also cracked my back in a most dramatic way w/his knee–whoa!], the sumptuous night-on-the-town foot massage coordinated by super-guide Jack [where they had me drink this dark herbal tea concoction that almost knocked me out _before_ the hour-long reflexology massage began], and the most deligtful 1/2 body massage in the Beijing airport that Dora arranged. Next time I have a nine(!) hour layover I hope I’m in Beijing where massages only cost $10! And that they use a light shimmer of oil, and that there hands are slightly cool and when they knead my face and scalp I realize that I am totally helpless because it feels that good…

Some people in our group had to buy an extra suitcase for all of the souvenirs that they bought in China. Me, I brought memories of massages that cost me less than four knock-off Gucci bags apiece…

November 18, 2005
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Peking Acrobats
photo

Peking Acrobats


IMG_4329
Originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

I’ve loaded some of my China pix to my flickr account. Click on the acrobat picture to see more….
:)

November 18, 2005
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About Me

About Me

Hi there friend, and welcome to my blog. I started writing on the internet two decades ago. Since then I've started and finished a PhD program, left the Mormon church and became a Quaker, got divorced, remarried, found full-time work in academia, took up rock climbing and outrigger canoeing, and traveled across the globe (China! Belgium! Italy! Chicago! Montana! Portland! Gettysburg! and oh-so-many points in-between). This blog is eclectic and random--it has poetry and cooking and books. And cats. And flowers. And the ocean (my ocean). But in that sense it's a good reflection of me and my wide-ranging, far-reaching, magpie curiosity.

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