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April 29, 2007
What to say?
My mentor says that he is both in love and in hate with writing. At the time, I thought that was a very clever cadence. But trying to finish up my second year in the program, and making sure that all unfinished work is completed, has taught me exactly why his words ring so true. Writing is difficult. I know that most of us work under a deadline, try as we might to manage our time better. I know that the more writing we do, the easier it is for us when we operate under the stress of the aforementioned deadline. But writing takes time. And sometimes (most of the time) there will be an interruption that makes your head spin like Linda Blair in The Exorcist (the first one, of course), makes you snarl at the people you otherwise love to spend time with, and makes you just plain ole mean. For me, that’s the hate part.
The love part is simple; writing gives us the opportunity to find our place within the conversations we’ve worked so hard to become a part of and it allows us to be heard in venues that would otherwise be unavailable to us. Writing makes us think and fight against ourselves because we know there is always a better way to express our thoughts. But perhaps the best thing about writing is the feeling we get when we know we have created something meaningful, something that readers and other writers will appreciate. It is a massive undertaking, but for me it is worth every drop of blood, sweat and tears. Love and hate will each have their turn in my thoughts and my writing process, but I'm certain that the end results will prove how they nurture one another.
My students smile at me when I give them a rubric that includes 10 points just for writing their essays. I'm sure they think I’m soft, or that I throw that part of the grade in because I can't think of anything else to grade them on. Wrong. Because what I know that they haven’t figured out just yet is that no matter what your level of expertise, academic position, or educational pedigree, we all have moments when we stare at a blank screen (sometimes for hours) trying to think of something profound (or at least interesting) to say. We all wish that we could have more time, and we all love the idea of a finished product despite the way we wrestle with the process. I just smile back. Because I know what’s ahead, and because at the end of the day they will be happy to know that the process they underwent was just as important as the product.
Posted by dvaldesd at 04:15 PM | Comments (1)
April 21, 2007
Another Funny Little Lady & Her Dad
A little more risque, but since her Dad is Will Ferell, it's expected!
Posted by dvaldesd at 10:38 AM | Comments (0)
April 13, 2007
Just in case you missed it on Jen's Blog...
This little girl reminds me so much of when my girls were little and just told it like it is. Sometimes (just sometimes) I really miss those days!
Posted by dvaldesd at 12:22 AM | Comments (1)
April 01, 2007
Oral surgery is no fun!
On Friday I had the pleasure of getting an abscessed tooth removed from the right side of my face. While this recovery is much better than last month (when I had the other tooth done), I have to say that my face hurts. I mean it hurts to smile or even laugh! Pain also makes it difficult to concentrate on the things that I need to get done, like read, read, read. Icing my face helps, but here's the thing-putting the ice directly on my face is too severe, but using even a thin cloth prevents it from being cold enough. What a pain in the arse! Anyhow, at least the only thing left on my dental hygiene list is go for the normal routine cleanings. And, at least I have my 800 mg. Moltrin to take the edge off the pain! Especially since I hate anything with codeine or Darvocet. Yuck. I am definitely a white willow bark kind of girl. But at least I had the health insurance to ensure that I didn't die of an infection. Extreme analysis? Not at all. For all of my complaining, at least I didn't end up like this little boy.
Despite my understanding of how fortunate I am to have health insurance, sometimes I wonder if dentures wouldn't be a better deal! I mean you take em out, you put em in-end of story. Some Polygrip, and your good to go. "But you'll never eat apples again" the old ones advise us. Who says I have to have apples anyway? Applesauce is starting to sound quite tasty to me. Add some cinnamon and sugar...and there you go!
Posted by dvaldesd at 08:03 PM | Comments (1)