BlogFerret

UPDATE: If it isn’t obvious, Carnival Season is over. It’s now Lent, so you should be depriving yourself. Try again next year!

Okay, I am now able to offer Homemade Authentic King Cakes to those of you living out of the Austin Area! If you are in Austin, of course, I can deliver one to your door! If you are living outside of Austin and still crave a cinnamon and sugary, butter-briochety, Mardi Gras fabulous King Cake lovingly fashioned by the two hands of YOURS TRULY, then listen up!

I can ship them priority mail for $10.00! Each one gets its own cute USPS box and everything! If you live out of town, and want to pay by PayPal, hit the buttons underneath what size you would like:

Small King Cake  $25

Large King Cake $40

This post should function as sort of a catchall cover letter. I am hoping that someone I know will read it and think “Oh wow, we were just talking about how we needed someone to do this job and Christine would be perfect for it!” Yes, today, I am an optimist.

As many of you know, I do have a Masters’ Degree in British Literature. I wrote a fifty page thesis, which is a testament to my organizational skills, editing skills, and ability to produce work to the specifications set by a committee. I also have an extensive IT background, including a period of time spent as a one-woman small business, where I provided IT solutions for individuals and companies.

The upshot is that I am flexible and capable of performing a variety of functions. I can work well with a group of people, but I can also take initiative and make decisions within the scope of said initiative. Research? No problem. I spent years doing research and I enjoy it. My experience as both a student and a teacher means that I can find information, process that information, and present it in almost any format you wish. I can learn, and I can learn quickly.

I am also perfect for any position in which it is essential to see the larger picture. Often, operations are interrupted when one department doesn’t realize that the company functions as a whole, not just as a loose grouping of departments. I like to see how the different parts of a company function together, even if some departments don’t directly affect me, so I am always aware of my part in the greater scheme of things.

As for concrete qualifications, I have advanced computer and IT skills, including Windows, Linux, and Mac experience. I am familiar with small business networking and internet applications, workstations, and peripherals. I am also experienced with a variety of software applications, including the Microsoft Office Suite and Star Office. I have produced websites and technical manuals, and I have created and implemented ten week and full-semester syllabuses. I can evaluate groups of people using exams and assignments, both in person or using online educational software. I can organize information for legal trial preparation, and I have helped with billing and also with implementing an office filing system. I am comfortable with speaking in front of groups of people, and as an educator I had to assume a position of authority.

Please contact me if you feel that I could benefit your company or business with any of these skills. I am available full-time, part-time or on a contract basis. If you need an office coordinator, corporate trainer or someone to brush your employees up on business writing, I’m your woman. If you need a network administrator, legal assistant, or Master’s level editor, look no further. If you have a position that defies description but calls for professionalism, organization, and communications skills, definitely give me a call. I would love to talk to you about how we could help your business together!

Ok, I held out for three days. Maybe that’s a record of some kind.

So what have we learned in 2009, Christine?

Well, Non-specific Writing-Persona Addressee, we’ve learned many lessons in the past year. In no specific order whatsoever:

• Craft beer is an exciting and rewarding hobby. It’s also not as difficult to get involved as one might think.
• Bi-polar disorder is not to be taken lightly. At the very least, people with bi-polar disorder should be monitored by a counselor and have access to an M.D. psychiatrist when/if necessary. Otherwise, bi-polar patients can find their relationships, financial status, and general well-being rotating rapidly counter clockwise into the giant metaphorical bowl-drain waterway of life. Trust me.
• Get some exercise. Even if it’s just a little bit. Every other day is good, and if you can get outside, so much the better.
• Beware of those who are so busy pointing out your faults they fail to recognize their own. They probably aren’t your friends. I can’t believe I’m doing this, but … (Matthew 7:3). And yes, it’s slightly out of context to serve my own purposes. When do you ever see a bible quotation that isn’t?
• Some people are mostly nice, but that doesn’t mean they won’t try to manipulate you. Be nice back, but don’t let them piss you off so much you cry. It shortens your life, and life is pretty short as it is.
• Stop drinking so much, eating so much, and eating so many things that are bad for you. Most of the time, but not all of the time… heheheh. But yes, your mother is right, you’ll feel better.
• If at all possible, get a cat or a dog. Why a cat or a dog? Exotics, such as birds and ferrets (hee hee!) cannot leave their cages and choose to hang out with you. Having a critter come and sit with you can sometimes mean the difference between the end of a shitty day and the end of a shitty day with a cat or a dog sitting next to you. The difference here seems infinitesimal, but it isn’t. Again, just trust me.

And so, Christine what do you plan to do about it in 2010?

Non-specific Writing-Persona Addressee, let me tell you, it’s going to be a shorter list with longer asides:

• Work on reducing clutter. Clutter isn’t that fabulous, and who really needs all this crap anyway? I can’t believe that my clutter level after Katrina (almost nil) and my clutter level now (don’t get me started) belong to the same person. Let’s see what we can do about it. Brain clutter is included here as well as physical clutter.
• Become more involved in bi-polar activism. I don’t know if “activism” is the right word, here, but I want to do something else besides being open about my bi-polar disorder. Oh, you noticed? Well, yes it’s true that I am very open and try to be matter-of-fact about the whole issue, because I’m trying as an individual to help reduce the stigma under which people with mood disorders (and other mental illnesses) labor. Why? Because I think it’s stupid, and it prevents people who really need help from seeking it out. Also, I think the level of awareness regarding mental health patients and what they go through needs to be raised. Once I feel more balanced and healthy, I plan to start volunteering or get involved with a group or organization which propagates these same beliefs.
• Brew more beer whenever possible.
• Try to think a bit more before opening my big mouth. Yeah, this is about as likely as Halley’s Comet returning before 2061, but I figure I can give it a shot.

So there you have it, kids. Please ensure that the car has come to a complete stop before exiting the ride. Also, for those of you reading via Facebook, MySpace, or LiveJournal, please click “view original post” before commenting if at all possible. That would rock. May you and yours enjoy a prosperous new year, and let’s try not to take ourselves too seriously this time around.

No really, I am. Now, this is going to seem a lot like some of my friends’ experiences when we were younger. I had friends who “came out” to us, their friends, and we all said, “Oh, really? You think we didn’t know already?” And I think anyone who has known me for, oh, five minutes or so, will have a similar reaction.

But I find it necessary here, to make some kind of public announcement. I’m a big nerd. I like to do nerdy things. I thought that as I got older and/or made more time to really look at my life and my interests, I would somehow find more “adult” and “sophisticated” versions of the favorite activities of my younger years. To some extent, it’s been true. I am able to do things now that I wasn’t able to do when I was younger. So what do I do with my time now that I have a little money and I have finally reconciled myself to the fact that I do have more time, and that’s ok? [editor's note: This is a very long entry. It is also very self-absorbed on my part. You have been warned.]

Read the rest of this entry »

I find that the more interesting my life is, the less time I have to write. The more time I have to write, the less stimulated I am, and therefore have fewer interesting topics to write about. The only exception to this rule is a sort of in-between period I get after I make a decision to put myself out in the world more but before I’ve actually put the plans in motion.

In any case, I’ve been getting out into the world a bit. And I’ve been staying in a bit, too. We had a couple of friends over for the weekend. I made chicken crepes with a sherry bechamel sauce, salad and a lemon ladyfinger dessert. None of it was particularly dietetic, but it was all delicious if I say so myself. I really enjoy cooking, and I am very gratified when I make a dish and people really enjoy it. From a fairly early time in my life, I’ve always wanted every meal I cook to be at least a bit above “average.” Maybe it’s because I’m from New Orleans, but I’ve always appreciated the differences between food, good food, and great food. What’s the point of eating something that’s just “okay?” Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve decided to try something new with my website. Instead of posting random blather in a stream of consciousness style, I’m going to keep to a regular schedule and post about specific things. Novel idea for me, no?

I’m aware that my life lacks a lot of focus. I complain because I don’t reach the “lesser” goals in my life, but I am pretty unfocused and disorganized unless I have something big on the line (i.e. graduate school). I also seem to let some people influence me where I wouldn’t normally be influenced if I were more certain of myself. I feel as if at 31, I really should go ahead and attempt to figure out exactly who I am and exactly what I want. Now, a weblog isn’t really going to help me do this, but if I work on structure and focus in this small way, maybe I can see how it works on a larger scale. In any case, I’d really like to improve my writing in an online medium.

Otherwise, I’ll have to start putting “Verbose and Directionless” beneath my name on my business cards.

Ok, so perhaps some of you have noticed the MA Thesis progress bar has advanced to 100%. That effect is due to the fact that on April 8 (only 3 weeks ago!) I defended and passed. Suddenly I are an authority.

I am now in the format check stages and am ready to print the copies on bond paper. This means that I have to pull more money out of my butt. I am still not sure where the school thinks I get all this money to spend on crap like caps and gowns and 20 lb. bond paper. I also don’t understand why the school makes walking in the ceremony mandatory. I could refuse to participate, but it is actually more difficult to do that than to just go ahead and participate. Can’t I just quietly bask in my own sense of achievement instead of spending 2 1/2 hours in a smelly auditorium watching people I don’t know yammer and prance about? My family wants to come and sit through all of that just to watch me walk (and probably trip) across the stage for 5 seconds. Read the rest of this entry »

Or should that be “Anxiety, M.A.”? (clever, aren’t I? tee hee. tee. hee.)

The other day I had prepared this clever post on the nature of test anxiety and whether anxiety is actually “necessary” for success. I discussed how I always get very anxious about my exams but usually get A’s on them anyway, resulting in ridicule by dear hubby. I wondered if I would do as well on the exams if I weren’t always anxious about them.  I have to admit that sometimes I’m anxious in spite of being well-prepared for the exam, but more often I am anxious because I have not prepared very thoroughly at all.  So is the anxiety really necessary?  Read the rest of this entry »

So apparently I am injuring myself trying to carry around my books and my laptop at the same time. James got me a realy neat red laptop case from Target for my birthday but I can’t fit my school books into it. I have a sleeve for the laptop and I put it in my backpack, but I think I hurt myself carrying it like that all last week.

The obvious solution is a rolling bag. Now of course, I want one of those cool looking rolling “backpacks” or briefcases, but honestly I really shouldn’t buy something just for asthetics, and the really neat ones are always expensive. I do have a small carryon piece of rolling luggage. I am almost ashamed to admit, though, that I am hesitant to use it for one simple reason: it ain’t cool enough. I mean, why the hell should I care if something is cool or not if it keeps me from giving myself back problems and I don’t have to spend a bunch of money on it? What do I care if a bunch of stupid college students see me hauling my mobile office around in what is obviously a small overnight case?

What do you guys think? I know you’re out there.

I saw this on the childfree LiveJournal community and had to spread it around a bit. I thought it was an interesting take on people. You see a lot of real ads like this (with the babies and puppies reversed, of course) and it’s sometimes good to see that maybe it’s not “ok” to give up a family member just because you’re getting another.

We’re Having a Puppy! via childfree

I also feel compelled to mention that I still consider myself childfree despite the fact that some people who claim to be childfree can be offensive.  I am childfree because parenting isn’t for everyone, not because I think that parenting is bad.  I do know people who became parents just because they yielded to biology without thought, or worse, for all the WRONG reasons.  I ALSO know a few parents who not only made/make responsible parenting choices but ALSO don’t yammer to me how motherhood is what women were meant for (this implies that I am not a “good woman”). The latter sort of parents are not only good parents, but they are also considerate and good friends of mine.  And as soon as their children are able to make a decent variety of mixed drinks and/or appetizers, they are welcome in my home.