White Trash Vacations

Well I did come back to blogging but then went on a whirlwind trip through all of the states in the Northeast in 10 days. It was crazy fun. I had never been to Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, or Connecticut. I have traveled quite a bit in the last 10 years but I still remember my first trip outside of my home state. 

I was a safety patrol in 6th grade and all of the elementary schools in the city took a year end trip to Washington, DC. I remember that paying for these kinds of school trips was always harder for the poor kids (obviously) but we sold candy bars to fund the trips. I recall the excitement of leaving home for the first time. My wanderlust was activated. My second school trip out of the state (I do not count visiting the state's capital as an exciting or noteworthy trip) was at the end of my 7th grade year to New York and I loved everything about it..especially the Asian man trying to sell 2 children X-rated fortune cookies. 

So, I felt fortunate to have these opportunities as most of the kids from my neighborhood were not participants in the organized, school groups/clubs that took these kinds of trips. It's funny because when I speak to other poor kids from the South we discuss whether our families went on vacation and what these white trash vacations consisted of. 

First, there was camping. My Mother and Stepdad loved to camp with their friends in various parks. I remember being forced to go on my last camping trip at age 14 and sleeping in the car. I did not enjoy these camping trips, mainly because it was mostly adults who would get wasted pretty early in the night so their adolescent and teenage children had to put up with their drunken antics. The drunken fights were few, thankfully, and no guns were involved. So, I guess it could have been worse as I know some kids who had to deal with adults getting drunk, driving around in trucks, and shooting guns out the window as they drove around in circles jamming to Lynyrd Skynyrd (although my fam and their friends were country fans so insert Hank Williams instead).  

So, there was white trash camping but the ultimate white trash vacation destination has to be Myrtle Beach, SC. If you have been there, then you understand. My friends who had more money went to Florida but that was a pretty expensive trip. Myrtle Beach is a relatively affordable trip for the working class. I went the first time with my aunt and uncle and the following year it was also my senior trip. I have no idea, however, why this is the white trash destination in the South. Maybe it is because they host bike week? I think this is why my aunt liked it so much because she also attended Daytona Beach biker week in Florida. But even so, I met many others like myself, from a variety of Southern states, that vacationed here. Anyone else vacation here? 

New York trying to f@#$ the Native Americans

They are trying to impose a law in New York that allows the reservations to sell cigarettes, gas, etc. only to other Native Americans. Why? Cheaper prices on the res, which makes folks want to buy these things on the res, taking profits from the other local businesses, that would not even exist had we not taken their land and forced them into these areas in the first place. WTF???!!!!

Honor the treaties!

Happy Bastille Day!

So, today is Bastille Day and I am blessed to have my delightful French friend, and adopted little sister, cook roasted chicken and leeks for dinner to celebrate. I am salivating already! Just a few quick links:

1) This is just one of the many reasons I adore Jimmy Carter. 

He is a humanist and I am so happy he has finally cut ties with the Southern Baptists. I mentioned in previous posts that I grew up half Southern Baptist and half Pentecostal. My disgust with the church came early when I started actually paying attention to the sermons and caught the "women as subservient" bull and "women responsible for original sin" garbage. So, what you are telling me is that the fall of man is my fault? It was about this time that I became "ill" every Sunday when the church bus came to pick me up. Luckily, my mother and father were heathens (can be noun or adjective) at the time and did not force me to continue going. 

2) Islamophobia

I understand that this is one of the reasons cited to ban the burqa.  However, what the dudes do not get (and I love you Sarkozy but come on...) is that a ban on women's clothing is still restricting women's rights. It is also disrespectful to Islam and to the women who choose this (yes, believe it or not there are women living in the West that choose to continue wearing a burqa). 

In case you need clarification, STOP TELLING US WHAT TO WEAR!!! 

2 days in a row!

Yes, I might really be back! Just a couple of links I want to share today. First, Afghanistan has been on my mind a lot this summer, and also seems do dominate a lot of the news coverage since the additional troops have entered. But, if you have a minute, read this. 

And, just in case you have lulled into thinking that fucked up shit only happens in developing countries like Afghanistan, there's always this. White folks getting out of the pool when the black kids got in? Hello 1950s and Jim Crow! And, this did not even take place in the South! 

I will get back to News of the Weird soon because there have just been too many brilliant stories worth sharing. But in the meantime, check out this post by Brigindo. When I was thinking about my answer to this question, I realized that I was not fond of any fairy tales. I vaguely remember a Mother Goose book I had, but recall that I thought my Dad was the coolest M'Fer on the planet. Therefore, as soon as I could read, I wanted to read his books. And, as previously noted, my Dad was into horror and sci-fi so I was too. Just more evidence to support the hypothesis (that I have had since I started school) that I was not like other American children....which I now consider a very good thing. Thanks Dad.

Back to Blogging!

Yes, I abandoned my blog. Updates for my old friends:

1) Personal life:

a. I have the best friends in the whole world. Does everyone say this? I feel truly blessed to have them in my life. 

b. Ex and I still best friends. New girlfriend, haven't met her yet. 

c. Musician is out. Last saw him in Dec. and did not go visit him while he was on tour this semester, even though he was in both DC and Richmond. Score one for self-control!!

2) Work:

a.  Spring 09 - Overall, pretty good. I loved teaching my new class, even though I did not feel like I had much of a course reduction. But it helped wipe away the tears I shed in Fall 08 and helped me remember that I do not hate all of my students. 

b.  Australia study abroad course was a no go. Too much money in this economy.

c.  Journal articles were published, book was published, work was accomplished. New Year's resolutions all broken (of course).

d. Summer work has included teaching online course and advising transfer students...have 2 manuscripts to finish but no motivation left. 

3) Traveling:

a. Summer came, wanderlust in high gear, hit the road. Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee, Minnesota, and coming soon: New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and possibly Massachusetts. Go back and reread post on Wanderlust and my past lives.

b. No overseas trips makes me want to cry.

c. No surfing makes me want to cry harder.

4) I might come back to discussing politics, but only when I can do so without being sick at my stomach.

5) And, I am already having anticipatory anxiety about the summer ending. I feel like I haven't worked enough, have had way too much fun, and little time left. So, I am going to make this situation even worse by going back to blogging. 

So, yes I am back...for now. Now let's see who is still around!    

Crisis and uncertainty are tasty spices*

I haven't abandoned my blog yet...just busy on my pre-tenure review. This process is paperwork, paperwork, tell us how awesome you are, and more paperwork. I officially turned it in yesterday, so it is out of my hands. Not a lot of worries b/c our publication requirements are not insane (Masters level univ.) and I have already exceeded them. They look at that first and everything else is secondary. Met pub requirement or not? If not, you better hope your teaching portion is exceptional. But, if you do not have the minimum requirement by the time you go up for tenure you won't get it. Even though I've met these requirements already (and this isn't even my tenure time..just a 3-year review) the process, by it's very nature, is anxiety provoking. In much the same way my dissertation defense was even when everyone kept telling me there was nothing to worry about. As one of the many neurotic academics I know, I spend a lot of time trying to convince myself everything would be alright, over-preparing to make sure that was the case, and then finding out everything was alright. But, as I've said before, these same qualities helped us succeed and excel in graduate school. But everything has a price (besides the actual price incurred...a whole different rant), and my price for high achievement is anxiety, but the anxiety also ensures that I overachieve. Make sense? It's a vicious cycle.

So, why the title? Is this really a case of crisis and uncertainty...not really. I've done what I needed to do, now I just have to wait for someone to tell me so. No, this quote from a friend highlights the other area of my life where chaos exists and I seem to thrive on it. Continuing to see the musician, just because he's going on tour again, is not a healthy decision on my part but I am still contemplating it. Why? Because crisis and uncertainty are tasty spices, but only in one area of my life. I would never allow this degree of chaos to creep up anywhere else, yet I completely lack self-control in this situation. Self-control is not a stable trait (regardless of what some theorists might have you believe) and I, like many other people I know, have a high degree of self-control in some areas and very little in others.  

But, I imagine we academics are not alone. Is there some area of your life where you lack self-control? Shopping? Eating? Spending? 

*Thanks to nihilix for this line.

How to Save A Life - Post from ELT blog

Please go and read this post. The topic of suicide has been on my mind a lot lately. I have posted before about soldiers with PTSD and the rise in suicide rates. 

Also, I mentioned that I lost a family member to suicide. This event was one of the most significant in my life thus far. However, it's even worse for my brother because 15 years of his 22 year old existence have been defined by the suicide of his mother. As a family, my father, brother, and myself always have this event, this moment, this death, this ghost, hovering over our shoulders when we're together. There's an infinite sadness surrounding my father and brother, and although time has helped fade it's brightness, it has always been present since that day. 

My brother seems perpetually lost in this world. He has no direction, no ambition, and is a bit of a nihilist. I often wonder how his life might have turned out differently had we been able to help her and prevent her death. I should be an advocate for suicide prevention but instead I find it too difficult to discuss. In fact, as someone who watches and loves horror films, it surprises me that watching someone take their life in a movie can leave me depressed for days. 

So, because I find this to be such a difficult topic to discuss, I'm quite thankful to have blogs like Everyone Needs Therapy. I adore her insight and wit but it's posts like this one that stab me in the gut. Please pass this along to anyone who might be in need.