Sam

I just started a blog of my art and writing, for any of you that may wish to read it. I've been posting some of the writing I've done recently up there. The first post is here. The Blog's URL is larkandforest.blogspot.com. I may still post personal updates on my livejournal, but I'm going to try to re-enter my online presence through this new forum. Feel free to comment. I would love to hear your thoughts on my work.
Also, there has been quite a lot happening in my life over the last six months, and depending on my contact with you, you may have varying degrees of knowing what's going on. The really short synopsis is that  James and I are no longer living together, nor planning to get married, but are working hard to redefine and re-establish our friendship. I spent a year teaching in the public schools, have learned a lot, and am trying to figure out how to get myself into outdoor education. I am currently living in Allston at the For Science! House, or FS!H, but am moving at the end of August, to unknown waters, possibly on the west coast. All of my contact info on LJ is accurate if you want to get in touch with me. So, please  check out my blog (as much as I cringe at that word, it's here to stay). Love and Light ~~~S

"This is for the springtime that always shows up after the winters. Shake the dust."~~Anis Mojgani

"What Art Means to Me
     I feel within an impulse, perhaps that divine impulse which has moved all races in all ages and in all climes, to record in enduring form the emotions that stir within.
     I may model these emotions in clay, carve them in wood, hew them in stone, or forge them in steel. I may weave them in textiles, paint them on canvas, or voice them in song; but whichever I do I must harken always to the song of the lark and the melody of the forest and stream and respond to the color of the rose and the structure of the lily, so that my creation may be in accord with God's laws and the universal laws of order, perfect fitness and harmony.
     Moreover, I must make my creation good and honest and true, so that it may be a credit to me and live after I am dead, revealing to others something of the pleasure which I found in its making.
     Then will my creation be Art whether I be poet or painter, blacksmith or cobbler, for I shall have labored honestly and lovingly in the realization of an ideal." ~~~ C. Valentine Kirby

"Last updated 34 weeks ago"
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Yay! I'm done with college now.

It's always fascinating and somewhat alarming when large things come out of my lungs. Bodies are weird but kind of cool at the same time. It makes me realize where the whole fascination with biles and humours came from.
In other news, I'm literally a page or two away from finishing this thing. I just took a nap that ended up being a sleep, but I'm going to get it done and emailed in, and be done with it.
Sorry to gross anyone out first thing in the morning, but I felt like sharing. I also suddenly have a much greater appreciation for what Ashley goes through each morning. Sheesh.

So-- I'm close to done! I got through the worst of this semester, and have one paper left to write. It's due Wednesday, and should be fairly interesting and straight forward. I graduate on Saturday, and if any of you wish to come, please do! My wonderful sister will be in town briefly, which will be super cool. After graduation, I move back to Newton, to live with the ever-awesome James-beast. I'm still planning to go into teaching, and I may have some interesting and surprising ways to get my foot in the door. More to come on that one.

After pulling a week of papers and little sleep, guess what? I got sick. But! James came out Thursday night and took care of me over the weekend. yay! We had a steady diet of sleep, cuddling, good food, and comedy movies (the holy trinity of comedy: Monty Python, Mel Brooks, and Muppets). I'm feeling much better than I have in months. Yay for James! (::sings:: Always look on the bright side of life! do de doo! doo doo de dee de doo)

Also, I got a fantastic book for myself recently that I want to share! It's called Bread Alone. It's fantastic, and written with exactly the attitude and practice I (want to) have about food and baking. Namely, knowing where your food comes from, and treating it as more than just fuel, but as something that feels good and warm and homey. Here's an excerpt:

"I try to bake breads that have that effect on me: beautiful loaves that look, feel, and taste like someone took time and really cared about them. That is a distinct characteristic of Old World breads. Looking at one of these special breads and holding it in my hands incites a memory-- not a clear and real memory, but a feeling of remembering, the feeling of sweet longing. The simple whole loaf is a momentary link to the long-gone past tucked away inside of me, inside all of us."

I desperately want to meet this man. A pilgrimage to his bakery in Boiceville, New York might need to be arranged at some point. If any of you bake, or would like to, or would like to join me in my journey of baking awesome bread, let me know! I think it will be fun, and I would be happy to share the book with you.

On an entirely different note, a couple people have been poking at me about what to get me for a graduation present. I always feel kind of weird posting wish lists, but if you are so inclined, thank you, and there is a list of nifty things that I have been drooling over behind the cut. Almost all of them are kitchen tools that would be used regularly, and would help me to create myself as the sustainable adult I would like to be. Others are just really nifty. ( The listCollapse )

I'm now off to the library to finish the last of the work. If I haven't talked to you all semester, I'm sorry, but if you poke at me, I'll be sure to get back to you. The insanity of the last couple of months seriously interfered with my ability to function as a social monkey. Also, expect pokings from me in the near future, once I get settled in, I want to do some serious hanging out with people. Cheers!
~~S

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One more paper, and I'm over the hump. Just one more, and then I can take my three finals and write my other two final papers. Then no more college for Sam!

"Well, the telling of jokes is an art of its own, and it always rises from some emotional threat. The best jokes are dangerous, and dangerous because they are in some way truthful."
Interview, Mcsweeneys.net

Kurt Vonnegut died last night at age 84. He fell, and suffered serious brain injuries. Full NYT story is here. We lost another perceptive, honest man, right when we need them most.

"Like so many Americans, she was trying to construct a life that made sense from things she found in gift shops."
Slaughterhouse Five

"One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries."
- AA Milne

Sagittarius:
It may seem like the firm foundation that you have been seeking is very close, even if it's still just out of reach. You nostalgically long for a lost certainty that could guide you through the choices ahead. But your potential growth may depend on your flexibility and your willingness to let go of your dream for stability. Be open to fulfillment in the present moment and not in some distant future.
Monday, April 9, 2007

I went to my first appointment at counseling services today, and I think it's really going to help. She set me up with an appointment with people who will sit there and help me through my work, which is amazing, and she's going to see me every week, and work through some of the stress, depression, and time management stuff I'm having problems with. It was weird how many questions I answered "Yes" to on the questionnaire. So-- I'm getting someone that knows what they're doing to help me through this rough spot, so I can go do what I need to do with my life. Figuring it out. It's an unbelievable feeling having someone just straight out willing to help you.

On a different note, I just purchased Cat Power's "The covers album", and it's absolutely beautiful. It has "I found a reason" on it", which is one of the songs featured in V for Vendetta. It's wonderfully quiet, and just perfect. I highly recommend for anyone that is human and can still feel things.

Also, I have further focus onto one of my life goals. I need to go here:
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It's called "Le Mont Saint Michel" built on an island on the Norman coast. We talked about it in my Art history class today, and it is absolutely beautiful. I want to travel a pilgrimage road (probably by foot, perhaps by horse or bike), and definitely go there and to Chartres. It probably won't happen for a couple years, but I'm doing it, preferably before I have kids. So, there's that. Hope everyone is doing well. Cheers.
~~~S

Hi everyone! I've been seriously checked out from lj recently, but I'm still alive, and doing well, if not a little overstretched. I'm busily attempting to graduate, and figure out my future plans while still attempting to enjoy myself. Things with James are going wonderfully, and he is one of the main reasons I haven't completely lost it. So, here's a short longish update, and a very tasty bread recipe that I just devised.

School:
I'm taking some very challenging classes, including two graduate courses, and while some are lackluster, I'm mostly enjoying myself. My existentialism course is being taught by this fellow, a philosophy grad student who plays the banjo. He basically has no business teaching a history of philosophy course, and I'm doing my best to whip him into shape. "No. your exam sucks, I'm not taking it, and I'm writing a paper instead. And beyond that, I'm going to tell you exactly what the class should be, why, and why it falls so horribly short." That paired with a philosophy of Language class that is firmly and decisively kicking my ass. So aside from the excitement, I should be able to come out this the other side of this semester without too much horrible trauma.

SCA: I recently finished my warp weighted loom project, and wrote a massive (32 pg) paper on it, but it went very well, and I'm pleased that it's done with, although I did very much get into the rhythmic clacking of the loom, and kind of miss it. Another project for another day. 👁 Image
peregrinning swept me away and took me to Hrim Schola, a fiber-geek event in NY. I suddenly understood why people like the SCA so much. I didn't really understand it before that. Twas all kinds of nifty. I have now actually got an SCA membership, and have signed up for about a dozen yahoo groups, which provide necessary distraction when tis needed.

Life Philosophy and whole living:
I'm becoming increasingly obsessed with the idea of self-sufficiency, as much as it is possible with a small amount of land. Mind you, I haven't acted much on this yet, but I've been scheming away. I want desperately to eliminate as much processed food and chemicals from my diet as I can, and slowly stop being tied so closely to big supermarkets for my food. Between Lehman's, a nifty catalog full of non-electric kitchen tools (I want a grain mill!!!!), and Sun Organic full of bulk organic whole grains, and the permaculture food/medicinal garden that's being planned in my head, I'm on my way. My aim is to go through my shopping list, and see how close I can come to using things from their raw forms. Ideally, this would be done by growing them myself, but failing that, producing things from bought whole grains, raw milk, etc.

Bread:
I've been making a serious amount of bread of late, and it's doing well to keep me grounded and sane. It is also tasty. Yay for tasty sanity!! Kneading bread is one of three motions that I've found is in my ancestral muscle memory. The other two are holding babies, and spinning. I just made two very tasty things, pulled from breadnet, which is super awesome. I made an onion cheese loaf, which came out great, and was quickly consumed, and also a maple oatmeal flax bread, which I heavily modified from this recipe. It just came out of the oven and is quite kickass. Here's my modified recipe: ( sam's maple oatmeal flax bread of doom!Collapse )

Future plans:
After much deliberation and depression/panic cycles, I've decided to go be an elementary school teacher. It seems like the right thing for me to do on many levels, and I think will be a sustainable and enjoyable career. I'm in the process of applying to two programs, one of which looks absolutely amazing. I had applied to Teach for America, but it wasn't quite the right match, and I ended up not getting in. I have however found a program called the Boston Teacher Residency which is a 13 month program (which is designed to be free, if you continue teaching in Boston public schools) in which you earn your masters/initial licensure while working with a mentor teacher. You come out of it with a free masters, a stipend for the year, a job, a year of experience, and an organization bent on making you a successful and effective teacher. So... I hope that works. I've also applied to UMass Boston's graduate program, but it's very much a backup plan. If all goes well, I'll be living in Newton, and commuting to Boston to work for the next four years, and hopefully ultimately working in the Newton schools. My dream is to be working at Cabot, and run an after-school program from my backyard designed to teach kids how to be self-sufficient, and know their woods and plants. So, that's what I'm aiming for.

Also, if you have either my mac email, or my school email, please do not continue to use them. They will both be defunct very soon. Please use Dawnfeather at faceofmelinda.com or Samantha.L.Rosen at gmail.com.