Here are the 15 most recent journal entries recorded in yes, *that* Dawn person's LiveJournal:

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Monday, February 8th, 2010
12:33 pm	did somebody say pride? The past month has been eating my brain. Or is it my lunch? Maybe it's been eating my brain for lunch. I would like to express my appreciation for the bundle of awesome that is catbear, who rocks because he ... oh yeah, this is a family channel ... because he is with me when I'm at my worst. Mondays, every week, let's celebrate ourselves, to start the week right. Tell me what you're proud of. Tell me what you accomplished last week, something -- at least one thing -- that you can turn around and point at and say: I did this. Me. It was tough, but I did it, and I did it well, and I am proud of it, and it makes me feel good to see what I accomplished. Could be anything -- something you made, something you did, something you got through. Just take a minute and celebrate yourself. Either here, or in your journal, but somewhere. (And if you feel uncomfortable doing this in public, I've set this entry to screen any anonymous comments, so if you want privacy, comment anonymously and I won't unscreen it unless you tell me it's okay. Also: yes, by all means, cheer each other on when you see something you want to give props to!) (Comment on this)
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
7:10 pm	at least she wasn't texting This morning, for a change I didn't get almost run over by an inattentive motor vehicle driver. Actually, I don't think the cyclist (who was talking on a cell phone with one hand and steering with the other) would have come close to hitting me, but it was amusing to see her veering unpredictably from side to side along the trail/path once she'd passed. The only warning I had of her approach was the sound of half a conversation getting nearer too quickly for (and without the footfalls of) a jogger. Yesterday I witnessed a self-endangering pedestrian start to cross against both the lights and traffic on the way home. It's reassuring in a way to see from time to time that it's not just the people wrapped in hundreds of pounds of metal that don't pay attention to the journey on the way to their destination. (Comment on this)
Monday, February 1st, 2010
8:44 am	Monday pride thread Mondays, every week, let's celebrate ourselves, to start the week right. Tell me what you're proud of. Tell me what you accomplished last week, something -- at least one thing -- that you can turn around and point at and say: I did this. Me. It was tough, but I did it, and I did it well, and I am proud of it, and it makes me feel good to see what I accomplished. Could be anything -- something you made, something you did, something you got through. Just take a minute and celebrate yourself. Either here, or in your journal, but somewhere. (And if you feel uncomfortable doing this in public, I've set this entry to screen any anonymous comments, so if you want privacy, comment anonymously and I won't unscreen it unless you tell me it's okay. Also: yes, by all means, cheer each other on when you see something you want to give props to!) (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Saturday, January 30th, 2010
9:44 am	All my celebrity look-alikes are men I'm not sure whether to be more pleased with the Anthony Hopkins match or the Patrick Swayze one. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, January 29th, 2010
12:42 pm	can't LJ: life will eat me Missed rabbitholeday. Work is being interesting in time-consuming, mind-consuming, not entirely bad, ways. Pretty close to a decision on a major thing for Boy. Will check with him this weekend. Aware of but not doing anything in particular about Spirit and iPad. The usual stresses are still there, and still usual. Went to the local production of Three Tall Women: sad so few were in the audience, local little theatre could reach a lot more people than it does. Going to listen to Stefan Jackiw in concert this weekend. Barbara Hambly's writing is riveting for me (Sisters of the Raven is my current novel). Carry on, my wayward ones. (Comment on this)
Monday, January 25th, 2010
7:54 am	Monday pride thread Mondays, every week, let's celebrate ourselves, to start the week right. Tell me what you're proud of. Tell me what you accomplished last week, something -- at least one thing -- that you can turn around and point at and say: I did this. Me. It was tough, but I did it, and I did it well, and I am proud of it, and it makes me feel good to see what I accomplished. Could be anything -- something you made, something you did, something you got through. Just take a minute and celebrate yourself. Either here, or in your journal, but somewhere. (And if you feel uncomfortable doing this in public, I've set this entry to screen any anonymous comments, so if you want privacy, comment anonymously and I won't unscreen it unless you tell me it's okay. Also: yes, by all means, cheer each other on when you see something you want to give props to!) (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, January 23rd, 2010
10:11 am	dream that made me go hrm I was wide awake around 5 this morning because of a dream. The nut of the dream was someone close to me being in a situation the waking me is confident they aren't likely to get into at any point in the next few years and my strong reaction to it. It was a "Holy indigo badgers tearing the foundations down, you what!?" moment followed by calm discussion of alternatives for dealing with the unexpected (even in the dream context) life-changing circumstances. My dream self got so involved in examining the situation and figuring it out with my loved one that my waking self took notice and started processing the information as worthy of consideration. Now I feel fairly well prepared to deal with something that's got about as much chance to happen as me winning one of those lotteries I never buy tickets for. It's oddly satisfying to have worked it out. Beats having dreams about my job: I think about that enough when I'm awake as it is. (Comment on this)
Thursday, January 21st, 2010
1:34 pm	not my nation Some wag pointed out that today has been declared by some to be National Hugging Day. I am in favour of physical displays of affection, public and private. Those who know me well know I can be rather demonstrably affectionate when the circumstances are right. I am against physical demonstrations of "affection" imposed by people who don't notice (or worse, do notice and don't care) that the intended recipient of hugs, kisses, bum pats, etc. does not want that physical closeness in the circumstances it is being forced on them. I have been guilty of this kind of assault, largely when I did not understand that having a friend of a certain degree of emotional/social closeness did not entitle me to assume my friend wanted the same degree of physical closeness that I was comfortable with. Hug thoughtfully, kids. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, January 19th, 2010
7:11 pm	square volunteer I don't seem to be a typical parent volunteer for the time and area where I live. I volunteer mostly for field trips, rather than talking to the class about something or helping out at the school: I am at my best outside the structure of a classroom, and there is usually a surfeit of volunteers for special events at the school like carnival days or fund-raisers. I treat the students like people (not kids, not adults, and I try not to fall prey to stereotyping in any form): people who deserve to be listened to may need extra help or supervision but are persons in their own right. I learn some pretty cool stuff from younger people, many of whom are more creative than a lot of grown-ups. I don't socialise with the other parent volunteers much. We don't usually have much in common other than having offspring in the same class or school, and my job as a volunteer is to help the students. I don't drive my kids to practices and classes, my kids don't have siblings close in age, and I have a full time job in a male-dominated profession. Most parent volunteers for field trips are women who have less than full time hours of paid employment and men who are separated or divorced from their child's other parent. I have a hard time calling the teacher by her (it's usually a female teacher before high school) first name. I was raised in a time and place where adults didn't use each other's first names in front of their children unless they were family or close friends ("as good as family"). I spend my volunteer time where I seem to be needed, not hovering over or near my own kid unless that's the student who needs my assistance. My style suits me fine, even if it's not the mode (which I do stereotype as privileged and suburban: I should examine that thoughtlessness of mine further). I'm me, not somebody else, and I'm done with fitting an uncomfortable mold for no clear reason. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, January 18th, 2010
8:38 am	Gon, kind of back Between administrative paperwork (mostly electronic, as I'm practicing it) and a three day "camping" field trip with no communication with the outside world, I'm a little behind. Feel free to talk amongst yourselves. I'll be over there, catching up on things that this so-called social networking tends to interfere with. Here's a small part of what I was up to in my time away: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKFvTjBhjQ4 (Comment on this)
Monday, January 11th, 2010
9:01 pm	Monday pride thread Is this thing on? Maybe I should switch from "before I start reading LJ for the week" to "first thing Monday" for this thread. Mondays, every week, let's celebrate ourselves, to start the week right. Tell me what you're proud of. Tell me what you accomplished last week, something -- at least one thing -- that you can turn around and point at and say: I did this. Me. It was tough, but I did it, and I did it well, and I am proud of it, and it makes me feel good to see what I accomplished. Could be anything -- something you made, something you did, something you got through. Just take a minute and celebrate yourself. Either here, or in your journal, but somewhere. (And if you feel uncomfortable doing this in public, I've set this entry to screen any anonymous comments, so if you want privacy, comment anonymously and I won't unscreen it unless you tell me it's okay. Also: yes, by all means, cheer each other on when you see something you want to give props to!) (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, January 9th, 2010
10:58 am	beige Today, it's white with pink embroidered flowers. One friend posted chocolate with sprinkles, which could be an accurate description (I've seen sillier in catalogues) or just goofing around. ( What's with the colours? ) (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, January 4th, 2010
8:41 am	Monday pride thread Mondays, every week, let's celebrate ourselves, to start the week right. Tell me what you're proud of. Tell me what you accomplished last week, something -- at least one thing -- that you can turn around and point at and say: I did this. Me. It was tough, but I did it, and I did it well, and I am proud of it, and it makes me feel good to see what I accomplished. Could be anything -- something you made, something you did, something you got through. Just take a minute and celebrate yourself. Either here, or in your journal, but somewhere. (And if you feel uncomfortable doing this in public, I've set this entry to screen any anonymous comments, so if you want privacy, comment anonymously and I won't unscreen it unless you tell me it's okay. Also: yes, by all means, cheer each other on when you see something you want to give props to!) (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, January 3rd, 2010
12:35 pm	film vs movie I saw James Cameron's Avatar last month, not many days after having watched Lawrence of Arabia. Both the movie and the film are visually compelling stories of a white man becoming accepted by and leading a group of indigenous people who go on to prove themselves more formidable than the (white men) "authorities" believed possible. I enjoyed both works. I have no desire to see Avatar again, particularly in a non-3D environment: to me, it had little of the story-teller's art (character development, rich backstory, complex plot, loving attention to detail imperfectly caught on a first experience) to recommend it as anything other than a visual treat. I am impressed with the state of the art in CG film work, but technology will advance in the coming years and the remaining elements of the movie won't be sufficiently beyond a base level of workmanship for me to be eager to revisit it. Lawrence had the advantage of a rich history to draw its fictionalization from without an intervening layer of analogy. The out-of-race casting choices were an annoyance to me in my recent viewing, though they're understandable given the state of Western film-making of the era. This time around (I've seen the film before) I was entranced by the characters, particularly Claude Rains as the cynical diplomat. I also fell to musing about the nature of destiny and of leadership for several days, thoughts I'm still mulling over from time to time. If, as I've heard rumoured, Avatar is to have a sequel, I hope it has more meat on its bones than the original. I think Cameron has shown he's capable of richer work than this movie; maybe he'll put the take from it to interesting use. (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, January 1st, 2010
7:59 am	wish for the year Lying in bed this morning, I Wish You Peace from the Eagles' album One of These Nights came to mind. To my way of thinking, it's a much better wish for times ahead than health, happiness, or prosperity: I wish you hope when things are going bad Kind words when times are sad I wish you shelter from the raging wind Cooling waters at the fever's end I wish you peace when times are hard The light to guide you through the dark And when storms are high and your dreams are low I wish you the strength to let love grow I wish you the peace of a spirit that meets adversity and grows stronger through it. (Comment on this)