hello, kitty

Today I am wearing my new red shoes. They are red leather ballet flats, and very cute. Ostensibly they are for my Halloween costume, but I kind of want to wear them everywhere. I'm not used to stuff with such thin soles however. Weird.

Work is work, and more frustrating than not. I feel already that I'm not getting opportunities other people are receiving. I'm going to start applying for more freelance work. In the meanwhile, I spend a lot of time making bracelets and necklaces. We are still medicating Koshka and while it is a pain we have a routine. He still seems to love us and comes for pets. But I will be so happy when he no longer has such stinky kitty farts.

DonorsChoose.org, and a ballet barre

I made my donation to DonorsChoose.org today, to the same proposal that rm selected. (She writes quite eloquently on why this matters here.) I threw in money of my own, on top of the gift certificate I received from Six Apart, to support it. Now I encourage you to support this proposal, or find one you like more.

The proposal is to put a ballet barre in a classroom of a school in Houston, Texas. This school was one of many deemed "unacceptable" academically in recent years and suffers from not only the pathetic funding of the Texas education system but the myriad horrors of Houston itself. The school is attempting to make itself into an arts magnet school, which is an ambitious project for a school centered in an area where so many of the children come from families below the poverty level, families wracked by violence and drug use, and where so many children are removed by my agency for all kinds of abuse and neglect.

While searching DonorsChoose, I was trying to find a program in Texas. We consistently rank almost dead last in terms of the attention and funding we give to public education in my state. The running joke is often, "Thank God for Arkansas!" as they tend to get 50th place while we get 49th. I grew up in Texas, and I was fortunate to spend most of my public school years in the Round Rock ISD. While not brilliant, it is far better than many others. But I can say with certainty that while I did receive a great love of words from my Talented and Gifted Program as well as high school journalism, my public education was entirely mediocre. This from a 'good' school in an area not fraught with the everday perils of true poverty and violence.

You might wonder why I gave my $50 to a program hoping to put in a bar on the wall for a dance class in a poor neighborhood. It isn't going to solve the drug problems, improve their math scores, or make sure they have three meals a day. But as the teacher noted, most of these children have never had any opportunity to study art. Most of their parents are working multiple jobs, or using drugs. They don't have time or energy to introduce their children to classical art in any way shape or form. They aren't encouraging their children to develop any artistic expression, deep feelings, critical thinking, or physical grace. If they don't have time or resources, they may not even care.

Art is important to human beings. Art is something unique to us, something that speaks to more than just our opposable thumbs and ability to make change. Art can give hope, and life. More than anything else, so many of these children need that. They need to know that there are worlds outside of the one they know, and they can reach those places. With this dance class, we are talking about being able to bring art and life to hundreds and hundreds of children with one simple purchase.

oh it is question time again

Questions from devilindupriest

1) What is your secret comfort food that you only eat in private?

Well, until they burned down, it was going to Buffet Palace on Anderson Lane. I would read a book and eat tons of the wontons, little eggy pancakes, mussels, egg drop soup, sesame chicken, sweet and sour shrimp and a billion other delicious things. The restaurant burned down several months ago, and they never rebuilt, which I found truly bizarre. (It always won best Buffet each year in the local alternative weekly, and they constantly had business. I suspect they did not have insurance.)

2) If you could go back in time to live in any historical time period, when and where on earth would it be?

This is surprisingly easy for me to answer. Revolutionary Russia in the beginning of the 20th century. I can't imagine many other periods of world history in which the entire world swung in the balance and the change wrought in those years. I believe pretty strongly that the events of that time period changed the world as fundamentally as the advent of Christianity. I wish I could see it happen, smell the smoke, walk in the crowded, dirty, angry streets. I wish I could see the dying glory of the Russian aristocracy and eat picnic lunches at Lake Baikal. TO me, it is one of the most fascinating periods of history I've ever learned anything about.

3) If you could only take a small backpack with you, what would you bring?

Well, I'd take some antibiotics, some notebooks, a digital camera, a 9mm and ammunition, and something I could turn into cash once I traveled back in time.

4) Who is your favorite author?

Josef Skvorecky, without a doubt. He has a lyrical gift that imbues his words with an intensity and grace that blows me away. I've never read an author who filled me with such emotion, from the lazy joy of summer and youth to unbridled laughter in the dark to deep and poignant grief for a world lost. I love him.

5) Relaxing in a sensory deprivation pod, no light to distract you, no noise except a gentle whiteness to cover your own heartbeat, floating serene and weightless in skin temperature water, all signs of the physical world removed, what do you think about?

I think in that situation I might completely freak out and have a panic attack. Ugh.


Hah! I love the new wording of the instructions for this meme.

1. Leave me a casual comment of no particular significance, like a lyric to your current favorite song, or your favorite kind of sandwich, maybe your favorite game. Any remark, meaningless or not.
2. I will respond by asking you five personal questions so I can get to know you better.
3. Update your LJ with the answers to the questions.
4. Include this explanation and offer to ask someone else in your own post.
5. When others respond with a desultory comment, you will ask them five questions.