like any new mother, i am nervous and scared kinda shitless, for soon 18,000 odd stingly flying honeymakin insects will be my charges. also i am nervous because this DEMANDS that i not just dabble in a renaissancelike knowledge of things, like all "lah-tee-dah, that's cool to know, i could totally ace that jeopardy category," as i am wont to say to myself. if i want honey (uh, YES) and if i want the bees to thrive and go forth and multiply (yeah!), i probably should know what i'm doing a little. and i just....DON't. right now, anyway. books can only take you so far, and to be honest i've been damned lazy about the reading in any case.
i am hoping it IS sort of like parenting, and you quickly get the basic hang of it or just suffer. they will for the most part take care of themselves (i hope the queen kicks ass).... and for the most part i will learn this year and not get any honey for meself. some pro at the meetings said after 25+ years you still realize how much you don't know. so that's ok. that's good.
i'm just feeling sort of like "what the hell did i get myself into??" ---all based on some romantic view i had of dancing insects, flower juice, and hexagons. god.
Trisha's Journal
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04/28/2008 21:54 #44175
bee momma04/07/2008 21:26 #43942
i love housespaul once asked me what i love about buffalo, and it was during an i hate buffalo ebb. after thinking real hard, i answered "the houses." you could walk for hours, and spot hundreds of nifty little details you wouldn't find repeated elsewhere. there are some gems here too, but i really miss that about buffalo. god i could never live in the south, where so much is new.
for fun, i sometimes browse e-house plans but have been having some disturbing realizations come out of it. it's almost impossible to find one without the palatial master suite, which says a lot about homeowner/mom/dad/queen/king type stuff, and entitlement. then the outsides just look like monstrosities. it is the kind of "luxury" that is so barf-o-rama, new money & tasteless. i don't really get the whole "let's have an open floor plan downstairs" mentality when your bedrooms are compartmentalized and often, the "master suite" is set so so far away from the kids' rooms. if they cried in the night, they would have to mop up their own tears in their own bathroom, or run about 2K to the parents' room. that is so so sad.
i love this house, it's feeling more and more like ours (it's beginning to absorb us now)--- but i do not think it is the last house i will live in. i do not know where life will take us, maybe we will stay or go...if we stay eventually i would love to build a house, one i laid out a floor plan for myself, maybe partially dug into the earth. it would be so odd to live in a house no one else ever lived in.
for fun, i sometimes browse e-house plans but have been having some disturbing realizations come out of it. it's almost impossible to find one without the palatial master suite, which says a lot about homeowner/mom/dad/queen/king type stuff, and entitlement. then the outsides just look like monstrosities. it is the kind of "luxury" that is so barf-o-rama, new money & tasteless. i don't really get the whole "let's have an open floor plan downstairs" mentality when your bedrooms are compartmentalized and often, the "master suite" is set so so far away from the kids' rooms. if they cried in the night, they would have to mop up their own tears in their own bathroom, or run about 2K to the parents' room. that is so so sad.
i love this house, it's feeling more and more like ours (it's beginning to absorb us now)--- but i do not think it is the last house i will live in. i do not know where life will take us, maybe we will stay or go...if we stay eventually i would love to build a house, one i laid out a floor plan for myself, maybe partially dug into the earth. it would be so odd to live in a house no one else ever lived in.
metalpeter - 04/08/08 20:19
I just wanted to add that you are thinking about right now that you want the kids bedroom near yours so you can hear them. But see in the future you want it the other way around. You don't want to hear there music and if when they are older you or one of them is having sex you don't want either you or them to hear the others. My point is that what is good for now will change at a latter date. I don't own a house but I like pocket doors because they give the option of things being open or you can close off rooms. What is kinda annoying is when you have to go through one room to get to the kitchen and the kitchen doens't lead any where else, or when there are two bedrooms and only one of them leads to the bathroom, I did see that someplace but not sure where.
I just wanted to add that you are thinking about right now that you want the kids bedroom near yours so you can hear them. But see in the future you want it the other way around. You don't want to hear there music and if when they are older you or one of them is having sex you don't want either you or them to hear the others. My point is that what is good for now will change at a latter date. I don't own a house but I like pocket doors because they give the option of things being open or you can close off rooms. What is kinda annoying is when you have to go through one room to get to the kitchen and the kitchen doens't lead any where else, or when there are two bedrooms and only one of them leads to the bathroom, I did see that someplace but not sure where.
libertad - 04/08/08 07:52
That is one of the two things I like about Buffalo. The other would be the people. Really the houses are so great though. It can be tough watching some of them be neglected.
That is one of the two things I like about Buffalo. The other would be the people. Really the houses are so great though. It can be tough watching some of them be neglected.
tinypliny - 04/08/08 03:12
I am with Paul and also with the rest of you. I like open floor plans a lot. It just feels natural to be able to walk through from niche to niche without missing a beat. BUT I hate getting foodie smells all over my bed or my clothes. So I would love to have some limiting doors to the kitchen or to places with furnitures/objects which would take the smell on.
I am with Paul and also with the rest of you. I like open floor plans a lot. It just feels natural to be able to walk through from niche to niche without missing a beat. BUT I hate getting foodie smells all over my bed or my clothes. So I would love to have some limiting doors to the kitchen or to places with furnitures/objects which would take the smell on.
jenks - 04/08/08 01:06
i'm with you. hate the stupid mcmansions.
i'm with you. hate the stupid mcmansions.
drew - 04/07/08 22:35
but an open floor plan helps the party flow from the kitchen!
but an open floor plan helps the party flow from the kitchen!
paul - 04/07/08 22:02
I hate open floor plans. I get all agoraphobic without pocket doors keeping everything separate. No seriously though, I really do like having a kitchen with doors that close because then when something burns in the kitchen or you are frying bacon, it ends up smelling everything up.
I hate open floor plans. I get all agoraphobic without pocket doors keeping everything separate. No seriously though, I really do like having a kitchen with doors that close because then when something burns in the kitchen or you are frying bacon, it ends up smelling everything up.
drew - 04/07/08 21:41
I, too, am trying to open up the floor plan of my home. I like it when everything is accessible to the kitchen.
I, too, am trying to open up the floor plan of my home. I like it when everything is accessible to the kitchen.
james - 04/07/08 21:39
Buffalo has some amazing houses, and I am totally with you on the giant suite/false sense of entitlement thing.
But I love open floor plans. I love them so much. These cramped victorian quarters make me claustrophobic sometimes and there is no novelty like riding a bike in your own home.
Buffalo has some amazing houses, and I am totally with you on the giant suite/false sense of entitlement thing.
But I love open floor plans. I love them so much. These cramped victorian quarters make me claustrophobic sometimes and there is no novelty like riding a bike in your own home.
03/29/2008 12:49 #43823
the absolutely insane cost of living....is about to get worse. we now run a small-ish grocery store and have taken a big hit as far as wheat, milk, eggs, etc.--- in short all the things we use to make the rolls, cakes, pizza, etc.-- people are balking at raising the prices but the flour for these things literally tripled in one week. all your basic goods have gone up so so much.
now, to make things SO much worse, it will be insanely expensive to have the cup of coffee you have when you sit down to bitch about such things. coffee, store brand coffee, is apparently going to skyrocket to like $10 a can according to one of our reps. not even maxwell house, STORE brand. ich. STOCK UP NOW, people. starbucks is about to get a whole lot richer.
now, to make things SO much worse, it will be insanely expensive to have the cup of coffee you have when you sit down to bitch about such things. coffee, store brand coffee, is apparently going to skyrocket to like $10 a can according to one of our reps. not even maxwell house, STORE brand. ich. STOCK UP NOW, people. starbucks is about to get a whole lot richer.
03/16/2008 23:29 #43697
praying for sleep, and i don't prayinsomnia is the worst fucking thing, i would not wish it on an enemy. all the livelong day i feel somewhat akin to a slave, albeit to children i love and adore, but still, i am working hard and putting in hours, and then at night..... nothing. very little, and struggling to get it.
i went to see an acupuncturist, it was INCredible
wowo... i haven't felt so relaxed, i think ever in my life, than i was on that table. for two days i felt calmer and better, now i am back to the crazies. it would be nice to get an acupunture treatment every week, but i don't think it works that way. ...and i can't help thinking i have THAT much negative energy?--so much that it would only last 2 days?
part of it is so so bad because you are completely alone in your insomniac world. you can say i'm SO tired, but yeah yeah--- everyone's tired. you don't GET insomniac tired unless you're an insomniac too. then at night there's no help for it, nothing can really put you to sleep i believe, except yourself, naturally. There are distractions but they're pretty shitty when your mind just can't focus on ANYthing. TV is about it--ug.
it has occurred to me too that it's probably like riding a bike, you can't think about it too much. and i know i am. here i am, when i'm really tired and should be in bed. but i dread it, what might happen once i'm there. i have tried so much, and it makes me angry and it sucks, but i think i have to resort to good old fashioned western medicine, and just go on something.
i went to see an acupuncturist, it was INCredible
wowo... i haven't felt so relaxed, i think ever in my life, than i was on that table. for two days i felt calmer and better, now i am back to the crazies. it would be nice to get an acupunture treatment every week, but i don't think it works that way. ...and i can't help thinking i have THAT much negative energy?--so much that it would only last 2 days?
part of it is so so bad because you are completely alone in your insomniac world. you can say i'm SO tired, but yeah yeah--- everyone's tired. you don't GET insomniac tired unless you're an insomniac too. then at night there's no help for it, nothing can really put you to sleep i believe, except yourself, naturally. There are distractions but they're pretty shitty when your mind just can't focus on ANYthing. TV is about it--ug.
it has occurred to me too that it's probably like riding a bike, you can't think about it too much. and i know i am. here i am, when i'm really tired and should be in bed. but i dread it, what might happen once i'm there. i have tried so much, and it makes me angry and it sucks, but i think i have to resort to good old fashioned western medicine, and just go on something.
libertad - 03/17/08 21:06
Sorry to hear about that. Have you looked into one of those sleep institutes?
Sorry to hear about that. Have you looked into one of those sleep institutes?
ladycroft - 03/17/08 16:17
i get horrible insomnia, often. i'll go like 2-3 days without sleeping. i'm down with trying the acupuncture, i always wondered about it.
i get horrible insomnia, often. i'll go like 2-3 days without sleeping. i'm down with trying the acupuncture, i always wondered about it.
jenks - 03/17/08 16:07
Wow... that sucks. I tend to fall asleep in about 30 seconds flat (I have falled asleep at red lights before), so I can't even comprehend insomnia. Sometimes I wish I could have a smidge of it, so I wouldn't fall asleep during lectures etc. Though I know I don't *really* want to go through that. My sister used to get so upset about not being able to sleep that she'd cry and wake everyone up. That never helped...
Good luck!
Wow... that sucks. I tend to fall asleep in about 30 seconds flat (I have falled asleep at red lights before), so I can't even comprehend insomnia. Sometimes I wish I could have a smidge of it, so I wouldn't fall asleep during lectures etc. Though I know I don't *really* want to go through that. My sister used to get so upset about not being able to sleep that she'd cry and wake everyone up. That never helped...
Good luck!
03/03/2008 10:14 #43535
not necessarily necessaryok, so sesame street live was...... hm. a necessary evil? i am torn over it, since the initial wonder, fascination, and joy made it worth it, but the overstimulation and exhaustion that soon followed made it questionable. how many songs in how many styles can you possibly fit into an hour and a half? how many colors? how many dancing characters, how many musical instruments, how much lights, sound, action? uhhhhhhhh. why an intermission (to sell $10 elmo balloons, that's why)? why a second half that draaaaaaaaagged, during which every parent COULD NOT wait for the finale, and i think more than a few of the kids too. mine was pretty "eh!" with it by then. i'm glad we went, but i know now i will not take him to every event of this type. he has way more fun with a cardboard box at this juncture.
the jist of the show was "everything makes music." also sub "anyone." i DO not agree...... lots of things make sounds, but not music (according to the show, a doorbell or a telephone "make music"). and while anyone might reasonably be able to smack a cowbell with a stick, it's not necessarily going to be musical, it might be something that it's like, SHUT UP, PLEASE. it raises a lot of questions in my mind, why is there so much propaganda to get kids into music? i think they are naturally drawn to it, it doesn't have to be shoved down their throats. and as far as the YOU can make music, that's fine and everything, but it's part of that insidious self-esteem campaign that i'm always so wary of. i realize plenty of kids grow up in households where they are ignored or put down, and that self worth is essential to learning. but ALWAYS telling kids how great they are, and they can do anything if they just try and practice and you can do it and all that, hmmmm. big time paranoia on my part, but sometimes i think it's all some scheme to market a next-gen pill, to make them feel this great feeling about themselves that they've been led to believe they're always supposed to feel.
it also has me thinking "what exactly qualifies as music?" kind of thoughts, but that's a whole nother can of worms......
the jist of the show was "everything makes music." also sub "anyone." i DO not agree...... lots of things make sounds, but not music (according to the show, a doorbell or a telephone "make music"). and while anyone might reasonably be able to smack a cowbell with a stick, it's not necessarily going to be musical, it might be something that it's like, SHUT UP, PLEASE. it raises a lot of questions in my mind, why is there so much propaganda to get kids into music? i think they are naturally drawn to it, it doesn't have to be shoved down their throats. and as far as the YOU can make music, that's fine and everything, but it's part of that insidious self-esteem campaign that i'm always so wary of. i realize plenty of kids grow up in households where they are ignored or put down, and that self worth is essential to learning. but ALWAYS telling kids how great they are, and they can do anything if they just try and practice and you can do it and all that, hmmmm. big time paranoia on my part, but sometimes i think it's all some scheme to market a next-gen pill, to make them feel this great feeling about themselves that they've been led to believe they're always supposed to feel.
it also has me thinking "what exactly qualifies as music?" kind of thoughts, but that's a whole nother can of worms......
metalpeter - 03/03/08 17:51
In terms of the Self Esteem thing. I think that kids should have self esteem about them sleves but not what they do. Coming in last should be last and you lost no go practice till you can beat the other kid. I understand that the world is very competetive and that people are trying to teach about particapating and that the result isn't allways what matters. But they aren't doing it the right way. There are some kids who don't have self esteem and if they fail at things then it gets lower and those kids need to be taught how to deal with things as opposed to it is ok here is your award for coming in 15th last. They then get rewarded for failing.
In terms of Music. Everyone defines what is music for them selves. It is kinda like asking what is art? I think what happens most times is someone doesn't like the music or it doesn't follow the rules they think of what music is so they say it isn't music. I think it is also important to know and consider that we mostly use music for entrainment and or to make it our selves. But that isn't all it is used for. Sometimes it is a way to tell stories, gain realigous enlightenment or even communacate to someone else.
I think music education is something important to learn. However what teachers must understand is that it has to be fun. When I took a music class I didn't really care because the music wasn't anything I was into. Now if the teacher would have brought out a Guitar and played some classic rock for a few minutes and gone through the notes then explained that before you can get to play that you have to learn the basics first I would have been all into it. The reason that learning music is good is that it is a different way of learning then for other classes. I call it physical learning meaning that you have to use your fingers and/or how you breath to manipulate something to make a sound. Learning music also teaches you how to read notes and that is like no other form of reading. When you get into the timing aspect that is another way to learn. But what learning music also does it that you can play something exactly how it is written and be perfect or you can improvise and have fun with a piece by changing one little thing. But maybe most importantly it breaks up the day and gives kids a reason to come to school. "man who cares about all these old dead white guys and when am I ever going to need all this crap" Becomes " I can't wait till we all jam out at the end of class today".
In terms of the Self Esteem thing. I think that kids should have self esteem about them sleves but not what they do. Coming in last should be last and you lost no go practice till you can beat the other kid. I understand that the world is very competetive and that people are trying to teach about particapating and that the result isn't allways what matters. But they aren't doing it the right way. There are some kids who don't have self esteem and if they fail at things then it gets lower and those kids need to be taught how to deal with things as opposed to it is ok here is your award for coming in 15th last. They then get rewarded for failing.
In terms of Music. Everyone defines what is music for them selves. It is kinda like asking what is art? I think what happens most times is someone doesn't like the music or it doesn't follow the rules they think of what music is so they say it isn't music. I think it is also important to know and consider that we mostly use music for entrainment and or to make it our selves. But that isn't all it is used for. Sometimes it is a way to tell stories, gain realigous enlightenment or even communacate to someone else.
I think music education is something important to learn. However what teachers must understand is that it has to be fun. When I took a music class I didn't really care because the music wasn't anything I was into. Now if the teacher would have brought out a Guitar and played some classic rock for a few minutes and gone through the notes then explained that before you can get to play that you have to learn the basics first I would have been all into it. The reason that learning music is good is that it is a different way of learning then for other classes. I call it physical learning meaning that you have to use your fingers and/or how you breath to manipulate something to make a sound. Learning music also teaches you how to read notes and that is like no other form of reading. When you get into the timing aspect that is another way to learn. But what learning music also does it that you can play something exactly how it is written and be perfect or you can improvise and have fun with a piece by changing one little thing. But maybe most importantly it breaks up the day and gives kids a reason to come to school. "man who cares about all these old dead white guys and when am I ever going to need all this crap" Becomes " I can't wait till we all jam out at the end of class today".
james - 03/03/08 10:36
If I can education-nerd dork out on ya for a second.
Music is awesome for kids for so many reasons. So much of how we communicate has to do with noise and language has a lot to do with pitch, timbre, dynamics. Music has all those things in droves. Kids with learning disabilities often have problems either interpreting these subtle parts of language or have problems reproducing them in their own speech.
Educators also love the hell out of Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, which says, briefly, that intelligence can be understood as a composite of eight different types of intelligence. Music hits on at least three of those, two of which are the most important in our culture.
But, that does not mean you have to teach kids to think telephones make music when all they do is make headaches.
If I can education-nerd dork out on ya for a second.
Music is awesome for kids for so many reasons. So much of how we communicate has to do with noise and language has a lot to do with pitch, timbre, dynamics. Music has all those things in droves. Kids with learning disabilities often have problems either interpreting these subtle parts of language or have problems reproducing them in their own speech.
Educators also love the hell out of Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, which says, briefly, that intelligence can be understood as a composite of eight different types of intelligence. Music hits on at least three of those, two of which are the most important in our culture.
But, that does not mean you have to teach kids to think telephones make music when all they do is make headaches.
mrmike - 03/03/08 10:20
Makes me glad we are past those days
Makes me glad we are past those days
hopefget they won't get that weird bee virus that's been going around Killing bees