A bit early, I know.

I don't know what it is. I've never been like this before. Perhaps it's the retail industry's fault. Perhaps it's because this is my favorite time of year. But for some reason, I'm really into the holiday spirit. I can't wait for Thanksgiving, but even more so, I'm really excited about Christmas.

I know it's early. I usually make fun of people who want to get ready early. I usually cringe when Christmas music comes on right after Halloween. But this year, it doesn't bother me. Huh. Weird.

I think my increased spirit is because the holidays are the only time I really get to spend some good, quality time with my family, who lives so far away. And, now that Randy knows that he gets the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas off, I'm thrilled that we'll definitely get to go up north for our holiday visits. So, I'm spreading a little cheer early. I've even begun to make a few Christmas gifts. Cheer and creativity... such a great mix.

Halloween Bash '08

Another successful Halloween party! I can't believe that our little tradition has turned 3 years old. This year, we had a smaller, intimate party with two other couple friends, and it was a great time. And everyone's costumes... better than ever!

Randy, the saloon man

me, the saloon girl

Travis and Kim, the tacky tourists

Josh and Mandi as Fred and Daphne

Things to Know About the Constitutional Convention (Con Con)

On November 4th, Illinois voters will be faced with a decision to vote for or against a convention to write a new state constitution. I want to urge any reader to vote AGAINST "Con Con." Here's why:

- To hold a convention to discuss writing a new Illinois constitution will cost taxpayers between 78 and 100 million dollars. That money could better service schools in Illinois, rather than writing a new constitution that was just rewritten in the 70's.

- A couple years ago, the Illinois governor borrowed money from public teachers' pension fund and allocated that money to the Chicago bus transit system. As of right now, law requires an eventual reimbursment of the teachers' pension fund, no matter if the state has the money to pay it back or not. If a new consitution is written, the reimbursment to the teachers' pension may be dropped, saving the state a lot of money but leaving the poor educators of Illinois without their well-earned retirement money.

Con Con is an unnecessary event that Illinois does not need. A constitution written in the 1970's is considered a "fairly new" constitution that does not need revision at this time. In addition, the educators of this state deserve better than this. They work hard for little pay and little respect, and uneducated voters who randomly choose "yes" to Con Con may be condeming teachers to a scary future with little chance of any retirement whatsoever... not to mention a tax increase for all.

Can I just say...

I'm sick of extremely conservative Republicans (like my mother-in-law) who vote straight Republican just because they are Republicans. BLAH.

Now, it's known that I'm one to impart my opinions (and it's my blog, so I can do so here), and it's also known that I'm quite a liberal Democrat on most issues. But, never will I go to the polling place, look at the candidates blindly and vote straight Democrat just because they share my party. I believe in educating yourself about the candidates' views and voting only after you have an idea of what the candidates are all about. This past election, I voted (in early bird voting) on three things: Illinois Constitutional Convention (more to come later about this), the President/Vice-President, and a state senator. That's it. Why? Because those are the issues/people I knew enough about to vote for/against them.

Not my mother-in-law (or father-in-law or brother-in-law, for that matter). When they see "Republican" next to the candidate's name, they know he/she is the right one to vote for... every time! It's as easy and as mindless as that!

And here's another thing that gets me... my mother-in-law recently said, "I'm not voting for Obama because he supports abortion." Really? Abortion? Is that the only issue you're looking to vote on? While the economy is in the dumps, and the middle class is becoming extinct, and unemployment is at an all-time high, and billions of dollars are being wasted overseas, and education in America is becoming a joke... the only thing you'd like to see changed is the laws on abortion? Wow. I guess in my mind, there are so many other horrible things going on in this country that need to be fixed, abortion isn't on the top of my list. Do I think it's disgusting? Yes. Would I personally ever have it done? No. But, I am completely against the government telling a woman what she should and shouldn't do with her body. THAT, I think, is crossing the line.

So, my point in this rant is to PLEASE be educated on the issues before you vote. Take the time to understand each presidential candidates' views and priorities, and see how they fit with yours. That, I believe, is really making your vote count.

Intriguing.

If Randy and I were never planning on having children, and if we didn't have two dogs, and if we didn't have so much stuff, this is where I'd want to live:

This is an eco-friendly house built in Wales. However, I believe my sister would endearingly call it a "hobbit house." While I'm not sure on the square footage, I found it on http://tinyhouseblog.com/earthcob/simonshouse/, so I'm inferring that the house is not grandious in size.

I got interested in tiny houses from a news report on CNN about people who are drastically down-sizing to houses around 100 sq. feet. It's definitely a different way of life, but I can understand the peaceful night's sleep one gets knowing that a mortgage payment and utility bills aren't draining the pocketbook. Alas, I'd have to ditch a lot of belongings... and possibly a husband to be able to survive in a tiny house that's really made for one-person living. Especially since my 1500 sq. foot house at times seems too small already.

For more information about this house, visit http://www.simondale.net/house/index.htm

Things I'd Love To Say To Professors*

- Why is it so difficult for people to become teachers between the grades of K and 12, but there are no strict qualifications for people to become professors? How does field experience alone qualify you to be a "good" educator?

- I understand that we may doodle on notebooks, check our facebook pages, and daydream in the middle of class, but we are legal adults. So, please treat us accordingly.

- In a short period of time, we will become your professional peers. So, please treat us accordingly.

- "Mental health days" are real, and graduate students do take advantage of them. If you don't believe in these days, we will subsequently be ill, have a death in the family, or have devastating car troubles... whichever reason you'll deem excusable.

- While you may chuckle in delight with your cunningness and creativity, assigning literature abstract reviews has indeed been done before. In every single class. The same goes for power point presentations.

- Soap boxes never do what you intend them to do. Like a teenager rebelling from strict parents, graduate students just end up loathing the subject of the rant, rather than becoming increasingly passionate about the said subject.

- Please keep in mind that we are paying our hard-earned (or hard-borrowed) money, so if we choose to skip class, it's on our dime.

- Please also keep in mind that because we are paying a pretty penny to gain your worldly knowledge, please avoid outlining the textbook for your lectures. We are capable of reading and comprehending.... amazing, I know.

- THE BIGGEST PET-PEEVE OF ALL GRADUATE STUDENTS is when you read word-for-word off of your power point slides. As stated above, we are capable of reading and comprehending. A three hour story time with the professor and the power point is nothing less than torture.

* Disclaimer: this blog entry comes only from my point-of-view and personal experiences with professors in graduate school.

Just one of the many.

I have a new pet peeve. I know I'm not perfect, and I'm sure I'm guilty of doing some things others loath. But, this is one that's just gotta be said.

There's an epidemic going on in the grammar world. I see it everyday. It's the "I" versus "Me" issue. The truth is, soooo many people have no idea when to use the subject pronoun "I" and when to use the object pronoun "me" in everyday language.

A good example would be the following. Suzy Q is on facebook. She tags a picture of herself and a friend. At the bottom, she titles the photograph "My friend and I."

AHHH. An offense has just been committed. MYTH: Saying "I" in all situations of grammar is appropriate and correct. After all, it's only polite to put yourself last and proper to use "I".
WRONG! Here's an easy way to know when you need to use "I" or "me".

Wrong sentence: "It's important to you and I" If you were to take out "to you" in that sentence, you would be left with, "It's important to I." That doesn't make any sense at all.

Right sentence: "It's important to you and me." Do the same exercise. Take out "to you" and you're left with "It's important to me." Ahhh, much better.

So, you're probably wondering why the heck I care so much? Well, I'm a bit neurotic, but I also care about grammar. And it gets me when I see sooo many people making this mistake. I know they think it makes them sound more educated, but really, to educated people, it just sounds stupid. It also gets me when I see people who are teachers making these mistakes. Call me a jerk, but I feel like if you're going to teach it, you, yourself, need to do it correctly.