Stuff I Like #17: The Sun Magazine

I subscribe to only a couple of magazines. Two are writing related, and then there is The Sun. I don't remember how or exactly when I discovered the magazine. I might have come across a link online while using StumbleUpon. I might have heard someone mention it. For whatever reason, I subscribed and have never, ever been sorry. In fact, I spent over an hour and a half reading it today.

The Sun contains one interview per month, several black and white photographs, some essays, some memoir, some fiction, a couple of poems, a page of quotes, and my favorite section: Readers Write. Each month, the magazine provides a topic and the subscribers and readers of the magazine write in about that topic. The stories are funny, poignant, heartbreaking. I really love that dense little section of pages that I try to leave until last but inevitably end up reading first. It honestly brings a smile to my face every month when The Sun shows up in my mailbox.

Twice in my life have I met other people who subscribe to The Sun. Once was at a job where I was on 2nd shift supervising individuals with brain injuries. I often ended up staying late to talk to one of my coworkers when she would come in for 3rd shift. We had spent several nights just talking before one of us pulled out The Sun. The other kind of gasped and was like "I didn't know anybody else subscribed!" She is the one person that I am still in contact with from that job, and one of those people that I think I will always find something to talk to about.

The other time was at last year's BlogHer conference. I was rooming with three other ladies, two of whom I had never met before and one who I've known for more than 10 years. Two of our roommates had gone out to socialize, network, party, whatever you want to call it, and the two of us were left in the room. We were more introverted I guess, and the day's slate of events had worn us out. The other lady, one I hadn't known before the conference, pulled out her copy of the month's magazine. I think I might have squealed like a little girl when I saw it. She and I spent several hours that night chatting about the meaning of life and everything. I haven't spoken to her since, but I really believe we could pick up where we left off no matter how long it had been since I had seen her.

I love The Sun so much that it is one of my life's goals to be published in its pages. I want to have some of my photography, some of my poetry, an essay, an interview, and a Readers Write piece to be published in The Sun. Not a small goal, I suppose. I will be a subscriber as long as the magazine publishes and as long as I can scrape together the yearly cost of subscription.

One of the best parts of the magazine? There are no advertisements. It makes it cost a bit more each month to publish, but in my opinion, it's worth every penny.

Go. Read their website and some examples of the writing inside. You won't be sorry. I promise.

Stuff I Like #16: Outsourced

No, I'm not advocating sending jobs overseas! I want you to watch this awesome new sitcom from NBC.

One of my college roommates used to call me the sitcom queen. I love humor, and I love laughing. Since I'm not married, it's often difficult for me to relate to family sitcoms. I love twenty- and thirty-somethings sitcoms, but it seems like a lot of the humor is based on making fun of someone else. There's enough meanness in the world that we shouldn't find it funny when people are mean to one another.

There's a lot of humor in the difference between cultures, however. The basis of the show is a recent graduate who comes to start his first day as manager of a call center only to find that his call center has been moved to India. He has student loans, and if he wants to keep his job, he has to move to India as well. So, he packs up and moves himself to India where he finds that his call center is what another American call center manager terms the "B" team.

There is humor in the Indian misunderstanding of American novelties such as Cheeseheads for Packers fans, and bachelorette party favors. The assistant manager tells the American that there is a celebration called "Vindaloo Day" and that they take half a day off for that day. The sexual harassment seminar provides for a lot of laughs, and the manager is shocked when he has a harassment charge filed against him.

If you want a good laugh, and are tired of seeing only white actors and actresses on TV, tune in on Thursday nights at 9:30 p.m. on your local NBC station.

Stuff I Like #15: Jim Henson

Jim Henson is an American Legend, in my opinion. I honestly feel sorry for the kids growing up today who didn't have The Muppet Show to watch. He created such memorable characters--Kermit, Miss Piggy, Beaker, Animal, Fonzie! Not to mention the Skeksis in The Dark Crystal. I never would have imagined that puppets could be so expressive, memorable, and become such beloved icons.

One of the things I loved most about The Muppet Show was that Henson brought actors, actresses, musicians, and I believe even some politicians onto the show. It was satirical and fun, and not the mean humor that I see so often these days. It was a way for kids to relate to these public figures. I would love to see someone bring it back!

At the same time, Henson left a legacy. The Jim Henson company is still very involved in movie making now. I love their work in the Sci-fi show Farscape. I am so glad that Henson's spirit still lives on.

Stuff I Like #14: Shel Silverstein

   I don't remember the first time I heard a Shel Silverstein poem. It seems like I've always known them. I don't know if my parents read them to me, if I had checked one of his poetry books out of the library, or if I heard them first read by Shel himself. Regardless, I credit him for my lifelong love of poetry.
    We had a tape of poems from A Light in the Attic that we played in the car, especially on long car trips. They were read by Shel, and he had such an expressive voice! He was funny and serious, and poignant. I had a connection with his words. I had a connection with his voice. He made me laugh and he made me cry. Because of him, I most love to hear poetry read in the poet's voice.
     As an adult, I love Silverstein's poetry still. I still find that same connection. I still laugh, and I still cry. I still love the sound of his voice. I still treasure his words. There are even some poems that I have memorized inadvertently and can recite at any time.
     I truly believe that the world lost a treasure when Shel Silverstein passed away in 1999. I can't imagine how many lives he touched in the time he was writing, drawing, and singing. I can't believe that it's been 11 years that he's been gone. I only wish I had gotten a chance to know him personally. I can just imagine what kind of amazing person he must have been.

Stuff I Like #13: Being a Special Education Teacher

I'm feeling frustrated and the only thing I can think to do in order to make it better is blog about it.

I love my career as a special education teacher. With a burning passion. I don't have a hard time getting up in the morning to teach. I talk about it possibly more than I should. I think about being a better teacher and how to better reach my students when I'm home at night. I worry about my students, but try to separate myself enough from them that I don't get bogged under by the emotional drain that teaching can be.

I love working with children. They energize me, amaze me, inspire me, flabbergast and baffle me! I like working with other teachers. I like the exchange of ideas that goes on when teachers are truly collaborating. I like planning exciting lessons. I love spending time with other special education teachers because they are my kind of people. I believe I could talk to a special education teacher from anywhere in the United States and get along with him/her.

I love the challenge of working with students who have learning disabilities. They have such interesting quirks! I should probably correct their social skills a bit more than I do, but I love who they are. I love it when a student asks me if he can have a buffalo or answers questions with "Ham sandwich!" I appreciate their sense of humor.

I like that each day is different. I like that each child is different, and that each disabilities requires different strategies. I like trying to find a way to get through to a student, and it's amazing when that break-through comes! I don't think I'll ever be bored as a special education teacher.

Won't someone give me a job doing what I love again?

Stuff I Like #11: Three Musketeers Truffle Crisp

Who doesn't love chocolate? And if you don't, I feel for you. It's such amazing food! I am always looking for new candy to try because I have a ravenous sweet tooth. I recently came across 3 Musketeers new Truffle Crisp at the local gas station.

I can't say enough good things about them! They are light and crispy, not too chocolatey, and just delicious. I think that my favorite is actually the crispy part. It is crispy, but it still melts in your mouth, almost like a meringue cookie(another of my favorites!).

If you haven't tried these yet, try to find one at your local gas station. They are definitely worth it!

Stuff I Like #10: Mani-Pedis!

I am not a girly girl by any stretch of the imagination as those who know me in real life know. I am happiest in jeans and t-shirts. I don't remember the last time I put even a smidgen of makeup on. I don't enjoy shopping. However, I do enjoy some things that girly girls like. I have somewhat of an over-fondness for shoes. I used to be crazy about romantic comedies. I am a definite fan of romance novels.

I've been wanting a mani-pedi for quite a while now. I finally stopped and got one today. It was heavenly. The chair vibrated in umpteen different ways. I got to soak my feet in water that was at my temperature preference. Someone clipped all the excess cuticles off and smoothed out the skin on my feet. Then, they moisturized and massaged my hands, feet, forearms and calves. I could have fallen asleep in the chair.

I could pay someone to do that every day!

Stuff I Like #9: Sixlets

When I was a kid, I lived in a tiny, tiny town in Kentucky. There were only two stoplights, and if you blinked, you'd miss it on the way through. Needless to say, there wasn't much entertainment. However, we kids were pretty good at entertaining ourselves back then. We would ride our bikes around town, go wading in the river, hang out at someone's house, play make-believe, and generally spend all the time we could outside. One of our favorite things to do was to head down to the local convenient store.

Ours was called Mr. Miser's. I don't think that anyone named Miser owned the store, and I don't know why anyone would call their store Miser. We loved it. They had Slush Puppies and candy of every kind. You could go in with a dollar and come out with a sack full of candy.

My favorite was Sixlets. M & Ms don't compare. These little candy coated balls of chocolatey goodness trump the other guys hands down! M&Ms all taste the same to me. Sixlets have an individual taste for each color of candy coating! I think the orange ones taste the best.

You can still find Sixlets in some stores. I recently found some at the local Dollar Tree. Go find some today, and you'll never want M&Ms again!

Stuff I Like #8: Mary McDonnell

I watched Dances With Wolves 20 long years ago(Has it really been THAT LONG?) and wondered who the actress was who played the part of the woman who had been adopted by the Indians was. This was in 1990, not before the days of the internet, but pretty close to it. I didn't get online until 1996, and by that time I had forgotten about the actress.

I noticed her again in Independence Day. She played the First Lady to Bill Pullman's president. Again, I didn't think to look her up on the now available(and beloved) Internet Movie Data Base. In fact, it wasn't until Battlestar Galactica showed up that I finally took the time to find out who Mary McDonnell was.

I got a chance to hear her speak at a local university yesterday. My bestie got tickets and God love her, picked one up for me! We had company for the lecture--friends of my friend from out of town. I got home late, but it was very much worth it!

Mary was bright, coherent, interesting, humorous, and of course, beautiful. It had occurred to me before the lecture that it is Women's History month, and it seemed very congruous to me that Mary McDonnell was the speaker and that she was speaking about women in leadership. She thought the same and mentioned that it was Women's History month at the beginning of her lecture.

It was very interesting to hear Mary's thoughts on why women still have obstacles to overcome. I don't know that I necessarily agree with her, but I do agree that women still have a heap of obstacles. At the same time, I was inspired by what she had to say. One particular thing that sticks out in my mind is that she said we need to take our whole selves with us in the things we do. In other words, we can be sensitive people even when we're wearing power suits. We can be pacifists and still view weapons as peacekeeping/life saving instruments.

That really spoke to me. As a teacher, I have a very difficult time being the authoritarian that students need and balancing it with the nurturing side of myself. It really is a matter of balance, and Mary mentioned that as well.

If you ever get the chance to hear Mary McDonnell speak, I highly recommend you take the chance!

Stuff I Like #7: People Who Read My Blog!

A writer writes because he or she can't help but write, because the stories and the things that are inside are things that have to be shared. In other words, a writer writes for an audience. I can blog all I want to, but unless I have an audience, my words are just that tree falling in the forest.

I don't have many readers. That's ok. One reader is enough for me. I think I might just have two for this particular blog! I really appreciate that there is someone who enjoys hearing about the things I like enough to return to my blog. I'm glad there's someone that agrees with me about the stuff I like.

C, this post's for you! Thanks for reading.

Stuff I like #6: My Knitting Group

I am a member of a fantastic knitting group. We meet every Monday night at a local restaurant. We are there so consistently that we've gotten to know one of the managers very well. We even made a scarf for him at Christmas-time. They treat us well at the restaurant, and most of the staff know us by sight at this point.

Every Monday, we move in and take over. We talk loudly. We curse sometimes(although we do try very hard to refrain if there are children nearby). We take over a large part of the restaurant. We think there are some people who sit near us simply to be entertained!

The ages of the group range from about 24 to 60s or so. I'm not sure how old some of the ladies are, I don't want to ask, and frankly, I don't care! They are the more experienced members of the group, as I put it. They're not older, but more experienced.

There are a range of types in the group. Some are church-goers. Some are not. We are a mostly liberal group, and there are no topics that we consider out-of-bounds. We know the details of each other's lives intimately in some cases.

These ladies are my life-savers. They were righteously angered on my behalf about the manner in which my most recent relationship ended. They let me cry in front of them and I didn't feel at all embarrassed. I know that they accept me with all my oddities and eccentricities. One let me sleep on her couch when my razza-fracka %^&* brother "forgot" to pay the electric bill last week. Another brought me food when I was grieving during a recent breakup and could think of nothing to eat. A third reads my blog on a regular basis! I don't know what I would do without them!

As one of the group members commented, "We're not your momma's knitting group!"