AliThinks

On To More Important Things!

My Left Foot, originally uploaded by Alison.

Yeah. They're ORANGE.

Wind, Sails, etc.

After the response to my last blog entry about that grammar thing, I was pretty excited to write other similar public service announcements.

And now, I'm just not.

Either this is a measure of how fragile I am, or...whatever. Sheesh.

So here's what happened: last week, I was contacted by a company I've worked with once before; they wanted me to tutor a foreign national here in Lexington. They'd "lost" my resume, so I had to send it again.

My resume hasn't changed much since my last stint with this company. But they needed it, in order to show it to the prospective student and his boss.

Yesterday I got an e-mail from the tutoring company, with the student's contact information. I was asked to notify the company as soon as I'd worked out a schedule with the student. A couple of hours later, I called the student.

He was surprised to hear from me, because his boss had not "approved" me to be his tutor. There was some question of my credentials. Also, he wanted to see a curriculum before he started lessons. (The very concept of tutoring molds to the student's needs on an ongoing basis, so it is virtually impossible to create a curriculum beforehand.)

Mmm, yeah, I only have ten years of teaching experience in France, including five at a business school and four at a university.

I e-mailed my contact at the tutoring company, who then called me to reassure me that the student's boss had "approved" me that morning, and that everything was okay. My contact was sorry for the miscommunication, and I told him I was pretty put off.

I'm still put off; I'm insulted, to be honest. And I am going to refuse this tutoring job. This student has a preconceived notion of me, that I do not have enough experience to teach him, and that is enough to make it difficult. He also wants something very structured from the get-go, and that goes against the idea that I have of tutoring. And this may make me sound spoiled, but this job is not worth the trouble.

Anyway, the whole thing has me and my knickers in a twist, so I'm just not in the mood to blog about more important matters, like grammar, or my toenails, or whatever.

A Public Service Announcement

If you have been reading this blog for a while, you know I used to teach English. Teaching in the classroom really isn't my thing, but in some ways, once a teacher, always a teacher. I can't help it.

I've seen and heard many instances of people "overcorrecting" their English, and just yesterday I saw two different people do this, one of whom should have known better. Instead of pointing fingers and getting really snarky, I'll just put the proper usage out there for people to take...or leave.

So. When you were a kid (this is a general "you," and I probably don't mean YOU), and you said "Hey Mom, me and Joe are going for a bike ride," your mom yelled "Joe and I! Joe and I!" Am I right? And now, you just automatically use "...and I," right?

(Bear with me, fellow grammar mavens.)

The thing is, "and I" is only correct if you are the subject of the sentence. If you are the object, it would be "and me." Let me give you some examples.

SUBJECT: Joe and I are going to ride our bikes. Jan, Joe, and I like to ride our bikes.

OBJECT: Mom gave Joe and me permission to ride our bikes. Jan brought cookies for Joe and me.

So how do you know the difference? Well, if wrapping your brain around the concept of subject and object is too hard, then just remove the other person from the phrase. I am going to ride my bike. Mom gave I permission to ride my bike.

Huh? No. Mom gave me permission.

Another tip: It's never, ever between you and I. Never ever never ever never never ever never, to quote SpongeBob Squarepants.

The same goes for other pronouns like she, he, we, and they. Those are subjects. The object pronouns are her, him, us, and them.

This has been a public service announcement. Any questions?

Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam

Carlitos Frost wants me to know I can save over 50% on the best drugs out there. Isn't that nice of him? He also wrote a little story to tack on the end of his e-mail to me (to me!):

Look! I snarled. Speak! And moaning does not count as speaking. Patience, I said for lack of any more intelligent answer, then then lowered it all down the chimney. Reaching down as far as I could Our timing was pretty good. The wave of good feeling and energy was artifact, I said, happily putting this other matter aside. Any have done. You may proceed, Gentleman Jim, because you indeed are of I bit down three times hard on the left side of my jaw, which should it. Look-see! Ever see before? crown from time to time as though reassuring himself that it was still move to look that way. It was about time Fido made an appearance. doubts but kept them to myself. He was a gray-haired desk jockey with How kind of you, dear Admiral, I chortled. The circle is complete, must have at least one instrument Steengo can play. plan. But powerful enough to be picked up by the big receivers in the

I wish I could write that well.

Yay! Another! Videoblog!

Yay! Another! Videoblog!
Video sent by AliThinks

In which I ramble for six minutes, BUT you get to hear my Squidward imitation AND a restaurant review. Sort of.

Sha.

Feeling a bit cynical at the moment. I don't know why (yes, I do), because these past two days I've had lunch with friends here. And a year ago, Allan and his sister were the only friends I had in town.

Yesterday Allan and I met Token at Common Grounds. We've been reading each other for a few months now, and I found her via a comment she left on someone else's blog. I heart the Internet. You'll find a photo of Token after the jump.

Insomniac

Insomniac, originally uploaded by Alison.

 

So Long, My Friend

So Long, My Friend, originally uploaded by Alison.

For a month now, my D50 has been having shutter problems. The shutter opens, then doesn't close. The photo gets taken, but I have to get the shutter closed before I can take another photo. There's a reason there are only 25 or so photos in my recent Paris set.

So I'm sending the camera body off to Nikon, to get an estimate on repair. I may just let the camera go. It may not be worth fixing. In the meantime, I've been using Allan's old D70. I feel as if I've graduated or something! And in order to push my photographic boundaries, I have been using our 50mm lens exclusively.

I will miss my D50, but only because it has been a good friend. I can still take photos. Thank the gods.

Other People

Other People
Uploaded by AliThinks

In which I recount a thing which happened in Paris, and I completely forget to do my Squidward impersonation. Dangit!

Airport Rant

Left unedited.

________________________________

I can’t wait to be on the plane, so I can go to sleep*. I’m sitting here in “satellite” 5 of Terminal 1 of Charles de Gaulle airport. Have I mentioned that I hate this terminal? I hate it. There’s wi-fi here, but it costs 10 euros an hour (!) and I’m not THAT addicted. Besides, everyone I want to talk to online is asleep at this hour.

And can I just complain a little about stupid people going through security? Dude. How long have you known that you’re going to have to take your shoes off? Let’s see, the shoe bomber was arrested, what, almost SIX years ago? So don’t wear shoes with laces, dork! I don’t care if you’re going on a business trip. If you are going on a business trip, it’s probably not your first; you’re probably used to traveling, so get some fucking slip-on shoes!

And you. Bitching about how the security guard took your eyeliner. I don’t care if you had two, and one was in the regimented plastic bag. You left the other one in your purse. Now it’s gone, because some asshole somewhere is probably concocting en explosive device out of eyeliner and lip gloss.

Sometimes I really hate people. Does it show?

Maybe I didn’t have enough coffee this morning.

The part about hating people reminds me that I have a video blog to do.

Oh my God. The woman sitting to my right is filming shit with her video camera. I hate people. She is showing her friend how the camera works (while discovering how it works simultaneously), and the (fucking) manual is in her lap. Hey lady! How ‘bout a nice cup of shut the fuck up?!

50 minutes until boarding. I could have slept another hour. *Alison rolls her eyes*

______________________________

*I didn't sleep at all on the flight. Sigh.

Save Internet Radio!

There is a looming catastrophe -- and yes, this word is a conscious choice: the end of U.S.-based internet radio stations. The new royalty rates set by the U.S Copyright Office will effectively put these stations out of business.

You may have read Allan's post about it. This issue is close to our hearts, and not only because we listen to Radio Paradise almost all the time. This eclectic, listener-supported radio station has exposed us to many artists we never would have heard on conventional commercial radio. Besides, we met on Radio Paradise, so it has changed our lives in a very profound way.

For more information, you can read this blog post by Radio Paradise founder Bill Goldsmith. If you are a U.S. citizen, you can sign this petition addressed to Congress. This doesn't just affect Radio Paradise, of course. Other popular internet stations such as SomaFM and Radioio would have to shut down their operations if these draconian rates went into effect.

Take a look at the recent playlist for Radio Paradise. Now read this blog post by our friend Alexandra at the impact RP has had on our lives. I hope that these links can convey what a precious resource internet radio is.

Some Thoughts On Barack Obama

Before coming to France, I bought a whole stack of books, because I thought I would be living in an apartment without internet access or my kids the entire first week of my stay. The flat was not ready for me to live in, so I stayed with the friends who own it, and spent my time in conversation with them rather than reading.

Of the four books I brought to France (for myself; I brought 4 other books for my kids), I only finished one: Barack Obama’s memoir, Dreams from My Father. I found it to be a very touching and interesting story, and I would encourage everyone to read it.

Around the time I left the States, Obama was being criticized by some as not being “black enough,” meaning that he had not lived the “black experience” in the U.S., that he was not descended from slaves. I found this accusation to be quite racist, and I enjoyed the irony of Barack Obama’s heritage: the man’s father was from Kenya, his mother from Kansas. He, then, is truly African-American.

As I read more of the book, I doubted that Obama’s critics had read it. When he was a younger man, Obama searched for his identity and his place in society. I think the experiences he describes in the book deflect any kind of criticism one could make about his blackness.

At the end of the book is an excerpt from The Audacity of Hope, which I plan to read, too. Barack Obama’s ideals match many of my own. I knew this already; I saw a video of a speech he gave a few months ago. I was going to say that he is much more coherent and concise than our current president, but that’s not too difficult a feat. Barack Obama is an orator, people. And having read his memoir, I can also say that he is a writer.

Speaking of writing, I am composing this in my hotel room. I brought a pot of coffee up from the breakfast room, and I have a few minutes before I need to head to Terminal 1. (Oh, how I hate Terminal 1). I have been thinking of blogging about this book (and this man) for a while, but this morning it just had to come out. There is much more to say, and I imagine that this isn’t very well-written, but here it is.

Right then. Must go. I look forward to reading your comments on this! And maybe I’ll blog some more during my six-hour layover in Philadelphia. It seems my muse is back.

PS: I’m now reading The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards. And it’s a page-turner.

New Banner

So I've been thinking about changing my banner for a couple of months now. I'd been using the same template and banner on my blog for more than a year, so it was time for a change. And since I had some time to kill these last couple of days, I cooked up this new look. I may tweak it once I get home; it's not quite right yet.

But then I'm one of those annoying perfectionists.

Anyway, greetings from a hotel at Charles de Gaulle airport. I'm on my way back home.

Woman On Top

Woman On Top, originally uploaded by Alison.

I couldn't resist using that title! :-p

I have a thing for personalized crap. It's always exciting to find my name spelled the right way. And Allan's name? Yah, good luck finding it spelled with two As, two Ls, and an N.

When I saw these bracelets in a tourist trap in La Rochelle, I had to take a photo. How could I not? Our names spelled correctly AND right next to one another. It's a sign, I tell you.

__________________

I'm in a cafe that has wi-fi that's not free. I don't care, though. It's nice to be online. So. How ya'll are?

Underneath

Underneath, originally uploaded by Alison.

Taken shortly before we climbed all 668 steps to the second level.

Long Time!

Wow, hi!

Je profite...I'm making the most of a quick stop in my friend's office to check my e-mails and stuff. So, uh, yeah, I am still alive. Tomorrow I am taking my kids on a quick trip to Paris: three days of the big city for us country mice! I can't wait to take my son up the Eiffel Tower. He's lived in France for all of his nine years and has never been there.

That's all I have time for. Hope all of you out there in blogland are okay. Ciao!