It has been an awfully, awfully long time since I've productively blogged these past few seasons. I was a little lost in what I would be writing about - there aren't many people who would be actively interested in the comings and goings of my life, and I wouldn't want to subject anybody to that anyway.
After I stopped looking into the Irish Travelers (upon a sensible request from my father - when research starts requiring contacting law enforcement, it's probably good to back off), I suffered from a major lack of inspiration. I have a lot of education going on in my life right now - between the MBA program (looking to top off in November 2010!), various stops-and-starts in linguistic pursuits, and all the research I'm doing for spiritual stuff, I was surprised not to feel more inspired blog-wise. But I think I finally came up with something that will keep both me happy and engaged, and everybody else actually interested.
Fairytales! Not the Disney nonsense - while I like the animated mice in Cinderella as much as the next over-stimulated American, don't mistake those for anything other than watered-down versions of the real stories. I am talking about the real folklore, legends, and bed-time stories where not every ending was a happy one, and the good guys and bad guys were often not terribly easy to tell apart. I've always loved the Grimm fairy tales - and I became especially enamoured of even modern spinners of fairy-tales like George MacDonald. But the stories collected by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, and Iona and Peter Opie, those are what are truly worth study.
The Grimms and the Opies had a dedication to keeping to the truth of oral storytelling that few others during their time had an interest in. I find the Grimms particularly interesting, since the fairy tales they collected were a by-product of their real research. The brothers were linguists, and their dedication to tracking down the true patterns and origins of their language (German) were what enabled them to keep a clear focus on writing down the stories exactly as they were told.
Oral traditions are an extremely important part of every society's culture - the European folk stories that give us Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood (told to the Grimms by Wilhelm's own wife and chilhood friend), and countless others tell us an enormous amount about the cultures, mythology, traditions and beliefs of our forefathers.
I'll start my research focusing on the stories gathered by the Brothers Grimm. I'll try to keep up with one meaty post per week - it ought to be fun!
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
BUSY BUSY BUSY
It has been a VERY exciting few days! Last week I was cleared of any more bladder tumors (three months before I have to get tested again, woo-hoo!), and I started setting out on some pretty fun ventures. Not to mention all the stuff (good stuff!) that's going on at work.
Right now I'm managing several large projects around the office, ranging from an upgrade of our accounting system to launching a graphics and standards manual for use of our logo. There's definitely enough going on to keep me busy, and it has been a fun time. I've been really lucky in how understanding everyone has been regarding my multiple medical absences - hopefully they have come to an end!
On top of that, there are lots of things going on at the shelter and I'm gearing up for school again in the fall - and that's on top of studyiing for my certification for a paralegal and as a certified associate in project management. I''m going to be drowning in certificates by the time I'm through!
I'm also launching some other exciting projects right now - more to come on those later. But for now, after almost killing myself with smoke inhalation from putting too much incense on my new charcoal burner (lesson learned), it's off to bed to get ready for another full day!!!
Right now I'm managing several large projects around the office, ranging from an upgrade of our accounting system to launching a graphics and standards manual for use of our logo. There's definitely enough going on to keep me busy, and it has been a fun time. I've been really lucky in how understanding everyone has been regarding my multiple medical absences - hopefully they have come to an end!
On top of that, there are lots of things going on at the shelter and I'm gearing up for school again in the fall - and that's on top of studyiing for my certification for a paralegal and as a certified associate in project management. I''m going to be drowning in certificates by the time I'm through!
I'm also launching some other exciting projects right now - more to come on those later. But for now, after almost killing myself with smoke inhalation from putting too much incense on my new charcoal burner (lesson learned), it's off to bed to get ready for another full day!!!
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Lammas
Today was the Fellowship's Lammas celebration. It was really wonderful - the Craft Night we held on Friday yielded some great bread, and I made a bit extra to 'fill in the gaps'. Jen, (one of the awesomest people ever) made a fantastic Lugh out of bread, and let's just say he was 'anatomically correct' :-D.
The ritual went fabulously - it was our first Open, and considering the TORRENTIAL DOWNPOUR we experienced this morning, we had a great turnout. I got to see a few group members I haven't seen in a while, and there also a bunch of new faces. I'm hoping to see some of them at the Craft Night we have coming up in September, when we're making masks and costumes for Samhain.
The Fellowship has been really wonderful - I'm glad to be part of such an excellent group. They've really opened up my horizons spiritually, and I'm constantly challenged to stretch myself and exercise all my faith-muscles. It really is a great experience.
Last Saturday, I got to be a part of a really special ritual with the Assembly of the Sacred Wheel, down near Dover DE. It was a beautiful and intense ritual (and private, so no details), and I was honored to be a part of it. I'm hoping to have many more opportunities to work with them in the future.
Anywhoodles, that's all for now. Here's hoping I get to posting more regularly.
The ritual went fabulously - it was our first Open, and considering the TORRENTIAL DOWNPOUR we experienced this morning, we had a great turnout. I got to see a few group members I haven't seen in a while, and there also a bunch of new faces. I'm hoping to see some of them at the Craft Night we have coming up in September, when we're making masks and costumes for Samhain.
The Fellowship has been really wonderful - I'm glad to be part of such an excellent group. They've really opened up my horizons spiritually, and I'm constantly challenged to stretch myself and exercise all my faith-muscles. It really is a great experience.
Last Saturday, I got to be a part of a really special ritual with the Assembly of the Sacred Wheel, down near Dover DE. It was a beautiful and intense ritual (and private, so no details), and I was honored to be a part of it. I'm hoping to have many more opportunities to work with them in the future.
Anywhoodles, that's all for now. Here's hoping I get to posting more regularly.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Offensive, or Good Fun?
Ever since that ridiculous news story "News of the Weird" that covered pagans who blessed President Obama's inauguration this year, I've been a bit on edge in terms of how the media treats witches. On CNN today there is an article called: Calling All Witches: Cave In Need Of New Hag. I honestly can't tell if I'm just being overly sensitive, but GOODNESS.
Apparently some small town in England has a folk story about a witch who terrorized the village, blighting crops and causing all sorts of mischief. She was defeated when a cleric threw holy water on her, and was turned into stone. Since then, the town has built an amusement park and tourist trap around this myth. And apparently, part of the parcel is a full-time, live-in "witch" who lives in the cave that was supposedly the original witch's haunt.
So, okay. It's an old folk story and has value as a myth - albeit one that (as usual) portrays a woman being struck down by a representative of the patriarchal religion-in-charge. There are always going to be warty Halloween masks and Evil Witches of the West, but do we really need to have auditions for a live-in 'witch'?
I guess I'm probably drawing this out a bit further than it needs to be - 'all in good fun' and the whole bit. But it's an interesting question: how do we delineate between modern Witches, practitioners of paganism and the caricatured 'witches' of the past? Just some musings.
Apparently some small town in England has a folk story about a witch who terrorized the village, blighting crops and causing all sorts of mischief. She was defeated when a cleric threw holy water on her, and was turned into stone. Since then, the town has built an amusement park and tourist trap around this myth. And apparently, part of the parcel is a full-time, live-in "witch" who lives in the cave that was supposedly the original witch's haunt.
So, okay. It's an old folk story and has value as a myth - albeit one that (as usual) portrays a woman being struck down by a representative of the patriarchal religion-in-charge. There are always going to be warty Halloween masks and Evil Witches of the West, but do we really need to have auditions for a live-in 'witch'?
I guess I'm probably drawing this out a bit further than it needs to be - 'all in good fun' and the whole bit. But it's an interesting question: how do we delineate between modern Witches, practitioners of paganism and the caricatured 'witches' of the past? Just some musings.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
DnD
I have to say, DnD is not nearly what I thought I would be. It is quite entertaining. More to come!
Monday, June 22, 2009
The Worthing Saga
It has been a long time since I've been drawn into a fiction book, unable to put it down. However, I started reading "The Worthing Saga" on Friday, and it has absolutely sucked me in. I'm not even knitting in deference of reading, which is a big deal. I highly recommend it. I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much had I been able to find the synopsis I looked for online before I really got into it - I'm glad I couldn't find one. I won't publish one either, suffice to say you should read this book.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Radio Silence
For the past month, things have been a little haywire. I haven't been able to write because of that, but I'm hoping that things are now calm enough to get back at least to 'relative' normal.
On May 7th, I had a tumor removed from my bladder, and it turned out to be a transitional cell carcinoma. At 24, with no history of smoking, drinking, or any other form of body abuse (aside from an excess of chocolate), I had cancer.
The good news is that of all the cancers out there, this is probably the easiest one to deal with. As long as you catch it early (which we did), you can just cut it out. The most difficult part of it is that I have to have cystoscopies regularly now, every three months for the first one or two years and then every six months after that, because this cancer has a recurrence rate of around 70%.
It's been eye opening. At first I was so upset, (I found out accidentally when my gynecologist shared a letter my urologist had sent to her regarding the tumor), but after I had time to calm down and actually talk to my doctor, I understood the diagnosis a lot better. It's apparently extremely rare in young, non-smoking women, but it happens. And the good news is, that as long as we're diligent and keep checking for recurrence, it shouldn't have any effect on my lifespan.
Thinking about anything having an effect on my lifespan at my age is a little sad. I'm turning 25 in less than 2 weeks, and I've already had two surgeries and forced menopause to treat my endometriosis, and now I've also had surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from my bladder. I think I deserve nothing but colds for a little while.
I debated a long time about posting anything regarding this, because I didn't want to elicit the sympathy, angsty thing. However, I think it's important that anyone who reads this (I know there are a few of you) knows that it's always important to listen to your body and follow your doctor's advice.
If I had ignored the UTIs that kept cropping up and passing them off as nothing more than new evidence of a weak immune system, the cancer could have gotten much worse. I'm so glad I took action to find out what was wrong with me - and I always encourage anybody else to do the same. There's never a time that's too inconvenient or too difficult to protect your health and your body.
PS - We named the tumor Buford. May he rest in peace and stay beneath his fucking gravestone. No zombie tumors rising from the dead to plague me again, please.
On May 7th, I had a tumor removed from my bladder, and it turned out to be a transitional cell carcinoma. At 24, with no history of smoking, drinking, or any other form of body abuse (aside from an excess of chocolate), I had cancer.
The good news is that of all the cancers out there, this is probably the easiest one to deal with. As long as you catch it early (which we did), you can just cut it out. The most difficult part of it is that I have to have cystoscopies regularly now, every three months for the first one or two years and then every six months after that, because this cancer has a recurrence rate of around 70%.
It's been eye opening. At first I was so upset, (I found out accidentally when my gynecologist shared a letter my urologist had sent to her regarding the tumor), but after I had time to calm down and actually talk to my doctor, I understood the diagnosis a lot better. It's apparently extremely rare in young, non-smoking women, but it happens. And the good news is, that as long as we're diligent and keep checking for recurrence, it shouldn't have any effect on my lifespan.
Thinking about anything having an effect on my lifespan at my age is a little sad. I'm turning 25 in less than 2 weeks, and I've already had two surgeries and forced menopause to treat my endometriosis, and now I've also had surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from my bladder. I think I deserve nothing but colds for a little while.
I debated a long time about posting anything regarding this, because I didn't want to elicit the sympathy, angsty thing. However, I think it's important that anyone who reads this (I know there are a few of you) knows that it's always important to listen to your body and follow your doctor's advice.
If I had ignored the UTIs that kept cropping up and passing them off as nothing more than new evidence of a weak immune system, the cancer could have gotten much worse. I'm so glad I took action to find out what was wrong with me - and I always encourage anybody else to do the same. There's never a time that's too inconvenient or too difficult to protect your health and your body.
PS - We named the tumor Buford. May he rest in peace and stay beneath his fucking gravestone. No zombie tumors rising from the dead to plague me again, please.
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