Eyes

Blue. Green. Brown. Hazel. Blood-shot. Bright. Glassy. Many words describe the appearance of one's eyes. In some cultures, we look into each other's eyes to instill fear, intimidation, feelings of love, trust, attention, etc. We count the number of times a politician blinks to see who's the more honest of the two debating issues of healthcare, military, and taxes. We use eye color to identify ourselves. We use the eyes to identify underlying diseases. Some even call eyes "the window to the soul." Eyes can vary in shades, flecked with several colors unique to each individual. Eyes show the world when we are tired, sad, happy, angry, drunk, on drugs, healthy, or just plain existing. People flirt by winking at a prospective mate. We take in our surroundings with our eyes. We find pleasant sights and horrific sights. We survey danger in order to flee or protect. The eyes are an incredible pair of organs.

Food Review: PizzaVito

Recently, a little pizzeria called PizzaVito opened up here in town. It was my mission to taste their pizza upon learning that we were getting a new pizza place, but reading an article claiming they use geniune NYC water gave me a new purpose: to prove or disprove this information. So on Friday we ordered the best thing to test whether or not a pizzeria really can claim to sell "New York Pizza" -- a cheese pizza, specifically the 18" "giant" variety.

Upon inspection, the cheese looked superbly melted and shiny, the crust was golden and crisp. I absolutely adore how the mozzarella stretching when you bite into a fresh slice of pizza, and I was not disappointed in the least. The sauce had the distinct flavor of a sauce I vaguely remember from my days as a New Yorker -- not too spicy, not too tart, just smooth tomato sauce thinly applied to the crust. As for the crust, it was a bit chewier than I would have liked, but I'll chalk it up to transit time (all wonderful things become soggy after a bit of time). However, I'm pleased to say I did NOT taste the awful sulfuric water of Gainesville in the crust! Nor was I met with the typical frozen, factory-made nonsense you'll find at most fast food pizza chains. Seeing as how I've not been back to NYC since August of 2000, I really couldn't say with 100% certainty that it was the real deal, but I will say that PizzaVito's makes the best pizza I've had outside of NYC.

I give PizzaVito 5 out of 5 stars. I've got a new favorite pizzeria!

This might be mostly local...

...but that doesn't mean people can't check out the site at least. A hotel here in town is hosting a wedding cake competition to raise money for the St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.

http://www.letseatcakefundraiser.com/

Obviously, it's for a great cause. I'm thinking about shelling out the $25 for a ticket to go see some lovely cakes and enjoy samples. We shall see! ;D

"But What Can I Do?"

How many times do you find yourself lamenting over the social injustices you see in the world, yet you quickly ask yourself the title question? All too often, I hear people utter this question before they return to their daily activities. Do you know what happens next? Nothing changes. The same problem continues, people think that one person can't make a difference, lather, rinse, repeat. I find this horribly depressing, especially seeing as how the globally economy has spiraled into a dark, scary pit.


But what CAN you do? Simple -- get off your hands, open your mouth, and fight. I'm not talking about fighting with your fists. On the contrary, I'm asking you to fight with your words. For starters, did you know that our government is in place to do our bidding? If you've been sitting at home on election day, you haven't been exercising your right to tell the government what you'd like them to do. Constituents like you and I can write and/ or call our representatives on every level -- local, county, state, even federal government is within your reach. Asides from contacting our representatives, we can also join forces with like-minded people. The ASPCA is an entire group of people working to ensure that animals are treated well. The AARP functions as a group to help better the 50+ crowd. Mothers Against Drunk Driver obviously are a group of mothers fighting against drunk driving. The point is that you can find a group of like-minded people to further your cause.


Obviously, things won't change overnight -- but wouldn't it be worth the effort to see the world become a better place?

Continuing Education Sans the Institution

I must agree with Mark Twain: "Don't let schooling interfere with your education." In my case, it's not so much my current school so much as my lack of schooling. I'm not entirely sure what I plan to do about graduate school at this stage of my life, but I do know I want to learn all I can about electracy. With the consent of Dr. Ulmer, I've chosen to "take" his courses on my own free time without concern for the technicalities of acceptance and admission into a graduate school.


For my first order of business, I intend to read and review Dr. Ulmer's sites and blog. Reading what he has done will prove to be enriching, educating, inspiring, and above all telling of the projects I'll be updated and/ or undertaking. Secondly, I need to locate the books -- a few are actually in the on campus libraries. Luckily, I enjoy the benefit of the UF libraries as a UF employee, so it would appear that I have the luxury of reading these books for free. As I have a... "discrepancy" with the county library, I'll have to wait to clear that up before utilizing it for the remaining books I can't find on campus. Suffice it to say I need to stop forgetting to drop off that book to the book mobile. Next, I'll take notes from the books much like I did in Ulmer's classes. Finally, I'll revisit my projects from Internet Literature and Hypermedia to either update what I currently have or build from scratch.


As it stands, I have much to read and so much more to learn. And with that, I realize my auto-time has already been set back an hour. Didn't WP get the memo that we won't get our hour back until November 9th?

Blog Neglect

Regrettably, I am 100% guilty of blog neglect. It would seem I work in phases of writing activity. Perhaps I could blame an increase in my work load between mid-August and late-September, but I'm merely grasping for a scapegoat when I should only blame myself.

While directing a professor to the chair of the English department to find technical writing students to edit papers, I decided to check in on Dr. Ulmer, my favorite English professor. Okay, let's be honest -- my all-around favorite professor. I discovered that he's created a blog, of course in typical fashion as well. I've been inspired to sit down, review his course syllabi, start revamping my MyStory, and taking on new projects. I certainly could use the direction, and Dr. Ulmer is a pioneer on the subject matter. After all, he did coin the term "electracy." I consider myself extremely lucky to have had the opportunity to take his classes.

I've been inspired to sit and write a bit more after reviewing a couple pages of his blog, so hopefully I will manage to be more productive with my writing in the coming days and weeks.

Gardening Minus the Green Thumb

I inherited a tree that once belonged to a prominent professor here in my department. A month before I started working here, he died of cancer. His tree had taken up residence in the main office and began wilting. One day a professor alerted us to this issue, and I learned the tree was essentially homeless. So, I warned everyone that I would not be held accountable for the tree's imminent death if I was to assume care of it. I began watering it in irregular intervals only to realize it was perking back up. Delighted with my progress, I made the false assumption that I had shaken my plant-killing past and bought some herb plants to supplement my pantry staples. The words "bad idea" do not begin to describe the situation in the least. Needless to say, this particular tree must be low maintenance and/ or tough to kill because it has survived my tenure here in the department.

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed it was growing new foliage -- and the previous foliage had been forced forward as the tree was placed against the wall. I decided it could use a little room to stretch out, so I dragged it into my desk area. Its new leaves are stretching in the opposite direction, and I'm very pleased to say it livens up my work space a bit more. At least this one tree survives my non-green thumb.

Widgets

It would seem my theme is incompatible with widgets. However, I've not found another theme that appeals to my aesthetic and professional needs. It would seem I need widgets in order to add any extra buttons to my sidebar. Now really this just means I need to spend some time reading what coding needs to be added, implement it into my current theme, and I should have no more issues. What this does not take into account is my extreme ability to procrastinate on even the most mundane of tasks. So what's a procrastination queen to do? Until I take the time to apply myself, I suppose we'll be staring at the donation button in entry format, won't we?

Inspired Yet Unmotivated

I feel very inspired to write, yet at the same time I have little to no motivation. I suppose perhaps it’s an issue with formulating my thoughts, expressing what’s going through my mind. I find myself typing away about the day-to-day concerns, repeatedly pressing the “backspace” key, then continuing the cycle. It seems so incredibly trite and trivial once I actually type it out, and then I push the keyboard away feeling bewildered and ambitionless. I wouldn’t necessarily call it a writer’s block — unless we’re discussing the articles I have looming above my head. I have the materials I’d like to write about, but I’m having difficulties wording it the way I’d like it to read. For example, do you remember in English class when they’d force you to read literature and find the symbolism in the text? I don’t want people drawing the wrong “symbols” from my work — and how did those teachers know that’s what the author really meant when s/he wrote it?! Perhaps we’re reading far too much into the words printed before us and taking less time to enjoy what the author has bestowed upon us.

I also find myself wanting to share images at times when my digicam usb cord is sitting somewhere inconvenient — say, my desk at home while I’m at work. For example, I captured an image of a hawk or falcon while on my way to work one morning, and I was just so awe-struck by the whole incident. The last time I had such an opportunity, my digicam was merely a wish rather than reality. It the simple beauty in life that inspires me, as corny as that may sound.

Maybe soon I’ll break from this obnoxious phase of unactivity. For now, I suppose I’ll continue to entertain thoughts of a prosperous writing career.

Dramatic Intentions

Why does it seem that so many human beings practically thrive on drama? From an early age through our last breath, people find one thing or another to gossip about, obsess over, and generally get involved in the latest dramatic issue. I’ve personally chosen to avoid such instances, although I generally don’t escape from drama. Some how, drama finds me even if I think I’ve chosen the best hiding spot. I then find myself either running or facing the drama — the so-called “fight or flight” response, you could say. I don’t much care for it at all. For the moment, however, I’ve chosen to muse about how drama seems to effect us no matter what our age or circumstances might be.