February Write Night

Welcome to the first EXCLUSIVELY online Write Night! :)
We are hoping more people feel the urge to join us, since Write Night is only a click away now!

As everyone knows, Valentine's Day is right around the corner. We have been seeing Valentine's "stuff" in the stores since December 26th for crying out loud! Tonight's topic...

Valentine's Day...True Lovers Holiday OR Hallmark Scam?

Happy Writing!

Jennifer and Kristin

Blogging Bandwagon

Sorry I'm so late. I managed to forget my password to gmail and then forgot how to post. Is being late with everything a bandwagon?

I've started following blogs recently. A coworker is obsessed with a certain blog and decided to start her own. I've realized reading other's blogs makes me laugh and forget about my worries. So I have officially started reading blogs everyday. I now follow three, including BWP, and am looking at following another. I find that reading someone's blog is much better than reading their Facebook status. (Speaking of Facebook, that's a bandwagon I worship.) Blogs are more detailed and have room for a whole story. They also make my day more amusing. It's just one more thing I have to check before getting started on my work for the day...which is why I stay behind so much.

So why not start my own blog? I have to refer to Carrie Beth for this one. Everyone is doing it, therefore I can't jump on that part of the bandwagon just yet. I will have to wait until all those around me forget about their blogs, or I move away, then I can start my own blog.

Philosophical Bandwagons

Sorry I'm late posting-that sleep thing overtook me.

Jumping on bandwagons has always been kind of amusing to me. Of course I've done it, probably anyone what says they haven't has jumped on the bandwagon of being an "individual" who refuses to admit that they conform to society in some way, but the reality of bandwagons is funny to me. It seems like things become popular because a few people begin doing them and then everyone wants to jump on-board. But then those things lose their "cool" factor because the exclusivity has gone down. Like wearing guess jeans back in the day. As long as Claudia Schiffer was wearing them, everyone wanted a pair, but when half of the class had a pair (or a pair of Lee jeans they had sewn a guess label onto) they lost their cool. So people jumped off the bandwagon. Seems like we only want to be like other people until there are too many people like us.

When I was an undergrad, having a pierced navel or some tattoo on your lower back was the height on style/sexiness. My mother pretty much threated my life if I came home with ink-probably because even she knew I would choose something trendy in the moment instead of something with any real meaning. So I opted for the piercing instead. Apparently my skin is not made for piercing, cause it never really healed like it should have, and I ended up taking it out a couple years later. Flash forward to a few years post-pregnancy and get ready for too much information. My navel now resembles a droopy eyelid. Yep, the seven years between my piercing and childbirth was apparently not enough to restore my skin's elasticity. So now I have the canopy of the bandwagon I jumped on forever on my stomach. Be careful what wagon you jump on-you may end up wearing part of it.

There are certain types of bandwagons that are not so bad, and then there are others to avoid. The key is picking the bandwagon instead of letting it pick you. Certaily, we might safely say that a bandwagon with which we choose to join up with which also has inherent benefits could lead us to a better place. But everytime I just read bandwagon, I kept picturing the imagery that must have led to the coinage of the aphorism. This is my mental snapshot: a several piece brass and string band on the back of a wagon being pulled through the streets at a vehement pace by a man dressed in some sort of tophat, holding a whip in the right hand with the reins in the left. The tune being played frenetically has to be something like "Camptown Races" --"Camptown ladies sing this song, DO dah, DO dah..."

Now this type of bandwagon could be nothing but out of control. Thus it must be that popular idiomatic speech beleives that a bandwagon, and the placement of one's self on such wagon, would constitute a loss of control, thus the pejorative nature of the term. It all seems to be about control. We are taught that control is a good thing, to be in control of one's life, to control others, to control destiny, to control fate, to control luck, and the list goes on ad infinitum. But could not the loss of the control just be OK sometimes. Let someone else do the driving. See where life takes you. It could be a nice tune that you like that the bandwagon is playing. Or it could just be that the bandwagon and its players and riders seem alluring.

I know I'm on a bandwagon now. Life's a bandwagon. In this case, you don't pick it, it picks you, you are already implicated in the game -- "implique dans le jeu." There's nothing to do but hold on. I'm just barely holding on today. I like the wagon most of the time, and the only option, getting off this life wagon, isn't so attractive. But then I guess there are certain sub-wagons running within the main, unversal wagon. We don't always pick these either. And sometime, we just don't know what the wagon's all about. But wagons are wagons are wagons. We eventually get off of all of them one way or the other. You can fall of, or you can actively get off. I guess that means there is a choice. The choice of wagons is sometimes a one way choice, a non-choice that can't be rescinded. At any rate, hope you enjoyed my wagonesque pseudo-philosophizing. Buenas noches.

I'd love to write about bandwagons, but....

I'm in burnout mode and don't know what to do. I've lost my creative streak, spark, ember, whatever you call it, and I'm floundering. I am finding it harder and harder to come up with exciting and creative lessons in my classes. Now, for some other people, it may not be a big deal, but you, my BWP peeps, know how devastating this is! Today I spent 2.5 hours planning for a one hour social studies class. I have two other subjects to plan for as well! This can't keep happening!! I can't spend this amount of time on each of my classes or I'll go crazy. I wish there was some big book of lesson plans I could purchase or turn to, but I can't. I wish I had taught some of this material before, but I haven't. I wish I had about 2 weeks off to make up for my missing a Christmas Break, but I don't. I wish, I wish, I wish.

Sorry for sounding so whiny and pathetic, but feel free to jump on my bandwagon of complaining if you want or share some tips on how to recharge your creative self.

Crazy Woman Bandwagon

Let me preface everything I write by stating that I am at Chick-fil-a, on kid’s night, trying to make sure my children don’t tear up anything. So, if I fail to write in complete sentences, that would be a partial explanation. Another explanation would be that I am now working two jobs, doing a maternity leave sub job and teaching an education class at ABAC. So, apparently I have jumped on the bandwagon of being a super-overachiever mom. What is that all about?? I feel like I have to be the best mom, teacher, friend, woman, Christian, etc., and I am falling short on so many occasions. I am driving myself absolutely crazy trying to overachieve, and here I am in Chick-fil-a, among all the mom’s and kids, and what am I doing, overachieving by trying to make sure that I fulfill my obligations to BWP. I feel a breakdown coming soon!!

Let me think back to some bandwagons I have jumped on. One funny bandwagon that I jumped on was when I was in high school and some people were just learning about being “gothic.” I tried to start wearing all black and wearing lots of crosses and stuff. Seriously, do I really look goth?? I was such a poser, but I thought it was cool. I also jumped on the bandwagon when all my friends started smoking. I thought I had to do it in order to be cool. I tried it for a little while but never got anything out of it, so I decided it wasn’t worth it.

One bandwagon that I have jumped on that I love is the BWP bandwagon. I used some of the techniques at ABAC, but I am using MUCH more now. Today I started teaching plot to my 9th grade students. I used children’s literature to introduce this, and they loved it. Later this week, I will teach characterization using children’s literature and play-dough. Thanks BWP for giving me so many wonderful ideas. I told a teacher today that I can’t possibly ignore and not use the wonderful resources I learned about at BWP. So, I’m on the BWP bandwagon, and I love it. It makes me the best teacher I have ever been and I thank all of you for contributing to that. So, I’m signing off now to watch my children draw on the windows. It is the “activity” of the night.

Fads and fashions, boys and bandwagons...

Most of my close friends can vouch for what I am about to share with you: I have a burning hatred for fads. I just don't like them. Nope, not me. Ok, well maybe a little bit. YES... I do own several different patterns of Vera Bradley in the form of too many bags and accessories and pieces luggage to count. And YES... a Pandora bracelet does now encircle my right wrist. And YES... I now am the proud owner of two Big-T Tervis Tumblers. And... ok, you forced me... YES... I do have my monogram proudly displayed on several purses and even a shower curtain!

Let me back up and try to explain. It's never the actual item that I abhor (Ok, well maybe the Snuggie is the exception to this rule); it's the fad. The all-consuming craze. The hordes of women scrambling to buy something that everyone else already has. The need to "keep up with the Joneses." More often than not, I actually love the fad, the trend, the whatever you want to call it. It's just the principle of the matter. I won't be one of them.


This ridiculous obsession with not being like everyone else can be traced back even as far as my unsightly middle school days. I remember when Nicole and Karen and Jodi and Erin and April and Crystal and Jennifer and Bethany and well, pretty much everyone thought that Brody James (name changed to protect the not-so-innocent) was THE hottest boy in sixth grade. When he moved to town, he quickly became the topic of hushed whispers, code-encrypted notes, and of course our telepathic messages to each other when he sauntered past our lunch table. Oh, he was the "junk." Everyone loved him, everyone wanted him, and no one held back on expressing interest. Except me. I feverishly denied all attraction, ruthlessly picked on my dreamy-eyed friends, and even blatantly dissed him during our inner-circle discussions. My friends thought I had lost my mind. I did not – I repeat , DID NOT – like Brody James. In fact, I loathed him. And YES... at night I did doodle his name in my Lisa Frank unicorn and rainbow journal. And I certainly DID listen to Boyz II Men, Mariah Carey, and the occasional Brian White as I cried myself to sleep over the boy I could never have.


I can also recall when Pandora bracelets first arrived on the jewelry scene. My sister bought one, Nicole had one, Michelle wore hers every day, and just about every other female I knew seemed to have one. I thought to myself “Now why would I want to have a bracelet just like everyone else? Sure they’re cute… but I just can’t do it.” Even though the whole point of Pandora bracelets was to have an individualized charm bracelet, the fact that everyone had one quickly turned me away. Fast forward three years. I recently purchased my own Pandora bracelet and have received several charms for it as gifts from my family. Why am I suddenly ok with being the owner of said bracelet? Because the fad has died down… the craze is over. And to be quite honest with you, it may be my favorite piece of jewelry ever. Except for my John Wind/Maximal Art chunky gold bracelet with the big fat “C” monogrammed disc charm and huge pearl dangle. YES… this is also a current trend in jewelry. Why do I own it??? The answer’s quite simple… I found it and liked it before everyone else bought one and it got all out of hand! Even though I received mine as a Christmas present this year (in the height of the craze, I might add), I can truly say that “I loved it before….”


Ok, so maybe I am a little quirky. Seriously... have we NOT already established that????

bandwagons bandwagons... hmmm

Interestingly, I try to make it a habit of tucking and rolling for that quick exit when I realize I've found myself on a bandwagon. I'm even better at not getting on them at all. Smoking? No, thanks. Twilight? No, gracias. Now granted my reasons for not smoking (anything) are very good, I wonder why I have an aversion to other bandwagony activities. As a purely personal etymological exploration, I'd have to say bandwagons sound pretty fun. They're traveling troubadours. The concept of music and fun on the go. Why wouldn't I want to do that? Am I a party-pooper?

I guess it's because I'm a very contrary person. Not the most appealing quality in a person, but true nonetheless. But I wonder if there is something in our genetic background that makes us want to be in the group. Thousands of years ago, ostracism surely meant death for an individual. Right? We needed each other so much more long long ago. Since we can now order food, clothing and anything else we need off the internet, not to mention work and go to school online, our need for personal interaction has greatly diminished. So I see bandwagons as becoming our new version of tribes. You're in the Da Vinci tribe? Ooooh! So am I. Let's gush about it. (OK, I'm not, but you get the idea).

Although the implication that Donna might be covertly abusing herself by jumping on the coldwagon doesn't seem to ring true.

Bandwagon of Colds

Apparently, I joined the bandwagon of colds. My mom had a sore throat, sore enough to seek medical attention, while she and Dad were staying with us. About six days later, Wes got a sore throat. Ms. Never Gets Sick avoided them as much as possible in our little cottage.

Most of you know that I rarely get sick, but when I do, I have impeccable timing. The day my parents leave, Wes and I head to Atlanta for a cousin's funeral, and what's that? I have a tickle in my throat, more irritating than anything else, but it's there. "It's nothing," I tell myself, but apparently, myself doesn't listen. Five days later, I had a severely sore throat and the sniffles. Well, that just won't do, so I go to the walk-in clinic, where you can almost see the germs circulating while listening to people's grossly loud, annoying cell phones ring. Apparently, they didn't get the memo that you should put them on vibrate or turn them off in small, enclosed spaces. Whatev! But that's not as bad as the people who answer them by practically screaming into the phone and then sharing way too much personal information with me. Hello? With me? I try to avoid personal info from friends . . .

Anyway, we go to Visitation in Atlanta; then Wes heads home, and I stay for the funeral. He had a photo shoot that couldn't be rescheduled since it was a grand opening. By the way, I can't wait to see our fabulous new student union with Starburcks. (Imagine the angels singing right now 'cause they are in my head--my snotty, congested head.) Visitation and funerals make me cry--or make me fight tears, neither of which works well for fighting a cold. Anyway, I lose. It wins. I go to the clinic, get a shot, but really have to wait it out.

And here's more of the impeccable timing: yep, it's the first week of classes. My students are never going to believe that I'm not one of those sickly professors who cancels class every two weeks. They'll be anticipating that sign on the door, and it will never be there. They'll feel betrayed, and I won't understand the suddenly harsh student evaluations. (By the way, one of the comments this year was "Dr. Sewell is a ham." Really? Does that sound like me? I think not. It made me laugh, though.)

Anyway, I joined the wrong bandwagon this year. Next time people in my house get sick, I'm moving to a hotel.

Bandwagons

Everyday I'm entertained by my 8th graders, who are trying to figure out who they are. (Let's be honest, who isn't?) But it's interesting to watch at this level. If one student has some malady (Is that the right word?), then it is inevitable that it is going to set off a chain reaction. Case in point: crutches. There seemed to be an epidemic of students on crutches, particularly girls, at my school. But I guess it could be worse; they could be like that episode on Law and Order: SVU where the girls decided to all get pregnant at the same time.

Have you ever noticed how if one student needs to got to the bathroom, and you let him/her go, all of the sudden all of them have to go? It's quite the phenomenon. Now I know that if you hang around people enough, there is something to you all needing to go to the bathroom at the same time. (I think Lindsi, Donna, and me all can attest to that.) But I question it when it happens in my classroom.

Write Night Topic-January 11, 2010

Hope everyone had a great Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Tonight's post will be...Bandwagons (we've all jumped on them from one time or another). Or, you can write about whatever comes to mind.

See you at McAllister's Deli at 6:00 or on the blog!

-Kristin and Jennifer