Resolutions 2005: March Update

Okay, so it’s not exactly the first of the month, but I’m getting around to it! As I said last month, on the first of each month, I’d like to revisit my resolutions for the year to see what kind of progress I’m making on them.

1. Exercise more. I snorkeled and hiked some in the Virgin Islands, but most of February was influenza-wrought. My inner Billy Blanks tells me that I need some more work on this one.

2. Keep on knitting! I am! I finished all the pieces of my Klaralund a few days ago, and need only to block-n-seam it. I also started a new little scarf in a mock-cable stitch out of some wildly inappropriate yarn. This one definitely needs a new home.

3. Do selected home repair/improvement projects. What did I say above about the flu? Yeah, that.

4. Keep making friends in the area. Flu.

5. Make my teeth happy. I really ought to have been more general with this one. My next goal (for March or early April) is to get my eyes checked and to get new contacts! In May I’ll go for my annual exam. Remember: if you are a woman, you need an annual Pap smear and exam in order to catch any hidden diseases (i.e. ovarian cancer, cervical cancer, and the like)! Don’t delay!

6. Entertain more casually. Can I get a F-L-U over in this corner please? Oh wait - not literally!

7. Engage in activism. Oh man. I really sucked it up in February on my resolutions. Something tells me though, that March is going to be a lot better!

Previous month’s resolutions:

• February
• January

Book Review: Grassroots: A Field Guide for Feminist Activism

Grassroots : A Field Guide for Feminist Activism

My rating: 5 out of 5

Jennifer Baumgardnder and Amy Richards do it again, and this time, they do it even better.

Their first book together was called Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism, and the Future, and it was filled with wonderful information all about Third Wave feminism. They went on a book tour to promote their book (I even went to see them when they came to Swarthmore a few years ago - sadly, I was the only non-student in the audience.) This current book was borne of their experiences on that tour, when constantly bombarded with the question, “What can I do?”

And let me tell you, this book delivers in answering that question. Baumgardner and Richards explore a multitude of ideas on what one can do to make a difference in the world.

The chapters each focus on a theme - high school kids, college kids, being an activist at work, being an activist when you don’t have a network like school or work to tap into, etc. There are several in-depth (but highly readable) stories in each chapter about things real people have done in real places, with real results. The last third of the book is an appendix listing all the organizations mentioned in each chapter, with contact information.

This is a great book for anyone who’s ever wondered, “How can I make a difference?” but not had the creativity, resources, or time to figure it out for herself. Start with this book, and learn about the good each of us can do (in small and large ways) to change the world for the better.

St. John, USVI, Part 2

So I promised a St. John USVI post talking about all the critters we saw, and I won’t disappoint. All the photos on this post were ones I took at the house where we stayed.

Fish

We saw lots of fish when we went snorkeling. Here’s a list of all fishes in the Virgin Islands. Some of my favorites were:

foureye-butterflyfish
blue tangs
trumpetfish
queen triggerfish
spot-fin porcupinefish
spotted drum
french grunt
squirrelfish
spotted trunkfish
yellow-tailed snapper
spotted eagle ray - there were two of these guys in Hart Bay
stoplight parrotfish - this photo only shows the female. For photos of male stoplight parrotfish, check out Google Images.

You can see even better photos of many of these fish at Things With Fins.

Besides fish, we also saw lots of other things in the water.

• coral of many varieties, my favorite of which was brain coral
• thousands of sea urchins, most in Hart Bay (this made leaving the water after our snorkel both interesting and harrowing!)
• stoplight parrotfish poop (commonly known as sand)
• Robert saw a nurse shark, and everyone but Amy and I saw sea turtles!

Things with legs that don’t fly

On land, the wildlife around the place where we stayed was pretty neat. We saw three iguanas - the big grizzled old guy, the medium bright green one, and the small neon green skittish one. At Jumbie Bay, we saw a brown anole lizard.

There were these strange slug-like millipedes that hung around at night. I think I stepped on one in the dark, as I heard a crunch-splort. Thank goodness for hard-soled Tevas!

A toad also showed up a few times. More than anything, it seemed shell-shocked by the lights coming on and going off. There were hermit crabs galore, as well as geckos. I’m very fond of both types of creatures. Finally, one day we saw a mongoose crossing the road! Naturally, we didn’t see any snakes.

Things with wings

At the place where we stayed, there were at least 3 green-throated carib hummingbirds who lived nearby and frequented the flowers by the house. The photo is of one of those three. We also saw Magnificent Frigatebirds, Bananquits, and pelicans.

I’m sure there are more animals we saw, but I forget what they are right now. All in all, it was a great trip in which to see wonderful and amazing animal life! If you’d like to read more about the fauna in the Virgin Islands, head here.

St. Urho!

You know, when I was a little kid, I was convinced that St. Urho actually existed, and that St. Patrick was trying to steal his thunder.

Turns out, I was wrong.

But still, my dad had a t-shirt that proudly proclaimed March 16 to be St. Urho’s Day, and who was I to argue with the validity of it?

(I do love being from Minnesota sometimes.)

Are you a blog person?

My friend Jon Mark wrote to me a while ago, asking what I thought of the recent Michael Gorman brou-ha-ha. For those who haven’t kept up with it, dont’ read Slashdot fanatically, or aren’t librarians, links to the original article and many responses can be found here.

My response to Jon Mark read, in part:

There will always be people in my profession who do not do as I do, nor see what I see. Some of us are forward-thinking and others stuck in the past, some of us are starry-eyed about the possibilities of technology while others discount it out of hand, and some of us are - on occasion - wrong despite our best intentions.

That applies to US (blog people) and THEM (Michael G, this time).

So Mr. Gorman, president-elect of my main professional association, please consider the uproar over your LJ article an invitation to talk with those of us who think that you are wrong on this one.