I've got some super fantastic interviews in the works, but some of you may know that I am rolling things back a bit and doing some more new things. It's mostly going to be stuff I missed out on/didn't plan/ forgot about during the original year-long project, but as always, I'm open to suggestions! Better yet, if you have something you think I should do, or would like me to join you for something you think I've never done, hit me! There's a contact link on the other blog.
In the meantime, enjoy this fantastically weird video, in which I appear at the end as a vaguely literary wench lady:
Friday, July 11, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Fascinating Person #3: Rhonda P.
Location: Outside Milwaukee, WI
How I found her: Via press release from UWM; She was supposed to appear in my magazine, but it stopped existing.
Why she fascinates me: The mother of five kids, Rhonda went back to school to earn advanced degrees in nursing. She's about to receive her Ph.D., which will make her a nurse who's also a doctor. Which I think is awesome.
Tell me a little about what made you become interested in health as a profession.
Five children, four boys, one girl. They’re all in their teens now. All four sons have asthma and allergies, so I was constantly running to the ER with the kids. My husband is a Type-I diabetic, and he started having complications in 1993. He became very ill and now he’s permanently disabled.
Did the hospital staffs you dealt with inspire your new career path?
I thought the nurses were so caring, but also there weren’t a lot of answers for my husband’s condition. There were different treatments, but not a lot of answers. I started researching treatments and cures, and I found myself spending hours going to the medical college library. I was doing all my research out of books—this was before the internet was popular.
So then you thought you might as well be in school?
My mom would joke, ‘you spend all this time doing nursing, why don’t you go to school for it?’ Before, I’d been a teacher in high school and middle school, but because of my husband’s illness and my kids’ illnesses, I wasn’t able to consistently hold down a teaching job. So in 2003, my husband and I decided I should go back to school for my nursing degree. I was going to take baby steps. I had a degree already in Business Administration. In 2003, I enrolled in a technical college and started classes and I planned to get a two-year nursing degree. But at MATC, I became part of the Bridges to the Future Program, a collaborative program at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee that encourages students to move from an Associate’s Degree to a Bachelor’s Degree. So I got involved and that’s when I met Sandra Underwood. She’s a nurse, a renowned Ph.D. She became my mentor and I started working on research with her in 2004 in the oncology program. I was working with her as part of the program and she really became a mentor for me. I was still at MATC, and I got called for a clinical studies program at the time that they were starting a program at UWM that let students working on a Bachelor’s Degree get a B.S. as well as a Master’s Degree in nursing in two and a half years. I figured I could do that, then I’d have a Master’s! Dr. Underwood also taked to the committee about getting me into a fellowship for minority students. It offered full tuition plus a stipend. She fought for this Master’s program to be covered by the fellowship. I got accepted into the Master’s program in the Fall of 2205, and by 2007 I had a Master’s in Nursing. I recently was accepted into the Ph.D. program on scholarship. I love saying that I’ll be a Doctor of Nursing.
Did you plan to go that far with it?
It just seemed to come together. My husband and I are Christians. God had led us to this point, and guided us every step of the way. We were able to get through difficult times because of our faith. While I was in the graduate program, I had surgery. My son became diabetic and my husband got worse. Then my mother-in-law got cancer. But I graduated on time and finished with a 3.8 GPA.
Your kids must be really proud.
They’re all teenagers now- 13, 15, 16, 17 and 18. They’ll all be inspired to go for higher degrees. My older son just finished his freshman year at Marquette in prelaw, my 16-year-old daughter is college-bound. Seeing Mom in school makes them realize what’s possible.
Where did you do your undergrad work?
I got a Business Degree at Marquette.
Was it daunting, going back to school after having been away for so long?
It was scary at first. My first semester of graduate school, in the very first graduate exam in the first class, I did poorly and got the lowest score. I thought I’d never be able to do it. I had to regroup and really pray about it. I was able to finish the class very strongly. My first few weeks, I thought, I can’t do this. Being in school for 40 hours a week, and spending 20, 30 hours studying, plus five kids and a sick husband, I had to use any moment I had. I’d be cooking with a book open, I’d have books at High School basketball games. Any second I had I would use it.
You mentioned your mentor, Dr. Underwood. Did she inspire you to take students under your wing?
I would love to mentor African American students. In nursing, there are very few African Americans, especially in higher degrees. In my graduate class, I was the only African American student with a Master’s.
What kept you going through everything?
My family was important in inspiring me to go on. Having their support, and mentors like Dr. Underwood, when times got difficult they were there to talk me through it. My husband is my best friend. He told me to just keep going. And my mother-in-law is the most wonderful mother-in-law in the world. My own mother lives in Memphis and we talk every day, but she’s not here to help me through everything. My mother-in-law cooks for me and stays with my husband while I work. We all earned this degree together.
Did you frame your diploma?
Haven’t gotten frame yet, got it in late March. I’m going to get a really nice one!
How I found her: Via press release from UWM; She was supposed to appear in my magazine, but it stopped existing.
Why she fascinates me: The mother of five kids, Rhonda went back to school to earn advanced degrees in nursing. She's about to receive her Ph.D., which will make her a nurse who's also a doctor. Which I think is awesome.
Tell me a little about what made you become interested in health as a profession.
Five children, four boys, one girl. They’re all in their teens now. All four sons have asthma and allergies, so I was constantly running to the ER with the kids. My husband is a Type-I diabetic, and he started having complications in 1993. He became very ill and now he’s permanently disabled.
Did the hospital staffs you dealt with inspire your new career path?
I thought the nurses were so caring, but also there weren’t a lot of answers for my husband’s condition. There were different treatments, but not a lot of answers. I started researching treatments and cures, and I found myself spending hours going to the medical college library. I was doing all my research out of books—this was before the internet was popular.
So then you thought you might as well be in school?
My mom would joke, ‘you spend all this time doing nursing, why don’t you go to school for it?’ Before, I’d been a teacher in high school and middle school, but because of my husband’s illness and my kids’ illnesses, I wasn’t able to consistently hold down a teaching job. So in 2003, my husband and I decided I should go back to school for my nursing degree. I was going to take baby steps. I had a degree already in Business Administration. In 2003, I enrolled in a technical college and started classes and I planned to get a two-year nursing degree. But at MATC, I became part of the Bridges to the Future Program, a collaborative program at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee that encourages students to move from an Associate’s Degree to a Bachelor’s Degree. So I got involved and that’s when I met Sandra Underwood. She’s a nurse, a renowned Ph.D. She became my mentor and I started working on research with her in 2004 in the oncology program. I was working with her as part of the program and she really became a mentor for me. I was still at MATC, and I got called for a clinical studies program at the time that they were starting a program at UWM that let students working on a Bachelor’s Degree get a B.S. as well as a Master’s Degree in nursing in two and a half years. I figured I could do that, then I’d have a Master’s! Dr. Underwood also taked to the committee about getting me into a fellowship for minority students. It offered full tuition plus a stipend. She fought for this Master’s program to be covered by the fellowship. I got accepted into the Master’s program in the Fall of 2205, and by 2007 I had a Master’s in Nursing. I recently was accepted into the Ph.D. program on scholarship. I love saying that I’ll be a Doctor of Nursing.
Did you plan to go that far with it?
It just seemed to come together. My husband and I are Christians. God had led us to this point, and guided us every step of the way. We were able to get through difficult times because of our faith. While I was in the graduate program, I had surgery. My son became diabetic and my husband got worse. Then my mother-in-law got cancer. But I graduated on time and finished with a 3.8 GPA.
Your kids must be really proud.
They’re all teenagers now- 13, 15, 16, 17 and 18. They’ll all be inspired to go for higher degrees. My older son just finished his freshman year at Marquette in prelaw, my 16-year-old daughter is college-bound. Seeing Mom in school makes them realize what’s possible.
Where did you do your undergrad work?
I got a Business Degree at Marquette.
Was it daunting, going back to school after having been away for so long?
It was scary at first. My first semester of graduate school, in the very first graduate exam in the first class, I did poorly and got the lowest score. I thought I’d never be able to do it. I had to regroup and really pray about it. I was able to finish the class very strongly. My first few weeks, I thought, I can’t do this. Being in school for 40 hours a week, and spending 20, 30 hours studying, plus five kids and a sick husband, I had to use any moment I had. I’d be cooking with a book open, I’d have books at High School basketball games. Any second I had I would use it.
You mentioned your mentor, Dr. Underwood. Did she inspire you to take students under your wing?
I would love to mentor African American students. In nursing, there are very few African Americans, especially in higher degrees. In my graduate class, I was the only African American student with a Master’s.
What kept you going through everything?
My family was important in inspiring me to go on. Having their support, and mentors like Dr. Underwood, when times got difficult they were there to talk me through it. My husband is my best friend. He told me to just keep going. And my mother-in-law is the most wonderful mother-in-law in the world. My own mother lives in Memphis and we talk every day, but she’s not here to help me through everything. My mother-in-law cooks for me and stays with my husband while I work. We all earned this degree together.
Did you frame your diploma?
Haven’t gotten frame yet, got it in late March. I’m going to get a really nice one!
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Stranger Fascination
Yesterday, when Kevin and I were at Six Flags with his brother and friends, we decided to take a breather and hit the arcade in Movie World (or whatever the adorable name is). We bought game-credit cards and immediately headed for the Skee Ball. No sooner had my session started than a kid I didn't know, about seven years old, appeared next to me out of nowhere and boldly announced that he wanted to play. Before I could finish saying "okay, but just one try—and where is your mom?" he had grabbed (and wasted) two balls. I gently wrested a third out of his hand, again asking where his mom was. Completely unphased (and uninterested in revealing the whereabouts of any parental figure), he sidled up to Kevin and grabbed one of his Skee Balls, wasted that and then slid right over to some guys playing a hoops game, and not only told them he was going to play, but hoisted himself up right onto the platform and haphazardly flung a basketball in the general direction of the hoop. Meanwhile, I told the guy running the prize counter that a little kid was running around playing other people's games and that, more importantly, he seemed to be lost. The guy shrugged, then because I was still staring at him, told the 19-year-old at the cash register, who also shrugged. Then the two of them just watched bemusedly as the kid tried to horn in on an air hockey match, nearly losing a hand. K and I spent the rest of our arcade time on more solitary pursuits like the slot machines, which are high off the ground and a lot harder to grab. By the time we were trying to decide what to do with our 120-some-odd prize tickets, the kid had vanished. Not interested in plastic necklaces or rock-hard Tootsie Rolls, we gave all our booty to a brother-sister pair who seemed surprisingly united in their quest for the best prize possible. Too bad they didn't realize that they probably could have gotten themselves a little brother.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Fascinating Person #2: Hot Lixx Houlihan
Name: Hot Lixx Houlihan (also "Craig")
Location: New York, NY (also "everywhere")
How I found him: I interviewed him for my magazine, which folded the next day.
Why he fascinates me: He's a professional Air Guitarist, national Air Guitar champion and tours nationally bringing invisible awesome guitar to the masses.
How did you get into Air Guitar?
I was always into music. I’d been playing punk bands for 20 years. Somebody sent me an email about entering the San Francisco Air Guitar competition. I dismissed it, then another person sent the same email, then another, because they thought it was something I’d be into. I thought what the heck, I entered, won, went to the next round, won that, then I realized this is a lot of fun. It tapped into this whole other world of ways to be creative and silly at the same time, which I’m all about.
What’s the scene like?
For one, it’s kind of a cross between, as far as a social scene, like sports, with competitive scene, you know, “this team has a better league,” and music culture, where it’s more about taste, and weird amalgams of the two. You meet other people who are completely totally head over heels in love with music even if they can’t play. Their love of music so great they transcend the need to be able to create it. With that element, the competitions are completely devoid of ego. I thought people would take it too seriously, but in regional events, there people like that who haven’t proven themselves. Nobody notices it’s air guitar. It’s more like, “you’re just as geeky as I am." There’s total camaraderie.
What did you do before you started touring on the Air Guitar circuit?
I’ve been playing music, touring since I got out of high school. I’ve never taken any jobs that wouldn’t allow me to do that. I have my own recording studio, and I work with people with disabilities. Those are two fields that always need somebody, so I can duck out for tours, then come home and resume working.
What are Air Guitar audiences like?
Air Guitar has this all-accessible kitsch factor. It’s kind of like a hip thing to do, but it’s so ridiculous and absurd. People approach the events with that in mind. Once everything takes over and the momentum kicks in, people are their own performers performing one-acts. It becomes like a fun entertaining spectacle. It appeals to a lot of people in that way.
What’s the difference between your regular music and air guitar?
It caters to a very short attention span. You’re allotted 60 seconds for routines. You can cut out or edit parts of a song, make a medley, whatever, but it has to be 60 seconds. Even with that I get bored, so I try to change it up. I look for something dynamic, that gets big and powerful, then calms down. Two bands I keep coming back to are High Speed Scene and the Toadies. The Toadies are very powerful, they use a lot of cliché rockisms, but they know how to engage a listener but keep them on edge.
How do you put together your act? Is there anyone who helps you come up with stuff?
It’s pretty much all me. I’m open to ideas. It’s such a weird little sect of people involved in the competitive Air Guitar scene. I find myself after doing something, coming back to real world, realizing I should shut my mouth. But I love coming back to the bus and brainstorming. I came up with a new opening sequence. I love sitting laughing at something. I love being in that creative brain pool.
Does playing guitar for real help in Air Guitar?
If you do play guitar, it’s equally as helpful as it is a hindrance. Your mind knows the limitations of chord progression, but if you try to play so technically accurate, it’s not as exciting to someone 200 feet away. People who don’t play are not so bound by those limitations. You’re judged by technical merit and stage presence, so a performer has got to balance between the two.
Is it total culture shock when you go back to the real world after a tour?
It’s not so jarring. Some people make a total transformation from desk job to coming out on stage. It’s really cool that there are places for people like that.
Your stage name, Hot Lixx Houlihan, is awesome.
Some people don’t get it. I was on America’s Got Talent, and two of the judges are British so they didn’t get the pop cultural M*A*S*H reference at all. I’ve found that if you incorporate “air” into your stage name, it almost never correlates. You need a good rock name. Nothing can top [fellow competitor] Bjorn Turoque.
Thanks for your patience, readers! There has been a bit of a shakeup here in Jenland, but I promise to be more regular with the interviews! Coming up: a nurse lady, a burlesque dancer, and a cake.
Location: New York, NY (also "everywhere")
How I found him: I interviewed him for my magazine, which folded the next day.
Why he fascinates me: He's a professional Air Guitarist, national Air Guitar champion and tours nationally bringing invisible awesome guitar to the masses.
How did you get into Air Guitar?
I was always into music. I’d been playing punk bands for 20 years. Somebody sent me an email about entering the San Francisco Air Guitar competition. I dismissed it, then another person sent the same email, then another, because they thought it was something I’d be into. I thought what the heck, I entered, won, went to the next round, won that, then I realized this is a lot of fun. It tapped into this whole other world of ways to be creative and silly at the same time, which I’m all about.
What’s the scene like?
For one, it’s kind of a cross between, as far as a social scene, like sports, with competitive scene, you know, “this team has a better league,” and music culture, where it’s more about taste, and weird amalgams of the two. You meet other people who are completely totally head over heels in love with music even if they can’t play. Their love of music so great they transcend the need to be able to create it. With that element, the competitions are completely devoid of ego. I thought people would take it too seriously, but in regional events, there people like that who haven’t proven themselves. Nobody notices it’s air guitar. It’s more like, “you’re just as geeky as I am." There’s total camaraderie.
What did you do before you started touring on the Air Guitar circuit?
I’ve been playing music, touring since I got out of high school. I’ve never taken any jobs that wouldn’t allow me to do that. I have my own recording studio, and I work with people with disabilities. Those are two fields that always need somebody, so I can duck out for tours, then come home and resume working.
What are Air Guitar audiences like?
Air Guitar has this all-accessible kitsch factor. It’s kind of like a hip thing to do, but it’s so ridiculous and absurd. People approach the events with that in mind. Once everything takes over and the momentum kicks in, people are their own performers performing one-acts. It becomes like a fun entertaining spectacle. It appeals to a lot of people in that way.
What’s the difference between your regular music and air guitar?
It caters to a very short attention span. You’re allotted 60 seconds for routines. You can cut out or edit parts of a song, make a medley, whatever, but it has to be 60 seconds. Even with that I get bored, so I try to change it up. I look for something dynamic, that gets big and powerful, then calms down. Two bands I keep coming back to are High Speed Scene and the Toadies. The Toadies are very powerful, they use a lot of cliché rockisms, but they know how to engage a listener but keep them on edge.
How do you put together your act? Is there anyone who helps you come up with stuff?
It’s pretty much all me. I’m open to ideas. It’s such a weird little sect of people involved in the competitive Air Guitar scene. I find myself after doing something, coming back to real world, realizing I should shut my mouth. But I love coming back to the bus and brainstorming. I came up with a new opening sequence. I love sitting laughing at something. I love being in that creative brain pool.
Does playing guitar for real help in Air Guitar?
If you do play guitar, it’s equally as helpful as it is a hindrance. Your mind knows the limitations of chord progression, but if you try to play so technically accurate, it’s not as exciting to someone 200 feet away. People who don’t play are not so bound by those limitations. You’re judged by technical merit and stage presence, so a performer has got to balance between the two.
Is it total culture shock when you go back to the real world after a tour?
It’s not so jarring. Some people make a total transformation from desk job to coming out on stage. It’s really cool that there are places for people like that.
Your stage name, Hot Lixx Houlihan, is awesome.
Some people don’t get it. I was on America’s Got Talent, and two of the judges are British so they didn’t get the pop cultural M*A*S*H reference at all. I’ve found that if you incorporate “air” into your stage name, it almost never correlates. You need a good rock name. Nothing can top [fellow competitor] Bjorn Turoque.
Thanks for your patience, readers! There has been a bit of a shakeup here in Jenland, but I promise to be more regular with the interviews! Coming up: a nurse lady, a burlesque dancer, and a cake.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Stranger Fascination
On Wednesday, on the subway back to work after getting lunch at Columbus Circle:
I'm sitting on the train, and the bells chime and the doors close, just as three people, all in a line, come running down the stairs. It's two women and a man. They're all wearing black suits and dark sunglasses, and the women are carrying brief cases. They are lined up, and when the doors close, leaving them on the platform, they all stop abruptly and turn their heads toward the train as it leaves.
Robots? CIA? Wo/men in Black?
Robots.
I'm sitting on the train, and the bells chime and the doors close, just as three people, all in a line, come running down the stairs. It's two women and a man. They're all wearing black suits and dark sunglasses, and the women are carrying brief cases. They are lined up, and when the doors close, leaving them on the platform, they all stop abruptly and turn their heads toward the train as it leaves.
Robots? CIA? Wo/men in Black?
Robots.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Fascinating Person #1.5: ME!
I was tagged yesterday by Robyn, Sweetheart Sartorialist, and then by Fantastic Ann, and asked to name six unremarkable quirks. They're only unremarkable because I have never before bothered to remark on them.
1. As a coping mechanism during my awkwardest years, every time I made some social bungle or was responsible for making someone other than myself ragingly uncomfortable, I would change my name. I would just immediately come up with a new first and last name and say it in my head. That way, whatever stupid situation I'd just created didn't happen to Jen MacNeil, it happened to Georgia Stone or Maggie Doheny. My propensity for awkward situations has waned over the last few years, but still every now and then I do something retarculous and silently blame it on Becky Shoop or Narnia McFly.
2. I am compulsive bus-driver thanker. If I'm at the back of the bus and the aisle is clear enough for me to exit at the front, I do it just so I can show some appreciation (I do draw the line at fighting through a throng or shouting from the back).
3. I find it interesting and secretly hilarious to make eye contact with passengers on other trains whenever possible, for as long as I can (this is usually no more than 20 seconds). It's better if I'm on an express and my target is on a local. That way, there's no awkward possible run-in at the next station (and if there is, I'll just turn myself into, like, Imogene Flaker).
4. I have a stash of Harry Potter books under the bed. No matter how tired I am or how far into White Teeth I might be, I find that my brain unwinds faster if I feed it some HP brain candy by picking one without looking at it, opening to a random page and reading the rest of that chapter, plus the next one. It sometimes gives me cool dreams about dragons.
5. I cannot stand to touch chalk.
6.For me, the best part of eating microwave popcorn is scraping the congealed butter off the inside of the bag with half-popped kernels.
Next up to tell us how weird they secretly are:
Sarah T
Kirk
Maddy
Priscilla
Christy
Angela
Editor's note: Look for interim posts like this one to become a regular part of this blog. The notion of only posting every two weeks has made me a little sad, so any time I get a tag, or a meme or see someone do something intriguing, I will write about it.
1. As a coping mechanism during my awkwardest years, every time I made some social bungle or was responsible for making someone other than myself ragingly uncomfortable, I would change my name. I would just immediately come up with a new first and last name and say it in my head. That way, whatever stupid situation I'd just created didn't happen to Jen MacNeil, it happened to Georgia Stone or Maggie Doheny. My propensity for awkward situations has waned over the last few years, but still every now and then I do something retarculous and silently blame it on Becky Shoop or Narnia McFly.
2. I am compulsive bus-driver thanker. If I'm at the back of the bus and the aisle is clear enough for me to exit at the front, I do it just so I can show some appreciation (I do draw the line at fighting through a throng or shouting from the back).
3. I find it interesting and secretly hilarious to make eye contact with passengers on other trains whenever possible, for as long as I can (this is usually no more than 20 seconds). It's better if I'm on an express and my target is on a local. That way, there's no awkward possible run-in at the next station (and if there is, I'll just turn myself into, like, Imogene Flaker).
4. I have a stash of Harry Potter books under the bed. No matter how tired I am or how far into White Teeth I might be, I find that my brain unwinds faster if I feed it some HP brain candy by picking one without looking at it, opening to a random page and reading the rest of that chapter, plus the next one. It sometimes gives me cool dreams about dragons.
5. I cannot stand to touch chalk.
6.For me, the best part of eating microwave popcorn is scraping the congealed butter off the inside of the bag with half-popped kernels.
Next up to tell us how weird they secretly are:
Sarah T
Kirk
Maddy
Priscilla
Christy
Angela
Editor's note: Look for interim posts like this one to become a regular part of this blog. The notion of only posting every two weeks has made me a little sad, so any time I get a tag, or a meme or see someone do something intriguing, I will write about it.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Fascinating person #1: Jessica C
Location: Missouri
Occupation: Newspaper paginator/writer
How we found each other: Jessica started reading my blog in October 2007, and volunteered earlier this month to be my new-blog guinea pig.
Why I think she’s fascinating: Jessica is 24, a mother to a 2-year-old son and a one-year-old daughter and a “lactivist” as well as an attachment parent. She has also started trying one new thing every week. (Call me biased, but I think that’s pretty awesome.)
What is attachment parenting?
It’s being “the hippie mom.” For different women, it means different things. I sleep with both babies, I breast feed, I use cloth diapers. Not as often as I want, but I do use them. Some women go all out. I’m not a stay-at-home mom, so I can’t do everything I’d like. My husband does the fun stuff.
You say you’re a “Lactivist.” What is that?
I love that word. If you see someone breast feeding in public, you see them get six different kinds of dirty looks. I was one of six kids, and my mom breast fed all of us. When I got pregnant, it was not an option, I was definitely going to breast feed. My husband’s family is the complete opposite. They don’t approve at all. I thought it was the norm. I didn’t know there were people who didn’t believe in breast feeding. With my first son, there was a lot of conflict. I made it my mission to help other moms and I got involved with the health center. I got involved in the monthly MOMS club, which stands for Mom’s Own Milk Supply. We get together and moms can breast feed in the open. Missouri has no state laws about it at all. When I came back to work, they didn’t have to give me a break to pump. It wasn’t in the company policy. I’m trying to establish that.
How do you deal with people’s reactions when you breast feed in public?
With my son, I took the approach of, I just got mad. How dare you give me that dirty look! But it’s not their fault. It’s the way they were raised. [Breast feeding] is a normal part of life. So I take the initiative to educate and not get mad. I was in Wal-Mart with my son, and he wanted to eat. If a kid wants to eat, you feed him. I sat down on a bench just outside the dressing rooms. An employee told me to go to the bathroom. Nobody should have to eat a meal on a toilet, my kid’s not going to eat on a toilet. I asked him why he didn’t he go eat there. But the more people see it, the more they’ll get used to it. I hope my daughter, when she has kids in 20, 22 years, won’t have to go through that. My husband and I argued about it. He says, “that’s not what they’re for!” We argued a lot, he realized there was no moving my opinion. Our kids are both big chunky babies, and they’ve never been sick. If somebody gives me a dirty look, he says ‘you’re just jealous.’
Do you advocate attachment parenting the way you advocate breast feeding?
I work for a local paper, and there was a story in the paper last week about a parent charged with neglect and, I think, first degree manslaughter because she was cosleeping and the baby died. The thing they left out of the story was that she was on drugs when it happened. You do get flak for sleeping with kids, because of the risk, but it just works for me.
Have you ever worried about accidentally injuring them?
I’m not afraid of it. I love sleep, and when I got pregnant, I knew I couldn’t sleep as much. I wake up every time my son sneezes. With breast feeding, it’s much easier to just roll over and flop it out. People miss out on so much. I wake up on the weekends to my daughter waking up my son with kisses, and my son saying, “Hi sissy!” and giving her a hug. People miss out on that stuff. I woke up one morning to my son snuggling my daughter’s foot like it was a teddy bear.
You try to do one new thing a week.
I haven’t done a lot. I have a list, and I’ve done a few things. I had a pool party in my living room. I bought a little pool, let the kids get in bathing suits and play in the middle of winter. In February, we got a bunch of snow. It’s a lot of work to get them in their coats, so I brought snow inside to them, just put it in the bathtub. I made my first homemade pizza. A lot of it has to be kid oriented. We created our own superheroes, we put underwear on our heads. That went with potty training, too. I want to wear a prom dress to work, I want to speak with an accent all day. I want to write and perform a rap. Probably in front of Wal-Mart.
Is it fun to talk to people about it?
Everybody thinks it’s neat. One day I wore two different shoes, and nobody noticed!
I love the idea of including your kids.
When I’m not at work, I’m with my kids. I’d like to do volunteer work, but I don’t like to leave them. Try not to leave them more than I have to to be at work.
What kind of writing do you do for your local paper?
It’s not a routine column. I’m writing more stories. I’m a paginator, which is a fancy term for editor and designer. Stories are fun for me. Reporters have their beats on their town. I don’t know that I could do that. I love to write about what I like. I covered a 15-year-old who volunteered in a nursing home helping a woman bake cakes. She’s competing to be Miss teen Missouri. You know, in beauty pageants they always say they do volunteer work in nursing homes, and it’s like, no you don’t. This girl really does that. I get to write about stuff that makes me happy. I wrote 2 Under 2, about having two kids under two, and learning to multitask. You know, breast feeding while you’re playing kickball while you’re on the phone. I wrote a column about listening to your mother. Mine told me to stay away from tanning beds, and I didn’t listen. I ended up getting a staph infection from having a mole removed that I got from tanning.
What color is your winter coat?
Tan
What was the last song you listened to?
Alkaline Trio, You’ve Got so Far to Go
What is the next thing you are looking forward to?
Summer and swimming
What was your favorite Christmas present as a child?
I don’t remember how old I was, but I got all kinds of New Kids on the Block stuff. I got every doll, a shirt, a hat, just a bundle of New Kids on the Block stuff.
Where was the last place you went that wasn’t home or work?
Sonic
What movie do you wish you could have been in?
13 Going on 30
Occupation: Newspaper paginator/writer
How we found each other: Jessica started reading my blog in October 2007, and volunteered earlier this month to be my new-blog guinea pig.
Why I think she’s fascinating: Jessica is 24, a mother to a 2-year-old son and a one-year-old daughter and a “lactivist” as well as an attachment parent. She has also started trying one new thing every week. (Call me biased, but I think that’s pretty awesome.)
What is attachment parenting?
It’s being “the hippie mom.” For different women, it means different things. I sleep with both babies, I breast feed, I use cloth diapers. Not as often as I want, but I do use them. Some women go all out. I’m not a stay-at-home mom, so I can’t do everything I’d like. My husband does the fun stuff.
You say you’re a “Lactivist.” What is that?
I love that word. If you see someone breast feeding in public, you see them get six different kinds of dirty looks. I was one of six kids, and my mom breast fed all of us. When I got pregnant, it was not an option, I was definitely going to breast feed. My husband’s family is the complete opposite. They don’t approve at all. I thought it was the norm. I didn’t know there were people who didn’t believe in breast feeding. With my first son, there was a lot of conflict. I made it my mission to help other moms and I got involved with the health center. I got involved in the monthly MOMS club, which stands for Mom’s Own Milk Supply. We get together and moms can breast feed in the open. Missouri has no state laws about it at all. When I came back to work, they didn’t have to give me a break to pump. It wasn’t in the company policy. I’m trying to establish that.
How do you deal with people’s reactions when you breast feed in public?
With my son, I took the approach of, I just got mad. How dare you give me that dirty look! But it’s not their fault. It’s the way they were raised. [Breast feeding] is a normal part of life. So I take the initiative to educate and not get mad. I was in Wal-Mart with my son, and he wanted to eat. If a kid wants to eat, you feed him. I sat down on a bench just outside the dressing rooms. An employee told me to go to the bathroom. Nobody should have to eat a meal on a toilet, my kid’s not going to eat on a toilet. I asked him why he didn’t he go eat there. But the more people see it, the more they’ll get used to it. I hope my daughter, when she has kids in 20, 22 years, won’t have to go through that. My husband and I argued about it. He says, “that’s not what they’re for!” We argued a lot, he realized there was no moving my opinion. Our kids are both big chunky babies, and they’ve never been sick. If somebody gives me a dirty look, he says ‘you’re just jealous.’
Do you advocate attachment parenting the way you advocate breast feeding?
I work for a local paper, and there was a story in the paper last week about a parent charged with neglect and, I think, first degree manslaughter because she was cosleeping and the baby died. The thing they left out of the story was that she was on drugs when it happened. You do get flak for sleeping with kids, because of the risk, but it just works for me.
Have you ever worried about accidentally injuring them?
I’m not afraid of it. I love sleep, and when I got pregnant, I knew I couldn’t sleep as much. I wake up every time my son sneezes. With breast feeding, it’s much easier to just roll over and flop it out. People miss out on so much. I wake up on the weekends to my daughter waking up my son with kisses, and my son saying, “Hi sissy!” and giving her a hug. People miss out on that stuff. I woke up one morning to my son snuggling my daughter’s foot like it was a teddy bear.
You try to do one new thing a week.
I haven’t done a lot. I have a list, and I’ve done a few things. I had a pool party in my living room. I bought a little pool, let the kids get in bathing suits and play in the middle of winter. In February, we got a bunch of snow. It’s a lot of work to get them in their coats, so I brought snow inside to them, just put it in the bathtub. I made my first homemade pizza. A lot of it has to be kid oriented. We created our own superheroes, we put underwear on our heads. That went with potty training, too. I want to wear a prom dress to work, I want to speak with an accent all day. I want to write and perform a rap. Probably in front of Wal-Mart.
Is it fun to talk to people about it?
Everybody thinks it’s neat. One day I wore two different shoes, and nobody noticed!
I love the idea of including your kids.
When I’m not at work, I’m with my kids. I’d like to do volunteer work, but I don’t like to leave them. Try not to leave them more than I have to to be at work.
What kind of writing do you do for your local paper?
It’s not a routine column. I’m writing more stories. I’m a paginator, which is a fancy term for editor and designer. Stories are fun for me. Reporters have their beats on their town. I don’t know that I could do that. I love to write about what I like. I covered a 15-year-old who volunteered in a nursing home helping a woman bake cakes. She’s competing to be Miss teen Missouri. You know, in beauty pageants they always say they do volunteer work in nursing homes, and it’s like, no you don’t. This girl really does that. I get to write about stuff that makes me happy. I wrote 2 Under 2, about having two kids under two, and learning to multitask. You know, breast feeding while you’re playing kickball while you’re on the phone. I wrote a column about listening to your mother. Mine told me to stay away from tanning beds, and I didn’t listen. I ended up getting a staph infection from having a mole removed that I got from tanning.
What color is your winter coat?
Tan
What was the last song you listened to?
Alkaline Trio, You’ve Got so Far to Go
What is the next thing you are looking forward to?
Summer and swimming
What was your favorite Christmas present as a child?
I don’t remember how old I was, but I got all kinds of New Kids on the Block stuff. I got every doll, a shirt, a hat, just a bundle of New Kids on the Block stuff.
Where was the last place you went that wasn’t home or work?
Sonic
What movie do you wish you could have been in?
13 Going on 30
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