I don't really have a whole lot to add this week other than to say that I'm actually excited about starting this new part of the class. I have nothing against the family history portion, but I'm definately more into looking at outside things. I've known parts of this story about my family from just by living, so it's not as enthralling to me as researching things I don't really know. That, and I love being able to find out things that other people didn't know. I have a feeling that's going to be far more prevalent in the Lake James section.
I think a lot of that has to do with my history background. Since the start of high school, I haven't really found something I like as much as I like reading about historical stuff. I'm one of the only people I know that read my history textbook in high school cover to cover even though we only had to read about 3/4 of it. So I think that this next step is going to be a lot of fun. I also just like a change so I'm ready to start on something else.
I might post something more later, but honestly, I don't really know what else to say.
Keep it realer
Friday, February 27, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
Interesting Distractions
I'm beginning to find that I love and hate the area we work in in the library. I love it because there are so many interesting things to look at. I hate it because THERE ARE SO MANY INTERESTING THINGS TO LOOK AT.
A couple weeks ago Beth and I wandered into the other wing that houses all the stuff from foreign writers. It was cool picking up a 400 page document and seeing it written all in German. There were also really really old manuscripts that did things like trace genealogy to John Adams. And it did so really well. Some of the documents use that crazy old spelling where an "s" looks like an "f" and they say "colour" instead of color. It's just fascinating how far language has actually come in the last few centuries.
I also ran into directories from my hometown. I honestly spent 20 minutes looking up where my dad lived when he was a kid. The directories are crazy. They list every person by the street they lived on followed by their address. When you find the name, they have the person's occupation listed right after and says how many people are in the family. There are old advertisements for businesses that went under when I was little. However, seeing them jogged my memory about the commercials they used to run on TV. Though it's not really related to my project at all, it's interesting seeing how something as simple as a cartoon character in a glorified phone book can bring up memories of stuff that happened when I was 5.
Finally, there are records and histories of every town and county in Indiana. I spent a bit more wasted time looking at the histories of Elkhart. Apparently, the Beardsley family bought the town from Chief Pierre Moran for 5 bucks.
Before you consider that a scam, remember, we have a decrepit strip mall and ghetto middle school named after the chief. So his memory will live on forever...or until the city decides to give up on those areas completely.
Moral of the story...go to the library with a purpose. Otherwise, it's just a waste of your time. Even if it's still really interesting.
A couple weeks ago Beth and I wandered into the other wing that houses all the stuff from foreign writers. It was cool picking up a 400 page document and seeing it written all in German. There were also really really old manuscripts that did things like trace genealogy to John Adams. And it did so really well. Some of the documents use that crazy old spelling where an "s" looks like an "f" and they say "colour" instead of color. It's just fascinating how far language has actually come in the last few centuries.
I also ran into directories from my hometown. I honestly spent 20 minutes looking up where my dad lived when he was a kid. The directories are crazy. They list every person by the street they lived on followed by their address. When you find the name, they have the person's occupation listed right after and says how many people are in the family. There are old advertisements for businesses that went under when I was little. However, seeing them jogged my memory about the commercials they used to run on TV. Though it's not really related to my project at all, it's interesting seeing how something as simple as a cartoon character in a glorified phone book can bring up memories of stuff that happened when I was 5.
Finally, there are records and histories of every town and county in Indiana. I spent a bit more wasted time looking at the histories of Elkhart. Apparently, the Beardsley family bought the town from Chief Pierre Moran for 5 bucks.
Before you consider that a scam, remember, we have a decrepit strip mall and ghetto middle school named after the chief. So his memory will live on forever...or until the city decides to give up on those areas completely.
Moral of the story...go to the library with a purpose. Otherwise, it's just a waste of your time. Even if it's still really interesting.
When I Can't
I figured we're all getting ready to start actually writing things down for this assignment. But, if you're anything like me, you have a hard time getting started. I consider myself to be a procrastinator. It's not because I don't enjoy writing once I get started. It's more that I'm too afraid to stop myself once I start.
I'm the kind of writer that goes start to finish without much stopping. Rarely will I start a paper, write a few pages, take a break for an hour, come back and write another page, leave the rest of it for later. I just can't do that. If I do, I completely lose track of what I'm doing and I can't get back into a rhythm. I actually wrote my 25 page senior history project in about 8 hours. Non-stop. Taking breaks just long enough to use the bathroom.
Some people think that's just plain crazy. But it's the only way I know how to write. I guess that's what's bugging me about this project (the writing part). I'm having to constantly remind myself that I'm doing something different. This multi-genre thing is nothing like something I've written before. It's essentially a lot of short papers centered around a similar topic. I have to remind myself that I don't have to do this all in one shot. If I did, I would probably do a disservice to this kind of assignment. I want it to have a feeling to it, and if I write the way I normally do, the sentiment probably won't show up.
So what I have to do is just not be afraid of failing at this and just have fun writing.
Here are some things I do instead of write. Some are helpful and others are just laziness
Helpful
1. Minesweeper. Seriously. It gets your mind completely off focus which is a lot of times what I need to regain the focus.
2. Shower. I've come up with my best ideas while in the shower. So if I'm stuck at all, that's where I go.
3. Exercise. Again, it's the complete lack of focus on writing. I think that if we're too preoccupied with the outcome, the writing cannot live on its own.
Laziness
1. Sleep. My worst enemy when I have to write. I wind up saying, "Eh. I'll just do this later." I DON'T lose the focus, am preoccupied with worry, and feel like I'm copping out. I don't do this as much anymore.
2. TV. Enough said.
3. The Internet. I'm actually kind of glad I don't have access to the Internet at my house anymore. It's pretty much the world's biggest time suck.
I'm sure there are other things and I know there are things that other people do to avoid writing. And it's fascinating, because like I said, I ENJOY writing. So why do I put it off?
It's a life mystery.
I'm the kind of writer that goes start to finish without much stopping. Rarely will I start a paper, write a few pages, take a break for an hour, come back and write another page, leave the rest of it for later. I just can't do that. If I do, I completely lose track of what I'm doing and I can't get back into a rhythm. I actually wrote my 25 page senior history project in about 8 hours. Non-stop. Taking breaks just long enough to use the bathroom.
Some people think that's just plain crazy. But it's the only way I know how to write. I guess that's what's bugging me about this project (the writing part). I'm having to constantly remind myself that I'm doing something different. This multi-genre thing is nothing like something I've written before. It's essentially a lot of short papers centered around a similar topic. I have to remind myself that I don't have to do this all in one shot. If I did, I would probably do a disservice to this kind of assignment. I want it to have a feeling to it, and if I write the way I normally do, the sentiment probably won't show up.
So what I have to do is just not be afraid of failing at this and just have fun writing.
Here are some things I do instead of write. Some are helpful and others are just laziness
Helpful
1. Minesweeper. Seriously. It gets your mind completely off focus which is a lot of times what I need to regain the focus.
2. Shower. I've come up with my best ideas while in the shower. So if I'm stuck at all, that's where I go.
3. Exercise. Again, it's the complete lack of focus on writing. I think that if we're too preoccupied with the outcome, the writing cannot live on its own.
Laziness
1. Sleep. My worst enemy when I have to write. I wind up saying, "Eh. I'll just do this later." I DON'T lose the focus, am preoccupied with worry, and feel like I'm copping out. I don't do this as much anymore.
2. TV. Enough said.
3. The Internet. I'm actually kind of glad I don't have access to the Internet at my house anymore. It's pretty much the world's biggest time suck.
I'm sure there are other things and I know there are things that other people do to avoid writing. And it's fascinating, because like I said, I ENJOY writing. So why do I put it off?
It's a life mystery.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Who Done It?
The only person I know in my family who does genealogical work is my second cousin on my mom's side. She has been researching my mom's side of the family for a really long time. From what I recall, she has been doing research off and on since she was in college. I honestly don't know of anyone else in my family who has taken the time to actually do the research and write something up. However, my best friend's mom also got really into genealogical research and spent a few years doing it. She even traveled all the way to Colorado to meet with detached family members.
So, the men have been fairly well shut out of the process.
However, this does not mean that the men are absent from my family traditions.
My dad is huge on traditional things, particularly around the holidays. He has been the one to cling onto such old school Miller family traditions as trimming the tree a certain way, having a fire going on Christmas morning, and cooking an elaborate meal (Usually to a ridiculous amount of personal scrutiny). This has actually been the first year that I can remember that we didn't have a special day set aside for getting together with family on Christmas. It has been a rough year for the other members of my immediate family, so the traditions had to fall a bit short.
Based on these recalled memories, I would say that there definately is a bit of a gender slant on preserving family. The males in my family are far more into preserving the here and now. They like to hang on to the various stories, things we do outside, and traditional things and places to cook. The females seem more concerned with family stuff that has happened in the past. I believe a lot of this has to do with the fact that the females in my family are having to deal with family members leaving home. I feel this makes them more sentimental about figuring out where they came from. I just have a feeling that men tend to see preserving traditions as more practical, and therefore care more about keeping them intact. Females tend to start wondering about their family at a certain age, particularly when life starts changing a lot (i.e. children leaving for school, parents beginning to die, etc)
So, the men have been fairly well shut out of the process.
However, this does not mean that the men are absent from my family traditions.
My dad is huge on traditional things, particularly around the holidays. He has been the one to cling onto such old school Miller family traditions as trimming the tree a certain way, having a fire going on Christmas morning, and cooking an elaborate meal (Usually to a ridiculous amount of personal scrutiny). This has actually been the first year that I can remember that we didn't have a special day set aside for getting together with family on Christmas. It has been a rough year for the other members of my immediate family, so the traditions had to fall a bit short.
Based on these recalled memories, I would say that there definately is a bit of a gender slant on preserving family. The males in my family are far more into preserving the here and now. They like to hang on to the various stories, things we do outside, and traditional things and places to cook. The females seem more concerned with family stuff that has happened in the past. I believe a lot of this has to do with the fact that the females in my family are having to deal with family members leaving home. I feel this makes them more sentimental about figuring out where they came from. I just have a feeling that men tend to see preserving traditions as more practical, and therefore care more about keeping them intact. Females tend to start wondering about their family at a certain age, particularly when life starts changing a lot (i.e. children leaving for school, parents beginning to die, etc)
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