Information about things that interest and excite me, including but not limited to: popular culture, Catholicism, food, sports (particularly the Denver Broncos kind), teaching, Southern life from a Western perspective, college composition, and whatever else I feel like writing about.

I Realized Something Important Today…

My favorite book is For the Time Being by Annie Dillard.

Ladies and gentlemen, the state rock song of Ohio. O! H! I! O!

Big Week

-Oral defense of my M.A. portfolio

-Finishing the majority of my job applications

-Presentation in 7050

-Finalizing my terrible lit abstract

I yearn to graduate.

Woot

2 mile run/walk at Kiesel in under 20 minutes. I didn’t feel so great afterward, but I was able to do it!

Tomorrow…doing all the work I put off over break :(

My kingdom (the Animal or the Magic) for a Dole Whip…

My kingdom (the Animal or the Magic) for a Dole Whip…

(via simpledisneythings)

I just returned from a dinner with Thom Gossom, a speaker we invited to become a part of our Writers in the World speaker series for undergrads. Thom has acted in a lot of movies, including Fight Club (!) and he was the first African American athlete to graduate from Auburn. He’s a man who wears a lot of hats—executive, actor, ambassador, etc.

We had dinner at the Lamar Pecan and Nut wholesaler. I’m in love with that place and with the whole Lamar family. Tonight as I listened to a long conversation about Alabama politics, I realized that I, Pearl, actually like Alabama. This is a new insight, and one I’m comfortable with knowing. I like it here. There’s a level of grotesqueness to it related to racial and violence histories. Tonight, I learned a lot about Auburn’s troubled past too. But it has shaped the culture in ways I find really intriguing. And, of course, I’m finding my opinions of Alabamians challenged all the time. Still, I find it all fascinating. I’m happy to be here, hard work and all.

secfootball: John Elway has stuck around for 3+ hours to make sure he gets to watch Cam 1. ZOMG JOHN ELWAY IN AUBURN 2. DO NOT LOOK AT CAM NEWTON. DO NOT LOOK AT NICK FAIRLEY. For the love of Pat Bowlen dooooooooont do it….

secfootball:

John Elway has stuck around for 3+ hours to make sure he gets to watch Cam

1. ZOMG JOHN ELWAY IN AUBURN

2. DO NOT LOOK AT CAM NEWTON. DO NOT LOOK AT NICK FAIRLEY. For the love of Pat Bowlen dooooooooont do it….

My Lenten Journey

I look forward to Lent. I really believe in this concept of a yearly devotional where we try to imitate Christ’s self-denial. I love the solemnity during Mass, the sparseness. And I can’t even begin to say how much I love Holy Week—they’re my four favorite Masses (service on Good Friday) of the whole year because they remind me of my humanity and my humility. They remind me that I am so small, so dependent on Christ’s gift. Puts things into perspective.

ANYWAY…Lent. I give up things every year, and I even give them up through Sundays and other feast days. (Did you know that you don’t have to fast on Sundays during Lent because they’re feast days? I didn’t learn this for a long time!) This year I’m going to fast and integrate proactive behavior that I hope will make me more conscious of Christ’s presence. So, here’s the plan:

1. Fasting through abstaining: I will abstain from pop. I will limit the amount of money I spend eating out. One year, I gave up eating out altogether. But that really requires a partner who will work with you and cook meals on days when you don’t feel like it. I will also abide by standard practices of abstaining from meat and fasting when required.

2. Fasting through augmenting (I fast from my selfish, involved behaviors by doing things that are not so selfish or involved): I will pray the Liturgy of the Hours at least once a day. I will strive to limit the petty, insolent comments that come out of my mouth from time to time. I will choose one person a day to remember in my Liturgy of the Word prayers, both friends and foes.

In addition to these very Lenten activities, I’m going to try to do a post every day. I don’t know what I’m going to do or say, but I hope it will allow me to be more intentional and reflective about what I do every day. God knows I need it…

Ok, thanks for reading the religious post. And for your enjoyment…a whole lot of dunking, especially from the amaaaaaazing Blake Griffin.

Announcing…another website!

My website. That’s right, I’m the proud owner of pearlshields.com. I decided to start my own website for teaching and job purposes. It’s part MA portfolio container, part useful teaching tool (starting fall 11’) and part advertisement for moi. I’m excited for the prospects. I don’t do webdesign, so I hope cheating with Tumblr will be ok.

And in no way am I linking to this Tumblr or my ENGL 7050 class Tumblr. Too personal…


I’m also looking for more ways to make my site more visual. What do you suggest?

day 30 - your favorite song at this time last year

Last year, this song became the new theme song for the HBO show Big Love. I am a huge fan of the series (and of any polygamy narratives actually, I think it’s really interesting how power, gender and spirituality all intersect in those relationships.) For the first three seasons, the theme was cute and based on a Beach Boys song. The series really shifted, however, and so the creators made a new intro that reflects well their misdirection, as well as the Mormon concept of hell, or “outer darkness.” I really like this song a lot, but I really love the opening sequence of the show and the arrangement they’ve chosen for it. This seems a little loser-y, but it’s the truth. You can watch the opening Big Love sequence here. Great show that lacks a lot of the things that turn me off about HBO generally; namely, gratuitous violence and sex. 

So, I have come to the end of my audio journey. What have I learned? I suppose its that I’m more emotionally tied to music than I had previously believed. I like choir a lot. I don’t know. I’m more excited about everyone else who picked up the “game” and listening to their choices. So, I suppose I learned how to build a meme-y community on the tumblr. Back to normal programming now, I suppose.

(P.S.—Beth and I ran two miles without stopping at the track. It was a great moment.)

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