Day 6: What is your zodiac sign and does it fit your personality?

Posted on January 31, 2014 by Ellayne Shaw

Whoever creates horoscopes would peg me as a Leo. I have read that Leos are vivacious and the center of attention. As a child, I definitely fit the personality of a Leo. After all, I am a last born child! However, as an adult, the last thing that I want to be is the center of attention. This is why theater no longer holds the personal appeal it once did. I still love theater, but I prefer to attend or be backstage than to participate front and center. Continue reading →

Day 5: What are your favorite comfort foods and why?

Posted on January 30, 2014 by Ellayne Shaw

Corned Beef Hash

Potatoes, corned beef, tomato sauce, and onions all mixed together and cooked in a skillet long enough to make the potatoes soft and the onions slightly caramelized. YUM. My mom used to make this in Africa, and it is such a warm, filling meal. I even made up a dance for it in high school when my mom would make it for me. Continue reading →

Day 4: What are your views on religion?

Posted on January 29, 2014 by Ellayne Shaw

Oof. Now there’s a loaded topic! Generally speaking, religion has two faces. On the one hand, religion inspires people to do great things, to commit great acts of compassion, and to create incredible works of art. On the other hand, religion can also inspire people to do horrific things, to enact great acts of cruelty, and to destroy incredible works of art. Continue reading →

Day 3: What are your top five pet peeves?

Posted on January 28, 2014 by Ellayne Shaw

Note: This becomes an increasingly cranky post, so no hurt feelings if you just want to skip it altogether. I get it.

When people are clueless about how to behave on the bus. Outside in a park? Go ahead and be noisy! In a crowded bus? Keep it quietly to yourself. Feel free to talk with your friend, but please keep the decibel level such that I can tune you out if I’m half a bus-length away. Also, please don’t bring excessively smelly or messy foods on the bus or sit with your legs so far apart that you take up three spaces all to yourself. Really? Continue reading →

Holocaust Remembrance Day

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Ellayne Shaw

“Work makes you free” – the gateway into the Dachau concentration camp in Germany

In lieu of today’s planned post, please take a few minutes to remember the victims of the Holocaust. We choose to remember so that we do not repeat the past.

One day hiatus!

Posted on January 26, 2014 by Ellayne Shaw

I tried to post from my phone last night as I shivered under multiple blankets and scrunched up my eyes against the feeble lamplight. Yesterday, I don’t know what I had–either a 24 hour flu bug or a terrible migraine–but I had a nasty fever and headache that took me out after a fun morning of a 2 1/2 hour tap dance class. So I don’t have a post for today that corresponds with the challenge, but I’ll have one up tomorrow.

PS. Using the internet to self-diagnose leads to all kinds of worst case scenarios. (“Well, I could have kidney stones or gastroenteritis. Or I could be having a stroke.”)

Day 2: Where would you like to be in 10 years?

Posted on January 25, 2014 by Ellayne Shaw

Geographically, I would like to be living and working internationally. I do not have a specific country or even a particular region of the world where I have my heart set on living. However, as my undergrad degree is in English/TESL and my future grad degree will be in English/Creative Writing, it makes sense that I would be living and working somewhere in the Middle East or Asia as there is a demand for native English speaker/teachers in those areas. Again, where specifically is not something that I have worked out yet. Ten years from now, I’ll be 38 years old. That’s still a long way away and anything could happen. I do know that wherever I am living/working in 10 years, I will be learning about the people around me and living in community whether that is in Kalamazoo or Kathmandu. Continue reading →

Day 1: Discuss Your Current Relationship*

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Ellayne Shaw

In roughly five months, I will have been married for four years. For someone who never thought she would get married, this is kind of a big deal. I always pictured myself gallivanting through grand adventures all by my onesies, but I’m happily surprised that I enjoy having a partner in crime. Who else would clean the litterbox and kill all the spiders** for me? I jest–except for the spider bit.

I never joke about spiders. Continue reading →

Upcoming Blog Challenge

Posted on January 23, 2014 by Ellayne Shaw

I have let my posts fall by the wayside lately, but I believe with the power of my fantabulous new planner combined with a slightly less cerebral course load this term, I should probably post more often. Also, I want to develop more discipline when it comes to my writing, so having a daily goal should help me find the time and focus to write–I hope. I found a fairly interesting 30 day blogging challenge via Pinterest, so if you want to know what I’ll be writing about, you can get a sneak peek here. I will start Friday.

Let the blogging begin!

What do books mean to you?

Posted on January 6, 2014 by Ellayne Shaw

“Books may well be the only true magic.”

Alice Hoffman

Books are my escape.

I have been an avid reader since early childhood and read everything I could get my hands on from my mother’s college mythology textbook when I was seven years old to Mange-moi, s’il te plait as an adult. In college, my reading dwindled because my brain could only handle so much, but I have begun to read more since I graduated. Depending on the engagement in my current course load, I still read for pleasure where I may. (Bus commuting is prime reading/writing time.) Continue reading →