the LAST Tom Robbins book I will ever read

This is the LAST Tom Robbins book I will ever read. The first book I read of his was Even Cowgirls Get the Blues and I loved it. It was quirky but was a fun loving, feminist adventure story. Unfortunately the movie sucked but I really did love the book. Because I liked the book so much I decided to read Still Life with Woodpecker and I absolutely hated it! Tom Robbins is a male chauvinist that presents himself as a feminist, in touch with his sexuality. I think it is total bullshit. And, it’s not that I am offended with his books, and his characters putting leaves up their asses or whatever sexual detail he wants to include it just never seems to add anything to the story. It always seems as though he is shooting for shock value, and it’s not shocking. It is ineffective. Though I hated Still Life with Woodpecker I guess I was looking for another Even Cowgirls so I tried Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas –wtf?! It wasn’t as bad as Still Life but still wtf? And for two reasons 1) my husband said it was Tom Robbin’s best book and 2) because I enjoy pain I decided to read Jitterbug Perfume. Does TR actually believe all of this shit? Does he make this shit up? This book just made me angry.

So, in conclusion Jitterbug Perfume is the last Tom Robbins book I will ever read. I can with great certainty say TR sucks and I don’t like him.

All the things I want to say but can’t

I am applying for nursing school and have to answer a pretty basic question about my motivation and experience and why they should let me in. I am feeling very conflicted because 1) a nursing degree is only a stepping stone to what I really want to do – Midwifery and 2) I am really not happy with the state of our medical system (I am speaking mainly about the state of insurance and how that affects your health care) and though I realize midwifery is within the health care system, my goal would be to work outside of the medical care system as much as possible. So that may sound pretty bad when applying to nursing school.

I want to be a midwife because I feel like it gives woman back the power that medical intervention has taken under the guise of better, more efficient, more comfortable care. I want to be midwife because I want people to feel connected and more personally I want to feel connected. I have worked in an office environment and communicate so much by phone and email and really have no connection to anyone I work with. In my life I want to have a real, meaningful connection with people. I want to be a midwife because in my heart of hearts I believe having a natural childbirth is better than a hospital birth.

I am completely amazed that America has the highest mortality rate among infants and mothers among developed nations. How can that be? We also use midwives less often than any of the other developed nations.

To some extent I get it, having a baby is painful and woman would rather not experience the pain when medical advances have made it so woman can have a painless delivery. I get that. I guess I am most bothered that the risks associated with planning deliveries, inducing labors when it is not medically necessary, drug intervention are not really discussed. I am bothered that woman can elect for a cesarean, woman can pick a delivery date. Birth is a totally natural process that will work itself out if you just let it. Of course not in every case. Of course, there are instances where medical intervention is necessary and of course I support this. There are cases of high risk pregnancies where natural childbirth is not recommended.

I guess more than anything I feel like woman are not getting all of the facts. Or just plain out being lied to. One woman I knew had her first child via emergency cesarean, with her second child her doctor told her that because she had a cesarean with the first child she will have to have one with the second. As a mother I would have never questioned that, why would you? As I am getting more interested in natural childbirth and the use of a midwife I come across memoirs of woman who say they felt really bullied into having a cesarean when it was not necessary and wanted and did have a homebirth for their second child. I feel like woman are being guilted into or scared into things they may or may not have wanted to do.

I just want woman and families to have all of the information and be able to say I understand all of the risks and I still want the epidural, the episiotomy, etc.

And maybe this is sad but I watched this Ricki Lake documentary and this is what made me want to be a midwife.


We have a secret in our culture, and it's not that birth is painful. It's that women are strong.
~Laura Stavoe Harm

The Compact

I have now heard a couple stories on the radio about ‘The Compact’ originally started by a group in San Francisco with a few basic principles:

• To go beyond recycling in trying to counteract the negative global environmental and socioeconomic impacts of disposable consumer culture and to support local businesses, farms, etc. -- a step that, we hope, inherits the revolutionary impulse of the Mayflower Compact.
• To reduce clutter and waste in our homes (as in trash Compact-er).
• To simplify our lives (as in Calm-pact)

They achieve those basic principles by

#1 Don't buy new products of any kind (from stores, web sites, etc.)
#2 Borrow, barter, or buy used.

Their blog has a lot more details about what is okay, what are some exceptions, etc.
I am not sure that I am ready or willing to take the full plunge but I have noticed since I found an awesome Goodwill that I am shopping there more and more and buy new less and less. I am finding that this could potentially have a huge impact on my budget. I am progressively cheaper. For instance I find myself saying; that would cost $3 at Goodwill.



Even when things should be no-brainers I found myself planning on buying new. The most recent example is I need a TI-83 graphing calculator for the stats class I am taking this summer. I am currently holding $50 of staples rewards cash and was going to dish out the additional $30. A woman in class mentioned she found hers on ebay for $25, so although I am not very good at winning ebay auctions, I did find one on Craig’s List for $30. It’s about 25 minutes away but well worth it. There are probably a ton of these used one semester by a once college student and will be buried in someone’s closet for the next decade. I know I am one of them; unfortunately I seemed to have misplaced mine. Now I can spend my $50 at Staples for fun stuff.

Things like Freecycle, ebay and Craig’s list are making it much easier to buy used. I am starting to get a little annoyed at ebay. It seems as though there are people who are intentionally driving up the prices. I don’t think these people are actually purchasers. The other day I noticed a user bidding on several auctions I was watching. Who needs more that one graphing calculator? I really hope these people are not placed by the seller that would really stink. If you want more money, just increase the minimum bid. On a side note, I know I could go to eBay and find the Pyrex of my dreams but for Pyrex in particular the hunt makes me happy.
However, I do find myself wanting new things, not necessarily new but specific things like I have been eyeing this pair of Saucony fashion sneakers. I know I don’t need them, but I really want them.
My list of exceptions:

• Bras, underwear, socks
• Running shoes/sneakers
• Work-put attire
• Food, drink, of course
• I think professional services are a no-brainer; plumber, mechanic, message, etc The Compact website mentions professional services and says to not over do it. Not that I get regular pedicures or massages but I also feel that doing something good for the environment shouldn’t be a punishment. If you want to get a message every week, it’s your money, and I think it fundamentally abides the compact because you really aren’t consuming anything, a couple tablespoons of old maybe.
• I do buy a lot of kitchen supplies; glasses, plates, I collect vintage Pyrex but if I really needed something specific i.e. bundt cake pan, I might check around a few thrift stores that I go to regularly and are in the neighborhood and would hope to find one but there is a point when your effort in finding the item has a bigger carbon effect on buying something new.
• Yard/home remodel stuff. I am in the midst of a home remodel and everything in our house, including our yards will be new. I hope that I will be able to buy used/recycle ie we are using a tree we cut down to make wood chips in our backyard. We are salvaging our wood floors and a claw-foot tub but not much else. Most everything will be bought new. But in some ways that is good i.e. new toilets that are low-flush or have the #1/#2 option, buying new more efficient appliances, weather proofing windows and doors, etc.
• Ink, toner, office supplies, craft. More than anything I don’t even know where you would buy these items used. Occasionally, I see scissors, yard, etc at the thrift store but never really the right things…

I am sure I will have more exceptions…