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Saturday, April 19, 2014

Shakespeare



Over the course of the past few days, I’ve been watching an old BBC version of As You Like It on YouTube.  I’ve read the play, and remembered enjoying it.

If I’m honest, I watched it for the sole reason of seeing this exchange between Orlando and Jaques:

Jaq:  Rosalind is your love’s name?
Orl:  Yes, just.
Jaq:  I do not like her name.
Orl:  There was no thought of pleasing you when she was christened.

Sass is timeless.  This entire conversation is brilliant.  And I’m a sucker for a well-turned phrase and saucy comebacks.

And I was not disappointed in the exchange in the movie.  I find it a good adaptation.

I’ve only read a handful of Shakespeare’s plays.  Yeah, yeah, just another bunch of classics I’ve never read.  However, I don’t really beat myself up over that.

They’re plays.  Shakespeare did not write it for us to read.  They were written for us to watch, to view.

I can assure you, screenwriters today do not write their scripts for the casual bookworm to read.  It is for the screen.

Now, some decades or centuries ago, I think it was okay to read Shakespeare’s plays.  What were the chances you were ever going to see it?  And what were the chances you would be able to view all of them?  Goes for now as well.

I live in the 21st century.  The only Shakespeare I’ve ever been able to see performed is A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  It’s my favorite.  There are film adaptations, some actually pretty good, to most if not all of Shakespeare’s plays.  It might not be seeing the play itself, but it’ll probably be the closest I can get considering my region.

I can complain about the too-much-technology with the rest of the world.  Nothing bothers me more than talking to someone and they pull out their cell phone.  However, that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t take advantage of it.  If there is a series of Shakespeare films on YouTube, done by the reliable BBC to boot, well, here is close to how the Bard wanted his work to be appreciated.

Woo-hoo, let’s watch the movie!

Which is something no self-respecting bookworm should ever say, but to each her own.

Oh, Bother!

“Before you go to bed, give your troubles to God.  He’s going to be up all night anyway.”

I’ve said before I don’t think love is pretty.

I got this revelation not through writing, but through daydreaming about a scene.  One day I might write it.  Hopefully.

Love is hurting for someone else.  Love is the pain in your heart when you see starving children across the world.  Love is when you worry about your family when they’re in trouble.

Love is being bothered.  Love is bothering.

Think about it.  Jesus went through an awful lot of trouble for a creation that rejected Him.  That still rejects Him.  That born again Christians reject.

God could’ve been indifferent toward His disobedient creation.

I just got a mental image of God saying to His Son after the Fall, “We have to fix this.”

When my mom would be on one of her preaching kicks, she would say, “God can move mountains.  You can move the heart of God.”

God was bothered about the Fall.  He didn’t like it.  He did something about it. 

That’s the other part of love.  Love is acting in accordance to that bother.

And it led to a cross.

As I said, it’s an awful lot of trouble.  That’s bothering.

And yes, I’m posting this again.

We didn't know what love was 'til He came
And He gave love a face and He gave love a name
And He gave love away like the sky gives the rain and sun

We were looking for heroes He came looking for the lost
We were searching for glory and He showed us a cross
Now we know what love is 'cause He loves us
-Rich Mullins, “All the Way to Kingdom Come”

Friday, April 18, 2014

Disclaimer for the Easter Post




My eye is still twitching.

I started taking Melatonin again because I can’t sleep.  And I’m seeing again the side effects that made me quit.

My mouse doesn’t work.

I turned in a take-home test late, even after the assignment was extended.

I’m pretty sure I had a near panic attack during my History and Systems of Psychology presentation.

I’m certain I did horribly on my Philosophy exam—and I still have a paper to write for that class that is due Monday.

The list goes on and on.

I avoid stress at all costs.  Mainly because I don’t deal with it well.  Not to mention I haven’t written a K since the 10th.

Problem identified.  So I got a bowl of ice cream in my lap and a six-pack of Mike’s in the fridge.

Easter.  Easter.  Easter.

Usually I post something about the Love of God, usually impersonal, but what I hope is something thought-provoking or encouraging.

I have an inkling of an idea, and perhaps enough to make a short post.

So, there is disclaimer.

I haven’t been feeling very Christian lately, and even less convicted about it.  I don’t even feel like I’m in any place to post anything.

But, it is also Tradition.  Not tradition.  Capital-T Tradition.

Easter is my holiday.  My favorite holiday.  I’ve been listening to a lot of songs about surrendering to Jesus.  You’re supposed to surrender your problems, your worries, and all that.

You’re also supposed to surrender yourself.

The show must go on.

Sunday, April 6, 2014

What in the world does being an introvert mean?

The beautiful thing about being me is that I don't generally feel like I have to agree with everything everyone says.  Most of the time, it's just that:  I just don't agree.  Other stuff, I just don't care.

I took the BuzzFeed quiz, on just how much of an introvert are you?  I found some of the stuff on that list very, very inaccurate.

In Counseling Psychology, the teacher, who I like and respect very much, said that introverts aren't good in the field.  They're nerdy, and they don't have good communication skills.

I didn't say anything but, Govannon help me, I wanted to.

I'm INFP personality type--most of the time, on most of the quizzes, that's what I get.  The type is overrepresented in that field.  I is for introvert.  Introverts dominate counseling, apparently.  The name is the Healer, or Idealist.  But still, healer.  (I can very well admit to being an undercover idealist, but healer?  Eh...)  Still, I'm not a case study, and no one is ever meant to be.  But most of the time, I get INFP.

There's a difference between being introverted and being a nerd.  There's a high likelihood that both will be present, but one does not necessitate the other.

So, time to look up just what introversion is:

Merriam-Webster just states, "a reserved or shy person."

Dictonary.com:  
noun
1.  a shy person.
2.  Psychology . a person characterized by concern primarily with his or her own thoughts and feelings (opposed to extrovert ). 
 
 word origin:
 
1654 (implied in introversion), from L. intro- "inward" + vertere "to turn" (see versus). Introverted (adj.) is from 1781. The noun (opposed to extrovert) is 1918, from Ger. psychology, introduced there by C.G. Jung (1875-1961).
 
Urban Dictionary:
 
Opposite of extrovert. A person who is energized by spending time alone. Often found in their homes, libraries, quiet parks that not many people know about, or other secluded places, introverts like to think and be alone.
Contrary to popular belief, not all introverts are shy. Some may have great social lives and love talking to their friends but just need some time to be alone to "recharge" afterwards. The word "Introvert" has negative connotations that need to be destroyed. Introverts are simply misunderstood because the majority of the population consists of extroverts. 
 
Personally, I like Urban Dictionary's definition.
 
 
Oxford's Dictionary of Psychology:

A predominant concern with one's own thoughts and feelings rather than the outside world and social interaction, characterized by traits such as reserve, passivity, and silence, the negative pole of one of the Big Five personality factors, namely extraversion. The term first appeared in the mid 17th century, in a purely descriptive sense of turning one's thoughts inwards in spiritual contemplation, and it was introduced in its modern psychological sense in 1910 by Carl Gustav Jung (1875–1961). Also called introversion-extraversion or extraversion-introversion. introvert n. A person prone to introversion. introverted adj. Characterized by introversion. [From Latin intro towards the inside or within+vertere to turn]
 
 Um, so, regarding Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com, it's just a type of person.  These are common, reputable sources.

Urban Dictionary is how the common Internetter understands the term.  Probably posted by an introvert, I'd bet half my library.

At the end of the day, Psychology is probably the authority on the term.  Even there, it's not a disorder.  It's not social awkwardness.  It's not being nerdy.  It's not having crappy communication skills.

It's just turning inward instead of turning out.

At work:  I'm a cashier.  I can do the pretty all through my shift.  I can make a little bit of small talk, and customers have told me I'm very polite, and that they wish more cashiers were nice like me.

After work:  When I get home, leave me the hell alone.  I've been dealing with rude people all shift, difficult customers, and I'm half-high from the stuff I've been cleaning with.  Leave.  Me.  Alone.  I want to read.  Or write.  Or something that doesn't require another person.

I'm in a similar temperament before work.  Leave me alone.  I'm about to have to deal with difficult people all day.

As far as social awkwardness and introversion, as psychology teachers like to say, "Correlation is not cause."  Although, in this case, it might be a causal factor.

I think, for someone who scores 80% introvert on a Myers-Briggs, I'm pretty well-adjusted.  

It's not a problem if it's not a problem.

Now, if you have avoidance personality disorder or one of the detachment disorders, then perhaps you have a problem.

But there is nothing wrong with being silent.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to be alone.

There is nothing wrong with being an introvert--whatever the hell it means.