March 30, 2009

An Introduction to My Sidebar

Posted by Nathen under blogging, charting my life, Ethan Mitchell, Jeannie Lee, lists
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Jeannie Lee, my blog advisory council, says that people generally don’t explore blog sidebars since it’s not obvious when that stuff gets updated. Here’s what I’ve got going on so far.

“In” is for my input: I’ve got a list of most of the blogs I’m currently reading, with short reviews, and, under ‘learning,’ a list of the classes, lessons, workshops, and lectures taken or listened to. “Listening” is for music. Under ‘reading’ I have a list of what I’ve read this year, and at the bottom a link to what I read last year. “Viewing” is a list of movies and TV I’ve watched. “Websites” is a list of my most heavily used sites, with little descriptions.

The “Nathen Online” section is self explanatory.

“Out” is for output: Under ‘driving’ is my driving log since my birthday and a little essay about my truck and driving. Under ‘landfill’ is a trash project I started in January, documenting my landfill contribution. ‘Photographs’ has links to some Flickr slideshows I’ve put up. I’m almost a year behind on that project, but what’s up is good. ‘Writing’ is where I post my academic writing. I intend to put up everything I’ve written for school in the last two years but so far I just have my fall term up.

“Categories” is just that–how I’ve categorized my posts here. Having that list up is a straight rip off Ethan Mitchell’s blog. I thought it was a cool idea.

 

March 29, 2009

Cell Phone Etiquette and Ethics

Posted by Nathen under Anna Fritz, community, ethics, etiquette, relationships
[3] Comments 

I have a cell phone for the first time in years. I like being able to talk to my family for ‘free’ (that is, for the cost of the monthly service) since we are on the same monopoly. When I travel, I like being able to update people who are trying to pick me up at the airport and who would otherwise be inconvenienced. I like how it reduces the psychological barrier to calling my friends, especially those who are spread around the country. If I’m thinking about Danielle, I can call and tell her I miss her while I’m walking between classes. Or if I have a Pro Tools meltdown in a recording session, I can call John to bail me out. It’s great! I think it strengthens my relationships and community.

On the other hand, it’s embarrassing to have my phone ring during a ‘live’ conversation. Sometimes I forget to turn the ringer off and even the vibrate function is audible. I wish it wasn’t. I want to be fully present with anyone I’m talking to. I know I can just keep it turned all the way off, but I do want to be available for my friends and family calling much of the time, and it’s been too much to keep track of so far. If I’m expecting an important call, I try to remember to tell anyone I’m in a conversation with that I may need to answer a call and that I’m sorry in advance. I don’t expect anyone else to behave like that, but I do sometimes wish that people didn’t just automatically answer their phones—that there was some commonly held etiquette to consider.

My friend Anna Fritz pays a lot of attention to social and environmental issues and has decided against having a cell phone because they use this substance called coltan, which is mostly mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the economics of which is perpetuating violent conflict there and displacing people. The mining process is also infringing on gorilla habitat. I haven’t looked into it much, but Wikipedia supports her claims. Ah, the moral ambiguity of leading a modern human life! It may be that if I witnessed what was going on in the DRC first hand, I would be so ashamed to be part of it that I would throw my phone away. It seems like that would just be a waste of this dearly-come-by resource, so I’ll keep it until I find out otherwise. Maybe there’s a business opportunity there—cell phones made with recycled coltan for the ethically sensitive.

 

March 25, 2009

I’m In!

Posted by Nathen under goals/intentions, school
[3] Comments 

March 24, 2009

Dear Nathen Lester:

It is our pleasure to inform you that the Couples and Family Therapy admissions committee has recommended to the Graduate School that you be admitted to the Fall, 2009 class. Your credentials, letters of recommendation and response to our interview questions suggest to us that you can excel in the CFT program.

…..

Once again, congratulations on your acceptance into our program. I am happy to talk with you at any time prior to your enrollment next fall. We look forward to working with you!

Sincerely,

Jeff Todahl, Ph.D., LMFT (KY)

CFT Program Director

 

March 23, 2009

Abandon Ship’s Website

Posted by Nathen under Abandon Ship, Tilke Elkins, Zen Zenith
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Just in case any of you have tried to click through ‘my band’s website’ on the right in the last couple months and were frustrated, that site is now back online. It’s worth checking out, too, I think, just to see the websmanship; it was created by our friend Zen Zenith, incorporating artwork by Tilke Elkins, so it’s very cool.

 

March 12, 2009

Interview

Posted by Nathen under questions, school, sleep
[2] Comments 

I had my interview for the University of Oregon’s Couples and Family Therapy masters program today. I think it went really well, despite sleeping through my alarm and waking up three minutes before I was supposed to be there. I was interviewed by two of the heads of the program, one of whom went out of his way to tell me that I’d done well on two separate occasions during the day. He had asked three questions: What does diversity mean to you? What does it mean to be sensitive to diversity? What is cultural competancy?

 

March 9, 2009

Portland Lindy Exchange 2009

Posted by Nathen under blogging, dancing, honors project, school, statistics
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I see that my last post was about a dance event, which makes it look like all I’m doing is dancing. I am doing a fair amount of dancing, but what I’m mostly doing is school-related: my internship at Stepping Stone, statistics for my honors thesis, and studying trigonometry. It’s the last week of my term, and I’m busy. I’ve got some more thoughtful posts in the works, but only short and hopefully sweet ones for now.

I just got back from the Portland Lindy Exchange–at 3 am this morning. Three nights of dancing. I had  so much fun. I don’t think I can effectively express what is so fun about it right now but I can tell you about another couple compliments that I really liked.

There was a lot of fast music–northwest dancers like fast music. I do, too. I’ve been doing a lot of Balboa, which works well for fast music, and I’ve gotten comfortable with fast tempos, and able to lead musical dances. At the last dance, about 24 hours ago now, I was dancing with a great Portland dancer named Desha, and in the middle of the dance, she said, “Nathen, I love how relaxed you are! So many leads start to feel rushed when the music gets fast, like they are struggling to keep up.” I really liked to hear that. I feel relaxed! Woohoo!

On Friday, a young woman I didn’t recognize asked me to dance. She was good and we had a fun time. Afterwards she thanked me and said that last year she had come to this exchange after having been dancing for only a month, barely knowing how to do it, and her favorite dance had been with me–that I was the guy who had made her feel like she was doing a good job and that she was fun to dance with. I liked that, too. It reminded me a little of when someone I taught to swim joined the swim team, partly because of my enthusiasm for her talent, and a few years later was an all-star swimmer.

 

February 22, 2009

Seattle Balboa Festival 2009

Posted by Nathen under dancing
[5] Comments 

Last weekend I spent three days dancing all day and night in Seattle. I had so much fun. I didn’t want to leave. Balboa is my favorite kind of dance right now. It’s from southern California in the 1920s. Here’s a clip of one of the contests, so you can see what it looks like. The 3rd, 4th, and 6th couples are friends of mine.

Dancers come from all over for these events. This photo is of me with my host, Paul, who lives in Seattle, and Sanna, from Finland.

Paul, Sanna, Nathen, Seattle Balboa Fest 2009

Paul, Sanna, Nathen, Seattle Balboa Fest 2009

 

February 12, 2009

I’m a Natural

Posted by Nathen under dancing
[3] Comments 

I got my favorite complement of the year tonight. I was at my weekly swing dance in Eugene, dancing with one of the newer follows and she said, “You are my favorite to watch. I like how you look like you could be dancing in the street, you’re just so relaxed and such a natural!”

I love to think that I look like a natural when I’m dancing, partly because I was so not a natural. I could refer you to any number of people to confirm that, especially a couple of high school girlfriends who were dancers. I was hanging out with one of them last winter and she saw me dance and could not get over it. She tripped out for about an hour and even got a little angry, like it wasn’t fair that now I could dance. It wasn’t that I didn’t dance, I was just very self conscious and stiff. I wasn’t very fun, and it wasn’t that fun for me either.

When I came back to dancing a several years ago, it still wasn’t very fun. I was still self conscious and stiff. I had to get pretty good before I could have fun. Now I always have fun, unless I’m dancing with someone who really intimidates me or who’s obviously having a bad time. I feel like a natural now, but I had to put in way too much work to qualify. (In fact, the only things I can think of that I have always been able to do are being interested and staying focused. Everything else has been work.) Or maybe I was a natural all along and just had  to work hard to uncover that ability. That’s how it feels.

 

January 24, 2009

Ethan Mitchell’s Survey about Consent

Posted by Nathen under Ethan Mitchell, science
[2] Comments 

I just completed a survey that my friend, Ethan, is conducting about the nature of consent. He is a radically smart and interesting guy, and a fellow Not Back to School Camp staffer. I never miss one of his workshops, or a chance for a conversation with him, if I can help it. His survey did not disappoint. He encouraged me to pass this on to anyone who I thought would be interested:

Greetings!
You are invited to participate in an online survey about the nature of consent. The survey was created by Ethan Mitchell, an independent scholar working in Vermont. Though consent is a central concept in politics, philosophy, and law, we have surprisingly little research about how people actually envision consent. This survey is an attempt to begin answering that question.

The survey is somewhat more complicated than a traditional multiple-choice poll. It takes about 5-10 minutes to learn the survey interface. Thereafter, the survey is designed so that you can continue taking it for a long time, or stop whenever you please. Most people find that completing the survey takes a good deal of focus and reflection. This is probably not something you want to casually breeze through on your coffee break.

Finally, you are encouraged to forward this invitation to anyone you think might be interested in taking the survey. Thanks very much for your time. I appreciate all the work everyone has put into this, and I hope you find the exercise thought-provoking.
Sincerely, Ethan Mitchell
The survey itself: www.zemita.net/ConsentSurvey.php
Comments: ConsentSurvey@gmail.com
(Ethan will make an effort to respond to all questions sent to this email, either directly or on the website.)

 

January 19, 2009

A New Resolution

Posted by Nathen under cooking, food, goals/intentions, Maya
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I am stuffed full of three giant, thick, crusty whole wheat and buttermilk pancakes, made from a recipe in the little zine, The House of Plenty Cookbook: Simple Recipes for Good Eating from Damian and Maya’s Joshua Tree Kitchen, by my sister in law, Maya, AKA Flavorgirl. They were, as promised, the best pancakes I have ever tasted, and I consider myself a pancake connoisseur.

Over New Years, I revisited my goals for the year and, deciding they were still pretty solid, made no changes. Here is my first addition: This year I will make at least one of each item in Maya’s cookbook. I’m excited to begin. I need a little food-shakeup. I love the food that I make, but I’ve been making it all for a long time. I can’t think of a better place to start. Maya is an excellent, creative cook. Funny, too: “As you may have noticed I almost never use regular sugar. But in this recipe, it works best. You can, of course, use sucanat if you are even more die-hard than me, but somehow I doubt that you are.” And she’s right, possibly unless you are, or are related to, Nicole Martin.

 

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