Project Updates:

Celebrating the Freedom to Read. I am currently reading "Bitch: In Praise of Difficult Women," by Elizabeth Wurtzel. I am going through a fem-lit phase and the title made me buy it.

What did I learn this past week?

• A friend of mine passed away last week after battling lymphoma for the past two years. It reminded me that you really don't know how much time you have so it's best to make the most of every day. Two new personal goals of mine (which were 2 traits I admired most about my friend) are to be more open to people (I am a pro at shutting myself off to the world) and to keep better track of friends (I don't want to wait until someone gets sick or passes on).
• It's been 5 years since I survived my car accident. I still don't know exactly what my purpose for being is. I do know that it doesn't take much to make an impact. I had been thinking large scale but ideally I need to go back to my immediate surrounds.

• Crafts: the scrapbook project continues...
• Website: I have been adding the pictures I scanned for the scrapbook project to the Austin Swing Syndicate website. I am running out of quota though. I will have to come up with a better solution.
• Soul Cleansing: I have bought my plane ticket and I will be heading east.
  

From the September 4, 2005 New York Times Magazine Column
Passing Strange by William Saffire

Spinster came into the printed language in 1362 as the occupation of a worker, almost always a woman, who spun wool into yarn at a spinning wheel. Men in occupations like weaving and brewing were called websters and brewsters, and proudly took the words as proper names, but the spinster's work was lonely and not socially elevating; by the 17th century, English law made the word the legal designation of an unmarried woman. Spinster carried less of a stigma than ''old maid'' or ''maiden lady'' (with ''maid'' connoting virginity), but not much.

The origin of bachelor, first used in 1297 by Robert of Gloucester in ''Metrical Chronicle,'' is a mystery. The far-fetched speculation is that it described a knight not old enough to display his own banner, called in French a bas chevalier. In the academy, a Bachelor of Arts was regarded as a university's lowest degree, conferred on a graduate who had not yet achieved the rank of Master of the Arts. Today, in general use, bachelor, once wedded to the modifier confirmed, is frequently defined as ''a male of marriageable age unwilling or unable to make a commitment.''

• There is a 3rd Thursday Festival on Guadelupe
• Scion is showing some cool independent films at the Drafthouse on South Lamar this month. I saw Freestyle last week.
• It's important to check in on old friends. A friend of mine turned 30 last week. I hadn't seen him in over a year. A lot can happen over a year.

• Cooking: I made Chocolate Cupcakes with homemade fudge frosting. I used a combination of recipies but they turned out ok.
  
• Soul Cleansing: I hung out with old friends for most of the weekend and reminisced. It reminded me that I've been too focused on moving forward. In other news, I think that I will be heading east to see the leaves change color.
  

Apparently September is Emergency Preparedness Month. Judging from the latest and greatest in the news someone forgot to add Natural Disasters to the list of things to prepare for.

What did I learn this past week?

• I keep learning things that I didn't want to learn about the government's (federal and state) response to the hurricane.
• I learned how to get around the red tape associated with volunteering.
• I ended up donating a few evenings to help sort donations at the Freescale drop off. It was insane. In a few days a 3 story parking garage was filled to the top floor with donations. People donated everything imaginable.
• Sometimes you need to step away from the computer and experience life.
  

• Crafts: I am currently working on a scrapbook for a friend.
• Be Kind to Humankind: Volunteering for Katrina aid
• Soul Cleansing: looking to leave town once again.
  

This reminds me of my underused waffle iron in the cabinet. I think the last time that I used it was to attempt to make waffle fries out of the massive quantities of leftover Thanksgiving mashed potatoes. (Note: you cannot make waffle fries with leftover mashed potatoes and a waffle maker)

What did I learn this week:

• Mostly hurricane related stuff. What exactly happened... How to volunteer...
  By far the Austin Chronicle has one of the best compilations on volunteering.
  
• I saw The Best of Sex Ed with Owen Eggerton at the Drafthouse. I also learned about the ASHERA project. People think that Sex ed is pretty bad now. I have to say that things have improved immensely since 1930.
  
• I attended a 2 day class on managing projects at UT. I enjoyed the program and I need to move ahead on my plan to get certified through the Project Management Institute.

• Be kind to humankind: So far I have returned the digital camera and donated $100 plus food, clothing and bedding to Katrina Aid. I am currently looking for volunteer oportunities and working with my fellow Austin Swing Syndicate members to gather donations.
• Cooking: I was house sitting this weekend and had the opportunity to test out some Pampered Chef cookware. I was not impressed.
  

Tuesday I went out and bought the digital camera in addition to a shredder (to take care of those credit card offers and the billions of checks that come attached to credit card statements) and the new Death Cab for Cutie cd. Since then I have been reading alot in the news and getting word from friends in Louisiana about the outcomes of Katrina. Now I am feeling a little guilty for spending $200 on something that I wanted but didn't really NEED (damn that whole needs and wants thing).

I am taking the camera back (it's the only item that wasn't opened). I am going to use the money to help with the relief effort. I also plan on donating some of my spare time to volunteer with Red Cross along with some other dancers from the Austin Swing Syndicate.

Have you recently bought something that you really didn't need. Think about the people that have lost EVERYTHING.

Ok, Now do something about it.