ambivalent
adjective
the need to relocate has made her ambivalent about the promotion equivocal, uncertain, unsure, doubtful, indecisive, inconclusive, irresolute, of two minds, undecided, torn, in a quandary, on the fence, hesitating, wavering, vacillating, equivocating, blowing/running hot and cold; informal iffy. antonym unequivocal, certain.
resolute |ˈrezəˌloōt; -lət|
adjective
admirably purposeful, determined, and unwavering : she was resolute and unswerving.
DERIVATIVES
resolutely |ˈrɛzəˈl(j)utli| adverb
resoluteness |ˈrɛzəˈl(j)utnəs| noun
ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense [paid,] describing a rent): from Latin resolutus ‘loosened, released, paid,’ past participle of resolvere (see resolve ).
Any of the above adjectives might apply to you if you take a stand on something and stick to it, or show your loyalty to a person, country, or cause.
If you show unswerving loyalty to someone or something you are tied to (as in marriage, friendship, etc.), you would be described as faithful (: a faithful wife; a faithful Republican).
Constant also implies a firm or steady attachment to someone or something, but with less emphasis on vows, pledges, and obligations; it is the opposite of fickleness rather than of unfaithfulness (: my grandfather's constant confidant).
To be described as staunch carries loyalty one step further, implying an unwillingness to be dissuaded or turned aside (: a staunch friend who refused to believe the rumors that were circulating).
To be called resolute means that you are both staunch and steadfast, but the emphasis here is on character and a firm adherence to your own goals and purposes rather than to those of others (: resolute in insisting upon her right to be heard).
Determined and decisive are less forceful words. You can be decisive in almost any situation, as long as you have a choice among alternatives and don't hesitate in taking a stand (: decisive as always, she barely glanced at the menu before ordering).
Determined, unlike resolute, suggests a stubborn will rather than a conscious adherence to goals or principles (: he was determined to be home before the holidays).
fickle |ˈfikəl|
adjective
changing frequently, esp. as regards one's loyalties, interests, or affection : Web patrons are a notoriously fickle lot, bouncing from one site to another on a whim | the weather is forever fickle.
DERIVATIVES
fickleness |ˈfɪkəlnəs| noun
fickly |ˈfik(ə)lē| |ˈfɪk(ə)li| adverb
ORIGIN Old English ficol [deceitful] .
fickle
adjective
the fickle Loretta has a different boyfriend every month capricious, changeable, variable, volatile, mercurial; inconstant, undependable, unsteady, unfaithful, faithless, flighty, giddy, skittish; fair-weather; technical labile; literary mutable. antonym constant.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Friday, January 2, 2009
mo money, mo problems.
hi.
i haven't posted in awhile, the holidays kept me pretty busy this year. and when i wasn't busy, i just wanted to relax with the husband. so, that's my excuse. onward...
so, a few weeks before christmas dan and i figured out how much i actually owe in student loans. it's a lot. a whole lot. especially since i don't even have a degree. after much upset - my husband of course comforted me perfectly. he said that he gladly takes this debt and it doesn't matter that i didn't earn a degree - what matters is that the things i learned and did and experienced during those years helped form me who i am today. and he would gladly take the debt over me being any different than i am now. he makes me smile. anyway, after just looking at our debt besides the student loans, we realized how utterly helpless we are. we are in bondage to our debtors and we must get out of it. we realize that there is no way for us to do it on our own - so we decided that after the holidays we were going to take a seventy-six day fast. not from food, but from spending money on things we don't need. that means no trips to target to grab "a few things", no stopping at dunkin' donuts for coffee, no buying lunch at work instead of packing, none of that. just paying our bills, buying groceries if we actually need them (not just if we don't feel like eating the things we have), and things like that. the necessary evils. this is going to be so hard - but i really feel that god is going to show us a lot about our finances and our patterns of irresponsibility. i feel he is also going to show us that there are so many things that we actually can survive without. we aren't going to fast on sundays or holidays, so we will get to use sundays to go to dinner together or see a movie, or go out with friends. thank god for sabbaths! so, if you think about it, say a little prayer for us. for grace & wisdom during this fast. for a breakthrough!
i had a good christmas & new years this year. it has bee fun, yet very fast. i do feel that i've been to caught up in the busyness of it all. that makes me a little sad. but, jesus was born and we got to remember that. and that is a beautiful, blessed thing.
an orchestra is playing for free tonight in coventry. i have to work, but you should go.
i haven't posted in awhile, the holidays kept me pretty busy this year. and when i wasn't busy, i just wanted to relax with the husband. so, that's my excuse. onward...
so, a few weeks before christmas dan and i figured out how much i actually owe in student loans. it's a lot. a whole lot. especially since i don't even have a degree. after much upset - my husband of course comforted me perfectly. he said that he gladly takes this debt and it doesn't matter that i didn't earn a degree - what matters is that the things i learned and did and experienced during those years helped form me who i am today. and he would gladly take the debt over me being any different than i am now. he makes me smile. anyway, after just looking at our debt besides the student loans, we realized how utterly helpless we are. we are in bondage to our debtors and we must get out of it. we realize that there is no way for us to do it on our own - so we decided that after the holidays we were going to take a seventy-six day fast. not from food, but from spending money on things we don't need. that means no trips to target to grab "a few things", no stopping at dunkin' donuts for coffee, no buying lunch at work instead of packing, none of that. just paying our bills, buying groceries if we actually need them (not just if we don't feel like eating the things we have), and things like that. the necessary evils. this is going to be so hard - but i really feel that god is going to show us a lot about our finances and our patterns of irresponsibility. i feel he is also going to show us that there are so many things that we actually can survive without. we aren't going to fast on sundays or holidays, so we will get to use sundays to go to dinner together or see a movie, or go out with friends. thank god for sabbaths! so, if you think about it, say a little prayer for us. for grace & wisdom during this fast. for a breakthrough!
i had a good christmas & new years this year. it has bee fun, yet very fast. i do feel that i've been to caught up in the busyness of it all. that makes me a little sad. but, jesus was born and we got to remember that. and that is a beautiful, blessed thing.
an orchestra is playing for free tonight in coventry. i have to work, but you should go.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Banned words List offers no 'bailout' to offenders
DETROIT – A movie about a "maverick," his journey "from Wall Street to Main Street," his "desperate search" for a "monkey" and a "game-changing" revelation about his "carbon footprint" probably would make the nation's word-watchers physically ill.
Especially if it were the "winner of five nominations."
All those words and phrases are on Lake Superior State University's annual List of Words to Be Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness. The 34th version of the list was released Tuesday, which means, "It's that time of year again."
The school in Michigan's Upper Peninsula selected 15 entries from about 5,000 nominations.
Despite the year's economic meltdown (which itself wasn't banished but don't rule it out for next year), the most entries came from the environmental category — for "green" or "going green."
"If I see one more corporation declare itself 'green,' I'm going to start burning tires in my backyard," wrote Ed Hardiman of Bristow, Va., in his submission. Nominators also had their fill of "carbon footprint" — the amount of greenhouse gases an individual's lifestyle produces.
The list wasn't overrun with politics despite the national election — no "change," for instance — but one simply couldn't escape the critics' wrath.
"I'm a maverick, he's a maverick, wouldn't you like to be a maverick, too?" offered Michael Burke of Silver Spring, Md., in his entry for the label embraced by unsuccessful Republican presidential candidate John McCain.
Also knocked was "first dude," a term adopted by Todd Palin, husband of McCain's running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
Words related to the economy led to a few meltdowns.
"I am so tired of hearing about everything affecting 'Main Street.' I know that with the 'Wall Street' collapse, the comparison is convenient, but really, let's find another way to talk about everyman or the middle class, or even, heaven forbid, 'Joe the Plumber.'" wrote Stacey from Knoxville, Tenn. She provided only a first name in her bid to eradicate — or at least separate — Wall Street" and "Main Street."
Although this year's sluggish economy and record rise in gas prices may have kept people closer to home, the word coined for it, "staycation," is "idiotic and rootless," says Michele Mooney of Los Angeles.
An emoticon made the list for the first time. The strings of characters used in e-mails and text-messaging commonly represent a face — like ;-) or :-0 — but the school singled out an emoticon heart, formed with a "less than" symbol and the number 3.
"Monkey" was on the list because of what some see as its rampant use as a suffix. "Especially on the Internet, many people seem to think they can make any boring name sound more attractive just by adding the word 'monkey' to it," wrote Rogier Landman of Sommerville, Mass.
The school's annual quest to throw lexicon logs on the fire always gets some end-of-the-year attention for the school in Sault Ste. Marie, the last stop before Michigan's northern border crossing with Canada. But the list is more about letting off steam and offering laughs than performing any verbal vanishing act.
"We get several nominations for the same word or phrase, and we still get nominations for words and phrases that have been on previous years' lists," said university spokesman Tom Pink.
"'At this point in time' was on the first list in 1976 and it continues to be nominated every year. People still hate it."
Think these gendarmes of jargon should "get a life"? Watch it, kiddo. That phrase was banished in 1997.
Especially if it were the "winner of five nominations."
All those words and phrases are on Lake Superior State University's annual List of Words to Be Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness. The 34th version of the list was released Tuesday, which means, "It's that time of year again."
The school in Michigan's Upper Peninsula selected 15 entries from about 5,000 nominations.
Despite the year's economic meltdown (which itself wasn't banished but don't rule it out for next year), the most entries came from the environmental category — for "green" or "going green."
"If I see one more corporation declare itself 'green,' I'm going to start burning tires in my backyard," wrote Ed Hardiman of Bristow, Va., in his submission. Nominators also had their fill of "carbon footprint" — the amount of greenhouse gases an individual's lifestyle produces.
The list wasn't overrun with politics despite the national election — no "change," for instance — but one simply couldn't escape the critics' wrath.
"I'm a maverick, he's a maverick, wouldn't you like to be a maverick, too?" offered Michael Burke of Silver Spring, Md., in his entry for the label embraced by unsuccessful Republican presidential candidate John McCain.
Also knocked was "first dude," a term adopted by Todd Palin, husband of McCain's running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
Words related to the economy led to a few meltdowns.
"I am so tired of hearing about everything affecting 'Main Street.' I know that with the 'Wall Street' collapse, the comparison is convenient, but really, let's find another way to talk about everyman or the middle class, or even, heaven forbid, 'Joe the Plumber.'" wrote Stacey from Knoxville, Tenn. She provided only a first name in her bid to eradicate — or at least separate — Wall Street" and "Main Street."
Although this year's sluggish economy and record rise in gas prices may have kept people closer to home, the word coined for it, "staycation," is "idiotic and rootless," says Michele Mooney of Los Angeles.
An emoticon made the list for the first time. The strings of characters used in e-mails and text-messaging commonly represent a face — like ;-) or :-0 — but the school singled out an emoticon heart, formed with a "less than" symbol and the number 3.
"Monkey" was on the list because of what some see as its rampant use as a suffix. "Especially on the Internet, many people seem to think they can make any boring name sound more attractive just by adding the word 'monkey' to it," wrote Rogier Landman of Sommerville, Mass.
The school's annual quest to throw lexicon logs on the fire always gets some end-of-the-year attention for the school in Sault Ste. Marie, the last stop before Michigan's northern border crossing with Canada. But the list is more about letting off steam and offering laughs than performing any verbal vanishing act.
"We get several nominations for the same word or phrase, and we still get nominations for words and phrases that have been on previous years' lists," said university spokesman Tom Pink.
"'At this point in time' was on the first list in 1976 and it continues to be nominated every year. People still hate it."
Think these gendarmes of jargon should "get a life"? Watch it, kiddo. That phrase was banished in 1997.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
i haven't posted since i was twenty two.
hello! so...i had a wonderful birthday. more fun than i could shake a stick at. we went to bar louie in legacy village. lots of wonderful friends came - i had lots of fun, maybe even a little too much fun, lol.
so now, i'm twenty three. i'm excited, it's my favorite number! so many people have been telling me that twenty three is a good year. we'll see!
xoxo
so now, i'm twenty three. i'm excited, it's my favorite number! so many people have been telling me that twenty three is a good year. we'll see!
xoxo
Monday, December 8, 2008
take me to the water.
another interesting weekend spent in my hometown area.
the reason we went down this weekend was because my uncle chuckie invited us to come and see him get baptized and also to attend the church service afterward. for anyone who doesn't know my uncle chuckie, physically and mentally abused as a child by his father, he is a drug user, an alcoholic, sometimes racist when under the influence, and all around not your choice type of fellow. he was the only person wasted at my wedding. a wedding where there was no open bar - simply wine. he was arrested later that night. so anyway, he lives right across the street from a black baptist church. they'd often notice my uncle outside or doing whatever it is that he does, and they would walk over to his house and ask him to help with something at the church, help him unload a truck, etcetera. as time passed, chuckie would just walk over to see if anything needed to be done, if there was anything he could help with. as time passed a friendship grew between some of the men at the church and my uncle. (many of them had already had known my uncle from back in high school - and from the fact that wellsville is a very small town). out of the friendship, they began inviting him to church. he began to have some sense of community, of worth, there were a few people who believed in him. this led to him being baptized and giving his life to Christ this past weekend. it was pretty amazing. he still has a long way to go, but he was so excited about what he did. he looks as if he has some hope in his eyes. i pray that the lord guards this planted seed and that it grows to abundance.
besides my uncle receiving baptism, there were many other interesting things that came out of going to this church. there were so many people there from my past.
there was a lady there that my parents and i used to live next door to. i used to play in her yard and steal vegetables out of her garden when i was about three years old. she came up to me and gave me a huge hug. she told me about her husband and how he is still gardening. they lost their thirty-eight year old son last month to kidney failure & diabetes. all through worship i couldn't help but notice her. her hands were so high in the air, praising god, she sang so beautifully.
i met a man named derek who was in the men's choir. my mom introduced him and told me that he was the best man in her and my biological father's wedding. it wasn't a big deal to them, but, to me it was like meeting a celebrity or something. i just wanted to make him sit down with me and answer every question i had. it was so surreal to watch someone who was doing so well. he had god, he had a beautiful wife and two little girls, he had good friends surrounding him. he had, what seemed to me, a normal life. crazy to think that he used to be close enough to my father to be his best man. their lives are so opposite now.
i met my stepfather's cousin, who i had actually met several years before. he was a very sweet guy - polar opposite from my stepfather, if i may say. my mom teased him about stealing my name for his daughter. her name is "jocelyn." we joked about how if he was going to steal my name, he could have at least spelled it right. i even got to meet jocelyn. she was beautiful.
and last but not least - there was this little girl, none of us knew her or her parents, but she was probably about four years old. she just kept following me around everywhere. holding my hand, sitting on my lap. if you didn't know it you would have thought she was my child. she was absolutely adorable. her dad had to keep coming to get her. so funny!
all in all, it was a good weekend. i really gave it all to the lord. it has been hard for me to go down there and spend a lot of time with my family. there is just this spirit of hopelessness. listen to kris vallaton's teaching "from paupers to princes." it explains it perfectly.
the reason we went down this weekend was because my uncle chuckie invited us to come and see him get baptized and also to attend the church service afterward. for anyone who doesn't know my uncle chuckie, physically and mentally abused as a child by his father, he is a drug user, an alcoholic, sometimes racist when under the influence, and all around not your choice type of fellow. he was the only person wasted at my wedding. a wedding where there was no open bar - simply wine. he was arrested later that night. so anyway, he lives right across the street from a black baptist church. they'd often notice my uncle outside or doing whatever it is that he does, and they would walk over to his house and ask him to help with something at the church, help him unload a truck, etcetera. as time passed, chuckie would just walk over to see if anything needed to be done, if there was anything he could help with. as time passed a friendship grew between some of the men at the church and my uncle. (many of them had already had known my uncle from back in high school - and from the fact that wellsville is a very small town). out of the friendship, they began inviting him to church. he began to have some sense of community, of worth, there were a few people who believed in him. this led to him being baptized and giving his life to Christ this past weekend. it was pretty amazing. he still has a long way to go, but he was so excited about what he did. he looks as if he has some hope in his eyes. i pray that the lord guards this planted seed and that it grows to abundance.
besides my uncle receiving baptism, there were many other interesting things that came out of going to this church. there were so many people there from my past.
there was a lady there that my parents and i used to live next door to. i used to play in her yard and steal vegetables out of her garden when i was about three years old. she came up to me and gave me a huge hug. she told me about her husband and how he is still gardening. they lost their thirty-eight year old son last month to kidney failure & diabetes. all through worship i couldn't help but notice her. her hands were so high in the air, praising god, she sang so beautifully.
i met a man named derek who was in the men's choir. my mom introduced him and told me that he was the best man in her and my biological father's wedding. it wasn't a big deal to them, but, to me it was like meeting a celebrity or something. i just wanted to make him sit down with me and answer every question i had. it was so surreal to watch someone who was doing so well. he had god, he had a beautiful wife and two little girls, he had good friends surrounding him. he had, what seemed to me, a normal life. crazy to think that he used to be close enough to my father to be his best man. their lives are so opposite now.
i met my stepfather's cousin, who i had actually met several years before. he was a very sweet guy - polar opposite from my stepfather, if i may say. my mom teased him about stealing my name for his daughter. her name is "jocelyn." we joked about how if he was going to steal my name, he could have at least spelled it right. i even got to meet jocelyn. she was beautiful.
and last but not least - there was this little girl, none of us knew her or her parents, but she was probably about four years old. she just kept following me around everywhere. holding my hand, sitting on my lap. if you didn't know it you would have thought she was my child. she was absolutely adorable. her dad had to keep coming to get her. so funny!
all in all, it was a good weekend. i really gave it all to the lord. it has been hard for me to go down there and spend a lot of time with my family. there is just this spirit of hopelessness. listen to kris vallaton's teaching "from paupers to princes." it explains it perfectly.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Monday, December 1, 2008
hiya.
i've been away a bit too long. gotta update before i lose my blogging streak.
firstly, i just wanted to make it clear that in my previous blog entry, when i was speaking about how i felt about dan & the other guys at the usmc ball, i was in no way promoting war. i hate war. dan hates war. it's awful for families, governments, the environment - everything. we can't wait until jesus returns and war is thrown into the pit forever. but, because we live in a world consumed by sin, ("big S" Sin and "little s" sin...) war is inescapable. country will come against country. nation against nation, blah blah. and i am proud of the men who will chose to step up and protect their country. who chose to go even when the don't want to. who have a sense of duty. the men who know that even if they decide they would rather not go and put themselves into danger - inevitably, someone else will. and as for the "thou shalt not kill" commandment...in the context of the original hebrew, it is saying "thou shalt not murder." murder, unlawful and premeditated killing of another human. (also, just clarifying. any soldier who has gone to war and was put in the position to have to kill someone to save his or someone else's life -- i can't think of a worse situation to be in) god called men to war many times. jesus is not a pacifist. when god promises groups of people healing in the old testament, often he promises to heal them and their land. we are knit to our land. we are called to protect our land.
but that's enough of that for now.
i'm re-reading a really wonderful book that i read when i was in portland several weeks ago. it's called serve god, save the planet. dan and i are reading it together, a chapter a night out loud - and frankly, it's changing our lives. we are seeing so many things differently. we're seeing how wealthy we are. we're realizing how our actions and choices directly affect so many impoverished people in other lands. i would strongly suggest reading this book. every single christian should read this book. he perfectly ties environmentalism and christianity in a straightforward and practical way. he's not preachy, and he's also not a hippy. he just found that it makes perfect sense. creation care is an essential part of serving the lord.
a man was trampled in a walmart on black friday. trampled to death. a pregnant woman was also trampled over. she survived, but was in critical condition after the incident. are we that blinded by consumerism and selfishness that we will push and shove our way in to get what we want before anyone else - totally oblivious to the lives we're crushing beneath us?
onto a lighter note, geeeeesss!
ben & mackenzie, ashley & jay came over last night. we played apples to apples. it was so fun. mackenzie and i drank too many martinis and ashley complained about being pregnant, and we laughed a lot at dan & jay's explanation skills. it was wonderful. i love fun.
firstly, i just wanted to make it clear that in my previous blog entry, when i was speaking about how i felt about dan & the other guys at the usmc ball, i was in no way promoting war. i hate war. dan hates war. it's awful for families, governments, the environment - everything. we can't wait until jesus returns and war is thrown into the pit forever. but, because we live in a world consumed by sin, ("big S" Sin and "little s" sin...) war is inescapable. country will come against country. nation against nation, blah blah. and i am proud of the men who will chose to step up and protect their country. who chose to go even when the don't want to. who have a sense of duty. the men who know that even if they decide they would rather not go and put themselves into danger - inevitably, someone else will. and as for the "thou shalt not kill" commandment...in the context of the original hebrew, it is saying "thou shalt not murder." murder, unlawful and premeditated killing of another human. (also, just clarifying. any soldier who has gone to war and was put in the position to have to kill someone to save his or someone else's life -- i can't think of a worse situation to be in) god called men to war many times. jesus is not a pacifist. when god promises groups of people healing in the old testament, often he promises to heal them and their land. we are knit to our land. we are called to protect our land.
but that's enough of that for now.
i'm re-reading a really wonderful book that i read when i was in portland several weeks ago. it's called serve god, save the planet. dan and i are reading it together, a chapter a night out loud - and frankly, it's changing our lives. we are seeing so many things differently. we're seeing how wealthy we are. we're realizing how our actions and choices directly affect so many impoverished people in other lands. i would strongly suggest reading this book. every single christian should read this book. he perfectly ties environmentalism and christianity in a straightforward and practical way. he's not preachy, and he's also not a hippy. he just found that it makes perfect sense. creation care is an essential part of serving the lord.
a man was trampled in a walmart on black friday. trampled to death. a pregnant woman was also trampled over. she survived, but was in critical condition after the incident. are we that blinded by consumerism and selfishness that we will push and shove our way in to get what we want before anyone else - totally oblivious to the lives we're crushing beneath us?
onto a lighter note, geeeeesss!
ben & mackenzie, ashley & jay came over last night. we played apples to apples. it was so fun. mackenzie and i drank too many martinis and ashley complained about being pregnant, and we laughed a lot at dan & jay's explanation skills. it was wonderful. i love fun.
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