music

ohhhhh yeah.

so i'm ms september in regards to the cd club, just not quite done yet. almost. here's the line up...

september (past due): michelle
october: david e
november: tanuel l
december: amanda f
january: stephen g
february: todd h
march: jeremy n
april: paul g

turned out with eight... mine will be out (hopefully) by the end of the week, even though as i type that i don't know whether to believe myself. but i did spend some time on connect getting songs i didn't have yesterday. oh yeah. get high on bluegrass =)

chris got stephen and me tickets to the trey anastasio show at the orpheum next month. front row and center! thanks to chris for being the first at the box office, and thanks again for the good drinks on friday. i really fancy the imperial room, and it's even better now that it's smoke free. i'm sure that not everyone likes that, but when i don't go home smelling like shit and with a sore throat from second hand smoke, i'm all the better.

what else. took abbey to the water slides at the savage lifetime today. it's quite nice out there. i had forgotten that they have slides indoors, too. two days in a row at lifetime for the month of october. that's already a better start than september was. too much stress and too much foods in september, which is why my feet felt like lead at my exercise class on saturday morning. maybe it was the alcohol from the night before though... oh, and we had "family karoake" on saturday night! abbey even cued up my fav song to belt out... vanessa carlton's a thousand miles... what a girl =) you may not have heard it, but i think the neighbors did!

sunday sunday

Yeah, Todd... February is open, so we just need Tanuel and Jeremy for either November or March or April. Paul will take a month, too, so that means 8 months of new music. I'm working on mine, but will need addresses from some of you =)

So far, this weekend has been a real weekend. Friday, Stephen and I met Paul and Anna (and some of their Fargo friends) at the Turf Club, where we sat through two pretty bad bands (I have to admit that one of them was, we think, a new band that Alan Sparhawk was heading up) until Trampled by Turtles played. Very worth it. You could call their sound speed-bluegrass, I think. Must get CD... Too much beer, too much second hand smoke (hate it, love the smoking ban in Mpls) but a good time had by all. (You know you are old when... the two o'clock close seems REALLY late!)

Saturday morning, we headed to the Mpls Farmers Market. Purchases:
Five bars of handmade soap that we really like
12 bunches of garlic
Honey crisp apples, blemished
two different types of olives, 1/2 lb each
whole wheat sourdough bread
6 HUGE bunches (more like bouquets!) of basil (for 5 bucks!!)
butternut squash
spaghetti squash
2 bunches of asparagus
1 bushel of red peppers (yes, a bushel!!!!!)

Then we took the dog to the dog park, worked out at Lifetime, shopped at Whole Foods (gotta love the samples), and came home as it was time for Abbey to come for her nights here with us. After we got situated, we went to a spaghetti feed at Our Lady of Peace (church near us) (Fat Lorenzo's pasta!) and then went to St. Paul for the annual Prarie Home Companion Street Dance with Garrison Keillor. We danced and had kettle corn and danced some more. Jack Knife and the Sharps played a couple songs... this is one of my favorite fall events; was probably our fourth year there. It was a little rainy, but we tried to ignore it. Not too bad...

Today, I had some weird feeling that we should go to church, so we went to a big Universalist Unitarian church on Dupont in Uptown. Have you ever been treated to first rate jazz on Sunday morning??? I thought it was a pretty good service (Abbey visited a Sunday school class for the first time ever, I think) but we need to really look into the background of wherever we go and whatever we do. I did feel much more comfortable there than in a Lutheran church, though. The sermon made sense, about how people who have left their faith of tradition have trouble coming together in community as most are "prickly individualists:" (individualists for good reason, they didn't put that down at all) and that it is possible. UUs do a lot of social justice work and the message seems to be all about peace and transforming yourself, which is a nice change of pace from damnation and conquering all the heathens that roam the Earth. But like I said, we need to take a hard look into wherever we go, especially if Abbey will be in Sunday school. Very important not to jump the gun. That's a pun. I hate guns!

So as we were driving home, we passed another church that was really busy, and a two/three year old ran out in front of our car. It was a quick event that made me think about cause and effect and how your course of life can change in a flash. We heard the mom scream, which is what got Stephen's attention, and he put his foot through the floorboard and swerved. It. was. a. hard. next. few. minutes. as. we. drove. on. Makes you feel like throwing up. We didn't touch the kid, but it was too close of a call.

Instead of going home, we went to Backman's to walk out some nerves, and went home with six trees. We've planted four so far... and I ripped out all the cucumbers and watermelons and greenery or brownery and yellowery if you'd prefer. The garden is at its end. We've still got tons of tomatoes (real tomato soup for supper tonight, Abbey's call,. Well, she wanted Campbells, but when you've got more real ones than you can eat..)

So it's with a sore back and blackened fingernails that I must sign off. MLGS

mucicalia

September - Michelle
October - David E
November -
December - Amanda
January - Stephen
February -

Nelson and Tanuel... who wants November and who wants the month of love??? =)

long time gone

ok, just so this doesn't get buried beneath pictures, dave + tanuel + jeremy + amanda, email me and we'll get the music started. i'll do september. we've got six, so i figure we can do half a year right now... dylan? todd? tony? here are some photos from chicago, a city that makes mpls look like, uh, velva. we had a good trip/four hours in the american girl place with abbey =) the sears tower sky deck was my favorite, followed by the waterslides and superman at six flags...

Mixed CD Exchange to Commence

Ok. Here's the deal.
I am in search of 10 (ten) people to start up a mixed CD exchange, to be named the Weekend America CD Club (that would be WACD Club, yeah).

Requirements: must have some sort of North Dakota connection, must be at least 20 yrs old, must have enough blank cds and $ to send the 11 other members the mixed cd during your month (may be some international members).

Ins and outs: Members will make the very best mixed cd they can come up with during the month they are assigned. After creating a coolio cover to accompany said CD, they will get their heines to the post master and send the compilation to the other members, who will then be able to enjoy a new mix of songs.

Reservations: Two spots are for Michelle and Stephen, and, well, if Dave E and Nelson are interested, they get dibs because they are so cool. Really, I mean it.

Websites that may be of assistance:
Mix CD Exchange
Tiny Mix Tapes
Mix Tape: The Art of Cassette Culture

Who's in??

on our way

Here we are at the Twins vs Mariners at the Metrodome on Saturday night... Second game in two weeks for Abbey and me. Last time it was Twins vs Red Sox and the TWINS won 4-3 right at the end. This time the Mariners had a little homerun derby in the 10th. Anyhoo- the Geffre/Shaffner family is off to Chicago for a family vacation. We'll have lots of fun at Six Flags for you Dave! Wish us luck trying to figure out the transit system...
Michelle

spaghetti nation

thanks to stephen for cooking for our spaghetti feed last night. had a fair number of family and friends over just to get together... no photos, though. we head out for chicago on monday. the deal was that we would treat abbey to a cool vacation (my disney world promise was just too expensive) before we have a baby. so we are hitting places like the american girl place and six flags great america. did you know that parking at navy pier is $22 for the 3-8 hour rate??? yeah. but who's counting when you're on a vacation that you have saved for? we are staying at a campground at illinois beach and driving in each day. mia will be living the glamorous life at uncle dan's bed, bone, and biscuit in the mean time. is there something wrong with life when your dog gets to spend some time at a bed and breakfast before you do? better see about that soon. thesis work is going so-so. i have become really adept at finding almost anything else to do when i'm supposed to be working on it. better see about that soon, too. =) michelle

cuteness

busy i guess

time's flying, and i'm so not ready for september yet. it seems that we've been everywhere lately... two sundays ago abbey and i went to a baby shower for carrie kram and then i convinced stephen to go to a dfl precinct party. we'll seems that we were the only three there besides the organizers and a friend of theirs who will be running for office. there is something about being the only guests for a long span of time that makes you uneasy. i mean, we didn't wither, but we generally operate under the slip in-have some food-slip-out way mode, so this was a little different. tuesday, august 2, was national night out, and since we don't know many of our neighbors, and since we hadn't heard that anyone was doing anything on our block, i convinced stephen that who else but WE should host the block party! now you have to know that i've convinced him to so some stupid things in the past, like having numerous garage sales that didn't go so well. and he will be the first to remind me that when we were in the duplex and had random bachelor/second hand furniture that it was my great idea to sell it on the boulevard one saturday morning, which left us with crates for drawers for about six months. yeah. so he was a little hesitant, but it went really well. about eight families came, and it was busy the whole time. so he admitted that he was wrong, and then we left for jeremy's 28th birthday party in st. paul. we got there after dusk, but we still got to hang out a little. happy bday, nels!! the next night, we decided to do the second half of our change date... stephen cashed in all the change in the change "beaker" (a nice vase, too, i might add) and it came to about $120... so we went to cafe brenda in the warehouse district, which turned out to be a great place to eat. the first half of our change date was at cosetta in st. paul, which was good, but we were looking for a little more romantic of a place and neither of us knew that cosetta was deli style. after cosetta we went to the chatterbox pub, which i thought was nice, but stephen had some dungeons and dragons people (ok, our stereotype... it wasn't confirmed) talking loudly about sex and sex toys as if to say..... well, you can fill in the blank with your own cattiness. anyways, thursday night, paul and anna came over with some halibut that he had caught on their trip to alaska to see trisha, jeff, and the girls (our neices). he also sold us an egress window for the basement... $1500 but it should be nice. we may get another one for the family room part of the basement, too, but we have to plan the basement renovation before we do that. friday we got to go boating on lake gervais in little canada with one of the art profs from augsburg who likes stephen enough to invite our family out... it was awesome... warm water, sunny but not scathing... abbey had fun and seemed really comfortable in the water (a lifejacket always adds some confidence!) stephen went tubing and i actually waterskiied for the first time in about 15 years~ actually made it up, went over both sides of the wake, didn't crash! we have pictures, but i don't know if i'm into baring my fish-belly white legs to the world... anyways, i was pretty proud of myself =) saturday, abbey and i went to a twins game with free tickets from jeff kram.... lower deck seats, twins vs the red sox, and the twins won 4 - 3! now i'm not a big baseball fan, but i actually rose out of my seat to yell several times... pretty good game with a nice view.

so life isn't always this exciting or busy. it's been crazy lately. lisa and i have been hitting aerobics/yoga classes daily, too, in an effort to get healthier (i.e. lose some shaffner family ass) but i'm on my own this week b/c she and nick took our pop-up to duluth for vacation. that means mom and dad are here to babysit lauren, so we'll probably have them over tonight to grill since abbey is here tonight. and while i am mentioning abbey, let me say that a nine year old is an awesome creature in comparison to creatures at younger ages =) parenting has been going well lately, which is good, because sometimes it can be frustrating. yea, abbey! thanks for being such a good girl (although she hasn't read this, nor do i want her to.... adult space!)

well, that's all for now. i have a girl's night out with hamline ladies tomorrow night, but don't think i'm not working... lots of thesis revisions and research (chapter 2) will be consuming my time for the next two weeks as well... gotta get that bitch of a paper done sometime. love, michelle

yo yo ma

have heard from john foster and martin lukasczyk lately, two tight bros from way back when... john is in shanghai, and martin is in finland but is in china on business this week. i've been cranking out revisions on the first chapter of my thesis all day. almost there! damn, it will be great when i get my hoodie. do people wear those around the house? i should be able to within the next year. won't that be snappy???

no return

let it be known that when you buy naturnal deodorant and it doesn't work out for you, you can NOT return it...at this point, i'm still undecided on tom's of maine apricot natural deod. i just don't know if i like smelling apricot all day. like all this talk of deodorant is important or exciting. probably not.

did you know that i check other blogs for updates, say, daily, but in return i am bad at updating mine? hmmmm. maybe i better rethink that/ michelle =)

11pm update

yeah. just sitting here waiting for stephen to come home from all the aquatennial festivities. it seems like a good night to go out, but he'll most likely be bushed, which is ok because i've gone out the past two nights... so i went to get a haircut this evening, which is news because i only go to the salon twice a year tops! and since it was such an occasion, i just made the night into a mini shopping extravaganza! got myself some aveda hang straight and a "refreshing" bath bar (hope it's better than the natural deodorant i tried out!) on my way out of the parking lot i noticed that there was a lovely store called the cellars there, so a little swipe and signature later, i was walking out with the summit hefeweizen and sauza that i neeeeeeded... and then, well, you know when you pass the mall of america on a night like tonight, you might as well stop. so i made my way through bloomingdales admiring the cool french connection and free people clothes that are just a little too spendy for me, but damn i wish i could... on and out to j crew for some clearance shopping. i love the end of season sales because they happen before the end of the season, so if you happen to snag something, you still have time to enjoy it! got myself some cute little "going out" shirts that are not in the same category as "wear as a teacher" shirts. they aren't too vixenish, but it's amazing what a little strappy top will do to make a girl of 29 feel less frumpy. which can be a worry for girls of 29 you know. frumpyness. a lady's worst enemy. on and out. next i had to stop by the afternoon, which is a store that gives stephen the dry heaves. come to think of it, it does nearly the same for me. i prefer something like patina if i want to buy overpriced way cool gifts. but back to the matter at hand... the afternoon is like the only place i know of that sells the refills for our co2 wine bottle opener, which totally rocks. but we've been devoid of the cool little doodads for a while, and cork in wine isn't too hot. anyhoo, got out of there and you know, when there is an effing larger than life poster of josh duhamel hanging in the gap, you godda go in for christsakes. so i went in on the second floor, which i was on anyways, and took my sweet ol time walking down to the first floor... the image is between floors! i don't know what's wrong with me. i get all googlyeyed when i see him on screen or in print. in reality, he is too much of a pretty boy for my taste, but he IS a sight for sore eyes. any eyes for that matter. left the gap wiith two more "going out" shirts. get ready! i'm ready to hit the town now =) Then... my oh my. I was at my real destination, which happens to be the new SEPHORA store, mecca of makeup!!!!!!!! but. not so fast. just as i got to the doors, life might as well have been in slow motion as the doors swung shut right in front of my face. too close to closing time i guess, and the empire was cut off in front of my eyes. probably a good thing, because the makeup is way too cool for me to buy all the time. uh. and a little spendy. so my only alternative was to browse victoria's secret for a few minutes. i was busy admiring the super cute "pink" line when a sales clerk nabbed me into signing up for an angels card. well, i thought i was just getting a rewards card, but in less than two minutes, i was approved for a vs credit card that I DO NOT NEED =) maybe. but with it, and along with my free $10 from Origins every birthday and free something from Aveda at Southdale every birthday, i'll get a free $10 from vs. not too bad! and then my readers (all two of you) it was time to go home. alas, along the way, i managed to remember two more things i need to return to stores. 1 red Kolo photo book, and Body Shop Tea Tree oil face stuff. Didn't work for me. Too many things to return. Oh, and i forgot to mention something maybe only girls get happy about. or maybe just me. during the entire mini shopping spree, i got to walk around in the smell of hair products that aren't mine... you know, the post-new-haircut smell that mysteriously leaves once you wash your hair at home... bumble and bumble is smelling pretty sweet tonight. and with that lame statement, lamer than lame just shoot me now, i will attach the gap ad of jd. rock on, rock on.

stayed out too late =)

1. Kari & Rob, Kyle & Michelle
2. Melissa... One of my fellow English teachers-- leaving in a week to teach in Berlin. I'll miss you!
3. Alli, Lynn, Christie
4. Kari and Lynn
5. Erik, Christie, Lynn, Kim, Kari, me, Melissa, Michelle, Alli, Sally, Tony
or... Melissa's sig. other, English 8th, Phy Ed, Science 8th, Spanish, English 7th, English, Science, Speech Path, FACS, Science 8th Middle school teachers know how to do it right!

It was a gorgeous night at Brit's. We had a spot right near the lawn bowling. Lots of people to people-watch! I don't know if I could do that scene too much; It's almost exhausting by the end of the night. But it was awesome to be out with the girls (and a few husbands, too. Stephen was at the Aquatennial... he's had his share of these things!) That's all for now!

Update

July 21, 2005
Recent Ventures Saturday, July 16th
MSU Alumni boat cruise on Lake Minnetonka
Stephen, Michelle, Jeremy
While it was a little balmy and we were the youngest alums on the trip, this was something we really otherwise wouldn’t get to do... I’ve lived in Minneapolis for six full years and have never been to Lake Minnetonka. Some of the homes are amazing, but it’s hard enough to keep a small south Mpls home clean... other than ohhhh-ing and ahhhh-ing, I always wonder how much $ it takes to heat and cool those places.

Monday, July 18th
Music and Movies in the Park
Stephen, Michelle, Abbey, Jeremy, and our dog Mia
Yeah for Music and Movies in the park. One of my favorite parts is just people watching. Seems that the dog is quite a hit. Lots of comments on her from people passing by. We are noticing how pets open this door to complete strangers talking to each other. Not too shabby.

Tuesday, July 19th
Took the dog to the vet. She checked out ok, got her rabies shot, has to gain four to five lbs. Yeah, heartworm meds and flea and tick meds are a little spendy. The check up was covered by the MVHS, but the rest wasn’t. $198.12 later, we went home.

That night I had grad class. Only three left this summer! We went to Don Pablo’s afterwards. Can’t beat a raspberry margarita on a hot summer night.

Wednesday, July 20th
Torchlight Parade, Downtown
Mpls Stephen and Michelle (and the dog)
Stephen got a freelance assignment to shoot photos of the candidates for Miss Aquatennial (Aquatennial Queen?) all week, so he’s been out and about chasing after overly done up prom queens... Last night he had to cover them on their parade float, so the three of us headed out. Not too bad, but after the parade, it was kind of creepy. The “sweepers” came out asap. It was like little ants with blow guns descending on the steps of the Basilica, where I happened to be sitting waiting for the hubby to return. Kinda sc-fi how quickly they were out... sirens going off, water trucks blowing, families scattering. Uff-da.

Stephen’s Aunt Pat Krile passed away this week, and her funeral was tonight in North Dakota. He wanted to get back, but couldn’t with his commitment to the Aquatennial. Best wishes for the days to come for the Krile family. Our thoughts are with you.

Tonight, July 21 After class, I’m heading to a 40th bday party for my friend Christie at Brit’s Pub. Should be a late night!

OK... now to the real stuff.

Michelle’s Semi-scientific Experiment
Question: Will Hypoallergenic Herbal Clear Naturally natural deodorant (clear aloe fresh my friends!) do the same job as ... the regular deodorant that I have already thrown away because it was gone (Arrid XX?)
Trial period: two days
Outcome: Hot damn. If I wanted to smell like my NATURAL self, I wouldn’t bother with deodorant at all.

List of things to return to stores (the list keeps getting bigger because we always forget to bring the stuff along when we go to the store)
1. Herbal Clear Naturally natural deodorant (Target) Complaint above.
2. Undergarments for Abbey (Target) 9 year olds grow like weeds. We have already bought the bigger size, but haven’t yet returned the too small purchase.
3. Bio-spot flea and tick medicine (Petco) Ok, so I freaked out after I put this on the dog. I went online to find out how long it would take to dry on her back (since there were ALL OF THESE WARNINGS about how bad it was for humans and I felt bad about telling Abbey to be careful not to touch her back over and over). I found things like THIS and THIS. So in a flurry, I had Mia in the bathtub (oh great black hair, yum) with a latex glove on my hand, washing her vigorously, taking care not to get her belly because she was spayed on the 13th... The vet said she wishes they’d take Bio-spot off the market...
4. Plug in covers (Target)
5. Starter bolt (Checker Auto Parts)
6. Misc. shelving end brackets (Menard’s)
7. 4” Crossbars (Home Depot)
The crappy part is that I have to go through some receipts to find the right ones for the covers and the brackets. This wouldn’t be a problem, but I can’t remember if Stephen or I bought them, and we have lots of receipts from those places. Maybe we’ll get this all returned by the end of the summer.

And I end today with some pictures of our yard... grow like weeds has a whole new meaning when you have a yard and a garden! But... we pulled our first tomato two days ago, cukes are coming along, and the #1 best investment for any garden is === romaine lettuce! It grown all summer, too, so once you cut it you just have to wait like a week for that stalk to be ready to eat again. Here’s to fresh lettuce in the summer........................

Come fly with me...

This is our new dog Mia (mee-ah) (yeah, like Minnepolis Institute of Arts or "mine" in Spanish...) She's a Black and Tan Coonhound, 2 - 3 years old. We got her at the MVHS yesterday. So far, so good! We really like her =)

Camping July 2005

Photos

I've finally put some camping photos on Flickr, so if you're interested...

bet I'm the only

dumbass to make THIS mistake... So the morning we were to leave for ND, I noticed that I was about a grand off in my banking estimates-- I thought I had more than the bank said I did. After going through my statements this morning, I realized that I accidentally paid our mortgage TWICE IN THE MONTH OF JUNE. Who does that??? As it turns out, June 29th, I got this sense of panic and time warp-i-ness and went online to frantically pay the bill that was to be due on July 1st. I thought for some reason that I hadn't sent it in, but... I'm generally good with bills, and I had (and it had cleared at the bank a week earlier.) Not like we have an extra 1600 laying around... Don't think I'll make that mistake again. I've heard of people not making their payments, but making them twice??? I godda get out more. =)

I'll put some hiking pictures up soon.

This one was pretty boring, but I guess I felt the need to share...

safe?

Dave and Tanuel-- should I be worried about you two? Are you safe? I don't know how a person could be UNaffected by bombings, but I hope you two and those you know were far away (and as unaffected as can be) from the explosions this morning. Missing you guys, Michelle

oh what a night

My gawd, I effing can't stand the people who run Abbey's regular daycare program. We have had an issue with them for several years (which I can't discuss here; issues dealing with -such- are off limits for the blog per SG) about which I started to inquire steadily last summer. Now I have inquired into the situation two times this summer, and they continue to flatly ignore my request for information......

excerpt from moi  "...We are trying to be proactive so that...  I am concerned that I have repeatedly tried to
gather this information from you (at least three times last summer/fall and now
two times this summer) and that you have repeatedly ignored my requests.  I
understand that you are most likely busy, but even a quick email acknowledging
our request and letting us know you'll get back to us at a later date would be
approporiate/polite. Your continual stonewall of us is frustrating and confusing..."

"... I apologize if I come off as rude by email, but one starts to wonder what the
reasoning for never responding to this issue would be.  We don't understand your silence.

Your prompt attention to this matter would be much appreciated..."

Ewwwwww.  I hate being ignored when I feel I am being reasonable.

Daily effects of white privilege
http://www.cwru.edu/president/aaction/UnpackingTheKnapsack.pdf
I decided to try to work on myself at least by identifying some of the
daily effects of white privilege in my life. I have chosen those conditions
that I think in my case attach somewhat more to skin-color privilege than
to class, religion, ethnic status, or geographic location, though of course
all these other factors are intricately intertwined. As far as I can tell,
my African American coworkers, friends, and acquaintances with whom I come
into daily or frequent contact in this particular time, place and time of
work cannot count on most of these conditions.

1. I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.

2. I can avoid spending time with people whom I was trained to mistrust and who have learned to mistrust my kind or me.

3. If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area which I can afford and in which I would want to live.

4. I can be pretty sure that my neighbors in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me.

5. I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed.

6. I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented.

7. When I am told about our national heritage or about "civilization," I am shown that people of my color made it what it is.

8. I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race.

9. If I want to, I can be pretty sure of finding a publisher for this piece on white privilege.

10. I can be pretty sure of having my voice heard in a group in which I am the only member of my race.

11. I can be casual about whether or not to listen to another person's voice in a group in which s/he is the only member of his/her race.

12. I can go into a music shop and count on finding the music of my race represented, into a supermarket and find the staple foods which fit with my cultural traditions, into a hairdresser's shop and find someone who can cut my hair.

13. Whether I use checks, credit cards or cash, I can count on my skin color not to work against the appearance of financial reliability.

14. I can arrange to protect my children most of the time from people who might not like them.

15. I do not have to educate my children to be aware of systemic racism for their own daily physical protection.

16. I can be pretty sure that my children's teachers and employers will tolerate them if they fit school and workplace norms; my chief worries about them do not concern others' attitudes toward their race.

17. I can talk with my mouth full and not have people put this down to my color.

18. I can swear, or dress in second hand clothes, or not answer letters, without having people attribute these choices to the bad morals, the poverty or the illiteracy of my race.

19. I can speak in public to a powerful male group without putting my race on trial.

20. I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race.

21. I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.

22. I can remain oblivious of the language and customs of persons of color who constitute the world's majority without feeling in my culture any penalty for such oblivion.

23. I can criticize our government and talk about how much I fear its policies and behavior without being seen as a cultural outsider.

24. I can be pretty sure that if I ask to talk to the "person in charge", I will be facing a person of my race.

25. If a traffic cop pulls me over or if the IRS audits my tax return, I can be sure I haven't been singled out because of my race.

26. I can easily buy posters, post-cards, picture books, greeting cards, dolls, toys and children's magazines featuring people of my race.

27. I can go home from most meetings of organizations I belong to feeling somewhat tied in, rather than isolated, out-of-place, outnumbered, unheard, held at a distance or feared.

28. I can be pretty sure that an argument with a colleague of another race is more likely to jeopardize her/his chances for advancement than to jeopardize mine.

29. I can be pretty sure that if I argue for the promotion of a person of another race, or a program centering on race, this is not likely to cost me heavily within my present setting, even if my colleagues disagree with me.

30. If I declare there is a racial issue at hand, or there isn't a racial issue at hand, my race will lend me more credibility for either position than a person of color will have.

31. I can choose to ignore developments in minority writing and minority activist programs, or disparage them, or learn from them, but in any case, I can find ways to be more or less protected from negative consequences of any of these choices.

32. My culture gives me little fear about ignoring the perspectives and powers of people of other races.

33. I am not made acutely aware that my shape, bearing or body odor will be taken as a reflection on my race.

34. I can worry about racism without being seen as self-interested or self-seeking.

35. I can take a job with an affirmative action employer without having my co-workers on the job suspect that I got it because of my race.

36. If my day, week or year is going badly, I need not ask of each negative episode or situation whether it had racial overtones.

37. I can be pretty sure of finding people who would be willing to talk with me and advise me about my next steps, professionally.

38. I can think over many options, social, political, imaginative or professional, without asking whether a person of my race would be accepted or allowed to do what I want to do.

39. I can be late to a meeting without having the lateness reflect on my race.

40. I can choose public accommodation without fearing that people of my race cannot get in or will be mistreated in the places I have chosen.

41. I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help, my race will not work against me.

42. I can arrange my activities so that I will never have to experience feelings of rejection owing to my race.

43. If I have low credibility as a leader I can be sure that my race is not the problem.

44. I can easily find academic courses and institutions which give attention only to people of my race.

45. I can expect figurative language and imagery in all of the arts to testify to experiences of my race.

46. I can chose blemish cover or bandages in "flesh" color and have them more or less match my skin.

47. I can travel alone or with my spouse without expecting embarrassment or hostility in those who deal with us.

48. I have no difficulty finding neighborhoods where people approve of our household.

49. My children are given texts and classes which implicitly support our kind of family unit and do not turn them against my choice of domestic partnership.

50. I will feel welcomed and "normal" in the usual walks of public life, institutional and social.