Feeds:
Posts
Comments

A change is as good as a rest

April 27, 2011 by Jeanne

To my readers of the past six years,

Earlier this week, I made the decision to retire Out and Back, the blog I’ve been writing since 2005. I know at least a couple of you have been with me since the beginning or close to it, and I’m grateful for your loyalty over the years.

I’ll be turning 35 next month, and given all of the changes that have taken place in my life since Out and Back began, I think it’s time to turn over a new leaf, turn the page, and close this chapter in my blogging existence.

A few of my “greatest hits” posts will remain archived here for those who wish to peruse them, but there will not be any further updates to Out and Back. In the future, I may return to blogging and will link to my new blog from here when that time comes, but as of now, Out and Back is going “out” and won’t be comin’ “back.”

Thanks for reading!

-J.

Posted in Blathering, Random thoughts | Leave a Comment »

And you thought I was done blogging about marriage….

April 22, 2011 by Jeanne

…I read an article on Salon.com this morning that sent the subject of marriage hurtling back to the forefront of my overtired brain. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that in this particular case, the idea of marriage is more of a jumping-off point for the thoughts I’m about to commit to blogular immortality rather than the centerpiece of my blathering.

This is the article I read. You should probably take a few minutes and go read it yourself before returning to my ruminations on it. I’ll wait.

Done?

Just in case you didn’t go read it, the quick sum-up is that it’s a piece written by a woman named Sharon Hewitt (she happens to be a lecturer in Philosophy at Brandeis.) And it is a very personal essay about her experiences after receiving the news that her fiance no longer wanted to marry her (or, I suppose, to be more accurate, receiving the news that her fiance no longer felt like he could marry her.) Essentially, he told her that an old girlfriend from his past had resurfaced and he no longer felt as certain about marrying Hewitt.

Continue Reading »

Posted in Blathering, Love, Men suck, Neuroses | Tagged , | Leave a Comment »

Taking online dating offline…safely

April 19, 2011 by Jeanne

Yesterday’s post got me thinking about some of the things people — particularly women — can do to protect themselves when using online dating services. Any dating site worth its salt is going to make this kind of information available to its members, but given my work with sexual assault victims and survivors, I’m of the opinion that these things can’t be said too frequently or too loudly. With that, here are a few suggestions based on my own experiences, as well as the information typically provided by several reputable online dating sites.

Continue Reading »

Posted in Crime and punishment, Current Affairs, Love, News items, Web/Tech | Leave a Comment »

An Open Letter to Match.com

April 18, 2011 by Jeanne

Dear Mandy (Ginsburg, Match.com President),

I’m a former Match.com subscriber (and, I might add, a satisfied customer — I met my current boyfriend through your service.) I also work part-time as a victim advocate for a rape crisis organization that serves three counties in my area. Simply put, I am “on call” several days each month, and during those periods I am available to answer calls to our 24-hour crisis hotline as well as to travel to a nearby medical center to meet with victims who are undergoing post-assault forensic examinations, popularly known as rape kit exams. In both scenarios, I provide information about the services provided by our organization, answer questions, and offer support and understanding. I will be the first to admit that this kind of work can, at times, be extremely difficult, but it is also tremendously rewarding and I truly can’t imagine not doing it. My work puts me in touch with people from all walks of life — from the victims/survivors themselves to law enforcement personnel to medical and mental health professionals.

As you may or may not know, April is National Sexual Assault Awareness Month, so the recent announcement of Match.com’s plans to begin screening its members against a national sex offender registry comes at a highly appropriate time. However, while I applaud your company for taking this step,  there are some vitally important facts that your subscribers must take into consideration, and in the true spirit of “awareness” that pervades this month, I hope Match.com will work to educate its members about what sex offender registry screening can and — more importantly — cannot do.

Continue Reading »

Posted in Crime and punishment, Current Affairs, Love, News items, Web/Tech | 1 Comment »

The Oldest Things I Own

April 17, 2011 by Jeanne

We’ll take a trip up to the moon
For that is the place for a lark
So meet me down at Luna, Lena
Down at Luna Park

“The Teaser”, Coney Island in Luna Park (LOC)

I have so many old things floating around my casa, it’s ridiculous. Blame it on the sheer pleasure I derive from trolling eBay and browsing antique shops for fascinating relics from the past. I also have a number of older relatives who have passed some of their keepsakes on to me.

Continue Reading »

Posted in Art, Coney Island, Stuff I dig | Tagged | Leave a Comment »

What’s Worth Waiting in Long Lines

April 16, 2011 by Jeanne

Coney Island Cyclone

1. A ride on the Coney Island Cyclone….or the Wonder Wheel, for that matter.

2. When I’m on my way to Arizona, I will stand in line for the airport security screening with a stupid-ass grin on my face because I’m so happy to be going. It’s the one time (for me) that that wait is worthwhile.

3. The waffles at Off The Waffle in Eugene, Oregon. (You have to stand in line to place your order, and then they bring your food out to you. Sometimes the line is long. It’s a popular place. Here’s a tip: try the “Self-Fulfilling Prophecy.” Your waistline will hate you, but the rest of you will be very, very happy.)

Powered by Plinky

Posted in Random thoughts, Stuff I dig | Tagged | Leave a Comment »

The Best Photo I’ve Taken

April 15, 2011 by Jeanne

I don’t fancy myself a photographer, although the medium has always interested me. My ex-husband had to take a photography class when he was an undergrad, and in addition to being his subject now and then, I would observe him sometimes as he fiddled around with aperture settings and shutter speeds on the ancient, ever-so-slightly jacked-up SLR he snagged on eBay in order to have something to use in class.

My photography experience consists mainly of various film cameras used in my younger years (who remembers the Le Clic? I had one… pretty sure it was like this one. My parents insisted on 35mm film, even though I thought the ones that used disc film were much cooler.) I don’t think I got a digital camera of my own until about four or five years ago. I was traveling a lot for work and thought it would be cool to have something small that I could use to take photos of some of the interesting places I visited. Enter the Canon PowerShot, which was my faithful travel companion for two years of frequent flier miles and hotel points. It was the PowerShot that snapped this picture of the Coney Island boardwalk in the snow. I took it in February of 2008 while unexpectedly stuck in New York for the weekend.

There are no words to describe the quiet at Coney Island that day. There were a few people around, sure (as you can see in the photo) but the stillness was striking, particularly when you consider that for four or five months out of the year, CI is crowded, hot, and noisy. On this day, it was cold, deserted, and absolutely gorgeous.

I’m strictly an amateur when it comes to taking pictures, but I do love the way this one turned out.

Powered by Plinky

Posted in Art, Coney Island, Places I've been | Tagged | Leave a Comment »

Older Posts »

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.