So, way back when I became a comment-whore by asking for suggestions on what to write about, Emily asked about my post-dissertation plans. Here is that promised post.
How will I celebrate? I definitely am traveling to grad school town to participate in the whole graduation shebang. I want the pomp and circumstance and fancy robes. R will come with me, and I think my fam and R's parents are planning on coming too. In my fantasy world, we rent out the back room of my favorite pizza place and all go there for dinner. I will probably break down into sobs at some point from the relief.
I don't really have any plans career-wise yet. I am scared of getting too specific about what I want, as I could be happy in a lot of situations. I definitely want to teach, and I would love to be able to keep doing a little research. But for the first year or two I am also open to non-teaching postdocs. I figure I can put that time into publishing my dissertation which will help me be more attractive to more schools. I'm thinking a little about finding a new field site and plotting different projects I can do over summers off from teaching. My secret master plan is that one of my adjunct schools will give me a year long position next year, then love me so much that they give me a tenure track position after that, then love me so so much that they give me tenure AND hire R when he graduates. Whew. :)
There are a lot of things I have kind of been putting off until after I finish, but no major goals (except for becoming employed). I mostly want to get a somewhat normal life back. And for me a normal life means a little time to see friends, to get back into crocheting, and money to go out once and awhile. That is it. My needs and desires are few. I also want to get back into traveling more. R and I love to travel and do it well together and it has been far too long since we went on an awesome trip.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Thursday, October 09, 2008
books!
68. Memo to the President Elect by Madeleine Albright
Have I told you how much I love Madeleine Albright? I looooove Madeleine Albright. This book is her advice to the next president on all sorts of foreign policy issues. It was very interesting, and made me think about the president's job differently. For example, she makes a point of talking about how we assume the president has all this power, but he or she cannot get stuff done without the help of others, including many people who are not elected and have been in their jobs for years and years. I hope both Obama and McCain have read this book.
69. Mystic River by Dennis LeHane
I really liked this movie and recently heard that the book was good as well. It is true. It is hard to describe, the book is kind of quiet and meandering, but really engrossing. I think because the characters were so well-drawn. Very good book.
Have I told you how much I love Madeleine Albright? I looooove Madeleine Albright. This book is her advice to the next president on all sorts of foreign policy issues. It was very interesting, and made me think about the president's job differently. For example, she makes a point of talking about how we assume the president has all this power, but he or she cannot get stuff done without the help of others, including many people who are not elected and have been in their jobs for years and years. I hope both Obama and McCain have read this book.
69. Mystic River by Dennis LeHane
I really liked this movie and recently heard that the book was good as well. It is true. It is hard to describe, the book is kind of quiet and meandering, but really engrossing. I think because the characters were so well-drawn. Very good book.
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
From a distance....
You know you all know the words.
I apologize for neglecting you, my valiant blog readers. I have been very busy. I teach, I dissertate, and that is about it. The semester has been kicking my butt. I have wondered why, and then realized it is the first time I have taught two new preps AND tried to write/research/etc. But it is good I am figuring out how to balance the teaching a research, since that will be the story of the rest of my life.
Anyway, that prologue is to say I am totally going to stick to my promise and write about your requested topics. Today I am going to write about finishing my dissertation while being away from the school where I am enrolled.
I can some the situation up in two words: IT ROCKS! But it may not work for all. For me, I was not crazy about GradSchoolTown so I am happier away and being happier otherwise makes me a more productive worker. Also, R is happier pursuing his own grad school business, and that also makes me happier. Finally, I work better with my advisor with some distance AND she is the sort who loves side projects, which I avoid by not being there. I have suffered some from a lack of face time, but overall any problems have been worth the benefits, for me. I've also gotten some great teaching opportunities that I am hopeful will help me on the job search in the future. I think for some people the situation would not work out, but it has been great for me.
I apologize for neglecting you, my valiant blog readers. I have been very busy. I teach, I dissertate, and that is about it. The semester has been kicking my butt. I have wondered why, and then realized it is the first time I have taught two new preps AND tried to write/research/etc. But it is good I am figuring out how to balance the teaching a research, since that will be the story of the rest of my life.
Anyway, that prologue is to say I am totally going to stick to my promise and write about your requested topics. Today I am going to write about finishing my dissertation while being away from the school where I am enrolled.
I can some the situation up in two words: IT ROCKS! But it may not work for all. For me, I was not crazy about GradSchoolTown so I am happier away and being happier otherwise makes me a more productive worker. Also, R is happier pursuing his own grad school business, and that also makes me happier. Finally, I work better with my advisor with some distance AND she is the sort who loves side projects, which I avoid by not being there. I have suffered some from a lack of face time, but overall any problems have been worth the benefits, for me. I've also gotten some great teaching opportunities that I am hopeful will help me on the job search in the future. I think for some people the situation would not work out, but it has been great for me.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
update
Alas, the charger was not found and I had to buy a new one. But it came quickly and my phone is now charged and back in action. Yay!
For my secret admirer Ellen: I feel we have not been cooking as much since we moved. The kitchen is smaller, and I am busier. Who knows? We did have a very good dinner this week. R gets the Weeknight Kitchen e-newsletter from The Splendid Table. One recipe we received in August was for "Fettuccine with Tomatoes, Basil and Crisp Bread Crumbs". We have made it twice now, most recently a few days ago, and it is super good. I can't find the recipe online, but it is really easy and we don't usually follow it exactly anyway. Basically you make a balsamic vinaigrette, drop some red and yellow cherry tomatoes in it (or just red, or chopped up full size tomatoes) and let it all sit together for awhile. Cook some pasta (I think we've actually always used linguine) and toast some coarse, fresh bread crumbs. Chop about a half cup of fresh basil into long, thin strips. When your pasta is done put it in a serving bowl, pour the tomatoes and vinaigrette over it and stir it up. Then top with the bread crumbs and basil. Yum yum yum.
The second tasty thing we have made lately is the most tasty ice cream ever. This Roasted Plumricot Ice Cream from the Chicago Tribune magazine. If you have the means of making ice cream, make this. It is the most tasty, flavorful ice cream ever. Also, double the recipe. This is not enough! I didn't bake the ginger wafers that go with it, but I did buy some crispy ginger cookies which we ate with the ice cream and it was all sooooo good. I am so sad there is only like 1 serving left.
The other fun thing we did lately was go to a jazz festival yesterday. It was free! It was in the neighborhood! We saw a jazz quartet that was pretty good, some Latin jazz which is always fun, but the most awesome was this guy, Orbert Davis, and his quintet. Soooooo good. Orbert is a trumpet player and he had a great saxophonist and pianist too. It was amazing. R called it one of the top random live music performances he has seen. After that we walked slowly home, stopped for some egg rolls, and then ate the aforementioned best ice cream ever. It was a great Saturday.
For my secret admirer Ellen: I feel we have not been cooking as much since we moved. The kitchen is smaller, and I am busier. Who knows? We did have a very good dinner this week. R gets the Weeknight Kitchen e-newsletter from The Splendid Table. One recipe we received in August was for "Fettuccine with Tomatoes, Basil and Crisp Bread Crumbs". We have made it twice now, most recently a few days ago, and it is super good. I can't find the recipe online, but it is really easy and we don't usually follow it exactly anyway. Basically you make a balsamic vinaigrette, drop some red and yellow cherry tomatoes in it (or just red, or chopped up full size tomatoes) and let it all sit together for awhile. Cook some pasta (I think we've actually always used linguine) and toast some coarse, fresh bread crumbs. Chop about a half cup of fresh basil into long, thin strips. When your pasta is done put it in a serving bowl, pour the tomatoes and vinaigrette over it and stir it up. Then top with the bread crumbs and basil. Yum yum yum.
The second tasty thing we have made lately is the most tasty ice cream ever. This Roasted Plumricot Ice Cream from the Chicago Tribune magazine. If you have the means of making ice cream, make this. It is the most tasty, flavorful ice cream ever. Also, double the recipe. This is not enough! I didn't bake the ginger wafers that go with it, but I did buy some crispy ginger cookies which we ate with the ice cream and it was all sooooo good. I am so sad there is only like 1 serving left.
The other fun thing we did lately was go to a jazz festival yesterday. It was free! It was in the neighborhood! We saw a jazz quartet that was pretty good, some Latin jazz which is always fun, but the most awesome was this guy, Orbert Davis, and his quintet. Soooooo good. Orbert is a trumpet player and he had a great saxophonist and pianist too. It was amazing. R called it one of the top random live music performances he has seen. After that we walked slowly home, stopped for some egg rolls, and then ate the aforementioned best ice cream ever. It was a great Saturday.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Blogging the lost
There's this idea floating around the internets that if you blog about something you've lost, it will turn up. I lost my phone charger. Where are you phone charger? I thought I packed it for the conference I was at over the weekend, but it is in none of my bags, nor is it anywhere in the house. Phone charger, please return. My battery is dead and I have no ability to talk to people....
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Good readin'
Sunday, September 14, 2008
The rain and my neighbor, Barack
People! It has been raining here nonstop for a million days. It is out of control. I have only experienced this much humidity before in the rain forest. Our couch feels damp because of all the moisture in the air. We are going to attempt to foil our cabin fever by venturing out later to see Burn After Reading. We might not go, except we already bought tickets online. I am excited! I love the Coen brothers and the previews look good!
In other news, have I mentioned how we live mere blocks away from Barack Obama? We found his exact address recently and walked over to have a look. His block is blocked off with concrete barricades, and it looks like you have to pass a checkpoint to get through. There are Chicago Police all over the place, although we did not spy any obvious secret service people. Also interestingly, R and I stood right on the sidewalk in front of Obama's house a month earlier, and had no idea he lived there. All the security did not go up until he was the official nominee.
I also walk by Obama's barber to get to the public library. It is pretty cool being neighbors with a presidential candidate. It also encapsulates the contradictions of our neighborhood. We have a prestigious university, Obama's $1.6 million house, Farrakhan's very fancy house, other super fancy houses, and also are not far from some of the worst neighborhoods in Chicago. So if you hear people complaining about Obama being out of touch with regular people, I don't see how he can be and live here and go to the barbershop he goes to, unless none of the rest of us here are "regular people". Unlike many other people with big houses, his is not in a rich-people only compound, walled off from everyone else around.
In other news, have I mentioned how we live mere blocks away from Barack Obama? We found his exact address recently and walked over to have a look. His block is blocked off with concrete barricades, and it looks like you have to pass a checkpoint to get through. There are Chicago Police all over the place, although we did not spy any obvious secret service people. Also interestingly, R and I stood right on the sidewalk in front of Obama's house a month earlier, and had no idea he lived there. All the security did not go up until he was the official nominee.
I also walk by Obama's barber to get to the public library. It is pretty cool being neighbors with a presidential candidate. It also encapsulates the contradictions of our neighborhood. We have a prestigious university, Obama's $1.6 million house, Farrakhan's very fancy house, other super fancy houses, and also are not far from some of the worst neighborhoods in Chicago. So if you hear people complaining about Obama being out of touch with regular people, I don't see how he can be and live here and go to the barbershop he goes to, unless none of the rest of us here are "regular people". Unlike many other people with big houses, his is not in a rich-people only compound, walled off from everyone else around.
Friday, September 05, 2008
books
65. Carrot Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke
This is part of a murder mystery series involving a baker in Minnesota, complete with recipes! It was a fun little read and I enjoyed the Minnesota setting, but if you enjoy this genre of mystery, I think Diane Mott Davidson is a better writer. There is some intriguing back story about the main characters love life (she can't decide between two men!) that I want to know more about, so I might read more in the series, although the writing did get on my nerves sometimes.
66. Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner
The sequel to Weiner's earlier book, Good in Bed. I read it hoping to join a bookclub and make friends, but then found the book club met somewhere too hard for me to get to on the public transportation. Alas. Anyway, I have kind of mixed feelings about the book. It meets Cannie Shapiro and her daughter, Joy, 10 years or so after the earlier book ends. I was disappointed in some of the issue Cannie had, like she hadn't grown much since the earlier book. Cannie's husband was not portrayed very fully at all, he was kind of a shadow character. I did like the depictions of Cannie's relationship with her daughter and the preteen angst her daughter had. I thought those parts were well done. Overall, though, this was not up to the standard I expect from Weiner who I usually think is a very very good writer. It just didn't suck me in the way her books usually do. Also, I don't want to give anything away but I thought the end was terrible. I don't know if I will ever forgive Weiner for writing it.
67. 4% Famous by Deborah Schoeneman
This is a kind of fun book about gossip columnists and the famous and nearly famous in New York. It was interesting for all the glitz and glamor and desperation, but also exhausted me. All these young people running around with high pressure jobs staying out all night at clubs and snorting coke. Exhausting. It was ok, but got kind of repetitive, and I never related to the main character like I think I was supposed to.
This is part of a murder mystery series involving a baker in Minnesota, complete with recipes! It was a fun little read and I enjoyed the Minnesota setting, but if you enjoy this genre of mystery, I think Diane Mott Davidson is a better writer. There is some intriguing back story about the main characters love life (she can't decide between two men!) that I want to know more about, so I might read more in the series, although the writing did get on my nerves sometimes.
66. Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner
The sequel to Weiner's earlier book, Good in Bed. I read it hoping to join a bookclub and make friends, but then found the book club met somewhere too hard for me to get to on the public transportation. Alas. Anyway, I have kind of mixed feelings about the book. It meets Cannie Shapiro and her daughter, Joy, 10 years or so after the earlier book ends. I was disappointed in some of the issue Cannie had, like she hadn't grown much since the earlier book. Cannie's husband was not portrayed very fully at all, he was kind of a shadow character. I did like the depictions of Cannie's relationship with her daughter and the preteen angst her daughter had. I thought those parts were well done. Overall, though, this was not up to the standard I expect from Weiner who I usually think is a very very good writer. It just didn't suck me in the way her books usually do. Also, I don't want to give anything away but I thought the end was terrible. I don't know if I will ever forgive Weiner for writing it.
67. 4% Famous by Deborah Schoeneman
This is a kind of fun book about gossip columnists and the famous and nearly famous in New York. It was interesting for all the glitz and glamor and desperation, but also exhausted me. All these young people running around with high pressure jobs staying out all night at clubs and snorting coke. Exhausting. It was ok, but got kind of repetitive, and I never related to the main character like I think I was supposed to.
Settling in: Chicago style
So we've been in Chicago for over a month now. It is weird, we both talk about how unreal it seems. To be honest, it seems like we don't live in any one particular city. I would say we are pretty settled in, in that most of the boxes are unpacked (the ones that aren't are totally my fault! Sorry!), R has been going to school, I have started teaching, we both have awesome automatically re-filling transit cards, we know where the grocery store is, and we recognize some of the interesting characters in our neighborhood (like the guy who bikes up the middle of the street yelling "so many white motherf***ers to kill!" but he is really harmless, don't worry!).
But still, I have no real feeling of *Chicago*, whatever that is. We keep being surprised by it. Like I go downtown to teach and see the skyline and say to myself, "wow, that's the Sears Tower! I live in Chicago!" or on the way back from Minnesota we kept saying, "huh, all the signs say to Chicago, that's where we live." I don't know why this is. I don't know if it is because being back in the midwest seems familiar to us both. I keep saying Chicago seems like what would happen if St. Louis and New York had a baby. Or maybe it is because we had both been here a number of times before, so it is not totally unknown. Or maybe it is the comparison with coming from New York City, where so many people are so *in* to it being NYC. So often people there say, "That's New York for you" or "New Yorkers are like this" or whatever, which I haven't heard as much anywhere else. I also haven't gotten out at all to meet people, so I don't talk to many people other than R and my students and faculty/staff at the schools I teach at.
I guess I feel like we're settling in, but also that there is still so much we don't know. I spend all my time in one of two neighborhoods. When I got to New York I was more into exploring, but here I am so focused on my dissertation writing and teaching, that I haven't taken the time to go look around. Also, R's school will take anywhere from 5-7 years, so we also know we are connected to here for a long time. Maybe that makes us feel less urgent to get to know it all?
I am enjoying it, though. It is nice to know friends and family are so close, even if I don't have time to visit much right now. I will one day soon. It is nice to get lettuce for HALF THE PRICE we did in New York, and tomatoes for like a third of the price. Our apartment is awesome. Our neighborhood is very nice, and I know that one day when I get out there to make new friends I will find good people to be friends with. So that is the story of settling in in Chicago.
But still, I have no real feeling of *Chicago*, whatever that is. We keep being surprised by it. Like I go downtown to teach and see the skyline and say to myself, "wow, that's the Sears Tower! I live in Chicago!" or on the way back from Minnesota we kept saying, "huh, all the signs say to Chicago, that's where we live." I don't know why this is. I don't know if it is because being back in the midwest seems familiar to us both. I keep saying Chicago seems like what would happen if St. Louis and New York had a baby. Or maybe it is because we had both been here a number of times before, so it is not totally unknown. Or maybe it is the comparison with coming from New York City, where so many people are so *in* to it being NYC. So often people there say, "That's New York for you" or "New Yorkers are like this" or whatever, which I haven't heard as much anywhere else. I also haven't gotten out at all to meet people, so I don't talk to many people other than R and my students and faculty/staff at the schools I teach at.
I guess I feel like we're settling in, but also that there is still so much we don't know. I spend all my time in one of two neighborhoods. When I got to New York I was more into exploring, but here I am so focused on my dissertation writing and teaching, that I haven't taken the time to go look around. Also, R's school will take anywhere from 5-7 years, so we also know we are connected to here for a long time. Maybe that makes us feel less urgent to get to know it all?
I am enjoying it, though. It is nice to know friends and family are so close, even if I don't have time to visit much right now. I will one day soon. It is nice to get lettuce for HALF THE PRICE we did in New York, and tomatoes for like a third of the price. Our apartment is awesome. Our neighborhood is very nice, and I know that one day when I get out there to make new friends I will find good people to be friends with. So that is the story of settling in in Chicago.
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Returned
R and I had an awesome time in Minnesota. We ate many tasty treats. We saw Matt and Laura and Shannon and the baby. The baby is a very cute baby, top 1% of babies I have met. Definitely.
On the way home we stopped at the Mustard Museum in Mt. Horeb, WI which was super fun and we got many tasty mustards.
Unfortunately I also returned home with a sore throat and was bed-ridden all day yesterday. My first class starts tomorrow and I do not have the syllabus finished AND there is still that pesky dissertation to write, so I will be a little busy for the foreseeable future.
On the way home we stopped at the Mustard Museum in Mt. Horeb, WI which was super fun and we got many tasty mustards.
Unfortunately I also returned home with a sore throat and was bed-ridden all day yesterday. My first class starts tomorrow and I do not have the syllabus finished AND there is still that pesky dissertation to write, so I will be a little busy for the foreseeable future.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Reader's choice update!
I need to ask you guys more questions to get more comments! (I am a comment ho!)
Here is what I am committing to write about for you sometime before Oct 1:
1) settling in in Chicago (not settling for it. It was my first choice! Way better than SoCal)
2) Writing from a distance
3) THE OLYMPICS!!! (including shout outs to my bf, Raj, how the body of a beach volleyball player is my ideal body, and deep thoughts on the differences between men and women's gymnastics)
4) post-diss plans
5) after the 1st: THE STATE FAIR, including a catalog of which stick bearing foods were eaten by me, and which 4H projects were most impressive.
Here is what I will write if I can find the creativity: haiku inspired by Raj Bhavsar (I can't get the syllables right. Seriously, I've been trying. I'm not sure haiku is my medium. Shall I try a different type of formal poetry? A rondel?) and a summary of my and Topher's reality show, "So you think you can science?" Maybe we can collaborate on that, Topher?
Here is what I am committing to write about for you sometime before Oct 1:
1) settling in in Chicago (not settling for it. It was my first choice! Way better than SoCal)
2) Writing from a distance
3) THE OLYMPICS!!! (including shout outs to my bf, Raj, how the body of a beach volleyball player is my ideal body, and deep thoughts on the differences between men and women's gymnastics)
4) post-diss plans
5) after the 1st: THE STATE FAIR, including a catalog of which stick bearing foods were eaten by me, and which 4H projects were most impressive.
Here is what I will write if I can find the creativity: haiku inspired by Raj Bhavsar (I can't get the syllables right. Seriously, I've been trying. I'm not sure haiku is my medium. Shall I try a different type of formal poetry? A rondel?) and a summary of my and Topher's reality show, "So you think you can science?" Maybe we can collaborate on that, Topher?
books!
63. The Reading Group by Elizabeth Noble
Nice, light read about a group of British women who form a reading group. Most of them don't really know each other before the group and they are of different ages and classes, but they become close as the group goes on throughout the year and they all go through different life stages. I liked the characters and the book was a good read. I might have gotten more out of it if I had read more of the books the group read, as they seemed to parallel somewhat the events in the women's lives.
64. The Man I Should Have Married by Pamela Redmond Satran
This was a kind of romance novel. A woman in suburban New Jersey gets divorced and runs into a man she'd kind of had a thing with in the past. Basically the woman has to decide if her old love changed from who he was, if she wants security or excitement. It was on ok book but not really well written and although I read it recently it didn't make a big impression on me.
Nice, light read about a group of British women who form a reading group. Most of them don't really know each other before the group and they are of different ages and classes, but they become close as the group goes on throughout the year and they all go through different life stages. I liked the characters and the book was a good read. I might have gotten more out of it if I had read more of the books the group read, as they seemed to parallel somewhat the events in the women's lives.
64. The Man I Should Have Married by Pamela Redmond Satran
This was a kind of romance novel. A woman in suburban New Jersey gets divorced and runs into a man she'd kind of had a thing with in the past. Basically the woman has to decide if her old love changed from who he was, if she wants security or excitement. It was on ok book but not really well written and although I read it recently it didn't make a big impression on me.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Reader's choice
First, I have been wanting a new header for a long time. I don't think it is totally right yet, but I will work on it. I am hoping to change the look of the blog a little, hopefully I won't wreck everything.
Second, I am not feeling blogging inspired lately. I have been doing a lot of writing for he dissertation, so I think that is where my dissertation energy goes. So here is my offer to you: tell me what to write about! Leave a comment telling me what you want to read about and I will pick at least 4 (if I get that many responses) to write on. Maybe I will pick more if this lack of inspiration continues!
edit: looks like I changed the whole template! Hope you like it.
Second, I am not feeling blogging inspired lately. I have been doing a lot of writing for he dissertation, so I think that is where my dissertation energy goes. So here is my offer to you: tell me what to write about! Leave a comment telling me what you want to read about and I will pick at least 4 (if I get that many responses) to write on. Maybe I will pick more if this lack of inspiration continues!
edit: looks like I changed the whole template! Hope you like it.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
books
I am really behind, so here is an attempt to catch up some.
60. Turning Thirty by Mike Gayle
This is a kind of men's chick lit. That is, the audience is clearly women but the author is a man, the main character is a man and the book is about his romantic travails as he turns thirty. The cover even looks like standard chick lit. I heard that this was part of a foray into "lad lit" that maybe didn't quite take off? Anyway, the main character was engaging and it was a fun, light read. I would definitely read more by this author.
61. The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
I have not totally bought into the Obama hype. I have not drank the Obama kool-aid. For me, all Democrats are too conservative and I don't like the two party system. The beginning of this book almost sucked me in, though. I found Obama's honesty about the problems in our political system/country refreshing. I also really like his self-awareness of how becoming a senator can lead into this cycle of only hanging out with the rich and powerful, and how that is easy to get sucked into. I found the first part of the book inspiring, but the latter part let me down a little. In the second half (ish) Obama talks about the main issues facing America and how to fix them. I appreciate that he seems comfortable with recommending new ideas that might go against general Democratic ideas (he is for federal funding for faith-based programs, for example) and also says we need to be willing to experiment to figure out how to solve problems. He also often says he does not have a pat solution to these problems. I think this is good as it is probably more realistic -- why should any one guy be able to solve the country's problems with education? But sometimes feels like a cop-out. This book is definitely worth a read to figure out more about where Obama is coming from, and it made me happier to vote for him (despite my problems with the dems, I definitely like them more than republicans!) but still left me wanting a little more. Oh, at the very least, though, people should read the section on race which I think treats the issue in a really smart and nuanced way, similar to Obama's speech after the whole Reverend Wright thing.
62. Popped Culture: A Social History of Popcorn in America by Andrew F. Smith
R got me this book (it was on clearance for $1!) due to my insane love of popcorn. It was full of interesting trivia, although not at all well-written. I really don't recommend this book unless you want a lot of random popcorn trivia and to be made very hungry.
60. Turning Thirty by Mike Gayle
This is a kind of men's chick lit. That is, the audience is clearly women but the author is a man, the main character is a man and the book is about his romantic travails as he turns thirty. The cover even looks like standard chick lit. I heard that this was part of a foray into "lad lit" that maybe didn't quite take off? Anyway, the main character was engaging and it was a fun, light read. I would definitely read more by this author.
61. The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
I have not totally bought into the Obama hype. I have not drank the Obama kool-aid. For me, all Democrats are too conservative and I don't like the two party system. The beginning of this book almost sucked me in, though. I found Obama's honesty about the problems in our political system/country refreshing. I also really like his self-awareness of how becoming a senator can lead into this cycle of only hanging out with the rich and powerful, and how that is easy to get sucked into. I found the first part of the book inspiring, but the latter part let me down a little. In the second half (ish) Obama talks about the main issues facing America and how to fix them. I appreciate that he seems comfortable with recommending new ideas that might go against general Democratic ideas (he is for federal funding for faith-based programs, for example) and also says we need to be willing to experiment to figure out how to solve problems. He also often says he does not have a pat solution to these problems. I think this is good as it is probably more realistic -- why should any one guy be able to solve the country's problems with education? But sometimes feels like a cop-out. This book is definitely worth a read to figure out more about where Obama is coming from, and it made me happier to vote for him (despite my problems with the dems, I definitely like them more than republicans!) but still left me wanting a little more. Oh, at the very least, though, people should read the section on race which I think treats the issue in a really smart and nuanced way, similar to Obama's speech after the whole Reverend Wright thing.
62. Popped Culture: A Social History of Popcorn in America by Andrew F. Smith
R got me this book (it was on clearance for $1!) due to my insane love of popcorn. It was full of interesting trivia, although not at all well-written. I really don't recommend this book unless you want a lot of random popcorn trivia and to be made very hungry.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Tales of the Bus
So I get to ride the bus two days a week for my teaching jobs. It is actually not bad although I will confess to being a transit snob and enjoying the subway/train more than the bus in general. I have to walk about 10 minutes to this bus stop, but once there I have two express buses to choose from. I took the bus Wednesday which started well, it was not crowded, I had a seat next to a non-smelly person and we were on our way. Until we stopped at a bus stop and did not go again. Slowly, passengers started to notice the lack of engine noises and that the driver seemed to be turning the key again and again with nothing happening. Then she got on her phone and left the bus to look at something under the hood. At about this point we all started getting off the bus. Everyone was quite chipper, despite the inconvenience and the driver was super friendly and said she would put us on the next bus, but that it was small. She also complained about how she asked at the garage "for a good bus" and clearly was not given one. The new bus came and some people got on, but it was already small and full. I had no schedule so I waited around for another bus, which came soon after and was spacious. I also learned from this experience that if your bus breaks down the bus driver has pre-printed passes she can sign for you to take to work to prove you are late because of the bus. Awesome!
The second bus was empty so I got a seat again. There was a crazy woman on this bus, who kept screaming "Drew Pearson is dead!" in a scary exorcist voice, but other than that she was very friendly and smiled at everyone. She also spoke about how she was altruistic, but I didn't catch most of that sentence. In the end I made it to my destination just 10 minutes later than planned and I was super impressed with the friendliness and cheerfulness of my fellow bus riders in the face of the bus breakdown and the crazy lady. I think I'll leave extra early on days I teach, though, in case of further delays.
The second bus was empty so I got a seat again. There was a crazy woman on this bus, who kept screaming "Drew Pearson is dead!" in a scary exorcist voice, but other than that she was very friendly and smiled at everyone. She also spoke about how she was altruistic, but I didn't catch most of that sentence. In the end I made it to my destination just 10 minutes later than planned and I was super impressed with the friendliness and cheerfulness of my fellow bus riders in the face of the bus breakdown and the crazy lady. I think I'll leave extra early on days I teach, though, in case of further delays.
Monday, August 11, 2008
books
59. The Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
This is another Young Adult novel by James Patterson. You may remember that about a year ago I read another YA book by Patterson, Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports. I liked Daniel X more than the other book as it was much more well-written. This book is basically the story of Daniel X, a 15 year old boy who goes around hunting dangerous aliens living here on earth. Like I mentioned in my review of Maximum Ride, though, there were a lot of pop-culture references that bothered me. I am really wary of this in books, as I think it is unlikely that in 10 or even 5 years a reader will know who Shia LeBouef is. I just think references like that become dated quickly, and stick out like a sore thumb.
Anyway, back to the book. A lot of the promotional stuff for this book talks about how boys read less than girls, and boys don't read because they find it "too boring". Patterson states that the purpose of this series is to get boys interested in reading and to this end the book is action-packed and has short chapters. That is all true. The book is very action packed, the main character is really likable and the story moves fast. I didn't particularly notice the short chapters, but as I mostly grab my reading time now in short spurts, I do love a short chapter. The book itself is fun and worth a read for anyone.
That all said, there were two things that troubled me here. The first issue has to do with the book itself and don't worry, it's on the back so it is not a spoiler. Daniel's parents are killed very early in a very violent way and this made me uncomfortable. I know Daniel needed to be alone in order for the story to work, but I think the violence of it went overboard. Also, Daniel says it bothers him, of course, but I never feel that emotion. Maybe this will come out more in later books, but I felt the trauma of the parents' death was alluded to and mentioned, but never dealt with.
My second issue has to do with the boys don't read because books are boring message put out by the promotional stuff. I think it is a good thing that Patterson wants to interest boys in reading. However I am not sure the boringness of books is really the problem. I feel like there are plenty of action oriented books out there. Also I did an informal poll of my male friends who read to see if they had read as kids, and if the boringness or not of books was a factor. All my male friends read as kids, but they felt like they learned to appreciate reading from their families. That is, reading was valued by their parents and/or siblings and so they did it too. This book might get a few non-readers to try reading, but I am not sure it will solve the problem on its own. It seems to me like a band-aid for a deeper issue.
Anyway, that is my thoughts on that. Go ahead and read this book for a fun read with aliens and alien-hunting. I think any young adult aged reader would probably enjoy this book, boy or girl. But I don't think it is suddenly going to start all (or many, or most) male non-readers reading.
This is a MotherTalk sponsored review (that means I got a free copy of the book).
This is another Young Adult novel by James Patterson. You may remember that about a year ago I read another YA book by Patterson, Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports. I liked Daniel X more than the other book as it was much more well-written. This book is basically the story of Daniel X, a 15 year old boy who goes around hunting dangerous aliens living here on earth. Like I mentioned in my review of Maximum Ride, though, there were a lot of pop-culture references that bothered me. I am really wary of this in books, as I think it is unlikely that in 10 or even 5 years a reader will know who Shia LeBouef is. I just think references like that become dated quickly, and stick out like a sore thumb.
Anyway, back to the book. A lot of the promotional stuff for this book talks about how boys read less than girls, and boys don't read because they find it "too boring". Patterson states that the purpose of this series is to get boys interested in reading and to this end the book is action-packed and has short chapters. That is all true. The book is very action packed, the main character is really likable and the story moves fast. I didn't particularly notice the short chapters, but as I mostly grab my reading time now in short spurts, I do love a short chapter. The book itself is fun and worth a read for anyone.
That all said, there were two things that troubled me here. The first issue has to do with the book itself and don't worry, it's on the back so it is not a spoiler. Daniel's parents are killed very early in a very violent way and this made me uncomfortable. I know Daniel needed to be alone in order for the story to work, but I think the violence of it went overboard. Also, Daniel says it bothers him, of course, but I never feel that emotion. Maybe this will come out more in later books, but I felt the trauma of the parents' death was alluded to and mentioned, but never dealt with.
My second issue has to do with the boys don't read because books are boring message put out by the promotional stuff. I think it is a good thing that Patterson wants to interest boys in reading. However I am not sure the boringness of books is really the problem. I feel like there are plenty of action oriented books out there. Also I did an informal poll of my male friends who read to see if they had read as kids, and if the boringness or not of books was a factor. All my male friends read as kids, but they felt like they learned to appreciate reading from their families. That is, reading was valued by their parents and/or siblings and so they did it too. This book might get a few non-readers to try reading, but I am not sure it will solve the problem on its own. It seems to me like a band-aid for a deeper issue.
Anyway, that is my thoughts on that. Go ahead and read this book for a fun read with aliens and alien-hunting. I think any young adult aged reader would probably enjoy this book, boy or girl. But I don't think it is suddenly going to start all (or many, or most) male non-readers reading.
This is a MotherTalk sponsored review (that means I got a free copy of the book).
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Return
Hey! We got the internet! We are in Chicago! I love exclamation points!
So, as I said before all is well and our apartment is great. We had an ok drive here, although I do not recommend driving 500 miles the day after you pack a big truck in the July heat. The NJ-OH day was a little tough. The cats did really well, even Pass who on the last move apparently gave up on life and just awaited his death. This time he was definitely angry, but I think he knew he was not in danger of death. We still do not have a dresser but two IKEA shelves are filling in well. We also still do not have a couch but my brother provided use with a recliner so now we have two comfy chairs, buying us time to stalk craigslist for the perfect $50 couch.
Other than unpacking and exploring I've been busy with dissertating. I am really hoping to have a complete draft by Sept. 1, but it may be an impossible dream. I've also been digging up teaching jobs. I have two, at two different schools that are luckily not far from each other and accessible by the bus. I would love one more and the CVs are out, but we will see.
So, as I said before all is well and our apartment is great. We had an ok drive here, although I do not recommend driving 500 miles the day after you pack a big truck in the July heat. The NJ-OH day was a little tough. The cats did really well, even Pass who on the last move apparently gave up on life and just awaited his death. This time he was definitely angry, but I think he knew he was not in danger of death. We still do not have a dresser but two IKEA shelves are filling in well. We also still do not have a couch but my brother provided use with a recliner so now we have two comfy chairs, buying us time to stalk craigslist for the perfect $50 couch.
Other than unpacking and exploring I've been busy with dissertating. I am really hoping to have a complete draft by Sept. 1, but it may be an impossible dream. I've also been digging up teaching jobs. I have two, at two different schools that are luckily not far from each other and accessible by the bus. I would love one more and the CVs are out, but we will see.
Monday, August 04, 2008
It Lives!
I am alive, R is alive, the cats are alive. We made it to Chicago and took possession of an AWESOME apartment. All it lacks is a dresser, a couch and the internet. Indeed, we will not get the internets until Aug 11 at the earliest. So, dear readers, you will have to soldier on mostly without me. I plan on hitting our local wifi coffee shop daily (our new neighborhood is even more awesome than our apartment) but I need to use the time for job hunting and mapquesting of furniture stores, so don't expect too much for awhile.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Ta Ta for Now
So our internet is leaving in the morning, and this is the last post you will have from me for a bit. Monday we begin our great journey back to the middle west. Send good vibes that R and I, our stuff, and the cats all make it one piece.
I'll hopefully report back early in August with tales of driving through New Jersey, Ohio, and whatever other states are between here and Chicago.
See you on the flip side.
I'll hopefully report back early in August with tales of driving through New Jersey, Ohio, and whatever other states are between here and Chicago.
See you on the flip side.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Lazy
Crikey! I just had a terrible scare when I thought I have not updated this since people stopped clapping and Tinkerbell died... You would not believe how terribly tardy the Victorian internet can be. Stupid Global Warming!.
I am absolutely consumed with a weight-lifting regime, being distracted by the shiny, just generally being Snow White to anyone unfortunate to cross my path, my day starts with the dawn patrol from the light through yonder window breaks to 11pm at which point I fall asleep on the couch. I am beyond drunk most of the time. it will be fun fun fun till they take my TBird away.
I swear on the bones of my ancestors think of me as I battle mine enemies. Well, I'll try. Unless of course the pool with the cocktail bar is heated!
Courtesy The Lazy Blogger's Post Generator.
(as seen at Kristen's)
I am absolutely consumed with a weight-lifting regime, being distracted by the shiny, just generally being Snow White to anyone unfortunate to cross my path, my day starts with the dawn patrol from the light through yonder window breaks to 11pm at which point I fall asleep on the couch. I am beyond drunk most of the time. it will be fun fun fun till they take my TBird away.
I swear on the bones of my ancestors think of me as I battle mine enemies. Well, I'll try. Unless of course the pool with the cocktail bar is heated!
Courtesy The Lazy Blogger's Post Generator.
(as seen at Kristen's)
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Grown Up
So I have done various grown up things in life. I am married, I'm 31, I take care of two cats, I buy my own insurance, I have various bank accounts, I teach college students, I almost have a PhD, etc. But today I did something that I felt truly marked my passage into adulthood. I got rid of nearly all my cassette tapes. It was really sad and hard, but in the end I needed the case for my dissertation tapes (how sad is that?) and I faced up to the cold, hard fact I no longer owned any sort of tape player, and that I had not listened to any of the tapes since probably 2000. In fact, the last time I remember listening to any of them was when I lived in DC with Melinda and we popped Into the Woods on and proceeding to sing along with the whole thing. I believe a friend of ours who I was dating was with us at the time, and may have been mildly alarmed.
The tapes were mostly soundtracks from musicals, which I spent a lot of time checking out of the library and dubbing. I also had all of They Might Be Giants' stuff until about 1994 (John Henry was the last album I had on tape). More than anything, these tapes represented high school to me. Me listening over and over to musicals, hearing non top-40 bands like TMBG and realizing there was so much more out there than what I had experienced so far. Anyway, I'm thinking that when I am moved I need to spend some serious time getting musicals from the library again and burning them, to recreate a little of that old vibe in a 21st century kind of way.
I did keep a few tapes. And I know you are dying to know what they are. I kept: Newsies (look at Christian Bale sing and dance!), Oliver and Company (no one remembers this one! Songs by Billy Joel!), a tape of a Collegium Musicum concert from college in which I dressed in medieval garb and played the crumhorn and finally a mix-tape from my high school friend Valerie.
The tapes were mostly soundtracks from musicals, which I spent a lot of time checking out of the library and dubbing. I also had all of They Might Be Giants' stuff until about 1994 (John Henry was the last album I had on tape). More than anything, these tapes represented high school to me. Me listening over and over to musicals, hearing non top-40 bands like TMBG and realizing there was so much more out there than what I had experienced so far. Anyway, I'm thinking that when I am moved I need to spend some serious time getting musicals from the library again and burning them, to recreate a little of that old vibe in a 21st century kind of way.
I did keep a few tapes. And I know you are dying to know what they are. I kept: Newsies (look at Christian Bale sing and dance!), Oliver and Company (no one remembers this one! Songs by Billy Joel!), a tape of a Collegium Musicum concert from college in which I dressed in medieval garb and played the crumhorn and finally a mix-tape from my high school friend Valerie.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Friday, July 18, 2008
books!
56. Hallelujah City by Tom LaMarr
This is a great little book I randomly picked up in the library. It is the story of an end-times cult, and what happens the day after the world fails to end. It is really more about a man and his cult member daughter and their relationship. I really enjoyed the book.
57. The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perotta
I was prepared to not like this book, as I had read a couple bad reviews. I also watched and disliked the movie Little Children, which is based on another book by Perotta. Here's a bonus review of the movie Little Children: blah blah blah we live in suburbia and it sucks and is alienating and our lives are not what we expected blah blah. I just feel it has been done before. Although I love Kate Winslet. She is my girlfriend. Anyway, back to The Abstinence Teacher -- I loved this book! The characters were amazingly well-drawn and fleshed out. They seemed somewhat stereotypical at first, and then as you got to know them you realized they were not what you expected. Also, I really appreciated the born again Christian character who was treated like a real person and not made cartoony, which I think is so rarely done. Read this book if you want a really well-done character driven novel.
58. Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros
I was on an emergency out of books run to the library and grabbed this, even though it look familiar. On page 10, I did realize I had read this book before, but that was ok as it is a great, sweeping story of a Mexican-American family over several generations. I loved the narrator's voice and the lush descriptions of the different worlds she lived between. Good book.
This is a great little book I randomly picked up in the library. It is the story of an end-times cult, and what happens the day after the world fails to end. It is really more about a man and his cult member daughter and their relationship. I really enjoyed the book.
57. The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perotta
I was prepared to not like this book, as I had read a couple bad reviews. I also watched and disliked the movie Little Children, which is based on another book by Perotta. Here's a bonus review of the movie Little Children: blah blah blah we live in suburbia and it sucks and is alienating and our lives are not what we expected blah blah. I just feel it has been done before. Although I love Kate Winslet. She is my girlfriend. Anyway, back to The Abstinence Teacher -- I loved this book! The characters were amazingly well-drawn and fleshed out. They seemed somewhat stereotypical at first, and then as you got to know them you realized they were not what you expected. Also, I really appreciated the born again Christian character who was treated like a real person and not made cartoony, which I think is so rarely done. Read this book if you want a really well-done character driven novel.
58. Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros
I was on an emergency out of books run to the library and grabbed this, even though it look familiar. On page 10, I did realize I had read this book before, but that was ok as it is a great, sweeping story of a Mexican-American family over several generations. I loved the narrator's voice and the lush descriptions of the different worlds she lived between. Good book.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
What would McCain do to the Supreme Court?
Here is a well-written and interesting blog post about what a McCain presidency might mean for the Supreme Court. I also think this is an interesting way to look at the difference between Republicans and Democrats:
"I have long argued that the real difference between the two major parties lies primarily in the constituencies that they are forced to appease in order to stay in office. On judicial matters, the constituency that Republicans, including - perhaps especially - McCain, have to please is the religious right. No issue is more important to the conservative Christian base than control of the courts. The James Dobsons of the world are not stupid; they're politically savvy enough to know that they are one vote away from overturning Roe v. Wade and that McCain could appoint the justice who tips the balance."
Monday, July 14, 2008
Transitions
I've wanted to contribute to Scientiae for a long time, but somehow never got it together. But as I sit here rushing furiously to get through my dissertation, surrounded by boxes, the August theme of Transitions really spoke to me.
I am anticipating a lot of transitions. In 12 days we will be packing up and moving to Chicago. R will be starting a PhD program, I'll be adjuncting at least one new class at a new school (hopefully I will get some more classes as well) and I plan to defend my dissertation sometime this fall.
The move is exciting. Although I am not done with New York, and would love to stay here longer, I am excited to move to a city I have always liked. I love new things and it will be fun to explore our new neighborhood, find new favorite grocery stores, restaurants, bars and coffee shops, and hopefully make new friends. It will be great to start over in a new (bigger and cheaper!) apartment. And most of all, I am happy R and I are moving together. This is the first time we have moved into somewhere at the same time. I moved into our Florida apartment first, and he moved here to New York while I was in the field, so that is nice.
Defending my dissertation is also exciting, although scary. I still don't have a scheduled defense, and am rushing to finish up some excruciatingly boring data collection, but it is all starting to come together. I will be so relieved to have it all over with. I think I will be one of those people who just sobs with relief once it is all done. On the other hand, it is also scary. I have been in grad school for 6 years. I know how to do it. Now I have to go find a job, R and I have to deal with our two-body problem, I need to learn how to be a professional and not a student. It is weird, for as much as I want to finish, I am also scared of finishing. But when it is all said and done I am also looking forward to what I will be like a year from now. Will we have an awesome apartment where our awesome friends come regularly for dinner parties? Will I have a sweet postdoc or tenure track job at an exciting place where I can interact with cool people? Will I be adjuncting 5 classes a semester for basically no money? Will I be living in upstate New York while R stays in Chicago? Really, anything could happen and it is kind of equally exciting and terrifying.
scientiae+carnival
I am anticipating a lot of transitions. In 12 days we will be packing up and moving to Chicago. R will be starting a PhD program, I'll be adjuncting at least one new class at a new school (hopefully I will get some more classes as well) and I plan to defend my dissertation sometime this fall.
The move is exciting. Although I am not done with New York, and would love to stay here longer, I am excited to move to a city I have always liked. I love new things and it will be fun to explore our new neighborhood, find new favorite grocery stores, restaurants, bars and coffee shops, and hopefully make new friends. It will be great to start over in a new (bigger and cheaper!) apartment. And most of all, I am happy R and I are moving together. This is the first time we have moved into somewhere at the same time. I moved into our Florida apartment first, and he moved here to New York while I was in the field, so that is nice.
Defending my dissertation is also exciting, although scary. I still don't have a scheduled defense, and am rushing to finish up some excruciatingly boring data collection, but it is all starting to come together. I will be so relieved to have it all over with. I think I will be one of those people who just sobs with relief once it is all done. On the other hand, it is also scary. I have been in grad school for 6 years. I know how to do it. Now I have to go find a job, R and I have to deal with our two-body problem, I need to learn how to be a professional and not a student. It is weird, for as much as I want to finish, I am also scared of finishing. But when it is all said and done I am also looking forward to what I will be like a year from now. Will we have an awesome apartment where our awesome friends come regularly for dinner parties? Will I have a sweet postdoc or tenure track job at an exciting place where I can interact with cool people? Will I be adjuncting 5 classes a semester for basically no money? Will I be living in upstate New York while R stays in Chicago? Really, anything could happen and it is kind of equally exciting and terrifying.
scientiae+carnival
Friday, July 11, 2008
books
54. A Case of Need by Michael Crichton
So this is apparently Michael Crichton's first book, written back in the late 1960s under a pen name. It wasn't the best written book, I think you could tell it was by a first-time author, but it wasn't too bad. It is basically about some doctors involved in doing abortions before Roe v. Wade, and was mostly interesting to me as a historical piece. It was crazy to see how much scandal and legal problems were caused by these doctors doing abortions in some cases, but also how much the medical community kind of accepted it as well. It was kind of like watching an old movie, in which it is hard to judge a lot of the characters as they live in a world so different from our own (all the doctors had wives who stayed home with the kids, and did whatever their husbands said. LOTS of smoking.) So it was interesting, but I don't say rush out and read it.
55. Three Cups of Tea: One man's mission to support peace...one school at a time by Greg Mortenson
Three Cups of Tea is the story of how Greg Mortenson started the Central Asia Institute, which helps communities in rural Pakistan and Afghanistan build schools, especially in places where girls do not have access to education. It is an inspiring story and I am so glad an organization like this exists. The book did its job in that I plan to give money to CAI, but it wasn't good as a book, IMO. I thought there really was no arc of a story, and it is strange that Mortenson was one of the authors, yet it is all in 3rd person. It seemed like the book should have been shortened and been a New Yorker piece. I think if you are going to write an autobiographical book like this, you need to be willing to plunge a little deeper into your own inner life or something, to make it a more interesting read. Anyway, it was also really interesting to juxtapose this book with Infidel. This book makes the argument that Islam is an inherently peaceful religion, that most Muslims (at least in Pakistan and Afghanistan) are not terrorists and also want the best for their daughters, which is kind of the opposite of Infidel. It is good to read this book to learn about CAI, but not for the book's literary merit.
So this is apparently Michael Crichton's first book, written back in the late 1960s under a pen name. It wasn't the best written book, I think you could tell it was by a first-time author, but it wasn't too bad. It is basically about some doctors involved in doing abortions before Roe v. Wade, and was mostly interesting to me as a historical piece. It was crazy to see how much scandal and legal problems were caused by these doctors doing abortions in some cases, but also how much the medical community kind of accepted it as well. It was kind of like watching an old movie, in which it is hard to judge a lot of the characters as they live in a world so different from our own (all the doctors had wives who stayed home with the kids, and did whatever their husbands said. LOTS of smoking.) So it was interesting, but I don't say rush out and read it.
55. Three Cups of Tea: One man's mission to support peace...one school at a time by Greg Mortenson
Three Cups of Tea is the story of how Greg Mortenson started the Central Asia Institute, which helps communities in rural Pakistan and Afghanistan build schools, especially in places where girls do not have access to education. It is an inspiring story and I am so glad an organization like this exists. The book did its job in that I plan to give money to CAI, but it wasn't good as a book, IMO. I thought there really was no arc of a story, and it is strange that Mortenson was one of the authors, yet it is all in 3rd person. It seemed like the book should have been shortened and been a New Yorker piece. I think if you are going to write an autobiographical book like this, you need to be willing to plunge a little deeper into your own inner life or something, to make it a more interesting read. Anyway, it was also really interesting to juxtapose this book with Infidel. This book makes the argument that Islam is an inherently peaceful religion, that most Muslims (at least in Pakistan and Afghanistan) are not terrorists and also want the best for their daughters, which is kind of the opposite of Infidel. It is good to read this book to learn about CAI, but not for the book's literary merit.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Chatty
Can you tell I am bored because R has been out of town?
I just found Chicago contains both an Aveda Institute and several Filene's Basements, so I can continue having cheap haircuts and cheap clothes. woo!
I just found Chicago contains both an Aveda Institute and several Filene's Basements, so I can continue having cheap haircuts and cheap clothes. woo!
Recipe
So we have come to less than 3 weeks until moving, which means time to clean out the freezer/fridge! I have had two bags of cranberries in the freezer since thanksgiving. I love cranberries and always meant to make a tasty sauce to put on yogurt for my breakfasts, but I am lazy so I never did. Yesterday I made Fresh Cranberry Relish from the Food Network and it is super good. I used Triple Sec instead of Grand Marnier, as that is what I had (also contributed to using up some of our extra liquor). Anyway, I love this recipe -- easy, no cooking, and I have been eating it out of a bowl with a spoon, as well as mixing a bit with my yogurt this morning. It is more on the tart side, so add more sugar if you like your cranberries more sweet. I did add some honey since the cranberries and the yogurt together were extra tart.
Back Home
I am back from teaching the smart kids! woo! It is nice to be back home with my cats and my own bed and my stove that I can cook non-dining hall food with. Yay! It would be nice to be back home with R except he went out of town to work for two nights. But he will be back tonight. yay! I am trying to get myself psyched up to do all kinds of dissertation work and pack and all, but I am just feeling so lazy. I gave myself the last two days to relax, but now I really need to get cracking. I think I will eat lunch and then dissertate, and then get an iced coffee break. Good plan, eh?
I did run/walk this morning. It is way harder to run on the hills in my neighborhood then in the air conditioned gym on a treadmill. It took me 53 minutes to go 5k. :( Oh well, I can probably only improve from there and getting 53 minutes of exercise is still awesome.
I think I will make a fried egg sandwich for lunch.
I did run/walk this morning. It is way harder to run on the hills in my neighborhood then in the air conditioned gym on a treadmill. It took me 53 minutes to go 5k. :( Oh well, I can probably only improve from there and getting 53 minutes of exercise is still awesome.
I think I will make a fried egg sandwich for lunch.
Monday, July 07, 2008
books
50. The Last Colony by John Scalzi
The last in this sci-fi series by John Scalzi. This gets us back to the characters from the first book, and I really enjoyed it. I read it a little bit ago, so it is fuzzy in my memory, but it was a good read.
51. Killing Mr. Watson by Peter Matthiessen
This is a fiction book based on a true story and real people in the Everglades in the 1920s. It was a little weird and kind of meandering, without a lot of "plot", but I enjoyed it.
52. Violent Ward by Len Deighton
This is a cheapy paperback about a PI in LA. It was pretty random and there were some major plot holes, but it was an ok airplane read.
53. Beach Music by Pat Conroy
This is a really really bad book. Don't read it. I am pretty upset that I finished it. It is a weird story about a guy from South Carolina whose wife commits suicide, after which he moves to Italy with his daughter. They eventually come back to South Carolina and they are about a million side plots about all the characters in the present, in their childhood and during the Vietman war. None of the characters were realistic and it just was no good.
The last in this sci-fi series by John Scalzi. This gets us back to the characters from the first book, and I really enjoyed it. I read it a little bit ago, so it is fuzzy in my memory, but it was a good read.
51. Killing Mr. Watson by Peter Matthiessen
This is a fiction book based on a true story and real people in the Everglades in the 1920s. It was a little weird and kind of meandering, without a lot of "plot", but I enjoyed it.
52. Violent Ward by Len Deighton
This is a cheapy paperback about a PI in LA. It was pretty random and there were some major plot holes, but it was an ok airplane read.
53. Beach Music by Pat Conroy
This is a really really bad book. Don't read it. I am pretty upset that I finished it. It is a weird story about a guy from South Carolina whose wife commits suicide, after which he moves to Italy with his daughter. They eventually come back to South Carolina and they are about a million side plots about all the characters in the present, in their childhood and during the Vietman war. None of the characters were realistic and it just was no good.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Done with flying
Hey guys, long time no blog. It takes a lot of time to teach the genius children, but here I am embarking on my last week and I have cleverly made them do independent projects so that is less planning for me. woo! I am enjoying the teaching, although the discipline for teenagers is exhausting. I feel like I have to always be on the alert. I can relax so much more with college aged students.
I took off weekend before last to go to the same wedding as Melinda and Christopher and Corbett. It was nice to get home for the weekend, but I had the WORST trip back. As the others described the wedding, I was just tell you about me. :)
My flight was out of LaGuardia, so I took the bus there and all was well. The flight got a little delayed, and then a little more delayed, and then finally canceled. There were apparently no more available flights for that day, so they said they could put me on one Monday. However, I am a freakishly responsible person and knew it would be terrible for me to not get back to teach. With the fast pace here missing one day is awful, and there aren't really subs they can call in. So I pressed the airline woman to get me out of town that night, and she said there was a flight from Newark. I decided to take this, got back on the bus, took it to the subway, took that to Penn Station, then took a New Jersey Transit train to Newark. I became concerned when I saw the airport was crammed with people just lying and sitting everywhere. I joined the surly, floor sitting people and watched my flight get pushed later and later and then finally canceled. Argh. So I got in another line, was confirmed on a 6:45 pm flight for Monday, and got a standby ticket for a 6:30 am flight. I was sorely tempted to pretend the 6:30 am thing did not exist, but my freakishly responsible side took over again. I got home from Newark at 11:30 pm only to get up again at 4:30 am to head back. R was the best ever though, and woke up with me and got a zipcar so I could save a little time and not have to travel on the subway/NJ transit combo so early.
I headed to the gate and waited and waited. The gate woman told me the flight was overbooked. There were like 8 other people looming about waiting for standby tickets. Finally, they got all the ticketed passengers on and then called out a name, and then another, and then another. They repeated the third name. Then they called me! woo! Thanks for not showing up, third guy! So I got the very last seat on the plane, flew here to smart camp town, got a taxi, and ended up getting on campus in time to teach my class. Of course, this meant I taught 6 hours with very little sleep, but I managed. I fell asleep basically as soon as I got back to my room at 4:00, but it all worked out in the end.
I took off weekend before last to go to the same wedding as Melinda and Christopher and Corbett. It was nice to get home for the weekend, but I had the WORST trip back. As the others described the wedding, I was just tell you about me. :)
My flight was out of LaGuardia, so I took the bus there and all was well. The flight got a little delayed, and then a little more delayed, and then finally canceled. There were apparently no more available flights for that day, so they said they could put me on one Monday. However, I am a freakishly responsible person and knew it would be terrible for me to not get back to teach. With the fast pace here missing one day is awful, and there aren't really subs they can call in. So I pressed the airline woman to get me out of town that night, and she said there was a flight from Newark. I decided to take this, got back on the bus, took it to the subway, took that to Penn Station, then took a New Jersey Transit train to Newark. I became concerned when I saw the airport was crammed with people just lying and sitting everywhere. I joined the surly, floor sitting people and watched my flight get pushed later and later and then finally canceled. Argh. So I got in another line, was confirmed on a 6:45 pm flight for Monday, and got a standby ticket for a 6:30 am flight. I was sorely tempted to pretend the 6:30 am thing did not exist, but my freakishly responsible side took over again. I got home from Newark at 11:30 pm only to get up again at 4:30 am to head back. R was the best ever though, and woke up with me and got a zipcar so I could save a little time and not have to travel on the subway/NJ transit combo so early.
I headed to the gate and waited and waited. The gate woman told me the flight was overbooked. There were like 8 other people looming about waiting for standby tickets. Finally, they got all the ticketed passengers on and then called out a name, and then another, and then another. They repeated the third name. Then they called me! woo! Thanks for not showing up, third guy! So I got the very last seat on the plane, flew here to smart camp town, got a taxi, and ended up getting on campus in time to teach my class. Of course, this meant I taught 6 hours with very little sleep, but I managed. I fell asleep basically as soon as I got back to my room at 4:00, but it all worked out in the end.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Sunday, June 15, 2008
The inundation
I am here at smart camp, and today the kids begin to arrive. Fun! I am dressed up in business casual to impress the parents with my professionalism and ability to impart knowledge to their children. I am actually pretty excited and feeling prepared. It helps that I taught here last year, so I know kind of what to expect.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Alive
Lately I feel I only post so as to let you know I am alive. I am alive. I am in a hot state about to teach the brilliant children. So far I have gotten to sit in a classroom and be talked at. Ah, orientation. Our dinner was pushed back today so I am starving and tired, so that is all for now.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
yum
I am a victim of academic neglect. Therefore, I got to spend my week in grad school town traveling about eating at tasty restaurants instead of doing what I thought I came to do. Even though I now live in NYC, allegedly the restaurant capital of the US or something, I miss so many restaurants here. Really, this town has a ton of good places for its size, and they are so cheap! I have eaten many portabella mushroom sandwiches, herbed goat cheese, butternut squash bisque, and sweet potato fries. Yum yum. So that is the bright side of this somewhat wasted trip. I also got to see friends which was good. And tomorrow I depart for my drive to Virginia. Time to charge the ipod!
Monday, June 02, 2008
books
46. The Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell
This is a collection of essays by This American Life contributor Sarah Vowell. If you've listened to her at all, you know what to expect. The essays are witty and insightful and entertaining. As I have heard her a lot on TAL, I loved how I could hear her voice in my head as I read this book.
47. The World Without Us by Alan Weisman
This is a very interesting book about what would happen to the earth if humans disappeared. It is very interesting and eye opening to see how quickly a lot of our structures will disappear, but scary about how mych plastic will remain forever. A good book.
48. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
49. Enna Burning by Shannon Hale
Two more Shannon Hale books, the first two of another series. I loved The Goose Girl, about a princess who loses her kingdom and has to regain it. It had a lot of the same themes as Princess Academy, and I liked Princess Academy slightly more, but this was still quite good.
Enna Burning was the sequel, and I enjoyed it, but not quite as much as The Goose Girl. There was more war and battle, and less concentration on characters. Still very good and worth a read, though.
This is a collection of essays by This American Life contributor Sarah Vowell. If you've listened to her at all, you know what to expect. The essays are witty and insightful and entertaining. As I have heard her a lot on TAL, I loved how I could hear her voice in my head as I read this book.
47. The World Without Us by Alan Weisman
This is a very interesting book about what would happen to the earth if humans disappeared. It is very interesting and eye opening to see how quickly a lot of our structures will disappear, but scary about how mych plastic will remain forever. A good book.
48. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
49. Enna Burning by Shannon Hale
Two more Shannon Hale books, the first two of another series. I loved The Goose Girl, about a princess who loses her kingdom and has to regain it. It had a lot of the same themes as Princess Academy, and I liked Princess Academy slightly more, but this was still quite good.
Enna Burning was the sequel, and I enjoyed it, but not quite as much as The Goose Girl. There was more war and battle, and less concentration on characters. Still very good and worth a read, though.
I am still here
Sorry for the lack of posting. I am currently on my summer travels and right before I left I was stressed and now I am on the road. I am actually in my grad school town discovering that indeed, universities are not really concerned about their students. It sucks. Anyway, in the end I have decided it will make me more stubborn and willful about finishing, but for now I am feeling disillusioned and cynical.
I have been getting to see a lot of friends, though! And I am sure more fun adventures will occur AND I am renting a car for $75 for a week. Gotta love a bargain.
I have been getting to see a lot of friends, though! And I am sure more fun adventures will occur AND I am renting a car for $75 for a week. Gotta love a bargain.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Sesame Street!
Hmmm... I like Big Bird, but he was never my favorite. I also think the organization score is way high. I should post a picture of my desk!
Your Score: Big Bird
You scored 70% Organization, 58% abstract, and 67% extroverted!
This test measured 3 variables.
First, this test measured how organized you are. Some muppets like Cookie Monster make big messes, while others like Bert are quite anal about things being clean.
Second, this test measured if you prefer a concrete or an abstract viewpoint. For the purposes of this test, concrete people are considered to gravitate more to mathematical and logical approaches, whereas abstract people are more the dreamers and artistic type.
Third, this test measured if you are more of an introvert or an extrovert. By definition, an introvert concentrates more on herself and an extrovert focuses more on others. In this test an introvert was somebody that either tends to spend more time alone or thinks more about herself.
You are very organized, both concrete and abstract, and more extroverted.
Here is why are you Big Bird.
You are both very organized. You almost always know where your belongings are and you prefer things neat. You may even enjoy cleaning and find it therapeutic. Big Bird is never sloppy and always under control... pretty good for a 6 year old bird living without a family.
You both are sometimes concrete and sometimes abstract thinkers. Big Bird can be quite dreamy at times and has no problem using his imagination. At the same time he is also practical and can be methodical in his search for answers to questions. You have a good balance in your life. You know when to be logical at times, but you also aren't afraid to explore your dreams and desires... within limits of course.
You are both extroverts. Big Bird gets along with everyone. He makes friends easily and always has a positive attitude. You definitely enjoy the company of others, and you don't have problems meeting new people... in fact you probably look forward to it. You are willing to take charge when necessary or work as part of a team.
The other possible characters are
Oscar the Grouch
Bert
Snuffleupagus
Ernie
Elmo
Kermit the Frog
Grover
Cookie Monster
Guy Smiley
The Count
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I have written many many tests for fun on this site. Feel free to choose another one from my handy categories. If you liked a test, please rate it before continuing.
Intelligence tests (all with answer keys)
The are you Smarter Than a 1st Grader Test Test your school smarts against my 1st graders.
The Proper Urinal Etiquette Test
The State Locator Challenge I'll show you a picture of a state, you tell me which one it is.
The 10 Tricky Anagram Puzzles Test A fun quirky IQ test.
The Following Directions IQ Test The name says it all. Perhaps my trickiest IQ test.
The Take the Jeopardy Challenge Test A great tests for fans of jeopardy. Somewhat lengthy.
"Which character am I" tests
The Your Sesame Street Persona test By far, my most popular test.
The Smurf Personality Test 16 smurfy possibilities. Smurf facts included.
The Your Seinfeld Identity Test Surely the only test here that uses "Kavorka" as a variable.
The Life in Hell Test Which rabbit are you in this Matt Groening (The Simpsons) strip?.
Tests that are actually games
The Real Choose Your Own Adventure Test 29 possible endings. Uses internal links to navigate.
The Survivor Game Great fun for fans of the T.V. show. Complex scoring algorithm.
What will you do for a Klondike Bar? Life and death hangs on each choice you make.
The Morphed Faces (with a reward) test Quick. Kind of dumb but fun.
Let's Play Rocks Paper Scissors Takes less than a minute. Bet you can't win.?
The Murder Mystery Flash Game A dumb addictive flash game I did not create.
Death related test
The Wecome To Your Funeral Test Tells you who attends your funeral and when you'll die.
The Who's Dying First Test See if you are likely to outlast me on this planet.
Would Jesus Die For Your Sins? Short and sarcastic (like me!)
Bizarre compatability tests
The Choose Your Next Planet Test When ours becomes inhabitable, where should you go?
The Would Judge Judy Yell at YOU test? Can you escape her wrath? Probably not.
The If We Were Both Lesbians... Sure you dig my tests. But would you dig me...as a woman?
The Would Zeppo Sleep with you test My very 1st test. Would my cat date you or more?
The Yankees or Red Sox fan test Which team SHOULD you root for. Fun questions.
The rest (or the "Could be deleted any day tests...")
The Do You Know the Muffin Man Test No clue how to describe this test.
The Let is snow? Let it snow test This test will tell you if you like snow. Seriously.
You too can get 10,000 takers The author reveals his secrets to creating popular tests.
The Smokey the Bear Forest Fire Test This test is really pathetic. Don't take it.
| Link: The Your SESAME STREET Persona Test written by greencowsgomoo on OkCupid, home of the The Dating Persona Test View My Profile(greencowsgomoo) |
Friday, May 23, 2008
Awesome!
Your Score: The Dork
You scored 34 anxiety, 57 awkwardness, and 39 neuroticism!
You aren't particularly anxious, and you don't count things--but you do notice sometimes that you don't exactly fit in. Polite people would call you an eccentric, but you truly are The Dork! And proud. Just because you feel a little awkward at parties doesn't mean you're not happy with yourself and fairly relaxed.
Your low anxiety score implies that you are able to relax, can enjoy the here and now, and have a healthy amount of self-confidence.
Your high awkwardness score implies that you are socially inept, probably stick out from the crowd, and perhaps feel uncomfortable in large groups of people, such as at parties.
Your low neuroticism score implies that you don't exhibit subtle neurotic behaviors--your nails are probably an acceptable length, your pencils aren't covered with bite marks, and your bookcase isn't arranged alphabetically by genre. Congrats!
__
See the other results!
Well-Adjusted
The Neat Freak
The Dork
The Geek
Phobic
Obsessive-Compulsive
The Subtle Neurotic
The True Neurotic
| Link: The Neurotic Test written by littlelostsnail on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test View My Profile(littlelostsnail) |
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
book
45. Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
This is one of the most thought provoking books I've read in a long time. I'll plagiarize my GoodReads review for you here, as I can't stop thinking about this book...
I found this book very thought provoking and troubling. Hirsi Ali gives voice to the many Muslim women who are beaten, raped, killed and mutilated and not allowed to live their own lives. She does this powerfully by taking us through her experiences growing up in Somalia, Saudi Arabia and Kenya. Eventually, she moves to Holland and gains refugee status, then becomes a Dutch citizen and gets to parliament as a critic of Islam and the Dutch policy of allowing Muslim immigrants to stay in their own enclaves and not be fully integrated into Dutch society.
There is a lot to agree with in this book. Countries should not allow women to abused and beaten in the name of religion. Crimes like these should not be overlooked in the name of tolerance. However, Hirsi Ali does not convince me that all these issues stem from Islam itself. I thought that in many of her statements you could replace "Islam" with "Fundamentalist Christianity" and they would still be true. She tries to say that Christianity and Judaism are essentially different from Islam, but I can't agree with this at all. I mean, there is no ideal "Islam" or any other religion. They are made of people and people's actions, and that is where change needs to happen. I agree with her that all people need to be able to understand they have individual choices and power, but I don't think a blanket criticism of Islam is necessarily the path to this.
Anyway, this is definitely worth a read as it is very thought provoking and it is important to know some of these stories of the oppressed Muslim women she discusses.
This is one of the most thought provoking books I've read in a long time. I'll plagiarize my GoodReads review for you here, as I can't stop thinking about this book...
I found this book very thought provoking and troubling. Hirsi Ali gives voice to the many Muslim women who are beaten, raped, killed and mutilated and not allowed to live their own lives. She does this powerfully by taking us through her experiences growing up in Somalia, Saudi Arabia and Kenya. Eventually, she moves to Holland and gains refugee status, then becomes a Dutch citizen and gets to parliament as a critic of Islam and the Dutch policy of allowing Muslim immigrants to stay in their own enclaves and not be fully integrated into Dutch society.
There is a lot to agree with in this book. Countries should not allow women to abused and beaten in the name of religion. Crimes like these should not be overlooked in the name of tolerance. However, Hirsi Ali does not convince me that all these issues stem from Islam itself. I thought that in many of her statements you could replace "Islam" with "Fundamentalist Christianity" and they would still be true. She tries to say that Christianity and Judaism are essentially different from Islam, but I can't agree with this at all. I mean, there is no ideal "Islam" or any other religion. They are made of people and people's actions, and that is where change needs to happen. I agree with her that all people need to be able to understand they have individual choices and power, but I don't think a blanket criticism of Islam is necessarily the path to this.
Anyway, this is definitely worth a read as it is very thought provoking and it is important to know some of these stories of the oppressed Muslim women she discusses.
Elderly
It has come to my attention that I am too old for grad school. Really, I think it is built for younger people who come right from undergrad. I only took 3 years off in between, but I still feel it has made me too old. I have been working until 10:00 or 10:30 pm lately in order to finish up this data analysis push. Basically, I am listening to tapes of tourist groups and figuring out how much time they are making noise. I can pretty much get one tape done a day. I really want to ramp it up because I have 11 tapes left, yet I will be going to grad school town in 8 days and I really really would prefer to have them done before that. But I am so tired and my back hurts from sitting at my desk too much and the cats are angry because I neglect them. I just keep thinking back to when I was young and spry and how I could have stayed up super late every night with no problems. That is why I am too old for grad school. Good thing I will have to graduate soon!
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Chariots of Fire
I signed up for a 5k! It is not until October, but I decided I needed the motivation of paying $25 to run in a race too keep me running through my weeks in the South, where the weather is so hot. I really hate the weather there. Heat and humidity are not my thing. Anyway, I am excited as it is a Halloween themed 5k with beer afterwards and hopefully my brother and his wife will run the race too. I have no doubt they are much faster than me, with their more running experience and their youth, but that is ok.
I am proud of my running lately. I pretty steadily go 3 days a week. I graduated myself from the Couch to 5k and now I have a 2 mile route that I can ALMOST run the whole of. I think I would be able to run the whole thing if I didn't happen to live at the highest point in Manhattan, thus causing me to have to run up some terrible hills. I am also working harder to change my outlook on my running. I have a history of not liking to do things I am not immediately good at. I don't know where I picked this up, but if I struggle with something the first time I do it it is hard for me to continue. Anyway, so instead of being sad I can not quite run 2 miles, I am now happy that I CAN run two miles, when just a few months ago I couldn't even run for 2 minutes. And lately my worst runs are still at least 15 minutes. So go me! And the benefit of all this is that my regular jeans fit again! And I just feel generally better about myself.
So I hope I can keep up the exercise even though I am exiled to the hot weather for awhile. I will keep that 5k in my sights as my motivator. Can't waste the $25, right?
I am proud of my running lately. I pretty steadily go 3 days a week. I graduated myself from the Couch to 5k and now I have a 2 mile route that I can ALMOST run the whole of. I think I would be able to run the whole thing if I didn't happen to live at the highest point in Manhattan, thus causing me to have to run up some terrible hills. I am also working harder to change my outlook on my running. I have a history of not liking to do things I am not immediately good at. I don't know where I picked this up, but if I struggle with something the first time I do it it is hard for me to continue. Anyway, so instead of being sad I can not quite run 2 miles, I am now happy that I CAN run two miles, when just a few months ago I couldn't even run for 2 minutes. And lately my worst runs are still at least 15 minutes. So go me! And the benefit of all this is that my regular jeans fit again! And I just feel generally better about myself.
So I hope I can keep up the exercise even though I am exiled to the hot weather for awhile. I will keep that 5k in my sights as my motivator. Can't waste the $25, right?
Monday, May 19, 2008
Tragedy
I was all set to have a super tasty dinner of Morningstar fake chicken, sun dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, green garlic and roasted asparagus all sauteed up together and served over spaghetti squash. I cooked my spaghetti squash whole, as I am not to be trusted with knives and hard to cut produce such as squash. I took my perfectly baked squash out of the oven and cut it up, only to find it was all sprouted inside. And then, I tasted some and it was sooooo bitter. Gross. So I had to have my topping just in a bowl with nothing to put it over. It was tasty, but would have been better with the squash. That is my dinner tragedy.
books
I have been really stressed out lately, so I have turned to some serious escapism reading. This post is about two books I loved as a child, and two I would have loved as a teenager, had then been written then. I still loved them now, but my love would have been more immense back in high school.
41. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
42. The Story of the Amulet by E. Nesbit
These are the old favorites. Everything Roald Dahl has written is genius. I love the irreverence and the strange situations that are just accepted as normal. In this one, James lives with his terrible aunts until a peach in the garden grows to huge proportions, then he and some giant insect friends have adventures.
E. Nesbit is another old favorite. This book is part of a series that also includes Five Children and It and The Phoenix and the Carpet. This book was written in 1906, but I think it still holds up today. Great, magical story about siblings adventuring through time together.
43. The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray
44. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
The Sweet Far Thing is the last in Libba Bray's Gemma Doyle trilogy. In this one, Gemma and her friends are in their last year of school and about to make their debuts. They start to wrap up their adventures in the magical realms, and learn how to make their real lives what they want of them. This was the best of the three books -- I really think each one was better than the one before. This is a good coming of age story, with plenty of drama, some scary scenes and some romance.
Cassandra Clare's book is also fantasy, but based in modern day New York. My GoodReads friend who I heard about it from described it as Harry Potter meets Star Wars and I would agree and throw in some Buffy the Vampire Slayer as well. Basically, Clary, a 15 year old girl, runs into some demonhunters and realizes nothing about her life was as she thought it was. Again, plenty of drama, teen angst, witty remarks during battle scenes and a twisty plot. Very good and fun. I am looking forward to the rest of this series.
41. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
42. The Story of the Amulet by E. Nesbit
These are the old favorites. Everything Roald Dahl has written is genius. I love the irreverence and the strange situations that are just accepted as normal. In this one, James lives with his terrible aunts until a peach in the garden grows to huge proportions, then he and some giant insect friends have adventures.
E. Nesbit is another old favorite. This book is part of a series that also includes Five Children and It and The Phoenix and the Carpet. This book was written in 1906, but I think it still holds up today. Great, magical story about siblings adventuring through time together.
43. The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray
44. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
The Sweet Far Thing is the last in Libba Bray's Gemma Doyle trilogy. In this one, Gemma and her friends are in their last year of school and about to make their debuts. They start to wrap up their adventures in the magical realms, and learn how to make their real lives what they want of them. This was the best of the three books -- I really think each one was better than the one before. This is a good coming of age story, with plenty of drama, some scary scenes and some romance.
Cassandra Clare's book is also fantasy, but based in modern day New York. My GoodReads friend who I heard about it from described it as Harry Potter meets Star Wars and I would agree and throw in some Buffy the Vampire Slayer as well. Basically, Clary, a 15 year old girl, runs into some demonhunters and realizes nothing about her life was as she thought it was. Again, plenty of drama, teen angst, witty remarks during battle scenes and a twisty plot. Very good and fun. I am looking forward to the rest of this series.
Mmm...cupcakes
Mmm...These are some cupcakes I made a few weeks ago. One of my favorite food blogs is the Cupcake Bakeshop by Chockylit. These are the Sweet and Salty Honey Peanut Cupcakes. They were very tasty, but I think the cake could be a little more moist and I would add more peanuts to the inside. And salt. But still, they were super good. If you want an amazing cupcake, though, make the ricotta raspberry almond cupcakes. I didn't do the burnt almond layer and just used store bought vanilla frosting but they were sooooo good. Seriously, I was shocked they came out of my kitchen.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Friday, May 16, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
No coffee for you!
I know you are all dying to know about my afternoon coffee habits. Yesterday I went to Dunkin Donuts and got a French Vanilla iced coffee. It was tasty.
Then today, as it is indeed free iced coffee day, I went again. But, our Dunkin Donuts is out of small cups, so they will not give us free iced coffee! Bastards! I think it is really bad planning -- shouldn't they have know zillions of people would come to the stores for free iced coffee? Wasn't that part of the plan? So I am coffee-less this afternoon. So sad.
Then today, as it is indeed free iced coffee day, I went again. But, our Dunkin Donuts is out of small cups, so they will not give us free iced coffee! Bastards! I think it is really bad planning -- shouldn't they have know zillions of people would come to the stores for free iced coffee? Wasn't that part of the plan? So I am coffee-less this afternoon. So sad.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Should I give in?
Only 4 papers left to grade! woo! The papers are actually all pretty good and it is not an onerous task. I have actually learned some stuff from some of them. I was struck last semester with how many of my students obviously wrote their entire final paper the night before it was due, including research. I don't necessarily have a problem with this, if you can pull it off, but they could not. The papers read like papers written the night before. This semester I made each student choose a focus country on which to write their final paper. Then they had to write about the country for each of their response papers and they had an abstract and outline which are both part of the final paper grade. I think this has definitely improved the level of papers I am getting, as at the very least they mildly thought about their country a little bit before the paper was due.
The question in the title refers to my great craving for a sweet ice coffee confection from Starbucks (or maybe Dunkin Donuts?) I try not to patronize Starbucks that much, but I still have booooring data analysis to do, and the caffeine/sugar might help me get through it. I am about to go to the library and do some other errands, so I will probably get something on the way back.
I am very stressed as I travel to grad school town in 15 days. I had dreams of having a whole (albeit rough) draft of my diss by then. Alas, this data analysis is sucking my soul and is taking soooo long. I hope I will have it done in 15 days. If it takes me all 15 days I will not have time to write anything new, which means I will show up in grad school town with only a bit more written than when I was last there. Oh well. I really am working a ton, even into the night, and I do not believe I can physically work more. So what will be done will be done and I will just have to live with it.
The question in the title refers to my great craving for a sweet ice coffee confection from Starbucks (or maybe Dunkin Donuts?) I try not to patronize Starbucks that much, but I still have booooring data analysis to do, and the caffeine/sugar might help me get through it. I am about to go to the library and do some other errands, so I will probably get something on the way back.
I am very stressed as I travel to grad school town in 15 days. I had dreams of having a whole (albeit rough) draft of my diss by then. Alas, this data analysis is sucking my soul and is taking soooo long. I hope I will have it done in 15 days. If it takes me all 15 days I will not have time to write anything new, which means I will show up in grad school town with only a bit more written than when I was last there. Oh well. I really am working a ton, even into the night, and I do not believe I can physically work more. So what will be done will be done and I will just have to live with it.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
books
38. The Road by Cormac McCarthy
I did not like this book. I read it because it was so lauded and so many people said it was life changing. I just didn't get it. Basically, as far as I could tell, it was about a dad and his son wandering through post-Apocalyptic America, speaking in very short sentences without quotation marks. My review to R sums my feelings on this book up very well: "I think it is supposed to be about the human spirit or some crap but I don't get it." Anyway, for me this book was just depressing with no purpose.
39. Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
Luckily, the next book I read was this awesome fantasy/fairy tale by Shannon Hale. It is one of the best books I have read in a while. This is the story of Miri, a small (in stature) girl living on top of a mountain in a small village that makes their living working a quarry. One day a messenger from the King comes saying all the girls need to go to a "Princess Academy" from which the prince will choose a wife. The Princess Academy is not what you might expect it to be and all the girls really learn about themselves. This is an awesome coming of age story with one of the best young woman protagonists I have come across. Seriously, if you are at all interested in kick-ass young women in a slightly fantastical setting, you should read this book.
40. My Life in France by Julia Child
Another excellent book. This is mostly the story of Julia and her husband Paul as they go to France and learn about food and cooking. I have always enjoyed watching Julia Child on TV, but I didn't know a lot about her. There were so many interesting tidbits in this book, and she sounded like such an awesome person. I really enjoyed this, and Julia Child has been catapulted into my personal pantheon of heroes, right next to Madeline Albright.
I did not like this book. I read it because it was so lauded and so many people said it was life changing. I just didn't get it. Basically, as far as I could tell, it was about a dad and his son wandering through post-Apocalyptic America, speaking in very short sentences without quotation marks. My review to R sums my feelings on this book up very well: "I think it is supposed to be about the human spirit or some crap but I don't get it." Anyway, for me this book was just depressing with no purpose.
39. Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
Luckily, the next book I read was this awesome fantasy/fairy tale by Shannon Hale. It is one of the best books I have read in a while. This is the story of Miri, a small (in stature) girl living on top of a mountain in a small village that makes their living working a quarry. One day a messenger from the King comes saying all the girls need to go to a "Princess Academy" from which the prince will choose a wife. The Princess Academy is not what you might expect it to be and all the girls really learn about themselves. This is an awesome coming of age story with one of the best young woman protagonists I have come across. Seriously, if you are at all interested in kick-ass young women in a slightly fantastical setting, you should read this book.
40. My Life in France by Julia Child
Another excellent book. This is mostly the story of Julia and her husband Paul as they go to France and learn about food and cooking. I have always enjoyed watching Julia Child on TV, but I didn't know a lot about her. There were so many interesting tidbits in this book, and she sounded like such an awesome person. I really enjoyed this, and Julia Child has been catapulted into my personal pantheon of heroes, right next to Madeline Albright.
my one problem with Mother's Day
I was thinking about this post before, but didn't want to be a curmudgeon on the actual Mother's Day. This post by StyleyGeek inspired me, though.
Here is my problem with Mother's Day. People seeing me, noting I am a woman, asking if I have kids, me saying I don't and them say "Happy future Mother's Day then!" ??? There are a lot of big assumptions here. I am a female and therefore automatically going to be a mom? What if I have decided not to? What if I were struggling with infertility? It just seems a big can of worms to get into and basically nobody's business. This has happened enough to me the last few years that I actually thought twice about going out somewhere on Sunday because it annoys me so much. How about wishing Happy Mother's Day to people you know are mothers and leaving the rest of us alone?
Here is my problem with Mother's Day. People seeing me, noting I am a woman, asking if I have kids, me saying I don't and them say "Happy future Mother's Day then!" ??? There are a lot of big assumptions here. I am a female and therefore automatically going to be a mom? What if I have decided not to? What if I were struggling with infertility? It just seems a big can of worms to get into and basically nobody's business. This has happened enough to me the last few years that I actually thought twice about going out somewhere on Sunday because it annoys me so much. How about wishing Happy Mother's Day to people you know are mothers and leaving the rest of us alone?
Monday, May 12, 2008
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Travellin'
So one of the things I accomplished this week was pulling together my summer travel. Here is where I need to go: GradSchoolTown, Virginia to see Christopher and Corbett, Southern City Where I Teach Genius Children, back to NYC for a wedding, back to Southern City, back to NYC . I do not necessarily NEED to visit C&C (even though I wanted to) so I first looked for 3 round trip tickets for the other parts of the travel. This was $$$. Then I looked at flying from place to place. This was also $$$, although less $$. Finally, I looked at renting a car and driving part of it (from GradSchoolTown to Virginia) and this was the cheapest, even allowing for gas! AND I am even getting the car the whole time in GradSchoolTown which has crappy public transportation and getting around it without a car has been a huge pain the last few times I visited (although props to my friends for arranging to loan me a car last December. you rule!). So I get to go everywhere I need to and have more convenience than I would otherwise. I still think it is crazy I basically now HAVE to go to Virginia because it saves me money, even if I didn't want the immense fun I will have there anyway. :)
It is sad though that all this money saving travel will make R and I be apart more. He is going to Chile for work (so jealous!) for a week and I leave for my adventures a few days after his return. Then I am gone in June and then it is July and we need to panic!!! and move. There will be definitely be panicking during the moving. And we have to drug the big cat. But I am not going to think about that now, I'm just glad my movements through June are set.
It is sad though that all this money saving travel will make R and I be apart more. He is going to Chile for work (so jealous!) for a week and I leave for my adventures a few days after his return. Then I am gone in June and then it is July and we need to panic!!! and move. There will be definitely be panicking during the moving. And we have to drug the big cat. But I am not going to think about that now, I'm just glad my movements through June are set.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Perspective
So somehow through my grad school experience I have gotten into the habitat of looking at all the things I don't get done each day, as opposed to what I do get done. It is a distressing habit because every day I feel like I am failing because I don't have all kinds of things done. Yesterday, however, I took stock of what I had done, and realized I do actually work a lot. So, here is what I have done so far this week:
*ran/walked 2 miles
*analyzed boring data many times
*commented on 4 student paper drafts (I am the nicest prof ever)
*called my advisor
*applied for four jobs in Chicago
*held office hours (no one came)
*did dishes
*bought mangoes for a future ice cream
*graded a bunch o' response papers
*set up gradebook so it only awaits students' paper grades before spitting out the final grade
*researched teaching philosophies
*wrote a rough draft of my teaching philosophy
*slept
*hung out with R
*bought a million tickets for some upcoming travel (I will tell you about this soon. It is kinda crazy.)
*ran/walked 2 miles
*analyzed boring data many times
*commented on 4 student paper drafts (I am the nicest prof ever)
*called my advisor
*applied for four jobs in Chicago
*held office hours (no one came)
*did dishes
*bought mangoes for a future ice cream
*graded a bunch o' response papers
*set up gradebook so it only awaits students' paper grades before spitting out the final grade
*researched teaching philosophies
*wrote a rough draft of my teaching philosophy
*slept
*hung out with R
*bought a million tickets for some upcoming travel (I will tell you about this soon. It is kinda crazy.)
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
books
34. Random Family by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc
This is a really great book that follows a group of young people over about 10 years as the grow up in the Bronx. The author is a journalist and does an amazing job of leaving herself out of the book, and presenting the people as people. The subjects of the book deal with poverty, drugs, jail and teenage pregnancies, but the book is so close to their point of view that you can understand why they make the choices they do. Very good book.
35. Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene
This is the story of a regular vacuum cleaner salesman in Havana (before the revolution) recruited to be a spy for the British. It was fun, and I liked the 2nd half better than the first. This book was written in the 50's (I think) and I had some trouble with the dated-ness of it, although I did want to drink daquiris. :)
36. Bones: A Forensic Detective's Case Book by Douglas Ubelaker
This book is by the curator of Physical Anthropology at the Smithsonian. It is an older book, from 1991, and I guess was recently re-printed. Anyway, I am a physical anthropologist, but not of dead things and skeletons, so I read this book as part of my plan to improve my knowledge of that part of my field. A lot of the cases in this book are very interesting, and you learn amazing things that can be figured out from bones. However, the writing is a little strange. It is not super-well organized, and almost stream of consciousness as it flits from subject to subject. If you are interested in forensic anthropology you might like this book, otherwise I am not sure it would hold a lot of interest for most people.
37. The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi
The second book in Scalzi's series. I did not like this as much as "Old Man's War" but it was pretty good escapism still. The first part of the book had too much description of science and space battles for me, and I liked the second part more where it was more about the people. I really like how this series deals with the ethical issues in humanity's genetically engineering people to fight aliens in space (and should we be fighting the aliens at all?) and I look forward to reading the third book in the series.
This is a really great book that follows a group of young people over about 10 years as the grow up in the Bronx. The author is a journalist and does an amazing job of leaving herself out of the book, and presenting the people as people. The subjects of the book deal with poverty, drugs, jail and teenage pregnancies, but the book is so close to their point of view that you can understand why they make the choices they do. Very good book.
35. Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene
This is the story of a regular vacuum cleaner salesman in Havana (before the revolution) recruited to be a spy for the British. It was fun, and I liked the 2nd half better than the first. This book was written in the 50's (I think) and I had some trouble with the dated-ness of it, although I did want to drink daquiris. :)
36. Bones: A Forensic Detective's Case Book by Douglas Ubelaker
This book is by the curator of Physical Anthropology at the Smithsonian. It is an older book, from 1991, and I guess was recently re-printed. Anyway, I am a physical anthropologist, but not of dead things and skeletons, so I read this book as part of my plan to improve my knowledge of that part of my field. A lot of the cases in this book are very interesting, and you learn amazing things that can be figured out from bones. However, the writing is a little strange. It is not super-well organized, and almost stream of consciousness as it flits from subject to subject. If you are interested in forensic anthropology you might like this book, otherwise I am not sure it would hold a lot of interest for most people.
37. The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi
The second book in Scalzi's series. I did not like this as much as "Old Man's War" but it was pretty good escapism still. The first part of the book had too much description of science and space battles for me, and I liked the second part more where it was more about the people. I really like how this series deals with the ethical issues in humanity's genetically engineering people to fight aliens in space (and should we be fighting the aliens at all?) and I look forward to reading the third book in the series.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
No noise in Illinois
For now, that is....
My people! I can now officially announce to you that come August, R and I and the cats shall pack up and return to the midwest, from whence we both emerged. That is right, we are moving to Chicago! Rock on! R will pursue a PhD (I have confidence he will catch it) and I will hopefully find some sort of job in some sort of academia vaguely related to what I do.
I am excited for the move, I like Chicago and it has always been on my list of places I would like to live. Both of our families will be much closer, and we have like a million friends in the general area. But it is still bittersweet. We've both really loved living in New York, and we don't feel like we're done with it yet. While we will have a cheaper rent and be able to afford a two bedroom (woo! office!) apartment, we will also have to buy a car (sad. car insurance, gas, repairs). But it will be good overall.
I wish I could say I was off now to enjoy New York while we have it, but I am actually going to get back to my super boring data analysis.
My people! I can now officially announce to you that come August, R and I and the cats shall pack up and return to the midwest, from whence we both emerged. That is right, we are moving to Chicago! Rock on! R will pursue a PhD (I have confidence he will catch it) and I will hopefully find some sort of job in some sort of academia vaguely related to what I do.
I am excited for the move, I like Chicago and it has always been on my list of places I would like to live. Both of our families will be much closer, and we have like a million friends in the general area. But it is still bittersweet. We've both really loved living in New York, and we don't feel like we're done with it yet. While we will have a cheaper rent and be able to afford a two bedroom (woo! office!) apartment, we will also have to buy a car (sad. car insurance, gas, repairs). But it will be good overall.
I wish I could say I was off now to enjoy New York while we have it, but I am actually going to get back to my super boring data analysis.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
My new favorite thing
octopus
Originally uploaded by mnkgrl
Look at this awesome necklace I got from this Etsy shop. I love it so much! I am wearing it today as I do super boring data analysis. It is totally helping me get through it.
Can you tell I just freed some photos from my camera? But this is the last of them, so no more photo posts for a bit.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
tasty dinner!
farmermarketdin
Originally uploaded by mnkgrl
This was our dinner on Saturday: roasted potatoes and asparagus, grilled onions, grilled portabello "steaks" marinated in a red wine sauce and Italian bread made with semolina flour. Everything except the sour cream on this plate was from the Farmer's Market. Ever since I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle I have been trying to go to the Farmer's Market each week. It can be a struggle as it is on Saturday morning, but I think I have made it most weeks I've been in town. There are still not a lot of vegetables in season, but I was proud we could make a dinner out of the market trip this week.
We almost repeated the feat tonight as well. We had the rest of the asparagus (roasted again) in an omelet with spaghetti squash (from the farmer's market) and marinara on the side. I do try and buy local eggs, but the omelet ones were from the grocery store, although allegedly "cage free".
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
30. The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
OK, I am behind on my book reviews so I cannot do this one justice. I really liked this book. It is a beautifully written story of several characters connected in complex ways between pre WWII Poland to current day New York. Just really well done.
31. Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Another Foundation book. I actually think I liked the second book best, but this one was good and did indeed have a female portagonist.
32. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks
Loved this book! It is a collection of people's memories of the Zombie War. If you enjoy post-apocalyptic works, you will enjoy this one.
33. Old Man's War by John Scalzi
This is a straight up good ol' fashioned sci-fi novel. Basically, at some time in the future humans have colonies all over the universe. They are protected by the Colonial Forces, which you are eligible to join at age 75. There is lots of adventure and some cool ideas about living in space and human colonization of other planets. It wasn't necessarily great literature, but I enjoyed it. Also nice to read a book from the POV of a 75 year old man. :)
OK, I am behind on my book reviews so I cannot do this one justice. I really liked this book. It is a beautifully written story of several characters connected in complex ways between pre WWII Poland to current day New York. Just really well done.
31. Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Another Foundation book. I actually think I liked the second book best, but this one was good and did indeed have a female portagonist.
32. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks
Loved this book! It is a collection of people's memories of the Zombie War. If you enjoy post-apocalyptic works, you will enjoy this one.
33. Old Man's War by John Scalzi
This is a straight up good ol' fashioned sci-fi novel. Basically, at some time in the future humans have colonies all over the universe. They are protected by the Colonial Forces, which you are eligible to join at age 75. There is lots of adventure and some cool ideas about living in space and human colonization of other planets. It wasn't necessarily great literature, but I enjoyed it. Also nice to read a book from the POV of a 75 year old man. :)
Friday, April 25, 2008
Music meme!
I could not resist (seen all about on various blogs):
The rules, again, should you have missed them the first time around:
Step 1: Put your MP3 player or whatever on random.
Step 2: Post the first line from the first 25 songs that play, no matter how embarrassing the song.
Step 3: Post and let everyone you know guess what song and artist the lines come from.
Step 4: Strike through when someone gets them right I'm bolding because I can't be bothered to the html for striking through:)
Step 5: Looking them up on Google or any other search engine is CHEATING.
1. Istanbul was Constantinople...TMBG
2. Que sera oh que sera/ The future will be, will be with us I've seen the headlines (NOT Doris Day)
3. Me and all the kids from the neighborhood--
4. She's into superstitions, black cats and voodoo dolls Livin' la Vida Loca -- Ricky Martin
5. destroy your safe and happy lives before it is too late,
6. Our first date was our last date.
7. I'm not a leader, I'm not a left-wing rhetoric mobilizing force of one, The pointless, yet poignant crisis of a co-ed, Dar Williams
8. 6 am day after christmas Brick, Ben Folds Five
9. It's happy hour again
10. If you're gonna get your heart broke, you better do it just right, The Blessings, Dar
11. on one hand i'm walking
12. My my my it’s a beautiful world Beautiful World, Colin Hay Band
13. squint your eyes and look closer 32 Flavors -- Ani
14. It's been a while since I've seen your face
15. Holiday Celebrate Madonna! Holiday
16. I'll never know what you'll find when you open up your letter box tomorrow Letterbox, TMBG
17. Look I'm standing naked before you Leather, Tori Amos
18. Secure yourself to heaven Secure Yourself, Indigo Girls
19. Don't worry about me, I'm gonna make it alright
20. I am walking Both Hands, Ani
21. Once upon a sign I read a warning and it said
22. Your eyes are made of wild blue sky
23. Fría como una estatua de sal Vuelve, Shakira
24. oh lordy,trouble so hard
25. Hey Sweet Annie
The rules, again, should you have missed them the first time around:
Step 1: Put your MP3 player or whatever on random.
Step 2: Post the first line from the first 25 songs that play, no matter how embarrassing the song.
Step 3: Post and let everyone you know guess what song and artist the lines come from.
Step 4: Strike through when someone gets them right I'm bolding because I can't be bothered to the html for striking through:)
Step 5: Looking them up on Google or any other search engine is CHEATING.
1. Istanbul was Constantinople...TMBG
2. Que sera oh que sera/ The future will be, will be with us I've seen the headlines (NOT Doris Day)
3. Me and all the kids from the neighborhood--
4. She's into superstitions, black cats and voodoo dolls Livin' la Vida Loca -- Ricky Martin
5. destroy your safe and happy lives before it is too late,
6. Our first date was our last date.
7. I'm not a leader, I'm not a left-wing rhetoric mobilizing force of one, The pointless, yet poignant crisis of a co-ed, Dar Williams
8. 6 am day after christmas Brick, Ben Folds Five
9. It's happy hour again
10. If you're gonna get your heart broke, you better do it just right, The Blessings, Dar
11. on one hand i'm walking
12. My my my it’s a beautiful world Beautiful World, Colin Hay Band
13. squint your eyes and look closer 32 Flavors -- Ani
14. It's been a while since I've seen your face
15. Holiday Celebrate Madonna! Holiday
16. I'll never know what you'll find when you open up your letter box tomorrow Letterbox, TMBG
17. Look I'm standing naked before you Leather, Tori Amos
18. Secure yourself to heaven Secure Yourself, Indigo Girls
19. Don't worry about me, I'm gonna make it alright
20. I am walking Both Hands, Ani
21. Once upon a sign I read a warning and it said
22. Your eyes are made of wild blue sky
23. Fría como una estatua de sal Vuelve, Shakira
24. oh lordy,trouble so hard
25. Hey Sweet Annie
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
I have a bone to pick with Facebook. I received an email telling me how my friends voted on my good and bad sides. Under bad they had best scientist!!! How can be being the best scientist be bad?? Is Facebook trying to propagate the idea that being a scientist is bad? My other bad quality was punctuality, which I think is a total good quality.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Still alive
It has been a while since I gave my trusty blog readers a real post. Sorry about that. Every day the dissertation becomes more all encompassing. Perhaps this means I will finish it? Who knows.
Anyway, since we last spoke I have had my birthday, flown to Ohio for a conference where I was an anthropology rock star and presented a rock star caliber poster and then returned home, taught, and caught the plague. Actually, it is just a minor plague.
So, my birthday was the 6th. R had to leave that morning to be woo-ed by grad schools so we celebrated the night before by taking the ferry to Staten Island and eating at an Italian restaurant staffed by Italian grandmas. Some of the food was great, some was mediocre but the wine was awesome as was the whole experience of taking the ferry, etc. On my actual birthday I met two friends for brunch and then we went for pedicures. Yay, pedicures! It was awesome and relaxing and now my toe nails are a nice robin egg blue. I am going to try to make pedicures a bigger part of my life.
On the 9th I flew to Ohio for a conference. I love conferences. This was the 4th time I had attended this particular conference, and I am starting to feel really comfortable at it, seeing all the same people and I'm more comfortable chatting with strangers. I had a poster to present which basically means I tack it up in a big room for 3 hours and stand by it for 1.5 of those hours, answering questions. I got really good feedback and lots of people said they couldn't wait to see the stuff published, so that is good and inspired me more to finish my diss and get papers from it out there. The whole conference was really confidence boosting as I conversed intelligently about my field with all kinds of people. Sweet! I also got to see grad school friends which was also fun.
I got home from that on Sunday, dove into prepping class and finishing grading. Then I taught a great class, became sad there are only 2 weeks of the semester left, and got sick. I was tired Tuesday night and then yesterday I decided to sleep in a little and ended up being out like a light until 11:30! eek. I slept almost all day. I am a lot better today so I think I was just over-tired and needed a rest. I already spent the morning grading and soon will dive into dissertation chapter 4. Watch out, chapter 4! I'm a-coming for you!
Anyway, since we last spoke I have had my birthday, flown to Ohio for a conference where I was an anthropology rock star and presented a rock star caliber poster and then returned home, taught, and caught the plague. Actually, it is just a minor plague.
So, my birthday was the 6th. R had to leave that morning to be woo-ed by grad schools so we celebrated the night before by taking the ferry to Staten Island and eating at an Italian restaurant staffed by Italian grandmas. Some of the food was great, some was mediocre but the wine was awesome as was the whole experience of taking the ferry, etc. On my actual birthday I met two friends for brunch and then we went for pedicures. Yay, pedicures! It was awesome and relaxing and now my toe nails are a nice robin egg blue. I am going to try to make pedicures a bigger part of my life.
On the 9th I flew to Ohio for a conference. I love conferences. This was the 4th time I had attended this particular conference, and I am starting to feel really comfortable at it, seeing all the same people and I'm more comfortable chatting with strangers. I had a poster to present which basically means I tack it up in a big room for 3 hours and stand by it for 1.5 of those hours, answering questions. I got really good feedback and lots of people said they couldn't wait to see the stuff published, so that is good and inspired me more to finish my diss and get papers from it out there. The whole conference was really confidence boosting as I conversed intelligently about my field with all kinds of people. Sweet! I also got to see grad school friends which was also fun.
I got home from that on Sunday, dove into prepping class and finishing grading. Then I taught a great class, became sad there are only 2 weeks of the semester left, and got sick. I was tired Tuesday night and then yesterday I decided to sleep in a little and ended up being out like a light until 11:30! eek. I slept almost all day. I am a lot better today so I think I was just over-tired and needed a rest. I already spent the morning grading and soon will dive into dissertation chapter 4. Watch out, chapter 4! I'm a-coming for you!
Monday, April 14, 2008
Friday, April 04, 2008
Photobucket Meme
From Profgrrrrl
DIRECTIONS:
1. Go to http://www.photobucket.com/
2. Type in your answer to the question in the “search” box.
3. Use only the first page.
4. Insert the picture into your Blog.
1. What is your relationship status?
2. What is your current mood?
3. Who is your favorite band/artist?
4. What is your favorite movie?
5. What kind of pet do you have?
6. Where do you live?
7. Where do you work?
8. What do you look like?
9. What do you drive?
10. What did you do last night?
11. What is your favorite tv show?
12. Describe yourself.
13. What are you doing today?
14. What is your name?
15. What is your favorite candy?
16. What is your favorite drink?
DIRECTIONS:
1. Go to http://www.photobucket.com/
2. Type in your answer to the question in the “search” box.
3. Use only the first page.
4. Insert the picture into your Blog.
1. What is your relationship status?
2. What is your current mood?
3. Who is your favorite band/artist?
4. What is your favorite movie?
5. What kind of pet do you have?
6. Where do you live?
7. Where do you work?
8. What do you look like?
9. What do you drive?
10. What did you do last night?
11. What is your favorite tv show?
12. Describe yourself.
13. What are you doing today?
14. What is your name?
15. What is your favorite candy?
16. What is your favorite drink?
Thursday, April 03, 2008
books
26. White Teeth by Zadie Smith
I read another book by Zadie Smith when in the field and loved it, so when I saw this at the library I thought I would give it a try. I didn't like it that much. It is a complicated story about and Englishman who's best friend is a Bangladeshi he met in WWII. They each get married and have kids and the story follows their families over quite a long period. There is lots about immigration, race, etc. I liked the very end more, but it was hard for me to get through the first 3/4.
27. To-Do List by Sasha Cagen
Very fun little book of collected to-do lists on everything from groceries to pros and cons of leaving a husband.
28. What Angels Fear by C.S. Harris
29. When Gods Die by C.S. Harris
Two more historical mysteries. I love these. I liked them better than the third book, but I think that's because I learned more about the characters. If you read these, read them in order.
I read another book by Zadie Smith when in the field and loved it, so when I saw this at the library I thought I would give it a try. I didn't like it that much. It is a complicated story about and Englishman who's best friend is a Bangladeshi he met in WWII. They each get married and have kids and the story follows their families over quite a long period. There is lots about immigration, race, etc. I liked the very end more, but it was hard for me to get through the first 3/4.
27. To-Do List by Sasha Cagen
Very fun little book of collected to-do lists on everything from groceries to pros and cons of leaving a husband.
28. What Angels Fear by C.S. Harris
29. When Gods Die by C.S. Harris
Two more historical mysteries. I love these. I liked them better than the third book, but I think that's because I learned more about the characters. If you read these, read them in order.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Feels like Wednesday
It's a metaphor. Although it would most likely be a better metaphor if most of you weren't likely to read it on an actual Wednesday. Anyway.
I feel like I am at the Wednesday of my dissertation. If my dissertation were a week, I would be at Wednesday. I feel like I have been pushing and pushing this boulder up a hill (some metaphor mixin' for you) and am juuuust about to the top, whereupon the boulder will roll easily down the hill. I can totally see the summit. Yet although I am so close to the top, I am still suffering procrastination. I have learned over the last year or so that my procrastination is worst when I am scared of something -- what am I scared of? Going down the hill can only be good, right? That is true, but it is also scary. Once I go down the other side of the hill, or get to Friday, then other people start to look at my dissertation. So far it has been just me and my advisor in the thick of it (also R has read a good chunk). So it is like soon I will have to share it, and defend it, and explain it to others. eek! Scary! And then I will graduate! And have to get a job! And do the job! And find new things to research! See why it is scary?
So that is why it is Wednesday and why even though it is Wednesday I am still procrastinating. When I told R the Wednesday theory, he said he thinks it is actually Thursday, it just feels like Wednesday to me. Now I am waiting to realize it is actually Thursday but feels like Wednesday.
I feel like I am at the Wednesday of my dissertation. If my dissertation were a week, I would be at Wednesday. I feel like I have been pushing and pushing this boulder up a hill (some metaphor mixin' for you) and am juuuust about to the top, whereupon the boulder will roll easily down the hill. I can totally see the summit. Yet although I am so close to the top, I am still suffering procrastination. I have learned over the last year or so that my procrastination is worst when I am scared of something -- what am I scared of? Going down the hill can only be good, right? That is true, but it is also scary. Once I go down the other side of the hill, or get to Friday, then other people start to look at my dissertation. So far it has been just me and my advisor in the thick of it (also R has read a good chunk). So it is like soon I will have to share it, and defend it, and explain it to others. eek! Scary! And then I will graduate! And have to get a job! And do the job! And find new things to research! See why it is scary?
So that is why it is Wednesday and why even though it is Wednesday I am still procrastinating. When I told R the Wednesday theory, he said he thinks it is actually Thursday, it just feels like Wednesday to me. Now I am waiting to realize it is actually Thursday but feels like Wednesday.
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