Busy, folks. We're having a great time. Travelling with the little one is a lot of work but not as much as you might expect.
Can you see these Swedish letters in blogger?: ö å ä
We're having a dinner party tomorrow night to watch Sweden v. England and the next day we are leaving to head north for Midsömmar - the solstice. Apologies to those of you who have been waiting for your invitation to the 2nd annual summer solstice party. We're going to hold it belatedly upon our return to the states.
A couple of mundane differences noted:
1. Pets are not spayed or neutered.
2. People don't use credit cards, they use debit cards.
3. The toilets have 2 flushing options, number 1 (small flush) and number 2 (big flush).
Monday, June 19, 2006
Thursday, June 01, 2006
apologies
sorry. i have morphed so completely into my island self that i generally forget that i have a blog at all. there is something about this place - the contentment and completeness of the space i think - that makes it difficult to make plans, to return phone calls, etc. it's much easier to gadabout, read a book out in the yard, walk down to the ice cream shop for a cone and then walk "out backshore"to listen to the surf. to mosey on home as the daylight dwindles, throw some veggies on the grill and fall asleep in front of the red sox game. at night as you lie in bed you can hear the bell buoy marking the ledge in whitehead passage chiming away and, when it's foggy, the horns at two lights and portland head.
i told dad and mary that i was moving in permanently.
i told dad and mary that i was moving in permanently.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
observations at home
1. I am old. How do I know this? The "grown-ups" of my youth are now old and grey and the islanders born after my departure are now the youth of the community.
2. I named E after my mother and it is so nice to introduce E to people who knew her namesake. So many people have gotten teary-eyed when they learn her name. It feels right.
3. This is the dog's last trip tp my island home. Although Mary was very kind to allow them into her home this trip, her home is not really fit for dogs. On the up side, the house looks great and my dad is as happy as a lark. It is so nice that he found someone to share this part of his life (kids out of house, retirement, etc) with. When I think about how much he and my mother sacrificed to raise all of us, it does make me sad to think that they didn't get the chance to enjoy this stage of life and marriage together. But at least dad is getting a chance.
2. I named E after my mother and it is so nice to introduce E to people who knew her namesake. So many people have gotten teary-eyed when they learn her name. It feels right.
3. This is the dog's last trip tp my island home. Although Mary was very kind to allow them into her home this trip, her home is not really fit for dogs. On the up side, the house looks great and my dad is as happy as a lark. It is so nice that he found someone to share this part of his life (kids out of house, retirement, etc) with. When I think about how much he and my mother sacrificed to raise all of us, it does make me sad to think that they didn't get the chance to enjoy this stage of life and marriage together. But at least dad is getting a chance.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
moment of truth
The day of reckoning has arrived. Back when we were looking to get a family-friendly car my partner continuously trumped my but-a-station-wagon-will-be big-enough arguments with his claim that our drives out to Maine will require a mini-van. Of course, he learned long ago that the way to get what you want out of me is to somehow tie it to an increase in the frequency, duration and/or enjoyment of visits to Maine.
We have been packing for the last 24 hours and now loading has begun. I will try to snap a photo of the finished product but I highly doubt my partner, being the driven and task-oriented bloke he is, will allow me to run back into the house to post it for you all. He will likely claim that we'll get to Maine sooner if I don't take the time to blog and instead, say, make sure that we haven't forgotten anything.
We have been packing for the last 24 hours and now loading has begun. I will try to snap a photo of the finished product but I highly doubt my partner, being the driven and task-oriented bloke he is, will allow me to run back into the house to post it for you all. He will likely claim that we'll get to Maine sooner if I don't take the time to blog and instead, say, make sure that we haven't forgotten anything.
Monday, May 15, 2006
meet the parents
sometimes my life imitates art except in my case it isn't art it's the movies, specifically, meet the parents, and life doesn't imitate art but instead recasts in an entirely different genre, say, horror.
Sunday, May 14, 2006
ticking away...
although i don't generally go in for the hallmark holidays, i made of point of letting my partner know that i expected recognition today. apparently E decided to get in on the act by FINALLY starting to get that sleeping-through-the-night-and-taking-2-hour-naps thing figured out. if it sticks, i predict that life will improve immensely. let's face it, 8.5 months of 2-3 hour sleep blocks punctuated by the very occasional 4-6 hours of blissful shut-eye does take its toll.
anyhow, we slept in until 7:30 without any middle of the night feedings! we made breakfast and putzed around. after E's a.m. nap we went to the mke public market for lunch. we came home and the sun came out so i took the dogs for a walk on the river while E had her afternoon snooze. then it was off to the symphony for the family concert and home for baby bath and bed and the series finale of west wing. i've just finished grading so tomorrow i prepare for the great trek home to the island.
free at last and homeward bound!
anyhow, we slept in until 7:30 without any middle of the night feedings! we made breakfast and putzed around. after E's a.m. nap we went to the mke public market for lunch. we came home and the sun came out so i took the dogs for a walk on the river while E had her afternoon snooze. then it was off to the symphony for the family concert and home for baby bath and bed and the series finale of west wing. i've just finished grading so tomorrow i prepare for the great trek home to the island.
free at last and homeward bound!
Saturday, May 13, 2006
master identity and total institution or "i'd like to thank the academy..."
I attended the departmental graduation ceremony yesterday. I make a special point of being present at the graduation celebration because I usually find it so heart-warming and encouraging. The event reinforces my hope that one day I, too, will finish my dissertation and that my advisors will have some nice things to say about my work and/or myself. Then I will get my moment to thank everyone. I can't tell you how many times I've daydreamed about that moment, standing up there and being done or at least done enough that in the fall my tenure-track appointment will begin.
Of course, yesterday I had additional motives. I like to attend departmental events to see folks. Since I am rarely on campus and have now been absent from the department at least as many years as I was in residence, I don't get much opportunity to keep in touch. Lastly, I wanted to bring E to the graduation. I guess I do have a little interest in showing her off but, ultimately, I want her to know that I am someone besides her mother, that I am a person in the world too. I know that she is too young to understand any of that now, but I guess I'd like her to grow up thinking of her mother as a sociologist-mom instead of having it be something that she must be taught explicitly when she is old enough for such lessons.
I am not sure how different the day was or if it was just me, but I ended up leaving Madison feeling defeated, insignificant and spent.
Many of the people I think of when I think of the department were not there for various reasons. This drove home the fact that the current department is not the department I knew. That the people I did know often did not recognize me (when I say they did not recognize me I mean that they passed over my face as they scanned the room for familiar faces not they didn't remember me when I said hello. I have discussed this elsewhere) confirmed that I am not a part of the life of that place now. If my day arrives and I attend the departmental celebration, I will stand before a room of strangers and my advisors, unable to share funny anecdotes or lament my departure as the loss of a regular companion, will say something about how I am an independent sort.
Then there was the whole motherhood thing. I thought that the event would be a perfect way to allow my mother and scholar roles/identities to interact. After all, the departmental graduation ceremony is a family affair, right? I was imagining that many other students would have their partners and children with them. I was wrong. Even students completing the program, with family in attendance, left the children at home. To top it all off, I brought my partner to help with E in case of trouble. He was uncomfortable since he knew very few people and he made me feel more awkward and out of place by trying to push me to socialize. Then E began fussing and he was forced to pace the hallway with her as there was no comfortable place for a dad and a baby to sit and wait. Naturally, he was grumpy and I began to suspect that I am a selfish and insensitive person for dragging my family all the way to Madison so I could feel connected, so I could persist with the illusion that the relationships between my disparate parts are smooth and seamless.
Of course, yesterday I had additional motives. I like to attend departmental events to see folks. Since I am rarely on campus and have now been absent from the department at least as many years as I was in residence, I don't get much opportunity to keep in touch. Lastly, I wanted to bring E to the graduation. I guess I do have a little interest in showing her off but, ultimately, I want her to know that I am someone besides her mother, that I am a person in the world too. I know that she is too young to understand any of that now, but I guess I'd like her to grow up thinking of her mother as a sociologist-mom instead of having it be something that she must be taught explicitly when she is old enough for such lessons.
I am not sure how different the day was or if it was just me, but I ended up leaving Madison feeling defeated, insignificant and spent.
Many of the people I think of when I think of the department were not there for various reasons. This drove home the fact that the current department is not the department I knew. That the people I did know often did not recognize me (when I say they did not recognize me I mean that they passed over my face as they scanned the room for familiar faces not they didn't remember me when I said hello. I have discussed this elsewhere) confirmed that I am not a part of the life of that place now. If my day arrives and I attend the departmental celebration, I will stand before a room of strangers and my advisors, unable to share funny anecdotes or lament my departure as the loss of a regular companion, will say something about how I am an independent sort.
Then there was the whole motherhood thing. I thought that the event would be a perfect way to allow my mother and scholar roles/identities to interact. After all, the departmental graduation ceremony is a family affair, right? I was imagining that many other students would have their partners and children with them. I was wrong. Even students completing the program, with family in attendance, left the children at home. To top it all off, I brought my partner to help with E in case of trouble. He was uncomfortable since he knew very few people and he made me feel more awkward and out of place by trying to push me to socialize. Then E began fussing and he was forced to pace the hallway with her as there was no comfortable place for a dad and a baby to sit and wait. Naturally, he was grumpy and I began to suspect that I am a selfish and insensitive person for dragging my family all the way to Madison so I could feel connected, so I could persist with the illusion that the relationships between my disparate parts are smooth and seamless.
Friday, May 12, 2006
Good book?
I'm looking for a good ethnography concerned with the African-American middle class. One which focuses on intra-group class conflict in addition to particularly middle-class experiences with prejudice would be ideal. Suggestions?
No Play List
So, one of my best friends from middle school is getting married in a couple of weeks. Naturally, I am going home for the big event (and to get some sleep and to get grounded and to introduce E to the island and family and to eat some good food).
Well, the other day my pal K2(should be superscript) emailed me regarding her upcoming meeting with the DJ:
OK, well, see, I must be growing soft in my old age or, perhaps, I've spent too many nights at the karaoke kid because many of those songs would be on my DO play list (of course some, mostly the ballads, are right on). Sheesh... it's a wedding! I mean, Billie Jean, Shout, Love Shack... you might as well skip the cake too!
I've fallen out of touch with K2 over the years. If her eighth-grade self was picking the songs, I'd say we were going to spend the evening listening to Echo and the Bunnymen, Morrissey, the Pixies, the Replacements, Dead Milkmen, Bauhaus, Jane's Addiction, and Siouxsie and the Banshees. Fun, true, but odd to think about.
Well, the other day my pal K2(should be superscript) emailed me regarding her upcoming meeting with the DJ:
We have a meeting with our DJ on Friday, and we need to finalize the all important DO NOT PLAY list. SO much more inportant than what they CAN play...anyway, I've got a few, but I wanted to pick your brains to see if you could come up with any I missed. Here goes:
Wind Beneath my Wings
Old Time Rock'n'Roll
Any Celine Dion
Celebrate
We are Family
Electric Slide, Macarena, Chicken Dance, YMCA, etc
Any Vanilla Ice
Friends in Low Places
Love Shack (sorry kids, I know it was fun at Zootz circa 1990 but...)
Unchained Melody
I will Survuve
Shout
Pretty Woman
A Moment Like This
Paradise by the Dashboard Light (or really anything by Meatloaf)
Lady Marmalade
Any Michael Jackson
OK, well, see, I must be growing soft in my old age or, perhaps, I've spent too many nights at the karaoke kid because many of those songs would be on my DO play list (of course some, mostly the ballads, are right on). Sheesh... it's a wedding! I mean, Billie Jean, Shout, Love Shack... you might as well skip the cake too!
I've fallen out of touch with K2 over the years. If her eighth-grade self was picking the songs, I'd say we were going to spend the evening listening to Echo and the Bunnymen, Morrissey, the Pixies, the Replacements, Dead Milkmen, Bauhaus, Jane's Addiction, and Siouxsie and the Banshees. Fun, true, but odd to think about.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
codswallop
There is nothing to make you feel like a failure as an educator so much as to reach the end of the semester, give your students a journal question that gets at the myths you've been seeking to dispel all semester, and to receive entries like (these are not actual entries):
"I don't know what we can do. Things are different now. Discrimination and slavery ended over 100 years ago."
or
"I think the counter-protestors are right. I'm tired of immigrants coming in and taking our jobs. No one wants them here."
"I don't know what we can do. Things are different now. Discrimination and slavery ended over 100 years ago."
or
"I think the counter-protestors are right. I'm tired of immigrants coming in and taking our jobs. No one wants them here."
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
News
Sadly, I get most of my news these days from the newspaper in the town where I did (am doing?) my field research. When life gets crazy, I fall behind on my newspaper reading. Eventually the stack of newspapers is just so awful to look at that I do nothing else (when it comes to academic work, that is) but read month and two-month-old papers. This can be torturous.
This evening, however, I was entertained by a parade of amusing, heart-warming and/or particularly Maine-ish stories. There was the letter to the editor requesting that the person who stole the writer's garbage can return it or, at the very least, come by for the lid so that the thief might get full use out of it. There was the account of the string of bank heists involving a suspect, still at-large, described as a man "“wearing a blue sweatshirt, jeans and sunglasses."” Let's not forget stray kitten that fell part way through a storm drain where it hung, head in the middle of a busy downtown street, until, less desperate measures failing, the fire department was able to free it using a chain saw and the jaws of life.
And then, there was this story, which gave me such a chuckle and made me homesick for what I believe is a particular Maine real-ness.
We used to collect dandelion greens and clams and fish for mackerel for dinner.
This evening, however, I was entertained by a parade of amusing, heart-warming and/or particularly Maine-ish stories. There was the letter to the editor requesting that the person who stole the writer's garbage can return it or, at the very least, come by for the lid so that the thief might get full use out of it. There was the account of the string of bank heists involving a suspect, still at-large, described as a man "“wearing a blue sweatshirt, jeans and sunglasses."” Let's not forget stray kitten that fell part way through a storm drain where it hung, head in the middle of a busy downtown street, until, less desperate measures failing, the fire department was able to free it using a chain saw and the jaws of life.
And then, there was this story, which gave me such a chuckle and made me homesick for what I believe is a particular Maine real-ness.
We used to collect dandelion greens and clams and fish for mackerel for dinner.
Monday, May 01, 2006
left behind
I recently submitted some conference expenses for reimbursement. I transmitted the information electronically as the conference program, the airline ticket receipt, and the lodging invoice were all electronic.
I received a phone call that afternoon:
I'm sorry, but we need the original documents.
These are the original documents.
I can't take copies of conference programs and accounting will not accept these for your lodging and travel. I need the originals.
What do you mean?
They have to be original.
Can you define that? I'm not trying to be difficult but I really don't know what you need because these are the originals. I don't have original credit card receipts or anything like that.
Well, you'll have to call the airline and get them to send you something. And this receipt for the lodging, it needs to be in color or have a signature or something.
OK... I'll see what I can do
Later, me on the phone with northwest airlines:
Yes, my institution needs an original receipt for my travel.
Don't you have the e-ticket and receipt we sent you?
Yes, but that's not original enough for them. Can you send me out something on paper?
We can but it will be exactly the same document and you will be assessed a fee.
Oh screw it. Thanks, though. I think I'll just print what I have and fold it like it was in an envelope.
I received a phone call that afternoon:
I'm sorry, but we need the original documents.
These are the original documents.
I can't take copies of conference programs and accounting will not accept these for your lodging and travel. I need the originals.
What do you mean?
They have to be original.
Can you define that? I'm not trying to be difficult but I really don't know what you need because these are the originals. I don't have original credit card receipts or anything like that.
Well, you'll have to call the airline and get them to send you something. And this receipt for the lodging, it needs to be in color or have a signature or something.
OK... I'll see what I can do
Later, me on the phone with northwest airlines:
Yes, my institution needs an original receipt for my travel.
Don't you have the e-ticket and receipt we sent you?
Yes, but that's not original enough for them. Can you send me out something on paper?
We can but it will be exactly the same document and you will be assessed a fee.
Oh screw it. Thanks, though. I think I'll just print what I have and fold it like it was in an envelope.
Monday, April 24, 2006
pony up
So, that dearth of acceptances has now become a spate of panel sessions and, travel prices being what they are and my family situation being what it is, I find that conference attendance is a bit of a hardship. I've used my fellowship allowance and am applying for an ASA travel grant. Any other money out there, folks? Let me know, woulddya? No award is too small!
Maybe someday I'll be on the tenure track and I'll have a faculty development fund that pays for my conference attendance. Maybe sometime after that I'll be tenured and attend conferences for the heck of it or not at all.
Maybe someday I'll be on the tenure track and I'll have a faculty development fund that pays for my conference attendance. Maybe sometime after that I'll be tenured and attend conferences for the heck of it or not at all.
Sunday, April 16, 2006
U ass
Wouldn't you say that, although people often treat presume and assume as synonyms, there is an important but subtle distinction between them?
I'd say that when you ASSUME (and not in the sense of assuming responsibility), there is no necessary expectation that your assumption is based upon reasonable data - that you formulated your belief without reference to available evidence.
When you PRESUME, you're really a bit closer to inference - a reasonable guess based upon data.
I'd say that when you ASSUME (and not in the sense of assuming responsibility), there is no necessary expectation that your assumption is based upon reasonable data - that you formulated your belief without reference to available evidence.
When you PRESUME, you're really a bit closer to inference - a reasonable guess based upon data.
Saturday, April 15, 2006
load off
I think my presentation went pretty well. The discussant didn't really give me much useful feedback. I guess, when you've been thinking about something for such a long time, it's probably pretty common for people to bring up issues that you worked through aeons ago. At the very least getting feedback that encourages you to consider things you considered ages ago is better than getting feedback suggesting you've been wasting ages on a useless project.
Anyhow, it was nice to feel like an academic for a day (it's been a while!) and, further, to return to my family at the end of such a nice day and find that everything went well on the home front.
Anyhow, it was nice to feel like an academic for a day (it's been a while!) and, further, to return to my family at the end of such a nice day and find that everything went well on the home front.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Consumed
I'm not really much of a shopper. If I need clothes, I go to Goodwill or the Gap or Banana Republic or something like that and just buy what I need. Usually I go to Goodwill first and then top of a trip to Goodwill with one to the Gap. I usually head to the back of the store (to the sales) first. However, I definitely don't shop around different stores looking for the best prices. I begin to melt down after about 50 minutes of mall shopping. I can last a little longer if shopping at small boutiques (e.g. Portland's Old Port). Furthermore, I would like to be somewhat fashionable but I have absolutely no interest in staying on top of what that means. That is one of the reasons why I like to go to the Gap or Banana Republic - the clothes have been vetted at least a little.
Back when my partner was about to start his faculty appointment, we believed we had "made it" and actually imagined his salary would leave us with much disposable income. One of things I said I would do with my share was to get a personal shopper who could keep me "funky stylish" in clothes that are designed for my shape (relatively larger top half). Ah, those were the days!
Anyway, I digress. I'm not much of a shopper so when I want to get something for E, I try the consignment shop and if it isn't available there I check ebay and if I can't find it on ebay I get it through amazon.com. I like to buy things for other people but only things that I think they really need or would enjoy having. I LOATHE getting countless generic gifts over the winter holidays and DESPISE giving generic, redundant and/or useless gifts just because I need to uphold the norm of reciprocity.
My older brother and his wife are very nice people and I enjoy their company a great deal but we have very different habits and preferences around consumption. They shop. If they have some time to kill there is nothing they like more than heading out to Walmart to peruse. They are always buying DVDs, soda, cheap clothes, those cheesy novelty items like that "mounted" fish who sings (remember?). They spend what I consider to be an obscene amount of cash on stuff like that yet they are horrified that we buy organic milk in the glass bottles, are willing to eat out at expensive restaurants and they begrudge us the traveling we do - they have been hoping to make it to Ireland for some time now. Don't read this as a criticism - in my mind they are the normal ones. So what's the big deal, right? Class distinctions. Taste. Straight-up Bourdieu.
Since E was born they have sent her a package nearly every month. Sometimes they send us cheap shit that goes straight to Goodwill, resale, or, in the case of the sugar-free chocolate bunny that arrived today, the trash. Sometimes they send us really nice and useful things. The packages always contain a variety of things collected from a variety of stores, presumably as they were shopping for fun. I always call and thank them on E's behalf. So, what the big deal, right? Wait. There's more.
They have a child, C, 2 months older than E. I call to ask what C might need and they say that they are all set with clothes because, as they live in Maine near family, they get so many hand-me-downs they are frustrated because they can't clothes-shop for C. My brother actually works at Toys R Us so they are always buying C toys. I've sent them books and developmental toys but I get the sense they aren't thrilled about them and, as I said, I hate buying gifts that people don't want. I just purchased a radio flyer wagon for C. I think that was a pretty nice gift.
So what? Why the long post? Here's what it is. This same brother and his family are much less economically secure than we are. They rent and they struggle to pay the rent each and every month. They have creditors calling them. They qualify for Medicaid and food stamps. My dining room table is from Pottery Barn. Even if we don't have much surplus income, we don't have any credit card debt and we don't forgo many evenings out or trips to Europe. I receive these packages from them which I appreciate for the caring that went into them instead of their contents. Not only should I be reciprocating, I feel like I should be reciprocating in proportion to my means but I don't know how. We offered to fly them out to visit us but they can't take time from work (no paid vacation). I would like to offer to pay their rent one month or to pay for C's diapers or something but I know that they would be offended if I offered something like that.
My partner says that I should try to discourage them from sending us things - encourage them to spend the money on themselves but I know that they really do enjoy sending E packages even if they do wonder from time to time why I am not as generous toward C.
So, there you have it. I am a big privileged jerk.
Back when my partner was about to start his faculty appointment, we believed we had "made it" and actually imagined his salary would leave us with much disposable income. One of things I said I would do with my share was to get a personal shopper who could keep me "funky stylish" in clothes that are designed for my shape (relatively larger top half). Ah, those were the days!
Anyway, I digress. I'm not much of a shopper so when I want to get something for E, I try the consignment shop and if it isn't available there I check ebay and if I can't find it on ebay I get it through amazon.com. I like to buy things for other people but only things that I think they really need or would enjoy having. I LOATHE getting countless generic gifts over the winter holidays and DESPISE giving generic, redundant and/or useless gifts just because I need to uphold the norm of reciprocity.
My older brother and his wife are very nice people and I enjoy their company a great deal but we have very different habits and preferences around consumption. They shop. If they have some time to kill there is nothing they like more than heading out to Walmart to peruse. They are always buying DVDs, soda, cheap clothes, those cheesy novelty items like that "mounted" fish who sings (remember?). They spend what I consider to be an obscene amount of cash on stuff like that yet they are horrified that we buy organic milk in the glass bottles, are willing to eat out at expensive restaurants and they begrudge us the traveling we do - they have been hoping to make it to Ireland for some time now. Don't read this as a criticism - in my mind they are the normal ones. So what's the big deal, right? Class distinctions. Taste. Straight-up Bourdieu.
Since E was born they have sent her a package nearly every month. Sometimes they send us cheap shit that goes straight to Goodwill, resale, or, in the case of the sugar-free chocolate bunny that arrived today, the trash. Sometimes they send us really nice and useful things. The packages always contain a variety of things collected from a variety of stores, presumably as they were shopping for fun. I always call and thank them on E's behalf. So, what the big deal, right? Wait. There's more.
They have a child, C, 2 months older than E. I call to ask what C might need and they say that they are all set with clothes because, as they live in Maine near family, they get so many hand-me-downs they are frustrated because they can't clothes-shop for C. My brother actually works at Toys R Us so they are always buying C toys. I've sent them books and developmental toys but I get the sense they aren't thrilled about them and, as I said, I hate buying gifts that people don't want. I just purchased a radio flyer wagon for C. I think that was a pretty nice gift.
So what? Why the long post? Here's what it is. This same brother and his family are much less economically secure than we are. They rent and they struggle to pay the rent each and every month. They have creditors calling them. They qualify for Medicaid and food stamps. My dining room table is from Pottery Barn. Even if we don't have much surplus income, we don't have any credit card debt and we don't forgo many evenings out or trips to Europe. I receive these packages from them which I appreciate for the caring that went into them instead of their contents. Not only should I be reciprocating, I feel like I should be reciprocating in proportion to my means but I don't know how. We offered to fly them out to visit us but they can't take time from work (no paid vacation). I would like to offer to pay their rent one month or to pay for C's diapers or something but I know that they would be offended if I offered something like that.
My partner says that I should try to discourage them from sending us things - encourage them to spend the money on themselves but I know that they really do enjoy sending E packages even if they do wonder from time to time why I am not as generous toward C.
So, there you have it. I am a big privileged jerk.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Treading Water
I'm busy. Apologies.
I went from being forgotten to being on a panel in that conference. They let me know I was included the same day they asked for the paper I had promised (whoops). That presentation is Saturday and I presented this past Thursday as well.
We had our first night on the town in more than 7 months - with a babysitter and everything this past weekend. We went to the symphony. It was lovely. However, babysitter's do make the evening a bit more expensive - $50 right off the top.
I gave my students a tough exam today so they hate me now.
E has been sick and cutting her two top front teeth.
I went from being forgotten to being on a panel in that conference. They let me know I was included the same day they asked for the paper I had promised (whoops). That presentation is Saturday and I presented this past Thursday as well.
We had our first night on the town in more than 7 months - with a babysitter and everything this past weekend. We went to the symphony. It was lovely. However, babysitter's do make the evening a bit more expensive - $50 right off the top.
I gave my students a tough exam today so they hate me now.
E has been sick and cutting her two top front teeth.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
the obvious
As a parent I find that I am almost never anticipating the disasters that befall us and I am frequently anticipating a disaster that never occurs.
Of course, that I generally take steps to avoid disasters I anticipate might have something to do with my false positives.
Of course, that I generally take steps to avoid disasters I anticipate might have something to do with my false positives.
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Geography
In the next few months 3 of my 5 siblings will be making substantial moves. Whereas before there were 2 population centers for my family (back in Portland and Chicago), we are about to become much more diffuse. Since my youngest brother followed me out to Chicago in 1998, I have always lived within driving distance of at least one family member. That is about to change.
So, this dispersal has me thinking about how far-flung my family is when compared with my mother and siblings.
Here's my siblings and I with the distance between our birthplace and where we will be living effective 9/1/2006:
CL 7
AM 1176
MR 1469
AJ 1895
RL 3204
CE 433
and here is the same information for my mother and her siblings' current residences or, if deceased, last residence:
BC 3
LR 3
PL 191
DR 3
BR 3
BH 2
LV 4
JC 2
PR 2176
MD 2
TR 1
ST 1
Notice that, in my family, only 1 of the children lives in the metro-area/state/region of birth. While 10 out of 12 of the children in my mother's family live within 4 miles of their birthplace. Of the 2 living away, one lives in New England.
So, this dispersal has me thinking about how far-flung my family is when compared with my mother and siblings.
Here's my siblings and I with the distance between our birthplace and where we will be living effective 9/1/2006:
CL 7
AM 1176
MR 1469
AJ 1895
RL 3204
CE 433
and here is the same information for my mother and her siblings' current residences or, if deceased, last residence:
BC 3
LR 3
PL 191
DR 3
BR 3
BH 2
LV 4
JC 2
PR 2176
MD 2
TR 1
ST 1
Notice that, in my family, only 1 of the children lives in the metro-area/state/region of birth. While 10 out of 12 of the children in my mother's family live within 4 miles of their birthplace. Of the 2 living away, one lives in New England.
Finally!
I just heard from the organizers of the conference that forgot me. It seems it was, indeed, an oversight and not a reflection on the quality of my work.
That's nice to know.
That's nice to know.
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
island life, redux
I'm looking for a total institution.
My colleagues and I will regularly discuss our work over lunch and dine often at each other's homes. We will consider our occupation one of our hobbies as well. I want to see my colleagues at the grocery store, community center and my daughter's ballet class. I want my dean to live a couple of doors down. My undergraduates will be housed within walking distance and a graduate student will reside in the third floor apartment.
The community will identify as a university community. The bookstores will be among the best in the world.
I'm looking for a total institution surrounded by the world. The university, the department and the community will share the space with all manner of social problems and the multiplicity of responses to the world outside of the cloister will encompass the nativist concerns of those who seek to preserve the intellectual detachment of campus life as well as those who call for a university oriented toward the world it inhabits.
My colleagues and I will regularly discuss our work over lunch and dine often at each other's homes. We will consider our occupation one of our hobbies as well. I want to see my colleagues at the grocery store, community center and my daughter's ballet class. I want my dean to live a couple of doors down. My undergraduates will be housed within walking distance and a graduate student will reside in the third floor apartment.
The community will identify as a university community. The bookstores will be among the best in the world.
I'm looking for a total institution surrounded by the world. The university, the department and the community will share the space with all manner of social problems and the multiplicity of responses to the world outside of the cloister will encompass the nativist concerns of those who seek to preserve the intellectual detachment of campus life as well as those who call for a university oriented toward the world it inhabits.
Sunday, April 02, 2006
Respite
I went to bed at 6:45 last night. Of course, with the time change that was actually 7:45. E was up for the day at 6:00, which was actually 7. I was up to change/feed her a few times in that stretch but, still, it was a tremendously restful night.
We went out to dinner at Cempazuchi last night to celebrate the spouse's return. I had a drink(!), a cup of tortilla soup, tostadas florentina (whipped black beans, goat cheese, spinach and diced tomatoes) and natias, which is this fabulous pudding/custard which tastes like it is made from sweetened condensed milk. It has vanilla wafer cookies mixed in. We had a really nice meal. E sat in her new portable highchair trying, mostly without success, to eat "O's." She managed to pick them up and get her hand to her mouth but, somehow, releasing the food into her mouth is a little beyond her ability at this point.
We went out to dinner at Cempazuchi last night to celebrate the spouse's return. I had a drink(!), a cup of tortilla soup, tostadas florentina (whipped black beans, goat cheese, spinach and diced tomatoes) and natias, which is this fabulous pudding/custard which tastes like it is made from sweetened condensed milk. It has vanilla wafer cookies mixed in. We had a really nice meal. E sat in her new portable highchair trying, mostly without success, to eat "O's." She managed to pick them up and get her hand to her mouth but, somehow, releasing the food into her mouth is a little beyond her ability at this point.
Saturday, April 01, 2006
It's Official...
I am completely exhausted. Another 7 hours until the return of the spouse. E just went down for her morning nap. I've already cleaned up from breakfast and put in a load of laundry. And now to bed!
I'm working on a review sheet for my students. One of the great things about teaching is that you learn so much! I wasn't a sociology major as an undergrad and, even if I had been, I would never have had typical survey/intro course. It would have been all primary texts and seminar. So, yeah, teaching simultaneously imparts a great deal of information about the subject and reinforces confidence because you already do know a great deal. On top of that it organizes your time and, to some extent, maintains your ability to talk shop (this is important for me since I have limited access to my home department).
I'm working on a review sheet for my students. One of the great things about teaching is that you learn so much! I wasn't a sociology major as an undergrad and, even if I had been, I would never have had typical survey/intro course. It would have been all primary texts and seminar. So, yeah, teaching simultaneously imparts a great deal of information about the subject and reinforces confidence because you already do know a great deal. On top of that it organizes your time and, to some extent, maintains your ability to talk shop (this is important for me since I have limited access to my home department).
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