The panel I proposed to the International Conference on Narrative got accepted!
Las Vegas, here I come this spring!
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Monkey. Off. Back. Phew
This was a wonderful semester in one obvious respect: Brad and I found out we're having a baby. Which is just delightful. But otherwise, it's pretty much been a crap show.
Earlier in the semester, my mom was in the hospital for 5 days with (they finally figured out) a wacky kind of shingles called Ramsey-Hunt shingles. It's awful and rare and has no outward shingles signs and is therefore crazy hard to diagnose, and I've never seen her so miserable in my life.
Then, in late November, my dad was in the hospital b/c of issues with his number of red blood cells b/c of the leukemia he's had for over a decade and a half.
Top that off with my two experiences with spotting after learning I was pregnant - the first one at 7 weeks, the second at 14.5 weeks - and the hospital is quickly becoming not my favorite place. (I will say, though, that I was relieved to go and have the ultrasounds that showed everything was fine and there was no apparent reason for the spotting.)
I also spent 5 weeks with morning sickness that felt like a stomach virus, then 4 weeks with some of the worst headaches of my life. There were nights I was in bed at 8:30 p.m. b/c I couldn't bear it. (And, of course, pregnancy-approved Tylenol doesn't do jack sh*t.)
Then my parents' long-time neighbor (who I lived next door to for more than 15 years and with whose kids I grew up) died after being in the hospital for almost 4 months.
Add to this perhaps the most apathetic class of freshman composition I've ever taught (they weren't even bad - they just couldn't have cared less) and 15 weeks worth of a horrible medieval literature course that made me feel like I couldn't sit in class for one more second, and what you've got is a whopper of a craptastic time.
And so, I pressed the "submit" button on my grades - and voila! it's. officially. done. thank. goodness.
Now break is upon me and then a busy, busy semester and then - baby! So for now I'm going to relish a bit of relaxation, get my house organized, buy some presents, open some presents, hang out with my family, play board games with Brad, listen to Jim Brickman's Christmas cd, enjoy the tree, get prepared for next semester, read a few magazines, maybe rip off some wallpaper, and, with any luck, find out if our little baby is a boy or a girl.
And then the grind will start up again in January - though the monkey can kindly keep his distance.
Friday, December 16, 2011
When It Snows, It Blizzards (sic)
Yeah, I know blizzards isn't a verb - hence the (sic) - but this situation fits the form of the cliche too well not to use it. And I do love me a cliche (except when it's in a student's paper - then, watch out).
Cars: utterly essential, but I hate dealing with them and I hate thinking about them. And I especially especially hate spending money on them. And especially right before Christmas. And especially when it's to the tune of $1000.
That's right. Between this past Monday and Chrismas, Brad and I will have spent a thousand dollars on not simply our cars, but on tires for our cars. Tires! I could scream or cry or break something, but instead I'm just writing a blog post.
The Accord needs snow tires b/c, well, it just does. It's not a particularly big or heavy car, and it definitely doesn't have 4 wheel drive. We've gone without snow tires, for better or worse, for a bunch of years now, and it's time to buck up and drop the $400 for safety's sake. Maybe we're growing up a little bit with a baby on the way? One can always hope :).
While we knew that expense was coming, we were not expecting to dish out $570 on four new tires for the piece of crap Blazer. But, as (un)luck would have it, while Brad, Shannon, and I were in the city to see a play (for a class) last week, the Blazer got a flat tire. And when I say "flat," I mean flat. Like, it looked like someone had just slashed the thing, even though there was no slash.
The poor guy changed it in the ice cold, in work clothes, on the wet ground, by himself (while Shannon and I made various trips into the nearby convenience store to keep my feet from freezing off). We were 25 minutes late to the play and he had wet pants and dirty hands to show for himself.
Unfortunately, the guy at Walmart said all of the tires were in bad shape - and he legally couldn't just sell us two for the front or back. We rely on that (idiotic) car for our bad weather travel, so good tires are obviously key. Plus the thing probably wouldn't pass inspection b/c of the tires come spring or whenever it's up.
In the end, we went to the tire place nearby, sucked it up, and got 4 new tires - but of course SUV tires are expensive and Brad wanted not-the-cheapest-ones for safety. Almost $600 later, our wonderful (bah) Blazer - which I think we have never actually washed - has beautiful new Goodyear tires. Now, if only the driver's side window would roll down and the door would open from the inside every time instead of just sometimes.
That's right. Between this past Monday and Chrismas, Brad and I will have spent a thousand dollars on not simply our cars, but on tires for our cars. Tires! I could scream or cry or break something, but instead I'm just writing a blog post.
The Accord needs snow tires b/c, well, it just does. It's not a particularly big or heavy car, and it definitely doesn't have 4 wheel drive. We've gone without snow tires, for better or worse, for a bunch of years now, and it's time to buck up and drop the $400 for safety's sake. Maybe we're growing up a little bit with a baby on the way? One can always hope :).
While we knew that expense was coming, we were not expecting to dish out $570 on four new tires for the piece of crap Blazer. But, as (un)luck would have it, while Brad, Shannon, and I were in the city to see a play (for a class) last week, the Blazer got a flat tire. And when I say "flat," I mean flat. Like, it looked like someone had just slashed the thing, even though there was no slash.
The poor guy changed it in the ice cold, in work clothes, on the wet ground, by himself (while Shannon and I made various trips into the nearby convenience store to keep my feet from freezing off). We were 25 minutes late to the play and he had wet pants and dirty hands to show for himself.
In the end, we went to the tire place nearby, sucked it up, and got 4 new tires - but of course SUV tires are expensive and Brad wanted not-the-cheapest-ones for safety. Almost $600 later, our wonderful (bah) Blazer - which I think we have never actually washed - has beautiful new Goodyear tires. Now, if only the driver's side window would roll down and the door would open from the inside every time instead of just sometimes.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
No. Nope. Huh-uh
I simply cannot understand the appeal of the "poncho" or the "cape." Since last year, I've been seeing these things all around, and they continue to baffle me even now. Would a sweater simply not do? Or perhaps a jacket? A light-weight zip-up of some sort?
As I have always understood these two articles of clothing, a poncho is worn in rainy weather, frequently purchased on the spot for a sporting event or tourist-izing, and it's plastic and, well, ugly:
The cape, on the other hand, is a staple for super heroes and vampires:
Why are we now re-purposing these items in the name of fashion?!
At Thanksgiving my darling 14-year old niece was wearing this black sweatery thing over a white long-sleeved t-shirt, and I was thinking, "WTF is she wearing?!" when my mother said, "Oh, your poncho looks so cute!" Well, that was simply not true. I love my neice a bundle, and she's a doll, but that "poncho" was a horrible, hideous thing.
I'm not actually sure I even understand the difference b/t the two, and, when my mom called it a "poncho," I thought she was just out-of-touch and it was really a "cape" (now I'm guessing she was probably right), but it seems that each of these is somehow its own individual style. Maybe a cape, like Batman's, goes over your shoulders and is open in front, while the poncho goes over your head and doesn't open in the front. I can hardly even believe I'm thinking seriously about this.
Yes, yes, I know all you poncho-and-cape-wearers out there are thinking how un-hip I am, and perhaps you're right. But I just don't see how these things are flattering, and, I might be crazy, but I thought the point of "fashion" was to look good?
Of course, I did for years say I'd never ever (ever) wear skinny jeans, boots, and leggings, and those proclamations got swept away in the course of but one fall season. Even still, I just cannot imagine myself defiantly donning a cape (or a poncho) and heading out into the world to conquer the day.
As I have always understood these two articles of clothing, a poncho is worn in rainy weather, frequently purchased on the spot for a sporting event or tourist-izing, and it's plastic and, well, ugly:
The cape, on the other hand, is a staple for super heroes and vampires:
At Thanksgiving my darling 14-year old niece was wearing this black sweatery thing over a white long-sleeved t-shirt, and I was thinking, "WTF is she wearing?!" when my mother said, "Oh, your poncho looks so cute!" Well, that was simply not true. I love my neice a bundle, and she's a doll, but that "poncho" was a horrible, hideous thing.
I'm not actually sure I even understand the difference b/t the two, and, when my mom called it a "poncho," I thought she was just out-of-touch and it was really a "cape" (now I'm guessing she was probably right), but it seems that each of these is somehow its own individual style. Maybe a cape, like Batman's, goes over your shoulders and is open in front, while the poncho goes over your head and doesn't open in the front. I can hardly even believe I'm thinking seriously about this.
Yes, yes, I know all you poncho-and-cape-wearers out there are thinking how un-hip I am, and perhaps you're right. But I just don't see how these things are flattering, and, I might be crazy, but I thought the point of "fashion" was to look good?
 |
| How, exactly, is this poncho flattering?! |
Friday, December 9, 2011
Like sands through the hourglass . . .
Sometimes, when you're super caught up in writing endlessly long and endlessly meaningless things (read: a history of the criticism on a medieval poem that you only read part of), you forget how the rest of the world lives. That is, you forget about the meaningless indulgences they get to enjoy, indulgences that you, too, could enjoy, if only you would stop writing blog entries and reading other people's blog entries and just finish. your. damn. paper.
Such things as soap operas come to mind. In fact, after suffering through a horrible weekend and three more horrible days of paper-writing, Jo is now indulging in many DVR-ed episodes of Days of Our Lives, an exhilarating experience attested to in a text message convo. from just moments ago:
Me: How's Salem [i.e., the setting of Days]?? It can't possibly be as interesting as Sir Orfeo. Bahahahahahahahahaha
Jo: I watched about 12 hours yesterday. We had a kidnapping, some blackmail, an illicit affair, and lots of men without shirts. It was glorious
Me: Sounds abt right for two or three weeks of a soap opera. No one thought dead miraculously arrived on the scene?? That's a bit disappointing
Jo: No . . . but someone thought paralyzed began walking. And then he was promptly arrested for some white collar crime and his family was shot at :)
Me: HAHAHAHAHAHA . . . I really just laughed out loud. Ahhhhhhhh the world outside academia: how refreshing.
Now, if I had hours to gloriously waste on a soap opera, I'd pick General Hospital hands down - but she's a Jersey girl :) so I guess we've gotta give her a little leeway (hehe).
Me: How's Salem [i.e., the setting of Days]?? It can't possibly be as interesting as Sir Orfeo. Bahahahahahahahahaha
Jo: I watched about 12 hours yesterday. We had a kidnapping, some blackmail, an illicit affair, and lots of men without shirts. It was glorious
Me: Sounds abt right for two or three weeks of a soap opera. No one thought dead miraculously arrived on the scene?? That's a bit disappointing
Jo: No . . . but someone thought paralyzed began walking. And then he was promptly arrested for some white collar crime and his family was shot at :)
Me: HAHAHAHAHAHA . . . I really just laughed out loud. Ahhhhhhhh the world outside academia: how refreshing.
Now, if I had hours to gloriously waste on a soap opera, I'd pick General Hospital hands down - but she's a Jersey girl :) so I guess we've gotta give her a little leeway (hehe).
This is how you know you're out of touch
De-Caffeination Success
I don't know how many days it's been since I started cutting back on the caff, but I'm pleased to report it's been a success: as of about a week and a half ago, I'm running on about 75 mg a day.
This the equivalent of
1. a small Starbucks espresso drink, like a Caramel Brulee Latte (yum for holiday drinks; Brad loves the Peppermint Mocha), or
2. (my preference) a medium half-caff espresso drink (i.e., one shot of regular espresso and one shot of decaf) such as an iced Caramel Machiatto with whipped cream, or
3. a can of Mt. Dew + 2/3 of a can of Coke later in the day (I throw the rest out or give it to Shannon)
Cutting back to, generally, one drink a day also means I'm usually not drinking caffeine after noon, which is probably a good thing given my crazy pregnancy insomnia. Last night, when I had a Mt. Dew at 6 p.m., I definitely paid the price come midnight (of course, that could have been a result of sleeping in till 11 a.m. and then napping from 3-5:30, but still).
So, the basic gist is that you can get control over your caffeination with a minimum of discomfort and sleepiness - if you're willing to put in a few weeks of effort and really be conscientious.
This the equivalent of
1. a small Starbucks espresso drink, like a Caramel Brulee Latte (yum for holiday drinks; Brad loves the Peppermint Mocha), or
2. (my preference) a medium half-caff espresso drink (i.e., one shot of regular espresso and one shot of decaf) such as an iced Caramel Machiatto with whipped cream, or
3. a can of Mt. Dew + 2/3 of a can of Coke later in the day (I throw the rest out or give it to Shannon)
So, the basic gist is that you can get control over your caffeination with a minimum of discomfort and sleepiness - if you're willing to put in a few weeks of effort and really be conscientious.
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