Thanks to last year's baseball excursion, I had a $300 voucher to fly anywhere in the continental US on American Airlines, and decided a while back to use it to go down to San Antonio and Austin. Outside of a trip back here 2 years ago to defend the dissertation--when I was so focused on that one element that I didn't do anything else--I haven't been back since I left 4 years ago. There are a lot of people here that I came to care about, and I wanted to visit them. And, well, Austin is an out
So, in the humanities and social sciences, most of 'us' are well-entrenched in the academic hiring process. Letters and dossiers have been sent, and the first round of interviews are about to commence. The usual process is to interview either by phone or at a convention (which tends to occur right after Christmas, or perhaps the first week of January), followed by an on-campus interview which lasts 2ish days; this second interview is usually done in January or February, so that decisions can b
Another long absence. I know, I've missed you guys, too. Well, honestly, for the entire month of March I was so damned busy that I didn't miss anyone...that requires down time, a luxury that I had none of.
The biggest issue lately has been getting colleagues to finish their work. The problem of this situation--mine being uncommon--is that my colleagues had very valid excuses for not getting their part of the projects in question done. One colleague had a family emergency--one of her teen
Well, I guess I should explain my absence and lack of participation. To say the least, I've been a very busy doc.
It breaks down like this: I've been doing more, although I haven't exactly been paid any more, but with the added responsability comes recognition and, hopefully, something more permanent. There were late classes thrown at me, various curriculum and planning duties. I do love it...I'm back to teaching an intro to linguistics class, which I haven't taught in over 10 years, alon
Mothers' Day. This was supposed to be a glorious day. Even though the wind has been howling since last night, the predicted showers stayed away from the City By The Bay. On my way to the Giants' game, I met a gentleman at the train station...a new friend, for now, but who knows. He invited me to join him for breakfast with his friends before the game. After a spirited and gregarious meal with my new friends, I met up with my parents in our seats, and we watched the Giants' new (yet old) pit
(**Warning...venting allert. No advice necessary, just need to pout and mope. All is well, I promise!**)
My dad picked the wrong week to go on vacation. Dammit.
Usually when I have questions on certain subjects, I go to him. One is physiology. Not because he's a doctor or has any medical training whatsoever. Instead, he's someone who has done a ton of reading, has felt pain of pretty much every position on the spectrum, and is a logical person. He's the person who taught me that n
Sausalito--or 'The Land of the Little Willows' as the Spaniards called it--lies just on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. For the past 54 years they have an arts and crafts festival that rivals any other, with middle-to-very-high end pottery, jewelry, paintings, photography, and the like (yes, and the prices to match).
This year, my parents and I went to it, just to see what we could see. Gesu Maria...wow...I mean, some really great stuff, that took our breath
Yes, GhostOfClayton, your entry talking about Human League has put me in a right 80s mood. Actually, to be fair, I was listening to a fair bit of Madness, Clash, and others this afternoon before reading the blog, but still.
So, finals are over! Well, for me they are. I had everything graded by last night, 10pm...record time, I might add. Then again, it was pretty clear that many of my students just didn't do so well on the final paper. I mean, sure, it's an in-class essay, but when
Just a little more than a day before Christmas, and all through the house,
there was plenty of scurrying, but not by a mouse.
Ok, ok, ok...I can't do that...never was that good about reworking classics. But this song in particular has some great memories associated with it.
The song has undergone a 'modernization,' but it's still a good one:
See, when it came out 30 years ago, I was a wee lass, and didn't know of its existence at first. But within a couple of years, it became
Well, after more than 3 years of waiting, plus another year of paperwork SNAFUs, it's now official. I am both an Italian and an American, as are my brothers and my mom. I can proudly wear the red-white-and-blue and the tri-colori and not get ripped for it. I can go in the short line when travelling through European customs; I can stay in Italy and other EU countries for longer periods of time (watch out, European UNRV members!), and grant-funded trips to EU countries, from what I hear, will n
At the very last meeting of my Monday night class last semester, we got talking about food. One student was having issues with lasagna...loved to eat it, hated to make it because she didn't really know what to do. Evidently, she was raised on Stoffer's, not on fresh. I said I often make it when I have people coming over, and she asked for the recipe. I chuckled...my 'recipe' for lasagna is done on the fly, much like my 'recipes' for minestrone, spaghetti sauce, chili, and a few other soups.
I think most are aware of Habitat for Humanity, and if not then you probably know of a program like it. Essentially, those deserving folk who are down on their luck and need a place to live apply to have a dwelling built for them...with the catch that they must have certain qualifications, and they must put a certain number of hours in to the building of their home. It's a great program, one that's received a lot of warranted attention. So you probably can understand the outcry when you read
Today I have been at a 4-year public university, having a second interview for an Assistant Professor position. I'm not tired; I'm not fatigued. I'm...wilted. Why, you ask? Well, let me tell you the schedule for the day. Note that I got **location censured to protect my chances** yesterday afternoon, and rested up well last night.
7:30am--picked up by the department chair
8:00am--meeting with dean--all talk by her, whilst I sat and nodded and listened
9:00am--meeting with selection co
This week has been utterly brutal. Actually, the last few weeks have, and it wasn't until Thursday that it all came to a head.
I teach an 8am class 3 days a week, on a campus that's 25 miles away. For us 'round here, well, that's not much of a commute, and I really don't view it as being far away. But an 8am class, that means I need to be on campus by 7:30 to get last minute stuff done, which means I have to leave the house no later than 6:45. Originally I thought I had to leave the hous
First, if you've never heard of the Blues Brothers, educate yourself.
Well, for many years now I've been convinced that I'm a/the lost long Blues Sister. Yes, true, I never was an orphan growing up in a convent; true enough, Curtis and the Penguin were never my mentors in life. But the blues live within me. As does Rhythm and Blues. It moves my soul, makes me sway to the beat, and makes me want dress in black suit, white shirt, black tie, and Raybans. Ok, so I was born in the year that
I love it once mid-November rolls around. People actually start caring about each other and acting upon it. Ok, it should happen all year long, of course, but some is better than none, I guess.
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The other day a local news channel did a story about how food and money donations at the local food banks was horrifically low, so low that Thanksgiving turkeys were either in short supply or non-existent; at one major food bank in Oak
Let me tell you, folks, I had plans! First, a great steak dinner (NY Strip steak, medium rare, with sauteed green beans and a great pinot noir), followed by meeting up with neighbors for either one of two ideas: 1) hang out in the backyard bar area and be stupid drunk; or 2) go to the Japantown festivities and be stupid drunk. Either way, I had 2 bottles of Asti chilling, plenty of other potent potables to quench my thirst...to be surrounded by friends (both 'old' and 'new') to celebrate the b
Wow, didn't realize how lax I had become in my blogging duties. But times have become quite busy in the morning lately, what with work and new routines. I do wish I could be of a mind to do this in the evening, when I'm relaxing, but sadly it escapes my mind. How odd, as I'm usually doing so many other things at night which are equally as taxing. Oh well, I promise to myself that I'll check in more frequently.
At any rate, this by far is my favorite holiday, and not just because of the d
I hate white flies.
The damned things are just evil to plants. Pure evil, I tells ya. They attract other pests, they often set up a scenario for mold to creep in. Not to mention the fact that they are a true infestation...if you don't spray pesticide on a continual basis, they'll just keep laying eggs and ruining your plant life.
And they're all over my plants. And have been all summer.
I have been using malathion for most of the summer, with some success. It's worked a treat on
Lubs, by the way, are what many 'round here jokingly refer to as pounds...since we wish to somehow pronounce 'lbs'. Anyway...at yesterday's weigh-in, it was 50 lost since 1 June 2006! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! :punk:
...if you wait long enough, the latest installment of your favorite Brit show will be on BBC America. But it might take a while.
That's right, folks, series 11 starts showing here in the States on Monday...except that I'll be teaching, getting home just in time to watch the very very last episode of "Boston Legal," my absolute favorite show on TV right now. 2 hour finale, starts as I get out of class, so I'll be missing the first half hour or so.
Only a couple more weeks, and then I'
I decided that, due to my relative endpoint in my dissertation process, I could afford time to work a part-time job in the department stores around here during the Holiday Rush...meaning I'd make meager wages, but quite a few hours, and would get the nice employee discount.
Now, just as a background: I'm the daughter of a very successful salesman, and I can schmooze with the best. I know how to work a crowd, juggle stuff, and take care of business. I've done 'hotel front desk' types of job
There once was a point in my life that I really didn't care about going out. Well, that's what I thought...in reality I was lonely, but also in denial about said lonliness, so as far as I was concerned, hitting the town with friends was no big deal. Sure, it's fun, but I wasn't concerned that I was missing out on the grandest of times.
At the time, I was living in Austin, working on my degree and, frankly, not very happy. Oh, I loved the city, loved the university...just hated the state (
Don't you love it when you hear a song that you love, and it happens to fit your life in some way or another?
I was driving to work this afternoon when that lovely Smiths song came on. The funny thing about the Smiths (and Morrissey) is that I never am totally sure what the title of the song is, but I always end up singing the damned thing. Very good songs, very catchy...and very silly.
"Panic on the streets of London
Panic on the streets of Birmingham
I wonder to myself
Could life
I decided that I'd go out for sushi tonight...and being that I live in Japantown, well, I knew it'd be good. Oh boy...I oopsed big time.
I'm allergic to shellfish. It's an interesting food allergy...comes in a variety of forms. Usually, the afflicted person is more affected by either crustaceans, mollusks or cephalopods; for me, crustaceans are evil. It also afflicts the poor soul in a variety of ways: the worst being apoplectic shock, others are covered in hives, and those like me are
