In watching the news today, one couldn't help but notice that the Holy See visited Scotland, met with Her Royal Highness, and held mass in a park in Glasgow, all before heading off to Londontown. The head of the Catholic Church made stronger remarks on the molestation scandal than he has in the past, he made a reference to the strength of the British will in the face of the Nazis, and in general played diplomat.
And somehow, I couldn't care less.
I mean nothing. Dude, the Vatican has n
My 34th year is now completed. No, I don't want presents...although if you really wish to send me something, I'm sure as hell not gonna pass it up (that'd be dumb). No, I don't want a party thrown in my honor (unless Neph is conjuring up some wonders and delights!)...I'd rather host my own and let you in on the real reason why we're all here. I'm sneaky like that.
This year I have been blessed, much as in years past. Oh, sure, there were bumps in the road, but what the hell...honestly, l
March is an amazing month here in Baghdad-By-The-Bay. The weather is either rainy (but not cold...55'F or so) or gloriously sunny. It seems like we're done with the rain for about a week, so I spent much of the mid-morning and early-afternoon outside. Bella was all too eager to join me, and was ecstatic to be outside again. I don't know who had more fun: her going all over the backyard as I cleaned up the debris from the neighborhood trees, or me playing with her. She took several naps in t
I had a confirmation of an epiphany yesterday. It was a revelation of something that I deeply suspected, but had been afraid to act upon for some time, and in truth I should have just bucked up and taken the reins and confronted this truth.
Ladies and gentlemen, I like salmon.
Trust me, this is a shock. For years and years, the only way I liked salmon was as sashimi...since raw salmon didn't have that pungent olor that put me off. And I do love other types of fleshy fish...everything
Ok, I'm not, really, but it makes for a great title.
I crack up anymore about meteorology and the news. If you're here in the States, and perhaps on some BBC newscasts, the weather here in Northern California made headlines. "Monster storm!" "Buckets of rain!" "Flooding!"
Yeah, ok. Let me 'splain some tings, Loocee:
1) January is usually a wet month for us. Usually November is, too, as is March...this time 'round November was kinda dry, but so far January's holding up its end
The funny part about this blog is that I've meant it to be a writing exercise. I wanted to try and write something every day, or at the very least every other day, in order to not lose touch with that side of me. But the last few mornings, I haven't had much, and in fact I've been positively empty. Yet this morning I'm full...well, maybe not full...not quite even half full, but I do feel the need to write something today. It's kinda like being in an exercise routine, and then you have to tak
It took 14 weeks...14 weeks of students who were so stubborn and, in some cases, ignorant...who continuously come to class despite being severely under the weather. And in this case, the maladies mostly revolved around strep throat and bad colds.
Yep, 14 weeks of my immune system fighting the tough battles. Of waging war against those horrific germs who were trying to invade my temple.
Finally...I have become collateral damage in that war against the ill-feelings that are typical wit
I want this on record: I have the coolest students ever.
My Intermediate Spanish class is a unique group. 60% of them are over the age of 50, and are taking this to better their knowledge...no requirements here. The rest are a mix of college-aged and teenaged students, taking the course for credit towards their school or degree. They all knew, like their colleagues in my other classes, that I was gone last week for my dissertation defense. But this class was different.
First, they bo
There are certain smells that just call to us as individuals. Some come from outside--the smell of sweet jasmine in the summer, or of freshly-cut grass. Some come from the inside of an oven, or on top of a stove...perhaps even on a grill. These scents awaken our olfactory system, setting our bodies in motion for a culinary experience which is second to none. Oh, perhaps it revolves around a 5-star feast that would make any gourmand melt into a pile of goo, but more often than not these gastr
Hmmm...perhaps the title should be instead: Mai Tai Ville?
Tomorrow morning I'm off for a 4+ day holiday to Honolulu...a long overdue return to that special place. Oh, sure, there are other areas in the Hawaiian Islands that I want to explore. Actually, to be perfectly honest, I want to see all of them. However, Dad's in Honolulu for 3 weeks, and I decided that I would join him.
This trip marks the first big trip of 2009 for me...and it won't be the last. I know I'll be going to Aust
Baseball season is back! Wheeeeeeeeeeee! The grand spring tradition is here! Hey now, I love all sports (and I don't consider golf, bowling, or race car driving to be sports; they're amusements), but baseball always seems to tug at my heart strings a bit more. My Giants are 4-0--an amazing feat for a couple of reasons. One, well, they are the only undefeated team left (162-0, baby!...oh, yeah, right). But more importantly, compared to last year's DISMAL start, this is positively amazing.
Wanted: 3 more hours in the day
Job description: I need 3 more hours per day in order to finish all of the work that I need to do. In those said 3 hours I need to do a combination of any of the following activities:
** sleep and/or rest
** eat
** grade papers
** finish editing
** play with Bella the Feline
** have a pot of tea
** go out into the garden and play in the dirt
** take a walk
** go for a swim
Compensation: Getting more things done
This has been a very busy week so far, one of many in the coming 8 weeks. My schedule is in full-throttle: 5 courses, meetings galore, students adding, dropping, needing help. I actually love it--to put it mildly, I don't have time to be bored--but it's ruining my reputation. Normally I'm an evening person...most of my energy comes after 3pm, and it's damned near impossible for me to fall asleep before 11:30 or, really, 12. But having to wake up at 5:30 each weekday morning, well, it puts a
Boxes...they're everywhere.
Here...there...everywhere.
Empty boxes, waiting to be filled with all sorts of momentos and knick-knacks.
Partially-filled boxes, waiting to be completed, marked, and taped.
Full boxes, bursting at the seems, ready to be shipped off to their new, albeit temporary home.
Now I can't find a blessed thing, for all of these boxes are surrounding me!
I just got back last night from a week in Aruba. It's a great place...much like Hawaii in terms of atmosphere and activities, but because it's more of a desert-landscape than the lush tropical one that the Hawaiian Islands offer. Otherwise...wow. Just...wow.
Anyway, the island of Aruba, like its sisters of Bonaire and Cura
Ok, I made that up...but I decided that I was going to do something different the next time that I make a burger. I'd make 2 and stack them!
Before you start wondering about the possible expanding waistline, no, I'm not doubling up on the meat. I usually buy ground chuck in bulk and portion it out to 1/2 lb. chunks, and will have a 1/2 lb. burger. Also, I don't usually have my burger on a bun...never cared for it, really, and I'd rather have more meat and other stuff.
So, plan of atta
Sure, the song talks about the holiday spirit, the thrill of meeting up with family and friends, of enjoying a bit of Christmas Cheer as we celebrate a season of giving.
But, see, this also is a most wonderful time of year for the professorial types. It's the end of fall term.
Most of my grading for the semester is done...everything but the final exams and some wayward homework assignments that seem to find my mailbox on campus. And then...judgment day, or days, in my case; Monday ni
So I'm in the dressing room of the gym, after a good workout, and I'm stripping off to go into the showers. Now, if one were to look at pictures of me, even if they only saw my face, they would guess (and correctly so) that I am prolifically freckly. Indeed, previous boyfriends have kidded around that they could play connect-the-dots on my body, and would be amused for hours. 'Tis true. Freckles and moles are all over, and have been since I was a babe. I have been made aware of my sensitive
For those of you who are knowledgeable in the art of writing long tomes...you'll agree with me (I think) that editing is worse than writing.
When one writes, you are creating your thoughts as you go along. Sure, you have an outline of some kind, and you're following along with your sources close by--in my case, already summarized in its own Word document, so that cut/paste is easy. But it's still flowing out of your head, through your fingers, and onto the screen in front of you. There's
And it's well-deserved, dammit.
Working primarily at a community college, there's nothing more satisfying than to hear that one of your students is going to go onto a 4-year degree. For the benefit of the non-Americans, our educational system here has the 4-year universities (where one earns a Bachelor's degree, or more) and 'community colleges' or 'junior colleges'. These CCs offer several types of courses, and one can get their Associate's degree so that they can either enter into the wo
Hmmmm...I think I'm ok enough to blog for a bit. Hopefully the doctor doesn't balk...eh, hell with it if he does. It's been too long.
June has been an iffy month, oddly enough. Usually there's some major unwind time the first week, followed by a mad dash for cash--be it unemployment insurance (insurance for what? I never did get the name) or a summer job or a series of contracts for various work. And because of the mad flurry of activity at the end of the academic year, that week off u
Well, folks, it's over. My career as a student has now fully come to an end. My dissertation has been accepted by UMI, the publishing group which tells us if the work is 'up to snuff' for the College of Grad Studies. I have been billed for all graduation fees ($8 for processing, $55 for uploading the dissertation (both are automatic), and $65 for having UMI register my copyright with the Library of Congress (which is a pain in the ass that I am willing to pay for)), and they have been paid.
Ok, I'm back. Here's the gist of things:
Wednesday: we all get in around 9am, take the shuttle to our hotel in Queens. Since we can't check in yet, we decide to change and take the subway out to Yankee Stadium. The bad news: since we have bleacher seats that day, we can't tour around the rest of the stadium, but that's ok. The game went well--Yankees won convincingly--and the bleachers were just as I love them: great crowd of people, lots of kids, and a good time all around. (And no alco
Wheeeeeeeeeeee! Spamalot is coming to San Francisco!!! Oh how I've waited for this to happen! When Las Vegas got a hold of it, the deal was that the producers wouldn't show any version of it west of that happening light-tropolis, so that we would have to go to the desert and get bamboozled just to see our silly English knnnnnnnnnnigits. But no! I did not give in to temptation! (Mostly because Vegas doesn't do much for me.) And now I, like many others, have been richly rewarded--Spamalot w
