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The planning of the wedding celebration has been temporarily interrupted (except for affirming that there will be no playing of the Chicken Dance!) with The Great Car Shopping Expedition of 2009. Yes, it is at long last time to let go of the '98 Forester that has done such good service for the last 9.5 years. Here are some highlights:

1. Car shopping is a good test of compatibility. Thus far it has demonstrated that C. is a) willing to tolerate my giant anxiety attacks over this big step, and b) willing to compromise even though she prefers an automatic transmission and a white exterior. She's respected my shifting priorities and made excellent suggestions, even if I occasionally have felt overwhelmed by those suggestions. ("No, I hadn't considered that--how many cars does that make it we're gonna test drive?!") She is not so tolerant of my desire to put stickers on my car. 

2. My fondness for the Honda Fit was done in by the fact that it was very difficult to find a model with electronic stability control and the fact that I drive through three weather zones twice a week all winter long--including the Tug Hill Plateau, known for its massive snowfall. 

3. This fact also, ultimately, led me to lean toward AWD. Since I'm used to it. 

4. This means that my goal of slashing my gas bill in half will not be achieved. 

5. Of course, since I keep cars 'til I drive 'em into the ground, I gotta have something reliable and long-lasting.

6. I don't want another red car. I'm just sayin'. 

7. I test drove the Kia Soul. Just because of the hamsters. No, it's not on the final list, but it was awfully roomy and fun! (Mood lighting--who knew?)

8. Driving a stick is a lot like riding a bicycle. At least in terms of body memory.

Stay tuned for the continuing saga! Hopefully, I'll have photos to post very soon of my new baby. 

Cruisin'

Okay, I'm a convert. While I might like, perhaps, a simple but extremely well maintained eco-resort in some exotic locale, I have to say: having a four- or five-star hotel haul you from place to place whilst wining (and cosmo-ing) and dining you, is pretty darn fun.

Plus, the cabin staff make these fabulous little towel critters every evening--I think the monkey was my favorite. Or maybe the elephant. Or the dog...

Anyway, that massive cold front that covered the nation meandered down into the Caribbean during our trip, so no lying about in a bikini (I probably would have blinded folks with my glowing white skin, anyway) or snorkeling in Cozumel, but still: while my colleagues were bundling in multiple layers if they dared to go out at all, I was walking around in shorts and sandals. 

Fun things I did on the cruise, despite the weather, in no particular order:

1. Got a pedicure, with hot pink polish.

2. Stared at the water for long stretches.

3. Sat in a hot tub in my bikini with total strangers for about 10 minutes.

4. Drank one complimentary cup of rum punch, one Bellikin (spelling? the official beer of Belize), one cosmo, and two pear-melon martinis over a stretch of about 10 hours.

5. According to C., the first pear-melon martini took me about a half hour to drink; the second considerably less time.

6. Danced a lot with C. right after consuming all those drinks in a club called The Dungeon. 

7.  Ate lots of really really good food, and some good food. No bad food.

8. Ate at Johnny Rockets at an outside table while the wind was blowing so hard the stuff kept flying off of people's tables. 

9. With C., averted disaster when we accidentally created a wind tunnel by opening the cabin door while the balcony door was open. This may be fine on a mellow day, but when the captain's hauling ass in less fabulous weather, well, let's just say we're happy to report that only one small piece of paper went overboard. And we're very, very sorry for contributing to the pollution of the seas.

10. Had a combo massage/mini-facial/sales pitch in the ship spa. 

11. Despite feeling really mellow post-massage, did not purchase the overpriced skin care products.

12. Only felt a tiny bit queasy a couple of times despite the turbulent weather. 

13. Went to the zoo (really, a small wildlife refuge) in Belize and saw an ocelot, a jaguar named Junior, some beautiful birds, and a bunch of incredibly stinking peccary (peccaries?). 

14. Found two floaty pens for my collection: one from the ship and one from Ft. Lauderdale.

All in all it was a wonderful vacation! I think next year we may wait and book something last-minute, though, so we can be a bit more sure of good weather. The go-away-right-before-the-semester-starts experiment was definitely a success!

Check out more photos here.

2008: The Year In Review

I sit here in C.'s kitchen the blinds open enough to give the baby amaryllis a bit of daylight, so that I see the snow coming down and adding to the several inches that accumulated since early this morning. I've just finished one of my all-time favorite breakfasts: two pieces of whole grain toast, one with butter and the other with peanut butter and jam. I should also have a piece of fruit, but I'm kind of full right now, so those bananas will just have to keep turning brown over there. And I polished off a small bottle of Starbucks frappuccino, that high-calorie substitute for the hot stuff. 

It's the last day of 2008, the year I turned 45--by my reckoning the halfway point in my life. (I was once told, via tarot, that I would live to be very, very old, so I plan to surpass my Great Grandma D., who died a few years early at 87 because she refused to ask for help. Let that me a lesson to you, susansinclair!) This past spring was, I think, the conclusion of a two-year spiritual growth spurt that began in late March of 2006, when Ms. J and I split, Governor Jon Corzine announced a hiring freeze thus ending my chances at keeping my job for the next school year, and I faced the hard reality of a few years of serious denial regarding relationship and dissertation. (And what is a dissertation, but an intellectual relationship with one's self?)

When I moved to Syracuse in May of 2006, I began the long process of a) bawling my eyes out, b) getting my s**t together, and c) facing reality--no, really, really facing reality. The most important decision I made in that period (in addition to the usual sorts of affirmations, like "Yes, I am worthy of love/success/whatever") was to never make another decision out of fear. My choices from then on had to be positive ones: to choose to move toward something, rather than away. 

I won't say this has been easy. I still spin with anxiety from time to time (someday I'll tell you about Christmas 2008...but not today), over things both worthy of serious consideration and things completely and utterly unimportant, over things under my control and things I don't have a snowball's chance in hell of influencing, even indirectly. And, of course, this decision has spawned a new set of anxieties: "Did I make that decision for the right reasons? Or am I afraid of something? Am I doing this to please someone else?" So, that's me. Live with it. Or not. 

Of the two major decisions I made in 2008--to be with C. and my job--I can definitively assert that I made these decisions for all the right reasons. Which is why this turned out to be such an excellent year.

The Furniture Cometh!

Tomorrow, I shall at last have furniture. Because last week, C. came to visit and we discovered that the living room floor is damn hard when one tries to watch TV. Pretty blue couch! Spiffy leather-covered ottoman/coffee table! Sleek dining table & chairs! Upholstered bed frame! Tres grownup.

Where, oh where, has my summer gone?

So, it's August 25, and classes start tomorrow, and I'm still unpacking my apartment, and I miss C. Clearly, summer is over. Really over. 

In good news, I have cable and wireless up and running. In bad news, still no furniture to speak of: I'm sitting (as anticipated) in my folding camp chair in front of the TV, Macbook on my lap, feet on a box. I hope to do the major furniture purchasing this Sunday, so this place will feel more like a home and less like I'm camping out. 

So, expect phone calls from me, all y'all. With luck, I'll be so busy, I won't be able to keep moping about. And eating too much. (Remember that too skinny problem? All gone. And then some. Ahem.)

Mind the Minne-Ha-Ha

C. & I spent a fabulous couple of days at Lake George, being all touristy and stuff. We tasted wine (twice), and drank a bottle sitting on the balcony of our motel room watching the sunset over the lake and being silly. We also rented Waverunners--and don't tell my old wooden boat and environmentally conscious friends, but they're freakin' FUN! We had to go up the road a ways to Bolton Landing to rent them, because you can't get them right in Lake George Village. Why? Rumor has it that someone ran one into the Minne-Ha-Ha, which is now our favorite joke. As in, it's all fun and games until someone rams the Minee-Ha-Ha.

Vacating

Did I mention I'm having a great summer? (Yeah, yeah, the work's hanging over my head these days, but still...) C. and I went up to the Thousand Islands for a few days last week, and did a boat tour on the St. Lawrence. And loafed. And ate good food. Very nice.

And this past weekend we went to see the Doobie Brothers and Chicago at Bethel Woods, the concert venue on the old Woodstock site. Excellent concert--except, perhaps, for the pouring rain during the second half, but Chicago's worth it, right? (We were just under the roof, so some protection, but still a pretty wet experience.) 

And we stayed at a beautiful B&B near Barryville, NY, which I highly recommend. Well, so do tons of other people, so it's not like I'm giving you fabulous inside information, but we definitely want to go back. Maybe in the fall, when the leaves turn. The view was amazing, even from the room. Lying on the bed. And I saw lots of birds--a blue bunting, a scarlet tananger, hawks, and (I think) an eagle. 

So, time to get my ass in gear. Today: reading about strategies for managing the teaching load this fall...