We interrupt this message...

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. 

Engagement News, Volume 1

So, the big news: We're getting married! I asked my sweetie two weeks ago, and she said yes. (I asked her here. At night. Tres romantic.) We've tentatively settled on a big celebration next summer involving lots of good music, liquor, and dancing. The ceremony's still up in the air, since we don't know if we'll be able to get married in New York State, or will need to travel to Maine or Canada or one of those more forward-looking places. (I suggested a destination wedding in Iowa, but that was nixed immediately.)

Most wedding planning seems to be taking place while jogging. This means that either a) we will be in incredible shape come next summer or b) we will be in horrible shape and nothing will get planned.

Yesterday we picked out rings. That was way fun, possibly because the ladies at the jewelry store held a wine-tasting event that afternoon. Regardless, we picked out lovely palladium bands (had you ever heard of that stuff?), and mine will be set with a beautiful diamond C.'s aunt gave her years ago. I'm a sucker for that kind of thing. 

Stay tuned for further important wedding decisions, such as: can Susan pull off strapless? Will we be overcome by a sudden desire to recreate Ellen & Portia's million dollar intimate celebrity wedding, plunging ourselves into debt from which we will never recover? And how much does an open bar cost, anyways?

Getting Organized

What did I say a week ago about getting organized and making progress on my projects? 

Hmmmm....

Well, I *did* redo the front flower bed (read: saved hostas from encroaching lawn, added soil, planted pretty things--including a new shrub). And I helped with the ongoing rearrange the whole house project. 

Now, that work thing. Yup.

Summertime

So, I enjoyed lots of lazing about and reading last week (Lisa Scotteline's Daddy's Girl and Geraldine Brooks's People of the Book), it's time to get to work. Well, not today exactly. But tomorrow. Which means laying out my projects and scheduling my time. A new summer, a new leaf, some new strategies and old successful strategies for working independently. 

So very, very talented

Yesterday, I purchased a remote control (or "box," as C.'s family calls it), since the old one was refusing to turn the TV on and off. Not a big deal, perhaps, unless you like to watch TV at night. In bed. Then it could lead to an argument: "You turn it off." "No, you." 

So, I bought a new one. The only requirement: buttons big enough to read without retrieving the reading glasses, and a "back" button. Because when you're channel flipping, who the heck wants to remember the numbers? I mean, really.

I found an added bonus feature: light-up buttons. (See note above, re watching TV at night in bed.)

My talent? Not just locating the perfect remote at a good price at La Tar-jay, but also reading the directions and programming it. Yes, we can. And I did.

And then I curtsied. C., who was in the midst of painting the dining room (a Big Job), expressed mild approval. Or was that amusement?

Have I Created a Monster?

From my Inbox:

Dr. Adams,
It was new news to me today that till was a word of its own. My brother just texted me "You'll have to wait till later" and I noticed around the school that there is a poster that says something like "Set your goals high and don't stop till you get there" Now I notice it everywhere. I'm not quite sure if the new pet peeve is a good thing or a bad thing, but I'll never make the mistake again. Thank you.

Thanks, Teachers!

So, today is National Teacher Day, and while you may find this a) self serving (since I'm a teacher), and b) foolish (since we should be thanking teachers daily with appropriate pay and work conditions), I'm gonna go ahead and thank a few of my faves from my 13 years of public schooling:

1. Mrs. Dolan, the first-grade teacher who was so stylish and so cool and knew how to keep a too-smart, socially awkward kid occupied. (That's with books, folks--lots and lots of books!)
2. Mrs. Smuck, my third-grade teacher, who gave us lots of active learning and creative play and got me to learn my times tables along the way.
3. Miss Shapiro, who in the fifth grade had to deal with the social awkward, smart, and did I mention oversized? girl with a temper. It didn't always work, but damn I learned a lot, and directed my first play to boot.
4. Mrs. Basse--who got that same girl in middle school. Ouch. But I did speeches and wrote tons and learned. I also punched the kid behind me in the nose, for which I apologize, to her and to him. Though he did hit me back, so I guess we're even.
5. Mrs. B--my 9th grade English teacher, my 10th grade speech teacher, my 11th grade journalism teacher--and the person who encouraged me to apply to Whitman. Good call on that one!
6. The Hawk, who I think of every time I lift my purple or green pen to write on student essays, every time I put the five-paragraph essay model on the board and proceed to deconstruct it, every time a student is late or misses an appointment--because that was me. And she managed to express her unhappiness with that behavior without questioning my intelligence. And that's no small feat.

I wonder...

...since I set up a Twitter account, and since I keep getting emails saying folks are following me on Twitter, am I then obligated to actually do something on Twitter?

Or can I ignore it until it goes away?

Crankypants

Reasons I am cranky:
1. It's April, it's still cold, and I want to wear sandals.
2. It's April, and the semester's coming to a climax, and I'm barely keeping my head above water.
3. I'm behind on two important department service tasks.
4. I need more sleep.
5. I want to drop a couple of pounds.
6. I probably shouldn't want to drop a couple of pounds.
7. I'm too lazy to get in shape.
8. I'm way too hard on myself.
9. Did I mention that it's April? And it was snowing the last couple of days?
10. I don't have a 10th reason, and I don't need one. So there.

Tattoo Contemplation

That would be a good blog name, donchathink?

So, in my last post, I replied "not yet" to whether or not I had a tattoo, and SissieSue queried if I was, indeed, considering one. Yes--I've been thinking about this for some time, since I accompanied my sister years ago to get her two lovely tattoos. The important questions: what and where?

To "what," I have narrowed my choice to a carp or koi, because I'm a Pisces and love water and I think they're cool. (And, it turns out, they symbolize Samurai-like fearlessness and stoicism, and I could use all of that I can find.)

Now, for the "where," I had originally planned on my belly, because it was always my least favorite part of my body, and this was part of my learning to love me just the way I am. But now I'm thinking my foot. Because it looks so darn cool. I hear it hurts like a sumbich, but honestly, doesn't all tattooing?

So, I just found this design, which I like very much.

But since I just dropped $300 on new effing tires, this may have to wait.

Meme Time (so don't say I never post anymore)

First thing you wash in the shower?
Hair.

What color is your favorite hoodie?
Aqua blue.

Would you kiss the last person you kissed again?
Yes, please.

Do you plan outfits?
Yes. (And if you know me, you didn’t need to ask!)

What do you use on your face?
Dove lotion with SPF 15.

How are you feeling RIGHT now?
Not bad, though I wish I was on my way southwards.

What's the closest thing to you that's red?
My red leather zip-around 3-ring binder from Levengers. (A treat for myself last fall, so’s I’d feel all professorial.)

What was the last dream you remember having?
My dreams are always weird and really hard to recall…

Did you meet anybody new today?
Yes—a textbook salesman’s boss. Nice guy.

What are you craving right now?
My sweetie.

Have you ever counted to 1,000?
Nope.

Do you bite into your ice cream or just lick it?
Or?

Do you like your hair?
Yes. Though I keep vacillating on the color.

Do you like yourself?
Yes, I do. That’s one of the perks of being 46.

Would you go out to eat with George W. Bush?
Is it okay if I drink too much and speak my mind?

What are you listening to right now?
The occasional sounds of colleagues moving about, and the elevator.

Are your parents strict?
Not really, though Dad talked a good line.

Would you go sky diving?
Maybe.

Do you like cottage cheese?
Yes, though I don’t really go out of my way to eat it.

Have you ever met a celebrity?
I don’t think so…I’d remember, wouldn’t I?

Do you rent movies often?
Lots—Netflix.

Is there anything sparkly in the room you're in?
A four-inchish clear rubber ball filled with glitter…like a bouncy crystal ball.

Have you made a prank phone call?
I think I did, when I was very young, and under the influence of the girl next door.

Ever been on a train?
Yes, and I want to do it again.

Do you use lip gloss/chap stick?
Love the lip gloss, particularly my MAC Lip Glass in “Venetian.”

Do you own a gun?
No. Not gonna happen.

Can you use chop sticks?
Yes, though not brilliantly.

Who are you going to be with tonight?
Hanging out with friends, then sleeping alone. So sad.

Are you too forgiving?
I don’t have the attention span for grudges.

Ever been in love?
Yes. Four times in my adult life. But this one’s a keeper.

What is your best friend doing tomorrow?
Do I have one? My oldest friend will probably be going to work on Pacific Time, and my closest friend here will be enjoying Waffle Friday with her little girl.

Ever have cream puffs?
Yes. Not bad: pastry, cream, what’s not to like?

Last time you cried?
Last week. Something on TV, probably.

What was the last question you asked?
Teacher-y questions: “What’s the purpose of your essay? What do you want readers to take away?”

Favorite time of the year?
Fall in the Northeast. Or August in the Pacific Northwest. Or late spring. Or…

Do you have any tattoos?
Not yet.

Are you sarcastic?
Oh, honey, please. Big sarcastic moment today, in response to a student’s admission that he smokes dope, “Surprise!”

Ever walked into a wall?
Many times. And hit my head on any number of surfaces. And fell down stairs.

Favorite color?
These days it’s purple or aqua.

Have you ever slapped someone?
No.

Is your hair curly?
The opposite.

What was the last CD you bought?
Brandi Carlisle, “The Story.”

Do you like your life right now?
Yes—I just wish I didn’t have to split my time between two places.

Do you sleep with the TV on?
Only if I doze off while my sweetie’s watching.

Can you handle the truth?
“Truth? What's that?!?” What she said.

Do you have good vision?
Yes, thanks to laser technology.

Do you hate or dislike more than 3 people?
Yes.

How often do you talk on the phone?
Every week night I’m away from my sweetie.

The last person you held hands with?
My sweetie.

What are you wearing?
Dark jeans, long-sleeved v-neck tee with some sort of Asian floral design, Skechers (with no socks—spring’s coming!!!)

What is your favorite animal?
Cats. But lots of others run a close second.

Where was your profile picture taken at?
My sister’s house in Seattle.

Can you hula hoop?
No way.

Do you have a job?
Tenure-track, baby!

What was the most recent thing you bought?
Let’s see…I bought a Vitamin Water last Monday…

Have you ever crawled through a window?
Yes.

What’s your favorite Jolly Rancher candy flavor?
Sour Apple. No, cherry.

15 Life-Changing Albums

I decided to start doing all those Facebook things over here, because it feels more like writing when I do it here. Which is silly, but whatever.

The challenge is to come up with 15 "life-changing" albums...but after doing this list I see that some of these were life-changing, but some were soundtracks to major changes in my life. Regardless, here's the list, minus the tagging:

1. Tanya Tucker, TNT: It was the first album I ever bought for myself, and it was life-changing less for the music (though she does a rendition of "Send Me" that's wonderful) than for the album cover, which is the primary reason I bought it. Picture this: the LP cover opens up like a centerfold, and there's Tanya in a red leather jumpsuit (halter, I think), with the microphone cord snaking between her legs. Spot the baby dyke, buying the LP at Gateway Village--what was that? Fred Meyer Music, by then? 

2. The First Saturday Night Live Cast Album: One or both of my sisters bought me this, I think for Christmas, and I can still recite dialogue.

3. The Cars. I belonged to the RCA Record Club, and I ordered a David Gates album as one of my freebies for joining. The muses intervened, and sent me this record inside the David Gates sleeve. Thank you, o muses.

4. Pete Townshend, Empty Glass: I perpetually forgot to mail back those stupid record club postcards to say I didn't want the month's selection, and this one came. And instead of sending it back, I listened to it. Interesting, raw rock and roll. My taste is nothing if not eclectic.

5 & 6. Hair (Broadway cast recording) / Fame (soundtrack). It's a tie. And this is sheerly for the number of times I listened to these, drama geek that I was. And to whomever stole my cassette copy of the Hair movie soundtrack from a party in Walla Walla sometime during 1982/1983, that was mean.

6 & 7. Patti Smith, Horses and Easter (tie). My first girlfriend introduced me to a lot of music, but Patti was definitely the most life-changing. I had seen her years before on Saturday Night Live, her voice shot, and I didn't understand it. Then I heard these albums and I got it. If you ever want to get in touch with your inner wild woman, play these. 

8. Eurythmics, Sweet Dreams. You will begin to note a trend: strong, independent women. Hmmmm....

9. Indigo Girls, Indigo Girls: Ah, the trend continues. 

10. Melissa Etheridge, Brave and Crazy. First saw her on VH1 and said, "Hey, there's a dyke on that there TV!"

11. k.d. lang, Ingenue. Loved the early albums, too, but Ingenue was in my Walkman for months during a particularly turbulent time in my life. There's something about k.d. lang's rich, powerful voice right in your ear...oh, and I saw the second night of her tour at a small theater.

12. Two Nice Girls, Chloe Liked Olivia. Witty, clever, eclectic. They rocked. The antidote to the melancholy I indulged in with lang.

13. The Traveling Wilburys Vol. I. If for no other reason than this list needs a few more guys.

14. Susan Tedeschi, Just Won't Burn. And we now return to our regularly scheduled trend. Her huge voice has been described as a blend of Janis Joplin and Bonnie Raitt. I first saw her when she opened for Keb' Mo in Seattle years ago. 

15. Brandi Carlisle, Brandi Carlisle. Again, the soundtrack for a major transition in my life. Standing on the subway platform listening to "Follow" on my mp3 player. If you haven't heard her, check out her second album The Story. A voice that makes your heart ache. 

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.

Thirty Things

First, I promise I'll blog about the cruise later this week. Suffice it to say: extremely relaxing, very fun, but not so much sunny. And C. and I have discovered that we are compatible traveling companions, which is important.

Now, for those of you who don't listen to the This I Believe series on NPR, I must ask: why not? These are wonderful, short radio essays that really get to the core of things. (I'm having my creative non-fiction class read one this week...) I missed this one by Tarak McClain on Sunday, but it's excellent. Apparently, last year, when Tarak's kindergarten group did the usual 100th day celebration, he didn't bring 100 Q-tips, or 100 pennies, or 100 beans. He brought a list of 100 things he believes. For us, he winnowed it down to 30:

I believe life is good.

I believe God is in everything.

I believe we're all equal.

I believe we can help people.

I believe everyone is weird in their own way.

I believe hate is a cause for love.

I believe that when I meditate I feel peaceful.

I believe we should be generous.

I believe brothers and sisters should be kind to each other.

I believe kids should respect their parents.

I believe I should not whine.

I believe people should wake up early.

I believe people should go outside more.

I believe in nature.

I believe people should use less trees.

I believe we should help the Arctic and rainforest animals.

I believe people shouldn't throw litter on the ground.

I believe people should not smoke.

I believe God is in good and bad.

I believe in magic.

I believe people should not give up.

I believe love is everywhere.

I believe that God helps us to have a good time.

I believe we live best in a community.

I believe we can protect people in danger.

I believe we should help the poor.

I believe it's OK to die but not to kill.

I believe war should not have started.

I believe war should stop.

I believe we can make peace.

Pre-Semester Anxiety

So, it's a good thing that I didn't resolve to blog more often. 

Many of my friends who don't work in academia have trouble understanding the anxiety that hits at the beginnings and endings of semesters. While we teachers experience a range of anxieties in myriad (or plethora) of forms, such pre-semester anxiety often takes the form of:

1. Syllabus Stress. Is it/will it get done? Is it complete enough? Too thorough and thus too rigid? Have I addressed every last little thing that went wrong in preceding semesters? Have I anticipated everything that might ever go wrong in the future?
   
2. Tossing and Turning. This is done whilst lying in bed, wasting the few days remaining in the break, replaying all those things that went wrong or that I just know I could have done better, as well as anticipating all the future wrong stuff.
3. Teaching Nightmares. Once I'm finally asleep, I face those lovely teaching anxiety dreams. A few examples: I'm trying to get to my first class, but I can't seem to get across campus to the room, as I'm forced to drag my limp body across busy streets or (once) swim across some sort of reservoir. Or, it's halfway through the semester, and I have yet to collect any actual writing from the students. Or, they just won't listen to me, and I keep yelling louder to get their attention. (This last leads to talking in my sleep--or, at least, making noises in my sleep so that I sound like a teacher from Charlie Brown.)
4. Not Eating. This is a new one. My stomach gets so upset (think chronic low-grade acid reflux--lovely!) that I can't eat more than a little bit at a time. Even though what I want more than anything is to deflect stress the way I used to, by eating and drinking lots of lovely things. Like chips and dip. And macaroni and cheese. And margaritas. And cosmopolitans. 

But, this year, I have a novel plan: I'm going on vacation. I'm not getting back until two days before classes start. I'm going to be lounging on the deck of a cruise ship in the Caribbean, my syllabi already off to be photocopied. If this works, it's going to become an annual rite. In the meantime, watch this space in a few weeks for photographs of me next to blue blue blue water...

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.

Mulligan resolutions for 2009

A conversation recently ensued on a friend's Facebook page regarding New Year's resolutions, those odd promises we make to ourselves to be Better People. Or used to: I stopped making them a while back, realizing that anything worth doing is probably worth doing now, rather than waiting until after the Overindulgence Holidays. (Unless it's a promise to stop eating rich foods--that's really an unfair promise to make, particularly if you're going to the GF's family's for Christmas, where the tradition is antipasto and lasagne.)

Anyway, where was I? New Year's resolutions. So, this Very Smart Man (doesn't narrow my friends down much, does it?) noted that his 2009 resolutions looked rather familiar, implying that he was still trying to do some of those things he'd promised himself in past years. The conversation led to this suggestion: Mulligan resolutions.

According to Wikipedia, in a totally unsourced and thus not-exactly-authoritative article, outside of competitive endeavors generally refer to do-overs--an opportunity to redo something one has somehow muffed. (This is different from grade school do-overs, which were generally used to resolve arguments about whether the square ball was in or out.) So, a Mulligan resolution is a second shot at whatever it was you had wanted to do or change or accomplish or stop doing or whatever.

So, rather than making new resolutions for 2009, I offer the following Mulligan resolutions:

1. Drink more water.

2. Do more yoga.

3. Get more exercise.

4. Try new things.

5. Say yes the first time.

"Your blog is missed"

Thanks to Anonymous for those kind words. I've missed blogging...and I can't believe I haven't posted here since November 12! Things I have done since then include (but are not limited to):

1. Had Thanksgiving dinner with the GF's family, which included an after-dinner walk around Thousand Island Park. Yum and fun.

2. Completed my first semester at my new Institution of Higher Learning, which resulted in the lowest grades overall that I've ever given in my life. I was warned about this by the folks who've been there a while, but still. 

3. Seriously rethought my syllabus for English 101 for the coming semester, to help prevent such large-scale failure/dropping-out/burning-out by students.

4. Began planning two new courses for spring semester: Creative Non-Fiction (thank you in particular to Dr. Write for the use of her excellent syllabus) and Professional Writing (i.e., writing for the workplace).

5. Drove south to the GF's house just ahead of the winter storm heading north up the Eastern seaboard as soon as finals were done, only to spend the following day finishing up grading and filing final grades.

6. ...and then getting on a plane the next morning to fly to Seattle...

7. ...to visit with family and friends for five days...

8. ...only to leave Seattle just ahead of Snowmageddon...

9. ...and arriving back in central NY before the Big Dump of snow here.

So, it's been a busy few months. Christmas deserves a blog entry of its own, which I promise to provide in the next day or so. And coming up: a cruise to the Caribbean, right before classes start up again. Yes, I plan to return to the Great White (Frozen) North sunburned and relaxed and ready for anything. 

Share the Love

Many of you have probably already seen this. I'm not a fan of Keith Olbermann, but this brought tears to my eyes. And not just because my thoughts, these past few months, have turned to marriage and weddings and growing old with the woman I love. Okay, maybe a lot because of that, but also because I've always been a sucker for weddings and true love and beating the odds. Until recently, I believed that progressive folk should pursue a more radical agenda: getting the state out of the marriage business altogether. But I have been persuaded by the energy and joy of lgbt couples who have worked to secure and celebrate this right.

And yes, of course, because I want that, too. 

The Fragility of Civility

As we celebrate the political process in the United States and heap praise on ourselves for our enlightened civil democracy, this post about the erosion of civil liberties in Taiwan is an important reminder. We need to redouble our efforts to prevent further erosion of our own rights and work to restore the pre 9/11 FISA laws.