Vacation Highlights!

Thanks to a tip from one of my favorite aunts, we stopped at Snow Goose Produce in the Skagit Valley to enjoy ice cream--and yes, that's one scoop!

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.

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...

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...