TGIF, people!

Guess What I'm Doing For Halloween??

Writing a paper.  And putting together a presentation.

Now, that's scary.

I know I do this every year, but I have to include these precious pictures of Orca.  Before G was living in Denver, he would board her for the weekend when he came out to visit.  They would have all kinds of fun with her and then show us the pictures.  The snotty rabbit we have now would never in a million years consent to even the slightest Halloween accessory, so we must enjoy the memories.

You know how I read the same holiday books each year around Christmas time?  I've decided to do that for Halloween as well, but I have to take the wimpy route because I'm not much of a horror slash scary slash even suspenseful kind of fan.  Anyhoo, I'm reading a book about vampires trying to live calmly in the suburbs and it's not bad!  It reminds me of my Vampire Diaries days...I remember those fondly.

Thanks to Rapper L, I'm going to try Dracula as well, though I won't get to it until around Thanksgiving time. 

I just realized that I get like a month off for the holidays!  Oh, precious, precious sleep!  I may even need a book list!  Here's what it tentatively looks like:

* Dracula
* Moby Dick (shame on me, English major, haven't read it, blah blah blah)
* A Christian book I'm going to steal borrow from Nat King Cole
* The next Lit Society book

A witch's hat?  On my head?  I don't think so.

Books & Shamelessly Using My Friends

Still completely buried under school work.  Nothing new here.

EXCEPT!  I have a very special guest speaker in my class today.  Nat King Cole, ala our elite Lit Society, is giving an overview on Digital Storytelling.  I may or may not sit in the back, with my feet propped up on a student's desk, and guzzle a martini.

She's the lesser of the Two Crazies (on the left).

Although I'm too tired to go on living, I have managed to read a few more books lately.  And by 'read' I mean flip through 3-4 pages every night before my eyelids come crashing down.

Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult

If you haven't read Jodi Picoult before (I think most of you have), I highly recommend any of her books!  The funny thing is that I have read so many of them, but don't think I've blogged about them at all.  Her work - as bad as this is going to sound - is formulaic, in that she usually writes books centered around a controversial idea, and her chapters are usually told from different characters' perspectives.  At first, this was novel (pun intended!) and now it's just par for the course for her books.  That said, she cranks out a novel just about every year and manages to write beautifully and incorporate complicated themes into her work.  I've seen her speak and she's so personal and down to earth.  So, you know, what's the problem with a little writing formula here and there?

Lone Wolf was an interesting read for me, considering that we visited Mission Wolf recently.  It's the story of a man who just about gives up on human normalcy in order to live as a wolf, in the wild, with a pack in the forests of Canada.  His broken family, an ex wife and two adult children, must decide what to do when he is involved in a life-threatening accident.

Just like her others, it is a good read.  And just like her others, if the motif (wolves) isn't your thing, you probably won't enjoy it too much.  She has a new book out called Leaving Time that centers around elephants and I'm dying to read it but wonder if it's too sad.

Ok!  Time to go prep all my stuff for today so that I can shamelessly use my friend to teach my class.  Why didn't I think of this sooner?!

End of October

Can you believe Halloween is this week?  Then it's goodbye, October?  I anxiously await this month every year, and this year it was a total blur. 

You would think I would have a lot to say after not blogging for like a year (ok, a week), but I'm all out of words.  It's the same old routine of writing and grading papers, so I won't go into it.  Suffice it to say that in the class I teach, we start our last unit of the semester today and will pretty much wrap up the hard stuff before Thanksgiving - which is a month away.  Hallelujah.

In the classes I'm taking?  Well, let's not think about that right now.  {breathing into a paper bag}

News:  It's official.  I will be teaching two classes next semester!  I'm really excited and also have no idea how I'm going to manage it.

Also, in other news, some bunny (I won't name names) is in serious danger of becoming a love bug.  Over the past couple of weeks it's as if something has clicked inside her brain, (maybe two synapses whacked together?), and she realizes we are not going to throw her to the wolves after all.  We've been able to love on her a lot outside of her cage, and try as she might to hide it, we can tell she's enjoying herself.  

Miracles can happen.

Must go double fist the candy corn while I still can.

Crunch Time

Remember a few weeks ago when I said my life was - and I quote - "oddly manageable"?

Um, no.

The feces has covered the roof, people.  Not a pretty picture, I know.  But I'm trying to be honest.

I knew there would be a crunch time this semester, a time when the class I'm teaching would get intense along with the classes I'm taking. But all of a sudden, everything is due at once.  There is too much reading, too much writing, too much teaching, and too much grading.

Too.  Much.

No.  Recovery.  Time.

I go from one grueling assignment right into the next with no break in between and my brain feels like it will explode.  Actually, no.  It doesn't have the energy.  It will just go on strike. 

We had a fun weekend planned and just cancelled it.  I also had plans with The Russkie and had to send her yet another round of apologetic, freaked-out texts, asking to reschedule our plans that have already been rescheduled multiple times.

Every time I am proud of myself for having a social life and adventures, it backfires on me and I find myself grading papers at 10:00 p.m. on the treadmill because if my body is not in motion I will fall asleep.

The good news is that I have yet another student to tutor!  The bad news is I now tutor four nights a week, and have class two additional nights, leaving me with no spare time (hahahahahahaha! what's that?) to do my homework.

In case you think I'm complaining, please know that I'm not.  I'm whining.  There's a difference.

Time to go to 4 hours of conferences followed by a 3 hour class.  If anyone needs me I'll the one passed out in the corner.

Instead

So instead of suffering my way through doing the Half Marathon today, I walked a few miles through Wash Park with M-Dawg, and spent some time doing homework in a cute little coffee shop.  It beez what it beez.

The leaves are so gorgeous this time of year, but they don't last.  It's already getting so cold at night that our heat turns on (it's set to like, 55 degrees!).  G and I were planning to do our last fall drive next weekend, but I think we'll do a hike instead.  Most of the leaves will be gone by then so we might as well save the gas and carbon emissions and burn some calories instead.  It's insane.

I may or may not have ordered an iced Pumpkin Spice Latte as big as my purse.

I thought I would feel a lot worse about flaking out on the race, but frankly, I made the right decision.  If I hadn't succumbed to The Sinus Infection From Hell, it is entirely possibly that I would have at least adequately "trained" for it.  And by "trained" I mean burn some calories a few times a week by jogging and lifting weights.  Instead, I have been cuddled up with the Sudafed and my homework.  And now that I finally feel better (FINALLY), it would not be wise to throw my body into something so ridiculous as stressful as 13 miles.  So.  It was the perfect day for it, though!

I can't believe it's already the middle of October.  This blows my mind.  We are basically a month away from Thanksgiving, and two months away from Christmas.  I got so freaked out about slacking on some of my goals, that G and I made a frantic trip to Home Depot for paint samples.  Gotta get something done in the kitchen before the Christmas Cookie Exchange.  First world problems.

Must go prepare for a week of student conferences (The Next Big Paper is due soon) and tutoring.

I'll pay you $1,000 to write a conference abstract for me.  Come on over.

Captions Only

Starting the weekend off right.

With M-Dawg.

Friend #3 joins Lucy's group.

The first time my kitchen counter has been clean in about a year.

Ahi tartare.

Lobster and shrimp pot stickers.

Fig and Gorgonzola bruschetta.

Goat Cheese Beignets.

Christmas stuff is already popping up!

Pinot, Pinot, Pinot.

We <3 Larimer Street.

TGIF, people!

Can I Take a Risk?

One thing I love about "my" third graders (in the Reading Group I lead) is that if they don't know the answer to a question I ask, sometimes they'll raise their hand anyway and say, "Can I take a risk?"  This is what they do if they want to go out on a limb and take a guess.  I always encourage this (so do all the teachers) because it creates a more safe, less loaded, learning environment and it's something I've incorporated into my college class.  Although, in there, I'll call it brainstorming or taking a guess or just "throwing something out."  A big part of learning is adding knowledge to your life, and the best way to do that is to venture out in search of an answer instead of waiting for it to miraculously somehow come to you.

I'm trying to practice what I preach.

Yes, please.

The past year has been such a risk, and it has paid off.  But every now and then, like this past week, I feel like I have hit a wall and can't possibly keep up this frantic pace and that my brain just doesn't have any more room in it for creativity or teaching styles or advice or new methods.  I think being sick (AGAIN!) really brought me down, mentally.

But!

I got a new tutoring client (we start tonight) and I'm making good grades, and I'm learning (learning learning learning) as much as I can about teaching.  It still amazes me that you can know alllllll about a subject, but teaching it is completely different.  It's a whole new world, and traveling to a new world is risky.  And that's OK.  It always pays off in one way or another.

Aaaaaaah!  What are these stools doing floating around in space with me?  Is that a door??

Because of student conferences, I'm off from the K-8 school today and tomorrow.  I had these grand visions of getting up early, doing lesson plans, researching a paper abstract, getting ahead on the last part of my teaching syllabus for the semester...instead I slept in until 9:00 (Hallelujah) and have been trolling around online and double fisting the coffee ever since.  Too. Mentally. Exhausted. To. Put. Forth. An. Effort. Right. Now.

What risks are you taking?

Being Black in America (or: Keeping Up With The Book Theme)

Being back in grad school means that I spend a lot of my time in the world of theories: privilege, class, race, gender, etc.  That's not to say that these issues are only theories; obviously they play out in the real world every day.  Sometimes I notice them and sometimes I don't - one would argue that this is a privilege of my position as a white middle class woman in America.  One would argue that the only reason I sometimes don't notice them is that I'm privileged enough to have the choice of not noticing them.  And that observation would not be wrong.  But that said, I really enjoyed reading a book that was so frankly about "being black" from a post modern woman's perspective. 

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

I'm just going to put it out there: being raised in the South and fairly well-educated in American history and cultural issues, the black v. white thing is tiring to me.  This is not to say I don't think it's important - especially in light of Ferguson, etc. - it's just that at this point in my life I have been so many places where blacks and whites (despite historical issues) have managed to progress to a place where it is no longer an issue (or as much of an issue).  And I feel like in America we continually dredge up the same problems over and over again until that's all anyone can see.  It's exhausting and counter productive.

Adichie's story (fiction) is about a Nigerian woman who comes to America for college.  Only once she lives here does she ever think of herself as black.  While the book is about race and class, it is also a modern love story that travels from America to England to Nigeria, and explains a lot about life in each country.  And, while it is about race and class, it doesn't beat you over the head, and Adichie's observations and points don't feel tired - they feel fresh, and the reader experiences them with the main character because she's new to America.  She's new to our racial issues and brings a non-American mindset to our tired paradigms; this is what I appreciate most.  She points out differences between "American blacks" and "Non American blacks."

This book does not read as if it is written for blacks.  Or for women.  Or for Africans wanting to create a life in America.  It reads like a series of observations that are frank and also analyzed for the reader; what seems confusing will eventually make sense and what seems self-explanatory will eventually be revealed as deeply prejudicial.  It's fascinating and I want to read all of Adichie's other works.  I've already loaned this one to a fellow TA and plan to read it again in the future.

Try it!

Adventure as Therapy

The latest Lit Society book was non fiction.  We picked Wild by Cheryl Strayed.

This book is wildly popular (pun intended!); it's the true story of Cheryl's solo trek through part of the Pacific Crest Trail as a last ditch therapy idea for getting over her mother's death, a gritty divorce, and a growing heroine addiction.  On the one hand, I found it super easy and interesting to read.  I wanted to pick it up; I didn't want to put it down.  She writes in such a way that I felt I was hiking the trail with her, and having an adventure of my own.  On the other hand, she's not a very likable character (oddly, considering this is a memoir) and doesn't go to great lengths to portray her family members or friends (other than her former husband) in a very positive light, either.  I can see why she wanted to escape her life and experience the woods. 

That said, I will hold on to this.  I will trade it with friends.  And I will probably read it again in the future.  Because I am an adventure junkie.

On to the main other part of our Lit Society - dinner ala Chef Campo!

We started off with veggie pot stickers and homemade sauce.  Kill me now, it was so dang tasty.

Then went all out with Thai Basil Chicken Fried Rice.  I was thanking the culinary gods that my taster was back, even though the rest of my sinus infection was in full swing.  In fact, the spices were so fantastic that I credit them for jump starting my recovery.  Which means whenever I get sick in the future I expect Campo to cook this for me immediately.

Complete with sinus-healing hot tea.

And sinus-healing candy corn bars left over from brunch.  Best. Fall. Treats. Ever.

Next up - fiction!  And Tex Mex!

Reality Check

Things got a little cray cray today.

Not for me, though.  I don't like tootsie roll pops.  Probably the only food on the planet that I don't like.  It was all about ignoring my homework in service of The New Yorker.

Wonder Woman and Feminism...topic for next semester's composition class?

I figure since I did homework for the whole one-hour plane ride the other day, I earned the right to not look at it again until at least tomorrow.

 G and Papa spent a good hour talking about the history of jeeps.  {snore}

And I have come to terms with an important reality check.  Since I am just now truly recovering from the second Sinus Infection From Hell, I've decided not to do the half marathon next weekend.  If it were anywhere between 5-10 miles, I could hack it without training.  I could convince myself it's basically a long hike and just power through it.  But it's 13.1 miles, full of real runners and athletes, and I don't want the pressure of putting myself through that.  I'm not ready and need to lose 55 pounds and go more than a week without getting the plague.

So there it is.

Instead, I'll be doing this next Sunday until it's time to tutor.

Isn't my little nephew precious??

Time to pack up and get ready to fly out.  We'll go straight from the airport to get this one, and then hustle back into the chaos.

I heart Denver.

The Whole Fam Damly

Well hello from down south, where it has been raining nonstop, and where the Razorbacks almost won today.  We had Alabama sweatin' it for four hours, so at least that.  Screw you, roll tide.

We started off the trip in OKC yesterday with my bro, his GF, and my nephew, Hanyu (that rhymes).  It was nice to get some animal lovin's that I just can't get at home.  Eat your heart out in boarding, Lucy.

 

We met up with G's Papa for a while last night and again this morning before heading to a lodge deep in the woods for a family reunion.  It was really great to catch up with a lot of peeps.  And it was a cozy fall day in the forest.  Had my second pumpkin spice latte of the season today.  Life is good.

 

We may or may not have bought a stuffed skunk for Loo Loo Bell.  The color pattern and all.  Having to buy her friends because she's so antisocial and all.

I may or may not have picked all of G's aunts' brains on how to teach composition.  I'm learning that knowing how to write and teaching it are so. very. different.

OK, time to soak up the humidity.