She Walked Away

Thankful, Busy

What a holiday so far!

I taught all day Wednesday, shortly after hearing the news that my teaching job would change dramatically at the new year. So dramatically, in fact, that I may not have a teaching job. Rather than let this news get me down, I have decided to simply push up the inevitable change that will come with graduation in May. I am looking for space to offer my classes independently, and I hope that I can grow my little watercolor and drawing lessons into a healthy part-time business.

More news to come as news develops.

I didn't have to go to my family dinner until later in the day yesterday. It takes me an hour to get there, so I relaxed in the morning. I took Wilson for two walks by noon, hooked some granny squares, did a little homework, then left the house by 1:30.

Arriving at my parents' house, I made cranberry sauce with the fresh cranberries I brought, set out the goat cheese torta and crackers, and visited with my folks until my siblings started showing up. My Dad was walking gingerly and informed me that when he was building his new barn in the back yard on Monday, he fell off the roof. His fall was broken by the neighbor's chainlink fence. He shared that he was knocked out cold, but had a lovely dream while he was out. He doesn't have any sharp pains, so he has been treating his recovery with rest, an occasional aspirin, and an occasional glass of wine. I can't really blame him for not heading straight to the hospital. They would have likely run up a huge bill and given him prescription pain killers to supplement their diagnosis that nothing seems to be broken and he should rest.

I checked on him today and he was out building the barn again.

My older brother showed up with his two awesome kids after a while and offered to drive us over to see my sister's house. Her house is in my parent's neighborhood, but I hadn't seen it. Also, I had never ridden in my brother's car before. It's not his only car, but it is his coolest one.

Don't let the Hipstamatic fake date fool you, this was 2011. His car is a 1957 Mercury station wagon. He never drives anywhere until the music is on. Yesterday, it was Dick Dale and the Del-Tones.

My brother is one of the coolest people I know.

Back at the ranch... I drove home down a dark interstate with very little traffic. I enjoyed a phone call with a friend far away and listened to Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy during the hour I was behind the wheel. At home, the critters were glad to see me.

I took out the trash and recycling, watched a movie, then went to bed.

Today was all about home. I cleaned the house (a little. Okay, VERY little). I made good coffee, walked with Wilson in the warm November sun, did lots of homework (with lots left to be done), and did some winter tasks that needed to be addressed on the outside of the house. It was mild and beautiful outside, and the work I did out there wasn't really like work at all. Wilson kept an eye on the squirrels, still darting around and eating acorns and walnuts.

 

Climbing the ladder repeatedly made me careful not to fall off - thinking about my Dad. I looked at the ground carefully when I positioned the ladder and assumed my trajectory if I were to fall. I didn't fall and I am so glad that even though he did, my Dad is okay. It could have been so much worse.

 

 

 

Chiaroscuro

In progress.

What to do today?

It's rare that I have a choice, actually. I have final projects for all of my classes, but I'm not working on them.

I overslept this morning. I decided to make French Press coffee as a treat. I drank it from a favorite cup made by a local ceramic artist that reads "si" on one side and "no" on the other. I enjoyed some Greek yogurt to complete my international slow-start breakfast.

Wilson desperately wanted to go for a walk. I half-watched the last :30 or so of "Meet the Press," then headed out with my buddy for a drizzly, but mild walk. I noticed a few yards in the neighborhood had many squirrels. In one of them I counted six squirrels, but I am sure there were more. These aren't sprawling yards, either. Oddly, this is the first time I realized that the squirrels were congregating near (and on and in) oak trees. Well, duh! My experience lately has proven that if I don't want squirrel obsession to distract Wilson from an otherwise *ahem* productive walk, I had better walk him while it is still dark.

So now, on a grey, drizzly day, I am planning (without planning) to stay in, cook a little, do a little crocheting (I made a granny square while watching Meet the Press), and try to get myself better organized for winter. I'm not complaining - it's November 20 and comfortable - I just know my tolerance for cabin fever. It is pretty low.

Remember this? Wilson didn't mind, but I did.

I'm having frustration with my graduate program. I submitted a proposal for a Directed Readings project for spring. I identified someone to oversee the project, I'm happy with the topic, I did a Literature Review (and allowed for additional research to be added as necessary), and submitted everything in advance of the deadline. My frustration rests with my academic advisor who either approves or denies all such proposals. My advisor replied with a passive/aggressive reply that didn't address whether it was approved or denied, didn't make recommendations for revisions, just let me know that she didn't care for the topic. I'm trying to decide whether my last semester of graduate school is worth the headache. I am pretty discouraged that during my entire graduate school experience, I have only encountered two or three faculty members who actually encouraged or nurtured their students. Once my degree is in place, I vow to never treat a student that way. Education is not competition. If my students do well, I have done well.

What to do today? I plan to do whatever I can do without planning. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Health Hazards and the Healing Properties of Laughter

I am convinced that I caught the flu or whatever the cold is I have had from the Circulation Desk.

While I work in an Academic Library, it is also a Public Library, and some of the things I see - and even worse - touch...! - are pretty unpleasant. I have seen patrons sneeze into the same dollar bill they hand me to pay for their computer access. I swear I have seen potato blossoms under some patrons' fingernails. It is my job to not appear disgusted (though I am), but I head straight to the sink and wask my hands to the elbows several times a day.

Fate had something else in mind for me, though, and in spite of my handwashing I have spent the better part of a week really sick. I went back to work this morning without much trouble. I have had uncontrollable coughing fits and had to walk out of a grocery store, step out several times from seeing "Anonymous" and even paid $3 for a cup of herbal tea. If you knew me, you'd know how desperate I must have been to pay $3 for a cup of tea, but it did the trick.

Saturday night I went to see John Waters. I wasn't sure what to expect (other than some filthy jokes, maybe). I use the term 'filthy' because it is the word he claimed to be most appropriate for describing what he does. He more or less did 1:45 of stand-up. And he was FUNNY. I don't think I would repeat some of the things he said to just anyone, but I won't soon forget anything.

I don't like pictures of myself, but I can't help but post this:

 

 

 

I'm not sure why I squatted next to him like that, but I didn't

want to hog up too much of his time.

 

He was kind enough to sign things for everyone who waited. I was thrilled that he signed my copy of "Role Models." The laughing was a bonus. I am sure it is contributing to my recovery. Halls cough drops aren't cutting it.

Catching Up... sort of

 

(collection of Dr. Laurie Marker of Cheetah Conservation Fund. Namibia, South Africa)

Just past the mid-term of the semester and I am starting to feel caught up. It is funny how I tend to work way ahead in some coursework and seem to be constantly struggling to meet deadlines with some.

It doesn't help that much of my coursework right now involves working in groups. Maybe because I am a non-traditional student (although the term really doesn't mean much in library school), and already know and have had the opportunity to work with others professionally, but I do not like group work. At all. I recognize that if I were the manager of some of the group members, I would surely fire them. It has more to do with control, I think, than anything else. I am just not wired to constantly scoot in under the deadline, or to miss it altogether. Better to ask permission than beg forgiveness. Or something like that.

I was reading the blog of Jon Katz yesterday where he remarked that people seem much more willing to help animals than people. That has been on my mind a lot. I love animals, and I have always been a person who wants to help them in any way that I can. People, on the other hand, I tend to sort first and help based not just on my ability to do so, but also on their ability to have avoided the crisis in the first place. Katz brings up a great point for me, as his comment was grounded in helping flood (Hurrican Irene) victims in Vermont. The same certainly could and should be considered for Japan, earthquake victims in New Zealand, Turkey, and the list goes on. It is easy for me to help animals - and I wish I could do more. People, on the other hand, are another matter.

And I continue to think about it.