Back at the beginning of summer, I had to kill a 7 year writing project: my blog. This one started in its place, but ... something's amiss. It's not the same. I think I'm going to remove the subscribers only limit. All these limitations on my freedom are bothersome. The uni limits my actions and speech. That pisses me off. I think I'm going to remove the subscribers only limit. Maybe. If I do, I'll have to remove everything that mentions what's happened to me. That is yet another way of silencing me. More limits.
I've decided that I'm going to retire at the end of spring term, 2016. There's no reason to stay at a place that doesn't value my contributions or service. Teaching is important to me, and if I could simply teach I'd be okay. But even as they are telling me to do precisely that, they are expecting me to do more: more service, more 'counseling' (but no advising - go ahead and explain that separation if you can; they can't). So no.
Good stuff: The Alaska trip is shaping up, and we've had another friend sign on. It started with me and BFH (Best Friend Here). Then BFF (Best Friend France) agreed to join us. Now GFH1 has decided she'll join us too! This is gonna be fab.u.lous.
Madagascar also on track, finally. The only wrinkle there is that if 8 people don't sign up (counting us), it won't happen. I don't know when the cut-off date is, but I'm counting on 6 other people around the world saying 'oh hell yes, I'm going!' Fingers crossed.
Between the two, I'm property searching in Foreign Country (more self-censorship). Very excited about that, am also currently reviewing various floor plans and such. Amazing what people live with: toilets just inside the front door, with the nearest sink five doors away. Ick. No closets.
Went to something called a "Lifestyle Workshop" Saturday. Realtor-speak for 'think about what's important to the way you live before house shopping.' Fit in perfectly with what I'm already doing; I'd gone for a friend (co-sponsoring the event), won the door prize (first time in my life) and ended up learning a lot. This workshop was trying to get people to think about what they valued before deciding what style(s) they like. So, for example, I feel best in bright spaces, openness - both intellectual and spatial - is important. And I realized that my answers to her various questions kept coming back to light & space. And that my objection to 90% of the floor plans and houses I'd seen in the ads for homes in FC were all related to those things: spaces were small, choppy, dark. 2+2 = 4, y'know? I knew that? But it was coming at me in a different way at the precisely right moment. So it was a worthwhile experience.
So now I'm using pinterest to find and note things. And Evernote (thank you Janice!) to keep track of stuff, keep it organized. Ah, things are going pretty well. Dare I tempt the fates, and remove the 'invitation only' limits of this blog? Can I recover my blog-voice, or is it dead forever?
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Monday, September 15, 2014
Life is Good, More or less
The knee was nasty for two days, and then... nothing. Feels fine. Who knew? My class is going well; for the first time in a long time, I am teaching my period/place, which is really nice. The students are enjoying it. It's lovely only being on campus two days a week; astonishing how liberated I feel.
I think I'm going to Madagascar next summer. Astonishing, but actually it's doable. The tour is actually cheaper than many people's trips to Europe. And - well, lemurs! And maybe Alaska. And maybe Ghost Ranch. Big travel summer, again.
Weather here is finally cooling down. It's cool enough to work in the yard and get back into the studio. Great sleeping weather too.
Found a new research interest too: gardens and landscapes as a mode of political discourse. Lots of reading to do - it's not quite as distressing as my 'normal' field. Which leads me to teaching the holocaust over and over. The new one will be quite different, but also more fun. And, as a friend said, since I'm on the verge of retirement, my productivity is what I make it. So this new field (no pun intended) offers opportunities to visit gardens, public and private, all over the continent. World, really. And to combine two existing interests: political/cultural history and gardening.
Horrified by a report on NPR re: domestic violence. Seems cell phone spyware is being used as a new tool for abusers to track, dominate and control their victims. What is wrong with people???
I think I'm going to Madagascar next summer. Astonishing, but actually it's doable. The tour is actually cheaper than many people's trips to Europe. And - well, lemurs! And maybe Alaska. And maybe Ghost Ranch. Big travel summer, again.
Weather here is finally cooling down. It's cool enough to work in the yard and get back into the studio. Great sleeping weather too.
Found a new research interest too: gardens and landscapes as a mode of political discourse. Lots of reading to do - it's not quite as distressing as my 'normal' field. Which leads me to teaching the holocaust over and over. The new one will be quite different, but also more fun. And, as a friend said, since I'm on the verge of retirement, my productivity is what I make it. So this new field (no pun intended) offers opportunities to visit gardens, public and private, all over the continent. World, really. And to combine two existing interests: political/cultural history and gardening.
Horrified by a report on NPR re: domestic violence. Seems cell phone spyware is being used as a new tool for abusers to track, dominate and control their victims. What is wrong with people???
Monday, September 8, 2014
Not The Way to Start a Day
Woke early, feeling great. Really great! Stared at the ceiling, thinking of all the things I wanted to do. Make a run to the big box home center, and mount another light in the garage. Pay bills. Make calls. Write a letter. Read a book for class. Give the dog a bath. Got up, bounced happily into the kitchen for coffee, let the dogs out, went down the steps to get something... and my knee gave out.
Screaming pain. Won't hold my weight. Body goes into immediate pain-avoidance mode, refusing to let knee even work. Crap. Major pain.
Hobble back into the house, call the doctor. Two minutes before office opens, so I leave a message. No call back within the first 15 minutes, so I call again, get to leave yet another message. Hobble around, testing knee. More pain. No swelling, just pain.
Still no call back more than an hour later, so I call again. Try the triage nurse; she's out for the day. Try the doctor; leave a message. Try the operator, who shuffles me around. "Earliest opening is tomorrow."
"Seriously? I'm in a lot of pain, and I can't use it."
"Let me see... no, tomorrow."
"Is anybody else available - today?"
"No, but hold a minute..."
Wait. Wait. "Well, Dr. B says they'll try to see you, but you have to get here right away."
"On my way." Get dressed, hobble to their office. Good thing I've kept the walker from the foot. An hour later, I hobble out. Didn't break it, seem to have screwed up a ligament.
Thankfully, I also have pain meds. Of course, those kept that entire list from getting done. Goooood pain meds.
Screaming pain. Won't hold my weight. Body goes into immediate pain-avoidance mode, refusing to let knee even work. Crap. Major pain.
Hobble back into the house, call the doctor. Two minutes before office opens, so I leave a message. No call back within the first 15 minutes, so I call again, get to leave yet another message. Hobble around, testing knee. More pain. No swelling, just pain.
Still no call back more than an hour later, so I call again. Try the triage nurse; she's out for the day. Try the doctor; leave a message. Try the operator, who shuffles me around. "Earliest opening is tomorrow."
"Seriously? I'm in a lot of pain, and I can't use it."
"Let me see... no, tomorrow."
"Is anybody else available - today?"
"No, but hold a minute..."
Wait. Wait. "Well, Dr. B says they'll try to see you, but you have to get here right away."
"On my way." Get dressed, hobble to their office. Good thing I've kept the walker from the foot. An hour later, I hobble out. Didn't break it, seem to have screwed up a ligament.
Thankfully, I also have pain meds. Of course, those kept that entire list from getting done. Goooood pain meds.
Friday, September 5, 2014
Horror, Overheard
In a favorite diner this morning, having a leisurely breakfast and reading an article on the relevance of Said's Orientalism decades on....
"The worst thing the Navy ever did was let women on ships."
"yeah, if I was President, that'd be the first thing I'd do - get women out of the Navy."
"Yeah, being at sea is like being in prison, only worse. And putting women out there... I know women on those ship who never have to cash a paycheck, their prostitution gives them tons of cash. That's all they do!"
'No kidding?'
"oh, yeah! That's the most important thing they [the women] do - they're all prostitutes!"
"Christ, that's just awful."
"yeah... and women in the military is just stupid anyway. You know, because no matter what kind of 'sensitivity training' bullshit the military tries to sell, you know that theAmerican man is going to be all macho, open doors, be polite - that's just what we are! So telling us not to be, well that's just stupid."
Gag. Choke. So if the American male is so damned strong that a) being abroad a naval vessel = prison and b) all women aboard are, by definition, hooking; then shouldn't c) American men are macho, polite and chauvinistic mean that said hookers would all go broke on such a ship since the men all have such amazing self control? Am I missing something here? Cause I totally get the bigotry and blindness, the misogyny and the stupidity - but these two guys are sitting in a public diner, in booths ten feet apart, being waited on by women and spitting out this vile crap - and nobody blinks an eye? I tried to glare 'em down, but they were completely oblivious. And yeah, I didn't get up and call 'em on it either, because hey. This is Red Neck country, where being offensive is expected. Well, it's okay to be a white male and be offensive. Anybody not in that category should just shut the hell up.
"The worst thing the Navy ever did was let women on ships."
"yeah, if I was President, that'd be the first thing I'd do - get women out of the Navy."
"Yeah, being at sea is like being in prison, only worse. And putting women out there... I know women on those ship who never have to cash a paycheck, their prostitution gives them tons of cash. That's all they do!"
'No kidding?'
"oh, yeah! That's the most important thing they [the women] do - they're all prostitutes!"
"Christ, that's just awful."
"yeah... and women in the military is just stupid anyway. You know, because no matter what kind of 'sensitivity training' bullshit the military tries to sell, you know that theAmerican man is going to be all macho, open doors, be polite - that's just what we are! So telling us not to be, well that's just stupid."
Gag. Choke. So if the American male is so damned strong that a) being abroad a naval vessel = prison and b) all women aboard are, by definition, hooking; then shouldn't c) American men are macho, polite and chauvinistic mean that said hookers would all go broke on such a ship since the men all have such amazing self control? Am I missing something here? Cause I totally get the bigotry and blindness, the misogyny and the stupidity - but these two guys are sitting in a public diner, in booths ten feet apart, being waited on by women and spitting out this vile crap - and nobody blinks an eye? I tried to glare 'em down, but they were completely oblivious. And yeah, I didn't get up and call 'em on it either, because hey. This is Red Neck country, where being offensive is expected. Well, it's okay to be a white male and be offensive. Anybody not in that category should just shut the hell up.
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
More Drama & Unnecessary Trauma
We're into week two of classes here. My methods class is starting off oddly, predictably. Last week they had a library orientation and home work assignment. I collected the assignments today amid complaints that the library guy hadn't given them the answers to the the worksheet. You have to do something. How are we supposed to find recent dissertations? ProQuest? Didn't he show you PQ? Oh, he did. Ahhh. How are we supposed to know who the supervisors of dissertations were? umm, you check the sign-off page? And on and on and on...
The BS on The Mess just continues. Wrinkles and crap abounds. Complications upon complications. All mostly unnecessary. Some posturing - lots of saber-rattling. Me? I'm telling students I can't advise them. To go see the others in the department, or the acting chair. Had a meeting today to try and clarify some stuff - what I discovered was that the Deans have no clue what the sanctions imposed last June mean. I can counsel, but not advise. I can deal with students in general, but not majors or minors, or students thinking about majoring or minoring. Clear as mud.
Spent the holiday weekend in Portland OR. Which, to my pleasure, turns out to be a very nice place. A huge difference in weather, as here it's very hot - it was in the 60s and 70s up there! Lush and green, funky and kind people, Powell's, great food, interesting waterfront. Drove down to Newport, nearly due west of Corvallis, for this:
The BS on The Mess just continues. Wrinkles and crap abounds. Complications upon complications. All mostly unnecessary. Some posturing - lots of saber-rattling. Me? I'm telling students I can't advise them. To go see the others in the department, or the acting chair. Had a meeting today to try and clarify some stuff - what I discovered was that the Deans have no clue what the sanctions imposed last June mean. I can counsel, but not advise. I can deal with students in general, but not majors or minors, or students thinking about majoring or minoring. Clear as mud.
Spent the holiday weekend in Portland OR. Which, to my pleasure, turns out to be a very nice place. A huge difference in weather, as here it's very hot - it was in the 60s and 70s up there! Lush and green, funky and kind people, Powell's, great food, interesting waterfront. Drove down to Newport, nearly due west of Corvallis, for this:
Lovely beaches. Who knew??
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