78uuu lumière des étoiles

Dusty:Starlight:Culture



Sunday's sundry
2004-05-09   5:33 p.m.

I am very happy with my latest publications, which can be read here and here. To be a part of Hackwriters means a lot, as they have a reputation of quality work and good, well-known contributors. That that list now includes moi has me tickled, and has been giving my creative energy a boost. The more I publish, the closer I get to being taken seriously. Can I get my book done already? I fight nightly with my brain to answer this question. Sometimes, it gets ugly. However, I'll scrimp on the details of that and just remember how dern proud of myself I am that I've been so productive and that I've gotten this kind of recognition and honor. Yay!

At the intersection of summer and spring semesters, I'm understandably distracted. Nonetheless, I'm amused by the sudden persistence of students who, after only delivering projects, papers, etc. the day before, send numerous emails the day after first inquiring, then demanding to know final grades. Such energy. Youth is indeed wasted on the young. Patiently, I explain that since just twelve hours has passed since I received the final papers, projects, etc., and since even teachers need to go to the bathroom, eat dinner, and sleep at night, everything is still "in process".

Oh feh. I'm not going to think about that. I got so many sweet emails and a thank-you card or two from students telling me how much I've helped them. I really enjoyed my classes this semester, particularly the one full of geek-techy boys at the technical school where I teach. It was that class that was so involved in thinking about different aspects of war, and that class that was so polite to the guest speaker I brought in and to the research librarians who helped the class through their final papers. I got as lucky with them as I did with this semester's WS class who were equally as polite, bright, contemplative and talkative. This is one of those times where you really wish you could give everyone an A for their effort.

I talked myself hoarse with my mom the other day - I think I look for little clues that will help me to better understand myself in her. I find them when we talk or when I observe her interacting or talking about her interactions or reactions to other people. The way we've been looking to each other for advice, the mutual respect and recognition that's being held for one another's intellect has made me really happy and made me more confident. Being the youngest by quite a few years has created more than a few situations in which I felt infantilized as a teenager, but looking back now I can see that such regard was appropriate - that I was probably acting like, well, an infant. In any case, I appreciate how much my family seems to take me seriously now, how much my mom, in particular, consistently looks to me for advice or tells me in verbal and non-verbal ways that she's extremely proud of the decisions I've made in life. Like I've said again and again, I am very blessed and lucky to have my mom. I'm so grateful that I can talk to her about anything and be the recipient of her good advice and patience.

I had a very good, restful weekend. Steve, Nicole, Thomas and I went Friday to see our friends' bands play. Michael and I tried to pull a fix-up that just didn't work out, but we all had fun trying anyway. Andrew was supposed to stop by today to watch some movies, but we're all tired and he suddenly had a hot date anyway, which is bound to be more fulfilling since we're so beat.

We finally got some new walkies on Saturday, these are mine. Good ol' depression and WWII-era parents still dominate my consumer psyche, so it KILLS ME to spend over $100 dollars on ONE material thing, all in one shot. However, I got these on sale and saved around $40, and last time I was in Africa - well actually the last two times, the shoes I was wearing were so beat down by the end I ended up tossing them. Rugged roads and unpaved streets will do that, but add the trekking and hiking we're planning to do in Botswana and the climb up to the peaks around Victoria Falls, and my dear old Nikes wouldn't stand a chance. Besides, my earthy-crunchy friends who've invested in a good pair of such shoes have had theirs for over five years and they're still in good shape, and it's not as if these won't be needed next year when we're thinking of going to Nepal and/or Thailand. So I bit the bullet and bought these, which I'm trying to break in from now until we leave.

I relieved the pain and suffering spending so much money caused by finding a cute little strapless, crinoline-skirted retro-type dress marked down to $15.99 that I plan to wear to my friend Paul's wedding in June. I am typically not a strapless dress type of gal, but I so liked that it accentuated my newly-toned upper body. Steve was a real doll to just wait while I carefully rummaged through racks and racks of clearance items and tried them on, wondering at length if any had potential. He gave me a "wowie-zowie" eventually about the dress, and now I can't wait to wear it. I do think, however, it would look odd if I wore it to the library or to get my car washed, so I think I'll just wait 'til the wedding.

I'm off to finish the final rounds of grading, then I'll thankfully be free of this semester. I still have to put together a course packet of feminist theory readings for my summer class, but that can wait. When I'm done tonight I think I'm going to play cards a drink wine with Steve for a while. I miss him.

xoxo