This is lovely

posted @ 02.55 - link

A lovely evening

My day yesterday started off madly, but then ended so nicely. First there were meetings and meetings. But then I got dressed for the evening, and all was well. My new Anthropologie dress was actually delivered yesterday afternoon, but it didn't fit well, so I decided to return it and wore a black dress that's a bit warmer instead. I met up with Connor, miraculously caught the Purple Express, and we headed down to the Loop. First there was dinner at Russian Teatime - with tea(!), tea infused vodka, good black bread, borsch, homemade dumplings with sour cream and garlic creme fraiche, the good carrot salad, blini, and apricot-plum strudel. After stuffing ourselves and being joined by Heather and Jen, we headed off to the ballet for the Joffrey's "Cinderella".

"Cinderella" was really lovely. It was very sparkly, for one. The costumes were wonderful. There was a lot of humor added to it. Most of the dancing was somewhat off (the Joffrey does really well with interpretive things and not so well with forms where everyone dances all at the same time), but there were a few shining moments: a pretty dance between Cinderella and the Prince, the dances of the four seasons, the Jester's dance. The pas de deux was somewhat disappointing, but I think because of the choreography (Ashton) than because of the dancing. But the overall tableaux was so charming and the ending so magical, the whole was really a very good effect.

Afterwards Heather and I went on to Rhapsody, which I'd heard good things about (it has a famous chef, etc.). There we got amazing cocktails and shared some mussels and frites, which were very yum. And caught all up with each other, and it was nice. Haven't had a good chat with Heather since our walks in the fall, I think. But! She's moving to Chicago next year! So there will be lots of chatting and lots of ballet :) Hurray!

Quite full and happy, we made our way back to the transport - Heather to the bus and me to the El. In the Jackson station there were people playing Baroque duets (I think Telemann) on a sax and a flute, which was nice. The train came after not too much waiting, and I dove into my book ("City of Thieves" by David Benioff) for the long ride home, got back around 12:30 and promptly went to bed. What a lovely evening!

Today: editing and work. Tonight: Pride and Prejudice the Musical with Carmen and Amanda (very excited). The rest of the weekend: MAD WORK.

posted @ 11.23 - link

Ridiculous Friday diversion (someone spent WAY too much time on this)

posted @ 10.12 - link

Morning, chez moi (I like the light)

posted @ 09.37 - link

Oh long

Yesterday characterized by running about from class to offices to post office, then getting home and discovering that my heat was off, skipping my Swedish class (for shame) in favor of laying on the couch and catching up with my Hulu queue and the Men's skating + Ladies' short programs. This was really lovely. I think everyone should have a night off sometimes, and I thoroughly enjoyed mine.

And! Thanks to having it, today was very productive! Here, for example, is what I did today:
- sent 50+ academic-related emails
- wrote my February report
- attended an exec board meeting
- put on coffee for 50 or so undergrads
- met with Prof M to discuss various things
- planned the last stages of my FL trip; bought a plane ticket from TPA to PBI (genius idea of Robbie's)
- organized Saturday's theater outing (to see Pride & Prejudice the musical!)
- plotted/purchased tickets for a theater outing in March (to see Les Liaisons Dangereuses)
- plotted and decided to wait a week on an opera outing for undergrads
- sold a Bulls v Blazers ticket
- edited Nina's abstract; began editing Kristina's chapter
- translated 2 pages from German to English for my RA translation project
- invited 3 scholars to a conference for a committee I serve on

All in all, not too shabby. Of course, there are also the things left undone, which include article edits, emptying/refilling my dishwasher, and other things. SOON, though, dear reader. I am thinking it is nearly time for bed for now. It was a long busy day, but significantly improved by the evening of wonderful ladies' figure skating that I enjoyed when I got home from it. Hurray Olympics! Will be sad to see it end.

posted @ 23.47 - link

In which Susanna sees Chicago!

So! After a mad Thursday of meetings, I went to Bar Louie and met up with Susanna, who came to visit! She's looking at my dept for grad school, and stayed with me, and it was all around lovely. In addition to getting all caught up with each other and watching several episodes of Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears, we had a really lovely weekend in Chicago, doing the Chicago touristy things. Here are the highlights:

Chicago! Well, we didn't get in any long walks, but we did do North Michigan Ave and the Millennium Park and a bit of the Loop. The weather was lovely the first two days, and then kind of drizzly the last two days. We tried to go to the Art Institute twice, and failed both times (both times because I am terrible with timing). But it was okay as we heard from Nina that it was absurdly crowded due to Feb being a free month. On Friday evening after dinner we went with Carmen to Buddy Guy's Legends, a famous Chicago blues club. There we were mesmerized, listening to two amazing bands - both amazing in different ways. The first was really good as a crowd pleaser, and the lead singer had a really marvelous beautiful deep voice that sounded good no matter what it was singing. It made even Under the Boardwalk into a kind of art. The second band was more big band style, with several tenor saxes and a trumpet, and they played some songs with no words - but when the lead singer, a relatively young guy - began to sing, his voice was so good and yet so different from the first singer that it made a really good contrast. I can't even really describe his voice. We had a sort of strange spot to watch, which was often blocked by standing people, but we stayed for hours and hours, even after we didn't want to order any more drinks, because the music was that good. From there we went to the lounge at the top of the Hancock Tower for overpriced cocktails and a good view. It was foggy, but Chicago's lights look pretty in the fog. Such a good Friday! But then on Saturday evening we went to a small local theater to see Chekhov's short plays. As you all know, dear reader, I really love Chekhov, and I was ready to be charmed by his sort plays. The theater company was fairly amateurish, and they interpreted Chekhov in such a way that the poor man is probably spinning in his grave. Very few of the plays bore any resemblance to Chekhov, and I only really enjoyed one or two. Sadly there were 7 altogether, and the evening stretched on for three hours. Longest evening of Chekhov short plays ever. So one good evening and one bad evening in terms of entertainment, but I think it was all in all good.

The eating! We did some very good eating, though. First there was Bar Louie on Thursday. I had never eaten there, except for dessert, but we like to go there because they have wonderful cocktails made with sweet tea liqueur that actually taste just like sweet tea. But, what I learned at Bar Louie on Thursday, is that burgers are good with crab and avocado on them. The food was solid, and I'd be curious to try their brunch (seemed like a good brunchy place). On Friday afternoon we stopped at Garrett's Popcorn, the most famous popcorn in Chicago, so Susanna could get some presents for people. I had heard of Garrett's, of course, and had seen the ridiculous lines of people, but had never had it. We waited in a crazy spiral line in their State St location for maybe 30 minutes before we could order, but then, eating the popcorn as we walked along the street, we realized that the popcorn was not only worth the wait- it was the best popcorn ever. We did the Chicago Mix, cheese and caramel corn combined. And it was amazing. From popcorn we went on to a Thai restaurant I know of in the south Loop. We were supposed to meet Carmen and another prospective student there, but as they were late and then got a bit lost finding it, we ended up sitting there and ordering appetizers for about an hour. We tried three: fresh spring rolls, pot stickers, and some leek dumplings. We were impressed by both the rolls and the dumplings, but the leek dumplings were really lovely, with a subtle leek-y flavor and crisp rice dough, and we were v impressed. Dinner was good too! And then on Saturday we went to a Polish neighborhood so we could go to the Polish grocery. Susanna is doing a project involving Polish gardens and orchards and wanted to see what sorts of things are typical Polish food (jams, honeys, spices, herbs, etc). We went (okay I went) a little mad, though, buying things as they had so many good products. Came home with a lot of groceries (definitely a good thing), and then had a marvelous lunch consisting of Susanna's sandwich from Bar Louie, Polish bean and mixed salads with mayo, and toast with spreadable cheese. Yumm. We stopped for a mid-afternoon snack of steamed bao and homemade green tea gingerale as we went along, and ended up finally at Hopleaf for dinner, for excellent Belgian food: there was the appetizer of tongue, pickled root vegetables and goat cheese and potato pierogies, which was so good (and I don't even really like goat cheese all that much); there was my dinner of housemade sausages, white beans with pancetta, and frites; and there was lovely Belgian beer for all. All in all, a very good eating weekend. The one strange meal we had was at Le Peep where we went for breakfast on Sunday before Susanna had to go. Our food literally came 8 minutes after we were seated (5 mins after we gave our order). Very sketchy. It was okay enough. But it was strangely fast. Anyway.

All in all, a very good visit. It was nice to show off my city a bit, and lovely to do it with Susanna, who I hadn't seen since the summer as our attempt to meet up in December was foiled by my vile cold. It's a bit anticlimactic to be back to normal here, though, now that the few days of intense activity and the excitement of Susanna being here are over. I'm back to trying to write and running about from meeting to meeting. On that note, I should either edit or sleep.

posted @ 00.40 - link

The Chemist's War

The little-told story of how the U.S. government poisoned alcohol during Prohibition <-- Article about Prohibition gov't policy that resulted in thousands of deaths. From the fine people of Slate, who also bring us this other Prohibition-relevant article: The End of Prohibition: Why gay marriage, getting high, and going to Cuba will soon be legal. Food for thought, dear reader.

On that note, time to get down to work (writing!). Updates about magical weekend of Chicago magic with Susanna to come soon.

posted @ 12.59 - link

Sign welcoming new orthopedic doctor to 8th floor of medical building.... I should be so fancy someday!

posted @ 11.17 - link

University beach in winter

posted @ 10.18 - link

Also: Lent

I am giving up soda. All soda. REALLY. I had a diet coke today, and am done from now until Easter.

posted @ 22.47 - link

Les updates:

- I have now been listening to the newest Owl City album on random repeat for 24+ hours straight. It's some good stuff. And good for revising/writing! Good to know.
- Today in Russian class my Russian was terrifyingly bad. We were doing mock job interviews. I forgot the word for grammar. I am never getting a job.
- Edits are coming along nicely, albeit more slowly than I would have liked.
- I have learned the dangerous fact that Anthropologie actually has normal sized clothes that fit me well. Sadly it is somewhat out of my budget.
- Susanna is coming tomorrow! Tomorrow! I have plotted out an awesome Chicago weekend of awesome, beginning with dinner/drinks tomorrow and culminating with Chekhov shorts at a vaudeville theater on Saturday. There will be Belgian food. There will be a blues club. There will be fine art. There will be Thai-themed cocktails. It will rock.
- But first, the edits! Edits!

posted @ 22.33 - link

J'accuse!

Yeah, yeah. Can you tell what I'm doing tonight??
Real update to come soon. When something notable happens. Like I finish these bloody revisions.

posted @ 02.39 - link

Rock

posted @ 17.57 - link

C'mon NBC

What's it like to train with China's skating champs? <-- Memoir story on CNN about Shen and Zhao, the gold medal favorites in pairs figure skating this Olympics. This is lovely. Other things to do while waiting on figure skating footage: watch figure skating videos on NBC.com, compulsively check the figure skating live blog.

Until the figure skating.... enjoying NBC playing the men's moguls medal ceremony. Glad the Canadian won :) Glad that NBC is finally giving air time to a backstory blurb about him and to his awards ceremony. Glad that they forewarned the American audience *three times* beforehand that it would be "O Canada" and not the "Star Spangled Banner" (goes to show you what they typically broadcast, not surprisingly). Enjoying that the Canadians are singing along.

Yes! Figure skating now! Russians!

posted @ 21.09 - link

More things going on today:

- kitchen leaking continues (fun!)
- the washer broke, meaning that I had to go grocery shopping to get more laundry quarters (fun!) also meaning that I had to stick my arms into a washer mostly full of gross dark soapy water, pull out my clothes, and rewash with the luckily fine other washing machine
- but, as long as I was at the grocery store, I got a lot of fruits and veg as I think part of my problem with my diss may be that I am developing scurvy due to malnutrition (at least, my mother has convinced me of this)
- I figure, when it comes down to it, more fruit and veg in the diet cannot hurt, really

posted @ 16.45 - link

Things going on today:

- laundry (!)
- changing lightbulbs that have burned out
- eating leftover Polish food
- working on my chapter

The good news is that I figured out how to "accommodate" the theme (ha) last night at around 1 AM. So revisions are going fairly quickly now. Hoping to get them more or less in order early this afternoon and then get my chapter more or less in order late this afternoon/this evening/tomorrow. This would be wonderful. Then I can go on to the next chapter and complain about something new on here. So good.

posted @ 12.54 - link

If the Dewey Color System says it, it must be true

Color Career Counselor <-- Get your perfect career spit out to you by picking colors. Mine's below. Not sure how accurate it is (although it did put me teaching in a university or working in another place it would be awesome to work: a library, a museum, etc.). I'm just not sure how "impulsive" or "nonconforming" I am. My gut tells me not very.

You're a CREATOR

Keywords
Nonconforming, Impulsive, Expressive, Romantic, Intuitive, Sensitive, and Emotional

These original types place a high value on aesthetic qualities and have a great need for self-expression. They enjoy working independently, being creative, using their imagination, and constantly learning something new. Fields of interest are art, drama, music, and writing or places where they can express, assemble, or implement creative ideas.

CREATOR OCCUPATIONS
Suggested careers are Advertising Executive, Architect, Web Designer, Creative Director, Public Relations, Fine or Commercial Artist, Interior Decorator, Lawyer, Librarian, Musician, Reporter, Art Teacher, Broadcaster, Technical Writer, English Teacher, Architect, Photographer, Medical Illustrator, Corporate Trainer, Author, Editor, Landscape Architect, Exhibit Builder, and Package Designer.

CREATOR WORKPLACES
Consider workplaces where you can create and improve beauty and aesthetic qualities. Unstructured, flexible organizations that allow self-expression work best with your free-spirited nature.
Suggested Creator workplaces are advertising, public relations, and interior decorating firms; artistic studios, theaters and concert halls; institutions that teach crafts, universities, music, and dance schools. Other workplaces to consider are art institutes, museums, libraries, and galleries.

posted @ 11.58 - link

Late nite chez moi

Well, dear reader, it is now nearly 1 AM and I am still staring at the blinking cursor. It occurs to me that part of my problem with my edits may be the fact that the volume that this is for deals with the concept of "accommodation" and I am having a lot of difficulty figuring out how my paper fits in with that idea (or what that idea actually means in the context of what the volume is ostensibly about). Another problem may be the fact that Olympic figure skating broadcasts began tonight... but that doesn't explain the lack of work done today, and the amount of time spent staring at the cursor. At least I am not yet tired, so I can stare/work some more. Maybe something will come of it. Hmmmmm.

posted @ 00.45 - link

V-Day (or un-V-Day)

Let me just preface this by saying that last night was lovely. So lovely! Nina and I found a shortcut (via bus!) to Wicker Park. We got the Polish food, and had everything from soup to potato pancakes to the entrees to dessert, with tea, coffee, and big glasses of homemade berry juice. So good! So filling! I now have a take out container of pierogies and potato pancakes in the fridge, just waiting for me.
From there we went to the Chopin Theater, just a couple buildings down the street. The play was great! It was a much different conceptualization than the last time I saw the play (in 2001 in Berlin in the Theater am Schiffbauerdam - the Brecht theater). Theirs was more traditional, and this one was more modernized. But, anyway, it was really good. So Brecht-y goodness, with amazing good acting. We're going to see "Baal", I think, by the same company in the spring. Excellent. The theater, too, was really cute. It had a vibe sort of like being in someone's parlor - with family photos and chaise longues in the waiting areas. It was really delightful and charming, and we had a good discussion about the play as we walked on to our late night cocktail destination: the Violet Hour.
I'd been hearing things about The Violet Hour for years and had really wanted to try it. We waited in line outdoors for 30 mins, where we were joined by Nina's husband Tony, before finally getting a table, which, actually, was kind of surprisingly brisk. Although the girls in front of us when we were seated had been waiting for over an hour and a half! So we were lucky, really. The restaurant itself was very prettily decorated and enjoyable, if kind of strange because of the odd crowded vibe (we had to share our seating area of 6 with another group of 3). Nina, Tony and I had their winter punch, which was enough for the three of us to each have 2 glasses, and which came in a big bowl. The punch was *amazing*, and apparently the rest of the extensive cocktail menu, which was really hard to choose from as so large and awesome sounding, was equally *amazing*. We heard from people we met, waiting and inside, that the best thing is to get a seat at the bar and have the bartender make you a custom cocktail based on your mood/feeling/taste. That sounds like it could be awesome, but would have been awkward with a group of 3. But Violet Hour lived up to the hype, I have to say. The cocktails were awesome. I liked Drawing Room better, though, for the decor, vibe, and better location.
So, yeah. Afterwards we got into Tony's car and went home, with a late night stop at Taco Bell drive through. The radio was playing old school music, and it was so so fun. Got back around 1:30. And it was a grand evening, topped off only by the fact that when I got home the kitchen leak had stopped dripping well before the trash can had filled up, so the mess in my kitchen was negligible.

And that was that. Today woke up later than I hoped. But! Am now showered, dressed in my dissertation finest, lunched, and quite ready to commence again. Hopefully today will be more productive than yesterday! Yes, I am in a committed monogamous relationship with my dissertation. Ha.

posted @ 14.35 - link

So much for less leaking!

... Guess who won't be cooking this weekend? LAME.

posted @ 16.09 - link

Faire du update(!)

- They are finally shoveling the snow off of my building's roof! Which means that hopefully my kitchen will stop dripping soon! Excellent!
- I am now completely caught up on every show I am watching ... it is helpful that many of them are on hiatus until March. I also have a clean kitchen, clean bathroom, all my clothes/books/dishes/whatnot are put away. My inboxes, both school and personal, are clean and tidy. My work for next week is done. The only thing on the TO DO list for the rest of this weekend are a) the revisions and b) the chapter. It's pretty clear that I am ready to write.
- Tonight am going out with Nina for Polish food, then a Brecht play, then Violet Hour. All in Wicker Park! How hipster of us (I've never really been OUT in Wicker Park before).
- Before then, though, there will be revisions. Starting now. Or, at least, there will be staring at my cursor doing nothing else until it is time to go. Or until I get motivated. One of the two.

I think my recent writer's block has been caused by several things. 1. The fact that I'm feeling done with this chapter, although it is not yet done. I've just been working on this for too long, and my mind is in another chapter altogether. 2. The fact that revisions are deadly and I have a mental block against them. 3. The fact that I feel pressured to get something done. I have been making excuses lately, like "I can't write, I have too much on my plate." But then I began remembering that last year I managed to write most of this chapter I'm working on now while I had broken ribs, while I was teaching, while I was working at the res college, and while I was getting ready to go to Russia. So, clearly, that is no excuse. That being said, the time has come to get started, get these revisions done, and get this chapter finished. For real.

posted @ 13.14 - link

More Olympic Observations:

- V much enjoyed most of thing involving different regions of Canada set to Canadian pop music. Up until prairie part, which kind of hurt. Watching my ceiling drip was more entertaining.
- It reminded me a lot, esp the totem pole part and the beginning part with whales, of my trip to the Pacific NW in August!
- But slam poetry?! Seriously?! Ugh. Only redeeming moment: when the guy boomed out my favorite line and got a cheer: THE TRUE NORTH STRONG AND FREE!

posted @ 22.16 - link

Twitter is really a better forum for this, but oh well

- pretty sure that McDonald's chicken nuggets are not in fact the favorite food of Olympic athletes (such bad advertising)
- also - who exactly is a part time model turned champion skier? Seriously?!
- Yay Sweden!!!

posted @ 21.08 - link

Go Russia!

Love that Russia came in not only wearing the Sochi 2014 designed outfits, but also carrying Sochi 2014 mascots. Excellent advertising, y'all.
Found the Chinese team much classier: each one had paired up his Chinese flag with a Canadian one. :)

posted @ 21.04 - link

More live blogging

Am really enjoying the Olympics ads a lot more than the Super Bowl ones. I love the way they incorporate figure skating so often. Even in pen ads! The only sad thing is when they cut away from live coverage so some teams don't get shown that much on American coverage. Lame. They should really do this part ad-free.

Also, the poor Georgian team. How very sad!
And the entrance of the brightly colored German team seemed very jarring after their somber faces and black banners.

posted @ 20.43 - link

Olympic Opening break!

Yeah, like I wasn't going to watch the Olympic Opening Ceremony, featuring the Canadian National Hymn, perhaps my favorite National Hymn ever (mostly because it includes the line "The True North, strong and free", which was sadly sung au francais this evening). Thoughts so far:
- I vaguely want to move to Canada (was thinking this also on my Pacific NW trip this summer)
- apparently my use of the term "aboriginal" to describe Canadian First Nations at lunch today was, in fact, quite correct (excellent)
- Also: ready for the Parade of Nations (love me some Parade of Nations)
- Also: just the Olympic theme is clearly enough to make me misty eyed - and I somehow forget that between Olympic games

posted @ 20.21 - link

More of the same

- dripping in kitchen is continuing
- meetings today actually surprisingly productive
- weekend stretching forward... time to write
- first must find my productivity sweater (yes, I know) and eat something
- let's go

posted @ 16.03 - link

Dig for Victory

Audio slideshow: The Ministry of Food <-- This is also fairly cool. From the BBC, an audio slideshow commemorating 70 years since the introduction of ration books during WW2. Includes brief interview, some period music clips, and lots of photos.

posted @ 15.22 - link

Friday afternoon diversion

The end is nigh, but this is GENIUS:

posted @ 15.13 - link

Things going on:

- had a very long day
- not looking forward to meetings tomorrow, but will go to them like good citizen
- kitchen ceiling is leaking again
- want to get to the part where I have a wide expanse of time to write!
- spent a lot of time speaking Russian today... and revisiting Kharms's literary anecdotes (brilliant)
- what, the Olympics?! already?!
That is all.

posted @ 02.11 - link

Icicle squid!!

posted @ 12.44 - link

Lovely and amazing

(but not like the bad movie of the same title)

It is Thursday! The sun is shining brightly and the icicles look kind of like squids as they melt and drop down the back of my building. I feel well rested. I got up early enough today to actually get things done and now feel like I'm going into the weekend-a weekend that will involve Brecht(!), Polish food(!), and, hopefully, lots of writing(!)-with a clean apartment, clean inboxes, a well stocked fridge, and a definite lack of things to do that aren't my chapter. Very good!

Before the weekend, though, there are office hours, meetings, dinner and lunch with the res college, a coffee hour I have to host, etc. So a busy today, a busy early tomorrow, and then a fresh, clean expanse of weekend. Excellent.

posted @ 12.39 - link

Ha ha!

University inbox vanquished, at least for tonight. We'll see about tomorrow.....

posted @ 00.55 - link

All the news that's fit to print:

Even Chicago's quakes, storms don't measure up <-- Article in Chicago Tribune. Right on.

Anyway. So, yes, since last I posted we have had not only a blizzard, but also an earthquake. The blizzard dumped a paltry 8 inches of snow on us, and the roads were plowed (even the sidewalks were mostly good) by this morning. Liberating my car and driving to school presented no major challenge. The earthquake woke me up at 4am. I vaguely remember waking up, thinking to myself, "Hmm, that feels like another earthquake" and going back to bed. Really unimpressive. But this is now the 2nd earthquake wake up since I've moved to the windy city (some of you may remember the first).

The last several days have been busy busy. As it turned out, I did not get any real writing done on Monday as I waited too long and then got an idiotic virus. Monday night spent combating the virus. Tuesday spent on campus, doing work, and then having lovely Irish pub dinner and going to the grad school mixer with Carmen and Amanda. Today spent shoveling car, going to class, doing errands (meetings with profs, new financial system paperwork, getting virus fixed by laptop ER clinic, post office, etc.), then coming home and falling asleep on couch until now. Very good. I had luckily texted my Swedish instructor that I'd not be in class tonight when I was stuck on campus so late.

So yes, it's been busy and not terribly productive. Looking forward to a better tomorrow. Looking forward to tackling my university email inbox, which I am WAY behind on (ugh). Really need to get on that.

posted @ 23.27 - link

Last post, I swear

Writing will happen now, I swear. I just wanted to point out that the snow that we here in the Chicagoland are scheduled to get starting tonight was originally meant to be 3-5 inches, then got raised to 5-9 inches, then 6-12, and now they're saying 9-18! Of course, when it snows in Chicago nothing shuts down. I may declare tomorrow a snow day of my own, though, considering the recent service cuts the CTA has done and the fact that snow is supposed to be blowing at me at a rate of 30 mph tomorrow when I'm going to school. HA.
Okay, writing.

posted @ 15.51 - link

More on pain blogged earlier

Yale�s latest recruitment video : The New Yorker <-- Article in the New Yorker about the painful Yale admissions video I blogged earlier (for those who forgot or ignored it, you can still watch the thing HERE - be wary, it hurts (and is 17 mins long!)). The New Yorker's take on the thing seems to be about the same as mine (and that of others I've talked to): what exactly is their target audience? It's not like Yale is looking for new applicants - they already have more qualified applicants than they can admit! Weird.

posted @ 15.45 - link

Addendum:

First of all, got an email from my sister that says that maybe old passport will come in the mail in a few days (apparently hers did). Good to know!
Secondly, was reading through info about new passport and am impressed that it has apparently some kind of microchip in it that makes going through border checks and verifying photos much smoother. This is pretty cool, actually. Very Mission Impossible. But there are also many warnings that say that the thing won't work if you: bend your passport, get it wet, expose it to high temps, etc. Um, yeah. So much for traveling. Ha.

posted @ 14.49 - link

Brief interruption in which our heroine receives her new passport

I got my new passport. I had to get a new one because my sister and I have a port of call in Honduras on our March cruise, and Honduras requires a passport valid for 6 months after the date of entry into the country. Mine was valid for 5 months and 3 weeks. I am not kidding. So I dutifully sent off my old one. And I got the new one today. They kept my old one! I had wanted to save it as it is an impressive testimony to how much traveling I accomplished in the last 10 years. I had filled it and then some. It was my 3rd passport, and the 3rd passport I have filled - that's pretty good. The new one is ugly, but that is all the better to cover over with stamps and visas. With travel to 5 countries planned out for this year (Honduras, Belize, Mexico, UK, Ireland), I guess I'll get a good start. And I have 10 more years to fill the thing, after all. Sad about my old passport, though. I miss it. But the new picture is SO much better, so that's a perk.

posted @ 14.45 - link

Seriously!

1. This is a Finnish commercial for a TV show called Clash of the Choirs, which is basically what it says. The ad involves a) Bon Jovi, b) pirates, c) 18th Century costumes. For the win!



2. So yesterday I did some work and then packed myself up and went out to eat dumplings with Nina and Tony and then see Uncle Vanya at the Chekhov film festival at the Siskel Center. It was good! Somewhat gloomy, but I also found it to be very beautiful. Afterwards Nina and I went to work on her talk some more, and, upon finishing, went for quesadillas and a drink. It was all very lovely, and a very nice way to spend Sunday afternoon/evening/the Superbowl.

3. Afterwards came home, ridiculously full, and felt too full to work. Alarmingly! Spent some time on the couch, chatting with various people, and then went to bed, intending to read a few pages of the book I was reading. But I got totally sucked in. Before I'd had trouble putting the book down, but I was able to do it. Last night I read the last 400 pages in one frenetic reading, getting to bed around 5. Consequently, woke up late today. For the record, it was the first Stieg Larsson book and it was so good. Needless to say, the next book will either be a) considerably shorter so frenetic reading doesn't take so long or b) non-fiction about architecture or something.

4. Which brings us to 4, the fact that I am about to start on my diss and hopefully I'll git er done, as they say. Well, not the whole diss, but the current small part. So signing off of blogger until something is accomplished.

posted @ 12.44 - link

Polka-fy!

This is horribly, horribly stuck in my head today. Not the actual Katy Perry version, no, the polka-ified version. Here done by Ukrainians, and on Friday done by the polka fusion band. Horribly, horribly. It is never getting out.

posted @ 12.36 - link

Commentary

So, comments are gone for now. After doing more online exploring, I discovered that the blogger.com commenting system doesn't work on non-blogspot.com blogs. There are free comment systems that you can add to a post through .html encoding, but it'll make my blog look clunky. There are free comment systems similar to what I have, but they require .php capability, and I'll have to double the monthly cost of my webhost to do that. And there are pay comment systems. So, if you have comments, let me know the old fashioned way (via email), and in the meantime I'll keep pondering.

posted @ 02.08 - link

In which our heroine is all polka-ed out and ready to write

Well, as you can see from the below picture, last night there was polka-ing. And I did polka. There was bratwurst, I got hit on by a member of the polka band (the bald one, no less - big sighs), and Nicki and I danced until we were too pooped to dance anymore. Then I came home, collapsed on the couch, convinced myself to move to bed, and slept until noon. Quite respectable!

But, dear reader! Now it's on! The time has come to write. No more excuses. No more cleaning projects that must be done before writing can happen. NO. Writing. All weekend, except for a brief outing tomorrow. Let's go!

posted @ 13.55 - link

Polka Party!

posted @ 21.44 - link

Meetings, meetings

So many meetings. I am now home, have spent the afternoon in the bath reading my new Stieg Larsson book, have ordered pizza, to be enjoyed while catching up on Hulu, and am mostly getting ready to head out into the blowing snow (yes, we too are having snow, although nothing like the snowpocalypse that's hitting Virginia tonight) to go to the res college's annual polka party. There will be adorable bratwurst appetizers, a lot of polka fusion music, hilarious costumes, and wild dancing. It should be good indeed :)

posted @ 18.09 - link

Ha

I finally got Mika's new album out of my head, only to be replaced by "One Night in Bangkok". I am not convinced that this is an improvement.

Mika's new single:


One Night in Bangkok:

posted @ 13.25 - link

In other adorable news

My advisor, C, has joined Facebook. Last night she friended me and attempted to chat with me. I suppose it is a good reflection on my relationship with C that I find this new development completely endearing (and the fact that chatting is confusing her even more endearing).

posted @ 12.18 - link

Ooooh

50 All-Time Favorite New Uses for Old Things <-- Many of these are adorable. I'm not sure how many are useful, but adorable, I tell you. I vaguely wish my apartment was so neat, shiny and pastel (mind you, if it was, I would quickly go insane with so much pastel about).

posted @ 12.15 - link

Fermez les yeux

Oh so so tired, dear reader. It's been a good and productive few days, really, but so exhausting! Yesterday I was running madly about from errand to appointment to meeting, finally getting a breather in my office hours (where, of course, there were things to be done, as always).

The evening was lovely, though. I went with Carmen for tapas (we had lovely duck sausage with grilled peppers, snails on bread with spicy tomato sauce and melted cheese, crab croquettes, ham and potato fritters, and dates wrapped with bacon, all washed down with something called the Spanish margarita that had Spanish brandy in it instead of tequila and orange liqueur instead of lime, very good!). Afterwards we dashed to the train to catch the express downtown, getting to the opera just in time to peruse the program before the curtain went up for Donizetti's "The Elixir of Love". I had never seen this one before, but it was really wonderful! Beautiful music, a somewhat predictable but at times very funny and charming story, excellent top notch singing, and a lavish Lyric production. There was even a horse on stage! It was so so enjoyable to just sit for an evening and watch the opera!

Today spent, not surprisingly, running about. First to Russian class where I did my presentation (speaking for 1+ hours in Russian on my dissertation, not too shabby!), then home to lunch, then dashing to Andersonville to meet Nina and go over her talk, then to Swedish class, then home. It was a very long language day and my mind is now completely fried.

There are some exciting things, though. My inbox has three emails in it currently. Their subject lines are: "chicago!", "New York!", and "Columbus!" One is plotting my upcoming March NYC adventure, one is a conversation between Kristina and myself about the Columbus conference, and one is Susanna telling me about how she's coming to visit in a couple of weeks. This is all very cheery indeed!

Despite all of this jollity, though, it is definitely time to do not much quite soon. Sleep beckons!

posted @ 23.28 - link

Preposterous

Mobile Garden Rail Car To Be Tacked on To Chicago Transit System <-- Okay. I am as earth friendly as anyone. But. The CTA is millions of dollars in debt. So in debt that it is cutting service and jobs. And this is what they are spending taxpayer money on? I'm sure the commuters waiting for their train for 30+ minutes will be very excited about this opportunity to "visualize the possibilities for enhancing green space in the city." I am sure that the unemployed operators and service people will be just as thrilled about this chance. Big sighs, Chicago.
On that note it is 3 AM and I should be in bed!

posted @ 03.04 - link

New life hurdle

Extreme taco craving. Sadly it is midnight and freezing.

posted @ 23.55 - link

Lovely!

Well, they came, and it was lovely. Experimental baking 2 (cinnamon coffee cake) was a winner. Experimental baking 1 (variation on pumpkin pie) was a dud, although possibly only in relation to the fabulous experimental baking 2. Unclear. For my money, I'd really rather just have pumpkin pie, though. We watched "I am Cuba" as Serebriannikov didn't work on my DVD player and crowding around the laptop was a bit ridiculous. It was good, though, and so nice to see all!

posted @ 23.20 - link

Hmm...

Maybe it's all a plot as I accidentally slept through Tanya's tea party and stood them all up last week?

posted @ 19.10 - link

Alright!

Gilmore Girls is done, dinner is had, experimental baking no 2 is baking away, dishes are washing in dishwasher... all is ready, it is 7pm on the nose, but no one is here yet.... what now? I think the time has come for online scrabble.

posted @ 19.00 - link

Comments

Also, I should post here that I have gotten an email from HaloScan, the people that do my lovely free comment service on JaneBlog, and they say that their software AND hardware is literally disintegrating and so they've decided not to replace it. The way I see it, I have three options:
A) Upgrade to the $12/year service from the same company that has way more features than this little blog really needs
B) Attempt to find another, likely inferior, free service (web searching so far does not turn up much, but I am open to suggestions)
C) Get rid of comments altogether

What do you say, dear reader? Since you're the ones that like to comment on here, comment and let me know what you think! What will it be? A B or C?

posted @ 18.10 - link

YET MORE things accomplished today

- Grocery store vanquished
- 4(!) loads of laundry vanquished and put away
- Apartment cleaned from top to bottom
- Abstract submitted to April conference AND accepted (that's fast!)
- Pie baked
- Dishes done

Note that nowhere on this list is my dissertation. But it seems pointless to start now with people coming in less than an hour. I resolve to have dinner and watch an ep of Gilmore Girls and not worry about it. Experimental baking event no 2 to start shortly thereafter ;-)

posted @ 18.07 - link

Productivity

Things accomplished today:
- Generally poor showing on Journalism trivia followed by perfect showing on British Monarchy trivia in on-line trivia league!
- Appt made with student judicial services (hopefully last stage of housesitter debacle).
- Follow up phone call with nurse to make sure don't need to be getting infused with more iron.
- Revisions for article due Jan 15th opened, read seriously. Email written apologizing for lateness, blaming illness (technically true as I was having IV infusions and things), asking for extension until next week (very doable).
- Laundry packed up and ready to go downstairs.
- Grocery shopping list made based on things intending to bake tonight.
- Showered, dressed, etc.

What is left is clearly to start the laundry, head to the grocery store, then come back and tidy up. Tidying up that needs to happen today includes mopping the kitchen and bathroom floors, sweeping/vacuuming the living room and hall, and cleaning the bathroom sink and toilet so as to get apartment in good shape for friends coming for tea and movie this evening. Excellent.

posted @ 11.20 - link

Weekend redux

A mostly good weekend, spent doing good and useful things.

Thursday I did my res college obligations, and then took the bus to the society of fellows dinner, where I ate pheasant, socialized with other young scholars, listened to presentations on biological sciences and astrophysics, and generally had a good time.

Friday I did more res college things, then in the evening went to see our campus production of "Parade". The university has a really good theater program and this musical was *amazing* - really beautiful voices and very professionally done, although it was completely student run and produced (and acted in and everything else). I had never seen "Parade" before, and while the subject matter was serious (it's about antisemitism in the South in the Leo Frank case) and sad (there's not a happy ending, let's put it that way), the music was beautiful and even, at times, whimsical.

Saturday spent helping out with quizbowl (flashbacks), then working on the diss a bit and going out with Carmen and her sister Ari in the evening. I finally went to the Oasis, legendary bar in my neighborhood that I had never been to before. While not as epic as the hype suggested, it was enjoyable.

Then today (Sunday) spent finally getting my non-school books in order, cleaning up a bit, working on the diss, and eating waffles and having tea with Tim and Ali.

I did not do as much as I would have liked to on my diss, but it was nice to have time to work on it. Those article revisions are another story... but they are on the docket for tomorrow morning, first thing, and I am about to go to bed now, so I should be good to go tomorrow. Excellent.

posted @ 00.39 - link