This isn't something I'd normally do, but this has been an unusually "heightened" year, involving travel, self-reliance, education, property damage, and family drama. Here, then, is a month by month breakdown of the events of this year.
January--At the age of 47, I finally start graduate school.
February--My husband is offered an opportunity to take a four-month assignment in India. I am delighted, but panic a bit, because he is the house guy. I am daunted (and rightly so, it turns out) at the thought of holding down the fort.
March--My husband takes an exploratory trip to India at the end of the month.
April--He returns to India to begin the assignment. I conclude my first semester of grad school, which I approached in a toe-in-the-water sort of way with one class. I get an A, so now feel brave enough to try two classes. Fortunately, I can take them locally.
May/June--I start my second semester of grad school. I also experience household annoyance #1. Someone has an accident down the street from me, resulting in one of the cars careening down the street, knocking down my mailbox, and a the car's fascia falling off and tumbling into my driveway. I was actually walking onto the driveway from the backyard when this happened.
I then have to call handymen, which is a thing I have never had to do because my husband is a handy guy. Also, I have to call insurance companies while lacking info about who was in this accident because I have to wait on the police report, yada, yada. It makes me too tired to even think about it now. Long story short--my husband comes home for a few days on a scheduled break, and fixes it himself before returning to India again. The insurance company of the at-fault driver eventually covers the expenses.
July-- I host and enjoy our annual family 3rd of July (because that's the fireworks day) celebration, even though I can't get the grill to work (I broiled the chicken instead). The pool, however, which I have been maintaining myself for the first time, sparkles. (My husband opened it back when he was home.) I finish my second semester of grad school (and my work semester) at the end of the month, attend my 30th high school reunion, then go off to meet my husband in Amsterdam. I had never gotten on a plane alone before, so that was a bit of an adventure for me.
August--I thoroughly enjoy my time in Amsterdam with my husband. He returns home with me for a few days, then goes back to India to wrap some things up. At the end of the month, there is a week of severe storms in the midwest. On Friday of that week, there was a tornado in a nearby town. The night before that (also coinciding with my first day back at work), though, my neighbor's tree is struck by lightning, causing it to fall into my backyard. It crushes her gazebo and my chain-link fence, and punctures a hole through our swimming pool's winter cover (which, thankfully, we had put on before my husband went back to India, or the damage to the pool would have been awful). It took down my (and only my) power lines, resulting in no electricity, no phone, and no Internet. I spend the night at the house of the neighbors who have the offending tree.
September-- My son starts grad school. Because of the August storm, this is a month of calling power companies, tree removal people, pool/repair concrete folks, and the insurance company. My husband is now in Russia and wants me to come visit, which involves applying for a visa as quickly as possible (also something that makes me too tired when I think about it now.) I also start my third semester of grad school. I find out during this time that one of my family member's marriage has fallen apart (to everyone's surprise) and that he has been having serious health and emotional problems.
October--September blurs into October. The tree has been removed, the fence repaired, but the first pool guy I called never really communicates with me, so then I get a new pool guy who replaces the cover. I finish my 8-week work session, so there is a week where I have to write and grade exams and calculate grades, turn in a project for the class I'm taking, and get ready to leave for Russia (I have also been tutoring twice a week for pretty much the course of this entire narrative.) I also need to prepare lesson plans for two weeks for my sub.During this week, there is an unseasonable evening of storms involving several tornado warnings, so spending two nights before I left grading papers in my basement until I go to my neighbor's house because I don't want to be alone if trees start to fall again. Finally, I leave for Russia. As October turns into November, I enjoy two wonderful weeks in St. Petersburg.
November--I return from Russia on a Sunday night, go to work on Monday, spend all day Tuesday finishing a project for a class on Tuesday night, send an e-mail to my Wednesday night teacher begging for mercy and a 24-hour extension for the project that is due Wednesday night (which he mercifully grants), attend class on Wednesday night, and spend all day and night Thursday finishing the Wednesday night project (thank God for digital Drop Boxes.) I promise, I had worked on these in Russia, but just didn't have everything I needed there.
Thanksgiving was pretty low-key, just the way I needed and wanted it.
December--Much scrambling to finish my work semester, my school semester, do some minimal Christmas shopping and decorating. My husband comes home for good (oh, and did I mention I had also been scrambling around rounding up & mailing various documents regarding his upcoming retirement and dealing with the [very annoying] relevant investment company [which I can't write about too much, or I will burst into flames]). Christmas was lovely, but I have pretty much been spending the last several days sleeping or reading my library books...ones I checked out to read for FUN.
Also, sometime during these months, my washer broke, my oven is usable but has developed a problem that requires its replacement, and both panes of glass broke out of my side storm door during a windstorm.
In a week or so, it will all start up again, but my husband will be home. Yay! I told him next time he leaves again (which he might if he gets contract work during retirement) I want power of attorney and a condo. He said I can have them, but I will have to stop by the house once a week to check on the house. :-(
I must say, during this time, my oldest stepson and his wife and my next-door neighbors have been absolutely wonderful to me. Without them, these past few months would have been so much harder. It has been one of the most interesting years of my life, but I'm sort of glad to put it to bed.
Happy New Year!
Monday, December 31, 2007
Sunday, December 30, 2007
A thing that annoys me
I hate it when people call Banana Republic (the store) "Banana." It makes me unreasonably angry. That's all.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Where my cookies at?
I like the food here. I do. At the OK market, there is an an entire aisle devoted to sausage. You can also buy dumplings in bulk. These are a few (or a couple) of my favorite things. However, in my trips abroad, one thing has eluded me. That is, a proper noshing cookie.
There are all kinds of wonderful biscuit-type confections to have with tea and coffee, and they are wonderful for that purpose. My stepson's wife (and my very dear friend) and I both enjoy day-old baked goods for the same purpose. They have lost just enough moisture and have just the right consistency to accompany a hot beverage.
What I am talking about is the kind you sit in front of the TV with (not at the table, like a lady, where I have my tea and biscuits). They should be full of bad stuff, including perhaps, high-fructose corn syrup (by which I am horrified in all other products). I'm talking Chips Ahoy, Oreos, and proper ones that are sweet, sweet, sweet...not like the abominations I once had in China. I know they must be good to others too (the Chips Ahoy) because my Korean visitors last summer bought them and tried to bring them to a concert and I had to tell them it was not allowed--to my chagrin as well as theirs, I assured them. And, for supposedly not liking sweets, they sure filled my grocery cart up with Sugar Frosted Flakes and the like (to my delight, because then I got to eat them too.)
The cookies should be eaten right out of the bag or box with crumbs falling right into one's lap, and there should be much channel switching. It's best to settle on something on TV Land or Lifetime. (There is a Hallmark channel on the satellite system here that serves a similar purpose, but no proper cookies). Maybe I just need to do some more shopping and experimenting. For now, I shall just have another biscuit while I watch CNN International. (I have to stay here for now because I have a load of wash in progress.)
There are all kinds of wonderful biscuit-type confections to have with tea and coffee, and they are wonderful for that purpose. My stepson's wife (and my very dear friend) and I both enjoy day-old baked goods for the same purpose. They have lost just enough moisture and have just the right consistency to accompany a hot beverage.
What I am talking about is the kind you sit in front of the TV with (not at the table, like a lady, where I have my tea and biscuits). They should be full of bad stuff, including perhaps, high-fructose corn syrup (by which I am horrified in all other products). I'm talking Chips Ahoy, Oreos, and proper ones that are sweet, sweet, sweet...not like the abominations I once had in China. I know they must be good to others too (the Chips Ahoy) because my Korean visitors last summer bought them and tried to bring them to a concert and I had to tell them it was not allowed--to my chagrin as well as theirs, I assured them. And, for supposedly not liking sweets, they sure filled my grocery cart up with Sugar Frosted Flakes and the like (to my delight, because then I got to eat them too.)
The cookies should be eaten right out of the bag or box with crumbs falling right into one's lap, and there should be much channel switching. It's best to settle on something on TV Land or Lifetime. (There is a Hallmark channel on the satellite system here that serves a similar purpose, but no proper cookies). Maybe I just need to do some more shopping and experimenting. For now, I shall just have another biscuit while I watch CNN International. (I have to stay here for now because I have a load of wash in progress.)
Monday, October 29, 2007
How do they look at themselves in the mirror?
Well, I'm going off the travel topic for this post. From time to time, I check my e-mail, and because of various discussion lists I'm on, there will be job postings for either ESL teachers or librarians. After they go through a lengthy list of qualifications for the job, always including a Master's Degree and experience, one often discovers the job is part-time for something like 16-21 dollars an hour. Now, I think the ESL teachers are harder to come by than the librarians (where I live, at least) but seriously, don't they feel bad about asking for that in return for what they're willing to give? It's one of the (many) reasons I decided not to pursue my MA in TESOL. At the university nearby, it even said on the Web site the last time I checked it that it's a pretty sure bet you'll be working part time unless you want to arrange conferences and such. At least in the library world, there's some chance of working full time, although I know that situation has many drawbacks as well right now. Why would someone pursue a master's in an area in which there is little chance of making a living wage (or salary?) And it's one of the areas in education in which there is a shortage of qualified teachers. Aren't these people in education and ESL going to conferences every two minutes? It seems like they could get together and work out the faulty logic on this one.
Some tourist-y stuff, some everyday stuff
I have now visited The Hermitage, seen Madame Butterfly at the Mariinsky Theater, and gone inside The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood.
I have also gone grocery shopping at what is known in American retail jargon as a "hypermarket," (kind of what Americans might call a superstore). In other words, one of those stores in which you can buy clothing, groceries, tires, etc. Also, last night, we went to an Azerbajian (Azerbajiani?) restaurant, and I had something delicious called Chicken Sadj. I'm not sure if it is an Azerbajian or Russian dish because I think the restaurant offered both. It had chicken, eggplant, potatoes, green peppers, tomatoes, and apples. It was served on a wok-type thing with fire in the middle, and that was set upon a little bucket of coals.
This was a somewhat masculine place (although women were there) with lots of men smoking, a few drinking, and watching the soccer game. I don't particularly like cigarette smoke and at home would avoid it, but I liked the earthiness of this place. It made me feel like I was somplace different, and that is why one travels, right? Except, like everywhere, they played a lot of American music.
I said to my husband that it's kind of hard not to feel cocky, even when you know it's wrong and obnoxious, when almost everywhere you go you can find your language spoken and "your" music playing; you can also find your fast food restaurants. I'm sure that's more about marketing than anything else, but it does make it hard not to feel a little smug. Of course, in the USA, we are influenced by so many cultures, it is hard to claim one as our very own.
The Hermitage was wonderful, but overwhelming. It used to be the Winter Palace (at least part of it), from 1744-1762 the official residence of the Imperial family. There are many aspects to it and I will go back again, I think. There is so much art there to see, it seems impossible for any to be left for any other museum in the world. We were on the third floor (19th and 20th Century art) when the place just started closing; no anoouncement, just the people who sit in chairs in each of the rooms got up, started turning off lights, getting their coats on, etc. We were getting a little panicky heading out looking for exits, lights going off either ahead of us or behind us as we retraced our path through every room. When we got to the first floor, there were lots of visitors there just leaving and that was a relief. On the second and third floors i think we were starting to get worried about getting locked in there.
Madame Butterfly was fine, but I preferred the ballet. It is just too hard for me as a modern western woman to buy into the story. You're going to marry me, go off with the fleet, come back a few years later with an American wife and ask me to hand my child over, and I'm going to do it and kill myself? Oh, hell no. In my version, there would be a very Springer-like ending, but I guess that is not the stuff of great art now, is it?
I'm so glad we went into the Church on Spilled Blood. The church outside is very colorful and lovely, but the inside is amazing. There are walls and walls of incredible mosaics depicting Biblical scenes as well as gorgeous woodwork. The place had been damaged by war and had been used as a warehouse, I think for an opera company in later years, but has been beautifully restored. It's not a big place at which one necessarily spends a lot of time, but it is breathtaking. Near the gift shop area, there is a wall of photos which document its restoration. It is heartbreaking to see the damage it once suffered.
Of course, the worst cost of war is always the human cost in terms of lives and injuries to both body and soul. However, seeing what it does to the remarkable achievements of human beings also makes one shudder. Of course, it is easier to resrore a building than a person, but still requires great cost and commitment.
When I travel, I'm happy if I get to experience the "everydayness" of life, so I really enjoy things like trips to the grocery store. Although some things are written in English, most products had Cyrillic script labels so one either buys products that are instantly recognizable by the pictures, or by categorizing them with the other products in the aisle. When I first got here, I almost made myself a peanut butter and tomato sauce sandwich, because the jars in the fridge were about the same size and the inside seemed to be about the same consistency and color. In fact, I had the first smear of "jelly" on the peanut butter when I thought the aroma of it seemed unusually rich and tomato-ey.
My conditioner, a brand I sometimes use at home, is written on in Cyrillic script, mostly, but in English promises me "Respect and Balance." I get balance, but respect? Wow. Who knew? It's about damn time I got a little respect from my hair...and all for a few rubles. I'm going to try to back-translate it to see what they were going for. I'm guessing something similar to "control."
I have also gone grocery shopping at what is known in American retail jargon as a "hypermarket," (kind of what Americans might call a superstore). In other words, one of those stores in which you can buy clothing, groceries, tires, etc. Also, last night, we went to an Azerbajian (Azerbajiani?) restaurant, and I had something delicious called Chicken Sadj. I'm not sure if it is an Azerbajian or Russian dish because I think the restaurant offered both. It had chicken, eggplant, potatoes, green peppers, tomatoes, and apples. It was served on a wok-type thing with fire in the middle, and that was set upon a little bucket of coals.
This was a somewhat masculine place (although women were there) with lots of men smoking, a few drinking, and watching the soccer game. I don't particularly like cigarette smoke and at home would avoid it, but I liked the earthiness of this place. It made me feel like I was somplace different, and that is why one travels, right? Except, like everywhere, they played a lot of American music.
I said to my husband that it's kind of hard not to feel cocky, even when you know it's wrong and obnoxious, when almost everywhere you go you can find your language spoken and "your" music playing; you can also find your fast food restaurants. I'm sure that's more about marketing than anything else, but it does make it hard not to feel a little smug. Of course, in the USA, we are influenced by so many cultures, it is hard to claim one as our very own.
The Hermitage was wonderful, but overwhelming. It used to be the Winter Palace (at least part of it), from 1744-1762 the official residence of the Imperial family. There are many aspects to it and I will go back again, I think. There is so much art there to see, it seems impossible for any to be left for any other museum in the world. We were on the third floor (19th and 20th Century art) when the place just started closing; no anoouncement, just the people who sit in chairs in each of the rooms got up, started turning off lights, getting their coats on, etc. We were getting a little panicky heading out looking for exits, lights going off either ahead of us or behind us as we retraced our path through every room. When we got to the first floor, there were lots of visitors there just leaving and that was a relief. On the second and third floors i think we were starting to get worried about getting locked in there.
Madame Butterfly was fine, but I preferred the ballet. It is just too hard for me as a modern western woman to buy into the story. You're going to marry me, go off with the fleet, come back a few years later with an American wife and ask me to hand my child over, and I'm going to do it and kill myself? Oh, hell no. In my version, there would be a very Springer-like ending, but I guess that is not the stuff of great art now, is it?
I'm so glad we went into the Church on Spilled Blood. The church outside is very colorful and lovely, but the inside is amazing. There are walls and walls of incredible mosaics depicting Biblical scenes as well as gorgeous woodwork. The place had been damaged by war and had been used as a warehouse, I think for an opera company in later years, but has been beautifully restored. It's not a big place at which one necessarily spends a lot of time, but it is breathtaking. Near the gift shop area, there is a wall of photos which document its restoration. It is heartbreaking to see the damage it once suffered.
Of course, the worst cost of war is always the human cost in terms of lives and injuries to both body and soul. However, seeing what it does to the remarkable achievements of human beings also makes one shudder. Of course, it is easier to resrore a building than a person, but still requires great cost and commitment.
When I travel, I'm happy if I get to experience the "everydayness" of life, so I really enjoy things like trips to the grocery store. Although some things are written in English, most products had Cyrillic script labels so one either buys products that are instantly recognizable by the pictures, or by categorizing them with the other products in the aisle. When I first got here, I almost made myself a peanut butter and tomato sauce sandwich, because the jars in the fridge were about the same size and the inside seemed to be about the same consistency and color. In fact, I had the first smear of "jelly" on the peanut butter when I thought the aroma of it seemed unusually rich and tomato-ey.
My conditioner, a brand I sometimes use at home, is written on in Cyrillic script, mostly, but in English promises me "Respect and Balance." I get balance, but respect? Wow. Who knew? It's about damn time I got a little respect from my hair...and all for a few rubles. I'm going to try to back-translate it to see what they were going for. I'm guessing something similar to "control."
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
More from St. Petersburg
On Monday, we went to a bridge near the Church of the
Savior on Spilled Blood. As we approached the bridge, my husband told me that there was usually a wedding party there having pictures taken. Sure enough, there were two wedding parties. Another thing he told me that happens there is that the groom picks up the bride and carries her across the bridge. We saw them do that too.
I did ask him "Who gets married on a Monday?" and he told me just about any day he has come here, no matter what day of the week, there has been a wedding.
The brides' dresses were a bit more ornate than most of the dresses that are currently popular in the USA. They looked beautiful,though, and because it was a cold day, they wore little faux fur jackets with their dresses. The bridesmaids, though, had full-on parkas over their bridesmaids' gowns which surprised me a bit, because people have struck me as rather fashionable. The parka/ gown combo made me feel right at home. (Although we will generally take it up a notch for a wedding--at least the ladies). They looked pretty impatient with the picture taking; everyone's teeth were chattering.
We went to a restaurant featuring Russian food that evening and I had Solyanka, a sweet/sour/spicy soup which the server described as having pickled cucumbers and "meat." There was some sausage in it, and some other diced meat. It was actually pretty tasty, served with a side container of sour cream. I will eat a lot of things if I am given sour cream to have with them. Plus my time in China has made me pretty adventurous regarding meat. Eat it now, ask questions later. If ever. Need to know basis. It was good, though. I will try to make it at home.
Last night we went to the Mariinsky Ballet and Opera Theater to see the ballet The Sleeping Beauty. It was a great ballet, but long. There were three intermissions which I think must have been 15-20 minutes each. The dancing was wonderful and amazing; the costumes were gorgeous. The theater is elegant with gold-leaf and crystal chandeliers and those curtained boxes like you see in old movies.The domed ceiling had a painting and a frieze (I think) around the painting. On Friday, we will go there again to see the opera Madama Butterfly.
We tried to go to the Hermitage today but we got there too late to buy tickets (having slept late after the late night at the ballet, then being too wound up to go to sleep right away.) I think we will try to go tomorrow.
(If you have left me a comment, it will show up soon...just as soon as I can get this Cyrillic alphabet down pat, and perhaps a Russian/English dictionary so I know whether I'm saying to allow or disallow it. The unfamiliar characters are messing with my spatial memory so I can't remember which side means what.)
Savior on Spilled Blood. As we approached the bridge, my husband told me that there was usually a wedding party there having pictures taken. Sure enough, there were two wedding parties. Another thing he told me that happens there is that the groom picks up the bride and carries her across the bridge. We saw them do that too.
I did ask him "Who gets married on a Monday?" and he told me just about any day he has come here, no matter what day of the week, there has been a wedding.
The brides' dresses were a bit more ornate than most of the dresses that are currently popular in the USA. They looked beautiful,though, and because it was a cold day, they wore little faux fur jackets with their dresses. The bridesmaids, though, had full-on parkas over their bridesmaids' gowns which surprised me a bit, because people have struck me as rather fashionable. The parka/ gown combo made me feel right at home. (Although we will generally take it up a notch for a wedding--at least the ladies). They looked pretty impatient with the picture taking; everyone's teeth were chattering.
We went to a restaurant featuring Russian food that evening and I had Solyanka, a sweet/sour/spicy soup which the server described as having pickled cucumbers and "meat." There was some sausage in it, and some other diced meat. It was actually pretty tasty, served with a side container of sour cream. I will eat a lot of things if I am given sour cream to have with them. Plus my time in China has made me pretty adventurous regarding meat. Eat it now, ask questions later. If ever. Need to know basis. It was good, though. I will try to make it at home.
Last night we went to the Mariinsky Ballet and Opera Theater to see the ballet The Sleeping Beauty. It was a great ballet, but long. There were three intermissions which I think must have been 15-20 minutes each. The dancing was wonderful and amazing; the costumes were gorgeous. The theater is elegant with gold-leaf and crystal chandeliers and those curtained boxes like you see in old movies.The domed ceiling had a painting and a frieze (I think) around the painting. On Friday, we will go there again to see the opera Madama Butterfly.
We tried to go to the Hermitage today but we got there too late to buy tickets (having slept late after the late night at the ballet, then being too wound up to go to sleep right away.) I think we will try to go tomorrow.
(If you have left me a comment, it will show up soon...just as soon as I can get this Cyrillic alphabet down pat, and perhaps a Russian/English dictionary so I know whether I'm saying to allow or disallow it. The unfamiliar characters are messing with my spatial memory so I can't remember which side means what.)
Monday, October 22, 2007
Greetings from St. Petersburg!
OK, we're going to try this and see what happens. First of all, for some reason, I was surprised to log on to Blogger and see everything in Russian, including my profile. Since I can't read Cyrillic, i'm just sort of clicking spaces by memory and figuring out what to do from the graphics I recognize.
I left Saturday and arrived here yesterday (Sunday). It was amazing to ride into St. Petersburg and see how different everything suddenly looked compared to everything on the outskirts. It's quite lovely here with amazing architecture. I haven't visited anywhere yet; I just took a walk with my husband at night in which he tried to orient me a bit, but between jet lag and general confusion I experience when I travel, that just wasn't happening yet.
In addition to the trip, I had just experienced the busiest week of my life. I had a group project including presentation due in my School Media Specialist class on Wednesday night. I had to prepare final exams for my grammar and reading classes, correct those, and calculate and turn in my final grades before I left. I also had to leave plans for Molly, the teacher who is subbing for me for two weeks, as well as syllabi for those courses because it's now the beginning of that session. That's in addition to preparations I had to make for the trip, including some items I had to round up for my husband (among them,half-inch sticky dots, which I thought would be the easiest thing...but no. Quarter-inch, three-quarters, no problem, but half-inch proved more elusive).
The biggest thing I noticed is that the majority of people walking about in the evening seemed young, fit, and very nicely dressed, so I was glad it was kind of dark because I was looking very travel-weary and not young, fit, nor particualarly nicely dressed (having pretty much been wearing the same thing for almost 24 hours and just too damn tired to change.)
The place we are staying is within walking distance of the Hermitage (I have now seen the exterior) and some historical churches. There were some people singing in the street when we took a walk, and my husband tells me that's not unusual. I heard some music playing as we passed one building. It was American: What a Wonderful World, which I had actually heard on the radio in the apartment earlier.
I am kind of proud of this: this is the second time I met my husband somewhere, flying on my own. This is the kind of thing that used to be very anxiety-provoking for me. It still is a bit, but not nearly as much as it used to be. I've discovered there are very predictable events in terms of the flight (although I made a point of selecting a flight that connected in Amsterdam rather than Paris since I have now been in that airport. That results in similar meals, etc.) once I have actually visited some places, I will update.
(About my last strange, out-of-context entry: I was trying to show my brother how to set up a blog so he will stop sending 10,000 e-mails a week. Someday I will modify and contextualize it).
I left Saturday and arrived here yesterday (Sunday). It was amazing to ride into St. Petersburg and see how different everything suddenly looked compared to everything on the outskirts. It's quite lovely here with amazing architecture. I haven't visited anywhere yet; I just took a walk with my husband at night in which he tried to orient me a bit, but between jet lag and general confusion I experience when I travel, that just wasn't happening yet.
In addition to the trip, I had just experienced the busiest week of my life. I had a group project including presentation due in my School Media Specialist class on Wednesday night. I had to prepare final exams for my grammar and reading classes, correct those, and calculate and turn in my final grades before I left. I also had to leave plans for Molly, the teacher who is subbing for me for two weeks, as well as syllabi for those courses because it's now the beginning of that session. That's in addition to preparations I had to make for the trip, including some items I had to round up for my husband (among them,half-inch sticky dots, which I thought would be the easiest thing...but no. Quarter-inch, three-quarters, no problem, but half-inch proved more elusive).
The biggest thing I noticed is that the majority of people walking about in the evening seemed young, fit, and very nicely dressed, so I was glad it was kind of dark because I was looking very travel-weary and not young, fit, nor particualarly nicely dressed (having pretty much been wearing the same thing for almost 24 hours and just too damn tired to change.)
The place we are staying is within walking distance of the Hermitage (I have now seen the exterior) and some historical churches. There were some people singing in the street when we took a walk, and my husband tells me that's not unusual. I heard some music playing as we passed one building. It was American: What a Wonderful World, which I had actually heard on the radio in the apartment earlier.
I am kind of proud of this: this is the second time I met my husband somewhere, flying on my own. This is the kind of thing that used to be very anxiety-provoking for me. It still is a bit, but not nearly as much as it used to be. I've discovered there are very predictable events in terms of the flight (although I made a point of selecting a flight that connected in Amsterdam rather than Paris since I have now been in that airport. That results in similar meals, etc.) once I have actually visited some places, I will update.
(About my last strange, out-of-context entry: I was trying to show my brother how to set up a blog so he will stop sending 10,000 e-mails a week. Someday I will modify and contextualize it).
Saturday, September 22, 2007
My brother's here!
My brother is visiting me today after his participation in the
Michigan Remembers Run.
Michigan Remembers Run.
Friday, August 10, 2007
My "American" need for water and space
I've been going through this identity process the past year or so of determining how I am "American." I found myself in the fall starting to become very frustrated (after having done this kind of work off and on for over 15 years) dealing with the cultural differences I encounter daily in my job, whereas in the past I had usually been delighted or charmed by them. My friend Pat, who has studied and still spends time examining intercultural communication, assured me this is a very normal part of the process and helps one to establish the values, customs, ideals, etc. that are truly held dear, rather than the ones just taken for granted because that's the way everyone else seems to operate.
Now I've just returned from a trip to Amsterdam which I loved, loved, loved. There were many international tourists there, as well as locals, of course. Because I enjoyed the trip so much, the things I didn't like stood out.
One was that I was so thirsty all the time. I was when I went to China several years ago as well. I'm not a Big Gulp-swilling American, but I do like to drink lots of water with my meals, perhaps along with another beverage. In most restaurants in Amsterdam they won't give you tap water but want you to buy bottled water. If you order something like iced tea (which, unless I'm in the south, I always drink unsweetened), it comes in a teeny-tiny (albeit adorable) bottle, often carbonated and sweetened. (And I know I'm lucky to be getting iced tea at all.) I found myself ordering beer more often just because it comes in more generous portions. (Unfortunately, I will too now.)
The other thing that makes me crazy (and did in China)is being jostled or bumped without the jostler/bumper saying "excuse me" or "sorry" or "pardon" (in whatever language). Intellectually, I understand this doesn't happen everywhere, for a variety of reasons. (And I should point out, it was accompanied from time to time with an apology.) But...but...it SHOULD. I understand my "bubble" and I understand that, being somewhat claustrophobic, this might bother me more than most. When it is accompanied by an apology, though, I can physically feel my agitation subside.
When my husband gets the photos loaded on our computer, I'll write about how truly fun it was. This American identity issue has really resonated for me these past several months, so I'll write about it more in other posts.
Now I've just returned from a trip to Amsterdam which I loved, loved, loved. There were many international tourists there, as well as locals, of course. Because I enjoyed the trip so much, the things I didn't like stood out.
One was that I was so thirsty all the time. I was when I went to China several years ago as well. I'm not a Big Gulp-swilling American, but I do like to drink lots of water with my meals, perhaps along with another beverage. In most restaurants in Amsterdam they won't give you tap water but want you to buy bottled water. If you order something like iced tea (which, unless I'm in the south, I always drink unsweetened), it comes in a teeny-tiny (albeit adorable) bottle, often carbonated and sweetened. (And I know I'm lucky to be getting iced tea at all.) I found myself ordering beer more often just because it comes in more generous portions. (Unfortunately, I will too now.)
The other thing that makes me crazy (and did in China)is being jostled or bumped without the jostler/bumper saying "excuse me" or "sorry" or "pardon" (in whatever language). Intellectually, I understand this doesn't happen everywhere, for a variety of reasons. (And I should point out, it was accompanied from time to time with an apology.) But...but...it SHOULD. I understand my "bubble" and I understand that, being somewhat claustrophobic, this might bother me more than most. When it is accompanied by an apology, though, I can physically feel my agitation subside.
When my husband gets the photos loaded on our computer, I'll write about how truly fun it was. This American identity issue has really resonated for me these past several months, so I'll write about it more in other posts.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Enjoying our visitors
Life has been very busy lately, but in a good way. On Friday night through Monday morning, I hosted two young Korean women for a weekend home stay. Our college just hosted eighteen visiting university students and their chaperone, and they were among those visitors.
We frequently have visitors from other countries in our department, but I haven't been involved with them before. In fact, usually I'm unaware or only vaguely aware of their presence. This time, though, I taught an ESL class for them, accompanied them on one of their field trips, and hosted the two young women. They also invited me to help judge a "food festival," a team cooking contest they had at their residential-style hotel.
It was so much fun for me that even though I've been very busy with my job, classes, and homework and holding down the fort while my husband is away (more about that in a future post) I feel like I've been on kind of a vacation. (Not one of the restful kinds, like lying on a Mexican beach--rather, one of the busy and stimulating kinds, like going to Washington D.C. or Disney World.)
They are flying home as I write this, and I will miss them. I hope they will send me some photos, since I didn't take any, and if they do, I will post them here. I'll also write about some of the things I did both with the young women and with the class, whether or not I get some photographs.
We frequently have visitors from other countries in our department, but I haven't been involved with them before. In fact, usually I'm unaware or only vaguely aware of their presence. This time, though, I taught an ESL class for them, accompanied them on one of their field trips, and hosted the two young women. They also invited me to help judge a "food festival," a team cooking contest they had at their residential-style hotel.
It was so much fun for me that even though I've been very busy with my job, classes, and homework and holding down the fort while my husband is away (more about that in a future post) I feel like I've been on kind of a vacation. (Not one of the restful kinds, like lying on a Mexican beach--rather, one of the busy and stimulating kinds, like going to Washington D.C. or Disney World.)
They are flying home as I write this, and I will miss them. I hope they will send me some photos, since I didn't take any, and if they do, I will post them here. I'll also write about some of the things I did both with the young women and with the class, whether or not I get some photographs.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Hipper librarians
This New York Times article has been circulated on several listservs I’m on, as well as e-mailed to me by my son. It discusses the "hipper" new librarians, and I guess that’s a good thing. I still find it concerning in terms of this being a mid-life career change for me. I couldn’t really pull off "hip" when I was young, so I doubt that’s going to get easier now.
I guess the age discrimination thing goes both ways, though. Here is a letter from a woman who feel she is experiencing age discrimination in the job market, and another from someone who feels she is having trouble because of her youthful appearance. I guess the thing to do would be to take the "do" advice from one of them, and interchange them in order to have "don’t" advice.
If all else fails, I guess I’ll have to get a tattoo, or at least get something besides my ears pierced. I always thought that eyebrow thing looked kind of cute.
I guess the age discrimination thing goes both ways, though. Here is a letter from a woman who feel she is experiencing age discrimination in the job market, and another from someone who feels she is having trouble because of her youthful appearance. I guess the thing to do would be to take the "do" advice from one of them, and interchange them in order to have "don’t" advice.
If all else fails, I guess I’ll have to get a tattoo, or at least get something besides my ears pierced. I always thought that eyebrow thing looked kind of cute.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Still willing to learn
I had originally decided the theme of this blog was going to be issues of middle age, and had sort of let some of that go. I felt like I was sometimes looking for trouble where perhaps none existed in terms of age discrimination and stereotypes.
Now, though, with library school, I am making a significant investment of time and money, and I truly feel that some of the things I’m observing and hearing will be detrimental to me in tangible ways.
For example, in my Reference class on Saturday, the head of the library consortium in my state was a guest speaker. Although rather youthful looking, the references/dates he referred to indicated he is probably just a couple years older than me.
He referred to things such as blogs, wikis, Second Life, and social networking sites, and when he did, he mentioned that much younger colleagues were more involved in that. He would say things like "That’s not my demo." This is a person who has worked very hard and achieved great things in terms of libraries in our state. However, in addition to alluding that the aforementioned items were "young people" things, he also mentioned some things he wanted to do before he retired, went to the Caribbean, etc.
He certainly deserves that, but I’m not ready for that. I feel I have at least a good twenty years of working life left, God willing, if not more. I feel I’ve finally collected enough experiences in which to attach new knowledge. I meet many young people who, in addition to their very hard work, have lived much more privileged lives than my young life was. I had to collect some of their experiences later in life. Now I’m ready to use my collected experience and knowledge to latch onto some new experience and knowledge.
Also, I know what all of the things he mentioned are and try to involve myself in most of them at least minimally, just because I like to know what everybody’s talking about. I don’t like it when other people (of all ages) spread the misconception that people my age and older are doddering idiots who can’t press a few computer keys, ask a few questions, read a few articles and books and figure out what’s what.
I will also sometimes hear younger people talk about older people and attribute difficulties they experience with them in the workplace (or wherever) to their age. Uh, no…they were probably change-resistant, inflexible, domineering control freaks (or whatever their problem is) even when they were young.
More later.
Now, though, with library school, I am making a significant investment of time and money, and I truly feel that some of the things I’m observing and hearing will be detrimental to me in tangible ways.
For example, in my Reference class on Saturday, the head of the library consortium in my state was a guest speaker. Although rather youthful looking, the references/dates he referred to indicated he is probably just a couple years older than me.
He referred to things such as blogs, wikis, Second Life, and social networking sites, and when he did, he mentioned that much younger colleagues were more involved in that. He would say things like "That’s not my demo." This is a person who has worked very hard and achieved great things in terms of libraries in our state. However, in addition to alluding that the aforementioned items were "young people" things, he also mentioned some things he wanted to do before he retired, went to the Caribbean, etc.
He certainly deserves that, but I’m not ready for that. I feel I have at least a good twenty years of working life left, God willing, if not more. I feel I’ve finally collected enough experiences in which to attach new knowledge. I meet many young people who, in addition to their very hard work, have lived much more privileged lives than my young life was. I had to collect some of their experiences later in life. Now I’m ready to use my collected experience and knowledge to latch onto some new experience and knowledge.
Also, I know what all of the things he mentioned are and try to involve myself in most of them at least minimally, just because I like to know what everybody’s talking about. I don’t like it when other people (of all ages) spread the misconception that people my age and older are doddering idiots who can’t press a few computer keys, ask a few questions, read a few articles and books and figure out what’s what.
I will also sometimes hear younger people talk about older people and attribute difficulties they experience with them in the workplace (or wherever) to their age. Uh, no…they were probably change-resistant, inflexible, domineering control freaks (or whatever their problem is) even when they were young.
More later.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Gascony Beef Stew
This stew will make you want to live again on a bitter, cold, gray day in Michigan in February (or March, or April, or May). I had misplaced the recipe, but found my Christmas folder in a half-hearted attempt at cleaning my desk. My husband likes to bake it, after it has been prepared on the stove top, in a covered cast-iron pan. Be very careful, though. There might be some leakage into your oven, and the lid might stick to the pan, so you must let it cool before you pry it off. It's also very heavy. Served over mashed potatoes, though, (the original recipe suggested egg noodles, but I like potatoes) this is the ultimate comfort food. (Stephanie, I hope you find this.)
Gascony Beef Stew
1/2 pound bacon, sliced
3 cups (about 3 medium) onions, chopped
3 cups (about 1 1/4 lbs.) carrots, cut into bite-sized pieces
4 garlic cloves, bruised
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon sage
2 bay leaves, crumbled
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
6 pounds beef chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups white wine
1/4 cup brandy
3 cups beef broth
2 cans diced tomatoes
Cook bacon in skillet over moderate heat until crisp. Drain and crumble. In large bowl combine bacon with onions, carrots, garlic, thyme, sage, bay leaves, salt and pepper.
Line bottom of 8 to 10 quart oven-proof casserole or Dutch oven with 1 cup vegetable mixture. Shake beef cubes in flour. layer half the beef over vegetables in casserole, placing cubes close together. Strew half the remaining vegetables over beef. Continue layering with remaining beef (adding all flour) and vegetables, and end with the vegetables.
Preheat oven to 325 F. pour wine, brandy, broth and tomatoes over stew. Add water, if necessary, to cover. Bring to a simmer on top of stove. Cover and place in oven; bake 3 hours. (Can be made ahead. Cool to room temperature; cover and freeze in freezer-proof container up to 4 weeks. Thaw at room temperature 4 hours. reheat in 350 F oven until bubbling, about 1 1/2 hours.) Makes 16 servings, about 435 calories each.
Gascony Beef Stew
1/2 pound bacon, sliced
3 cups (about 3 medium) onions, chopped
3 cups (about 1 1/4 lbs.) carrots, cut into bite-sized pieces
4 garlic cloves, bruised
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon sage
2 bay leaves, crumbled
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
6 pounds beef chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups white wine
1/4 cup brandy
3 cups beef broth
2 cans diced tomatoes
Cook bacon in skillet over moderate heat until crisp. Drain and crumble. In large bowl combine bacon with onions, carrots, garlic, thyme, sage, bay leaves, salt and pepper.
Line bottom of 8 to 10 quart oven-proof casserole or Dutch oven with 1 cup vegetable mixture. Shake beef cubes in flour. layer half the beef over vegetables in casserole, placing cubes close together. Strew half the remaining vegetables over beef. Continue layering with remaining beef (adding all flour) and vegetables, and end with the vegetables.
Preheat oven to 325 F. pour wine, brandy, broth and tomatoes over stew. Add water, if necessary, to cover. Bring to a simmer on top of stove. Cover and place in oven; bake 3 hours. (Can be made ahead. Cool to room temperature; cover and freeze in freezer-proof container up to 4 weeks. Thaw at room temperature 4 hours. reheat in 350 F oven until bubbling, about 1 1/2 hours.) Makes 16 servings, about 435 calories each.
Monday, March 26, 2007
"Read and release" your books
I just saw this website: I'm going to print some labels and do this before I donate my books.
What a great idea!
What a great idea!
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Web 2.0 ... The Machine is Us/ing Us
This is scary, poetic, hypnotic and informative...and a couple of lessons worth of Library and Information Science.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Why I finally applied for library school
I applied to library school because of a Unitarian message from God. I had been thinking about this for a long time, had done some considerable checking online into the program I was interested in, and requested some materials to be mailed to me. This stuff was sitting around my house, and I would look at it from time to time and not do anything about it. Then I read Dana's blog one day and she had posted a list of Web comic links. One was Unshelved, which had a post that linked to Questionable Content, and there I saw it: a t-shirt that says "She blinded me with Library Science." And I thought, "I. Must. Have it." However, if I ordered this shirt, having no connection to library science, I would be a poseur. I, therefore, applied for the program. And now, ironically, I have no time to read books or visit libraries, unless as part of one of my many assignments.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
New beginnings (and I can finally blog again!)
I had been unable to post for several days after I switched to the new Blogger (after having simply neglected my blog for several months). Whenever I tried to post, I would get the "unable to complete your request" message. It looks as things have been repaired, though, and I'm looking forward to learning how to use the new features. The most exciting thing happening right now, is, after lo, these many years, I am starting graduate school! I will be studying for a Master's degree in Library and Information Science, so I plan to learn to actually use the wonderful technology that's available. I'm starting slowly, with one class which begins tonight, so I'm still enthusiastic. Once the actual work begins, I'm sure I will be less enthusiastic, but I am nevertheless committed. Next time I will write about the odd set of circumstances which actually inspired me to finally apply for the program.
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