Detox

Day One
Weight: 236 pounds
Body Fat 25 percent (according to our crappy scale, which I don't trust one bit).

Breakfast: Lemon juice in hot water, fruit shake with rice protein powder and flax.

Snack: Fruit shake, mint blend tea

Lunch: Brown rice, brocolli rabe with tumeric and garlic, vegetable broth, carrot juice, and a mango.

Thoughts: It is strange going from eating for pleasure to eating for fuel/nutrients. I mean generally my diet involves a combination of the two. I find it sad when the highlight food of your day has been brown rice - I did think that before I had the mango, which was pretty good.

In fact, after lunch, my exact thoughts were: "that was unpleasant."

I do feel a little "spacy" and fatigued but not as bad as I thought I would. So far I have not experienced the "coffee withdrawal headache".

The only other thought I have had is that I have noticed how unsweet everything tastes. I already knew that I have an adiction to sugar and sweets. I am just realizing how sweet foods dominate most of my diet.

I don't know for how long we will keep this up, but we have planned for a week. We'll see how it goes.

Concerts

Friday night we went to a concert. We saw Gogol Bordello, which is a difficult band to describe - they refer to themselves as Gypsy Punk. Opening for them were Reverend Glasseye and Throw Rag. I liked the first band a lot. They were quite original and the bass player was excellent. The second band was not my cup of tea - too punk without the angst.

I like Gogol Bordello a lot, but I did not enjoy the concert. I guess it is because I am a stiff square. First, it was generally too loud. Second, the bass overpowered all the other instruments - which are worth hearing. But the most annoying thing is the people. I don't enjoy having to shove drunk people off of me or have them spill their drinks on me. In a certain sense, it is interesting to watch if you can distance yourself enough. There was one guy who was barely standing flopping around like a fish. It seemed like he was alone. What drives someone to that state and that behavior. There was another woman, who also seemed to be alone, who seemed to be having orgasms to the music.

We have tickets to another concert: Bloc Party. We will probably also go to Bauhaus in November. I was thinking of going to see Rusted Root in October - I would have to go on my own because Sara doesn't like them all that much. However, after the experience on Friday I am having second thoughts. I am not sure why I can't enjoy concerts like other people. Everyone else seemed to be having fun. Oh well...

Thank you all for the kind comments and words of encouragement.

For those of you who would like a Guayabera - Merida is the place to get them. Make sure that they are made out of cotton or linen, though. One of mine is really nice, but it is part polyester and it is really warm - not good for the weather they were intended to be worn in.

While they were traditionally for men, women look good in them too. Sara has one and although she has not worn it recently, she looks good in it.

The syllabus is done for now. Thankfully. I might tweak it a bit here and there, but I have the semester schedule laid out and the readings picked out. I now need to copy all the bits and pieces of books I am using to make the reader for the course. That is yet another tedious activity. I will be going into the department to do that tomorrow.

Going into the department is not that easy - it is about a 40 minute drive (at least an hour during rush hour). It is not that it is that far - probably about seven or eight miles. It is just the way Boston is laid out, there isn't an easy way to get there. Public transportation is not that useful either, although that may be an option once the semester starts (tomorrow I will be lugging many books with me, so the car it is). At least I can read or do something on my way there and back. If anyone wants to get me an iPod, I could also listen to recorded books - didn't think so.

I guess that is the price to pay after my "commute" last year, which was about 300 yards. Of course, my commute to my sweetie was about 3,000 miles. Not good.

Time to clear my head before I go to bed.

The interview was draining. I don't like interviews and I particularly don't like them in the summer when it is hot. I decided against dressing up - I wore a guayabera instead.

I think the interview itself went well and I think they were desperate to get someone to teach this class in the fall. However, the course is scheduled for the exact same time as the course I am already teaching. I asked about changing the time the course meets, but apparently the students at this very technical school (MIT), schedule their courses years in advance. So changing it would throw things off.

I asked the chair at the other university whether that course could be changed, but alas it cannot. So I will miss out on the opportunity to teach what seemed to be a fun class, to get some good experience, and to earn some extra $$$. It's all rather disappointing.

In my other activity, namely finishing off the syllabus for the course I am teaching, I am struggling in getting the reading load to something which the students can handle. I am having to cut out some fun, but lengthy, readings in favor of the more substantial ones. I also need to decide which films I am going to use. It is a tough task - everything needs to fit in neatly.

Sara is slogging through her last week of epidemiology and biostatistics. Despite the strain on her stamina and mental clarity these courses have placed on her, she has been wonderfully supportive. I will be happy when she is done with the classes and she is once again a little more lucid, though. I myself need to find some clarity too. I, however, have no excuse for my spaciness. Just the way I am, I guess...

I have an interview tomorrow to teach an extra course at a different university. I guess you could call it academic moonlighting. Some extra cash would be nice.

The strange thing is that the person I am meeting with is someone whose paper I read at a conference when she was unable to attend. She was part of a session Sara organized. At the last minute she could not make it and Sara asked me if I would read her paper during the conference.

This opportunity and interview popped up pretty quickly - maybe it is some kind of karmic thing.

I have also been working on the syllabus for the Latino course. It is a lot of work - tiring too. I think I have most of the readings set. I need to put in an order for the books and make photo copies for the course reader.

Random complaint: Is anyone else as annoyed as I am about the excessive coverage of that missing girl in Aruba?

I really wish I could go sailing. It's a great way to clear the mind.

I am going to give accupuncture a shot. Details to come...

My massage is still waiting for me.

Time for bed.

This Gay Marriage thing is for the Birds

Even birds are flocking to Massachusetts to take advantage of the gay marriage thing. Just read:

August 12, 2005 - It turns out there's a good reason why the eggs from Boston's famed Public Garden swans aren't hatching -- both birds are female.

Named Romeo and Juliet, the birds are star attractions at the park. The city went as far to name them after Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers.

However, tests have confirmed they are both female. In fact the tests were done months ago but park officials waited to announce the results. Says one spokeswoman "why spoil the fairy tale?" (Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Please pitty me, living in such an amoral place where even the animals are deviant!

Random Thoughts

• I am tired.
• I have been working on editing an article Sara and I wrote together. It is being published in Europe, so I need to change all the formating to the British style. It is tedious work.
• My shoulders hurt and I can feel the tension work its way from my neck through my shoulders down to my arms. I need a massage - badly.
• I also would like to learn self-hypnosis. It seems fascinating...
• Although I don't know if my mind is the kind that would release to a hypnotic state. It is always running - I don't know where, but it is running.
• Zephyr keeps getting ticks. Zeus has had three ticks the whole time we have had him. I don't know what his secret is. If he doesn't want to share it with me, he should at least pass it on to Zephyr. It is unpleasant pulling those little buggers off of her.
• I have been reading a lot lately. I like it, but I find it tiring. Or maybe I am just tired and I am noticing it as I read. Dunno...
• I should read more. It is good for me.
• I should exercise more too. I don't think walking the dogs is enough. There is a yoga studio a few blocks away, but I have yet to get off my behind and head down there.
• I don't know why, but I am craving Brazilian food...and a good caipirihna.
• This month's Harper's magazine has some interesting articles in it - although they are also frustrating. Ask me for more details if you are interested.
  
• That's all for now.

If you really want to irritate someone (now why would anyone want to do that?), send them something registered mail at a time you know they are busy and won't be home very much.

We recently got a slip in our mailbox that said something to the tune of: Sorry we missed you, you have a registered envelope. You can either pick it up at your local post office or sign the slip and we will redeliver it, just tell us where to leave it.

Sara signed the slip (the slip said it was for her, but not who it was from), also wrote that I could sign for it, and we left it taped to our mailbox yesterday. Today I was extra vigilant for the postal carrier just in case he or she (it is usually a he) wanted someone to sign for it. Of course he came while I was occupied with some important business. I went outside and found the slip in our box with some extra scribbling saying that a signature was needed.

I ran all around our neighborhood looking for our postal carrier. This was particularly unpleasant because it was rather warm and humid today. I finally tracked him down. He said that not only did someone have to sign for it, that someone needed to pick it up from the post office. While I was annoyed that this information was not put on the slip in the first place, I put on a smile(you don't want to antagonize your mail carrier) and I asked him whether I could go or if Sara was the one who needed to go. He said I could go.

I should point out that Sara has been very stressed (for reasons I won't go into here, let me just say the words Biostatistics and Epidemiology) and not knowing what this was was just stressing her out more. Thus I was determined to get to the bottom of this. As this was unfolding, our power went out, creating other difficulties - but that is another story for another time.

I headed down to our post office and gave the overweight guy behind the counter the slip of paper. He asked for ID and disappeared for a rather long time. I saw him pop out one door and go into another. Finally he came out and said Sara had to come in to get it herself. Ugh!

When Sara got home this afternoon, I explained the saga to her and we decided to just go down to the post office there and then. This time it all worked out. The mysterious envelope? Some little thing Sara bought on eBay.

While I am at it, let me vent a little more:

• Why does the power go out right when you are in the middle of writing something important or just wrote down some brilliant idea on your computer? Moreover, how come the system saved version cut short right before this important thing or idea?
• Why does it take me five second to get one contact in and half an hour to get the other one in?
• And why do I get some trash in my eye an hour after said trial of getting the contact in? I swear a speck of dust feels like a boulder in your eye.

On the good news front, I found out today that a book I am reviewing for a publisher will get me either $150 or $200 worth of books from the publisher. I thought I was doing it for free (well, for professional advancement reasons, but no direct compensation).

Ok, I am tired and I have realized that I am babbling here so it is time to close up shop. Maybe I will go suck on a salted lime...

As I was making some guacamole today, I remembered one of my favorite snacks when I was a kid:

I would dip a lime in salt (and ground chile - de arbol, pequin, or similar - if it were available) and eat the flesh.

I was a weird child.

However, I just tried it again with a left-over lime. I still like it.

On the Agenda:

1. I sent my defense into the Town of Brookline today. It is nice that you can do it via mail. Thank you all for your comments. I did edit my letter and I drew a diagram to better illustrate my position.
2. I spent about half an hour on the phone today with my old phone company trying to get them to stop charging me a trivial amount of money. I cancelled my service in Washington on June 6. In the process they failed to cancel some long distance service charge that is $0.99 ($1.21 after all the taxes/service charges)/month. Things like this are just so irritating!
3. I can't wait until fall. I am sick of the hot and humid weather!
4. However, I am running out of time to complete all the things that were scheduled to "get done over the summer"... [gasp]
   
5. I am reading Always Running by Luis Rodriguez. It is an amazing story, gripping and chilling. I am defintely using this book in my course.
6. On the menu for tonight: pesto genovese with basil from our porch. Yum! Off to make it...
   

Parking Ticket Saga...

Here is my defense:

August 5, 2005

Parking Clerk
Town of Brookline
P.O. Box 470708
Brookline, MA 02447-0708

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing to contest the parking citation I received on August 2, 2005 for unpaid meter at 1295 Beacon Street. The spot at which I was parked does not have a meter.

As illustrated by the attached photographs, the only meter in the vicinity of the spot lies beyond the parking line for the spot I was parked in. Unlike all the other meters in the area that are double meters, this meter is a single meter. If the meter seen in the photographs is for the spot I was parked at, it should be labeled as such or the line should be painted further down the street so that the meter is within the parking spot. Given that it is not adjacent to the delineated parking area, I believe that I should not be responsible for this ticket.

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

Sincerely,

X

The place of the incident!



No meter!


Meter beyond the spot



Meter-less spot

I hope this works...

Stupid meter maids!

Today was one of those days when I got very little accomplished. I days like this because as evening arrives I feel so unfulfilled. It was just hard finding enthusiasm to sink myself into anything worthwhile - my ganas as Cindylu put it, went AWOL. I didn't relax either - that would have been accomplishing something in my book. I was just restless and unproductive.

I did get myself back to the infamous parking spot and took some pictures. Now I need to print them out and craft my defense. I will put that up here when it gets done.

Rather than continuing my cybermope, I will take on the meme that Scott threw my way...

Number of books on shelf?
This is an extremely difficult question for a couple of reasons:
1. While there are books that are definitely Sara's and some that are definitely mine, many are ours (and there are some duplicates). So what to count becomes a problem.
2. As Scott pointed out, there are numerous shelves to be counted.
3. While we have many shelves, most of our books actually are not on shelves, but rather in boxes or bins.
At some point we should make an inventory of what we have, but that day is far off. So how many books are there...I could not even guess a number. We are two academics, who have 7 and a half degrees among us. I can say this, a least half of what we own is books.

Last book purchased?

The last book I got was "Growing Up Bilingual" by Ana Celia Zentella. But I got it for free because I am going to use it in the class I am teaching this fall. I also have bought a load of academic books recently (all at the same time) - too many to list here. Probably the last non-academic book I purchased was "Retired Greyhounds for Dummies."

Book I'm reading now?

Academic:
"Always Running. La Vida Loca: Gang Days in LA," Luis Rodriguez
"How the Gracia Girls Lost their Accents," Julia Alvarez
"Canicula: Snapshots of a Girlhood en la Frontera," Norma Cantu
"Growing Up Bilingual" by Ana Celia Zentella
"Anything but Mexican: Chicanos in Contemporary Los Angeles," Rodolfo Acu~a
"Lo sguardo della mano. Practiche della localita' e antropologia della visione in una comunita' montana lombarda," Cristina Grasseni

Non-Academic:
"Children of God," Mary Doria Russell

Last five books read?
"Retired Greyhounds for Dummies"
"Brown" Richard Rodriguez
"Latinos: Remaking America," edited by Marcelo Suarez-Orozco and Mariela Paez
"Food" Travelers' Tales
"Foods of the Maya" (I know this one is cheating, but I did read it!)

Sara was also tagged by Scott, but she is lost in an abstract, confusing, and exhausting web of bio-statistics and epidemiology at the moment, I will just point out that I am quite certain that the last books that she purchased, read, and is continuing to read all relate to those two subjects. Oh, prior to that she got some books by some medieval astrologer, physicist, something or rather, but who knows why or where those books ended up....

I guess I am supposed to tag three people for this...I hate doing this and I won't hold it against anyone if they fail to respond...here goes:

Oso, Mala, and Mariposa

There you go, Scott. Mission accomplished! I guess that's enough for today, but somehow I still feel unfulfilled...go figure.

The Stars told me to do it...

As some of you already know, I am a masterful procrastinator. One of my refined techniques for putting things off is cleaning - whether it is my office, the house/apartment, the dogs, the cars, or doing the laundry, they all function well.

Today I decided that I would make an extra effort to be productive. When I sat at my desk and opened my browser, the home page is set at MyYahoo where among the headlines, sports scores and RSS feeds, I also get my horoscope. I am not a believer in these things, but I think for today it was spot on...

Libra

Daily extended (by Astrology.com)
Is there a thick layer of dust over your knickknacks? Are your books and papers piled haphazardly around the house? Well, no wonder you've got a case of the mean reds. Pick up your spirits by beautifying your immediate surroundings. It's amazing how much better you feel when your house, car and office are clean and organized. After you complete these small steps, the larger issues will become much clearer.

Hmm...my desk is still quite messy and my car is still crying for a good cleaning (I should go check in on my L/H/H "brothers" at the carwash). I sure there is a lot I can do to "beautify my immediate surroundings"!

And I can't wait to see how the "larger issues" will become much clearer.

BTW - tomorrow I will head down to the infamous meterless spot and document my evidence (which might also find its way on here!).

What had started as an uninspired day took a turn for the annoying and frustrating this afternoon. While I was out running some errands I got a parking ticket in the City of Brookline, MA for an "upaid meter."

Now I am willing to pay my dues when I make a mistake, but in this case it is hard to understand how I could get a ticket for an upaid meter when there wasn't a meter for the spot I was parked in. Granted, there was a meter for the spot ahead of me and one for the one behind me, so I should have been suspicious. I have no objections to paying the meter - in fact, I have a pocket full of change that I would have been delighted to put into a meter, HAD THERE BEEN A METER to put it in!

The ticket is for $25, hardly a fortune nor worth fighting for, but I am irritated and I am going to fight this all the way to city hall! (I always wanted to say that!)

This case illustrates why I find many of provisions of the Patriot Act troubling. If local meter maids are overzealous in dispatching their "justice", how can we trust higher authorities to act judiciously when our civil rights and freedoms are at stake? Especially if there are few avenues of recourse, unlike this case where I can challenge the ticket.

More of an update later when my irritation disipates some...

The AP picked up on the little league story.

Today I have been reading Richard Rodriguez Brown, which I should have read a long time ago. I seldom am captivated by a book like I am now. He truly has a great mind.

The detox regimen is on hold for now.

I ordered some protein shake powder online - I was unable to find the right kind at Whole Foods - and it is coming via UPS ground from Ukiah, CA. It is not scheduled to arrive until August 4. The shakes are an important part of the regimen's diet, so I will just have to wait.

As to why I am doing this. My body just feels out of balance and I think it would be a good first step towards gaining physical harmony. There has been a lot of stress in my life over the past two years, so I would not be surprised that there are a lot of toxins built up in my system. I generally eat well (healthy) when I at home - albeit probably a little too much. I do eat out and that can be unhealthy at times. Also my diet was not good during the cross-country trip - it is nearly impossible to do.

More details on the regimen coming up.

On the news last night...
In a Little League game here in Massachusetts an umpire threatened to toss out an assistant coach and a player for speaking in Spanish. He said players could only speak in English. The two Spanish speakers are from the Dominican Republic. How sad...

There was supposed to be some nasty thunderstorms coming our way. I looked at the radar images online and indeed there was a line of storms with reds and purples (really heavy precipitation) coming our way. However, as the line got closer the colors changed to green and eventually fizzled out.

Bummer.

I like a good thunderstorm when I am safe at home. I particularly like the dramatic change in weather when you have endured an extremely hot and humid day like today (ok, I spent most of the day holed up indoors, so there was very little enduring going on). Nonetheless, I am disappointed.

I am going to go on a detox regimen next week - that is if the protein shake powder I ordered arrives by Saturday. I have never really done anything like this before, so it will be an interesting experience. As part of the program, I am supposed to keep a journal. I am debating whether I should do it here or not. Since I write more on here than anywhere else, it might be the most efficient form. On the other hand, it might just be me writing about bodily functions and other unpleasantness - and I don't want to gross out and scare away my few readers.

[IDEA]

I could just start another blog about it, that way I will write about it, the few strange people who are interested can read it and those who aren't can avoid it. Gosh, that was brilliant. Well, no. It was obvious, but sometimes the obvious takes me a long time to figure out. Welcome to my life.

There are few things I find more entertaining than feeding dogs peanut butter.

Futbol!

This post will mean little to those of you who do not like/watch soccer. I watched the US play Panama last Sunday in the Gold Cup final. The Panamanians did very well - tying the US and eventually losing in penalty kicks. A few thoughts/observations:

• Whenever the US played a Latin American team in the US, for it to be a "home" game they would have to play in some obscure place (like Columbus, Ohio - sorry Elenamary) or else it would really be an away game. If it were played in Miami, LA, or NY, there would be more fans cheering the Latin American team. There are probably two reasons for this:

1. There is an unwritten rule in Latin America - root for your national team first and then for any other Latin American team.
2. Given that the US seems to dominate almost everything in sports and otherwise, it was good to see them humbled on the soccer field.

• In Sunday's game, however, which was played in NY, there were many L/H/H cheering for the US. This was something new. Are L/H/H finally transitioning from immigrants to Americans? Do they feel that the US is their home and worth supporting?
• Soccer tournaments use the penalty kicks to decide the winner should the final game end in a tie. I hate seeing this. My solution - if no one wins the game, then declare that there was no winner for that year. Why must there always be a winner? Same goes for any other sport...

I began this as a response in the comment section of the previous post. As I kept on writing, I decided to transfer it to a new post.

Eric-
Ironically you are probably the only reader that knows Latin, so perhaps you are more Latino than anyone else.

Yes, there is debate as whether Spanish, Italians, Portuguese, and the French (mon dieu!) can also be place in the L/H/H category.

Oso-
Re: Immigrants from Guyana - that is one of the key questions. There seems to be a seperate category that places them in the West Indies.

Sherri-
Just as a question the L/H/H categories, I also question the overarching "white" category. There are so many differences and subtle forms of discimination that occurs within that category too. Of course, skin color is the prima facie (I just had to use some Latin here - I could not resist!) form of classification, yet our categories don't fit skin color. Language is a close second and this is where there is a lot of distinction even among "whites." Southern accents are frowned upon in New England. Student in the classroom would respond very differently to my lectures if I delivered them with either a "barrio" accent or a Mexican accent.

EM-
More irony - L/H/H having to speak in English in order to understand each other.

PLT-
You are in one of those places where cultures intersect (Puerto Rico - for those of you who do not know). It is usually in these places that the validity of our categories are shown to be false. I look forward to reading more about your experiences there.

I think the previous post and the ensuing discussion illustrates the disconect between the way the collective and social "we" contructs and visualizes culture and the way cultures exist. We see culture as categories, entities, things, yet cultures are more like processes and experiences. Thus culture continually changes and by doing so challenges our categories. It is what makes culture so fascinating (at least to me), yet at the same it can make it distressing. If we use culture(s) to construct our identites (what we are/what we are not), we expect it to be stable and it can be alarming when we discover that it is not.

Ok, I will end my brain deluge there. If people are interested, we can continue the discussion, if not I will ponder these things on my own.

Thoughts

Today I got a new pair of glasses - finally. I went to the opthomologist last November, but I had to wait until 2005 to get my glasses so that the insurance would cover it. Of course, the spring was busy and I did not get around to doing it until now. The pressure was on because my insurance ends in August. I will get new insurance from my new place of employment, but I don't know if they have an optical benefit.

Returning to the glasses, I am learning today why you should not wait six years to get a new pair of glasses. While the world is much crisper, I still feel like I am living in a fishbowl (of course the humidity also contributes to that feeling). It is going to take a while to get used to these. On the plus side, whenever I wear my contacts, there won't be that drastic change.

Yesterday I took the car that Sara drives to get washed and waxed. It desperately needed it because it had not had a good wash since I left last year. As the guy was hand waxing it, I sat and overheard the various conversations among the workers at the car wash. They were mostly from the Dominican Republic. There was one short and skinny guy (who also seemed a little slow) who was Puerto Rican. All the others made fun of this guy about his lack of success with women and his not having a car.

As I sat there evesdropping on their conversations, it was clear that they did not know that I could understand what they were saying (barely, though - the Domincan accent in Spanish is a tough one). I also started thinking about the categories in which we are placed in and those in which we place ourselves.

Why am I placed in the same categories as these men at the carwash?

We are Latinos/Hispanos/Hispanics.

Why?

I guess we speak the same language - barely.
We are part of the Latin American brotherhood/sisterhood - whatever that means.
We share an "immigrant experience". But not all L/H/H do. And I am quite certain that my experience has been quite a different one than theirs.

We can't deny that these are categories people use whether we place ourselves in them or not. How are these categories determined? Recently there has been a lot of debate here in Boston as to whether Brazilians are L/H/H. The debate has highlighted that these categories are not synonymous. We could ask the same about Haitians, Belizians, and Guayanians. And how about someone from Trinidad who is from South Asian/Indian herritage who migrates to the US? Is she Latina? How about a Peruvian with Japanese ancestry?

These are things I need to think about. I am teaching a class called "Growing Up Latino" this fall and I have no clue as to what that means. My goal for the class is to get the students to ponder the questions that entered my head while waiting at the carwash. I am just not sure where my own pondering will take me.

It's all a bit dizzying - or maybe it's just these new glasses with a different prescription. Who knows?

Today's Achievements

• Avoided all sorts of information overload on the Supreme Court nominee.
• Got my driver's license transferred.
• Got my license plates for my car - I got Red Sox plates (the extra proceeds go to Cancer research - something that is important to me because my mother is a cancer survivor and my best friend from high school's daughter is still engages in a nasty fight against it).
• Got the car inspected (it passed).
• Put up a sign asking people to keep our gate closed - greyhounds are hard to catch once they get loose (picture to come).
• Seem to have both dogs healthy.
• Found a fantastic way to procrastinate (thanks goes to a new discovery) - while this is very cool, it also seems very creepy.
• Bought more pita which is so good at the Lebanese/Syrian bakery nearby.
• Had more ice cream - what day isn't improved by a bowl of ice cream?
• Cleared up (sort of) some insurance/hospital billing issues - getting sick is a long term pain.

As you can see, today was rather productive - in a way.

Random observation of the day: our "mafia" neighbor has a guy who comes and drives his cab. They guy always parks his old and faded red Ford Escort in front of our house (maybe I will post a picture of this too) when he is out driving the cab. I noticed today that he puts a "club" on the steering wheel when he parks it. This is funny because no one in their right mind would steal this car. Ah, paranoia...

Just when...

...you thought your pet was healthy, the other one gets diahrrea with a little bit of blood in it.

...you thought it could not get any more humid, it does.

...you thought you could settle down and get some work done, numerous things interrupt your progress.

...you thought you couldn't love your wife any more than you already do, you find out you can.

You know you are in for a bad day when...

You are awoken by the sound of a dog vomiting at 5:10 am.

Indeed, things did not seem to work well today. First of all, I could not get back to sleep after the puking incident. So I watched the day arrive from our living room with the dogs sleeping next to me. Then when I went to clean up the dog's bed, I managed to get vomit all over me. Hmmff...

It is also so incredibly humid. Thank goodness for air conditioners. We have two window units at opposite ends of the apartment. The keep the air in here livable. The bathroom is not privy to the luxury of a/c though. It has become our own little steam room. You go in for a good sweat, have a cold shower and then return to the comfort of the apartment. The orchid in there is loving life.

Back to the humidity. Those of you who have heard me whine about this know that I just wilt in humidity. It is hard to function. Nonetheless, I decided I would put on a brave face and go to the RMV (DMV for those of you not from Massachusetts) to change my registration and license. I know that DMV's are not that fun in most places, so I was ready for a bureaucratic morning.

I decided to do the registration first. Massachusetts has some convoluted way of doing registration that requires you to get some form from your insurance. The you bring in the form with the title and some other form to register your car. Problem is that Washington state has an electronic titling system, so I don't have a paper title to give them. After some consultation, they said I could do it but I needed a different form which needed Sara's signature. So it will have to wait until tomorrow.

Ok, I thought, I can do the license and come back for the registration tomorrow. I took another number and waited to do my license. That did not work out either. You need FOUR forms of ID to get a license and I only had three. Stupid Patriot Act! I had a passport - a document which allows you entry into the country AND my old driver's license. Why is that not good enough? Ugh. So tomorrow I head back with my marriage certificate to prove who I am.

Things got better, though.

• The dogs stayed alone together (before I would put Zephyr in her kennel if we were going out) without incident. Actually, it seems to have been a bonding experience for them because they do seem to be getting along better now.
• I also found out that my friends in Merida made it through Emily safely. I was worried about them.
  
• I got some affection from Sara this afternoon and we took a nice nap together.
  
• We had some very good ice-cream for dessert.
  

In other news, we went to see Charlie and Chocolate Factory yesterday. It was very bizarre, but I liked it. It was very well done. I never saw the first version of it and I never read the book, so it was all new to me.

In the film there are references to other films. There is a particularly strong reference to Kubrick's 2001 in one scene - I think it is some kind of tribute by Tim Burton. It was eerie for Sara and me because we had just watched 2001 the night before. How fortuitous is that?

That's all for now. Maybe I will go have one more scoop of that ice-cream.

Scenes from a Stange State

Montana is a bizarre place. The nature there is remarkably beautiful yet the people there make you feel rather uneasy. Of course, my impressions are based on experiences with people at gas stations and "fast" food establishments. I use the quotes around fast because they were anything but. Everyone seemed to be stuck in a mental slow motion mode.

This was especially the case in Butte. I know there is a huge mine and contaminated pit there. I just wonder if some harmful metals have made their way into the water supply there. It would go a long way to explaining things.

Some other thoughts:

• Montana is VERY big. It takes a long time to drive through it.
• Montana has the nastiest rest stops in the country. Some have wonderful views. It sure makes me want to go behind a bush rather than venture in to the smelly building.
• It seem like there are more pickups than cars in Montana.
  

Without any further ado, here are some of the images:


Montana by Car



More Montana



View from a Montana Rest-Stop

We actually ended our day in Buffalo, Wyoming. I reserved a place in a log cabin. It was not as rustic as I expected.

Listened to audio book "The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs" by Alexander McCall-Smith. This is a great collections of short stories that follow the adventures (mishaps?) of a German professor. It is absolutely hillarious.

Coming up next - the "fun" day.

Have you ever developed a fictitious life for people you see?

As we drove cross-country, I would make up elaborate life-stories for people who passed me. The stories went along with their appearances, facial expressions, and type and condition of the car they drove. I tried to include Sara in my little game/exercise, but the stories developed too quickly in my head to be put into words. When I spoke it out, it just sounded trite and convoluted. Somehow, in my mind, it was fun and just possibly plausible.

The game continues here in Boston. My home office looks out onto our neighbor's yard. The neighbor is an older, slightly overweight man who speaks in a deep voice colored by a heavy Bostonian accent. He is always about his house or yard with a slightly contemptous look on his face. Now that it is summer, he is either in sweatpants or shorts often without his shirt on (no need to mention his hairy back here). His house is a two story typically middle class Boston house. There is a small above ground pool which takes up most of the yard behind it. In front of the house there is a driveway that houses a taxi cab which belongs to them. The neighbor has another man who looks slightly older and slightly in a worse mood than the neighbor drive it. In addition to the cab driver there are numerous middle aged men who come to call on him. There is also a young woman who drives a Landrover who comes by once a week. His daughter or possibly a lover? In either case, the Landrover seems out of place and just fuels the story in my mind.

It is hard for me to do anything on the computer without noticing his activities in his backyard. He spends an inordinate amount of time cleaning his pool, however I have yet to see anyone actually use it.

Common sense would dictate that this man is a retired man who has too much time on his hand and tries to fill it by grooming his yard and house. My mind, however, has concocted an elaborate story about how he is a crime boss who is laying low in this inconspicous middle class neighborhood of Boston. The man does have a working-class Tony Soprano air to him. I like the thought of some powerful boss cleaning his own pool in the hot muggy summer sun.

I won't go into detail about how the story plays out in my mind because if I do, it will probably just sound silly. Kept in my mind, it is a tale of intrigue and power that keeps me fascinated and thoroughly entertained when I should be working.

[BLANK MIND]

I woke up too early. I was stirred out of bed by two very eager dogs. As I followed them towards the door, I saw Zephyr veer into the living room and crouch over her hand-me-down floor pad we had set up for her.

No! It was too early for this.

But yes, we had our first accident. She may have been marking, making her pad hers. She may have had too much water last night. In any case, the pad went out with today's trash and we went to Petco to get her a new cushion. I was not about to have a pee marking battle in the living room.

So no stories or pictures today. Sorry.

Thoughts from a cross-country trip (Part I)

You see and experience quite a lot during a cross-country trek. You also have many hours where your mind wanders, has random thoughts, or plain just goes blank. That said, I will chronicle some of these thoughts and non-thoughts here. I will spread them out as to not make the whole process overwhelming for myself or tedious for the reader.

Here we go:

• Spokane, what little I saw of it from the road, seemed nice - nicer than how I had pictured it.
  
• Lake Coeur d'Elaine in Idaho is absolutely beautiful. It is a great place for a cabin if I ever have the resources to purchase a cabin. I probably won't, so the point is moot.
• Driving with a roof carrier (mine is soft) really lowers your gas milage.
  
• I saw signs for "pre-owned cars". I know they mean used cars, but to me pre-owned means before being owned - in other words, new. Unless pre-owned is just an abreviation for previously owned. In any case, I don't like the term. They should just say used.
• It is hard to drive for eight hours after you spent a morning cleaning out a house and packing a car.
• Music during Day 1: Beck - "Guero", The Offspring, Los Abandoned.

As long drives can be dull, people often find ways to make them more entertaining. Some of these diversions include visiting kitchy roadside attractions, taking scenic routes, eating at local dives. For us it has been taking pictures of Zeus peeing on different states. So here is the Idaho installment:


Pee on Idaho

More to come...

Canine Saga
Keeping the peace is hard work.

Zeus is unsure about the presence of another dog in the apartment. He is especially protective of the living room.

Zephyr is slowly coming out of her shell, but it is hard when there is an intimidating dog looming.

The dogs do fine in the bedroom where Zephyr spends her time in her kennel and Zeus is either on our bed or in his bed. They walk extremely well together, pointing out to each other the best places to sniff.

It is going to take some time and we need to be patient. There is a lot of learning going on. Zephyr did not even know how to walk up/down stairs. She is almost a pro now.

Tomorrow we go to the vet for a checkup for Zephyr. Zeus will hold down the fort.

I need to get back to my life and the numerous things that I need to get done. But dogs are an extremely useful form of procrastination, especially when there are two of them.

Coming up - pictures from the cross-country trip. I haven't forgotten.

I finally did it!

Everyone, please meet the new addition to our family:


Zephyr

And this is the old addition of our family:


Zeus

It has been a stressful day for all involved, but I do think things will work out nicely. Zephyr is a little freaked and exhausted. Zeus is a little unsure about the new situation. Sara is generally stressed. But all are doing well.

As far as the name goes, I thought of Zephyr after the name post. We were down to Metzli and Zephyr until we were at Petco getting her tag made. We went with Zephyr because it keeps in the Greek diety motif going and the alliteration of the names. Ok, truth be told, we flipped a coin, but we were leaning towards Zephyr anyway.

We found out today, however, that her racing name was Spellbound (what they told us at the adpotion agency) or Kerryhills Spell (what we found on her online pedigree chart). We still like Zephyr the best and it doesn't really matter because she doesn't respond to any of her names.

I am sure there will be more tales to tell about the adventures of Zeus, Zephyr, Sara, and Xolo...stay tuned!

We have a name for the dog!

Thank you all for your input.

All right, folks, we need to get serious here about a name for our dog. So far we have been calling her "The new dog" or "no name".

Her name at the moment is "Holly", but she barely responds to it and frankly I don't care for it too much. I would also hate for her to have a default name.

I thank you for all your suggestions so far. Unfortunately most of them have been vetoed by either Sara or myself. Some of the limitations are that it really can't be more than two syllables long, it should be easy to yell out, and it should not be trademarked/copyrighted.

I guess you should know that the dog is a retired greyhound with a brindle coat.

I have put up some of the names we have come up with so far in the poll (scroll down - it's at the bottom of the sidebar). Vote for your favorite. If you vote other, leave the name in the comments.

Thank you for your assistance.

FINALLY!

I got my computer set up and going. Sara will be happy that I will no longer be loitering on her laptop. I will be able to upload pictures and post them here.

Having a working computer also means that I will need to start working. I am already quite far behind. Boo.

We adopted another dog!

We don't have her yet. We will pick her up next Saturday.

Sara and I have been brainstorming to come up with a name for her - from a few we like to the utter ridiculous.

Any suggestions out there?

It's still really muggy and I am still in a funk.

Sara and I went exploring around the local neighborhood - despite the humidity. It was fun - despite the humidity. We went to an Italian deli where I spoke with the owner in Italian. I think he was happy to speak his mother tongue. We also bought some great pita bread at a Syrian/Lebanese store. We also discovered some nice little restaurants we will have to try out.

Sara got her haircut yesterday and it looks great. While she was at the salon, I went to explore my future place of employment. It is a lovely campus. The commute is going to be tough, though.

The air is supposed to dry out this weekend - I can't wait.

I have been in a muggies-induced funk.

There is much to do, but no enthusiasm to do it.

Sara and I went to see the last instalment of Star Wars today. We both liked it. I guess I need to grow up now that the saga is over. Hmmm...

Will be back when the power to my brain returns...

Sara's birthday was nice. More on that later...

I have been busy today putting in our window a/c units. It is supposed to be dreadfully hot and humid tomorrow and the day after and the day after and ... you get the point. Too bad. Today was delightful - the perfect weather. I did get out for a while to partake of the day. The dog and I went for a nice long walk.

I have also been trying to make room to set up my computer. We went from a spacious three bedroom apartment in Providence to a smaller 2 bedroom (I would say it is 1 1/2 - really) one here. Moreover, since I was away, Sara has claimed most of the space already. So I need to squeeze in and claim some for myself without stepping on any toes. Right now we have our bedroom in the 1/2 room, but we want to move it to the bigger room which will also function as my office. The other room will be the large closet and Sara's office. Maybe...

In any case, I was over at Sherri's and she mentioned the idea of the Evil Dog Totem. While I like the idea, I also think it would be a good name for a band. Another good name I came across recently was Splicing Unit Number 9. I should keep a list of these should I ever find myself in a band. However, this is highly unlikely because I do not play an instrument and my singing is dreadful. Perhaps I could sell the names to up and coming bands.

I should get back to work.

It's Sara's birthday!!!

Go wish her a happy one!

Stepping into the shower in our apartment is like sitting at a table at IHOP (the International House of Pancakes). The variety of body soaps, shampoos, and conditioners is astonishing and they all have some tasty ingredient: cranberry, apple, ginger, coffee, blueberry, and so on. As in picking a syrup for my pancakes at IHOP, I can never decide which luscious soapy substance to indulge in as I stand naked in our claw-foot bathtub with the water flowing down by body.

I am sure you didn't need to picture that. Nonetheless, every shower has become a sensory exploration.

As if the dog has not had enough trauma in the past couple of weeks (roommate moving out, packing up, driving cross-country, adapting to a mostly indoor lifestyle, having a pair of dogs living upstairs), I took him to the vet today. Since we still have not established a vet for him in Boston yet, I drove down to Providence to take him to his old vet there. He used to not care about going to vet. In fact, he seemed to like it. There were so many intersting smells there and if he was lucky he might even get a treat. Today he was fairly nervous, but not like some dogs I have seen that try to run in the opposite direction as soon as you get them out of the car. He was due for his shots, so it was not a fun visit. He behaved though. He also got a clean bill of health. He does have some excess tartar on his teeth, but nothing serious.

My computer finally made it - although I am still writing on Sara's laptop. It might take a while to make some space for it and get it hooked up. I do think Sara is ready for me to stop using her computer, so she might have some incentive to make space and set it up. So stay tuned for some pictures....

Today:

Picked up our ART.
Bought a trash can.
Had Vietnamese for lunch.
Bought too many CDs.
Found a store with an assortment of products from Latin America (bought some huitlacotche - remember Corn Smut?).
Found a good Mexican restaurant and had dinner there (Los Charros in Jamaica Plain - a neighborhood in Boston).
Had a nice evening walk with Sara and the dog.

Tomorrow I get to go back to Providence. I am taking the dog to the vet for his annual barrage of shots.

I am still waiting on my computer.

We are going to a bbq even though it is about 58 degrees outside. Not that I am complaining. I will take this cool weather over the hot and humid weather of last weekend any day.

The bbq is with some of Sara's online friends. I have never met them so this will be something new. I do need to meet some people here in Boston. Hmmmm...being social, what a bizarre concept.

We went to lunch at a taqueria near Fenway Park today. Even though the people there were from Mexico, the food was not really right. It was good, but not quite right. I was spoiled with my paisanos over there in Washington. Those tacos were so good! I am sure there is a good taco to be had in Boston, I just need to find it. The mission is on!

We joined Netflicks this past week and we have seen our first two films: Close Encounters and The Life Aquatic. I had to watch CE again after our visit to Devil's Tower. I had been wanting to watch TLA for a while. I really enjoyed the first, while I was a bit disappointed with the second. Perhaps my expectations were too high. I did enjoy the Portuguese covers of David Bowie.

Ok, time to go.

Even though Sara will claim contrariwise, I believe that CSI (the show on CBS) is Scooby Doo for grown ups (not that they can't continue to enjoy the animated version).

My computer is now in transit from Illinois to Rhode Island - so pictures maybe up soon. If you are like Sara and lack patience, you can go over to her new blog and take a peek at some of them.

We bought some art today. I guess we are official art collectors now.

I just enrolled for one of those city directory services where you can review/read reviews of restaurants, clubs, cafes, etc. Being relatively new to the city of Boston, I will be exploring a lot. But that is not my story.

As I was filling out all the fields to enroll, I got one of those boxes where there is a distorted word that you need to retype to verify that you are a real person. The word was quite disturbing: RAPED.

Call me strange, but I could not bring myself to type that word. I reloaded the screen, refilled the fields, and typed in the new word: OPERA. That was much better.

I kicked a chair today.

It hurt me more than the chair.

In fact, I may have broken my little toe on my right foot. I'll have to see its condition in the morning.

I am not sure why I did it. I was walking across the kitchen to feed the dog when - POW! - my foot made contact with the steel leg of the lonely ugly orange chair that sits in the kitchen. The chair barely moved. My toe definitely did and now it is swollen and thobbing.

Sara also hit her toe. She attributes the toe mishaps on bad feng shui. That is quite possible.

In other news, I am not sure what is going on with the weather here. Two days ago it was summer - 90 degrees and humid. Yesterday morning it was still summerlike, then around noon we went back to spring. Today it was almost winter-like: we barely made it over 50 degrees. What's up with that? I am not complaining, though. I prefer the cooler weather. I just put on a sweatshirt and I am ready to go. Well, actually, with the throbbing toe, I am not going anywhere.

I am also dealing with the infamous moths that Sara has mentioned before. I am not sure where they are breeding. They seem to come from the pantry, but I can't find where they are shacking up. Maybe the moths are a result of bad feng shui too. It seems as plausible of a reason as any.

Still waiting for my computer to arrive. All my other boxes with books made it. The computer box went to Spokane then to some place in Illinois and then back to Spokane. Hmmm...maybe bad feng shui to blame there too.

Time to deal with the bad feng shui. Sara is the expert at that, though, and she is quite busy at the moment.

Little has been written here because:

- It has been too hot/humid to do ANYTHING!
- If something has been done, it has been spending time with Sara, unpacking, and settling in.
- Sara's computer has been the one used by me and writers block is gotten by me when I am away from my computer.
- The trip has rendered me tired.

As you can tell, I have been living in the passive voice over the past couple of days. With cooler weather, better sleep, and a healthier diet, maybe the active voice will return.

Oh, and pictures of the trip have to wait until I get my computer to upload them. Sorry.

Now that was a long drive...

Yes, we made it. We tired, we are smelly, and happy to be together.

It is hot and humid here! Lots to tell and pictures to post, but that will come later.

Sara's Here!

She finally made it. Today is a busy day and tomorrow we set off.

Our itinerary will take us to Montana tomorrow. Then it is on to Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio, New York, and finally Boston!

Highlights will include:

• Sara will complete her mission to have set foot in all fifty states (she is missing Idaho, South Dakota, and Wisconsin).
• A stay in a log cabin.
• We will see Devil's Tower, which I have wanted to visit ever since I first watched Close Encounters of the Third Kind back in the 70s.
• A stop at the Crazy Horse Monument, Mt. Rushmore, and the Badlands in South Dakota.
• A walk around Madison where Sara's parents lived before she was born.

Lowlights will include:

• Lots of bad food.
• High gas prices.
• A restless, nervous dog that whines a lot.

We won't be able to post from the road because we won't have a computer with us nor the time to find internet cafes. I will have a digital camera with me, so I will take pictures and post them when I get to Boston.

So this is it for a while. Remember to come back and visit in a week or so!

Waiting for Sara

Sara has the worst luck flying. She was scheduled to fly out here via Washington National and Salt Lake City (it is a free ticket), but she got to the airport early enough that they could route her through Atlanta and SLC, but she would arrive 2 and a half hours earlier.

That was great news, although I know that at this time of the year Atlanta can have some nasty thunderstorms and I was worried she would get delayed because of one of those. Indeed, as I looked at the weather map, I saw a sting of nasty looking storms headed to the Atlanta area. She was able to get out of there before they hit. Problems over, right?

Wrong. I like checking in every now and then at RLM Software where you can enter the flight number and it shows you where the flight is. As I checked in, suddenly I got the map saying the flight from Atlanta to SLC was diverted to Kansas City. Now this freaked me out because there was no obvious reason for this.

When the plane landed in KC, Sara called me. It turns out that there was a kid traveling alone who got put on the wrong flight. So they had to stop in KC, get him off the plane, and put him on plane to wherever he was supposed to be. Now how does that happen? Everytime I see unaccompanied minors traveling, the gate agents are so annal about it. I guess they weren't this time. Of course, it had to be the time Sara was flying.

Having to land in KC delayed her flight enought that she missed her connection in SLC. Now she will connect with the flight she originally was going to take. Easy come, easy go. I was excited about seeing her earlier. And I feel bad for Sara. She has the worst luck flying, I don't know why. When we were in New Mexico we bought an airplane milagro for her. It seemed to work for her when we went to Yucatan. Maybe she did not bring it with her this time around. Or perhaps she did not keep it in an appropriate place.

So here I sit at home when I should have been driving to pick her up. Most of the packing is done, so the house feels quite empty. There is still some cleaning to do, but at this point I don't feel like doing it.

Packing and Cleaning

Yes, that about sums up my last couple of days. I hate packing. I usually don't mind cleaning, but I don't like having to do the move out cleaning.

Other things I don't like about moving:

• Having to throw away food.
• Always having the feeling that you are forgetting something important.
• Realizing you need something and not remembering where it is.

I am also really tired, yet I am usually up at six in the morning. I get this way when I am stressed and moving stresses me out.

Whenever I move, I also go through a strange nostalgic phase, even when I hated living in a particular place. That phase has been hitting me recently.

On the good side, Sara flies in tomorrow.

It has not hit me yet that on Saturday we will be starting our cross-country drive, though. Geez, seven days on the road.

Disappointed

I got my student evaluations today and I must say that I am disappointed. They were all over the place, but its the bad ones that really feel like a punch in the gut.

There are some things I need to keep in mind:

• Students are fickle. They like to complain. At a place like this they feel entitled not only to learn, but to be entertained.
• Introductory courses are terribly difficult to teach, both in organization and content.
  
• There were good evaluations and those were probably the ones from the good students.
  
• It was hard to teach this class being gone so much, including when I had to spend time in Boston when Sara had her kidney stones.
  

It's still hard. I put so much energy into the course that it makes it difficult to hear people claim it was disorganized, boring, and superficial. While it is also easy to dismiss the comments as those of snotty students, I know that these evaluations will play a role in my future as I try to find a new job. This is another problem in academia, so much of effective teaching is assessed through these stupid evaluation that students fill out when they are tired, pissed off, or wanting to run outside and play.

Enough self-pity and back to packing.

Distracted

I have been rather preoccupied as of late. I finished grading the final exams only to be greeted with two job offers: one for a full-time one year position in Maine and one for a one year part-time position in Boston.

While the choice was clear (you might even say there really wasn't a choice), it was still a stressful and agonizing process. Why, you might ask? Let me elucidate.

I was going to take the position in Boston because Sara and I need to be in the same city after this long and painful year apart. The college in Maine is two and half hours away from Boston, so not a commutable distance.

Despite this clarity, I cannot say that I was not disappointed. I really liked the college in Maine, the faculty at the department, and the students. It is really the type of place I would really like to end up at. Mind you that this was only a one year position and there was little chance it would amount to anything more. Then there was the money.

This is a HUGE issue in academia. The disparity between what tenured and tenure-track faculty earn and what is paid to adjunct faculty is utterly shameful. The position in Boston pays one third of what I was offered in Maine, even though the Maine position required four courses and the Boston one requires three. This was also after I was able to finagle a slight increase in the Boston offer (as well as benefits) by letting them know I had gotten an offer from Maine.

The issue that made this matter difficult was that I went to Maine and saw where I would have been working. While I have visited the school in Boston once, I really could not see in my mind where and with whom I would be working.

One last issue that I had to also deal with is the fact that my former advisor used to teach at the college in Maine and I am sure he pulled some strings to get me the interview. I was not sure how he was going to react. Would he be upset? Would he help me in the future?

One very stressful morning this week, I had to call the chair of the department in Maine and decline the position. They were very nice and understanding. I also had to email my advisor and explain my decision. Fortunalely, he seemed to be understanding as well.

After dealing with all of this, I needed to get away. So the dog and I hopped in the car and drove north to explore eastern Washington. For those of you wondering what eastern Washington looks like, here is a picture:


Beautiful Eastern Washington

Yes there seems to be very little there. It was also one of the first very hot days we have had. I think the mercury was nearing 95 degrees. So you may ask why did I choose to drive into such a barrern landscape. I did have a destination.

As you wind your way through the dry hills, you suddenly come upon a rather large hole in the ground that has a waterfall pouring into it. This is Palouse Falls:


Palouse Falls

I can't stress enough how suddenly the hole comes upon you. Down stream from the falls there is a fairly picturesque canyon that is nearly invisible from any other vantage point.


Palouse Falls Canyon

If you are wondering about the place, it was created by the Lake Missoula floods. This was when water from a glacial lake broke free at the end of the last ice age. Palouse Falls is the only major waterfall left along the glacial flood path of 15,000 years ago. Of course, there is a better story as to how it came to being, or at least one I like better:

According to a story of the Palouse tribe, the Palouse River once flowed smoothly into the Snake. But four giant brothers, in pursuit of a mythic creature called "Big Beaver," speared the great creature five times. Each time Big Beaver was wounded, he gouged the canyon walls, causing the river to bend and change. The fifth time he was speared, he fought the brothers valiantly and tore out a huge canyon. The river tumbled over a cliff at this point to become Palouse Falls. The jagged canyon walls show the deep marks of Big Beaver's claws.

The area is a historically important one. Geologists unearthed remains of the "Marmes Man." Among the oldest human remains found in the western hemisphere, Marmes Man is estimated to be 10,000 years old.

After the trip up there, I found out something interesting about the place. I had heard earlier this year from other faculty that in the 1970s there was a problem at the college with the spouses of faculty members committing suicide. It turns out that these spouses committed suicide by jumping off the cliff into the big hole at Palouse Falls.

The pool at the bottom of the falls reminded me of the cenotes in Yucatan where people were sacrificed during the Mayan empire. So it more or less made sense that people would sacrifice themselves into the deep pit to alieviate their despair/boredom.

Needless to say the perpetual travel of the past two months, the stress, and the work have taken their toll. I am completely burnt out and drained. Now it is time to pack up, clean up, and get ready for the long journey home.

Brain Dead

I finished grading exams yesterday. Not much going through my big ol' cabeza right now except I want to get back to Boston to be with Sara.

This desire has only been intensified (if that were possible) because she is sick and I want to be there to look after her.

That's it.

Today was graduation.

It is strange being on this side of it. I have been to so many of these things, but this is the first time I have experienced it as a faculty member.

I did not have too many seniors in my classes (in fact I don't have any this semester). I did advise a few of them on their theses, but I did not interact with them all that much. Except for one.

L. is a mexicano - from Michoacan. His parents moved up here ten or so years ago to work in Yakima, Washington. He managed to work hard in high school and he took advantage of the opportunities available in this country, including coming to this college. Eventually his parents went back to Mexico, but he stayed here working over the summers and breaks to be able to finish his college education.

Even though L. is the first member of his family to go to college, he was under extrordinary pressure to become a medical doctor. He pursued premed the first couple of years, but he was then seduced by the magic of anthropology and he changed his major last year. Although he did not fulfill his family's expectations, he was happier with his new field of study.

As he entered his senior year, he had found a fulfilling field of study but he had not found a mentor. He needed direction: for his thesis, for his post-college plans, for his life. Why he had not found someone to help guide him through these issues, I am not sure. Perhaps it was because there are so few Latin@/Mexican faculty at the college; perhaps no one here understood his particular cultural and social background; perhaps no one took the time to really listen to his concers; or perhaps he just did not click with anyone here.

L. was one of the students I met when I interviewed here last year and he was one of the first who wandered into my office when I started my position here. We spoke both in English and Spanish. English for school related issues and Spanish for more personal issues. As the year proceeded his thesis ideas blossomed, albeit at times with some necessary coaxing. His career goals went from uncertainty, including a conviction that he did NOT want to graduate school, to a desire to combine his interests in anthropology, science, and his community.

In the end, L.'s thesis was good, not great. The ideas he engaged were very sophisticated, but he just ran out of time. Another semester and he would have had something that could possibly be published. He is now planning on going to grad school, so he will have an opportunity to go back to and work through it some more. It will have to wait, though. He will be busy over the next two years working with Teach for America in Miami.

So L. walked across the stage today and when he did, I was proud of him.

He invited me to his big fiesta with his family afterward. He wanted me to meet everyone. His parents were still in Mexico, though. They could not get the visas to come. I still got to meet tios, tias, la abuelita, primos, primas, and el hermano. I also got some great carne asada with beans and rice.

As I was leaving, L. took me aside and thanked me for the time and advice I had given him. I thanked him for his hard work, for his dedication to the community, and for being another role model for some of the younger people in his family and for others in his community. I know someday someone somewhere will be thanking L. just like he thanked me. We just need to keep passing it on.

I just hope I am still in touch with L. when that happens.

Running on Empty

I got back from Maine on Thursday night only to have to face another interview, this time on the phone, on Friday morning.

I am tired...very tired.

Tomorrow is commencement. I should check what time I need to be there...

A collegue of mine put his 9 year-old daughter's art up on his office door. I love this drawing.

Art

I did tell my collegue that he is quite fortunate that his daughter did not draw this picture in school or else the department of children services would be knocking at his door to put his daughter in foster care.

Tomorrow I am off to Maine. I think I am in denial about it. I am in denial that I will have to wake up at 5:00 am again. I am in denial about having to board an airplane (or aeroplane) and make two connections (Seattle and Detroit, if you are keeping tack). I am in denial that I am going to interview and give a lecture on Wednesday. And that I am going to repeat the trip back (although I don't have to wake up as early) on Thursday. To top it all off, I have a phone interview on Friday morning for the job in Boston (the one I really want). On the bright side, I can add Michigan and Minnesota to the states I have been to (I connect in Minneapolis on the way back). Wohoo!

And yes, those exams are still there waiting for me.

And yes, I will do those quizes/lists at some point.

And yes, I am still very, very tired.

No wonder I can't remember anything...

In a recent post, Tumbleweed was complaining about her age (25). I got her beat. Today I ordered a credit report from the leading three credit reporting agencies. Much to my suprise one of them had my year of birth as 1910.

I wonder if I can retire soon.

What a week! I am happy it is over. Although there is a large pile of exams waiting for me, but I left them at my office and I am taking the evening off.

I sent off the three syllabi for the job in Boston. I now need to prepare for the job interview in Maine. But again, that will have to wait.

Among all the craziness, my roommate told me she decided she is going to move out next Monday. This is a problem because

1. She was going to look after the dog while I was in Maine Tuesday through Thurday.
2. I certainly did not have the wherewithall to deal with all the little things that need to be settled when roommates part ways.

Truth be told, I am probably a little jealous too. I wish I could pack up and head to Boston on Monday. Just run away. But no, I am the responsible type and I need to tie up all the loose ends that are left here.

I don't blame my roommate for wanting to leave. She has had a rough year. More on that some other evening.

There are some loose ends flying about in here. Sherri posted a quiz as to why people blog. Since she is one of the regulars around here, I feel compelled to take it and elighten everyone as to my motives. Tumbleweed tagged me to list my 10 favorite things. Again, one needs to do one's duty when one is tagged. And I will do both, but not tonight.

Cindylu wrote a brutally honest post about academic elitism that is screaming for a response from me. Fortunately it has drawn a massive response in her comments section, so I feel off the hook - at least for tonight. It is also her first year doctoral exam weekend, so she won't read anything I have to say until later anyway. And, Cindylu, if you are reading this, go back to work!

Alma tried her hand at writing in Spanish. She claims to have problems with knowing where to to put the accents on the words. I promised her I would teach her the rules - which aren't very hard. Alma, I will teach you - and anyone else who cares to learn. But not tonight - I am done teaching for the week.

There a few people I am worried about. Sixlegged has been rather quiet recently. I am afraid that the Minutemen have done something to him in retaliation to his vocal outcries against their activities. Likewise, Oso may have called one too many women mamacita and is now lying in some gutter in Monterrey. Either that or he engaging in la pachanga with some of Mexican businessmen to whom he is teaching English. I do know that Woojay is engaging in la pachanga Korean style back in his native land. I could use some bibimbap now that I think of it, but I digress. I fear Mariposa is frozen somewhere in her neighborhood as she went out in search of spring.

I do count myself fortunate. Scott has become the latest casualty of the common cold. Heal quickly, Scott.

Kristin paid a rare visit and Mala has disappeared just as suddenly as she reappeared a few weeks ago. There are some new blogs: E consolidated her two previous ones and Sara claims she is boring, but don't believe her. And DT is in the process of wrapping up his own loose ends as he prepared to make his way to this part of the country. I don't think we are going to overlap at all. Too bad, he's one vato I really would like to have some tacos with.

As you can see my therapy for coping with this week was the occasional break to peek to see what was going on around the world. I am not sure how effective it was.

I am off to have a glass of wine, read the paper, and drift off to some other reality.

Waiting for a Pizza

Things are busy. I am working on putting together the three syllabi for the position in Boston. One, for a course called, "Growing Up Latino", is done. The other two will be on Comparative Immigration and Identity Politics.

I still have a pile of grading to do by Friday and I have to write the final exam for my course.

So there is no time to cook, although I did by some local asparagus and cheese. Maybe this weekend I will get a chance to cook. For now it is pizza and a late night.

Where is that pizza? I am hungry!

If you think you have had a bad day, go read Sara's (yes she has joined us in this world again!) post. It breaks my heart everytime I think of her wandering home alone through the snow in a morphine induced stupor.

It's raining. While the gray days make me sad, I find the pitter-patter of the raindrops on the skylight to my bedroom relaxing and comforting.

Things on my Mind

• Where did the weekend go?
• I miss Sara.
  
• I still have a stack of grading that is obscenely thick waiting for me.
• I have two job prospects - one will require a phone interview this week and the other will require a trip to Maine next week.
• For the phone interview, I need to prepare three syllabi for courses I have never taught - three that focus on Latino Studies (narrowly defined).
• I miss Sara.
  
• I still need to make my travel arrangements for the trip to Maine.
• I went to the doctor on Friday for a skin exam. He took off two moles off my back and sent them to the lab. I won't know the results for another ten days or so.
• The two holes on my back alternate from hurting to itching.
  
• I miss Sara.
  
• I need to write the final exam for my class.
• Why am I so tired?
• At least my blood pressure was low when I had it taken at the doctor's - even after eating loads of very salty Yucatecan food.
• I miss Sara.
• How can I simultaneously have so much on my mind and draw a blank when I try to think?
• Perhaps I should go to bed.

I made it back!

It was a very long trip for such a short visit. It was great being with Sara again, though.

Merida was very hot and very humid. The first night we were there we stayed with my old neighbors from when I lived in Mexico City. The last time I saw them was probably in the late 1980s! It was nice seeing them and remembering some of the silly things I did when I was a child. Their home, however, did not have a/c - a necessity when it is in the 90s and humid at night. In every room they did have hamocks, so I had a go sleeping in one. Sara preferred the bed.

The next day we went for la comida at a restored old Hacienda about fifteen minutes outside of Merida. Sara and I were both eager to try Yucatecan food, which did not disappoint. We became very fond of the habanero salsa they have there - it packs quite a kick. As usual, most Mexicans were quite amazed by Sara's ability to tolerate the heat of even the most potent chiles. A gringa that can eat spicier food than the locals!

In the evening we headed down to Uxmal (translated link), an archaeological site about an hour south of Merida. We made it there just in time for the light and sound show. While the show was a little hokey, the weather was still rather warm, and the bugs began to snack on us, we still enjoyed it. It was also cool seeing the bats flying out of the darkened temples.

We stayed at a nearby hotel where there were some new age groupies on some kind of couples retreat were also staying. At breakfast the next morning they were all wearing yellow sashes around their heads.

The next day we headed out to explore the archaeology of Uxmal.


Uxmal

The heat was pretty intense, especially when the sun would peak between the clouds. In a few seconds we were both pretty damp (read: drenched in sweat). Sara had fun taking pictures of all the designs on the sides of the buildings. The iguanas that were all around were also entertaining, especially when they were spooking French tourists.


Iguana Yucateca

Another funny episode occurred when we first went into the area. To go in, we had to wear silly neon wristsbands that had a ticket-tag attached to it. As you entered, the attendant would tear the tag off. When I went in, the attendant was amazed at the fact that my wrist was so large that the wristband barely made it around.


Uxmal Fashion

After exploring the main areas, Sara and I wandered down a small path into the jungle to find some of the marginal ruins. At one point we were pushing our way through the growth until we came to a half covered temple. A very Indiana Jones-like experience - well, maybe not.

In the afternoon we made our way back to Merida where we had to present our papers the next day. Neither Sara nor I were really prepared, but being exhausted from the heat and adventure (or perhaps we were just lazy) impeded us from really doing much about it.

Things I learned in Merida:

• I don't really like it there. It was too hot and humid (if the weather is going to be like that, there needs to be a beach and swimable ocean around). The streets are also very narrow and there are smokey buses that speed a little too close to you.
  
• Koreans migrated there in the early twentieth century to work in the henequen plantations. There a few of them left (I learned this in the nice museum of anthropology there), but I could not find a Korean restaurant in the phone book.
• People wear funny t-shirts there. Among those spotted: one with the Burger King logo that read Murder King, one that said "I [heart] Me", a kids shirt that said "Soy vago...y que?" (I am lazy, so what?).
• The beds there are REALLY hard.
• I have sweat glands in places I never knew.

On the trip back, I was sticken by a case of Kukulcan's revenge. I think I had one habanero pepper too many. But things seem to have worked out and I feel better now.

I arrived to have to face multiple stressful situations, but I will save those stories for another day.