Hope...

30 November 2017: "Once you stand up, it's hard to believe you ever didn't." --one of my very best students, a co-panelist with me today at a discussion of "Women in West Virginia," talking about her involvement with activism after the election.

Look, I can (and did) pontificate for way too long about what we need to do to make things right, but wow: these students give me such pride and so much hope. They got this.

Idiom humor...

29 November 2017: "Also...is it 'nip it in the bud' or 'nip it in the butt'?" --my friend Eva, a non-native English speaker, at lunch today.

And let me be clear: she is absolutely fluent in English--and German and Spanish--it's just the idioms that she asks about sometimes. We had some good laughs at her question, of course. And there are ways that "nip it in the butt" also makes sense.

Sweet validation...

28 November 2017: "I do agree with you." --my friend, Liz, in a conversation tonight. She called me because I needed some advice and validation (on something kind of trivial, I'll admit). Sometimes that kind of validation, paired with a good old rant, is just what you need.

"No Name Woman"

27 November 2017: "It's like how sometimes we don't want to remember bad things we've done. The story makes them remember what they want to forget." --a student in my ENGL 204 class, talking about the "No Name Woman" section of Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior.

I had asked the class (more than once), "Why does Kingston tell this story, even when her mother tells her not to?" Student answers usually include catharsis and (really important) ideas about telling a story as a way of understanding. This student's particular answer, though, was a sort of new one for me and made me think of monuments to painful or tragic moments/places. It added another dimension to the way I think about this piece.

"The Very Thought of You"

26 November 2017:

"The mere idea of you, the longing here for you
You'll never know how slow the moments go till I'm near to you
I see your face in every flower, your eyes in stars above
It's just the thought of you, the very thought of you, my love" --Nat King Cole, "The Very Thought of You"

Quiet, broody, wistful Sunday contemplations...

Wonder

"We all have marks on our face...This is the map that shows us where we've been and it's never, ever ugly." --Isabel, to Auggie, in Wonder

Saw this very sweet film today. It's a lot--really too good to be true, but it was nice to see people ultimately being kind to people on screen for two hours.

"One Flight Down"

24 November 2017:

"One flight down
There's a song on low
And your mind just picked up on the sound
Now you know that you're wrong
Because it drifts like smoke
And it's been there playing all along
Now you know" --Norah Jones, "One Flight Down"

Thanksgiving 2017

23 November 2017: "Give me a stack of 10,000 Bibles and I will swear it on them!" --my brother Christian, defending his dubious story about how Todd the Rabbit, who lived with us for years and years, came to be a part of the family. For the record, Christian swears a woman rang the doorbell and said, "There's a rabbit in your yard." Of course, he was working at a vet at the time, so the story is fishy...

Anyway, a nice holiday at my sister's house, especially when we found ourselves laughing about good times.

"An Indecent Thanksgiving Proposal"

22 November 2017:

Gene: “Which are the ladyparts?”
Tina: “The vagina and the heart.”

Last night as I settled into my visit home for Thanksgiving, I re-watched this classic episode of Bob's Burgers. And the lines above made me chortle. Ah, Tina...so wise!

"That’s why I don’t want to stop talking..."

21 November 2017: "That’s why something more needs to happen from this. That’s why there needs to be a next step, for other people’s voices to be heard, people that don’t have a platform." --Katherine Kendall

This conversation between Slate's Julia Turner and three women who were harassed by Harvey Weinstein is just riveting. So worth listening to for so many reasons: the harrowing accounts of their run-ins with him, the effects that each encounter had on them (for years), the way they comfort and relate to each other (even just the gasps and sighs in the background as they listened to each other are moving), their ideas for moving forward.

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls

20 November 2017: "Grace O'Malley is my favorite!" --my niece, Krista, thanking me for getting her this book for her birthday.

She's a super-smart and kind of weird kid (my favorite kind!), so it makes me very happy to know she likes the book. My sister says she carries it around with her and that they burn through about three stories a night.

Art with friends...

19 November 2017: "Guys, we had a day!" --my good buddy, Hannah, towards the end of a very satisfying trip to DC.

Sylvia Plath at the National Portrait Gallery, Vermeer at the National Gallery of Art, and Ai Weiwei at the Hirshhorn. A fun day with these two lovely people!

The Book of Mormon

18 November 2017:

"When you start to get confused
Because of thoughts in your head
Don't feel those feelings!
Hold them in instead
Turn it off, like a light switch
Just go click!" --"Turn it Off," from The Book of Mormon, which Jane and I saw today.

I mean, I know I am about 7 years late to this game, but wow, what a fun show: hilarious and weirdly moving. I could have picked many songs to quote, but this one really made me laugh, especially as we are heading into the holiday season and all kinds of "everything's okay" compulsions kick in!

Logos/The Word

17 November 2017: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." --John 1: 1-5.

We discussed this passage in my Bible as Literature class today and I found myself both moved and fascinated by it, particularly the concept of Logos.

"Sleep on the Floor"

16 November 2017:
"Pack yourself a toothbrush dear
Pack yourself a favorite blouse
Take a withdrawal slip, take all of your savings out
Cause if we don't leave this town
We might never make it out
I was not born to drown, baby come on" --The Lumineers, "Sleep on the Floor"

Overheard in the hallway...

15 November 2017: "Well, let's get through it. We can do it." --a student in the hallway, giving a mini pep-talk to her peers about some assignment they were working on together.

These are stressful weeks in any semester--Thanksgiving break is almost upon us and everyone (students and teachers) is feeling the crunch of deadlines. In the midst of my own stressful morning, it made me smile to hear this student being so helpful, pragmatic, and positive. And it was an overheard lesson I needed to hear.

"The Joke"

14 November 2017:

"Let 'em laugh while they can
Let 'em spin, let 'em scatter in the wind
I have been to the movies, I've seen how it ends
And the joke's on them." --Brandi Carlile, "The Joke"

Heard this brand-new song for the first time yesterday, but really got to think about the lyrics today. Just wonderful.

Potential advertising slogan?

13 November 2017: "Three servings of vegetables and a kick in the face!" --a student in my ENGL 312 class, in response to my surprise over the existence of a V8 Energy drink.

Mike Schur, national treasure...

12 November 2017: "Wind chimes! I hear wind chimes! Everyone look away. I'm gonna watch but everyone else, look away." --Eleanor on the last episode of The Good Place until 2018. The joke makes no sense without seeing the episode, but it made me chuckle and was such an Eleanor thing to say.

I spent part of today catching up on the shows that have been stacking up on my DVR over these past few hectic weeks, including The Good Place and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, both Mike Schur shows. This guy and his crew consistently deliver such gems that make life brighter.

"You Might Think"

11 November 2017:

"But I think that you're wild
When you flash that fragile smile

You might think it's foolish
What you put me through.
You might think you might think I'm crazy
All I want but all I want is you." --The Cars, "You Might Think"

Fun song for a fun day. Finished up the Philadelphia trip and headed home. Spent the evening playing Pandemic and hanging out with good people. Chilling with my cat crew now. No complaints.

MAPACA, Day 2

10 November 2017: "While Supergirl can support and actively encourage her sister’s journey toward self-acceptance and same-sex romance, she herself must remain viably heterosexual in a genre that still demands that superheroines are not only capable, but also desirable." --an excerpt from a really interesting presentation I heard today. I have admitted to really enjoying this progressive, heart-on-its-sleeve, not-at-all-subtle show, but this analysis is so intriguing. So I am grateful for getting the chance to hear this presentation.

A good day in Philadelphia overall, with conferencing in the first part of the day and fun non-conference-y stuff in the second part of the day.

MAPACA

9 November 2017: "...a limited role that places her in our expanded fridge..." --an excerpt from a presentation I heard today at the MAPACA conference. I hadn't heard of this trope before, but it is fascinating as was the paper about it.

Yup. It exists.

8 November 2017: "It should be 'Billy Bob's Bible Blog.'" --a student in my Bible as Literature class, after I used what I thought was a made-up reference to a non-academic source. ("You can't use 'Billy Bob's Bible Site,'" I said. Then, after the student suggested the obviously better silly name, I said to them all, "I bet it already exists."

And yeah: it does. (Google it--I don't want to link back to it...)

"A Kiss To Build a Dream On"

7 November 2017:

"And when I'm alone with my fancies, I'll be with you
Weaving romances, making believe they're true..." --Louis Armstrong, "A Kiss To Build a Dream On"

A rainy day here, not that I am complaining too much. Didn't get to get my walk in, but did get a lot of other work accomplished. In the midst of some of that work, this song came on and charmed me, as it always does.

Yeah..that's it...

6 November 2017: "The thing they don't tell you growing up about life is this: life--it's every single day."  --comedian Gary Gulman explaining why it can be so hard to get out of bed sometimes, on this episode of The Hilarious World of Depression. 

I listened to this episode this morning while getting ready and heard this particular segment as I walked through one of my favorite parts of campus, my filled with thoughts about how much there is I would like to fix in the world, both locally and globally. I've been sort of struggling to articulate just what Gulman says here (and listen to the clip--it is also funny when/how he says it) so I was moved and relieved to hear him say it so well. Life is just...a lot sometimes, isn't it?

"Sit Me Baby One More Time"

5 November 2017: "We're stronger if we stick our crotches together." --Zeke, on tonight's episode of Bob's Burgers. Believe it or not, this line was kind of sweet. This show remains as charming as ever and such a welcome bit of levity every Sunday night.

Another conference in the books...

4 November 2017: "A woman of promise does the best at whatever she chooses to do." --the fantastic Lois Jarman, the keynote speaker at the regional conference our Sigma Tau Delta chapter hosted today. Lois was quoting one of her undergraduate teachers who set her straight after a young Lois confessed to feeling like she let her down by getting married and having a child instead of going right to law school. "I failed you," she had confessed to her teacher. "I was supposed to be a 'woman of promise!'" Her teacher's response? Fantastic!

This is the sixth time I have been the faculty sponsor for one of these conferences. Every time they are exhausting. But they also make you so darn proud of your students. Every one of the students involved this year is a woman. And they are all women of promise.

Next stop, the Gospel of Matthew...

3 November 2017: "It's been..a ride" --one of the students in my Bible as Literature class, responding to my question, "So what are you thinking as we finish up our discussion of the Hebrew Bible?" Her classmates laughed and nodded in agreement. (We are moving onto the New Testament next week.)

For me, teaching this course so far has been just fascinating, making me rethink so many aspects of this book that has been so formative to who I am. It's also been fascinating to see and hear students talk about their own experiences. I am eager to see how the last third of the class goes as we move into the New Testament.

"Such Great Heights"

2 November 2017:

"And I have to speculate
That God himself did make us
Into corresponding shapes
Like puzzle pieces from the clay

And true it may seem like a stretch
But it's thoughts like this that catch
My troubled head when you're away
When I am missing you to death." --The Postal Service, "Such Great Heights"

A quiet if weirdly busy day today, but a good one. Lots of time for contemplatin' stuff and this song seemed to fit that mood. It was actually the Iron and Wine version I heard today (that really fit the mood!), so that's the one I'll link to below.

Take a breath...

1 November 2017: "But I don't want to go 40!" --one of my best and brightest students today, in response to my trying to tell her to go a bit easy on herself, take a breath, and rest. Just before the comment above, I told her, "You've been going 80 miles an hour since you got here [two years ago]. You've been superb. But now it's okay to go 40 for a bit."

Man, do I see a lot my overachieving, type-A self in this young lady. She just wants to be done and stop for a bit, but also can't bear to give less than 100%.

The entire conversation was a good reminder to keep an eye on my over-achieving students, too. Some risk running themselves ragged or not letting "good enough" be good enough. At another point in our conversation (about a paper she needs to write for my class), I said, "And you'll do a great job," thinking I was being helpful. (Students love to hear you believe in them, right?) Her response? "Don't say that!" What I saw was that expecting nothing but the best from her was only adding to her stress.

So we took some breaths and talked about how to get her on the road to feeling a bit better. There's more I need to do, but at least we got started...