G.L.O.W.

30 December 2018: ""You let somebody in, you know? And then you make room. Then they go and yet...the room is still there." --Sam, to Ruth, in the Season 2 finale of G.L.O.W.

After waiting forever to watch it, I finally got to the second season of G.L.O.W., finishing the last episode in the early hours of this morning. This isn't a novel opinion, but it was so good. I loved it--so funny, so smart, and sometimes, so moving. The quotation above represents one of those moving moments, but the humor is even more pervasive--and so great.

Some friends and I have been talking about end-of-the-year "top ten" or "top five" lists of various kinds of culture. If I had a "best woman-centered shows," this would be so high on the list (right there with Call the Midwife, Killing Eve, The Handmaid's Tale...).

"Every Time I Hear That Song"

29 December 2018:

"By the way, I forgive you
After all, maybe I should thank you
For giving me what I've found
'Cause without you around
I've been doing just fine
Except for any time I hear that song..." --Brandi Carlile, "Every Time I Hear That Song"

This (excellent) song is on President Obama's "favorite songs of 2018" list and, well, dude has good taste. It's on my mind, too, tonight, as I think about someone I used to be quite close to.

"Beloved"

28 December 2018: Syllabizing on a foggy and kind of gloomy Friday night has me reading and thinking about Michael Field. (If you don't know about Michael Field, you really should click that previous link. What a story!)

Anyway, in my contemplative mood, here's one poem that moves me tonight.

Robot Invasion: It Begins..

27 December 2018: I left the new robot vacuum doing its thing (for the first time) while I ran up to the office. Based on the way they were watching it and stalking it when I left, I figured there was a 50% chance the cats would have destroyed it by the time I got home. But perhaps their bravery wanes when I am not here. I got home and they were all upstairs (not the robot--it can't climb stairs...yet?). Also the robot *might* be a bully. It has pushed their food bowls around and suspiciously finished its cycle and docked itself *just* as I got home. Will keep an eye on the Pixar movie in the making...

Veronica's new bird

26 December 2018: One of the three things I asked for this Christmas (the others being a robot vacuum and socks) was a new chirping bird for Veronica. She absolutely loves the ones she got the past two years--and the one from last year has lost its chirp. So, she got one. Here's the early introduction. The video even opens with a bit of drama and (perhaps unexpected?) villainy from Wesley.



So she isn't batting it around like a maniac yet, but she will soon enough.

Christmas 2018

25 December 2018:

[Catch-up post...]

When you get the perfect gift, you prepare precise instructions.

Christmas Eve 2018

24 December 2018:

[Catch-up post...]

Didn't get too many pictures this year, but here are some highlights.

Attempt #1 to get a picture of all the kids. Please note that Erin must airlift her uncooperative kid into the shot. 

Attempt #2. Also noted: nephew who cannot resist making hand gestures.

"Underneath the Tree"

23 December 2018:

The Favourite

22 December 2018: What a wickedly fun movie The Favourite is, with a trio of knock-out performances. I saw it today with Amy, Hannah, and Cory in Frederick. When we came out of the theater, a group of carolers sang "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," which was almost Rockwell-ian. Then we walked over to Lucky Corner, a Vietnamese restaurant--which was delicious, as always. So yeah: break life continues to impress.

"Publicity" Photo...

21 December 2018: Get you a friend who will meet you at the university library the moment she finishes her last day of work before the holiday break so that she can take the “publicity” photo you need. It helps if said friend worked for a photography business while she was in school. And if she can give you advice about what to wear for the photo. And if she can fix this slightly “out of control” piece of hair you’ve got. And can tell you how to stand. What a gem Hannah is!

"Winter Song"

20 December 2018: Kind of gloomy day around here today, but this song brings a kind of comfort and light.

That Winter Break Life...

19 December 2018:

Some of what I did today:

• Paperwork droppin' [had to take care of some stuff at the office...it can't be all fun...]
• Hair choppin' [got my hair cut]
• Christmas shoppin' [hit some stores in Hagerstown with Amy]
• Mary Poppin'(s) [yeah--that one is a stretch!]

[other fun stuff, too, but I am losing the gimmick...]

Last game of the year...

18 December 2018: We hosted our last trivia game of the year tonight. (Our teams voted to take the next two weeks off rather than moving our Tuesday games to a different night.) So it seems worth pausing and reflecting on the experience so far. And my verdict? It's still a lot of fun and our teams are just the best. One of them even gave us Christmas gifts.

A good day...

17 December 2018:

Things that pleased me today, in chronological order:

• End-of-the-semester tidying up (real and metaphorical) at my office.
• Stopping by to see Hannah for a few minutes and being so glad (again!) that she works on campus.
• Six of our majors getting accepted to the Sigma Tau Delta International Convention.
• Getting the news that I am a finalist for West Virginia Professor of the Year.
• Taking a walk on a pretty evening.
• A celebratory dinner with Amy at Finn Thai, followed by a surprisingly fun trip to Walmart.
• Realizing--once again, and for the hundredth time today--how amazingly blessed and lucky I am.

Housing contest...

16 December 2018: So Amy had this idea to do gingerbread houses (from scratch!). She did the really hard work: making the cookies and cutting the pieces. I showed up in time for the decorating, which, in order for everything to dry and be stable, took several hours yesterday and a couple more today. Here are the results:

I think they are both pretty cool, but she had this other idea to ask Facebook which one is better. The votes are still being counted. Ha. 

Tiki Cat...

15 December 2018:

[Catch-up post...]

How do you convince your 16-year-old cat to get in the ridiculous $7.99 cardboard Christmas Tiki Hut you bought (out of guilt) for him? Add a comfy blanket...and wait three days. And now--and only now--Wesley wants in, too.

Fall 2018 Grading: Done!

14 December 2018: Just hit "submit" on my final set of grades. Commence chair-dancing...

Last day of GWST...

13 December 2018: What an inspiring final session of GWST we had today! The students discussed their overall experiences in the class and their reflection papers. Our main aim in our revisions to the class this semester was to get them to see themselves as agents of change in the world. We added a service learning requirement to the class and made some other changes. And today? Well, it sounds like it worked as student after student talked about seeing herself as someone who could make a difference, no matter how small And rather than stay discouraged by setbacks, they are determined to keep going. Amazing.

Your "weirdness"...

12 December 2018: I got a lovely hand-made thank-you note from a wonderful student in my ENGL 204 Honors class. This class has had a lot of (good, innocent) fun with my weird comments this semester, a fact verified by her P.S.:

I am also okay being "hands down, the wokest professor [she's] ever encountered."

Nasreddin

11 December 2018: On my walk with Amy today, she told a little story about Nasreddin (who she called Hodja, another name for the character. This one involved giving a good tip for a bad haircut, and then, after a great haircut (by the same guy), giving a small tip. His answer: "That tip last time was for this haircut. This tip right here is for the last time." Ha! Quite a character! Here are some of his hits.

Marshmallow World

10 December 2018: A busy day today, with a couple of meetings, a final exam, grading, and countless other tasks. But boy, I am feeling that holiday break vibe approaching. It is in the air.  And that vibe was typified by this song, which ran through my head all day. So if this was the soundtrack of my day, it must have been a good one.

Stained Glass and Midnight Breakfast

9 December 2018:

[Catch-up post...]

Sunday was a pretty great day. I got work done in the morning, took a walk with Amy in the afternoon, and then had two great events in the evening.

First, I participated in "Stained Glass Night." Organized by a former student of mine, the event featured artists and musicians sharing their work, each illuminated by lights that turned on while they performed. (I read two poems.) It was really lovely.

Second, Midnight Breakfast! This time, since she's an official full-time Shepherd employee, we got to have Hannah on our line. Midnight Breakfast with two of my favorite people? What's not to love?

Boy Erased

8 December 2018: Saw this powerful and important movie today. I am a big old movie crier so it got to me a lot, but even for you non-criers, I suspect it will be quite moving. Terrific performances, too.

Holiday Party 2018

7 December 2018: It's that time of year: the Sigma Tau Delta holiday party. It's also the one time a year Bing and Wes wear their Christmas bow-ties. They stayed downstairs the whole time, even when there were like 25 people here. Photos courtesy of Hannah.

The last guests left at 11:08. I checked my watch. By 11:11, look who was under the dining room table.

"The Last Thing"

6 December 2018: As someone who a) worries she talks too much, b) worries she talks about things people find insignificant way too much, and c) makes lists of seemingly minor things to tell my favorite people every time I see them, I really feel this poem by Ada Limón. Here's the ending:

"...I know
you don’t always understand,
but let me point to the first
wet drops landing on the stones,
the noise like fingers drumming
the skin. I can’t help it. I will
never get over making everything
such a big deal."

Last set of capstones...

5 December 2018: "Was there anything about writing from the perspective of a sock puppet that was especially difficult?" --a question one of my colleagues asked a student who presented her creative writing capstone today.

What a great variety of presentations we had this year! Tonight's were no exception.

"Iceberg" students...

4 December 2018: I've been thinking most of the day about a student who came to talk about her status in my class. I know this student has been struggling with "outside of class" stuff all semester long, but only today did she fully explain it all. What she's dealing with--not just classes, but a job, a new baby, and a very sick older child--is staggering. And she has been moving through the semester trying to do it all without telling us.

Some students will make every excuse in the book for failure to do the simplest things. Some will make a mountain out of a molehill and expect us to move heaven and earth to accommodate them. But then there are students like this one who are like icebergs: we sense something is going on, but they keep the whole truth hidden, not wanting to share with us or burden us. Or they think we think they are playing us.

"You all [professors] don't want to hear it. You probably hear it all the time. You don't want us to dump it on you," she said. This even after I repeatedly told her to let me know if I could help. Sometimes you just can't do anymore. They have to come to you on their own time. But I also think I could have tried a little harder.

"Drown," again....

3 December 2018: Almost a year ago to the day, I posted about teaching "Drown" and how I almost replaced it but was glad that I didn't. And a semester before that, I wrote a similar post. With all the controversy around Diaz, I really considered not only moving it so it wasn't the last new piece we discussed  but even just dropping it from the syllabus

I didn't and today it was the last new piece we read for my ENGL 204 classes. I am still not sure if I should have included it or if I will include it again, but darn it, did it go well today. Playing it all over in my mind, I hear the voice of one student, who in his discussion of the unnamed narrator said, "It worked for me because this guy? I know three guys just like him." I love that connection: Diaz is writing about Dominican American men in New Jersey and this student is talking about white folks in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. But there's a poignant, painful, and important connection there.

Sunday calm before the grading storm...

2 December 2018: Actually had nothing to grade or prep this weekend. All the papers start coming in tomorrow. So--besides answering some panicked emails from students and reading one Honors Capstone proposal--I spent the entire weekend without doing any work. Today I cleaned the house a bit, finished decorating for Christmas, read the paper, paid the bills, baked some cookies, tried a new recipe, and did a walk, dinner, and a few rounds of Pandemic with Amy.

Like I said, tomorrow the craziness starts, but I feel as ready as I can be for it.

Beautiful

1 December 2018: As part of the package we got to see five musicals at the National Theater, Jane and I saw Beautiful today. I had seen it before, a couple of years ago at the Kennedy Center. It was so nice to see it again, this time with my BFF. Afterwards we took in the holiday market by the National Portrait Gallery and ducked into the museum itself to check out the (kind of) new Obama portraits. A wonderful day!