Just when you think things can't get crazier and you're trying to finish grant drafts to send to your recommenders, you find out that the logicboard on you little-engine-that-could G4 ibook is kaput. Which means the ibook is kaput, unless I want to spend several hundred dollars for a new logicboard in an old laptop. And I don't, at least not when this is the final sign in a number of events that is telling me it was time to upgrade. Fortunately, our campus bookstore was closing out their white Macbooks and I was able to get a good deal on a new one.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this blog post is being typed on the keys of my new 2.1 GHz macbook. Luckily for me, the hard drive of my old computer was fine and I was able to transfer all of my files from my old system to my new one. I'm new to Leopard and having fun playing with the new features. This model (ok, like most these days) has a built in camera, so you bay be able to expect more photos of yours truly (at least more knitting stuff for the craftier readers of this blog).
The one thing that was lost was my totally legal (cough) version of MS Office 2004. I'm going to try the trial of iWork and NeoOffice over the next month of so and let you guys know how it goes. My complaints with each program so far: IWork requires exporting files to be Office compatible and that sounds like a pain in the ass. I've tried NeoOffice twice now and not been happy with it. In fact, disliked it so much I went back to Office (at the time it was slow, bulky and didn't have the features). For you Mac readers I'll post a review of the two products and you PC readers can return to your regularly scheduled program.
Also, if you have input, feel free to leave it in the comments.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
It's been a good week.
In the last two days I found out that I:
1. will receive my TA sabbatical in Summer 2009 - this will pay me as if I was TAing but w/o the teaching duties. More importantly, it will allow me to pay my expenses here while I try to hop off on a research trip.
2. I have just been accepted into the UC Davis Tasting Histories Conference to give a talk about the World History Through Food class that I co-taught this summer. The World History seminar was brutal, but World History has give back to me in a way I never expected and will always be grateful for.
3. I managed to do 3 consecutive turns in ballet on each side (this has taken me 3 years to be able to do).
Wow, suddenly, life feels really, really good.
1. will receive my TA sabbatical in Summer 2009 - this will pay me as if I was TAing but w/o the teaching duties. More importantly, it will allow me to pay my expenses here while I try to hop off on a research trip.
2. I have just been accepted into the UC Davis Tasting Histories Conference to give a talk about the World History Through Food class that I co-taught this summer. The World History seminar was brutal, but World History has give back to me in a way I never expected and will always be grateful for.
3. I managed to do 3 consecutive turns in ballet on each side (this has taken me 3 years to be able to do).
Wow, suddenly, life feels really, really good.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Huh
This is a pretty accurate representation of a student I met with today during office hours. They are taking their first "big university" classes after transferring here from a not so local community college. In addition to living a few towns down the 1 and not having a car, they're working 4 days a week to pay their bills and make ends meet. New place, new job, new school, first upper div take home midterm. The student actually came to me to talk about reading strategies because they were so overwhelmed with the reading (about 200 pgs a week, some easy, some of the I-spent-6-years-in-the-archive-and-I'm-going-to-recount-every-single-detail difficult), they felt lost. Tears welled up in their eyes as they told me they just couldn't keep track of the argument and kept falling asleep and I felt the total terrible frustration I see in grad students making the undergrad-grad transition in this jc-univ student's eyes. I reassured them that history is simultaneously fascinating and mind numbing, and that if you try to read 200 pages on the English Reformations in one sitting, you'll pass out by page 15, wake up 3 hours later, and feel more frustrated than before. We talked through some reading strategies, writing strategies, and some "get outside and find something you look forward to, even once a week" strategies (I showed them the rec center and the recreation catalog). I also told them to keep in touch with me (I'll have my eye on them), and that b/c this is their first big assignment, I'd be happy to go through their paper with them after I hand it back.
What struck me about this encounter is the realization that I really love helping my students - especially those who are willing to work with me. This student contributes to section, comes faithfully to lecture, and is really motivated to work - not necessarily to "get an A" but to do the best work they can. What has really struck me is the realization of how much I care about my students - I want to see them bright eyed, well-fed, and with a decent night's sleep. Despite my ranting and raving, it's more frustration and disappointment when they're lazy than outright dislike. I relish in the performance aspect of teaching, but the mentoring really drives me. I especially enjoy working with my first generation college and jr college transfer students. I've been thinking a lot about this in the last few months, and it is completely clear now that I am meant to be at a teaching institution. I enjoy the research and I'm looking forward to writing my diss (man, did I just write that?), but it's the pedagogy that really gets me fired up.
What's really given me a sense of calm is how much more clear it is to me that I am on the right path. Despite my complaining, I really made the right decision in coming to graduate school. And that's sort of comforting to realize.
Now that I'm comfortable having come here, let's see if I can get the grant money to do the research, write the diss, and leave...
Frankenbra trial and the colors of fall
Frankenbra trial- general success!
I tried out my creation in class and it supported well, looked decent, and didn't fly off my body in the middle of a double pirouette - so i consider it to be a success. I do, however, need to take up the strap lengths a little bit more.
I actually had to write that last post about 3 times, each time toning down the urge to write freely about my boobs. I consider it a sign of maturity, an act of self restraint, and the realization that people who are friends but also colleagues and potential future employers, have access to this and actually may not want to Sad.
Related to the sports running around bit however (it's early, I'm trying...) is that I'm playing, for the third fall season, on the Astronomy Softball Team, "The Big Bangers". I never played in high school, I'm not particularly good, but you need to have a minimum of girls on the field to be allowed to play, so L signed me up. And then I signed up a chunk of the history department, most notably our all-star slugger, A.
In fairness to myself, I'm a lot better than I was. I hit reasonably well, I've finally figured out what I'm supposed to be doing on most of the plays I encounter in a game, and I catch the ball the majority of the time. Sometimes, however, I catch it with my shoulder instead of my glove:
Ah, the changing colors of fall....
I tried out my creation in class and it supported well, looked decent, and didn't fly off my body in the middle of a double pirouette - so i consider it to be a success. I do, however, need to take up the strap lengths a little bit more.
I actually had to write that last post about 3 times, each time toning down the urge to write freely about my boobs. I consider it a sign of maturity, an act of self restraint, and the realization that people who are friends but also colleagues and potential future employers, have access to this and actually may not want to Sad.
Related to the sports running around bit however (it's early, I'm trying...) is that I'm playing, for the third fall season, on the Astronomy Softball Team, "The Big Bangers". I never played in high school, I'm not particularly good, but you need to have a minimum of girls on the field to be allowed to play, so L signed me up. And then I signed up a chunk of the history department, most notably our all-star slugger, A.
In fairness to myself, I'm a lot better than I was. I hit reasonably well, I've finally figured out what I'm supposed to be doing on most of the plays I encounter in a game, and I catch the ball the majority of the time. Sometimes, however, I catch it with my shoulder instead of my glove:
Ah, the changing colors of fall....
Monday, October 20, 2008
Frankenbra
If you know me in person, you’ve no doubt heard me complain about the problem I face between being active and busty. Leotards are difficult to fit, the “built-in bra” for most “sports wear” is a laugh, and when I run I’m often compressed by 2-3 sports bras. Finding a high tech over the shoulder boulder holder that actually holds the boulders in place and prevents a landslide, is an on-going challenge. Fortunately, (and all the other ladies out there may also want to take a look), Champion is currently running their all sports bras $20 sale.
Although I’ve taken advantage of this, I’m a crafty grad student and cheap, and the thought of throwing out decent equipment, even if not working in its present form, makes me cringe. And as necessity is the mother of invention, I present my
Frankenbra:
Original (black unaltered version):
Alteration:
I cut out a substantial amount, so I decided to try twisting the straps to give a little more support.
Detail:
My hand sewing kind of sucks, but it's good practice.
Comparison between unaltered and altered:
This is more of a mock-up than the "real thing", which I will try to make a little more finished looking. I hand sewed all of the alterations b/c I wasn’t sure my sewing machine could handle the fabric. The plan is to see how it works and pay attention to weaknesses in my alterations. Once I figure that out, I’m going to change the black one as well. Already it fits better than it did even new. It took me about 1-2 hours to do all the sewing and I save myself some $$.
Although I’ve taken advantage of this, I’m a crafty grad student and cheap, and the thought of throwing out decent equipment, even if not working in its present form, makes me cringe. And as necessity is the mother of invention, I present my
Frankenbra:
Original (black unaltered version):
Alteration:
I cut out a substantial amount, so I decided to try twisting the straps to give a little more support.
Detail:
My hand sewing kind of sucks, but it's good practice.
Comparison between unaltered and altered:
This is more of a mock-up than the "real thing", which I will try to make a little more finished looking. I hand sewed all of the alterations b/c I wasn’t sure my sewing machine could handle the fabric. The plan is to see how it works and pay attention to weaknesses in my alterations. Once I figure that out, I’m going to change the black one as well. Already it fits better than it did even new. It took me about 1-2 hours to do all the sewing and I save myself some $$.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Houston, we have a problem
Ok, so the image may be overkill... What I actually have is one problem and one annoyance. If there are any computer-geeky types reading this blog, please leave help in the comments if you have suggestions. Problem: My ibook, which I only used plugged in b/c the battery is old and I'm too cheap to buy a new one, flashes every couple of minutes/seconds between the "charging" and battery icon (sometimes the light on the power cable also flashed orange to green and back again). I've tried a new power adaptor and the problem is persisting. After consulting the boards, I think I need a new DC-inboard (as does our IT guy here). Are these babies hard to install? Should I try it myself (at risk of breaking the darn thing), pay someone to do it, or make steak-and-a-blow job day arrive a little early this year and beg L to give me a hand? I haven't done anything hardware related on my laptop other then replace the RAM... Either way, somethings got to be done b/c I laptop is now on permanent sleep, and as anyone else in the history business knows, not being able to access you computer is like being stuck in you own special corner of hell. Fortunately my docs are backed up on the Univ's server and I had just emailed off the two big documents I was working on so I can reclaim them through gmail.
And now, the annoyance: I bought an older Belkin Ergoboard at our Surplus store, got the PCI:USB adapter, and my ibook, before it went to eternal slumber, can't/won't recognize the damn thing. Surprisingly, the internets have failed me and Belkin doesn't have anything resembling drivers. Suggestions?
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Food for an Economic Meltdown
Between the Presidential debates, the start of the quarter and the melt down of our current banking/credit system - it's been a busy few weeks. I apologize for the delay in boot week, we'll be back to that attempt at regularly scheduled programming in a bit. I've got to say, I'm glad to be in grad school, I'm glad to not have had any money to lose in the stock market - or the housing market. Yeah, my IRA is looking a little sad, but I'm not even sure I ever thought retirement was a viable option anyway. After realizing that Social Security will be kaput by the time I'm of retirement age, and not trusting the stock market to be the magical "invisible hand" that solves all my future money problems, I just sort of accepted that L & I will work until we die. Maybe it's time to take a radical step backwards and start popping out babies - then we can revolve around and mooch off of our offspring until they get sick of us and kick us onto the next.
This crash is going to change things, but not enough. We're going to try to rehabilitate our clunking capitalist vision because we're too scared to try something different. Assuming the frozen credit markets loosen up in the next week or so, we'll recover to some level resembling stability (even a recessed/depressed stability). As long as we can keep people in jobs, we'll be ok. I just hop the voters in this country realize that it's the big-deficit, big-Defense, big-government Republican administrations that have gotten us into this mess.
Enough of the rants, onto the food...
This is a tasty, comforting, healthy recipe that is perfect for the crisp fall days we've been having around here. This recipe uses 1/3 whole wheat and 2/3 all purpose flour. If you use white whole wheat, you could easily do 1/2 of each. The sugar is much lover than other Pumpkin breads (I saw one recipe with the same proportions and 3 cups of sugar), and the bananas replace the oil and add some extra sweetness. The spice combination is a little different than your standard breads, but really good. This could easily be converted to a vegan recipe.
Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients:
1/2 c. white sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar (packed)
2-4 mashed ripe bananas or 3/4 c. apple sauce (i prefer the bananas)
1/4 c. olive oil
2 eggs, 2 egg whites
2 c. pumpkin puree
2 c. all-purpose white flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
2.5 tsp cinnamon
3/4-1 tsp cloves
3/4 tsp coriander
(can also add 1-2 tsp ginger)
3/4 tsp salt (can be reduced to 1/4 tsp)
optional: 1 c. raisins, or dark chocolate chips, or nuts
1. In a large bowl beat together sugar, oil, pumpkin and eggs
2. In a medium bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt. Mix will with a wire whisk. Fold dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just moistened (do this by hand(. Stir in any additions (raisins, nuts, chocolate).
3. Pour batter into 2, 9x5 greased loaf pans. Bake in an oven pre-heated to 350 F for 1 hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
This crash is going to change things, but not enough. We're going to try to rehabilitate our clunking capitalist vision because we're too scared to try something different. Assuming the frozen credit markets loosen up in the next week or so, we'll recover to some level resembling stability (even a recessed/depressed stability). As long as we can keep people in jobs, we'll be ok. I just hop the voters in this country realize that it's the big-deficit, big-Defense, big-government Republican administrations that have gotten us into this mess.
Enough of the rants, onto the food...
This is a tasty, comforting, healthy recipe that is perfect for the crisp fall days we've been having around here. This recipe uses 1/3 whole wheat and 2/3 all purpose flour. If you use white whole wheat, you could easily do 1/2 of each. The sugar is much lover than other Pumpkin breads (I saw one recipe with the same proportions and 3 cups of sugar), and the bananas replace the oil and add some extra sweetness. The spice combination is a little different than your standard breads, but really good. This could easily be converted to a vegan recipe.
Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients:
1/2 c. white sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar (packed)
2-4 mashed ripe bananas or 3/4 c. apple sauce (i prefer the bananas)
1/4 c. olive oil
2 eggs, 2 egg whites
2 c. pumpkin puree
2 c. all-purpose white flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
2.5 tsp cinnamon
3/4-1 tsp cloves
3/4 tsp coriander
(can also add 1-2 tsp ginger)
3/4 tsp salt (can be reduced to 1/4 tsp)
optional: 1 c. raisins, or dark chocolate chips, or nuts
1. In a large bowl beat together sugar, oil, pumpkin and eggs
2. In a medium bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt. Mix will with a wire whisk. Fold dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just moistened (do this by hand(. Stir in any additions (raisins, nuts, chocolate).
3. Pour batter into 2, 9x5 greased loaf pans. Bake in an oven pre-heated to 350 F for 1 hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Welcome Fall
Fall is my favorite season. I know there are non-Californians who will hotly contest my claims that we even have a fall - but this isn't their blog, it's mine and we do and I love it. The air does get crisper. The trees do turn colors (not like MA, but we're 3K miles away, so give me a break), and the light has a diffused beauty that you don't get at any other time in the year.
However, there's another reason why I love fall: it's boot season. Even since go-go boots made a comeback when I was in high school I haven't had less than 2 pairs in my closet. I love the way they can dress up a long skit, rock the school-girl short skirt, keep the wind off your legs, and be used as a more comfortable alternative to heels as a way of dressing up professional or going out wear. In honor of boot season, I'm doing boot week on the blog.
First, the all-purpose doc marten.
You can tell I'm a teenager of the 1990s because of my loyalty and love of the brand. They fit beautifully, last forever, and give a funky edgy I really like. My first pair were a 8-eye boots covered in flowers, the next pair were purple. I out grew my wingtip/saddle style shoes a year or so ago and this is my only pair left. That being said, I love them and if/when they die they'll be replaced immediately. The 1.5 inch heel means I can wear these with all of pants and not have hems dragging on the ground, and they're sturdy enough to hold up to our bouts of rain.
However, there's another reason why I love fall: it's boot season. Even since go-go boots made a comeback when I was in high school I haven't had less than 2 pairs in my closet. I love the way they can dress up a long skit, rock the school-girl short skirt, keep the wind off your legs, and be used as a more comfortable alternative to heels as a way of dressing up professional or going out wear. In honor of boot season, I'm doing boot week on the blog.
First, the all-purpose doc marten.
You can tell I'm a teenager of the 1990s because of my loyalty and love of the brand. They fit beautifully, last forever, and give a funky edgy I really like. My first pair were a 8-eye boots covered in flowers, the next pair were purple. I out grew my wingtip/saddle style shoes a year or so ago and this is my only pair left. That being said, I love them and if/when they die they'll be replaced immediately. The 1.5 inch heel means I can wear these with all of pants and not have hems dragging on the ground, and they're sturdy enough to hold up to our bouts of rain.
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Michelangelo, I am not
We're back in session in our little city on the hill, so things are busy but good. I have a lot of repeat students this quarter - all smart and good looking - and really like English history. Which is good, because it's ostensibly what I'm going to become and expert in. The desk is working out well, I still haven't gotten myself to the library, but I've got time.
Today, dear friends, I thought I would share with you my craptastic sketches from my research trip. These are al of wood cuts that would have cost me $8 a piece to have copied b/c of the way in which they were bound. My mom is an artist and it's clear from these that I have inherited not a single drop of her skill. Behold my glory:
This was my first, Holy Cankles Batman! Proportion? Who needs proportion! In fairness, most of the proportion on these is pretty bad... but I've butchered an already not so great piece of art. Oh yeah, this is from "a song on the confessionad dying words of William Stevenson" (murdered his parents).
Ho, ho! check out the tits on Jesus! This is a woodcut from the "Wanton Wife of Bath". I think she's looking at Eve through the gates of heaven, but Eve sort of looks like Alien Mr. Burns
These are David and Bathsheba
I love this one, "Pridu's Fall: Or a warning to all English woman". This, apparently is what you give birth to if you are vain and prideful.
This one is probably my best, and the most obvious.
I was hoping my sketching would get better as I went along (it didn't), but I learned an important lesson: Cameras rock, and next time, take graph paper.
Today, dear friends, I thought I would share with you my craptastic sketches from my research trip. These are al of wood cuts that would have cost me $8 a piece to have copied b/c of the way in which they were bound. My mom is an artist and it's clear from these that I have inherited not a single drop of her skill. Behold my glory:
This was my first, Holy Cankles Batman! Proportion? Who needs proportion! In fairness, most of the proportion on these is pretty bad... but I've butchered an already not so great piece of art. Oh yeah, this is from "a song on the confessionad dying words of William Stevenson" (murdered his parents).
Ho, ho! check out the tits on Jesus! This is a woodcut from the "Wanton Wife of Bath". I think she's looking at Eve through the gates of heaven, but Eve sort of looks like Alien Mr. Burns
These are David and Bathsheba
I love this one, "Pridu's Fall: Or a warning to all English woman". This, apparently is what you give birth to if you are vain and prideful.
This one is probably my best, and the most obvious.
I was hoping my sketching would get better as I went along (it didn't), but I learned an important lesson: Cameras rock, and next time, take graph paper.
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