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| No words needed for this & next ones, right? |
Aquarium 
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Epic Family Trip: Some Cell Phone Photos
Monday, July 20, 2015
Epic Family Trip Notes
There is no way I can articulate everything that we've been experiencing in this trip in a well-written, coherent manner (particularly at 3 am, the only time I found a minute to write the first draft of this post two days ago), so I'll go with slightly disconnected notes in bullet points. I'd love to share photos too, but I only downloaded them into the computer last night. Maybe I'll share some from my phone as well, just because it's easier...
- We're
sixeight days into the trip and we've visited: Frankfurt (a group of us, very briefly, during our 7h layover); Cairo (2 days) & Mount Sinai (1 day) in Egypt; Eilat, at the Red See in Israel (2 days); and Petra and Amman, in Jordan (one night each, one morning in Petra - today). Still to come: more sightseeing in Israel, after two restful nights in a Dead Sea Resort, including Jerusalem, Galilee, etc. (then my family & parents will spend 14 rushed days in Europe).
- Cairo is pretty chaotic and fascinating. Priceless ancient monuments, ruins and statues on one hand, and trash piles and drab looking apartment buildings on the other, not to mention the chaotic traffic. In spite of that, one can't help but love the country and its people. I hope we come back to visit my brother-in-law & family soon!
- Visiting the Middle East during and at the holiday at the end of Ramadan had a good and a bad side. Good side: way less (next to none in places) souvenir vendors, emptier streets, and emptier tourist attractions too -- particularly in the early morning (8 am). Bad side: museum closing earlier (2:30-3pm) and Nile river cruise dinner starting either too early (5:30 or too late 9 pm -- we took the later one and went to bed really late that night). Another good side was lighter traffic around sunset (7 pm) and a bad side was that the Eilat resort in Israel was crowded because of the holiday weekend.
- It was lovely to visit my brother-in-law's apartment and place of work, even if only for a short half-hour (before the late Nile cruise). Now we can picture where they live how how their lives are in Cairo.
- Eating all those tempting "exotic" dishes is great, until it's not anymore for several people who get diarrhea or constipation (I didn't get really sick, but felt some cramps, and was kind of constipated for a while). My husband and several other people still had an OK appetite, but were or still are very "loose" for may days, some other people were full-on sick.
- Israel (Eilat and surrounding area is all I know so far) is very Western, but very much like Brazil in a way that is hard to explain. How the town is laid out, how the stores are, how people behave, etc. Of course ALL beaches in Brazil are sandy, not rocky like their nice (if small) Red Sea beach.
- If you stay at five-star hotels you get very spoiled and then it's harder to stay at the simpler hotels (Saint Catherine - bare bones) & Petra (old building). All these fancy hotel stays also lead to youngest nephew in the trip (9) asking grandpa "How many starts is this next hotel?" and making funny disappointed faces at the suggestions that it's one, two or three stars. ;-) (it was four, BTW, and he thought that was OK).
- One gets used to living off a suitcase after a while, especially because of the previous item. It's annoying, but feasible. 37 days is too long of a period and I'm sure I'll be sick and tired of my clothes and shoes by the end, but so far I think I planned well.
- We desperately need to plan a trip to come back and snorkel/dive in the Red Sea. My dream used to be to go to the Caribbean and I still want to go, particularly to the Yucatán peninsula in Mexico, but now I know where I should come snorkel. The undersea observatory at the Eilat aquarium was one of the most amazing sights I've ever seen. It was INCREDIBLE! Too bad the pictures don't show the true colors of the fish. I will try to edit them, but I don't know how.
- I knew from the start that we wouldn't have enough time in Petra. It was a bit frustrating, but with the really hot weather and having to manage 46 people in the group, I suppose I shouldn't complain having been there only from 8 to 11:30 am. The hardest thing is being so close to seeing so many wonderful things and being able to see only part of it. Sigh... Oh, and not visiting the Citadel in Jordan, only stopping outside its gates to take some photos wasn't cool either. But... whatever.
- It was very sad that one of my mother-in-law's four cousins who came on the trip had to leave last night. The cousins' dad is very sick and hospitalized and the mom is freaking out while all their four children were in this trip, so she left to go help them and had to cancel her husband's trip to meet her in Israel tomorrow and they are both going to Brazil. We're hoping their dad will get better and recover or else the trip will be ruined for the other three siblings. :-( So please keep uncle Williams in your thoughts and prayers (as well as my uncle Arlindo who is sick in Brazil).
- I'm getting several items of my Bucket List crossed out in this trip. The main one was visiting Petra. But I guess that one will be only half crossed-out (sigh). The second one would be the Pyramids, but I still need/want to go to the Valley of the Kings (Luxor), so I'll leave it a half too. ;-)
Saturday, July 18, 2015
A Room with a View
I was stunned when I woke up and opened the hotel room curtain in Giza (close to Cairo, Egypt):
Some more views:
Swimming with a view:
Trying night photos:
Sunday, July 12, 2015
Airport Blogging/ Out of It
Quickly blogging at the airport before our flight to Frankfurt and from there to Cairo.
We're excited, but exhausted because we just had some very intense days and late nights. (I went to bed at 4 AM last night and got up at 6:30)
In addition I am very out of it, because it I was using my "real name" Twitter account last week to check important issues from the church meeting.
Apparently people are shocked by how Atticus Finch is portrayed in the newly published draft version of h
Harper Lee's book. Sigh... The book was never meant to be published and is mostly a publicity stunt by the publisher, so... What's the big deal?
Last, but not least, my phone has gone beserk. First I think it reached our data usage cap and it just hasn't been online since yesterday. I was only able to get connected to the internet here at the airport. However, the phone won't let me use iTunes or the App Store. :-(
We will begin boarding in the next few minutes so I hope to be able to blog again soon from another country!
Friday, July 10, 2015
3rd Day of 37
Good morning all the way from San Antonio, TX!
Third day of the trip, second night in a hotel. I'm thinking that nearly 30 nights in different hotels will be tiresome! Thankfully we'll spend some nights at people's houses in Europe, phew!
It will probably be our longest adventure in a long time, that's for sure!
I started a post from my phone a couple of days ago and lost all I'd written, so I won't even try to capture it. Well... maybe I will. But I started it by saying that we came to TX to meet my husband's whole family (his parents, his 3 brothers, wives and kids) and attend some meetings of our church's "general conference" that happens every 5 years and draws thousands upon thousands of people (they're thinking around 70,000 tomorrow).
It's been a great experience and we're spending most of the time with family and not at the meetings, but yesterday we had a chance to meet some dear friends, which was lovely.
A big part of my husband's extended family (all his maternal uncles and aunts) is also here and we haven't seen them all. Some of them will travel with us to the Middle East, but others won't, so we have to try to spend some time with them too! I was SUPER surprised to also find my mom's oldest brother (88 years old!) and his wife here. He traveled with one of my mother-in-law's tour groups -- she had FIVE groups of Brazilian folks going on at the same time, tours to: Alaska (Cruise) [with my MIL & FIL], West Coast, Hawaii, Canada, and U.S. East Coast -- each one led by two or three members of the extended family!
So, I should be going now. I want to bring my laptop down with me to the breakfast area so I can write a bit, but still be able to see family members.
Third day of the trip, second night in a hotel. I'm thinking that nearly 30 nights in different hotels will be tiresome! Thankfully we'll spend some nights at people's houses in Europe, phew!
It will probably be our longest adventure in a long time, that's for sure!
I started a post from my phone a couple of days ago and lost all I'd written, so I won't even try to capture it. Well... maybe I will. But I started it by saying that we came to TX to meet my husband's whole family (his parents, his 3 brothers, wives and kids) and attend some meetings of our church's "general conference" that happens every 5 years and draws thousands upon thousands of people (they're thinking around 70,000 tomorrow).
It's been a great experience and we're spending most of the time with family and not at the meetings, but yesterday we had a chance to meet some dear friends, which was lovely.
A big part of my husband's extended family (all his maternal uncles and aunts) is also here and we haven't seen them all. Some of them will travel with us to the Middle East, but others won't, so we have to try to spend some time with them too! I was SUPER surprised to also find my mom's oldest brother (88 years old!) and his wife here. He traveled with one of my mother-in-law's tour groups -- she had FIVE groups of Brazilian folks going on at the same time, tours to: Alaska (Cruise) [with my MIL & FIL], West Coast, Hawaii, Canada, and U.S. East Coast -- each one led by two or three members of the extended family!
So, I should be going now. I want to bring my laptop down with me to the breakfast area so I can write a bit, but still be able to see family members.
Wednesday, July 08, 2015
The Great Adventure
We're about to literally embark on our greatest adventure since the South Africa trip back in 2012, thanks to my mother-in-law's travel agency. I'd link to her, but then I'd blow my cover (hahaha... such a thin cover, I suppose).
That amazing trip was, however, only 10 days long, and this trip will be 37 days long and will include two continents, Africa & Europe. We won't fly 17 hours straight, but our total hours flying, starting this morning when we're flying to Texas, will much exceed two 17 hour flights. We won't see amazing animals, but we'll see incredible man-made places such as the pyramids and Petra.
I feel thrilled and humbled that my family, especially my 11 & 13 year olds, will have such an amazing opportunity so early in life. I know it will be probably even more life-changing than the South Africa trip.
So having slept only 2 hours is nothing in the grand scheme of things. I'll keep you posted!
That amazing trip was, however, only 10 days long, and this trip will be 37 days long and will include two continents, Africa & Europe. We won't fly 17 hours straight, but our total hours flying, starting this morning when we're flying to Texas, will much exceed two 17 hour flights. We won't see amazing animals, but we'll see incredible man-made places such as the pyramids and Petra.
I feel thrilled and humbled that my family, especially my 11 & 13 year olds, will have such an amazing opportunity so early in life. I know it will be probably even more life-changing than the South Africa trip.
So having slept only 2 hours is nothing in the grand scheme of things. I'll keep you posted!
Tuesday, July 07, 2015
44
I had a fantastic birthday, probably the best in a long, long time! I hope next year will be even better because I think I'll be with my family in Brazil (but not with my husband :-( -- nothing is perfect in life, I guess).
The most incredible fact is that today was one of the most dreaded days for me: the day before a really long vacation. I dread this day because it always involves endless packing and checking of packed luggage to make sure that nothing is forgotten, in addition of countless little and big things that have always been left for the least possible moment and need to be taken care of.
Thankfully the suitcases had mostly been packed on Monday night, but I still needed to do some last minute shopping, which I did, in addition to some delightful pampering in the company of one of my best friends: my first mani-pedi in America (I'd only previously had them in Brazil). When my friend J shared with me back in April that a pedicure is done while on a massage chairl I was completely sold and couldn't wait to do it sometime. Good thing it was today!
Our family wanted to go out to eat, but we didn't have time, given the countless things that had to be done around the house. Oh well... K had difficulty submitting a paper to publication, so we left late to go to his aunt's house (which is close to the airport) to get our 7 am flight.
It's actually 2 am, but I'm still up, delighted with the really fast internet. Our internet is SO SLOW that when we go to a place with real internet we are thrilled. :-)
I hope to write a couple more posts, but maybe I should go to bed, we are supposed to get up in 3.5 hours. Sigh...
The most incredible fact is that today was one of the most dreaded days for me: the day before a really long vacation. I dread this day because it always involves endless packing and checking of packed luggage to make sure that nothing is forgotten, in addition of countless little and big things that have always been left for the least possible moment and need to be taken care of.
Thankfully the suitcases had mostly been packed on Monday night, but I still needed to do some last minute shopping, which I did, in addition to some delightful pampering in the company of one of my best friends: my first mani-pedi in America (I'd only previously had them in Brazil). When my friend J shared with me back in April that a pedicure is done while on a massage chairl I was completely sold and couldn't wait to do it sometime. Good thing it was today!
Our family wanted to go out to eat, but we didn't have time, given the countless things that had to be done around the house. Oh well... K had difficulty submitting a paper to publication, so we left late to go to his aunt's house (which is close to the airport) to get our 7 am flight.
It's actually 2 am, but I'm still up, delighted with the really fast internet. Our internet is SO SLOW that when we go to a place with real internet we are thrilled. :-)
I hope to write a couple more posts, but maybe I should go to bed, we are supposed to get up in 3.5 hours. Sigh...
Thursday, July 02, 2015
Made by Me! Pretty "Naked Cake" & Fruit Arrangements
Note: only photos from my phone for now (unedited, unfiltered!). I'll edit the post & write more later. I couldn't stop taking photos of that cake! :-)
Getting Anxious (Pre-Travel Stress is the Worst!)
I started packing for our epic six-weeks long trip last week, but I've been planning what to take and shopping for shoes (light walking shoes, open & closed) for months and months now.
Until last night, I was just really excited and just planning and making lists to try not to forget anything, but suddenly I got anxious last night and didn't even have a good night of sleep...
It's just that we'll be going up some mountains in the Alps and driving far North in Germany (to Hamburg), so we need to actually be prepared to face cooler weather. I had forgotten that we'd need some pants and light jackets and now I'm freaking out that they won't fit in the carry-on suitcases that K and the boys decided to buy & pack (one for each, two of them cute ones from IKEA Family). I'm taking a medium sized suitcase, though, I can't think of only having the little one! And besides, we need to check at least one bag with liquids & gels.
My stress & anxiety before a trip is always the same, though: I'm afraid to forget some important item (hardly ever do) and to take the wrong clothes or not enough. I always tended to pack lots of clothes in the past, but I've been making a concerted effort to pack light for the past few years -- thus it's happened that I didn't have enough clothes on a few occasions (all short trips not too far from home). I think I'll be fine, but I know already that I'll be taking more clothes than I'll actually need and I'm fine with that. I just hope my husband won't complain too much!
In the end, it all boils down to the fact that I have a really, really hard time making decisions, especially small everyday decisions. It's excruciating! Sigh...
I hope that I can pull off something that will be nothing short of miraculous: to be 100% packed on Monday, the day before we leave and the day before my birthday. Did I mention that I'm actually throwing myself a birthday party on Sunday? A "Pinterest" cute party? Yeah, I'm insane, but I really wanted to to it. I've wanted to have a birthday party for years, but my friends are never in town around my b-day, but this year they'll be! Yay!!
I hope to blog the party! But before I need to show you this wedding shower I "catered" for! Lovely photos to come, I hope! I guess my anxiety is better now that I'm talking about these fun things! I hope it will all turn out ok in the end!
Monday, June 29, 2015
Too Much to Say (or Not)
These past two weeks were intense. The main reason I haven't blogged about the horrible terrorist attack and hate crime that took place a week an a half ago in North Carolina is that it's very hard for me to know what to say and how to say it. I want to be an outspoken ally of the African American community and to condemn racism, but I need to be keenly aware of my white privilege at all times.
I am grateful for all the writing that my online friend LaToya (Dr. Mama Esquire) has been doing on Twitter and in her blog. Hearing her voice and her perspective is very important to me and one of the reasons why I stayed silent even though another online friend whose opinion I value, Susan, was upset at those of us who didn't speak up.
So many things are so complicated -- I know this is a cliche, but it's so true of my life. Things are even more complicated when you are an immigrant, living in several conflicting worlds and cultures. In addition to that "condition" I also am part of a faith community about which I have extremely complex and mixed feelings. Ditto for academia. Sometimes my brain and my heart hurt at the same time because there are so many forces pulling me in so many directions. I can't even articulate my thoughts and feelings.
I just happened to come across something critical about NPR's coverage of Israel and I was reminded once more that in a few weeks I'm going to visit a country I have very mixed feelings about as well, because of the Palestinians.
Then there's the daily reality of our lives. My husband is scrambling to finish writing a grant proposal and academic articles, so he spends 15-17 hours away from home working in his office at the university every single day except Friday night & Saturday (and, Sat. night lately). He leaves between 9-11 am and comes back between 2-4 am.
Most nights I've been awake until he gets home, but it's mostly been coincidental. Sometimes it's because I took some short catnaps and have just been able to stay up, sometimes I'm just naturally awake. I'm going to bed now, but maybe he won't even come back home -- because he needs/wants to finish writing the grant tonight.
Obviously, I still have TONS of things I want to blog about and end up not doing it. I will try. Today I prepared food for a bridal shower at church and I want to share photos of that! And some other things.
Gotta go to bed now, though!
I am grateful for all the writing that my online friend LaToya (Dr. Mama Esquire) has been doing on Twitter and in her blog. Hearing her voice and her perspective is very important to me and one of the reasons why I stayed silent even though another online friend whose opinion I value, Susan, was upset at those of us who didn't speak up.
So many things are so complicated -- I know this is a cliche, but it's so true of my life. Things are even more complicated when you are an immigrant, living in several conflicting worlds and cultures. In addition to that "condition" I also am part of a faith community about which I have extremely complex and mixed feelings. Ditto for academia. Sometimes my brain and my heart hurt at the same time because there are so many forces pulling me in so many directions. I can't even articulate my thoughts and feelings.
I just happened to come across something critical about NPR's coverage of Israel and I was reminded once more that in a few weeks I'm going to visit a country I have very mixed feelings about as well, because of the Palestinians.
Then there's the daily reality of our lives. My husband is scrambling to finish writing a grant proposal and academic articles, so he spends 15-17 hours away from home working in his office at the university every single day except Friday night & Saturday (and, Sat. night lately). He leaves between 9-11 am and comes back between 2-4 am.
Most nights I've been awake until he gets home, but it's mostly been coincidental. Sometimes it's because I took some short catnaps and have just been able to stay up, sometimes I'm just naturally awake. I'm going to bed now, but maybe he won't even come back home -- because he needs/wants to finish writing the grant tonight.
Obviously, I still have TONS of things I want to blog about and end up not doing it. I will try. Today I prepared food for a bridal shower at church and I want to share photos of that! And some other things.
Gotta go to bed now, though!
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Goldilocks
I just made an interesting mistake! ;-)
I'll let you know what K thinks!
Sigh...
I didn't give the best instructions to the hairdresser, so, instead of two tones of highlights, I ended up with my very first full head hair coloring experience! Two tones of blonde. Darker and lighter. The plan is to add more light brown highlights in three weeks, so family will be less shocked by it when we meet in July. ;-)
In the meantime, I will hopefully enjoy looking quite different for these next three weeks. My sons thought it was okay, but different. I already called my husband, but I have to wait for the verdict when he gets home. I think he'll be ok too.
I guess at 40+ one has to shake things up once in a while!
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
Writing Retreat
I've been at a writing retreat since yesterday and it's been great. I'm reading more than writing, because I'm working on a conference paper for next week which I had not done any reading for, but I have seven pages of notes for the paper (and it only needs to be 9 pages long). I hope to get some more work done tomorrow morning.
And even more meaningful than reading and writing I am making some great new friends that I hope to keep in touch with for years to come if possible! There is one person I already know (her daughter goes to the same school as our sons and has been my oldest son's classmate for the past five years, they also go to out church), but I met several others and I'm particularly excited to have met a colleague from Russia who moved here a year ago.
Interestingly, there are several of us with children that are 12 or 13 years old, that feels interesting! I should be working and not blogging, but I've missed blogging.
Oh, last, but not least, the food at this retreat center is pretty amazing!
And even more meaningful than reading and writing I am making some great new friends that I hope to keep in touch with for years to come if possible! There is one person I already know (her daughter goes to the same school as our sons and has been my oldest son's classmate for the past five years, they also go to out church), but I met several others and I'm particularly excited to have met a colleague from Russia who moved here a year ago.
Interestingly, there are several of us with children that are 12 or 13 years old, that feels interesting! I should be working and not blogging, but I've missed blogging.
Oh, last, but not least, the food at this retreat center is pretty amazing!
Thursday, June 04, 2015
Mockingbird/ Mockingjay
Well, it didn't work out very well to watch the Mockinjay Part I movie almost back to back with To Kill a Mockingbird (the movie with Gregory Peck)! ;-)
Not only are the books and movie styles completely different, but movies made so many decades apart (half a century, in fact!) have incredibly different paces and techniques. So, yeah, it was almost a joke to do something like this, but it's not often that I go to the university library's Media Center to borrow DVDs (this time they had Bluray for Mockinjay, yay!!), so I got those two plus the documentary Hey, Boo which I don't know if I will finish. [Hey, if you're interested it will air again on July 10 on PBS to "honor" the July 14 release of the prequel Go Set a Watchman!].
It seems that the To Kill a Mockingird screenplay was hailed as one of the best adapted screenplays of all time and I think it's OK, but I was truly pleasantly surprised by how great and how "faithful" to the book Mockinjay Part I was! It didn't end exactly where I'd thought and said it would end (I think that would have been way too much suspense!), but almost. It was so faithful that they even showed the lake and certain areas of District 12 that had not been shown in the previous two movies. I really really liked it!
Of course I hadn't read the Suzanne Collins book as recently as I had when I watched the first two movies, which I basically didn't like at all, particularly the first one, The Hunger Games. They cut too much of the book (in the words of my 13 year old son who has read them all and watched the films with us, in the first movie, it feels as if the games themselves last for a few days, not over two excruciating weeks). Catching Fire was slightly better, but still not that great -- too little time was spent showing the Capitol, among other faults. Their portrayal of how they controlled the Arena with a model was cool, though, as was having a view of the background of what's going on. After watching Mockingjay (on Tuesday night), I re-read the ending of the book again and I think it's pretty great. I hope the last film won't disappoint!
My husband worked on reading the trilogy over many months (maybe close to 6 months) and he finished a bit over a month ago and thought the author did a fantastic job, particularly in portraying post-traumatic stress disorder. Not a lot of time in the movie(s) shows that, even because the films don't have a first person narrator, but we get to see the effects on Katniss. Jennifer Lawrence is a great actress. Phillips Seymour Hoffman is splendid and I don't know exactly how they'll get around not having him in the sequel. He only appears at the end, so I guess they'll have Haymith say his lines.
As for To Kill a Mockinbird it also cuts most of the novel, no scenes in the school, barely any relationship with the neighbor ladies, no aunt Alexandra, but it keeps the main scenes and Peck and the girl actress who plays Scout are splendid. I think we're spoiled by the way movies are made nowadays, though. Thankfully, great books transcend the passage of time and the novel moved me greatly.
Next, I'll blog about Lois Lowry's books which I read last week (The Giver & companion books).
Not only are the books and movie styles completely different, but movies made so many decades apart (half a century, in fact!) have incredibly different paces and techniques. So, yeah, it was almost a joke to do something like this, but it's not often that I go to the university library's Media Center to borrow DVDs (this time they had Bluray for Mockinjay, yay!!), so I got those two plus the documentary Hey, Boo which I don't know if I will finish. [Hey, if you're interested it will air again on July 10 on PBS to "honor" the July 14 release of the prequel Go Set a Watchman!].
It seems that the To Kill a Mockingird screenplay was hailed as one of the best adapted screenplays of all time and I think it's OK, but I was truly pleasantly surprised by how great and how "faithful" to the book Mockinjay Part I was! It didn't end exactly where I'd thought and said it would end (I think that would have been way too much suspense!), but almost. It was so faithful that they even showed the lake and certain areas of District 12 that had not been shown in the previous two movies. I really really liked it!
Of course I hadn't read the Suzanne Collins book as recently as I had when I watched the first two movies, which I basically didn't like at all, particularly the first one, The Hunger Games. They cut too much of the book (in the words of my 13 year old son who has read them all and watched the films with us, in the first movie, it feels as if the games themselves last for a few days, not over two excruciating weeks). Catching Fire was slightly better, but still not that great -- too little time was spent showing the Capitol, among other faults. Their portrayal of how they controlled the Arena with a model was cool, though, as was having a view of the background of what's going on. After watching Mockingjay (on Tuesday night), I re-read the ending of the book again and I think it's pretty great. I hope the last film won't disappoint!
My husband worked on reading the trilogy over many months (maybe close to 6 months) and he finished a bit over a month ago and thought the author did a fantastic job, particularly in portraying post-traumatic stress disorder. Not a lot of time in the movie(s) shows that, even because the films don't have a first person narrator, but we get to see the effects on Katniss. Jennifer Lawrence is a great actress. Phillips Seymour Hoffman is splendid and I don't know exactly how they'll get around not having him in the sequel. He only appears at the end, so I guess they'll have Haymith say his lines.
As for To Kill a Mockinbird it also cuts most of the novel, no scenes in the school, barely any relationship with the neighbor ladies, no aunt Alexandra, but it keeps the main scenes and Peck and the girl actress who plays Scout are splendid. I think we're spoiled by the way movies are made nowadays, though. Thankfully, great books transcend the passage of time and the novel moved me greatly.
Next, I'll blog about Lois Lowry's books which I read last week (The Giver & companion books).
Good Question!
Thanks for your question, What Now? Obviously there could still be something, but I have a sneaking suspicion that in this particular case, being a local candidate didn't work in my favor. Of course this "local" is relative, since I don't work in this department of with any of their faculty.
Besides, my application was more of a tenure track application. That's what I was advised to do by my (fabulous) friend. Incidentally, she had a meeting last week, or two weeks ago, with the chair of the department where the position is and she had promised to make some inquiries. To be quite frank, I'm afraid to ask anything... Sigh...
In any case, my friend had told me that this was my one shot, so my application should look like an application for a tt job -- I should try with all my might, give 'em all I've got. So I did. Maybe they'll want to give me a chance next year? Maybe they only want to hire a person that will clearly know that this is a ONE YEAR thing -- because that's not what my application was for. I mentioned solid projects that have potential for many years of work with students. So... yeah... maybe that's part of the problem.
And I'm not upset or disappointed. I'm just preparing myself for another year of language teaching and for fighting again to keep my jobs and/or get another one.
It's OK. Part of the process. Too bad that I'm turning 44 and it's been 7 years since I finished my PhD so I'm probably past my expiration date as an academic. I'm not ready to quit yet, though. I won't go down without a fight. (She says, sardonically, always aware that it's pretty much a lost battle, that on this very day we learned more about the decline of the humanities... Sigh).
Yeah, whatever... ;-)
Besides, my application was more of a tenure track application. That's what I was advised to do by my (fabulous) friend. Incidentally, she had a meeting last week, or two weeks ago, with the chair of the department where the position is and she had promised to make some inquiries. To be quite frank, I'm afraid to ask anything... Sigh...
In any case, my friend had told me that this was my one shot, so my application should look like an application for a tt job -- I should try with all my might, give 'em all I've got. So I did. Maybe they'll want to give me a chance next year? Maybe they only want to hire a person that will clearly know that this is a ONE YEAR thing -- because that's not what my application was for. I mentioned solid projects that have potential for many years of work with students. So... yeah... maybe that's part of the problem.
And I'm not upset or disappointed. I'm just preparing myself for another year of language teaching and for fighting again to keep my jobs and/or get another one.
It's OK. Part of the process. Too bad that I'm turning 44 and it's been 7 years since I finished my PhD so I'm probably past my expiration date as an academic. I'm not ready to quit yet, though. I won't go down without a fight. (She says, sardonically, always aware that it's pretty much a lost battle, that on this very day we learned more about the decline of the humanities... Sigh).
Yeah, whatever... ;-)
Nothing... & Benign
Two short posts in one, to save time. ;-)
Nothing is what I heard from my job application. I hope they'll at least send a rejection letter. It's better than NOTHING. Sigh... :-( I guess it was just a dream and, as I've said before, I'm confident that whatever happens will be for the best.
(what if I lost my other two jobs, got this one year position and then lost it after the end of the year? If they open a TT position I'll apply. And I'll try to publish at least a couple more articles until I have to send out that application [I don't know when I'll find the time, but I can try]. Sigh...)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The second part is about the polyps from my colon. I got a call from the doctor a week ago to say that they were benign, but considered "pre-cancerous," so I'll need another colonoscopy in 5 years (my mom thinks is too far into the future). I'm glad I'm OK, but slightly concerned at the same time. I don't know if there's anything I can do to prevent future problems. I'll look in to that.
. . . . .
Last, but not least, a weather report. Yesterday it was even colder for swim practice (59 F), but the boys braved it again. Today, both soccer and swim practice are cancelled because of the rainy cold weather.
At least I think it'll get warmer tomorrow. Today it's drizzling... which kind of reminds me of the city of São Paulo and its famous drizzle. I wrote a poem about that many years ago (1992) and posted it to the blog for Jo(e), eight years ago. Wow, I've been blogging for an awfully long time, haven't I?
Nothing is what I heard from my job application. I hope they'll at least send a rejection letter. It's better than NOTHING. Sigh... :-( I guess it was just a dream and, as I've said before, I'm confident that whatever happens will be for the best.
(what if I lost my other two jobs, got this one year position and then lost it after the end of the year? If they open a TT position I'll apply. And I'll try to publish at least a couple more articles until I have to send out that application [I don't know when I'll find the time, but I can try]. Sigh...)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The second part is about the polyps from my colon. I got a call from the doctor a week ago to say that they were benign, but considered "pre-cancerous," so I'll need another colonoscopy in 5 years (my mom thinks is too far into the future). I'm glad I'm OK, but slightly concerned at the same time. I don't know if there's anything I can do to prevent future problems. I'll look in to that.
. . . . .
Last, but not least, a weather report. Yesterday it was even colder for swim practice (59 F), but the boys braved it again. Today, both soccer and swim practice are cancelled because of the rainy cold weather.
At least I think it'll get warmer tomorrow. Today it's drizzling... which kind of reminds me of the city of São Paulo and its famous drizzle. I wrote a poem about that many years ago (1992) and posted it to the blog for Jo(e), eight years ago. Wow, I've been blogging for an awfully long time, haven't I?
Tuesday, June 02, 2015
Chilly Swim Practice
61 F (16 C) is a little chilly for swim practice, but the boys said the water wasn't cold & did ok! 
And the coach put both together in one lane.
Monday, June 01, 2015
The Last Salary
Every end of May/beginning of June I get paid my last salary from U#2 and then I have to wait until the end of September for the next one. It's always very depressing. (I know I recently blogged about this, sorry about being so repetitive!). I have given up on teaching summer classes because nobody registers for them anymore. I need to teach online, but I won't develop an online class without being paid to do so. (and I don't have time during the semester to participate of the workshops that lead to that payment).
My husband didn't get the NSF grant he applied for two years ago and another collaborative grant he had been promised went wrong, so he doesn't have a "real" summer salary either (only 2.5K that he managed to salvage from the second grant). Of course, his meager wages as an assistant professor are distributed through the 12 months of the year (although it's technically a salary for 9 months only), so we still have enough for the mortgage and other living expenses, but still... I hate this side of summer.
With our big amazing trip coming up (Egypt, Jordan, Israel & Europe), I'm just very apprehensive at the thought of the credit card debt we'll have until my first salary is deposited. (in addition to our current debt due to the car we bought last summer [that post has a spam comment from a car dealer, but it's so cute I won't delete it! ;-)])
OK... enough complaining. There are more annoying things to worry about right now than money... Horrible Weeds! A really messy house with misplaced things that I really really want/need to find. A garage that needs to be organized and cleaned to accommodate a new present I'll soon blog about!
My husband didn't get the NSF grant he applied for two years ago and another collaborative grant he had been promised went wrong, so he doesn't have a "real" summer salary either (only 2.5K that he managed to salvage from the second grant). Of course, his meager wages as an assistant professor are distributed through the 12 months of the year (although it's technically a salary for 9 months only), so we still have enough for the mortgage and other living expenses, but still... I hate this side of summer.
With our big amazing trip coming up (Egypt, Jordan, Israel & Europe), I'm just very apprehensive at the thought of the credit card debt we'll have until my first salary is deposited. (in addition to our current debt due to the car we bought last summer [that post has a spam comment from a car dealer, but it's so cute I won't delete it! ;-)])
OK... enough complaining. There are more annoying things to worry about right now than money... Horrible Weeds! A really messy house with misplaced things that I really really want/need to find. A garage that needs to be organized and cleaned to accommodate a new present I'll soon blog about!
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Eleven!
My "baby" turned eleven yesterday!
He is a joy and makes our lives and our family complete.
We had some of his friends for lunch (pasta: Spaghetti and Farfalle with red & alfredo sauces) and since he mostly wanted ice-cream I baked him a simple Brazilian carrot cake: a yellow cake made with carrots put in the blender with eggs and oil with an also really simple chocolate frosting: sweetened cocoa (such as Nesquick) with some butter or margarine & a few spoons of milk put in the microwave, stirred, and spread over the cake while it is still warm (the frosting sets later when the cake cools and gets less shiny).
I can't believe L is already eleven!
He is a joy and makes our lives and our family complete.
We had some of his friends for lunch (pasta: Spaghetti and Farfalle with red & alfredo sauces) and since he mostly wanted ice-cream I baked him a simple Brazilian carrot cake: a yellow cake made with carrots put in the blender with eggs and oil with an also really simple chocolate frosting: sweetened cocoa (such as Nesquick) with some butter or margarine & a few spoons of milk put in the microwave, stirred, and spread over the cake while it is still warm (the frosting sets later when the cake cools and gets less shiny).
Friday, May 29, 2015
Last Days of School Are Sad! :-(
As my sons get older and closer to important milestones in life I get more & more emotional about them. I was thinking today, as I walked into my sons' school, that I will get to relive twice all the rites of passage in life that I went through myself (and then, if I am blessed with grandchildren and a long life -- I'll live through many more with the grandkids, WOW!). And I don't know if I like that prospect. I wasn't really thinking of those things when I had children. Sigh... It's interesting to discover new things about mothering/ parenting once in a while, though!
Last night was 8th grade graduation and my 7th grader actually walked down the aisle during the ceremony (the tradition in our school is that pairs of 7th graders stand in line as their classmates walk in, one by one) and I was teary-eyed several times during reading of the profiles of the 18 graduating students. I am very apprehensive about next year, I don't want to cry from beginning to end! It's hard, though! My parents will be here as will probably my in-laws. Kelvin is the oldest grandchild on both sides of the family, so it will be the first graduation for all of us.
Today I missed the photo slide show that the 7-8th grade teacher always prepares for the whole school and I felt sad about it. The last day of school is the day I bring cake to celebrate my youngest son's birthday, since it's the last day I can do it before the date (May 30th). In the first three years I baked cupcakes, but in the last two our new tradition has become homemade vanilla-Oreo ice-cream cake! (the Oreos are crushed in the blender, the ice-cream is mixed with Cool-Whip). I'm becoming "famous" in the elementary school because of this cake, kids and adults alike love it. I bring it to school so the kids can eat it before school is out (12:15 on the last day), after singing Happy Birthday to my son.
This was done and it went on smoothly, but then I felt sad that it was all over. Particularly as I went over to Kelvin's class and saw the eighth graders (not high-schoolers) there for the last time! :-( Next year it will be my son and I will probably be sadder, but at the same time excited for what is coming. If all goes well, next year will be the beginning of a 12 year streak of graduations for our sons. One every two years: 8th grade, high school, college. I know it will go by just too fast, so I want to savor every event, even if it feels sad. (wow, that was a lot of "eves"! and "Vs")
This year seems to have gone fast, but it was also kind of stressful, so it's a good thing it's over. I have mixed feelings about it all, though, because I have a hard time keeping my sons going at home. I know that if left to their own devices all they will do will be to spend all day playing on their ipad or computers (Minecraft) or, maybe their WiiU, and that's not good. Summers aren't my favorite time of the year -- unless we're traveling, which, we obviously will.
Have a great summer, everyone!
Last night was 8th grade graduation and my 7th grader actually walked down the aisle during the ceremony (the tradition in our school is that pairs of 7th graders stand in line as their classmates walk in, one by one) and I was teary-eyed several times during reading of the profiles of the 18 graduating students. I am very apprehensive about next year, I don't want to cry from beginning to end! It's hard, though! My parents will be here as will probably my in-laws. Kelvin is the oldest grandchild on both sides of the family, so it will be the first graduation for all of us.
Today I missed the photo slide show that the 7-8th grade teacher always prepares for the whole school and I felt sad about it. The last day of school is the day I bring cake to celebrate my youngest son's birthday, since it's the last day I can do it before the date (May 30th). In the first three years I baked cupcakes, but in the last two our new tradition has become homemade vanilla-Oreo ice-cream cake! (the Oreos are crushed in the blender, the ice-cream is mixed with Cool-Whip). I'm becoming "famous" in the elementary school because of this cake, kids and adults alike love it. I bring it to school so the kids can eat it before school is out (12:15 on the last day), after singing Happy Birthday to my son.
This was done and it went on smoothly, but then I felt sad that it was all over. Particularly as I went over to Kelvin's class and saw the eighth graders (not high-schoolers) there for the last time! :-( Next year it will be my son and I will probably be sadder, but at the same time excited for what is coming. If all goes well, next year will be the beginning of a 12 year streak of graduations for our sons. One every two years: 8th grade, high school, college. I know it will go by just too fast, so I want to savor every event, even if it feels sad. (wow, that was a lot of "eves"! and "Vs")
This year seems to have gone fast, but it was also kind of stressful, so it's a good thing it's over. I have mixed feelings about it all, though, because I have a hard time keeping my sons going at home. I know that if left to their own devices all they will do will be to spend all day playing on their ipad or computers (Minecraft) or, maybe their WiiU, and that's not good. Summers aren't my favorite time of the year -- unless we're traveling, which, we obviously will.
Have a great summer, everyone!
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
The Weeds Have Won! :-(
And it's not just that it looks bad and overgrown (because it does):
It's because EVERY SINGLE KIND of EVIL POISON weed is present in our smalish yard (like 0.3 of an acre).
Poison Ivy is everywhere:
Poison Ivy is everywhere:
Thankfully, I am not highly allergic to them (my husband is, horribly so, as is my dad), but I've had reactions in the past and I know that reactions can get worse with time.
In any case, I am the one who is going to have to deal with them all. However, I am TERRIBLE at doing yard work. I procrastinate (especially when I have tons to do). And I just can't do it in the heat (especially not covered head to toe in protective clothing and gear!!).
HELP! I am desperate and upset and sad.
And (although I LOVE flowers and wish I could be good at gardening) I want to sell this house and buy a townhouse in which I don't ever have to deal with poisonous weeds ever again!!! :-(
HELP! I am desperate and upset and sad.
And (although I LOVE flowers and wish I could be good at gardening) I want to sell this house and buy a townhouse in which I don't ever have to deal with poisonous weeds ever again!!! :-(
In Brasil we didn't have/don't have poison ivy and its evil friends -- why are they so prevalent here? Why??? :-(
Friday, May 22, 2015
To Kill a Mockingbird
... or, as my son Kelvin, a Hunger Games fan, says, he'll always want to call it "To Kill a Mockinjay" :-)
I didn't grow up in his country. Yes, I majored in in English, but this was not one of the books I read in my 20th Century American Lit. class.
So I hadn't read it until now, until today. I bought it after I became aware of the brouhaha and excitement caused by the upcoming publication of Mockingbird's "sequel."
WOW, what a book! I really knew nothing about it or about the author, which is such a gift nowadays. In an age of pervasive information overload, ignorance is not bliss, it's a rare gift.
So I was delighted when I found out that Dill was modeled on Capote, Harper Lee's childhood friend, and that I was 100% right in realizing that that fascinating little boy was gay. (I still need to watch Capote with genius Phillip Seymour Hoffman -- still sad about his death. Fame is often perilous). I also had no idea that her father had been a lawyer and that there are many other autobiographical traces in the novel
In any case, what a joy to read such a masterpiece! Makes me long for reading and teaching literature. Oh, if I could just get the job! I think it would be a most welcome career change. Sigh...
And how relevant to read a book about racism and lopsided race relations after the past few years' deaths of young black men at the hands of police or vigilantes. This country has come a long way, but it has not overcome racism.
I'd love to talk more about this book some other time! Now I want to see the Gregory Peck movie and watch the documentary (I'm all about linking to The Post today! ;-).
I didn't grow up in his country. Yes, I majored in in English, but this was not one of the books I read in my 20th Century American Lit. class.
So I hadn't read it until now, until today. I bought it after I became aware of the brouhaha and excitement caused by the upcoming publication of Mockingbird's "sequel."
WOW, what a book! I really knew nothing about it or about the author, which is such a gift nowadays. In an age of pervasive information overload, ignorance is not bliss, it's a rare gift.
So I was delighted when I found out that Dill was modeled on Capote, Harper Lee's childhood friend, and that I was 100% right in realizing that that fascinating little boy was gay. (I still need to watch Capote with genius Phillip Seymour Hoffman -- still sad about his death. Fame is often perilous). I also had no idea that her father had been a lawyer and that there are many other autobiographical traces in the novel
In any case, what a joy to read such a masterpiece! Makes me long for reading and teaching literature. Oh, if I could just get the job! I think it would be a most welcome career change. Sigh...
And how relevant to read a book about racism and lopsided race relations after the past few years' deaths of young black men at the hands of police or vigilantes. This country has come a long way, but it has not overcome racism.
I'd love to talk more about this book some other time! Now I want to see the Gregory Peck movie and watch the documentary (I'm all about linking to The Post today! ;-).
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Update on Dad & Tickets to Brazil
Just to "throw salt on the wound" [as we say in Portuguese] yesterday my brother-in-law (K3) informed the family that American Airlines has some tickets to Brazil for under 450 dollars.
SERIOUSLY???
Just because I don't really have time to go? :-( I just wanted to weep like a baby.
I checked them out and did find some for $448 flying from Philly.
Maybe I could go? Just maybe? June 21-27? August doesn't work because my parents will still be in Europe.
sob! :-(
----------------------------
OK, now for the good, great, peaceful, news!!
Everything went very smoothly with my dad and uncle in court. They wheeled him in on a wheelchair and the (female) judge only asked him and my dad a few questions and granted the request. I think just by looking at him one can see that he's not doing well. :-(
My mom just told me how in the end my uncle enjoyed the day (and I felt very much like crying while listening to all the details of the story). He wanted to go out to lunch in the next town (where they were going to court), so my dad took him, driving slowly, because their appointment with the judge was 4 hours later. Then he wanted to have some ice-cream, which they did. Finally, my dad explained to him that they needed to go to court so my dad could help him more.
When they reached the courthouse my uncle didn't want to go in, he just wanted to wait in the car (he has a bad leg, that's why my dad got the wheelchair). To make matters worse, there was a 45 minute delay, but my cousin (on my mom's side, he's an assistant to his lawyer dad) helped by talking to my uncle for a while.
After leaving the courthouse they took him back to his filthy house... and he even wanted to go home with my dad (something he never wanted to do before). Maybe my parents can fix and rent out his house (which used to be my grandparents' old home) and he can come live close to them. This won't be easy, though because he's a heavy smoker, has limited mobility and is, clearly very confused and hard to deal with.
Sigh...
His mind is very foggy and he can't really understand that now my dad is in charge of his money and, pretty much, his life. It's very sad, but it's for the best. I will share more about this uncle someday.
My brother's son has his name (one of the reasons why my brother didn't really want the name) and, of course, the same last name. My mom also had a brother with this name...
Daniel. A beautiful, meaningful name.
The only uncle who ever gave me presents when I was growing up...
SERIOUSLY???
Just because I don't really have time to go? :-( I just wanted to weep like a baby.
I checked them out and did find some for $448 flying from Philly.
Maybe I could go? Just maybe? June 21-27? August doesn't work because my parents will still be in Europe.
sob! :-(
----------------------------
OK, now for the good, great, peaceful, news!!
Everything went very smoothly with my dad and uncle in court. They wheeled him in on a wheelchair and the (female) judge only asked him and my dad a few questions and granted the request. I think just by looking at him one can see that he's not doing well. :-(
My mom just told me how in the end my uncle enjoyed the day (and I felt very much like crying while listening to all the details of the story). He wanted to go out to lunch in the next town (where they were going to court), so my dad took him, driving slowly, because their appointment with the judge was 4 hours later. Then he wanted to have some ice-cream, which they did. Finally, my dad explained to him that they needed to go to court so my dad could help him more.
When they reached the courthouse my uncle didn't want to go in, he just wanted to wait in the car (he has a bad leg, that's why my dad got the wheelchair). To make matters worse, there was a 45 minute delay, but my cousin (on my mom's side, he's an assistant to his lawyer dad) helped by talking to my uncle for a while.
After leaving the courthouse they took him back to his filthy house... and he even wanted to go home with my dad (something he never wanted to do before). Maybe my parents can fix and rent out his house (which used to be my grandparents' old home) and he can come live close to them. This won't be easy, though because he's a heavy smoker, has limited mobility and is, clearly very confused and hard to deal with.
Sigh...
His mind is very foggy and he can't really understand that now my dad is in charge of his money and, pretty much, his life. It's very sad, but it's for the best. I will share more about this uncle someday.
My brother's son has his name (one of the reasons why my brother didn't really want the name) and, of course, the same last name. My mom also had a brother with this name...
Daniel. A beautiful, meaningful name.
The only uncle who ever gave me presents when I was growing up...
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Just for Fun! (Trying on Colorful Clothes)
I know some people hate shopping (good for them!), but for me it's son much fun! It's almost therapeutic.
However, I have way way way too many clothes. I buy too many clothes and women in my family also give me some clothes, so it's not good!
Today I entered Ross (one of my "favoritest" stores!) to look for sneakers for my sons and I decided I could NOT buy anything for me, particularly not dresses (I love dresses & own too many).
I'm happy to say that I didn't, but I had some fun trying four colorful dresses (most maxi) and one "dressy short coverall." Here's the result!
Well, I will try not to go into any more stores until I get paid in September! Because next time I may not resist the temptation!
"Like a lamb to the slaughter"
edited to correct a few details
These were my dad's words two days ago when he was getting ready to leave for Paraná, the state in Brazil where he grew up. My dad is really, really stressed out.
Today Tomorrow (Wednesday) he has an audience with a judge in the presence of his youngest brother who is schizophrenic and who lives in the tiny town where the family lived from 1940 until 1978. Another uncle (from my mom's side of the family) is going to be the attorney, but it is my dad who is going to have two make the arguments (and he doesn't feel prepared, much less to speak in front of his brother).
These were my dad's words two days ago when he was getting ready to leave for Paraná, the state in Brazil where he grew up. My dad is really, really stressed out.
My uncle has been unable to manage his own money for several years. He receives disability payments because he was a police officer many years ago in Brazil before his problems got worse and was discharged from duty. So my dad wants/needs to become his legal guardian in order to use the money to help my uncle take care of the house and to pay for people to help him. Dad knows that his brother is going to be furious about all this and may become violent in court. That's why he feels like a lamb going to the slaughter. :-(
Please keep them all in your prayers. I will write more later to share some more of this sad story! :-(
Monday, May 18, 2015
What if nothing comes of it?
I seriously have to ask myself this question about the application for the job at U#1 and I need to prepare myself for it too (because that's what realists* do).
I know it's probably too early to hear back from the search committee (they started reviewing applications last Thursday) and, of course, I keep on thinking of reasons why they would rather not have a local person take the job, especially if deans start pressuring them because of "spousal" reasons. Sigh...
I don't think that knowing a couple of people in the department, even if one of them may be the search committee chair, helps at all. Maybe the contrary.
OK, call me a pessimist if that's what needs to be done, but I need to rehearse all kinds of worst case scenarios.
And, answering my own question -- if nothing comes of it I already have two "half" jobs for next year (although U#2's job seems to be a "phantom" job at the moment -- the classes are not in my online schedule!) and... delightfully, I'll be able to sit in/help teach an MPB** graduate class every Tuesday morning!
I have lots of good things to look forward to, so I should be calm and confident, not worried. Ha! I wish! I don't know how I can prepare for an interview if one is scheduled. Sigh... I'll try to ask my friends to help me out! Fingers crossed!
* I refuse to say I'm a pessimist. I do see the positive side of life, but I desperately need to prepare myself for the worse every time. Maybe I am always pessimistic about money, but I think I have good reason to be! K and I almost argued about it this morning, sigh... he can't stand what he calls my negative/pessimistic thinking.
**Música Popular Brasileira - Braz. music.
I know it's probably too early to hear back from the search committee (they started reviewing applications last Thursday) and, of course, I keep on thinking of reasons why they would rather not have a local person take the job, especially if deans start pressuring them because of "spousal" reasons. Sigh...
I don't think that knowing a couple of people in the department, even if one of them may be the search committee chair, helps at all. Maybe the contrary.
OK, call me a pessimist if that's what needs to be done, but I need to rehearse all kinds of worst case scenarios.
And, answering my own question -- if nothing comes of it I already have two "half" jobs for next year (although U#2's job seems to be a "phantom" job at the moment -- the classes are not in my online schedule!) and... delightfully, I'll be able to sit in/help teach an MPB** graduate class every Tuesday morning!
I have lots of good things to look forward to, so I should be calm and confident, not worried. Ha! I wish! I don't know how I can prepare for an interview if one is scheduled. Sigh... I'll try to ask my friends to help me out! Fingers crossed!
* I refuse to say I'm a pessimist. I do see the positive side of life, but I desperately need to prepare myself for the worse every time. Maybe I am always pessimistic about money, but I think I have good reason to be! K and I almost argued about it this morning, sigh... he can't stand what he calls my negative/pessimistic thinking.
**Música Popular Brasileira - Braz. music.
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Two Goals!!
While his brother's team didn't do too well on the West Coast, my youngest son played very very hard in his incomplete soccer team and scored TWO goals!
For a long time in the game they were losing 4 X 2, then tied 5 X 5 for a while, that means his last two goals granted their 7 X 5 victory! He was so proud of himself and I screamed and jumped up and down as a really proud mama!
He's one of the smallest kids (and certainly the skinniest one), so I kept screaming that he was a tiny titan, no I think it was tiny wonder, or some such silly thing. ;-)
I'll try to edit to include a photo of him from earlier in the season (haven't transfered those to computer yet!).
Good thing we had at least one great victory to celebrate today!
For a long time in the game they were losing 4 X 2, then tied 5 X 5 for a while, that means his last two goals granted their 7 X 5 victory! He was so proud of himself and I screamed and jumped up and down as a really proud mama!
He's one of the smallest kids (and certainly the skinniest one), so I kept screaming that he was a tiny titan, no I think it was tiny wonder, or some such silly thing. ;-)
I'll try to edit to include a photo of him from earlier in the season (haven't transfered those to computer yet!).
Good thing we had at least one great victory to celebrate today!
Competing in California
My "baby's" team is competing in California right now and I wish I were there to cheer them on! Their first run wasn't that great and they are currently in 2nd place with 2 more runs to go. So much tension!!
I wish they could win, to make the trip even more meaningful since they've worked SO hard! We'll see what happens! Meanwhile I'm glued to my phone and to the group text messages I'm getting from their teacher. My son hasn't responded to any texts from me. :-(
I'll keep you posted!
Their next run is in 15 minutes, at 2:25 PT (post edited at 5:10pm ET).
6 pm update: OH, the tension!!! Something went awry with their robot this morning, so they are still in second place with only 205 points after their second run and they're working feverishly to see if their last run can be improved. Best team's points are 270. Sigh :-(
Poor kids, I imagine they must be so stressed!! And frustrated! That's why my son won't respond. He's probably seated at the computer trying to program the robot. I imagine.
Last update 6:55 pm- They gotsecond third (7:50 pm) place! (230 points in last run) Not what they wanted, but still OK. As my husband said just now, "the trip was the most important thing" and I guess it was!
They'll be back tomorrow night. One whole week away!
I wish they could win, to make the trip even more meaningful since they've worked SO hard! We'll see what happens! Meanwhile I'm glued to my phone and to the group text messages I'm getting from their teacher. My son hasn't responded to any texts from me. :-(
I'll keep you posted!
Their next run is in 15 minutes, at 2:25 PT (post edited at 5:10pm ET).
6 pm update: OH, the tension!!! Something went awry with their robot this morning, so they are still in second place with only 205 points after their second run and they're working feverishly to see if their last run can be improved. Best team's points are 270. Sigh :-(
Poor kids, I imagine they must be so stressed!! And frustrated! That's why my son won't respond. He's probably seated at the computer trying to program the robot. I imagine.
Last update 6:55 pm- They got
They'll be back tomorrow night. One whole week away!
Fiercely Missing Brazil
:-(
The worst part was finding out that tickets to fly there now are the cheapest they've been in many years, maybe 10 years. And even cheaper for flying from there to here (good for my brother-in-law who is moving to the Middle East with his family this summer via the U.S. -- he's been flying several times here to bring suitcases full of their personal belongings).
I wish I could go, but I can't. We simply cannot afford it.Sometimes I ALWAYS get mad at this whole "not being able to afford anything" thing. I'm tired of it and, at the same time, I don't think it will ever change. I cannot fathom how it could.
The culprit right now is a very good thing -- the upcoming "big trip" -- and, of course, last week we just went ahead and bought a car (even though we still have credit card debt from buying the Prius -- or would it be the trip's tickets? Gah, either one!). But I'll try to come back to blog about this later.
Every year, or several times a year sometimes, it just hits me... a never-ending, bottomless saudade (can be roughly translated as homesickness) that fills me with longing and sadness and a desire to just be there. In the country where I grew up. Looking at that familiar sky (I miss the Southern Cross! A LOT!), spending time with my parents, seeing friends and family and their new babies (one of our friends' precious baby girl just turned one a few days ago), eating yummy Brazilian food, etc.
I'm glad these feelings generally don't last too long and I just realized that they must come in May and during the summer when I'm stuck at home, without work, feeling (and truly being) poor and aimless. No wonder I want to go to Brazil. No wonder I generally GO when I can! It give these long, excessively hot, summers purpose and joy. I am so looking forward to going next year! I hope it'll be everything I'm hoping for. I'm already making a super-long to-do list!
Meanwhile, I have to try and work on the translation and try to work on the house and yard (VERY depressing post about the weeds coming up) and... I'm getting worried that the job application will come to nothing!
Sorry! I can't focus! This post was supposed to be about missing Brasil and instead I'm all over the place. Sigh...
all right, let's see if I can accomplish a few things today, right?
The worst part was finding out that tickets to fly there now are the cheapest they've been in many years, maybe 10 years. And even cheaper for flying from there to here (good for my brother-in-law who is moving to the Middle East with his family this summer via the U.S. -- he's been flying several times here to bring suitcases full of their personal belongings).
I wish I could go, but I can't. We simply cannot afford it.
The culprit right now is a very good thing -- the upcoming "big trip" -- and, of course, last week we just went ahead and bought a car (even though we still have credit card debt from buying the Prius -- or would it be the trip's tickets? Gah, either one!). But I'll try to come back to blog about this later.
Every year, or several times a year sometimes, it just hits me... a never-ending, bottomless saudade (can be roughly translated as homesickness) that fills me with longing and sadness and a desire to just be there. In the country where I grew up. Looking at that familiar sky (I miss the Southern Cross! A LOT!), spending time with my parents, seeing friends and family and their new babies (one of our friends' precious baby girl just turned one a few days ago), eating yummy Brazilian food, etc.
I'm glad these feelings generally don't last too long and I just realized that they must come in May and during the summer when I'm stuck at home, without work, feeling (and truly being) poor and aimless. No wonder I want to go to Brazil. No wonder I generally GO when I can! It give these long, excessively hot, summers purpose and joy. I am so looking forward to going next year! I hope it'll be everything I'm hoping for. I'm already making a super-long to-do list!
Meanwhile, I have to try and work on the translation and try to work on the house and yard (VERY depressing post about the weeds coming up) and... I'm getting worried that the job application will come to nothing!
Sorry! I can't focus! This post was supposed to be about missing Brasil and instead I'm all over the place. Sigh...
all right, let's see if I can accomplish a few things today, right?
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Polyps & Bronchiectasis
If you don't like health condition discussions, steer clear of this post! ;-)
I had my second colonoscopy today (first one was in 2009) and the doctor said he found and removed two polyps. (I can't say that word without thinking of my friend Jo's former blog, The Leery Polyp)
My mom is super stressed out about this because she had some polyps removed a couple of years ago and she thinks it's OK to have polyps at 73, but not at 43!
We have a history of colon problems in our family, including the death of my paternal grandfather after a failed colonoscopy and my maternal great-grandma's death, that's why I've been proactive by seeing GI doctors once in a while. (Never mind that the local office had me seen by a physician's assistant last year and this year -- I checked her badge, she is NOT a nurse practitioner, which would have been acceptable -- and still charged me the specialist co-pay ($40). Health care in this country is an outrageous joke sometimes. I think the assistant did an OK job, but still, paying for an expensive doctor's visit and not seeing a doctor is TYPICAL of U.S. health care, BLAH! the same thing happened on my second visit to the dermatologist. I don't want to go back there anymore now!).
However, my mom shouldn't be worrying about me when she has had a very worrisome recent diagnosis of bronchiectasis to worry about. This is an irreversible condition in which the airways in one's lungs have been stretched and damaged and can no longer effectively get rid of mucus and get air in. Scary, right?! She was actually diagnosed by her cardiologist (because she thought she had heart problems) and hasn't yet seen a lung specialist. The symptoms are shortness of breath and the sensation of a "weight" on the lungs.
We just had a "fun" conversation of nearly 40 minutes on Skype in which she worried about me a bit and then I listened to her talk about the doctor's visit and urged her to do certain things (such as NOT use the 40 year old nebulizer and go buy a brand new one, go to a lung doctor, start physical therapy, etc.). "Mothering" one's mother isn't easy!
My mom has always been very good and proactive about her health care, so I've never had to worry about it, but this is a new condition that we weren't aware of and she didn't seem to be taking it as seriously as she should. She's undergone multiple surgeries with no fear and she's generally quite healthy, but this lung problem was likely caused by her gastric reflux which has been treated, but still bothers her.
I'll keep you posted about these issues!(sigh...)
Note to self: I need to come up with a label for posts about my parents
P.S. Fingers crossed for the application which was due today. I'm getting nervous!
I had my second colonoscopy today (first one was in 2009) and the doctor said he found and removed two polyps. (I can't say that word without thinking of my friend Jo's former blog, The Leery Polyp)
My mom is super stressed out about this because she had some polyps removed a couple of years ago and she thinks it's OK to have polyps at 73, but not at 43!
We have a history of colon problems in our family, including the death of my paternal grandfather after a failed colonoscopy and my maternal great-grandma's death, that's why I've been proactive by seeing GI doctors once in a while. (Never mind that the local office had me seen by a physician's assistant last year and this year -- I checked her badge, she is NOT a nurse practitioner, which would have been acceptable -- and still charged me the specialist co-pay ($40). Health care in this country is an outrageous joke sometimes. I think the assistant did an OK job, but still, paying for an expensive doctor's visit and not seeing a doctor is TYPICAL of U.S. health care, BLAH! the same thing happened on my second visit to the dermatologist. I don't want to go back there anymore now!).
However, my mom shouldn't be worrying about me when she has had a very worrisome recent diagnosis of bronchiectasis to worry about. This is an irreversible condition in which the airways in one's lungs have been stretched and damaged and can no longer effectively get rid of mucus and get air in. Scary, right?! She was actually diagnosed by her cardiologist (because she thought she had heart problems) and hasn't yet seen a lung specialist. The symptoms are shortness of breath and the sensation of a "weight" on the lungs.
We just had a "fun" conversation of nearly 40 minutes on Skype in which she worried about me a bit and then I listened to her talk about the doctor's visit and urged her to do certain things (such as NOT use the 40 year old nebulizer and go buy a brand new one, go to a lung doctor, start physical therapy, etc.). "Mothering" one's mother isn't easy!
My mom has always been very good and proactive about her health care, so I've never had to worry about it, but this is a new condition that we weren't aware of and she didn't seem to be taking it as seriously as she should. She's undergone multiple surgeries with no fear and she's generally quite healthy, but this lung problem was likely caused by her gastric reflux which has been treated, but still bothers her.
I'll keep you posted about these issues!(sigh...)
Note to self: I need to come up with a label for posts about my parents
P.S. Fingers crossed for the application which was due today. I'm getting nervous!
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
"If you're going to San Francisco..."
No, I didn't tell him to wear flowers in his hair. I suppose it wouldn't look good on a 13 year old boy!
My son is flying right now to San Francisco with seven other classmates, a teacher and a mom. They will be competing on a national robotics conference (for our denominational schools) next Sunday and the teacher is taking them early to tour the area.
It will be Kelvin's second time on the West Coast, but he was only 15 months when we went to LA for a few days back in 2003.
I will miss him, but my exercises in "letting go" have served me well -- I want him to go and have fun and to know I'm here for him when he comes back! And I know he's going to call me, he already did once this morning, when they landed in Charlotte, NC for their connecting flight.
Yesterday, one of the moms posted on facebook that her heart was aching and that she wished her daughter to stay here and I was so relieved that I don't feel that way at all! YAY!
Have a grand time, Kelv!! Like your dad said last night (they had a super-early flight, so they went to spend the night close to the airport), maybe you'll return someday to work on one of the tech giants!
P.S. we'll have to take him to tour those when we finally get to go there ourselves! (I know that the Apple-fanatic boy and now android enthusiast will want to see those companies)
My son is flying right now to San Francisco with seven other classmates, a teacher and a mom. They will be competing on a national robotics conference (for our denominational schools) next Sunday and the teacher is taking them early to tour the area.
It will be Kelvin's second time on the West Coast, but he was only 15 months when we went to LA for a few days back in 2003.
Yesterday, one of the moms posted on facebook that her heart was aching and that she wished her daughter to stay here and I was so relieved that I don't feel that way at all! YAY!
Have a grand time, Kelv!! Like your dad said last night (they had a super-early flight, so they went to spend the night close to the airport), maybe you'll return someday to work on one of the tech giants!
P.S. we'll have to take him to tour those when we finally get to go there ourselves! (I know that the Apple-fanatic boy and now android enthusiast will want to see those companies)
I'm DONE!!!!!
Grading and submitting grades. Before the deadline!
But now I have to work on the translation! :-(
And tomorrow I have a colonoscopy (history of colon problems in family, just a check up to make sure it's all good, last one was 6-7 years ago), so no fun not eating all day and then being "cleansed" overnight. BLAH...
But now I have to work on the translation! :-(
And tomorrow I have a colonoscopy (history of colon problems in family, just a check up to make sure it's all good, last one was 6-7 years ago), so no fun not eating all day and then being "cleansed" overnight. BLAH...
Friday, May 08, 2015
Application Sent
I'm exhausted and a bit stressed, but I submitted my application five days before the deadline which is HUGE for me! ;-)
Today it was stressful to edit the Teaching Statement with my husband -- we do have very different styles and it's very hard for me to give up on my voice to adopt a more succinct and objective style.
Oh well...
And now I wait.
One of the reasons I was so stressed out about submitting the whole application online was that I submitted the information for the references twice, but they never received the automated emails. I am hoping that now that I completed the whole thing they'll get it.
I hope hope hope hope I get this job!! I am 100% ready to leave the other department at U#1 as well!
Today I had lunch with a dear colleague who is returning to Italy after eight years in this department and university and no permanent residency or a good contract. Very sad.
Enjoy the weekend everyone!
Today it was stressful to edit the Teaching Statement with my husband -- we do have very different styles and it's very hard for me to give up on my voice to adopt a more succinct and objective style.
Oh well...
And now I wait.
One of the reasons I was so stressed out about submitting the whole application online was that I submitted the information for the references twice, but they never received the automated emails. I am hoping that now that I completed the whole thing they'll get it.
I hope hope hope hope I get this job!! I am 100% ready to leave the other department at U#1 as well!
Today I had lunch with a dear colleague who is returning to Italy after eight years in this department and university and no permanent residency or a good contract. Very sad.
Enjoy the weekend everyone!
Wednesday, May 06, 2015
My Fabulous Colleague
She calls all her women colleagues beloved and you can't help but love her. She is one of the smartest women I have ever known, and beautiful too. Her accomplishments are just incredible. She published "only" 29 articles before being granted tenure last year.
She is from Kenya and we hit it off right away from the first time we met. My only regret is that I haven't spent enough time with her in the past five years. We are both hoping that this is about to change. She was amazingly enthusiastic and encouraging about my chances to get this position from the beginning and today she helped me make an already strong cover letter even stronger.
Most importantly, she made me feel accomplished and confident about my strengths as a fabulous candidate, to use a word she likes. It will be indescribably fabulous to work with her if I this works out. Let's hope it does!!
She is from Kenya and we hit it off right away from the first time we met. My only regret is that I haven't spent enough time with her in the past five years. We are both hoping that this is about to change. She was amazingly enthusiastic and encouraging about my chances to get this position from the beginning and today she helped me make an already strong cover letter even stronger.
Most importantly, she made me feel accomplished and confident about my strengths as a fabulous candidate, to use a word she likes. It will be indescribably fabulous to work with her if I this works out. Let's hope it does!!
Still Not Done! :-( & My Genius Writing Partner :-)
I hope to write a different post soon, but I suppose I'll wait until Friday, or Sunday, when I should be fully done with both universities (I'm still at the same point I was in the previous post from Monday evening)...
Yesterday was a long day. I spent most of it on a teaching retreat (at a beautiful location, with delicious food and nice company, thankfully!), then I did a series of trips to several grocery stores, stopping at various points in my 70 minute commute back home, and making it a 4 hour affair -- that was very tiresome!
My husband's students are coming for an end-of-the-semester dinner tonight, (sigh...) but I also took so long because I always pick up several items for a friend every time I go to one of my favorite grocery stores and yesterday it was time-consuming because I had to email her photos of different things to check if I was buying the right things. And I still need to go to Costco today to finish the grocery shopping! We're preparing a Mexican (Chipotle eatery-style) meal since yesterday was Cinco de Mayo. :-)
Then, while I was driving home from my last stop I saw a new email about the letters of recommendation and freaked out BIG TIME (because I didn't realize the letters needed to be submitted by the deadline too! So I hadn't said that to my references!). So I got home nervous and high on adrenaline and because it was 9 pm and I still needed to feed the boys something and had to put away all the groceries, but all I wanted/needed was to sit at the computer and write emails to people, I screamed at my poor husband and it was not a pretty sight.
huge sigh...
I did calm down, prepared something for the boys, wrote all the emails, and got the answers I needed, thankfully. And then, around 11 pm K and I sat down to work on the application materials. He edited my cover letter for a couple of hours by himself and then we revised it together.
He's a GENIUS writing these things, my husband is. What would I do without him? No wonder he got four interviews (including one at an Ivy-League school) and almost got a grant he applied for. He has learned to write these things!!
I was joking that he's my ninja-writer husband to which he replied that ninjas are not only precise and skillful but FAST and he's very, very slow when writing, so I had to drop the metaphor... sigh...
OK, I just heard back from my last reference and will now login to the job application site and provide the information for each of them. I'll keep you updated about the job application!
P.S. it's such a gorgeous day! I wish I didn't have to work and grade and give exams, etc... (I have two students taking tomorrow's exam at U#1 early later this morning...)
Yesterday was a long day. I spent most of it on a teaching retreat (at a beautiful location, with delicious food and nice company, thankfully!), then I did a series of trips to several grocery stores, stopping at various points in my 70 minute commute back home, and making it a 4 hour affair -- that was very tiresome!
My husband's students are coming for an end-of-the-semester dinner tonight, (sigh...) but I also took so long because I always pick up several items for a friend every time I go to one of my favorite grocery stores and yesterday it was time-consuming because I had to email her photos of different things to check if I was buying the right things. And I still need to go to Costco today to finish the grocery shopping! We're preparing a Mexican (Chipotle eatery-style) meal since yesterday was Cinco de Mayo. :-)
Then, while I was driving home from my last stop I saw a new email about the letters of recommendation and freaked out BIG TIME (because I didn't realize the letters needed to be submitted by the deadline too! So I hadn't said that to my references!). So I got home nervous and high on adrenaline and because it was 9 pm and I still needed to feed the boys something and had to put away all the groceries, but all I wanted/needed was to sit at the computer and write emails to people, I screamed at my poor husband and it was not a pretty sight.
huge sigh...
I did calm down, prepared something for the boys, wrote all the emails, and got the answers I needed, thankfully. And then, around 11 pm K and I sat down to work on the application materials. He edited my cover letter for a couple of hours by himself and then we revised it together.
He's a GENIUS writing these things, my husband is. What would I do without him? No wonder he got four interviews (including one at an Ivy-League school) and almost got a grant he applied for. He has learned to write these things!!
I was joking that he's my ninja-writer husband to which he replied that ninjas are not only precise and skillful but FAST and he's very, very slow when writing, so I had to drop the metaphor... sigh...
OK, I just heard back from my last reference and will now login to the job application site and provide the information for each of them. I'll keep you updated about the job application!
P.S. it's such a gorgeous day! I wish I didn't have to work and grade and give exams, etc... (I have two students taking tomorrow's exam at U#1 early later this morning...)
Monday, May 04, 2015
Almost Done!
Only 18 more final exams to grade and enter grades online and I'll be done at U#2!
The best thing I ever did was to volunteer to proctor an exam for a colleague which forced me to finish grading! If the exam had been an hour longer I would have finished!!
Now I am going to spend the night in the colleague's house so we can go to a workshop tomorrow.
And I keep thinking, and hoping, these will be my last days here. If they're not, it's okay. I need to be prepared either way.
Blogging in 2015 = Talking to Oneself?
I keep saying that I'll be the last one standing, but now that it seems that professional blogging is dying too -- a big example is that Heather Armostrong of Dooce announced that she's moving on -- I wonder what will happen to the rest of the blogosphere. (I've discussed here before that "amateur blogging" is slowly dying).
The truth is that it's tough to talk to oneself, but I keep doing it because years before blogging was created I was "talking to myself" in my journals, so it's a practice that works for me. But once more I feel alone and, saddest of all, lonely. Once upon a time, way back in 2006, blogging truly changed my life, but most of those friends's blogs are gone now. Being in touch with them via facebook or twitter is not the same. :-(
OK, I have one more post about this issue from my drafts folder that I'm working on, but I didn't want to leave that last post there, I wanted to "change the subject," so I'll stop here for now.
I still have TONS of grading to do, wish me luck!
The truth is that it's tough to talk to oneself, but I keep doing it because years before blogging was created I was "talking to myself" in my journals, so it's a practice that works for me. But once more I feel alone and, saddest of all, lonely. Once upon a time, way back in 2006, blogging truly changed my life, but most of those friends's blogs are gone now. Being in touch with them via facebook or twitter is not the same. :-(
OK, I have one more post about this issue from my drafts folder that I'm working on, but I didn't want to leave that last post there, I wanted to "change the subject," so I'll stop here for now.
I still have TONS of grading to do, wish me luck!
Saturday, May 02, 2015
I am SO DONE with U#2!
I wrote this on April 23 and then finished it yesterday, May 1st. However, it was published "in the past" (on April 23), but now I'm "bringing it to the present" (May 2).
Written on about a week ago after I'd had an annoying meeting with my colleague/boss. I no longer feel as contemptuous (as my just published post can attest - I love that post and that photo, BTW). But I want to publish it "for the record." Sometimes feeling righteous indignation over how we are treated is useful.
Written on about a week ago after I'd had an annoying meeting with my colleague/boss. I no longer feel as contemptuous (as my just published post can attest - I love that post and that photo, BTW). But I want to publish it "for the record." Sometimes feeling righteous indignation over how we are treated is useful.
Because, seriously! I had to write the depressing previous post (this one about my salary) before I wrote this one just to show how outrageous the situation really is for me! As my dear friend emailed me today apropos of that link I sent her, I deserve better!
And I'm ready to move on from this job on every level. It will be a relief to drive only 36 miles a day instead of 152! It will be awesome to be able to drive to work with my husband on certain days, and to go out for lunch with him on a regular basis.
In spite of the even worse and more exploitative pay, I have always been treated well at U#1. They have paid my expenses to go to conferences every single year, I have been able to buy books with department money, I get included in departmental meetings and events, and other things. And I get paid to participate of professional development opportunities and fellowships.
I'm also ready to tackle harder, more involved teaching and work. Teaching language is just too easy and not intellectually stimulating. I am ready to start seriously doing research and publishing, I think I can make it now. Not that I couldn't before, but now I feel better prepared.
That is where I stopped writing last week. I have much more to say about all these issues, but I will have to revisit this topic at another time. Of course there are things I will miss from this university, but I don't think I'll miss much.
And if nothing comes of my application, I'm sure I can handle next year, especially because I'll be working less hours, finally!
Most importantly, I'm glad to be more at peace again. I don't know until when! The roller coaster that is my life is always moving, up and down! And I'll keep taking you along for the ride.
Friday, May 01, 2015
It could be the last time...
...that I was inside a classroom as a teacher (should I write professor? nah...) in this university.
But now I'm at peace with it. Whatever happens, will be for the best. I am absolutely sure of this.
I still had to savor a few more seconds, look back once more and take a photo. Just in case.
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