My brother, his wife, their 20 month old son and 3 month old baby daughter and his mother- and father-in-law boarded a flight yesterday in Auckland, New Zealand to São Paulo, Brazil (via Santiago, Chile). After a total of seven years abroad they are returning to Brazil (for who knows how long!).
My mom already talked to their Brazilian nanny and his sister-in-law who stayed back in New Zealand, so we know that their departure was extremely stressful. They were renting a beautiful 5-bedroom house from a Chinese man who, at the last minute, when they were leaving and giving him the keys to the house, was extremely rude and told them that the house was dusty (when it had just been thoroughly cleaned by someone they hired, so it was not!).
He also claimed that there was a stain in the carpet (which had previously been there) and he made them pay 150 NZ dollars because my brother had already deleted the photos he'd taken of the house prior to the move!! :-( My sister-in-law was so mad that started cursing him in Mandarin (they lived 2 years in China, you may remember). Sigh...
Then at the airport they were all so nervous that nobody cried, only their nephew (who's the same age as my youngest son, 9) -- he and his mom are going to be in NZ for 1.5 year longer (they arrived back in January).
The biggest worry about the trip, however, was how my niece was going to handle it. She has really bad acid reflux which wasn't really treated in NZ (in Brazil they start medications when newborns are only 2 weeks old, for up to a year), so she barely nurses (and barely gains weight) and cries from pain and hunger A LOT. We'll find out how the flights went when they arrive this afternoon (I will only call my mom later when they're already home).
They're supposed to board their flight from Santiago to São Paulo right now, so I hope it worked out (their previous flight arrived only 40 minutes before the second flight's departure). My mom called their cell phones, but they didn't answer (I called before writing this post, obviously).
We're all anxiously waiting! Hopefully it won't have been that bad. Sigh...
Edited to add:
They arrived safely and my niece cried only 20 minutes on each of the flights. They were unable to bring all of their belongings from NZ back to Brazil (when they had moved from China to NZ they had stuff -- including furniture! -- shipped to NZ, but all had to say there). So they're starting mostly from scratch again where keeping & furnishing a house is concerned. I will be able to give them the many dishes (mostly plates, cups, saucers, dessert plates) and some other kitchen things and towels & bedding that my mom was still keeping for us from when we left Brazil 17 years ago!! I hope she can make good use of my wedding gifts that remained in Brazil!
Thursday, August 01, 2013
Friday, July 26, 2013
Death to Dandelions! or... Fateful Weeding Frenzy!
Foretelling Extra title:
Last week I had a lot to do on Friday to get the house clean and ready for guests that we were expecting on Saturday. I was very productive and checked off all the items in my to-do list, which is in Portuguese, except for the last item and the one that matters ;-) (probably added after I'd done it!):
My "weeding frenzy" was initially aimed at the dandelions (hence the post's first title) which I had left behind after a previous weeding initiative months ago. I did pull all the dandelions that I could find in a large stretch of flower beds (with the help of a robust spade, to get as much of the roots as possible):
And then I tackled all the vines that were growing in between the hostas and lilies, most of them were wild strawberries, but there was another kind and... of course, poison ivy! I knew what I was doing, but I did it anyway, hoping that maybe my reaction wouldn't be so bad -- but it was pretty bad. :(
Here's a section of the flower bed earlier in the Spring:
Before (on weeding day):
During (almost done):
After, a few days later (the weeds have begun to grow again, sigh...):
On a different day two weeks ago I pulled weeds from our brick patio, before:
After:
The poison ivy rash is getting better a week later (I think I'm way less allergic than my dad or my husband who had to go to the doctor and take steroids), but unfortunately I got some poison ivy on my boys (through the blouse I was wearing) and... because Kelvin ended up wearing the same t-shirt several days in a row, he passed some more of it to himself. Sigh... next time we know better. I ended up doing several loads of laundry with suspected "contaminated" clothing and bedding and I hope that we won't encounter any more "cross-contamination" with the horrible oil from these "poisonous" plants (urushiol).
I will be more careful when working on the yard in the future, especially because we have not only poison ivy, but also poison sumac (which is probably what "attacked" my husband in another weeding occasion). Like Jo(e) I do want to spend more times outdoor, but if I can be more savvy & avoid itchy and oozy rashes, I will!
How I followed Jo(e)'s resolution* so precisely!
(down to the expected consequences ;-)
*at the very end of the postLast week I had a lot to do on Friday to get the house clean and ready for guests that we were expecting on Saturday. I was very productive and checked off all the items in my to-do list, which is in Portuguese, except for the last item and the one that matters ;-) (probably added after I'd done it!):
And then I tackled all the vines that were growing in between the hostas and lilies, most of them were wild strawberries, but there was another kind and... of course, poison ivy! I knew what I was doing, but I did it anyway, hoping that maybe my reaction wouldn't be so bad -- but it was pretty bad. :(
Here's a section of the flower bed earlier in the Spring:
I will be more careful when working on the yard in the future, especially because we have not only poison ivy, but also poison sumac (which is probably what "attacked" my husband in another weeding occasion). Like Jo(e) I do want to spend more times outdoor, but if I can be more savvy & avoid itchy and oozy rashes, I will!
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
I can keep the damaged book!
the "saga of the photo book" continues... :)
After Shutterfly reordered the book for me I felt really bad that I had let the mail carrier take my package. So I got in touch with Shutterfly again and they told me that I can keep the damaged book. (I would have felt dishonest going after the package if they didn't say it was OK).
I already called the post-office. The carrier is not back yet, but I let them know I want the package even if damaged & I'm hoping to pick it up later! YAY! I will give the damaged book to my mom, she will be so thrilled! (and this counts as one more of those "growing up 'poor/thrifty'" penny-pinching kind of situations that I often find myself in :-D)
There it goes, a classic cliched "lemons turned into lemonades" situation too! ;-)
After Shutterfly reordered the book for me I felt really bad that I had let the mail carrier take my package. So I got in touch with Shutterfly again and they told me that I can keep the damaged book. (I would have felt dishonest going after the package if they didn't say it was OK).
I already called the post-office. The carrier is not back yet, but I let them know I want the package even if damaged & I'm hoping to pick it up later! YAY! I will give the damaged book to my mom, she will be so thrilled! (and this counts as one more of those "growing up 'poor/thrifty'" penny-pinching kind of situations that I often find myself in :-D)
There it goes, a classic cliched "lemons turned into lemonades" situation too! ;-)
Damaged -- or "The Curse of the South-Africa (Photo) Book"
I'm kind of "sadly glad" that I hadn't shared on the blog that I had finally, finally!!! finished the South Africa photo book last Wednesday. (Obviously I was unable to use the expired 20 dollar coupon that my friend had given me and which had led to that "all-nighter" a month ago. With the 60% discount they gave me, it cost about a dollar a page -- 67 bucks).
I was eagerly waiting for its arrival since I spent so much time making it as perfect as possible. I almost got to see it this morning, but the U.S. post office had damaged the package (it was bent right in the middle!) and the kind mail carrier lady came to my door and explained that I couldn't open it so that way I wouldn't need to pay the postage to return it, so I just let her take it.
:-( Now I'm waiting to have a live-chat with a Shutterfly customer service representative to ask if they could print me a new book ASAP, but I have a feeling that I will have to wait for them to get the book back before printing me a new one and who knows how long that will take.
I am sad. Sigh...
And my husband was joking that this was "the curse of the South-Africa book." yeah, a joke, but I don't think it's funny.
OK, I'll post this and come update it after I finish talking with customer service.
Edited to add: The chat with customer service was great! Not only has the book been pre-ordered (to arrive with "next day" shipping via Fedex -- which I think will ensure that it won't be damaged, YAY!), but she listened to my all-nighter story of the expired coupon and gave me a 20 dollar credit. YAY Shutterfly! Nothing like good customer service to assure that I will continue to be their customer!
I was eagerly waiting for its arrival since I spent so much time making it as perfect as possible. I almost got to see it this morning, but the U.S. post office had damaged the package (it was bent right in the middle!) and the kind mail carrier lady came to my door and explained that I couldn't open it so that way I wouldn't need to pay the postage to return it, so I just let her take it.
:-( Now I'm waiting to have a live-chat with a Shutterfly customer service representative to ask if they could print me a new book ASAP, but I have a feeling that I will have to wait for them to get the book back before printing me a new one and who knows how long that will take.
I am sad. Sigh...
And my husband was joking that this was "the curse of the South-Africa book." yeah, a joke, but I don't think it's funny.
OK, I'll post this and come update it after I finish talking with customer service.
Edited to add: The chat with customer service was great! Not only has the book been pre-ordered (to arrive with "next day" shipping via Fedex -- which I think will ensure that it won't be damaged, YAY!), but she listened to my all-nighter story of the expired coupon and gave me a 20 dollar credit. YAY Shutterfly! Nothing like good customer service to assure that I will continue to be their customer!
Monday, July 22, 2013
He's Back!
When K drove into the driveway and opened the front door at around 7:30 pm this evening the boys and I could hardly believe it!
"Is our life going to go back to normal now?" I asked.
"Did you submit the grant yet?" I pressed.
"Did you? Did you submit it?"
It turns out it's going to be submitted tomorrow morning because he didn't see his email from the secretary before she left at 5 pm.
"But why weren't you checking your email?" I insisted.
Poor guy... I'm sure he can't wait to have this over as well!
He collapsed on the couch, deep pale circles under his eyes (he slept about 4h last night), but life is very closely back to normal this evening. After a light meal, K collected the trash around the house and he's now cleaning the kitchen as he usually does on week-nights. YAY!!
He will still work on his "side job" tomorrow and then he will just have to supervise the students in his lab until August 2.
I still can hardly believe we have him back! (until the next grant or journal submission or something else comes around) ;-)
"Is our life going to go back to normal now?" I asked.
"Did you submit the grant yet?" I pressed.
"Did you? Did you submit it?"
It turns out it's going to be submitted tomorrow morning because he didn't see his email from the secretary before she left at 5 pm.
"But why weren't you checking your email?" I insisted.
Poor guy... I'm sure he can't wait to have this over as well!
He collapsed on the couch, deep pale circles under his eyes (he slept about 4h last night), but life is very closely back to normal this evening. After a light meal, K collected the trash around the house and he's now cleaning the kitchen as he usually does on week-nights. YAY!!
He will still work on his "side job" tomorrow and then he will just have to supervise the students in his lab until August 2.
I still can hardly believe we have him back! (until the next grant or journal submission or something else comes around) ;-)
Subversive Thoughts (with Cynical Overtones)
A couple of weeks ago I began to feel that I missed work (a little bit) and at first that was a pleasant thought. After all, I do enjoy teaching and, for the most part, I don't hate all the driving. And being home all day with the boys was getting on my nerves. Of course I "could" be working, but I don't have the external motivation of a tenure-track job, so I slack off, and then further assure that I'll never ever have a t-t job because I'm not already publishing and researching, vicious circle, yada-yada-yada. (these are fleeting thoughts, I know it is true, though... I should be very stoic & keep on plugging at this even though I'm pessimistic realistic about my prospects).
Then, last week, my thoughts became slightly panicky because I began to think about how working with NH (new hire) is going to go. I felt overwhelmed again with worry regarding my ABSURD teaching load Th-Th (about 7 class periods, involving driving mid-day from one campus to the other).
I began to suspect, in turn, that the reason why they denied my request not to teach on Fridays (class is taught 5 times a week!) and implement some other activities, has everything to do with NH. I may be wrong, but I have a hunch about it. And, the worst part is that I feel like asking hir* point plank about it (foolish idea! but I have a feeling I may do it, I am a fool).
HOWEVER, I also realized in the past few days that my employment for the next school year (14-15) will probably depend for the most part on being on good terms with NH and hir willingness to have me teaching more classes that s/he is supposed to teach or is teaching too (but to TWO students next semester -- they definitely didn't need to have hired me full-time & I'm also feeling a bit guilty about that -- I KNOW I SHOULD NOT).
OK, enter this morning's thoughts. I was washing the dishes and I began to think that I need to start planning for 2014-15 already. I need to begin to see if I can come back to U1 (where I still teach 2 classes) full-time. I was thinking "subversive thoughts" as to how the tele-teaching can best help me be hired in a better position.
And I have a feeling that blogging about all this is very bad idea and why I need to be as anonymous as I possibly can. Sigh... (but I know I don't need to worry because very few people read me to begin with).
As for the cynical overtones, they always accompany my whole thought processes very closely. I still feel extremely belligerent towards "academia" and all it represents and all I can an cannot do because of "it" and the way it operates. I know that I need to "work the system" to my advantage as I did that past year, so... I was proactive:
I just sent an email to my (brand new -- for the 2nd time) department chair at U2 because I want to talk about me and next year and about how the relationship with new hire. And teaching load and other things. And I also want to have a meeting with the guy who basically offered me a full-time opportunity at U1. I need to keep all my options open.
Oh, and I know that the subversive aspect is only in my head. There's no way to really "subvert" this cruel system. I wish. I will just keep trying to ride it as best as I can without falling of this "boat" that I'm not even exactly in! In the end, I'm not really a pessimist, am I?
* you may have noticed that I decided to be more vague about this person. I should probably delete older posts that are almost inappropriate. ;) And again I get panicky & think I need to delete all photos of my face from the blog. GAH... I hate to "take back" anything I've posted here. In fact, I have very rarely done so.
Then, last week, my thoughts became slightly panicky because I began to think about how working with NH (new hire) is going to go. I felt overwhelmed again with worry regarding my ABSURD teaching load Th-Th (about 7 class periods, involving driving mid-day from one campus to the other).
I began to suspect, in turn, that the reason why they denied my request not to teach on Fridays (class is taught 5 times a week!) and implement some other activities, has everything to do with NH. I may be wrong, but I have a hunch about it. And, the worst part is that I feel like asking hir* point plank about it (foolish idea! but I have a feeling I may do it, I am a fool).
HOWEVER, I also realized in the past few days that my employment for the next school year (14-15) will probably depend for the most part on being on good terms with NH and hir willingness to have me teaching more classes that s/he is supposed to teach or is teaching too (but to TWO students next semester -- they definitely didn't need to have hired me full-time & I'm also feeling a bit guilty about that -- I KNOW I SHOULD NOT).
OK, enter this morning's thoughts. I was washing the dishes and I began to think that I need to start planning for 2014-15 already. I need to begin to see if I can come back to U1 (where I still teach 2 classes) full-time. I was thinking "subversive thoughts" as to how the tele-teaching can best help me be hired in a better position.
And I have a feeling that blogging about all this is very bad idea and why I need to be as anonymous as I possibly can. Sigh... (but I know I don't need to worry because very few people read me to begin with).
As for the cynical overtones, they always accompany my whole thought processes very closely. I still feel extremely belligerent towards "academia" and all it represents and all I can an cannot do because of "it" and the way it operates. I know that I need to "work the system" to my advantage as I did that past year, so... I was proactive:
I just sent an email to my (brand new -- for the 2nd time) department chair at U2 because I want to talk about me and next year and about how the relationship with new hire. And teaching load and other things. And I also want to have a meeting with the guy who basically offered me a full-time opportunity at U1. I need to keep all my options open.
Oh, and I know that the subversive aspect is only in my head. There's no way to really "subvert" this cruel system. I wish. I will just keep trying to ride it as best as I can without falling of this "boat" that I'm not even exactly in! In the end, I'm not really a pessimist, am I?
* you may have noticed that I decided to be more vague about this person. I should probably delete older posts that are almost inappropriate. ;) And again I get panicky & think I need to delete all photos of my face from the blog. GAH... I hate to "take back" anything I've posted here. In fact, I have very rarely done so.
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Overcoming Writer's Block from Infrequent Posting
I blog in my head pretty much all of the time, ;-) but coming here and actually posting sometimes seems to be so hard! I started a post several days ago, but the thought of selecting the photos to include was a bit overwhelming, so I put off posting.
I thought of writing a post titled something like "I want my husband back!" or "The Grant Stole My Husband" or maybe "His Work is His Lover" -- which is actually how we often jokingly refer to his discipline -- "she" (all sciences are grammatically feminine in Portuguese) is K's lover and sometimes he spends way more time with "her" than with me & his sons. Sigh... That post would be boring, though, and only complain about how for the past 3 weeks K has worked from 8 or 9 am (when the boys & I are often getting up at 10 at the earliest) to 12 am every day except Friday night to Saturday. So, I'm just mentioning this here in this "catch-all" phost.
He is submitting the grant on Monday morning, though, so it's the final stretch. Then, he has to finish this side work (that pays nicely on the side too) of rating the university evaluations with another person (it's "secret" stuff that I'm not supposed to know about or look at!!) that ends on Wednesday -- I thought it was CRAZY of him to volunteer for this extra work precisely on the week he needs to submit the grant, but he thought that over 1.5K was needed & not just desirable. Sigh...
OK, the grant part of the post is over and now... I have to confess that I haven't been very productive as I knew I wouldn't be. And in the post I (badly & hastily) wrote about the "dreaded summer tasks" I forgot to mention a couple of major things that need to be done, such as emptying and de-frosting the deep freezer -- aaargh! and, pretty important too, finishing re-staining/sealing the deck (I just thought of that one today when I walked out there and saw that the parts that K didn't stain last year are beginning to peel).
And I can't even finish this lame post... because I have to go to a good-bye party in the park for a friend who is heading to medical school tomorrow. Another reason for the blogging hiatus is that I have been spending time "diving deeply" into Brazilian music via a journalist's blog that I found. I will probably talk more about that later here.
P.S. and I intend to post photos of my garden. Including before & after of last Friday's weeding session that left me with several itchy poison ivy spots in my arms. So I've been marginally productive with the garden/yard.
I thought of writing a post titled something like "I want my husband back!" or "The Grant Stole My Husband" or maybe "His Work is His Lover" -- which is actually how we often jokingly refer to his discipline -- "she" (all sciences are grammatically feminine in Portuguese) is K's lover and sometimes he spends way more time with "her" than with me & his sons. Sigh... That post would be boring, though, and only complain about how for the past 3 weeks K has worked from 8 or 9 am (when the boys & I are often getting up at 10 at the earliest) to 12 am every day except Friday night to Saturday. So, I'm just mentioning this here in this "catch-all" phost.
He is submitting the grant on Monday morning, though, so it's the final stretch. Then, he has to finish this side work (that pays nicely on the side too) of rating the university evaluations with another person (it's "secret" stuff that I'm not supposed to know about or look at!!) that ends on Wednesday -- I thought it was CRAZY of him to volunteer for this extra work precisely on the week he needs to submit the grant, but he thought that over 1.5K was needed & not just desirable. Sigh...
OK, the grant part of the post is over and now... I have to confess that I haven't been very productive as I knew I wouldn't be. And in the post I (badly & hastily) wrote about the "dreaded summer tasks" I forgot to mention a couple of major things that need to be done, such as emptying and de-frosting the deep freezer -- aaargh! and, pretty important too, finishing re-staining/sealing the deck (I just thought of that one today when I walked out there and saw that the parts that K didn't stain last year are beginning to peel).
And I can't even finish this lame post... because I have to go to a good-bye party in the park for a friend who is heading to medical school tomorrow. Another reason for the blogging hiatus is that I have been spending time "diving deeply" into Brazilian music via a journalist's blog that I found. I will probably talk more about that later here.
P.S. and I intend to post photos of my garden. Including before & after of last Friday's weeding session that left me with several itchy poison ivy spots in my arms. So I've been marginally productive with the garden/yard.
Thursday, July 18, 2013
45 Years Ago Today...
...my parents got married! I hope that in 5 years we can have a wonderful celebration for them with the whole family for their 50th wedding anniversary!
I posted one photo here back in 2009.
I posted one photo here back in 2009.
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Justice?
Back in April I went to a conference in Rhode Island and one night, as I talked to my friend in her hotel room, we heard some noise outside and went to the window to look out in the street at the back of the hotel.
It was a very small, but very organized protest against the Trayvon Martin murder. Mostly African American young people wearing hoodies and screaming for justice (we opened the window to hear them better) at 9:30 pm on a city street that had no traffic at that hour.
I told my friend that I was glad to see the protest (though saddened by the murder), especially at how it was bringing young people together. Then we went down for a late dinner. I didn't think too much more about the case and I even had a pretty "sterotyped" reaction when I saw photos of the women in the jury -- I thought that they would for sure incriminate George Zimmermann.
This evening I had just opened facebook when I saw some disgruntled posts from my African-American friends here and there... "WHAT?!" from my dear (girl) friend, a resident MD in NYC. "F...!" from a blogger friend, and then... more detailed posts from another dear (guy) friend (also a resident MD) from Connecticut. So I headed to CNN and was pretty stunned at the verdict.
And then, ironically, I went and read Fang's great post from a few days ago -- "The Spectacle of Murder" (his discussion on how this murder was politicized is great, BTW).
I don't really know a lot about law, but my gut feeling right now tells me that in this particular case the defense did a really fantastic job putting "reasonable doubt" in the mind of the jury.
I liked what Katie Allison Granju also wrote on facebook: "Our laws should be constructed so as to PROTECT unarmed children walking thru their own neighborhoods from adults with guns, not the other way around." and she also wrote something like (I'm paraphrasing here), "if I were being followed in the dark I might also have punched someone on the nose" and she ends with (direct quote) "No one wins here. No one. The only winner is a badly constructed law that doesn't actually protect anyone from violence."
Also, have you seen/hear of the case Marissa Alexander, a Florida mother (who is African American) who was sentenced to 20 years for firing a gun -- NOT killing anyone! -- in what she alleged was self-defense against an abusive husband? The judge determined that she didn't fit into the same "stand your ground" law that motivated today's acquittal. Isn't that unbelievable?
This continue to be very complicated in this country concerning race, that's for sure!
It was a very small, but very organized protest against the Trayvon Martin murder. Mostly African American young people wearing hoodies and screaming for justice (we opened the window to hear them better) at 9:30 pm on a city street that had no traffic at that hour.
I told my friend that I was glad to see the protest (though saddened by the murder), especially at how it was bringing young people together. Then we went down for a late dinner. I didn't think too much more about the case and I even had a pretty "sterotyped" reaction when I saw photos of the women in the jury -- I thought that they would for sure incriminate George Zimmermann.
This evening I had just opened facebook when I saw some disgruntled posts from my African-American friends here and there... "WHAT?!" from my dear (girl) friend, a resident MD in NYC. "F...!" from a blogger friend, and then... more detailed posts from another dear (guy) friend (also a resident MD) from Connecticut. So I headed to CNN and was pretty stunned at the verdict.
And then, ironically, I went and read Fang's great post from a few days ago -- "The Spectacle of Murder" (his discussion on how this murder was politicized is great, BTW).
I don't really know a lot about law, but my gut feeling right now tells me that in this particular case the defense did a really fantastic job putting "reasonable doubt" in the mind of the jury.
I liked what Katie Allison Granju also wrote on facebook: "Our laws should be constructed so as to PROTECT unarmed children walking thru their own neighborhoods from adults with guns, not the other way around." and she also wrote something like (I'm paraphrasing here), "if I were being followed in the dark I might also have punched someone on the nose" and she ends with (direct quote) "No one wins here. No one. The only winner is a badly constructed law that doesn't actually protect anyone from violence."
Also, have you seen/hear of the case Marissa Alexander, a Florida mother (who is African American) who was sentenced to 20 years for firing a gun -- NOT killing anyone! -- in what she alleged was self-defense against an abusive husband? The judge determined that she didn't fit into the same "stand your ground" law that motivated today's acquittal. Isn't that unbelievable?
This continue to be very complicated in this country concerning race, that's for sure!
Friday, July 12, 2013
Back Home!
I'm glad to be back home, even though my husband arrived from the university right before midnight (and our 11 year old was still up, sheesh!) and he has to go back to work early tomorrow.
I'm glad to be home because even if I feel sick like I did in the wee hours of the morning today (I think it was something I ate yesterday and it was very bad, I will spare you the details) I am in my own house and I know where to find a tea to drink.
I'm especially glad to be home because it's "raining cats & dogs" outside and there's lightening & thunder (poor K had to drive in such horrible weather!) and it's the perfect weather to snuggle in my own cozy bed and cheerful green bedroom. Sigh...
SIL & nephews are coming tomorrow so they don't spend the weekend on their own. The boys will have lots of fun, it will just be hard if it rains all weekend long... :(
Let's hope it doesn't, so they can ride bikes up and down the street & we can go to the pool. Above all, I'm glad that during the weekend we'll be able to spend at least 24h with K before he resumes his work on Saturday night or Sunday morning.
OK, gotta get ready for sleep now! (I am already in bed!)
I'm glad to be home because even if I feel sick like I did in the wee hours of the morning today (I think it was something I ate yesterday and it was very bad, I will spare you the details) I am in my own house and I know where to find a tea to drink.
I'm especially glad to be home because it's "raining cats & dogs" outside and there's lightening & thunder (poor K had to drive in such horrible weather!) and it's the perfect weather to snuggle in my own cozy bed and cheerful green bedroom. Sigh...
SIL & nephews are coming tomorrow so they don't spend the weekend on their own. The boys will have lots of fun, it will just be hard if it rains all weekend long... :(
Let's hope it doesn't, so they can ride bikes up and down the street & we can go to the pool. Above all, I'm glad that during the weekend we'll be able to spend at least 24h with K before he resumes his work on Saturday night or Sunday morning.
OK, gotta get ready for sleep now! (I am already in bed!)
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Bowling with our Boys
I'm spending three days at my sister-in-law's house so the four cousins can spend some quality time together while their Dads work hard on K's grant proposal & K2's doctoral dissertation (my BIL traveled to MI for that). Today we are bowling... I'll soon post about yesterday's adventure!
Sunday, July 07, 2013
Productive Birthday!
We started celebrating yesterday with a lovely drive in a nearby park and then over an hour driving to go to the restaurant where I wanted to eat! (with a stop at the Apple stores first for the benefit of "iKelvin," the family's "Apple fanatic" ;-)
The poor boys were falling asleep over the food at the end, but we had lots of fun. We arrived back home at 1:20 am and then spent some time laying down on a blanket in our deck and looking at the beautiful starry sky!
I was awakened by my three boys singing happy birthday & bearing gifts! K bought me a cute & colorful t-shirt and a gorgeous green bamboo salad bowl (similar to this one). K had to work, but he did it from home while the boys were supposed to clean their room and help me get the house ready for friends who were coming later (they mostly listened to music on their ipads/ipods -- one of their latest pastimes).
I took advantage of the hot day to do two smallish loads of laundry (the boys' bedsheets & tons of swimwear) which dried up very quickly and which I brought inside from line drying just before this really windy thunderstorm started with lots of rain! Oh, and before that I also dragged the boys to the recycling center with me where we recycled tons of cardboard plus our usual plastic, metal & glass. It was super hot, but with their help we did it quickly.
We then drove to town where we spent an hour at our local "paint your own" clay place. I'll show you what my rectangular plate & the boys' "tea kettle" tea bag holder pieces look like later (we painted them with the rainbow colors!). After buying some fruit (for a "rainbow" platter!) we came back home where we started cooking (and reheating some of the pasta we had brought from last night's restaurant trip).
Our friends came and we had a good time with yummy foods and fun games. Photos forthcoming!
It was a great day made even happier by the countless Happy Birthday wishes I received via facebook -- the joys of having a Sunday birthday when everyone is online and on fb! ;-)
The poor boys were falling asleep over the food at the end, but we had lots of fun. We arrived back home at 1:20 am and then spent some time laying down on a blanket in our deck and looking at the beautiful starry sky!
I was awakened by my three boys singing happy birthday & bearing gifts! K bought me a cute & colorful t-shirt and a gorgeous green bamboo salad bowl (similar to this one). K had to work, but he did it from home while the boys were supposed to clean their room and help me get the house ready for friends who were coming later (they mostly listened to music on their ipads/ipods -- one of their latest pastimes).
I took advantage of the hot day to do two smallish loads of laundry (the boys' bedsheets & tons of swimwear) which dried up very quickly and which I brought inside from line drying just before this really windy thunderstorm started with lots of rain! Oh, and before that I also dragged the boys to the recycling center with me where we recycled tons of cardboard plus our usual plastic, metal & glass. It was super hot, but with their help we did it quickly.
We then drove to town where we spent an hour at our local "paint your own" clay place. I'll show you what my rectangular plate & the boys' "tea kettle" tea bag holder pieces look like later (we painted them with the rainbow colors!). After buying some fruit (for a "rainbow" platter!) we came back home where we started cooking (and reheating some of the pasta we had brought from last night's restaurant trip).
Our friends came and we had a good time with yummy foods and fun games. Photos forthcoming!
It was a great day made even happier by the countless Happy Birthday wishes I received via facebook -- the joys of having a Sunday birthday when everyone is online and on fb! ;-)
Thursday, July 04, 2013
My First Hydrangea!
And my first "instagrammed" photo! I hope it'll bloom for years to come!
I love hydrangeas & I hope I can keep this one blue by making the soil acidic. I also want to plan other ones, but I'll never forget my first hydtrangea plant!
Wednesday, July 03, 2013
My birthday is coming up and I'm feeling really sad about it
We were supposed to be in Florida for my birthday, but of course it was too good to be true. Sigh... (scratch that sentence, typical "realistic pessimist/ pessimistic realist"[whatever!] point of view).
Well, the problem is that I was looking forward to spending the day with a dear friend with whom I spent so many birthdays with in my teens (we met when we were 13!). I will never forget the surprise birthday party that she, her sibling and some other friends put together for me in freshman year of high school. And the many other surprise birthday parties that we organized together for other friends... Sigh again...
The worst part is that her sibling lives very close to us, but they are no longer really in touch with us and that's sad.* We always considered them as some of our closest friends.
OK, I can't blog about this, I am going to end up crying, it's no good. I wish there was something we could do, but there is not. And I can't say more. Not only because I wouldn't know what to say (see below), but also because it's a sensitive issue I shouldn't even be blogging about. They don't read this blog, though. And, if they read, at least they would find out how sad this whole mysterious situation makes me feel.
Sigh... there are a few options, I could throw a party to myself, but that's kinda weird and as much as I'd like to do something (rainbow themed!) I don't think I will. My dear wonderful amazing husband is truly wonderful, but it's an understatement to say that he's not good at organizing parties, surprises, events (or even buying gifts, for that matter) and I'm OK with that... I love him the way he is and he does enough for me at it is at home. But it's sad that I don't have friends that can do something nice for me. I love the one Brazilian friend I have here, but this person is pretty unique & overwhelmingly busy with her family (in-law) most weekends.
I have to try to think positive. I have contacted some friends and I know they could come over (even though they have out of town guests)... I don't think we're going out to eat because the restaurant I want & was planning to go to in FL (Maggiano's Little Italy) is too far away and...
... whatever. This is frustrating. And I know it's just because I always want to have or do something special for my birthday, but it just hasn't worked out in the past few years. (several, many, years?)
I know it's just a day like any other, but still...
OK, another pathetic post brought to you by my need to use the blog as therapy. Sorry about that! We'll soon go back to regularly scheduled programing. Promise!
P.S. to compensate, I'm buying several cute things for myself. I will write an upbeat post about that later, OK? ;-)
*we know from family connections that something upset my friend over two years ago, but we can't even apologize because we don't know what we did wrong. I shouldn't be blogging about it, but I need to. I've been overcome with sadness regarding this issue on and off since we found out months ago. At least we don't need to get puzzled & upset that they're not in touch. We know something's up. Sigh... So we don't even call or message or anything so things won't be awkward. In person meetings in church have been cordial, but we haven't seen them in a while.
Well, the problem is that I was looking forward to spending the day with a dear friend with whom I spent so many birthdays with in my teens (we met when we were 13!). I will never forget the surprise birthday party that she, her sibling and some other friends put together for me in freshman year of high school. And the many other surprise birthday parties that we organized together for other friends... Sigh again...
The worst part is that her sibling lives very close to us, but they are no longer really in touch with us and that's sad.* We always considered them as some of our closest friends.
OK, I can't blog about this, I am going to end up crying, it's no good. I wish there was something we could do, but there is not. And I can't say more. Not only because I wouldn't know what to say (see below), but also because it's a sensitive issue I shouldn't even be blogging about. They don't read this blog, though. And, if they read, at least they would find out how sad this whole mysterious situation makes me feel.
Sigh... there are a few options, I could throw a party to myself, but that's kinda weird and as much as I'd like to do something (rainbow themed!) I don't think I will. My dear wonderful amazing husband is truly wonderful, but it's an understatement to say that he's not good at organizing parties, surprises, events (or even buying gifts, for that matter) and I'm OK with that... I love him the way he is and he does enough for me at it is at home. But it's sad that I don't have friends that can do something nice for me. I love the one Brazilian friend I have here, but this person is pretty unique & overwhelmingly busy with her family (in-law) most weekends.
I have to try to think positive. I have contacted some friends and I know they could come over (even though they have out of town guests)... I don't think we're going out to eat because the restaurant I want & was planning to go to in FL (Maggiano's Little Italy) is too far away and...
... whatever. This is frustrating. And I know it's just because I always want to have or do something special for my birthday, but it just hasn't worked out in the past few years. (several, many, years?)
I know it's just a day like any other, but still...
OK, another pathetic post brought to you by my need to use the blog as therapy. Sorry about that! We'll soon go back to regularly scheduled programing. Promise!
P.S. to compensate, I'm buying several cute things for myself. I will write an upbeat post about that later, OK? ;-)
*we know from family connections that something upset my friend over two years ago, but we can't even apologize because we don't know what we did wrong. I shouldn't be blogging about it, but I need to. I've been overcome with sadness regarding this issue on and off since we found out months ago. At least we don't need to get puzzled & upset that they're not in touch. We know something's up. Sigh... So we don't even call or message or anything so things won't be awkward. In person meetings in church have been cordial, but we haven't seen them in a while.
Tuesday, July 02, 2013
Those Dreaded Summer Tasks
I actually wrote this on July 1st around 6:30 pm on my phone, but for whatever reason it wasn't published... (I can't believe I didn't have a label for "Housekeeping" or house chores or some such thing... it just goes to show how much I don't enjoy such tasks, sigh...)
I'm here poolside blogging again, look!
Just practice, not a swim meet* thankfully.
I'm here poolside blogging again, look!
Today I'm thinking that since July is here & summer will be over before we know it I need to begin tackling those unpleasant but necessary summer tasks, some of which I haven't done for two years!
Two weeks ago I was getting ready to have guests stay at our home office when I realized that because we got new backpacks for he boys last school year their backpacks from the 2011-2012 school year had never been opened in a year!! I couldn't believe how badly I'm doing!
I need to throw out schoolwork from the last two school years that are stored in four boxes and I need to try to organize the toy storage space (under the stairs), the garage and other storage spaces.
Another disagreeable task is, of course, weeding. I have made some headway on that already, but there's tons more of weeding to do! Sigh...
I wish I could be getting ready to travel to Florida tomorrow as planned, but K's NSF grant application got in the way! :-( sigh... Now I'm scrambling to try to plan something for my birthday... Blah...
Well, let's hope I can be productive at least!
* That was a nightmare, BTW, my poor resilient boy is over it, though. I should NEVER ever let him compete knowing he's not good enough yet (as in not really knowing how to swim properly freestyle yet). It was disheartening... He's not competing again until he's had about year of swim lessons under his belt! (My boys haven't had lessons yet)
Friday, June 28, 2013
One Year Ago: New Eyes
June is almost over, but before it's gone, I want to commemorate the fact that last year in June I had LASIK surgery and experienced a "modern (medical) miracle" that made my life incredibly better! It happened on June 7 and while my vision was perfect right away, it took me a while to stop seeing glare and halos.
I never described the surgery in detail here in the blog, but it was very quick and painless. (here are all the posts that mention the surgery, starting with the reason why I decided to have it). I'm sure Jo(e)'s description of her surgery is probably better written, but I'll try anyway (and I won't re-read hers until I'm done).
First I was given Valium to relax and after about 10-15 minutes I walked to the room where the surgery was going to take place. My husband sat outside the closed door which had a glass window so he was able to see the whole surgery (shudder!). The room was fairly small.
I laid down on a "bed" covered in synthetic material, under lots of fancy medical equipment. Then, the doctor put these "clamps" to keep my eyes open (comparable to the one used in a gynecological exam, but much smaller and made of plastic [synthetic material], not cold metal) and the room was darkened. The clamps didn't hurt, but felt weird because we never keep our eyes open for long, we're always blinking.
The doctor put anesthetic drops in one of my eyes and then shone a light on it (red?) and then he cut the cornea to make a flap. I could still see (and it wasn't strange), but I didn't feel any pain. The doctor then lifted the flap and told me that he was going to shine the laser. Meanwhile, he kept talking to his assistant and moving the machines and there was soft music playing in the room -- I always think that's a bit strange, but I quickly thought that it must be boring for the assistant and the doctor to be in that dark room all day, so they can listen to music, that's OK.
The laser made a whirring sound and I smelled something burning and that was the moment in which everything went dark in that eye. The doctor said that it was just the smell of the machine or something, but I'm pretty sure I could smell burning flesh from my eye. Shudder. Then soon after the doctor put the cornea flap down and I think that by then I could see a bit in that eye.
The whole procedure was repeated in the other eye (left?) and then it was over. I could still see, but things were pretty foggy and strange. I got up and went to the doctor's office with my husband. I waited for them to check my eyes for about 20 minutes to half an hour. I don't remember if K left the room to check on the boys or not (they stayed in the car outside -- it was parked in the shade & they were playing on their iPads or watching something).
After a while the doctor came to check me and the assistant gave me a schedule of medication, checked whether I had bought all the eye-drops (I think I actually had to bring them with me to the surgery) and then gave me the shields & sticky tape and instructions on how to put it on as well as dark sunglasses. I was told to take a three hour nap as soon as I got home and only then to use my eyes.
We had over an hour drive to get home, though. I wore the sunglasses and tried to keep my eyes closed, but I couldn't help but try to look at things. We even stopped at Costco on the way home and it was really strange to look at the lights with this strange halo around them (it wasn't as bad outside, even with sun and bright light).
I did take the three hour nap when I got home (I'm guessing that the Valium made it easier to sleep) and I could see a bit more clearly then. The next morning we went to the doctor (this time we left the boys with a friend so I could have a meeting at the university -- I had just received a job offer, remember?) and my vision was pronounced better than perfect (20/15) and they took a photo of me and the doctor and gave me a T-shirt (?).
I had a strict routine of eye-drops and the only thing I think they did wrong was not recommending that I purchase the thicker "gel" lubricating drops (I guess I didn't have a problem producing tears, that's why they didn't recommend it). The problem I had was the following: whenever I slept I woke up with horrible pain from dried up eyes -- they eyelids were "sticking" to the eyeball and it really hurt! THis happened because I couldn't wake up and put the drops in the middle of the night, so it was helpful to use the stronger "gel" drops.
One really annoying thing (which I still experience when I put eye-drops before sleep) is getting up with eyes full of dried up eye-drops... sigh... and that went on for months because they recommended I keep using eye-drops to sleep (good advice).
The halos (caused by the cutting of the cornea to make a flap) were visible during the day when looking at lights and the sun and very strong during the night, but they slowly... over a period of two months... went away. The "starburst" lights at night lasted longer and in one of my eyes they still appear.
Other than the halo (also present when watching TV and looking at the computer screen) and the starburst effect, and maybe a bit of sensitivity to light in the very beginning, there were no other side-effects.
Is there anything you'd like to know about having LASIK?
It's definitely the best thing I've ever done, especially considered that I hate glasses and I was forced to wear them because of the GPC (giant papillary conjunctivitis).
But now I wait for my need to wear reading glasses (BOOOO!)... I hope I can have one or two more years, but... at nearly 42, I know it probably won't be long. :( Do you have to wear reading glasses?
I never described the surgery in detail here in the blog, but it was very quick and painless. (here are all the posts that mention the surgery, starting with the reason why I decided to have it). I'm sure Jo(e)'s description of her surgery is probably better written, but I'll try anyway (and I won't re-read hers until I'm done).
First I was given Valium to relax and after about 10-15 minutes I walked to the room where the surgery was going to take place. My husband sat outside the closed door which had a glass window so he was able to see the whole surgery (shudder!). The room was fairly small.
I laid down on a "bed" covered in synthetic material, under lots of fancy medical equipment. Then, the doctor put these "clamps" to keep my eyes open (comparable to the one used in a gynecological exam, but much smaller and made of plastic [synthetic material], not cold metal) and the room was darkened. The clamps didn't hurt, but felt weird because we never keep our eyes open for long, we're always blinking.
The doctor put anesthetic drops in one of my eyes and then shone a light on it (red?) and then he cut the cornea to make a flap. I could still see (and it wasn't strange), but I didn't feel any pain. The doctor then lifted the flap and told me that he was going to shine the laser. Meanwhile, he kept talking to his assistant and moving the machines and there was soft music playing in the room -- I always think that's a bit strange, but I quickly thought that it must be boring for the assistant and the doctor to be in that dark room all day, so they can listen to music, that's OK.
The laser made a whirring sound and I smelled something burning and that was the moment in which everything went dark in that eye. The doctor said that it was just the smell of the machine or something, but I'm pretty sure I could smell burning flesh from my eye. Shudder. Then soon after the doctor put the cornea flap down and I think that by then I could see a bit in that eye.
The whole procedure was repeated in the other eye (left?) and then it was over. I could still see, but things were pretty foggy and strange. I got up and went to the doctor's office with my husband. I waited for them to check my eyes for about 20 minutes to half an hour. I don't remember if K left the room to check on the boys or not (they stayed in the car outside -- it was parked in the shade & they were playing on their iPads or watching something).
After a while the doctor came to check me and the assistant gave me a schedule of medication, checked whether I had bought all the eye-drops (I think I actually had to bring them with me to the surgery) and then gave me the shields & sticky tape and instructions on how to put it on as well as dark sunglasses. I was told to take a three hour nap as soon as I got home and only then to use my eyes.
We had over an hour drive to get home, though. I wore the sunglasses and tried to keep my eyes closed, but I couldn't help but try to look at things. We even stopped at Costco on the way home and it was really strange to look at the lights with this strange halo around them (it wasn't as bad outside, even with sun and bright light).
I did take the three hour nap when I got home (I'm guessing that the Valium made it easier to sleep) and I could see a bit more clearly then. The next morning we went to the doctor (this time we left the boys with a friend so I could have a meeting at the university -- I had just received a job offer, remember?) and my vision was pronounced better than perfect (20/15) and they took a photo of me and the doctor and gave me a T-shirt (?).
I had a strict routine of eye-drops and the only thing I think they did wrong was not recommending that I purchase the thicker "gel" lubricating drops (I guess I didn't have a problem producing tears, that's why they didn't recommend it). The problem I had was the following: whenever I slept I woke up with horrible pain from dried up eyes -- they eyelids were "sticking" to the eyeball and it really hurt! THis happened because I couldn't wake up and put the drops in the middle of the night, so it was helpful to use the stronger "gel" drops.
One really annoying thing (which I still experience when I put eye-drops before sleep) is getting up with eyes full of dried up eye-drops... sigh... and that went on for months because they recommended I keep using eye-drops to sleep (good advice).
The halos (caused by the cutting of the cornea to make a flap) were visible during the day when looking at lights and the sun and very strong during the night, but they slowly... over a period of two months... went away. The "starburst" lights at night lasted longer and in one of my eyes they still appear.
Other than the halo (also present when watching TV and looking at the computer screen) and the starburst effect, and maybe a bit of sensitivity to light in the very beginning, there were no other side-effects.
Is there anything you'd like to know about having LASIK?
It's definitely the best thing I've ever done, especially considered that I hate glasses and I was forced to wear them because of the GPC (giant papillary conjunctivitis).
But now I wait for my need to wear reading glasses (BOOOO!)... I hope I can have one or two more years, but... at nearly 42, I know it probably won't be long. :( Do you have to wear reading glasses?
Thanks to My Wonderful Husband
K doesn't read this blog (which is perfectly fine with me), but I would still like to thank him publicly for making yesterday's parking lot accident be nearly 100% painless for me.
But before I forget to link to it, I just wanted to remind you of what, until yesterday, had been my only caraccident incident. In 2008 I backed up our old minivan (the car I was driving yesterday) into our practically brand new Mazda 3. :(
We ended up not using our insurance and had a friend fix the car for us, which took a long time. Yesterday, K told the lady who was driving the car and who called him, that he wanted to pay for the repair, but the lady's husband decided he wanted us to use our insurance companies.
So their insurance company contacted my husband and he called ours and that was that. It's possible that our premium will increase because of this, but at least it wasn't very troublesome. By the time I got home K had made the necessary phone calls and we were basically all set.
Thank you so much baby!
But before I forget to link to it, I just wanted to remind you of what, until yesterday, had been my only car
We ended up not using our insurance and had a friend fix the car for us, which took a long time. Yesterday, K told the lady who was driving the car and who called him, that he wanted to pay for the repair, but the lady's husband decided he wanted us to use our insurance companies.
So their insurance company contacted my husband and he called ours and that was that. It's possible that our premium will increase because of this, but at least it wasn't very troublesome. By the time I got home K had made the necessary phone calls and we were basically all set.
Thank you so much baby!
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Parking Lot Mishap
Wow... Today is shaping up to be a pretty bad day!
I am leaving a note because I can't be here waiting forever. My dear husband graciously told me to give his phone number. I'm so grateful!!
Look what I did! It's the first time that I hit car that doesn't belong to us.
Sigh. I will be more than extra careful in the future. His parking lot has he spots all at an angle and that threw me off.
How much so you think it'll cost? K thinks it'll be 1K. :( I hope not!
Wish me luck... Have you ever do that? What happened?
What a day...
Edited to add: The person whose car I hit wanted to use our insurance companies, so that's how the problem will be solved.
Edited to add: The person whose car I hit wanted to use our insurance companies, so that's how the problem will be solved.
Guess What? (weather woes) & Fruit Salad! ;-)
The very second I stepped outside with a heavy basket of washed clothes, it began to sprinkle! Isn't that frustrating? (especially considering my good intentions from earlier today -- see at the end of the post).
Well, let's think positively, any rain means saving money on water for the plants! Water is quite expensive in this little town... to the tune of 80+ dollars a month, due to sewer improvements from a while back... sigh....
I'm back at work in the photo book. I'm sure I can do a good job, maybe even better than what I had initially accomplished. It will take time, though... and I don't know if the 20 dollars coupon will work. :(
Well, let this be a lesson in patience and endurance. And, above all, in being super careful when dealing with browsers, saving, etc. (more patience).
OK, let me share a pretty photo to lighten the mood. I don't even know what...
What about a really pretty fruit salad that my sister-in-law prepared last Friday? (I can't say I helped, I was busy with other things, but I did provide some of the fruit!)
Well, let's think positively, any rain means saving money on water for the plants! Water is quite expensive in this little town... to the tune of 80+ dollars a month, due to sewer improvements from a while back... sigh....
I'm back at work in the photo book. I'm sure I can do a good job, maybe even better than what I had initially accomplished. It will take time, though... and I don't know if the 20 dollars coupon will work. :(
Well, let this be a lesson in patience and endurance. And, above all, in being super careful when dealing with browsers, saving, etc. (more patience).
OK, let me share a pretty photo to lighten the mood. I don't even know what...
What about a really pretty fruit salad that my sister-in-law prepared last Friday? (I can't say I helped, I was busy with other things, but I did provide some of the fruit!)
We had a lovely weekend with K's youngest brother ("K4") & his wife & son who visited again for the first time in three years! When they last visited we lived in a rental house and my nephew was 3 months old. They live in Canada and this is the nephew whose birth I witnessed! "K2" also came with his family and it was lots of fun with gorgeous weather to boot! I'm looking forward to visiting K4 & family in Canada in August.
OK, let me go back to that book. Whatever happens happens...
What the All-Nighter Taught Me or... I think I've really "converted" ;-)
My son is thrilled. He was the one who got me/us into Apple products to begin with.
I'm still upset that what ruined what could have been a perfectly productive "all-nighter" was the fact that I don't know how to deal with Safari & the way that sometimes the window just disappears to the side because I'm still not adept at all the Apple "tricks." However, working for a few hours on my old Dell laptop demonstrated, that I have definitely become a Mac user. Sigh...
I'm still annoyed at times with iPhoto, but I'm mostly learning to put up with it. ;)
So, after 3.5 hours of sleep I'm up and trying to be productive. I put a load in the wash and I'm getting ready to put at least two more (hoping that the thunderstorms that are possible in the afternoon won't come our way -- we line dry, remember?).
Anyway... I still much prefer desktops to laptops, though, and I can't wait for the time when we can afford to buy an iMac.
As for the photo book, I haven't had the courage to look at it yet... I know I will need several hours to finish it. The worst part is that my husband and son, typical men, thought I was ridiculous to try so hard "just because of 20 bucks," sigh...
I told them -- and it's true -- that it wasn't/isn't just the $20, I need a deadline to finish this book and any reason is welcome to me. I only work under pressure, master procrastinator that I am. Sigh...
OK, I'm glad I'm back into the blogging groove. There are tons of things that I've been wanting to blog about, as always. So... I hope to be back soon! (if the photo book & all my laundry and household duties don't kill all my mojo ;-).
I'm still upset that what ruined what could have been a perfectly productive "all-nighter" was the fact that I don't know how to deal with Safari & the way that sometimes the window just disappears to the side because I'm still not adept at all the Apple "tricks." However, working for a few hours on my old Dell laptop demonstrated, that I have definitely become a Mac user. Sigh...
I'm still annoyed at times with iPhoto, but I'm mostly learning to put up with it. ;)
So, after 3.5 hours of sleep I'm up and trying to be productive. I put a load in the wash and I'm getting ready to put at least two more (hoping that the thunderstorms that are possible in the afternoon won't come our way -- we line dry, remember?).
Anyway... I still much prefer desktops to laptops, though, and I can't wait for the time when we can afford to buy an iMac.
As for the photo book, I haven't had the courage to look at it yet... I know I will need several hours to finish it. The worst part is that my husband and son, typical men, thought I was ridiculous to try so hard "just because of 20 bucks," sigh...
I told them -- and it's true -- that it wasn't/isn't just the $20, I need a deadline to finish this book and any reason is welcome to me. I only work under pressure, master procrastinator that I am. Sigh...
OK, I'm glad I'm back into the blogging groove. There are tons of things that I've been wanting to blog about, as always. So... I hope to be back soon! (if the photo book & all my laundry and household duties don't kill all my mojo ;-).
Did the Death of Google Reader Just Kill My Blogroll?
This is too much for one night, seriously...
Edited to add: I guess it was a glitch, blogroll is back up as of 5:42 am. You can disregard this post, at least for now! PHEW!!!
First, the Shuterfly book fiasco, now, my blogroll??? C'mon, Google is becoming truly evil, GAH!
Just this afternoon I used it on my phone to read the most recent posts by my blogging friends and now... it's all gone! And it's more or less replaced by a list of blogs that once upon a time I added to my blogroll...
How mean of Google and Blogger!!! And here I was, sympathizing with all my friends that had to switch from Google Reader to something else and now I'm going to have to follow suit! And I can't even import the blogroll, I think, I have to do it manually.
Sigh...
What do I do? I had grown to depend on my blogroll "feed." :( I can't go back to clicking on links to blogs hoping that they've updated! I guess I'll start using Feedly or Old Reader... but since I don't use Google Reader, I don't have anything to import. Sigh...
Maybe it's time to leave Blogger forever. I created Wordpress blogs before, but I was/am really mad about the advertisement (that's one thing I like about Blogger). I need to ask Laura (11D) about Wordpress.org.
I don't deal very well with change. As you know if you're been reading for a long time, I've had the same blog layout ever since I started! So... that's why I have resisted switching to another platform for so long. The learning curves are steep for me. I know I'm getting really really old and becoming more and more like my mother. Sob.
OK, my IBS has started acting up, so I have to go & try to sleep. I tried googling to figure out what's wrong with Blogger, but haven't found anything. If you know, please let me know, OK?
What a night... :(
Edited to add: I guess it was a glitch, blogroll is back up as of 5:42 am. You can disregard this post, at least for now! PHEW!!!
First, the Shuterfly book fiasco, now, my blogroll??? C'mon, Google is becoming truly evil, GAH!
Just this afternoon I used it on my phone to read the most recent posts by my blogging friends and now... it's all gone! And it's more or less replaced by a list of blogs that once upon a time I added to my blogroll...
How mean of Google and Blogger!!! And here I was, sympathizing with all my friends that had to switch from Google Reader to something else and now I'm going to have to follow suit! And I can't even import the blogroll, I think, I have to do it manually.
Sigh...
What do I do? I had grown to depend on my blogroll "feed." :( I can't go back to clicking on links to blogs hoping that they've updated! I guess I'll start using Feedly or Old Reader... but since I don't use Google Reader, I don't have anything to import. Sigh...
Maybe it's time to leave Blogger forever. I created Wordpress blogs before, but I was/am really mad about the advertisement (that's one thing I like about Blogger). I need to ask Laura (11D) about Wordpress.org.
I don't deal very well with change. As you know if you're been reading for a long time, I've had the same blog layout ever since I started! So... that's why I have resisted switching to another platform for so long. The learning curves are steep for me. I know I'm getting really really old and becoming more and more like my mother. Sob.
OK, my IBS has started acting up, so I have to go & try to sleep. I tried googling to figure out what's wrong with Blogger, but haven't found anything. If you know, please let me know, OK?
What a night... :(
Shutterfly is Awesome, but it SUCKS Big Time Too :(
I stayed up all night & now can't even go to sleep because I'm SOOOOO upset at Shutterfly.
I had a $20 coupon that my friend gave me and was going to expire yesterday, so my plan was to finish the South Africa book by 3 am (California midnight) so I could use it.
I was working well on my Mac, but then all of a sudden (MY FAULT, I must say), I couldn't edit the photos well the way I wanted (couldn't rotate, make them smaller or bigger -- my fault because I forgot to press the "customize" thing, I think), so I moved to the PC. The problem for later was that I left the browser open with the version of the book I was working on open on a tab.
Things went well on the PC and I was almost done with the book (albeit after 3 am), so I moved back to the Mac.
HOWEVER, something weird/funny happened in Safari and the window I was working on disappeared to the side & I couldn't get it back.
Can you believe it that I went to the other tab that was open with the OLDER, version of the book from FOUR hours ago and I clicked on SAVE????!!!
How in the world could I have done that? Now I have to redo ALL the changes that I spent four hours painstakingly implementing on the PC and in the last few minutes on the mac again.
I cannot believe that I did this to myself. I can't even remember some of the things I wrote & some of the designs I created for certain pages. I had also added more photos. I think I'll be able to figure it all out, but this is just too upsetting. :(
I'm writing this post so I can calm down and, maybe, go to sleep. My plan is to call Shutterfly tomorrow and beg that I can still use the 20 dollars coupon (this book is 100+ dollars & I need that coupon + the 50% discount) because of what happened. Sigh... I'm hoping hoping hoping they'll be nice and let me use it.
Maybe it will be just easier to keep going now and try to sleep during the day. I'm so high on adrenaline right now. The problem is that I'm just sick and tired of this book and I was ALMOST DONE. Really... I was so close!! And I also liked the results a lot. :(
I'm sorry to bother anyone who is reading this with this boring "tale of woe." I can't believe I don't blog good things that happen, but feel compelled to immediately blog stressful situations.
It's blogging as therapy... Thanks for listening!
P.S. The title of the post doesn't make much sense because I'm didn't even talk about Shutterfly being bad -- it sucks at times because it doesn't automatically save (like google docs or blogger) and it doesn't save the latest version always. That's it.
I had a $20 coupon that my friend gave me and was going to expire yesterday, so my plan was to finish the South Africa book by 3 am (California midnight) so I could use it.
I was working well on my Mac, but then all of a sudden (MY FAULT, I must say), I couldn't edit the photos well the way I wanted (couldn't rotate, make them smaller or bigger -- my fault because I forgot to press the "customize" thing, I think), so I moved to the PC. The problem for later was that I left the browser open with the version of the book I was working on open on a tab.
Things went well on the PC and I was almost done with the book (albeit after 3 am), so I moved back to the Mac.
HOWEVER, something weird/funny happened in Safari and the window I was working on disappeared to the side & I couldn't get it back.
Can you believe it that I went to the other tab that was open with the OLDER, version of the book from FOUR hours ago and I clicked on SAVE????!!!
How in the world could I have done that? Now I have to redo ALL the changes that I spent four hours painstakingly implementing on the PC and in the last few minutes on the mac again.
I cannot believe that I did this to myself. I can't even remember some of the things I wrote & some of the designs I created for certain pages. I had also added more photos. I think I'll be able to figure it all out, but this is just too upsetting. :(
I'm writing this post so I can calm down and, maybe, go to sleep. My plan is to call Shutterfly tomorrow and beg that I can still use the 20 dollars coupon (this book is 100+ dollars & I need that coupon + the 50% discount) because of what happened. Sigh... I'm hoping hoping hoping they'll be nice and let me use it.
Maybe it will be just easier to keep going now and try to sleep during the day. I'm so high on adrenaline right now. The problem is that I'm just sick and tired of this book and I was ALMOST DONE. Really... I was so close!! And I also liked the results a lot. :(
I'm sorry to bother anyone who is reading this with this boring "tale of woe." I can't believe I don't blog good things that happen, but feel compelled to immediately blog stressful situations.
It's blogging as therapy... Thanks for listening!
P.S. The title of the post doesn't make much sense because I'm didn't even talk about Shutterfly being bad -- it sucks at times because it doesn't automatically save (like google docs or blogger) and it doesn't save the latest version always. That's it.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Poolside Blogging
A very boring kind of poolside blogging... At my son's first ever swim meet.
I couldn't be happier that we're going to miss the next two meets!!! (We're going to Florida next week!!!)
This year our 11 year old finally decided to join our town's swim team. He had a bumpy start because he'd never had swimming lessons, but he's catching up fast! I never had swim lessons in my life & only learned he breast-stroke properly, but my husband had lessons for several years growing up.
Next year I hope that my youngest will do it too, but he needs lessons prior to joining because he feels too self-conscious a out not knowing how to swim correctly. He seems to be enjoying the meet & seeing the other kids swim.
I wish I could be home finishing the Africa trip Shutterfly book which I need to order tonight (coupon expiring)... This meet has 67 events & the pool fits only FOUR lanes, so it'll forever. My son is in race #52...
Wish us luck!
I couldn't be happier that we're going to miss the next two meets!!! (We're going to Florida next week!!!)
This year our 11 year old finally decided to join our town's swim team. He had a bumpy start because he'd never had swimming lessons, but he's catching up fast! I never had swim lessons in my life & only learned he breast-stroke properly, but my husband had lessons for several years growing up.
Next year I hope that my youngest will do it too, but he needs lessons prior to joining because he feels too self-conscious a out not knowing how to swim correctly. He seems to be enjoying the meet & seeing the other kids swim.
I wish I could be home finishing the Africa trip Shutterfly book which I need to order tonight (coupon expiring)... This meet has 67 events & the pool fits only FOUR lanes, so it'll forever. My son is in race #52...
Wish us luck!
Monday, June 17, 2013
Pajamas
"Mom, I'm getting tired of my pajamas," says my 9 year-old while getting ready for bed.
"But why, sweetie? Why is that?"
"They are all old and they're getting shorter!"
As he was saying that I got up from the computer and went to his room hoping to show him at least one pair of pajamas that I had transferred from his brother's drawer to his on my "day off" last Friday.
And when he said that they were getting shorter both of us started laughing uncontrollably...
Yes, sometimes growing up and being the younger brother who gets all the hand-me-downs gets funny... ;)
I do buy him some new clothes once in a while, just never pajamas. Maybe he should get him a brand-new pair, right? Poor guy!
"But why, sweetie? Why is that?"
"They are all old and they're getting shorter!"
As he was saying that I got up from the computer and went to his room hoping to show him at least one pair of pajamas that I had transferred from his brother's drawer to his on my "day off" last Friday.
And when he said that they were getting shorter both of us started laughing uncontrollably...
Yes, sometimes growing up and being the younger brother who gets all the hand-me-downs gets funny... ;)
I do buy him some new clothes once in a while, just never pajamas. Maybe he should get him a brand-new pair, right? Poor guy!
Friday, June 14, 2013
A Day to Myself & Why I Prefer to Mother on the Go
Today is a very rare day.
My boys are at camp with my in-laws (I drove back yesterday) and I'm home alone while my husband is at work. I think I have had very few days like today in my 11 years as a mother. Of course I should be waxing my legs, blow drying my hair, packing for our return, but here I am, blogging about my children! haha... ;)
Mothering is hard work. Parenting is hard in general, of course, but in our family, the minutiae of the boys lives (making sure they have clothes to wear, that their bedrooms are in OK shape, that their favorite toothpaste is available & other million small tasks) are my responsibility.
I enjoy doing these little things. I miss my boys when they are not here, I just thoroughly adore being their mom.
Of course there are things I'm very bad at. I'm really good at being out and about with the boys -- that's one of the reasons I miss living in a big city like Philadelphia with so many things to do, so many places to go.
If you've been reading for a long time you know that beginning back in 2006 -- in October when I had a 2 and a 4 year old, I've been going on lots of long car trips with the boys. The longest (2,210 miles) was in July 2010, to Canada and back.
I think I'm good at keeping them dressed & at giving them lots of cuddles, but I'm not very good at enforcing things (such as making sure they do chores and homework and vision therapy) and even at cooking things and feeding them at regular mealtimes. In short, everything that is hard for me from my ADHD affects my parenting very strongly.
Thankfully, it never really concerned me too much that most parenting experts say that children thrive on routine. Mine thrived on relative chaos and improvisation and impromptu excursions since babyhood and they're fine. Of course they were always warm and fed and... entertained! :)
I really am most happy when I am in a car going somewhere with my boys. At home I'm not very productive, they complain of boredom, I start screaming that they need to do this or that. So... it's almost unreal to have a quiet house. I open their drawers and put away the new pajama that I bought at the outlet yesterday. I bend down to pick up tiny legos on the floor and find a tiny piece of a train that I know they'll be delighted we can super-glue back).
The boys' presence is felt everywhere. On the train tracks and trains on the living room floor to the clothes on the floor in their bedroom.
In the end, I don't blog very much about mothering and about my boys, in spite of the name of my blog. This sometimes surprises me, but mostly, it does not. Mothering is what I do on a daily basis, blogging is a space for myself to reflect on life. That's why, I guess, it's easier for me to blog about my sons when they aren't here.
Well, now I will try to go and do some things just for myself before I get going at the end of the day to be reunited with my boys!
My boys are at camp with my in-laws (I drove back yesterday) and I'm home alone while my husband is at work. I think I have had very few days like today in my 11 years as a mother. Of course I should be waxing my legs, blow drying my hair, packing for our return, but here I am, blogging about my children! haha... ;)
Mothering is hard work. Parenting is hard in general, of course, but in our family, the minutiae of the boys lives (making sure they have clothes to wear, that their bedrooms are in OK shape, that their favorite toothpaste is available & other million small tasks) are my responsibility.
I enjoy doing these little things. I miss my boys when they are not here, I just thoroughly adore being their mom.
Of course there are things I'm very bad at. I'm really good at being out and about with the boys -- that's one of the reasons I miss living in a big city like Philadelphia with so many things to do, so many places to go.
If you've been reading for a long time you know that beginning back in 2006 -- in October when I had a 2 and a 4 year old, I've been going on lots of long car trips with the boys. The longest (2,210 miles) was in July 2010, to Canada and back.
I think I'm good at keeping them dressed & at giving them lots of cuddles, but I'm not very good at enforcing things (such as making sure they do chores and homework and vision therapy) and even at cooking things and feeding them at regular mealtimes. In short, everything that is hard for me from my ADHD affects my parenting very strongly.
Thankfully, it never really concerned me too much that most parenting experts say that children thrive on routine. Mine thrived on relative chaos and improvisation and impromptu excursions since babyhood and they're fine. Of course they were always warm and fed and... entertained! :)
I really am most happy when I am in a car going somewhere with my boys. At home I'm not very productive, they complain of boredom, I start screaming that they need to do this or that. So... it's almost unreal to have a quiet house. I open their drawers and put away the new pajama that I bought at the outlet yesterday. I bend down to pick up tiny legos on the floor and find a tiny piece of a train that I know they'll be delighted we can super-glue back).
The boys' presence is felt everywhere. On the train tracks and trains on the living room floor to the clothes on the floor in their bedroom.
In the end, I don't blog very much about mothering and about my boys, in spite of the name of my blog. This sometimes surprises me, but mostly, it does not. Mothering is what I do on a daily basis, blogging is a space for myself to reflect on life. That's why, I guess, it's easier for me to blog about my sons when they aren't here.
Well, now I will try to go and do some things just for myself before I get going at the end of the day to be reunited with my boys!
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Ooops, I Did it Again!
This post was supposed to be titled "My One Day Vacation" but... no, it was not to be... :(
This will be instead the "driving back and forth for several hours four days in a row"* kind of "vacation!" :P
All because I simply did it again three months later. I forgot the boys' bags at home. Sigh... At least I had their toothbrushes this time. ;)
I'm trying to think positively, though, because we were only 1h40mins away from home at a camp where my in-laws are spending the week, and I had forgotten other things too. Moreover, the boys also want their bicycles.
Too bad that driving halfway down I remember that a friend was supposed to drive from here to there today and could have taken the stuff, but then I was already returning home... sigh again. The good thing is that now I am wondering if her husband could possibly give K a ride on Friday (or Saturday?). That way we could change our plans. But she probably won't call me back before I need to leave (I left a message on her voice-mail & they don't have a home number). I know, I can't remain positive for very long, can I!
All right. My younger son needs his swim clothes by 2:30 pm, so I better hurry and collect everything I need to take them so I can eat a quick lunch and leave.
* I drove the boys yesterday, came back home and have to return today with their stuff, then the original plan was to drive back home tomorrow, have a date with my husband and on Friday drive back up with him.
This will be instead the "driving back and forth for several hours four days in a row"* kind of "vacation!" :P
All because I simply did it again three months later. I forgot the boys' bags at home. Sigh... At least I had their toothbrushes this time. ;)
I'm trying to think positively, though, because we were only 1h40mins away from home at a camp where my in-laws are spending the week, and I had forgotten other things too. Moreover, the boys also want their bicycles.
Too bad that driving halfway down I remember that a friend was supposed to drive from here to there today and could have taken the stuff, but then I was already returning home... sigh again. The good thing is that now I am wondering if her husband could possibly give K a ride on Friday (or Saturday?). That way we could change our plans. But she probably won't call me back before I need to leave (I left a message on her voice-mail & they don't have a home number). I know, I can't remain positive for very long, can I!
All right. My younger son needs his swim clothes by 2:30 pm, so I better hurry and collect everything I need to take them so I can eat a quick lunch and leave.
* I drove the boys yesterday, came back home and have to return today with their stuff, then the original plan was to drive back home tomorrow, have a date with my husband and on Friday drive back up with him.
Friday, June 07, 2013
Back to Flikr & Concerns about Blog Anonymity
I was thrilled to find out that Flikr is now offering 1 terabyte of storage space!
I stopped using Flikr long ago, back in 2006, because I refused to pay for the service (yes, I am cheap like that, sigh...). I can't believe that I had to wait seven years to finally go back! Sigh... I still kept the sidebar slide show for a long time here on the blog and only removed it last year (because of anonymity concerns).
And now comes the tough situation of wondering again whether I should connect my blog to Flikr or to have separate accounts and create a new Flikr account for the blog.
I wish with all my heart that I didn't have to blog (semi-)anonymously, but I just can't do it under my own name. :( My situation is still extremely precarious work-wise and with all that I've written on the blog over the years and which I hope to never have to delete or hide, it is unwise use my name.
And, of course, my husband doesn't want people to find him through my blog or the other way around, that was the first reason that kept me semi-anonymous. (it's only at times such as these that I wish I hadn't taken my husband's last name. Otherwise I'm OK with it).
Sigh...
I love taking photos and sharing them on my blog, but I just can't risk being found, so I need to be more selective with the photos I post. I'm actually surprised that I never had anyone try to search for the "real me" like I successfully did long ago with Jo(e) and Pithy Dithy. The truth is that I haven't been uncovered because very few people read my blog and those that do know who I am because we're also in touch in facebook and via email at times. In any case, this is oneof the advantages of having a little, unknown blog...
Regarding photos on the blog and online, the fact that Google now has image search freaks me out quite a bit and maybe the best think to do would be to delete all photos that have my face on the blog even though this would mean deleting my very first post... (big sigh again)
I have already logged into my old Flikr account and fiddled with my 306 photos there, but I probably won't be linking that account to the blog again and I will have to delete all images that have previously appeared on the blog if I decide to use my name for that account...
Such a hassle! In any case my worries and concerns are very small compared to people who are actually "famous" in blogland. That's one of the advantages of being unknown. That and the comparative lack of trolls and vitriolic criticism.
I stopped using Flikr long ago, back in 2006, because I refused to pay for the service (yes, I am cheap like that, sigh...). I can't believe that I had to wait seven years to finally go back! Sigh... I still kept the sidebar slide show for a long time here on the blog and only removed it last year (because of anonymity concerns).
And now comes the tough situation of wondering again whether I should connect my blog to Flikr or to have separate accounts and create a new Flikr account for the blog.
I wish with all my heart that I didn't have to blog (semi-)anonymously, but I just can't do it under my own name. :( My situation is still extremely precarious work-wise and with all that I've written on the blog over the years and which I hope to never have to delete or hide, it is unwise use my name.
And, of course, my husband doesn't want people to find him through my blog or the other way around, that was the first reason that kept me semi-anonymous. (it's only at times such as these that I wish I hadn't taken my husband's last name. Otherwise I'm OK with it).
Sigh...
I love taking photos and sharing them on my blog, but I just can't risk being found, so I need to be more selective with the photos I post. I'm actually surprised that I never had anyone try to search for the "real me" like I successfully did long ago with Jo(e) and Pithy Dithy. The truth is that I haven't been uncovered because very few people read my blog and those that do know who I am because we're also in touch in facebook and via email at times. In any case, this is oneof the advantages of having a little, unknown blog...
Regarding photos on the blog and online, the fact that Google now has image search freaks me out quite a bit and maybe the best think to do would be to delete all photos that have my face on the blog even though this would mean deleting my very first post... (big sigh again)
I have already logged into my old Flikr account and fiddled with my 306 photos there, but I probably won't be linking that account to the blog again and I will have to delete all images that have previously appeared on the blog if I decide to use my name for that account...
Such a hassle! In any case my worries and concerns are very small compared to people who are actually "famous" in blogland. That's one of the advantages of being unknown. That and the comparative lack of trolls and vitriolic criticism.
Thursday, June 06, 2013
iPad-Less
I'm happy with my iphone, but, contrary to my sons, I never had any interest whatsoever in the ipad, so two weeks ago I became the only person in our family without one.
The boys used up all their money to buy their iPad in July 2011. This one became the property of the youngest son when the oldest son bought an iPad mini this past Christmas. And now my husband decided to get one with his grant money in order to read & annotate hundreds of academic papers. He got the one with the most memory and he's super happy! No more carrying lots of paper around.
I, however, think I'll probably remain iPad-less... I don't really see why I'd like or want a tablet. Maybe (just maybe) a Kindle, but still... I really like actual books and I haven't been reading much anyway. It would probably be lighter to carry the e-edition of the textbook I teach with, but... well... I wouldn't want to spend the money if I can do most everything else (email, blogs, etc) on my phone! Otherwise, I tend to prefer a computer, preferably a desktop, for work. I know, I'm old fashioned... sigh... (for a good reason, see below).
I do have to type a lot and using a 13 inch Macbook Pro since last summer ruined my elbow (I'm still suffering with/from mild "tennis elbow" -- I thought I had blogged about it, but I can't find the post!), so I continue to prefer a desktop -- which we don't have at home!! Good thing there's an iMac in my office and I use it as often as I can.
With all these new devices we have come a long way from when I created my original Meme on technology use years ago, back in February 2006! The changes that have taken place from then to now are unbelievable! Who knows what else the future will bring tech-wise, any ideas?
The boys used up all their money to buy their iPad in July 2011. This one became the property of the youngest son when the oldest son bought an iPad mini this past Christmas. And now my husband decided to get one with his grant money in order to read & annotate hundreds of academic papers. He got the one with the most memory and he's super happy! No more carrying lots of paper around.
I, however, think I'll probably remain iPad-less... I don't really see why I'd like or want a tablet. Maybe (just maybe) a Kindle, but still... I really like actual books and I haven't been reading much anyway. It would probably be lighter to carry the e-edition of the textbook I teach with, but... well... I wouldn't want to spend the money if I can do most everything else (email, blogs, etc) on my phone! Otherwise, I tend to prefer a computer, preferably a desktop, for work. I know, I'm old fashioned... sigh... (for a good reason, see below).
I do have to type a lot and using a 13 inch Macbook Pro since last summer ruined my elbow (I'm still suffering with/from mild "tennis elbow" -- I thought I had blogged about it, but I can't find the post!), so I continue to prefer a desktop -- which we don't have at home!! Good thing there's an iMac in my office and I use it as often as I can.
With all these new devices we have come a long way from when I created my original Meme on technology use years ago, back in February 2006! The changes that have taken place from then to now are unbelievable! Who knows what else the future will bring tech-wise, any ideas?
Afraid of Summer: Too Much of a Good Thing...
I began this post two weeks and three days ago (on Monday May 24)... so it's hopelessly updated. I wrote a lot, so I'll keep most of it and try to write another post that's more up-to-date.
(Obviously this is all past nos!) My summer didn't officially start yet (I'll say it does after the kids are out of schoolthis coming Friday tomorrow and after I present a poster at a conference the following Friday) and I'm already "freaking out." OK, OK, I'm exaggerating a little... :) and I'm definitely overusing this expression lately.
You see... I know that there are tons of things that I/we could hypothetically do this summer to be very productive, but I am deathly afraid to even think of them and then just be disappointed after they don't get done.
Sigh...
I know, welcome to my adhd life (and I went to label the post with adhd).
Wow, I do have a "Future Plans" label. How come? I'm afraid of future plans! ;) No, not really, I love to plan trips and "adventures" of any kind, but I don't like to plan regular things like what I'm going to teach next semester, or what I should try to write and publish in order to have a shot at an academic career. And I run away in a panic from resolutions of any kind like... like... (please fill a good simile in the blanks, in Portuguese we'd say "like the devil runs from the cross," but I don't like that very much).
In any case, I do want to make some "plans" for this summer, but I'm overwhelmed by the fact that there's so much time and so much I want(ed) to do and... consequently, so many things I'm afraid won't get done! That's why I'm saying up there in the title that I'm afraid of summer.
I started this postyesterday, on Monday, and I'm glad to report I was pretty productive today, on Tuesday against all odds! I nearly finished the poster for the conference next week and I was able to plan four vases with flowers I bought at the farmer's market, YAY!
In any case, just to try to be accountable, here are some things I hope I can accomplish this summer:
(Obviously this is all past nos!) My summer didn't officially start yet (I'll say it does after the kids are out of school
You see... I know that there are tons of things that I/we could hypothetically do this summer to be very productive, but I am deathly afraid to even think of them and then just be disappointed after they don't get done.
Sigh...
I know, welcome to my adhd life (and I went to label the post with adhd).
Wow, I do have a "Future Plans" label. How come? I'm afraid of future plans! ;) No, not really, I love to plan trips and "adventures" of any kind, but I don't like to plan regular things like what I'm going to teach next semester, or what I should try to write and publish in order to have a shot at an academic career. And I run away in a panic from resolutions of any kind like... like... (please fill a good simile in the blanks, in Portuguese we'd say "like the devil runs from the cross," but I don't like that very much).
In any case, I do want to make some "plans" for this summer, but I'm overwhelmed by the fact that there's so much time and so much I want(ed) to do and... consequently, so many things I'm afraid won't get done! That's why I'm saying up there in the title that I'm afraid of summer.
I started this post
In any case, just to try to be accountable, here are some things I hope I can accomplish this summer:
- (ASAP) Assemble a raised bed made of concrete blocks and plant veggies;
- Weed garden in the backyard, mulch and try to keep it relatively weed free (also ASAP)
- Organize the garage more and find misplaced (hopefully not lost!) items (such as ALL our old photos);
- (tentative) day at theme park a couple of hours from us;
- Day at the water-park (free entrance for kids thanks to local library);
- Camp-meeting with my brother-in-law's family;
- 3-day industry camp for my older son;
- Camp-meeting here/ Sunday lake party with friends in neighboring state;
- (tentative): trip to Florida around the 4th of July and my birthday
- August: trip to New England and Montreal, Canada.
Wednesday, June 05, 2013
Got Offer. Pity Party (hopefully) Over
I spent the day stressed out about my job and all the driving and working with the NH (new hire) and wondering if they would still honor their word and give me the full-time job I'd been promised.
I even had a quick argument with my husband over the phone about these things. "You are too negative!" he said in despair. Yes, you are right... sigh.
So... after not checking my email for over 36h I did it today and...
... lo and behold! There was an offer letter dated from yesterday. So... yeah. One more year with an almost "real" job for me! Let's hope for many more, right? (and try to be more positive, that's for sure!)
I even had a quick argument with my husband over the phone about these things. "You are too negative!" he said in despair. Yes, you are right... sigh.
So... after not checking my email for over 36h I did it today and...
... lo and behold! There was an offer letter dated from yesterday. So... yeah. One more year with an almost "real" job for me! Let's hope for many more, right? (and try to be more positive, that's for sure!)
Monday, June 03, 2013
Request DENIED to the Weakest Link, or, I need the "Serenity Prayer" right now, or...
...I don't want to be a replaceable cog in the machine anymore...
... but I need the income. Desperately so.
My proposal to teach four days a week instead of five days next semester was denied and I am obviously devastated and feeling very hopeless. Why did they even let me submit the proposal in the first place? Who decided? The coordinator or the new hire? Does that even matter? (No!!!)
I am also despairing at the thought of having to teach FIVE DAYS A WEEK at U#2, driving 152 more miles on Fridays. Sigh... Even if I sleep over there on Mondays and Wednesdays, having to drive back on Friday is so annoying (and tiresome).
I want to get out of there. ASAP. I need to get out of there. I disagree with the way the newly hired faculty person (I will be more vague about this person from now on) has decided to teach the intermediate/advanced class, I think that the course is not well organized and that new hire (NH from now on) doesn't really care much because obviously NH is primarily concerned with all NH needs to do to obtain tenure.
I wish I could just tell them that I wouldn't teach next year anymore and let them have to be in the awkward situation of piling all the classes onto NH.
I know I will be OK... THOUGH my situation is extremely precarious. So, there is the possibility that I would not only not be OK, but be kind of in trouble.
The problem is that I have NOT signed a contract yet and I have only been offered a full time load verbally. Potentially, they could cancel one of my classes since NH has only 2 students and I have 8, and then I would only be teaching two classes (that meet 5 days a week, but pay the same as 3 days) which was their original plan anyway.
It is very very tiresome to be "the weakest link" that can be broken and easily replaced. Sigh... that's the life of the adjuncts everywhere and who knows how many more years I will have to endure it.
At least at U#1 I'm slightly less replaceable (in spite of the fact that my newly designed class was simply "given" to someone else without any qualms. Nah... I'm 100% replaceable).
This awareness is very damaging to one's self-esteem. In any case, I need to find the strength to accept the things I cannot change. And keep hoping that the future may bring better things.
... but I need the income. Desperately so.
My proposal to teach four days a week instead of five days next semester was denied and I am obviously devastated and feeling very hopeless. Why did they even let me submit the proposal in the first place? Who decided? The coordinator or the new hire? Does that even matter? (No!!!)
I am also despairing at the thought of having to teach FIVE DAYS A WEEK at U#2, driving 152 more miles on Fridays. Sigh... Even if I sleep over there on Mondays and Wednesdays, having to drive back on Friday is so annoying (and tiresome).
I want to get out of there. ASAP. I need to get out of there. I disagree with the way the newly hired faculty person (I will be more vague about this person from now on) has decided to teach the intermediate/advanced class, I think that the course is not well organized and that new hire (NH from now on) doesn't really care much because obviously NH is primarily concerned with all NH needs to do to obtain tenure.
I wish I could just tell them that I wouldn't teach next year anymore and let them have to be in the awkward situation of piling all the classes onto NH.
I know I will be OK... THOUGH my situation is extremely precarious. So, there is the possibility that I would not only not be OK, but be kind of in trouble.
The problem is that I have NOT signed a contract yet and I have only been offered a full time load verbally. Potentially, they could cancel one of my classes since NH has only 2 students and I have 8, and then I would only be teaching two classes (that meet 5 days a week, but pay the same as 3 days) which was their original plan anyway.
It is very very tiresome to be "the weakest link" that can be broken and easily replaced. Sigh... that's the life of the adjuncts everywhere and who knows how many more years I will have to endure it.
At least at U#1 I'm slightly less replaceable (in spite of the fact that my newly designed class was simply "given" to someone else without any qualms. Nah... I'm 100% replaceable).
This awareness is very damaging to one's self-esteem. In any case, I need to find the strength to accept the things I cannot change. And keep hoping that the future may bring better things.
Friday, May 31, 2013
Underground Blogging
I'm literally blogging from under the ground in the DC subway! Some patches don't have service, but others, even underground, have excellent signal (extended, though).
July 1993... That's where/when I get transported to when I'm here. It was my first time in the U.S., first airplane trip in my life (at 23!).
I spent 10 days at my uncle's house and I took the bus and then the metro to the national mall and visited every single museum, watched every single IMAX movie... It was amazing.
So I DC has a big part of my heart. I just wish I/we came here more often. Now that the boys are older I think they can handle museums better. I can't believe that the last time we were here was only birthday in 2011... :(
And today I just need to cross the city from one side to... The same side, which is silly, but it's the only way I can get from Glenmont to Bethesda this morning. Sigh.
Oh, and halfway through the post we came to the surface, but I'll keep the title anyway! ;)
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Remembering Blues
This post is a reaction to Becca's beautiful post about her dog Cooper. My situation was completely different, though, and I almost envy her. Sigh...
Three years ago my husband took my first "baby," my cat Blues, to a friend's house because we were going to have a rough few days getting ready to pack our whole house, sell it, and move out of state.
I didn't get to say goodbye to him because I didn't know I was never going to see him again. And that, that broke my heart and still breaks it when I think of it.
I had no way of knowing that my friend's husband was going to leave the back door open and that he would escape to the streets of North Philadelphia. How could I know?
It was just so horrible, to lose my "baby" of over nine years without saying good-bye, without any closure whatsoever (did he die? Did someone simply picked him up and adopted him? what in the world happened?)
That's why I say I almost envy Becca. In the end, though, I can't say that I do. Because no matter how it happens, whether you make a most difficult decision to put your pet down or whether your pet disappears into thin air like mine, it is still a heartbreaking loss.
So I dedicate this post to the memory of beloved pets.
I don't think of Blues at all anymore, especially now that I have two very dear kitties (who aren't half as beautiful as my first "baby" was, though!), but Becca is right. He still is, and will always be, with me, part of me.
Three years ago my husband took my first "baby," my cat Blues, to a friend's house because we were going to have a rough few days getting ready to pack our whole house, sell it, and move out of state.
I didn't get to say goodbye to him because I didn't know I was never going to see him again. And that, that broke my heart and still breaks it when I think of it.
I had no way of knowing that my friend's husband was going to leave the back door open and that he would escape to the streets of North Philadelphia. How could I know?
It was just so horrible, to lose my "baby" of over nine years without saying good-bye, without any closure whatsoever (did he die? Did someone simply picked him up and adopted him? what in the world happened?)
That's why I say I almost envy Becca. In the end, though, I can't say that I do. Because no matter how it happens, whether you make a most difficult decision to put your pet down or whether your pet disappears into thin air like mine, it is still a heartbreaking loss.
So I dedicate this post to the memory of beloved pets.
I don't think of Blues at all anymore, especially now that I have two very dear kitties (who aren't half as beautiful as my first "baby" was, though!), but Becca is right. He still is, and will always be, with me, part of me.
Nine
The photo of the "nine" cake(s) will have to come later... Yellow, with green stripes, made "as best as I could" as my "baby" instructed me... yummy cakes too (vanilla & chocolate, both vegan). ;)
And I can't even tuck him into bed tonight, though I've kissed him good-bye while his birthday party was still going at the park. (I had to come to Maryland to go to a conference tomorrow).
Nine years ago I gave birth for the second and last time (I wanted to have more babies, but my husband and my rational brain did not let me).
My youngest son is a joy. He has a strong personality (has had it since birth) and sometimes it is complicated to deal with him, but he is delightful the rest of the time. Funny, extremely bright, talkative to the extreme, very caring and perceptive ("You look so beautiful today, mama!"), he loves to interact with his best friends.
So today we had his two best friends for lunch & a play-date and then, after soccer practice, our very first "typically American" birthday party (with plenty of food, though, after all, once a Brazilian, always Brazilian): cake and food in the park with friends. Nothing planned but singing Happy Birthday. It was nice, even though I had to leave before the actual end.
He bought his gifts yesterday, but I'll blog about them later.
No photo because I think he wouldn't like it. Sigh... :)
And I can't even tuck him into bed tonight, though I've kissed him good-bye while his birthday party was still going at the park. (I had to come to Maryland to go to a conference tomorrow).
Nine years ago I gave birth for the second and last time (I wanted to have more babies, but my husband and my rational brain did not let me).
My youngest son is a joy. He has a strong personality (has had it since birth) and sometimes it is complicated to deal with him, but he is delightful the rest of the time. Funny, extremely bright, talkative to the extreme, very caring and perceptive ("You look so beautiful today, mama!"), he loves to interact with his best friends.
So today we had his two best friends for lunch & a play-date and then, after soccer practice, our very first "typically American" birthday party (with plenty of food, though, after all, once a Brazilian, always Brazilian): cake and food in the park with friends. Nothing planned but singing Happy Birthday. It was nice, even though I had to leave before the actual end.
He bought his gifts yesterday, but I'll blog about them later.
No photo because I think he wouldn't like it. Sigh... :)
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Won't you be my neighbor?
Yesterday I came out the front door and was stunned to find a "For Sale" sign at the house of our neighbors across the street. And I quickly understood why they had been planting new grass in their front lawn and taking care of the landscaping. I mostly felt sad, though.
We haven't interacted too much, but they have two sons, 7 and 4, and their older son and my 8 year old (one year older, but two inches shorter than the neighbor boy! ;) are the best of friends. In addition, they took care of our cats when we traveled (for several trips and several weeks) which was so great. Now I have to figure out someone else to help us and I'll probably pay this other person too. :( My neighbor didn't want to be paid for her help and she loved my cats so much that she actually adopted two kitties last Winter!
And I'm wondering who will buy the house. Or rent -- the house next door to ours didn't sell, went off the market and was rented to this couple with a 3 year old girl.
Do you want to be our neighbor?
P.S. There's a new third grade teacher moving from Oregon to teach at our sons' school. She has a boy in my 8 year old son's class (so cute! red hair, freckles, blue eyes, reminded me a bit of Laura's son). It would be perfect if they bought the house! Sigh... If they are visiting the school again tomorrow (they were today), I will definitely mention the house to them! ;)
We haven't interacted too much, but they have two sons, 7 and 4, and their older son and my 8 year old (one year older, but two inches shorter than the neighbor boy! ;) are the best of friends. In addition, they took care of our cats when we traveled (for several trips and several weeks) which was so great. Now I have to figure out someone else to help us and I'll probably pay this other person too. :( My neighbor didn't want to be paid for her help and she loved my cats so much that she actually adopted two kitties last Winter!
And I'm wondering who will buy the house. Or rent -- the house next door to ours didn't sell, went off the market and was rented to this couple with a 3 year old girl.
Do you want to be our neighbor?
P.S. There's a new third grade teacher moving from Oregon to teach at our sons' school. She has a boy in my 8 year old son's class (so cute! red hair, freckles, blue eyes, reminded me a bit of Laura's son). It would be perfect if they bought the house! Sigh... If they are visiting the school again tomorrow (they were today), I will definitely mention the house to them! ;)
They have a pretty tree in the front yard that has two-phased blooming. :)
Out of the Driver's Seat
We can't talk about these issues, my husband and I, we end up fighting. He doesn't buy it that the problem is that he is a tenure track professor and I'm not. He thinks that I have to view this experience of having to submit as a "character development" opportunity and, basically, switching to coarse language that I generally don't use, "suck it up." Of course he's right in a way, but I'm also right in another way.
All this to say that the discussion about the syllabus that my "new boss" and I were having (through emails back and forth) was quickly over. While I was able to give suggestions and he was asking for my input, he gets to decide, he's in the driver's seat. . So... I suppose I have to just sit back and enjoy the ride, right? Ha ha. ;) It's true that it's less work for me. Especially with the way the course is structured...
... I'm firmly against using class time to watch films and we'll be watching 5 films in class during the semester.
... I think that the last film is super-ultra-violent and depressing and yet that's the last one we'll see and end the semester in a bitter note.
...I think that it won't make a lot of sense doing chapters from a grammar book together with watching this films (IN CLASS, less time to actually do language learning!), but we'll see.
Yeah... let's see what kind of "ride" this will turn out to be. I think I'm reconciled to it now. Sarcasm and irony always help me.
All this to say that the discussion about the syllabus that my "new boss" and I were having (through emails back and forth) was quickly over. While I was able to give suggestions and he was asking for my input, he gets to decide, he's in the driver's seat. . So... I suppose I have to just sit back and enjoy the ride, right? Ha ha. ;) It's true that it's less work for me. Especially with the way the course is structured...
... I'm firmly against using class time to watch films and we'll be watching 5 films in class during the semester.
... I think that the last film is super-ultra-violent and depressing and yet that's the last one we'll see and end the semester in a bitter note.
...I think that it won't make a lot of sense doing chapters from a grammar book together with watching this films (IN CLASS, less time to actually do language learning!), but we'll see.
Yeah... let's see what kind of "ride" this will turn out to be. I think I'm reconciled to it now. Sarcasm and irony always help me.
The Joy of Wild Poppies
I'm thinking of reviving my "365 project" blog, though that name/title has been meaningless forever now... sigh. The reason I want to do that (or maybe create a tumblr blog for photos?) is that I've been taking tons of photos with my new amazing camera (Nikon D5100).
Just a sample from the last two days -- NOT processed, edited, fiddled with, I need to learn how to do that, actually, but sometimes I think I don't want to:
I spent 45 minutes and then 30 minutes photographing these poppies Tuesday and Wednesday morning. I felt so much joy doing it... (the second up there is a bit out of focus, I selected these semi-randomly using the thumbnails for adding photos on blogger).
Just a sample from the last two days -- NOT processed, edited, fiddled with, I need to learn how to do that, actually, but sometimes I think I don't want to:
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Half-Way Through!
I'm half-way through Anna Karenina and I'm a bit annoyed that I'm going to have guests all weekend long, so I need to prepare (clean the house, etc) and can't spend time reading. :(
A long time ago, a blogging friend whose last blog was "Smart Cookie" and who probably no longer reads my blog wrote this beautiful post about her time in Germany and this lovely relationship she had with this (second?) cousin of hers. She cited the novel in her post and I almost didn't read that part because I didn't want it to spoil my reading on the day that I finally got around to reading it.
Well... I'm glad I did read the whole post in the end and I so wish I could go back and read it again because it wasn't a spoiler at all! When I finally got to the Kitty & Levin part that she mentioned on the post I immediately remembered my friend's story and I was so thrilled and tickled!
I know that the book will have a bad ending for one of the characters at least, but I can't wait to see what else will happen! Tolstoy is a great writer, I can't wait to read more Russian novels! I probably should check out Gogol (The Namesake piqued my attention) and, of course, I've always wanted to read Dostoyevsky.
I'll try to write some comments after I'm done reading!
A long time ago, a blogging friend whose last blog was "Smart Cookie" and who probably no longer reads my blog wrote this beautiful post about her time in Germany and this lovely relationship she had with this (second?) cousin of hers. She cited the novel in her post and I almost didn't read that part because I didn't want it to spoil my reading on the day that I finally got around to reading it.
Well... I'm glad I did read the whole post in the end and I so wish I could go back and read it again because it wasn't a spoiler at all! When I finally got to the Kitty & Levin part that she mentioned on the post I immediately remembered my friend's story and I was so thrilled and tickled!
I know that the book will have a bad ending for one of the characters at least, but I can't wait to see what else will happen! Tolstoy is a great writer, I can't wait to read more Russian novels! I probably should check out Gogol (The Namesake piqued my attention) and, of course, I've always wanted to read Dostoyevsky.
I'll try to write some comments after I'm done reading!
Slightly Nervous... Again
I shouldn't be nervous, after all, I mostly got over it. But only after spending a whole day crying non-stop, the day after the aforementioned post...
... Then I never blogged the resolution, which prompted a couple of "real life" friends who read the blog to ask me what happened.
What happened was he emailed me a week later to say that I can write my own syllabi (only this year!) for the lower level classes. It's my last one, though.
I'm slightly nervous because I have read the syllabus and materials that he prepared and give him feedback. I shouldn't be nervous, I should be happy that I'm actually having this chance, but... well... I just can't help myself.
I'll be back later today with more posts!
... Then I never blogged the resolution, which prompted a couple of "real life" friends who read the blog to ask me what happened.
What happened was he emailed me a week later to say that I can write my own syllabi (only this year!) for the lower level classes. It's my last one, though.
I'm slightly nervous because I have read the syllabus and materials that he prepared and give him feedback. I shouldn't be nervous, I should be happy that I'm actually having this chance, but... well... I just can't help myself.
I'll be back later today with more posts!
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Fielded
I think I started reading because the past two days made me absolutely EXHAUSTED!
Yesterday was "field day" at my sons' school and I volunteered to help. I helped with the 220 ft. dash. I forgot to bring sunscreen so the boys and I got slightly sunburned (I actually got more tanned than sunburn, which never happens with me, yay! I think I needed the vitamin D).
After spending nearly all dat at their school I still had to drive an hour there and back to my son's vision therapy appointment. Sigh...
If that were not enough, my youngest son's class had a field trip today (45 minutes away) and I also volunteered to help. No wonder I had to take a nap this afternoon which was followed by a splitting headache (thankfully acetaminophen helped).
I'm ready for the real "summer" to begin. More on that in the next post.
Yesterday was "field day" at my sons' school and I volunteered to help. I helped with the 220 ft. dash. I forgot to bring sunscreen so the boys and I got slightly sunburned (I actually got more tanned than sunburn, which never happens with me, yay! I think I needed the vitamin D).
After spending nearly all dat at their school I still had to drive an hour there and back to my son's vision therapy appointment. Sigh...
If that were not enough, my youngest son's class had a field trip today (45 minutes away) and I also volunteered to help. No wonder I had to take a nap this afternoon which was followed by a splitting headache (thankfully acetaminophen helped).
I'm ready for the real "summer" to begin. More on that in the next post.
Summer Reading
I've bought way too many books in the past few years that I haven't yet read, so today I got started on one of them:
That way I can see the film adaptation when I'm done.
I'm a relatively fast reader, but I wish I read even faster, because this book is LOOONG! I wonder if I should try War & Peace and then Dostoievsky next. :) Only after I read the other books in my collection that I have yet to read. Sigh...
I'm a relatively fast reader, but I wish I read even faster, because this book is LOOONG! I wonder if I should try War & Peace and then Dostoievsky next. :) Only after I read the other books in my collection that I have yet to read. Sigh...
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
DONE!
Phew, I'm finally done with the grading and the grade submission!
I don't know why it was more difficult this year than other years. I hope to be more efficient in December, especially because I'll fly to Brazil on Dec. 18, so I need to have everything ready before then.
This morning I ate bread, strawberries with whipped cream, candy (Sunbursts), chips, and a huge cup of rooibos chai with whipped cream to help me finish. :)
Just a few minutes after submitting my grades I received an email from a department on campus reminding me of my missing grades. The only consolation was that there were several other professors in my department that had not submitted their grades either. The worse part is that they will be able to see my name there. If only I had submitted the grades last night! :(
Hopefully nobody will berate me for this.
Gotta go now, my reward is to go to the farmer's market, but it closes in less than two hours! :(
I don't know why it was more difficult this year than other years. I hope to be more efficient in December, especially because I'll fly to Brazil on Dec. 18, so I need to have everything ready before then.
This morning I ate bread, strawberries with whipped cream, candy (Sunbursts), chips, and a huge cup of rooibos chai with whipped cream to help me finish. :)
Just a few minutes after submitting my grades I received an email from a department on campus reminding me of my missing grades. The only consolation was that there were several other professors in my department that had not submitted their grades either. The worse part is that they will be able to see my name there. If only I had submitted the grades last night! :(
Hopefully nobody will berate me for this.
Gotta go now, my reward is to go to the farmer's market, but it closes in less than two hours! :(
Monday, May 13, 2013
More than HALF-WAY Done!!!
YAY!
I graded all final exams. Now I just need to add the oral exam grade & process/post the final grades to my two language classes.
I already read a number of essays for the lit class too. I don't think it'll take too long to get done with that one.
YAY!
Meanwhile, today was a bad day on the asthma front. :( My oldest son has already had four nebulizer breathing treatments since 6 am (when he woke up up. I'm so tired!)
I think he got worse after I took him to school at 9:30 am because he's part of a play (for the Spring program tomorrow) and they have all these bales of hay on stage and in the gym and he happens to be super allergic to all grasses. I gave him allergy medication this afternoon & will give him more tomorrow before the program. Hopefully it'll help.
Sigh...
Now I have to go and be DONE ASAP!
I graded all final exams. Now I just need to add the oral exam grade & process/post the final grades to my two language classes.
I already read a number of essays for the lit class too. I don't think it'll take too long to get done with that one.
YAY!
Meanwhile, today was a bad day on the asthma front. :( My oldest son has already had four nebulizer breathing treatments since 6 am (when he woke up up. I'm so tired!)
I think he got worse after I took him to school at 9:30 am because he's part of a play (for the Spring program tomorrow) and they have all these bales of hay on stage and in the gym and he happens to be super allergic to all grasses. I gave him allergy medication this afternoon & will give him more tomorrow before the program. Hopefully it'll help.
Sigh...
Now I have to go and be DONE ASAP!
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Chocolate & Tea...
... plus multi-grain chips (a generic version of "Sun chips").
I remembered Jo(e)'s strategy for grading: chocolate and tea, and I got going. nearly 3 pages of all exams graded. 5 more to go!
Sigh. Gotta go brew another cup of tea, though.
I can't wait to be done!!!
P.S. both of my boys have mild asthma today. Not very fun. One stayed home from soccer, the other came back from the game worse than he went (but he barely played, so that was not the problem). I still think it's better like this than having the daily steroid inhalation. My youngest (who used that for 2 years) disagrees, though.
I remembered Jo(e)'s strategy for grading: chocolate and tea, and I got going. nearly 3 pages of all exams graded. 5 more to go!
Sigh. Gotta go brew another cup of tea, though.
I can't wait to be done!!!
P.S. both of my boys have mild asthma today. Not very fun. One stayed home from soccer, the other came back from the game worse than he went (but he barely played, so that was not the problem). I still think it's better like this than having the daily steroid inhalation. My youngest (who used that for 2 years) disagrees, though.
I Should Be in Grading Jail
And yet, I spent hours today basically wasting time online (after all, I needed to pay homage to my mom by posting a photo of the two of us in facebook as tons of my Brazilian friends are doing). I can't believe I'm being so irresponsible.
Last week I actually had a very valid excuse! I had to finish a photo book (using shutterfly) for my son's teacher whose retirement party will be next weekend. I finally finished it on Friday afternoon and asked for 1 day shipping which will cost as much as the book itself. :( The school is either paying for the book in full or helping me pay for it and I wanted it to get here on time, so I went for it even though I think it's really way too much money (29 dollars!).
So, here's what I need to grade:
- 30 final exams, 8 pages each (I had written 30, no way!)
- oral exams (listen to recordings and email comment to each of my 30 students... sigh).
- 16 critical papers
- 16 final course paper (a "reflective thinking" paper on what they learned).
I will try to update what I did at the end of the day just to see if it helps to try to be accountable on the blog.
Wish me luck.
P.S. Last Thursday I was actually told by colleagues I went to have lunch with at U#2 that for Spanish they are actually expected to turn in the final grades 48 hours after the final (which would have been on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, for me). Good thing nobody's actually checking what I'm doing right now. And I hope that next year the new hire won't either.
Last week I actually had a very valid excuse! I had to finish a photo book (using shutterfly) for my son's teacher whose retirement party will be next weekend. I finally finished it on Friday afternoon and asked for 1 day shipping which will cost as much as the book itself. :( The school is either paying for the book in full or helping me pay for it and I wanted it to get here on time, so I went for it even though I think it's really way too much money (29 dollars!).
So, here's what I need to grade:
- 30 final exams, 8 pages each (I had written 30, no way!)
- oral exams (listen to recordings and email comment to each of my 30 students... sigh).
- 16 critical papers
- 16 final course paper (a "reflective thinking" paper on what they learned).
I will try to update what I did at the end of the day just to see if it helps to try to be accountable on the blog.
Wish me luck.
P.S. Last Thursday I was actually told by colleagues I went to have lunch with at U#2 that for Spanish they are actually expected to turn in the final grades 48 hours after the final (which would have been on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, for me). Good thing nobody's actually checking what I'm doing right now. And I hope that next year the new hire won't either.
Monday, May 06, 2013
Back to Life?
Today my husband took my laptop (which I had tried to turn on again yesterday) to the repair shop and... lo and behold, it's back to life!
K was joking that they are making electronics that are like the human body now -- that can regenerate themselves. Not really, but maybe almost? :)
What a relief!! I've ordered a new adapter for the external hard-drive and I hope that it'll soon be working as well!
K was joking that they are making electronics that are like the human body now -- that can regenerate themselves. Not really, but maybe almost? :)
What a relief!! I've ordered a new adapter for the external hard-drive and I hope that it'll soon be working as well!
Saturday, May 04, 2013
I Fried My Laptop Last Night!! :(
I still can't believe I did that!!
Now that I called Apple Care and I know that I have to take it into a store or authorized provider I can blog about it.
I was freaking out this morning (I couldn't go back to sleep at 6:30 am), but my husband talked some sense into me and I calmed down. Sigh...
What happened? It all started with my urgent need to find some older photos that are stored in an external hard drive (Seagate brand) that hadn't been communicating with the laptop anymore...
I tried to plug it in even though the power slot was completely damaged (as in coming off damaged). I received a warning that said that said that the USB port was drawing too much power and had been disabled.
Foolishly, I plugged it into the other USB port and "fried" the compute who went off not to come back on again... Sigh.
I think I won't be able to have the photos I need on time to order a photo book for my son's teacher's retirement party, but I'm hoping I can recover the photos (primary concern) and other files.
What saved my life?
Having started to use Dropbox just a short month and a half ago!!!!!
The final exam for Monday, the proposal I need to submit ASAP to the department are all in Dropbox. Cloud storage rocks!
I will have to use my husband's laptop which is now the only computer in the house. I wish we could afford buying a desktop right now (an iMac), but we can't. Paying debts is the highest priority.
Have you ever "fried" your computer? What was the outcome?
P.S. and I have never been more thankful for the iPhone as well. Last, but not least, Apple customer care rocks!
Now that I called Apple Care and I know that I have to take it into a store or authorized provider I can blog about it.
I was freaking out this morning (I couldn't go back to sleep at 6:30 am), but my husband talked some sense into me and I calmed down. Sigh...
What happened? It all started with my urgent need to find some older photos that are stored in an external hard drive (Seagate brand) that hadn't been communicating with the laptop anymore...
I tried to plug it in even though the power slot was completely damaged (as in coming off damaged). I received a warning that said that said that the USB port was drawing too much power and had been disabled.
Foolishly, I plugged it into the other USB port and "fried" the compute who went off not to come back on again... Sigh.
I think I won't be able to have the photos I need on time to order a photo book for my son's teacher's retirement party, but I'm hoping I can recover the photos (primary concern) and other files.
What saved my life?
Having started to use Dropbox just a short month and a half ago!!!!!
The final exam for Monday, the proposal I need to submit ASAP to the department are all in Dropbox. Cloud storage rocks!
I will have to use my husband's laptop which is now the only computer in the house. I wish we could afford buying a desktop right now (an iMac), but we can't. Paying debts is the highest priority.
Have you ever "fried" your computer? What was the outcome?
P.S. and I have never been more thankful for the iPhone as well. Last, but not least, Apple customer care rocks!
Thursday, May 02, 2013
Officially Overwhelmed and Freaking Out :(
I know I will survive and that things will get done, but right now I don't know how it will possibly happen. And I don't really care, to say the truth, but I'm tired and I'm still overwhelmed and freaking out even though I don't exactly "care" (just because I'm too tired). Case in point: I have a day of symposium presentations to attend all day tomorrow (I will try to work while I watch presentations) and I just go back to work on Saturday night... We'll see how it'll go. First, a summary of today:
Final exam followed by a lunch for my students at U#3 was an overwhelming success. This was the second time I was meeting 4 of the students in person (last time was for last December's final) and first time for 4 other students. They were sweethearts. Not only did they love the food and thank me abundantly, but they sat around the table and we talked for over an hour after everyone had finished eating. One of the students had to go to class and another one had a phone interview (all but one of the eight are seniors!) but came back after the call was done and was so happy we were still there!
I mean... that's why I teach. Because interacting with students is priceless.
(tangent: I have decided that I will start a new tradition: writing a good-bye letter [email] to my students every semester. And, maybe, write an introduction letter too. I will definitely do that. The hardest part will be finding the time!)
OK, so... here's what I need to do:
1) Edit next semester's beginner class syllabus and write a formal proposal to my department requesting to teach 4 days and have the 5th devoted to online activities. I need to provide a rationale and HOURS that the students will work (50 minutes class time, 2h of studying related to that class) in order to justify not meeting with them that 5th day. I obviously have been postponing writing this for weeks... Sigh. (Still working on it Friday 05/03)
2)Finish deciding what will be in final exams next week and email a study guide for students ASAP. Done at the last minute, Sunday 05/05.
3)Email more details about oral exam recording for students (this had to be done DAYS ago!!). Done! Friday 05/03.
4)Email more guidelines for literature students about final project due on Monday. Done Saturday night (?). Grade their paper that was due this past Monday and email them feedback. ASAP.
5) Grade last week's language class test &go on Monday and Tuesday to administer the final exams.
6) Spend sometime there for "in person" oral exams. Grade final exams and calculate final grades and post grades.
7) Grade final projects from lit class and give final grades.
8) (ongoing) Keep giving permission for students that want to be in my Fall classes (I have a feeling that the new hire will take care of that and it will be one less thing I will have control over. Gotta prepare myself for that possibility. And think positive: one less thing to worry about).Email senior applicants that they may not get in the class. DONE!
All right, I should be working and not blogging. I hope to be able to cross more items SOON! :)
Final exam followed by a lunch for my students at U#3 was an overwhelming success. This was the second time I was meeting 4 of the students in person (last time was for last December's final) and first time for 4 other students. They were sweethearts. Not only did they love the food and thank me abundantly, but they sat around the table and we talked for over an hour after everyone had finished eating. One of the students had to go to class and another one had a phone interview (all but one of the eight are seniors!) but came back after the call was done and was so happy we were still there!
I mean... that's why I teach. Because interacting with students is priceless.
(tangent: I have decided that I will start a new tradition: writing a good-bye letter [email] to my students every semester. And, maybe, write an introduction letter too. I will definitely do that. The hardest part will be finding the time!)
OK, so... here's what I need to do:
1) Edit next semester's beginner class syllabus and write a formal proposal to my department requesting to teach 4 days and have the 5th devoted to online activities. I need to provide a rationale and HOURS that the students will work (50 minutes class time, 2h of studying related to that class) in order to justify not meeting with them that 5th day. I obviously have been postponing writing this for weeks... Sigh. (Still working on it Friday 05/03)
2)
3)
4)
5) Grade last week's language class test &
6) Spend sometime there for "in person" oral exams. Grade final exams and calculate final grades and post grades.
7) Grade final projects from lit class and give final grades.
8) (ongoing) Keep giving permission for students that want to be in my Fall classes (I have a feeling that the new hire will take care of that and it will be one less thing I will have control over. Gotta prepare myself for that possibility. And think positive: one less thing to worry about).
All right, I should be working and not blogging. I hope to be able to cross more items SOON! :)
Wednesday, May 01, 2013
Not Over Yet
The work for this semester is not over yet. Far from it, actually. I still have tons of grading to do and three more final exams to administer (and then grade). :(
I'm in a hotel room right now. I came to U#3 because I wanted to give the final exam for my "distance" students in person. And... because I'm crazy like that, I am also going to serve food for them tomorrow after the exam. Sigh...
I'm getting sick and tired of cooking!! At least cooking the same dish (moqueca, one of the available recipes) over and over again. OK, only twice, but it feels like more: I it prepared for my U#2 students last week on Sunday and this Sunday again when my U#1 students came to my house (there are only four girls, such a fun group!).
I have to sleep now. Hopefully morel later...
I'm in a hotel room right now. I came to U#3 because I wanted to give the final exam for my "distance" students in person. And... because I'm crazy like that, I am also going to serve food for them tomorrow after the exam. Sigh...
I'm getting sick and tired of cooking!! At least cooking the same dish (moqueca, one of the available recipes) over and over again. OK, only twice, but it feels like more: I it prepared for my U#2 students last week on Sunday and this Sunday again when my U#1 students came to my house (there are only four girls, such a fun group!).
I have to sleep now. Hopefully morel later...
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