The more things change… August 30, 2008

Here on the 3rd anniversary of Katrina, I’m cleaning house to prepare for some friends coming up from Louisiana to stay in case Gustav becomes some massive hurricane and makes landfall in Central Louisiana. I can’t help but reflect on all that has transpired since Katrina came. The mismanagement and corruption of the current administration was exposed for all to see and for once, the American people got angry. Watching the footage of the squalor in the Superdome and seeing a large part of a city I love flooded, I could do nothing but cry tears of anger. How could the wealthiest country on the face of the Earth allow for human beings to be treated such way? Where was the dignity? The respect? Why was no one in power taking responsibility? When Bush said, “You’re doing a heckuva job, Brownie,” I wanted to throw things the TV. How dare he? People dying by the hundreds, homes destroyed, lives devastated, and all he can do is praise someone’s ineptness for the sake of political making nice.

I gave money and material donations to help people staying in a local Red Cross shelter, but I felt completely paralyzed. The scale of the devastation was far more than I could bear. I didn’t see the city until nearly 6 months after the storm, and I’ll never forget my first glimpses of the wreckage. I felt like I was driving through the wreckage of a Third World country after a war, and the eerie quiet and desolation chilled me. How could a place once so alive feel so…dead? Everywhere we went, there were contractors, volunteers, and others in town for reasons related to the storm. Restaurant workers were especially kind and attentive. Bartenders smiled and laughed despite the fact they’d lost their houses and everything they owned. Cab drivers thanked us for being there. I knew the city had changed, but in many ways, it was ever the same.

I hope and pray that a similar tragedy does not occur, and that everybody who may be in danger gets out safely and quickly. I pray the levees hold up this time. But I know that no matter what happens, the people of New Orleans will uphold the spirit of the city and they will overcome whatever obstacles they will face.

Observations from the first week August 27, 2008

Classes began a week ago, and so far, so good. I’m only taking one class (two if you count dissertation hours), so my life is substantially easier than before. Both of my assistantships are going really well. My lab gig is its usual: uneventful and at times boring. My mentoring gig is quite the opposite, and I’m most pleased about that. Give me a couple of months and I may feel differently, but this job is going to prove to be very rewarding.

I led an orientation class for one of the groups of mentors and WOW are they young! I can’t even imagine what I was like at their age, although I know it really wasn’t all that long ago. I am really beginning to see generational gaps, even though most of these kids are at most 8 years my junior. However, when I remember that some of them were still in high school when I started grad school, or that many of them were in middle school when 9/11 happened, I begin to appreciate the value of one’s college years and the changes that occur during that time. I’m sure we can all name a few people in our lives who never moved beyond a collegiate mentality well into their 20s (and even 30s), but the amount of change one experiences in all realms between 18 and 23 is nothing short of astounding to me.

One issue that concerns me is that of the helicopter parents and the overall coddling culture that I’ve seen developing on campus over the past few years. When I attended orientation before my freshman year of college, I can’t think of a single person I knew who had a parent along with them. Further, I can’t imagine the amount of ridicule one would have faced had he/she brought a parent to stay for the first few days of classes. Now it seems that these sorts of things are commonplace, and I wonder what sort of impact they will ultimately have on the students’ development. So many kids today are raised to let other people handle their problems, or to pass the buck on to someone else, absolving them of all responsibility. At some point, though, you have to own yourself. If your parents are constantly running your life, you never learn to do that for yourself, and that seems dangerous.

A friend of mine who taught an undergrad class last year recently shared some of the choicer moments she she had with students. Some students got their parents involved when they received a grade they didn’t like. One student was even brazen enough to tell her that it was her (my friend’s) responsibility to see that she (the student) passed the class. An upperclassman, no less. In-freakin-deed! People skip class, don’t study, IM their friends during class, but they call Mama crying when they’re staring down a failing grade. Had I done that, my parents likely would have hung up on my sorry ass, as well they should have. I’m not going to say that I did everything right, and there were bumps along the way, but I feel like I came out of all that a much better person. Being able to make your own mistakes and then figuring out how to deal with the consequences is an important part of becoming an adult, and that seems to be happening less and less these days. (Now hand me my Geritol, whippersnapper!)

All that said, my initial impression of my students is overall pretty positive. They’re all honors students who chose to enter this program, so already that says a lot about them. These first few weeks will be trying for all of us as we adjust to a new group of kids, figure out what makes them tick, and lay a good foundation for the rest of the year. Thank God for a long weekend before chaos ensues!

The Big D August 24, 2008

So much for sticking to academic matters on this blog. After drowning in work all summer, I need a bit of a break, methinks. However, I haven’t been totally useless! The process of “The Big D” (a.k.a., my dissertation) is underway. In reality it started the day I began grad school, but I’m officially enrolled in dissertation research hours, so that pretty much means that the ball is rolling.

I talked to my adviser today about a topic I’d been toying with for a while (somewhat related to one of my assistantships, if you recall). I presented to him some of my concerns (timeline issues, the nature of the sample I’d be working with, etc.) and we concluded that maybe this wouldn’t be the best avenue of research for me, given that it may yield nothing of value at all, and at any rate would set me back way too far to be feasible. It’s just too theoretically and methodologically messy, and the last thing you want or need is a messy dissertation. If it were going to be incredible, it might be worth the extra time, but in this case, I can’t justify it. I would like to leave this God-forsaken state with papers in hand, or at the very least, a dissertation that’s ready to defend in less than two years.

To make a long story short, he brought up something he’s going to be working on that’s heavily related to a topic that interests me a lot. I’m not sure how much is appropriate to disclose at this point, so I’ll err on the side of caution for now. However, if it works out, this will be an awesome opportunity for me to research and write about something I’m really passionate about. It will still be a hell of a lot of work, and probably frustrating at times, but if I find meaning in what I do I won’t burn out as quickly.

I can’t help but feel very grateful for everything I’ve been given. My only hope is that I don’t waste any opportunities.

You know what I hate? August 24, 2008

Liking a commercial as much as I like this one:

I love their little dance at 0:12!

Top 100 Movies August 23, 2008

1. A Mighty Wind
2. A Perfect Murder
3. Adaptation
4. Amélie
5. Amadeus
6. Annie Hall
7. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
8. The Aviator (2004)
9. Best In Show
10. Bicentennial Man
11. The Birds
12. Blood Simple
13. Blue
14. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
15. The Breakfast Club
16. Bridget Jones’ Diary
17. Brokeback Mountain
18. Capote
19. Casablanca
20. Charade
21. Citizen Kane
22. Como Agua Para Chocolate
23. Contact
24. Crimes and Misdemeanors
25. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
26. Das Leben Der Anderen
27. Dazed and Confused
28. Delicatessen
29. Dial M For Murder
30. Do The Right Thing
31. Drop Dead Gorgeous
32. Eat Drink Man Woman
33. El Laberinto del Fauno
34. Erin Brockovich
35. Être et Avoir
36. Fantasia
37. Fargo
38. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
39. The Firm
40. Forrest Gump
41. Fried Green Tomatoes
42. Funny Face
43. The Godfather
44. Gone With The Wind
45. Good Night, And Good Luck
46. Grizzly Man
47. Happiness
48. Hilary and Jackie
49. Hoop Dreams
50. The Incredibles
51. Inherit The Wind
52. The Insider
53. It’s A Wonderful Life
54. JFK
55. Jackie Brown
56. Legally Blonde
57. Malcolm X
58. Manhattan
59. Manhattan Murder Mystery
60. Mar Adentro
61. The Meaning of Life
62. Memento
63. Metropolis
64. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
65. Munich
66. My Fair Lady
67. Napoleon Dynamite
68. Network
69. No Country For Old Men
70. North By Northwest
71. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
72. Office Space
73. Paris, Texas
74. The Pianist
75. The Piano Teacher
76. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
77. Pleasantville
78. Proof
79. Psycho
80. Ratatouille
81. Rear Window
82. Schindler’s List
83. School of Rock
84. Sideways
85. The Sixth Sense
86. The Sound of Music
87. The Spanish Prisoner
88. Sweet and Lowdown
89. Syriana
90. The Three Caballeros
91. TRON
92. The Truman Show
93. There Will Be Blood
94. To Kill A Mockingbird
95. Unbreakable
96. Vertigo
97. Volver
98. WALL-E
99. When The Levees Broke
100. The Wizard of Oz

First item crossed off the list! August 23, 2008

20. Learn to make really good chai.

I believe in being resourceful, and that the solution to many problems in life are within arm’s reach, so I consulted one of my most trusted cookbooks, Madhur Jaffrey’s World Vegetarian (even if you aren’t vegetarian, you need this cookbook), for a chai recipe. I figure if anyone is going to know about how to make chai, she would.

The process wasn’t too difficult and I didn’t use any mixes or pre-made powders. I luckily had a tin full of Twining’s Darjeeling loose leaf tea, and it made fantastic chai. I’ve always been a Darjeeling girl, and it’s never let me down. The mortar and pestle came in to grind the peppercorn and the cardamon. Whenever I use it, I feel like I’m really making something serious. One day I’ll develop the endurance to make aioli from scratch (by mashing garlic and oil by hand for 20 minutes continuously to make a creamy, garlicky sauce).

All in all, it was very good, and I’d serve it to anyone I know. In the winter, a little splash of sweetened condensed milk would be super yummy, but in the hot sticky sauna of Alabama in August, I wanted to keep things as simple as possible. The spice level was perfect, although I like mine really spicy. I’m comfortable with the process now, so I may experiment with other combinations of spices.

In summary: Ain’t no party like a Freckles tea party.

Fleet Foxes August 22, 2008

I absolutely can’t WAIT until I see these guys live later next month. This song gives me chills everytime. Robin Pecknold’s voice is so strong and so perfect.

::swoon::

101 in 1001 August 22, 2008

1. Finish my dissertation
2. Get my Ph.D.
3. Get a job I enjoy
4. Move to Chicago (or other cool big city)
5. Run a 10K
6. Run a half-marathon
7. Run a marathon
8. Learn to drive the scooter up the driveway
9. Paint my house
10. Take a road trip to the Northeast or Canada (or both!)
11. Learn how to knit
12. Get at least 3 scholarly publications (co-authorships and my dissertation count)
13. Read at least 5 new books every year for pleasure
14. Learn web design stuff so that my blog is totally awesome and so that I can eventually have my own site.
15. Learn to sew so that I can make my own clothes (and not rely on crappy, mass-produced clothes that were never intended to be worn by people built like me)
16. Finish learning that Chopin ballade I started 4 years ago
17. Read 100 Years of Solitude
18. Read Love in the Time of Cholera
19. Eat at Chez Panisse
20. Learn how to make really good chai
21. Go an entire month without eating any commercially prepared food
22. Visit at least one member of my family every month for a year
23. Develop the ability to do 100 consecutive push-ups
24. Develop the ability to do 100 consecutive ab crunches
25. Ride my bike in to work at least once a week for 6 months
26. Take a trip to Portland
27. Take a trip to Austin
28. Go to significant Alabama landmarks I’ve never visited
29. Watch one new movie every week (By “new,” I mean a movie I’ve never seen before) for a year.
30. Read Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style and apply it to my writing
31. Eliminate all high fructose corn syrup from my diet
32. Take some sort of class to learn something I’ve never done before (painting, pottery, etc.)
33. Frame all of the artwork I’ve accumulated that hasn’t been framed
34. Get re-certified in CPR
35. Do something for the benefit of a stranger anonymously at least once a week.
36. Walk my dog at least once a week
37. Go to the podiatrist about my feet
38. Buy only cruelty-free grooming products
39. Buy only environmentally-sound cleaning products
40. Make a conscious effort to avoid supporting companies that engage in overtly unfair business practices (i.e., WalMart)
41. Send my Granny more letters and cards
42. Send my Grandma more letters and cards
43. Call/e-mail my Nana more
44. Have family members over to the house for a party
45. Invite my friends over at least three times a year for a party of some sort
46. Eliminate toxic people from my life (as much as is possible)
47. Learn to deal with annoying people without losing my temper
48. Go one day a week without using any swear words
49. Give at least $10/month to a cause I really believe in
50. Pay off my MacBook
51. Get an Epi-Pen so that I don’t freak out whenever a bee flies near me
52. Send out cards over the holidays
53. Go see an opera
54. Go see a symphony orchestra play
55. Print out my best vacation photos and display them around the house
56. Craft a “for-real” resume
57. Complete an entire crossword puzzle
58. Complete an entire sudoku puzzle
59. Attend a major league baseball game
60. Find an awesome pair of “professional” shoes in both brown and black
61. Find a really great briefcase/laptop bag
62. Trim all of the bushes around the house back to their 2005 sizes
63. Do more yoga
64. Learn a different type of yoga
65. Invest in a good quality scootering jacket
66. Visit the Unclaimed Baggage store in Scottsboro
67. Take pictures of Scott playing with Brubeck
68. Beat all of the levels on MarioKart
69. Attend a shape-note hymn singing
70. Avoid patronizing chain stores for an entire month
71. Organize all of my old photos
72. Clean out my file boxes
73. Finish collecting all of Dave Brubeck’s records
74. Boost my FICO score to above 750
75. Recycle all of my glass waste
76. Recycle at least 75% of my aluminum waste
77. Recycle at least 75% of my paper waste
78. Avoid using plastics whenever possible
79. When it’s not possible, use recyclable plastics
80. Recycle 90% of my plastic waste
81. Reprint all of my photographs from Egypt and put them in an album
82. Visit every building on campus at least once
83. Tailgate on the Quad
84. Eat at Highlands
85. Grow hair long enough to donate to Locks of Love
86. Take a picture every day for a year
87. Create a list of my Top 100 movies
88. Create a list of my Top 100 songs or albums (whichever is easier)
89. Stop consuming foods that are mostly chemicals (junk food and sodas)
90. Take and pass a Motorcycle Safety Foundation course.
91. Have a brunch party
92. Have a sleepover party
93. Figure out vegetarian adaptations for things I liked as a kid and cook them
94. Eat at Commander’s Palace
95. Eat at Herbsaint
96. Find a pair of glasses that I actually like to wear
97. Go see a movie at the Alabama Theater
98. Go see a movie at the Capri Theatre
99. See a play at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival
100. Develop proficiency in SPSS
101. Treat myself to an entire day at a spa

And that, my friends, is my list of 101 goals for myself. I’ll update periodically as I begin to cross things off the list.

*GASP* August 20, 2008

Part of me really hoped that this was fake, but alas, it was real. A little too real, if you ask me.

A Waffle House Wedding

One more little thing… August 19, 2008

In case you haven’t ever noticed the cute little widget on the left side of my blog, I keep a Tumblr log. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Tumblr, it lets me share stuff without having to create a blog post for every single thing I see out there in wild, wild internetz. If you’re a Google Reader type or if you prefer some other RSS tool, add my tumblr log to your lineup.

Back to my regularly scheduled loafing.