Le Freak: C'est Chic??

Stress.

Party last night was delightful - started around 7:30 went until about midnight, which is just fine by me (although I still sometimes have that party standard in my head that says things should start at 10 and end at 3...).

I leave for a conference (at which I am thankfully NOT presenting) on Thursday night and I need to get some stuff together for that.

I have, oh, about 85 job applications to skim before next Monday for our First Vetting.

I completely forgot to pay my rent this month and my landlord finally called today to see if I was okay and not sick or dead. I felt like such a schmuck. It looks like I'm actually going to have to write down on my calendar that I need to pay rent on the first of the month - if it isn't written down, it doesn't exist for me.

Article, article, article...

Life is so good

Went to Denny's this morning for a late breakfast. Yum.

TD went to the library to get some work done and I just woke up from a nap (pathetic, I know). Now I'm watching one of my all-time favorite movies: The Natural. I still get gooosebumps when the main character knocks the cover off the ball. And at the end when he hits the lights and they throw sparks down onto the field. True bliss (that and the fact that I'd watch Robert Redford do anything, including fold laundry) At the party last night, we got to talking about American sports. I've always liked going to baseball games (rather than watching them on TV). There's just something about keeping score, drinking a flat beer and eating a hotdog on a sunny day. But my favorite truly American sport has always been (American) football. I grew up in a big football state and I can remember the sound of my father sitting in the den and watching one football game on TV and listening to another one on the radio. It always seemed like the epitome of fall to me: the weather was getting a little crisp, the college bands would play, the leaves were changing. Very fun.

So, I'm a happy Medieval Woman - tonight TD and I are indulging in a dinner of appetizers: cajun crab dip, taquitos, and baby egg rolls. TD says (jokingly) that I eat like a four-year-old: Coke Zero and Fruit Loops in the morning.

Okay - back to the movie!

"Blah"gging...

Sorry for the relative blog silence. I feel like I had things to tell you but I've forgotten.

Lately, we are feeling just a teensy bit overwhelmed over at Chez Bloggez Moi (a.k.a. "Medieval Woman HQ" or "The Dutchman's House of Pancakes"). TD is only one step down from a full on nervous breakdown about his paper and the 17 core exams he has to grade (this will determine whether the baby economists will be able to continue on in the Ph.D. program!). We are also leaving tomorrow at the butt-crack of dawn to drive to a far away airport and get on a plane and go to Dream Academy City. Once we land in DAC, we will rent a car, drive an hour and a half and go directly to Human Resources at DA to fill out paperwork. We will also hopefully stop by the department before they close and see my new office, get all the stuff lined up (course enrollments, desk copy orders, etc.), perhaps chew the fat a bit.

Then the next day solid will be spent looking at apartments. I'm renting in one of those new complexes (I'm spoiling myself with central air and a pool...), so I've printed out floorplans, directions, etc.

The move itself will be interesting - it will involve crossing an international border, probably having our U-Haul examined with a fine-toothed comb, the Furballs poked and prodded, the Dutchman scrutinized before he can get a travel visa, etc. Then we still have a two-day drive to get to DAC.

In the midst of all this, I am planning my syllabi for next semester (I've given up on trying to get that article started before we go) and we're also trying to find a one-year car lease for TD to take over.

Yesterday, I took the Furballs into the vet to get their yearly vaccines and to get a print out of a health certificate and their medical records for the trip. They were pissy as usual when they go there and I had them sitting on a bench in their respective carriers in the waiting room while I got all the records and paid the people. A woman came in with a great big, stupid-looking black lab* on a leash and waited to be helped. I looked over and saw that the dog was sniffing around the waiting room and wagging its tail. I looked away for a few seconds and when I looked back, I saw the dog standing a foot away from the furballs and then he instantly lunged at the carriers, barking, snarling, clawing, biting....! I screamed at the woman to get her dog back and she pulled him away and looked a little miffed at me, saying, "I didn't even know there was anything in those!" - I was so shaken and furious I actually said, "Well, lady, it's a vet's office, the chances are a pet carrier is going to have PETS in it - keep your damn dog away from my cats!!!" The vet techs didn't ask her to sit down and hold her dog's collar or anything - all they said was "the cats are fine" and everyone in the office looked at me like I was a crazy over-reactor! These were those flimsy little mesh carriers - if the woman hadn't pulled that frickin' dog off, I could have easily torn through it and killed one of them! A pox on that woman...

I've already found a nice, quiet little cat hospital in Dream Academy City, so I'll be happier to take them there.

I won't be blogging much until we get back this weekend!

*Quick PSA: I actually like dogs and labs in particular, but this one was a brute!

Random Bits O'Fluff

Oh god - why can't I get really started writing this stupid article??? I'm in fifth gear avoidance right now and I'm beginning to sink to the lowest forms of daytime TV (The Price is Right) in order to avoid the gigantic 600lb. pink gorilla in the corner wearing the "Write Your Damn Article, Loser" t-shirt (yes, my gorilla is pink. Isn't yours?).

But, wtf. There's blogging to be done. And leftover chili to be eaten. And toenails to re-paint. And naps to be taken after a full 9 hours of sleep.

Here's my life in .357 magnum bullet form:

1. Some of you might know about my inherent fear of student evals. In fact, there's one class's evals from a couple of years ago that I still haven't read because I'm such a wuss. Actually, my evals are usually pretty good - but this class was TOUGH, so I've filed it under "open when hell freezes over." So, I got my evals from this last semester and they were truly lovely. There was the usual couple saying that the professor assigned WAY too much reading and one even said that my confession that I had prepared for a few lectures the night before and had looked on the internet to confirm something was "unecessary". I feel like giving that kid a huge wake-up call titled "I have a life outside of your class, yutz!" I consider preparing the night before to be actually working ahead - at least I'm not making it up as I go...

But about 96% of them left me with a warm fuzzy glow, especially this one: "This was the kind of course that made me want to go home and talk to friends about the things I've learned." I'm going to have that tattooed somewhere... However, this was the funniest one - it was for my FANTASY LITERATURE class: "I like fact. There was almost NONE in this course. I wanted more."

?!?

I knew I shouldn't have indulged in all those crazy rumors about Tolkienian elves and unfounded speculations about the real relationship between Harry and Hermione. When will I stop and just convey truth to these eager young minds?? I'm weak....

2. I've talked the Dutchman into doing a "tester" quit smoking day. It was scheduled for today, but the crazy look of stress he gave me this morning (he's writing a paper from scratch to present at a big prestigious conference soon) caused me to put it off for a couple of days. Out of solidarity, I've consented to give up Coke Zero for the day as well. I'm really not sure about the wisdom of this. I feel like I'll be much harder to handle off Coke Zero than he will be off nicotine. I'll keep you posted...

3. I spent all yesterday online and on the phone researching apartments in Dream Academy City and setting up appointments for when we're there visiting next week. I have 9 set up but I'm thinking that I need more. What would you say is an adequate number? I hate thinking about living there alone...

4. The collection I published my first article in has just been reviewed for a smaller, subfield specific journal. The review was overall pretty good, but the reviewer made a comment about my paper that was somewhat dismissive and slightly laced with snarkiness. Of course, this comment was completely missing the true point of my essay - oversimplifying it and acting like I wasn't saying anything new. Now, I wasn't trying to re-invent the wheel, but I was saying something about this text and its readers that hadn't been said before. Grrrrrrr! I'm making a "faceless reviewer" voo-doo doll out of paper clips and old copies of Cosmo. My petty revenge will be swift and relatively painless.

5. I feel like I should cook dinner tonight because I haven't actually done any work today whereas the Dutchman has been working his little wooden shoes off. But I haven't a clue what I should cook. He will eat anything. What can I cook that would not require me to move much at all? Chinese take out...