Been Awhile

Well, the title says it all. A great deal has occurred in the time since I last wrote in this blog. The most significant - Chris' mom passed away. She had been ill for awhile and we drove home to visit on the weekend of November 10. After much fighting, her body could hold on no longer. Mary passed away in the morning on Monday, November 12. She was 59 years-old.

Things have been going as well as they can in this type of situation. Some days are better than others, but knowing that she is out of pain and once again whole comforts me. Not too much else to say about that. I miss her dearly.

To add insult to injury ... Chris and I were on our way to look at snow blowers last week when some "genius" decide to ram into us. OK, it was snowing and the roads were a bit slick, but small cars don't beat the hell out of F250s and push them off the road ... unless the driver was going too fast. The guy said to us, "I slid a little bit. I was braking the whole time." Yeah, right! He was behind us and we were slowly turning left into the parking lot of the snow blower place. Suddenly, there were about 3 loud bang/thuds. Chris' head hit the window - knocking his glasses off and down on to the floor in front of me on the passenger's side. Hid hand must have hit something too as his knuckle was bleeding nicely. Just a flesh wound, but still. I was OK, then. The next day my neck and back were sore - whiplash I think. Chris didn't get much of that - since the window stopped his head before it could whip around too much. So, now we have no truck to drive, but Ford is still allowing us to make payments. They're such nice folks, eh?

The repair place said it will take quite awhile to get "parts" as most of the parts are being made into new trucks at this point - our truck is a 2008. Funny, it's not even had its first oil change yet. The truck can be driven (we drove it home to sit in our garage until the repairs can begin - so it's not sitting out in the snow getting the interior damaged more), but not very far. It wobbles around quite a bit. All the driver-side panels need to be replaced, both wheel rims are bent up, the doors need to be replaced (they are bent open at this point and can't open or close), and the side-step is bent down. Those things are normally mounted to the frame, so I don't know whether or not we should expect the frame to be bent as well. Won't know for sure until they start pulling it all apart. The real bitch of it is, ... we still didn't have a snow blower! AND, now, no way to get it home ourselves! What a great day, eh?

NOTE: We ended up getting a snow blower on Saturday. A friend of ours offered to bring it over to our house in his truck. Thank you SO much, Mike!

Lazy

OK, no new photos of the kittens yet- - yes, I did say kittens, ... as in plural. We just couldn't walk away from Freya's sister and leave her unadopted. It is really great to see them playing together and just living life with each other. Good to see. Of course, that means twice the deposits in the litter box, but we can always take care of that. The second kitten is named Kala, which means fish in Finnish. Yes, we think we're quite clever!

Other than that, life goes on. My normal day consists of feeling guilty about not working on my dissertation or on myself - read that as not working out. We still haven't gotten into a schedule. It doesn't help that the weather is nice and cool and very "stay in bed in the morning" inducing. Well, I will need to change something - this year's bloodwork revealed high cholesterol -- not just elevated. So, who knows what's going to happen with that. I'd sure like to not have to take meds, but I do eat pretty darn decently and I do exercise more than most people, so I'm not quite sure what to think. So, mom and dad, if you're reading this - thanks for genetics! hehehehehe

I submitted a CFP proposal earlier this week to the CCCC Individual Research Presentation in New Orleans next April. Of course, I doubt I'll be accepted, but I should know for sure by the end of this month. I also have a book chapter due by the end of this month - it's another one of the multi-modal museum exhibit-things Dr. Kitalong, Jane, and I have been working on. So, once again, you can see how the diss takes a backseat role. Oh, and there's a possible "shake-up" on the job front. Nothing that will push me out of a job, but something that could basically cut me off at the knees as far as controlling my own budget. The wonders never cease.

Well, on that note, I need to get to a meeting about that very thing. Next time, I promise, there will be more photos.

Sooner than you think!

UPDATE: Went to visit the little furball only to find out that her trip to the vets office has been moved up -- to today! So, if all goes well the little future mouse killer will be home with us on Saturday. Kudos! The jury is still out on the second kitty. :-)

Early Anniversary Present

Alas, Chris did not wait until the day before our anniversary to shop for me -- no, no! This year planning commenced quite early and I've already received my gift. A very "nice" cold! Honey, thank you. hehehe

Well, he didn't mean to, but it's still not all that pleasant.

Last week we went down to the Copper Country Humane Society and looked at cats and kittens that need homes. We pretty much settled on an almost 3-month old kitten and filled out all the paperwork on Saturday. She is due to be spayed on the 9th and we can pick her up on the 12th. So, needless to say, we're pretty excited by this turn of events. I hadn't really thought too much about getting a cat, but Chris really likes them and there are just so many that need homes .... Our newest thought is that if her sister isn't adopted yet perhaps we should get her as well! Yes, we're going a bit nutsy! Here's a photo from the animal shelter -- the one we've adopted is on the left. We're thinking of calling her Freya (Freyja) -- who, incidentally is the Norse goddess of love and leader of the Valkyries who welcomes 1/2 the souls of those killed in battle. She is also widely known for her beauty and kind nature.

And so, ... it begins.

Before we begin, let us celebrate the first people to ever come home at the end of the day and partake of nicely fermented beverages! This is a photo of Chris, me, Wanda, and Chris' Dad Mike on their recent visit -- relaxing at the end of the day.

Well, once again it has been awhile since I updated his thing. Let's see, ... what's been going on?

I haven't been running as much as I'd like. This really sucks. I think a lot of it has to do with still trying to settle into some type of routine. I guess that's just a lazy person's excuse, but I DO think there's quite a bit of validity to it. Plus, the days are getting shorter now. This makes it still pretty dark outside at 7:30 am. Unfortunately, since I have a full-time job I need to get to in the morning running after 7:30 am isn't much of an option. We DO have a treadmill in the basement, but I tend to think of it as, what our good friend Bree christened it, the "dreadmill." So, I guess my other option is running after I get home from work. But, that means another shower and fighting the urge to relax and eat dinner when I get home. Ah, the complexities of life!

I've begun work on my dissertation - or, I should really say, I've begun work on some of the stuff that will go into the appendices that no one (not even my committee) will read. Now that's an encouraging thought, eh?

Last Friday we had dinner with a couple from Orlando! Funny thing: he just graduated from UCF and started a faculty position up here at Tech. His name is also Chris! So, it's pretty funny that we come all the way up here and then meet a couple who just moved up here from Orlando too! Small, small world. We went to the only "Mexican" restaurant in the Keweenaw -- it was pretty good even though the "spicy salsa" was very sweet. It seems that up here ketchup is a bit of a spice! Funny place.

The pups are adjusting well. Toby likes to chase the "chippies" and the squirrels. It seems that little critters are looking for someplace to bed down for the winter recently. We keep getting chipmunks and mice in our garage - not in the house, thank God! Chris has set up traps (ick!) and even got a live trap for the chippies. Of course, the live trap hasn't worked yet. Maybe we need a cat. Ugh, now there's a thought! I love them, but I do also love my pee-free, leather-sofa-ed house! At the same time, I don't really want to share my house with mice and chippies. They ARE cute, but they need to be cute OUTSIDE! Tucker is, well, ... he never changes much. He likes to sleep, chew his bone, and carry around toys. He does enjoy swimming in the big lake. I really think he'd retrieve for HOURS--yeah, he IS a retriever. We haven't given the pups a bath since we've been up here. When they go to the lake they come back SO soft and dog-smell free. There's never even a hint of wet-dog smell either. Can you say heaven?

This past weekend we got a few rose bushes and some lavender and sage plants. I ripped out the weeds in the front planters and put in the plants. We also got some spring bulbs. I will have to put down a bit of chicken wire in the ground around those as chippies love to feast on the succulent, tender bulbs. Man, those little things sure seem to be taking up a good deal of my thoughts lately.

I'm sure other REALLY exciting things have been happening in our lives, but I don't remember any of it. So, on that note, I'll end this post.

Home

A few moons have passed since I last updated this blog -- go figure. Quite a few things have changed in the elapsed time. Chris graduated with his PhD in Optics, we left Orlando (thank GOD), we resided in Missouri for a couple of weeks, made our way to Michigan, moved into our new house, and began our jobs at Michigan Tech.

Whew --- busy much?

Unfortunately, we haven't been able to get in "the bush" lately, but we're hoping to get out and do more hiking and biking in the coming days. We did manage to take out the kayaks our second weekend here -- getting nicely sunburned in the process. Lac La Belle was the origin of our trip -- leaving from a nice sandy beach and going almost to Smith Fisheries. However, our bodies need a bit of time to adjust to the waves and currents found in the big lake. We tired easily on our first venture in Lake Superior and decided not to push ourselves too much -- the lake will be there the next time we wish to set sail.

I haven't even thought about my dissertation recently -- well, other than feeling guilty about not working on it. Guilt is always fun. Since I took my job here at Tech full-time, I really need to set a schedule that allows me to work on writing my dissertation. The research is pretty much done, but the writing of it weighs heavily on my mind. Oh well, such is life.

On that note, I should get back to the thing that pays the bills. Hopefully I will update this thing more regularly now that we're a bit more settled. Hope springs eternal! Maybe photos will also be posted.

About time

The perils of living in a technological age persist in vexing me! Note to self - don't use Netscape when trying to update my blog. The goofy thing always shuts down all tabs when I try to update my blog.

Uh, yeah ...... that's my excuse for sporadic updates -- technical difficulties. It seems to work for the masses, why not me? ;-)

So, things keep chugging along here. "Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow ... creeps in this petty pace from day to day." Recognize Shakespeare? He's quite the optimist! The petty pace creeps here in Orlando. Work continues. Plans are made. Words are written. Drafts are edited (by me! God, my brain is going to explode!) Meetings are met. New words and understandings are created by sheer force of the mind. Ah, life as it should be. Actually, "life as it should be" will commence in approximately 2 months. Perhaps I'll have more encouraging and positive things to say at that point.

As for now, the petty pace creeps. Brief candles burn out, poor players strut and fret their hour upon the stage, and idiots tell tales that signify nothing.
(Brush up on your Shakespeare -you never know when it may come in handy!)

Everyone else is doing it

OK. I am not the most dedicated blog-poster in existence-I guess there are worse things in life, eh? However, in the interest of communicating to an audience that will never read this thing ...

I've been running quite a bit more lately. Hmmmm ... am I running towards something or away from something? Most likely, a bit of both. There is a mountainous pile of student papers to grade, final exams to be guffawed through, and course grades to calculate. Has anything that exciting happened to you lately? So, why not avoid those things altogether by running and blogging? Sounds like good avoidance therapy to me.

The running has been fun. I am not the fastest runner by any stretch of the imagination, but I do enjoy it. In the past week I have run about 25 miles -- not too bad for a 'not-in-the-most-althetic-shape' English professor. Truth be told, I mainly run as an excuse to listen to music on my iPod and allow my mind to get away from thoughts of anything dealing with work. Is this successful? Well, on one of my more recent running adventures (the adventure here in Orlando is not getting mugged or murdered and avoiding the sidewalks that are being repaired months at a time) my mind wandered into the vapor of mediated composition and spat forth a title for something I planned on submitting: Re-visioning the Nature of the Writing Workshop in Computer-mediated Composition Courses.

Yeah, the excitement in my life never stops!

Well, I should get to grading ... This weekend my husband will be competing in the St. Anthony's Triathlon. Of course, I will be "the support crew." Wow - I'm a plural! I hope to complete a triathlon of my own before we leave FL in August. Only time will tell.

A Run in the Rain

This afternoon I took a run ... in the rain. Actually, it wasn't raining when I began, but about 2 miles into the run the rain started to fall. It was grey and windy ... reminded me of U.P. fall weather. It felt GREAT! I've always wanted to run in the rain, but until today the opportunity never seemed to present itself. At any rate, it was a great run. Perhaps the best so far.

It's been quite a week. Who would have ever thought that university professors would take on the role of 'protector-of-students'? The events that transpired on the Virginia Tech campus have caused us all to pause and take stock of our lives. Some of us have grown up, while others have once again become children.

As a suddenly grown-up college 'professor' (according to my students) I take joy in the fact that my soul can still be stirred by something as simple, ... as wonderfully marvelous, as a run in the rain.

Perhaps we all need a run in the rain.

Time well-wasted

Since I don't have anything else to do (54 Comp. I papers to grade, 3 interviews to transcribe) I thought I'd waste some time posting on this infernal machine. Yes, quite the opinion to hold when composing a blog entry AND when studying a field that heralds the supreme nature of all technology!

Although I have an over-abundance of time to fritter away, the thoughts come slowly to my mind. A mind supposedly disciplined to fashion great thoughts about great things. How I'd much rather be in the hearth-side embrace of a roaring fire as the dismissive winds howl through the cracks of cabin walls. What a more fulfilling Friday that would be. Instead of great thoughts about the peculiarities of teaching online, my mind could focus on the great thoughts of the sounds of silent snow falling. Yes, there is a sound ... it's silent, but in the stillness of towering white pines you can hear it. It's a stillness that's always been there and will always be - long after I am gone. It's a stillness that can stop the very beating of your heart, if you let it. It's a stillness that will wrap you up in arms that make you believe you are a child once again. And in this stillness, falling snow has a sound.

Yet, far from this stillness I exist. Far from this stillness in the plastic pandora's box of urbanity.
But, ... if I listen closely, the stillness is still there. Just on the other side of sirens announcing the most recent murder, the screams of yet another female jogger being attacked, the unnerving volume of bad music and cell phone conversations, and the constant drone of pollution-belching vehicular cocoons ... it's there.

Just on the other side. It's calling me home.

The first day

This is my first blog entry. I'm doing this as a test so I can see what my students experienced when I asked them to complete this very same exercise.