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About this blog

Random musings on Romance

Entries in this blog

 

Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life

Wheeeeeeeeeeee! Spamalot is coming to San Francisco!!! Oh how I've waited for this to happen! When Las Vegas got a hold of it, the deal was that the producers wouldn't show any version of it west of that happening light-tropolis, so that we would have to go to the desert and get bamboozled just to see our silly English knnnnnnnnnnigits. But no! I did not give in to temptation! (Mostly because Vegas doesn't do much for me.) And now I, like many others, have been richly rewarded--Spamalot will be at the Golden Gate Theater for 6 weeks!!!! Yippee!!!!! Maybe I should dress as Zoot, Just Zoot for the occasion, or her twin sister, Dingo. Or perhaps I'll turn my neighbor Hank into a newt...oh, he'll get better. But come hell or high water, I'm going to see Spamalot!

docoflove1974

docoflove1974

 

Almost a century of memories

Today is a very special day in my family, as my great aunt turns 99 today.   Yes, 99. And while arthritis has slowed her to the point that tortoises move faster and farther than she does, and while her "forgetter" tends to work more than her "rememberer," this woman is amazing. Yes, there is someone who comes in 4-5 days a week for a few hours a day, and she probably needs to be put in a place where there is 24-hour care, but at the same time when she has a good day you hear about long-lost memories of times gone by, both of personal history and the history of this country.   I called her a little while ago to wish her a happy birthday, after I had just come in from a long bike ride. When I told her this, she relayed a story of how when she was a little girl, she was riding her dad's bicycle in rural Watsonville, going back and forth, feeling the wind run through her blond locks. She hit a sandbar...and, well, how to put this delicately, she landed on the support bar that ran between the yoke of the bike and the column where the seat is situated. "I *still* feel it today!" she cried.   She asked about work, and I told her that it's somewhat tense now, because we know we'll have to make cuts but the when and how much is still being negotiated, well, it's a bit unsettling. At which point we talked about her memories of the Great Depression; she and her new husband married in 1932, and had the first 4 years of their marriage where they luckily had jobs, but had cutbacks to deal with, which cut into their savings. But in 1936 they were able to move down the street from where they first lived, into a 5-room unfurnished flat *and* had the money for furniture. Then, in 1939, they moved to their final place, in the Cow Hollow (and very nice) area of San Francisco, where they have lived ever since. Uncle Bruno died in 1985, but she still soldiers on. The stairs make it so that she really can't go down anymore, but this woman used to walk to the bus stop to go to the store up until a few years ago, well into her 80s. Once she got into her 90s, she has slowed quite a bit, but her mind is quite sharp still. Sure, it's not quite like it used to be, but it's amazing that she's not just sitting in a bed, a vegetable. She has pretty good memories of her childhood and of the major events in her life; it's just her short-term memory that isn't quite working anymore.   But still...she's still here A la vecchiaia! (I promise, that's what she's called herself for years...and I guess she is 'the ancient one'.)   Happy birthday, Mary Petrucci...buon compleanno!

docoflove1974

docoflove1974

 

Al Principio...

This is just to start things off...I view this blog as a way to do a couple of things:   --As ideas come to my head for possible future research, I'll place them on here...if nothing else than to philosophize on them for a bit.   --To expound a bit on topics of the Romance languages (and perhaps others) which come up on UNRV.   Since I'm in the middle of writing my dissertation, I'm either going to have no time to write often, am going to be fried when I do it, or will be on here often because I'm procrastinating (and I'm predicting option C will be most common ). So be patient, both with the frequency of the posts and the innanity that might ensue. I promise I'll try to keep things relatively lay-friendly, but am more than willing to do a 'Introduction to Linguistics' course in order to educate the public. Heck, it's what I do anyway   So...enjoy!

docoflove1974

docoflove1974

 

Ah, the feeling of summer!

There are aspects to summer that everyone can count on. The sweet smell of blooms in the garden. The salty air experienced on a vacation at the coast. Watching lightning bugs flicker in the evening darkness.   For me...I can count on the fact that I'm not just mosquito fodder, but I'm a gormet meal.   Well, I must be...it doesn't matter what I do, I'm bitten. I've yet to find a product, either natural or chemical, which keeps the suckers off of me. I've been offered all sorts of remedies--clothing, balms, sprays, types of food or vitamins--which are all supposed to keep the bothersome bugs at bay. Nothing works. They find ways to eat me alive. There's one sure thing that works: stay indoors at dawn and dusk. This doesn't always work...sometimes, a girl's gotta go!   Case in point: I teach from 3-5 and 6-8pm, and during that break between 5-6pm, I eat dinner and 'use the facilities' on campus. Yep, at dusk...but I don't have a choice! This campus is, well, oddly laid out; many buildings don't have restrooms, but there are glorified outhouses--buildings that are only restrooms--sprinkled all over campus. (No, this is not typical for a college campus.) Around campus there are several redwood trees, which are famous for attracting mosquitos.   So, Monday at break I went to the glorified outhouse...and was the proud recipient of 'love bites' on my forehead and chin. Yes, they do bite people on the face. Tuesday there were two 'tokens of affection' on my left shoudler. Yes, they went through my shirt sleeve and bit me. Yesterday I received another 'token of affection': on my neck, right along my trachea!!!   When I used to live in Texas, all I would have to do is go outside for 20 minutes, and I'd come back inside with 15-30 bites all over me. It's like I'm a 7 course meal complete with fois gras, caviar, filet mignon, lobster, and a few Bordeaux all rolled into one.   As for itch-relief, I can say that Benadryl maximum-strength gel works decently...and doesn't stink to high Heaven. I'm still looking for a better remedy; the spray isn't as good, I'll tell you that.   Now I'm wondering how and where they're gonna get me tonight. Ah, yes, the special feelings *scratch scratch* of summer!

docoflove1974

docoflove1974

 

A possible golden road in front of me?

So, in the humanities and social sciences, most of 'us' are well-entrenched in the academic hiring process. Letters and dossiers have been sent, and the first round of interviews are about to commence. The usual process is to interview either by phone or at a convention (which tends to occur right after Christmas, or perhaps the first week of January), followed by an on-campus interview which lasts 2ish days; this second interview is usually done in January or February, so that decisions can be done in March.   Thursday 30 November, Bella woke me up at 7:30am...I told her I wanted to sleep until 8am. At exactly 8:03am, my phone rings...it's someone from one of the universities which I applied for^. They want to set up an interview. Uh, sure! No problem! My adrenaline starts pumping immediately, waking me up far more so than normal at 8am. (Have I mentioned that I'm pretty much brainless, especially in connecting thoughts to vocal aparatii, before 9:30am?)   No...they want me to fly out there. After quickly catching my jaw before it hits the floor, I agree. They want me to fly out 2 December for an interview on 3 December...nope, sorry, guys, but I have to give a final exam that day, and activities the following day preclude me from flying out there. But I can do it after that. Ok, they say...please fly out here for the following week (we'll reimburse you, of course). [NB: this is normal for on-campus interviews, that either the school schedules the flight or, in many cases, the interviewee schedules it and is reimbursed once they get to the interview.] I'm calm, poised, ready for action during the phone conversation and in the booking of my flight (hot damn I love American Airlines and the AmEx I have with them...POINTS! POINTS! POINTS!). I call the professor back and ask for an email, so I can forward my confirmation. Sure thing. Done.   I put the phone down...Bella just starts looking at me with that cute kitten face (you know the one: Ooh! Whatcha doing?! Can I come, too?!)...and I'm trying not to squeal like a little girl (don't want to freak Bella out completely), but it's hard to muffle it.   Seriously...I have an on-campus interview as my first interview...I'm just finishing my first article, so I'm going to try it out on them (I don't know if it's the wisest move, but I want to show that I'm moving on from my recently-finished dissertation, and not stuck on it). The only minor problem is that since I had my suit last tailored, I've put on a few pounds...on the other hand, it's tailored to my 4" heels, and since the forecast calls for snow and sleet, perhaps it's best to set the wardrobe around my stacked-heeled loafers (much lower heel, thicker heel...rubber soles). Yes, yes, I know, not the greatest snow gear, but consider this: 1) I don't live in an area where it snows...and don't know if I will be; 2) I still have to dress to impress, and snow boots aren't exactly punching a wow-factor; and, perhaps more importantly, 3) I'm not going to be walking around outside much. Yes, there's a campus tour planned, but I'm guessing that if it's snowing and/or sleeting, there's not going to be much of that. Thankfully my 'good' long coat is wool, warm, and should do ok. I wish I had a weatherproof one, but again, I don't want to buy one and then end up not needing it after the interviews*. So we'll see.   So, tonight I'll finish the PowerPoint presentation and accompaning handouts. Tomorrow off to Kinko's to copy them, a couple of loads of laundry, and last minute stuff. My brother flies back from LA-La-land Sunday afternoon, and will take care of Bella while I'm gone. I come back Tuesday night...and hopefully full of tales.   ^I'm keeping this 'anonymous', so that I don't possibly get this jinxed. Also, for decorum-sake. I'm not even going to give the location, short of the fact that it's east of the Mississippi...you never know....   *Yes, I said interviews. I have to go to our 'convention', which is in FREEZING COLD CHICAGO on THE WEEK AFTER CHRISTMAS...they are going to move it to the first week of January, but that's not until 2010, so I'm freezing until then. Buggery bollocks, as Edina Moon would say.

docoflove1974

docoflove1974

 

A moment of gloating

And it's well-deserved, dammit.   Working primarily at a community college, there's nothing more satisfying than to hear that one of your students is going to go onto a 4-year degree. For the benefit of the non-Americans, our educational system here has the 4-year universities (where one earns a Bachelor's degree, or more) and 'community colleges' or 'junior colleges'. These CCs offer several types of courses, and one can get their Associate's degree so that they can either enter into the workforce more prepared than the average high school graduate, or transfer into a 4-year university to finish their education. Most people who do this either came from poor educational backgrounds, poor socio-economic backgrounds, or both. There are many other roles, too, but that is primarily the central goal.   One of my students is a typical transfer student. He's an immigrant from Mexico, whose family has very little in life but places a high value on education. Both he and his twin sister are students at our college, and are highly active in the campus and in the community. They're highly driven students who want to get their Bachelor's degree and help the Hispanic community in various ways. He's a true joy in the classroom, and wants to study communications and film, so that he can go to film school and eventually be a documentary film maker, with is central focus being on immigration and social justice.   He just got the news at the end of last week: he's transferring to a very good 4-year public university...and a $20,000 scholarship!!!!!! While it won't give him a cushy life, it will pay for tuition, room and board, books, and pretty much make it so that if he does work, it's because he wants a little extra money. Basically, he doesn't have to worry about his educational costs. To put it mildly, I'm overflowing with pride.   I think for me what makes this even better is that I spent the end of my Spring Break reading through applications for our college's scholarship. I don't know how many we'll give out--it depends on how much money we have--but of the 20 applications in my packet, there was only one which didn't describe such situations where students are working full time (or 2 part-time jobs), taking as many courses as they can so that they can finish their degrees, earn their goals, and provide for their family and community. I wanted to give them all money, and was actually getting depressed about it. It really humbles you and makes you realize how good you have things. But the news today just puts everything right...at least one person has been given the chance to fulfill his dreams, and I know with every cell in my body that he will achieve them all.

docoflove1974

docoflove1974

 

A banner day

Well, folks, the word of this week has been: culmination. I uploaded my finalized dissertation to UMI, which is the publisher that UT (and many, many other universities) uses, and it's currently under review. I mailed my final papers to the Grad School, and they were received today. All that's left is for them to finalize everything, bill me for my processing fee...and that's it.   I woke up this morning, and i felt...calm. In my mind, when I pay that final fee, then I'll be really done, but essentially I'm done. Finished. Graduated.   This fall is the first time since the age of 5 that I won't be a student at a school. For those that are counting, that's 27 years.   In essence, this dissertation is the culmination of 8 years of PhD work at UT. In turn, the questions that I attempted to answer (and which, in reality, have only lead to a whole host of other questions) started in my 6 years of BA and MA work at UC Davis. So, really, the dissertation represents a culmination of 14 years of collegiate/post-secondary work.   I feel...lighter...calmer...but not really any different. Am I supposed to?   By the way...I'm not the only one who finished their PhD

docoflove1974

docoflove1974

 

50 Lubs

Lubs, by the way, are what many 'round here jokingly refer to as pounds...since we wish to somehow pronounce 'lbs'. Anyway...at yesterday's weigh-in, it was 50 lost since 1 June 2006! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! :punk:

docoflove1974

docoflove1974

 

31 December 2008; A year in review

My 34th year is now completed. No, I don't want presents...although if you really wish to send me something, I'm sure as hell not gonna pass it up (that'd be dumb). No, I don't want a party thrown in my honor (unless Neph is conjuring up some wonders and delights!)...I'd rather host my own and let you in on the real reason why we're all here. I'm sneaky like that.   This year I have been blessed, much as in years past. Oh, sure, there were bumps in the road, but what the hell...honestly, life would be dull as watching paint dry without those twists in the road. There were some great adventures this year--some great friends made in the process--and overall I'm pleased with where I'm at. I can do better in some things, and I will, but I've improved in others. After falling off the exercise wagon, I rebounded in a huge way and am back in the losing category...in a good way. I'm working more hours than ever before...making a little more money, but not heaps more. I still live in my little studio, Bella still runs around like an eejit thereby making me guffaw. I can breathe, I can eat, I can sleep, I can use all 5 of my senses fully, I can think and speak whatever damned thing I want, I can be as bloody-minded as I want to be...yep, I've got it all.   My hopes for 2009? Well, I still start off for a weeks'-worth of world peace...maybe if we all tried it for a week, we might actually like it enough to work for it on a continual basis. I still hope for a full-time, tenure-track position, but as the saying goes, you can hope in one hand and shit in the other, and see which one fills up first...I have more work that I need to do on that. Mostly, I just hope that everyone I know, and pretty much everone else, too, has a very happy and healthy 2009...that we all remain positive, because things will get better. They always do

docoflove1974

docoflove1974

 

(Sitting on) The Dock of the Bay

I have no idea why, but is my absolute favorite song by Otis Redding.  I mean, it's not really about San Francisco; it's really about him. Yes, I know, he was sitting on a pier that ran into the San Francisco Bay when he wrote the key line, but the rest of the song was written by Steve Cropper--and he purposely wrote it about Otis. Evidently, Otis hated writing about his life, but Steve found it full of inspiration.   I guess the rhythm of the song does remind me of sitting at some of my favorite beaches along the coast--Pescadero Beach in particular. Or better still, of sitting on the pier of my great-aunt and great-uncle's place on Tomalas Bay, just north of San Francisco. They sold it in the mid-80s, when I was but a wee lass, but I still remember going fishing with my dad off that pier, and sitting on it to enjoy the sunset.   I guess its purpose is to have us reconnect with some vague memory...it does with me.

docoflove1974

docoflove1974

 

Well, folks, it's over. My career as a student has now fully come to an end. My dissertation has been accepted by UMI, the publishing group which tells us if the work is 'up to snuff' for the College of Grad Studies. I have been billed for all graduation fees ($8 for processing, $55 for uploading the dissertation (both are automatic), and $65 for having UMI register my copyright with the Library of Congress (which is a pain in the ass that I am willing to pay for)), and they have been paid. That's it. I'm never to be a tuition-paying student again.   I don't know if I'm supposed to feel different or not. In some ways, I feel like I have this 'glow', this professorly aura, that I have been knighted by the powers that be (or my dissertation committee chair, whichever), and now the world will look at me differently. This much is true; I used to love :rollseyes: going out on a date, and once the guy found out that I was working on a PhD, and that I was essentially writing a book, the "oh, great..." look glazed over the dude's face. Every time. If that didn't happen, then they went into competitive mode: yeah, well, this is what I'm doing, and it's important, too, you know. I can only imagine what dating's going to be like now with this title. "Yeah, I'm a professor...but it's all good. No, really, I'm not going to give you a quiz afterwards."   On the bright side, I get paid more, even for part-time teaching. When I walk into a room as an instructor, a guest speaker, or an analyst, I will be referred to as "Prof. Harmon/Dr. Harmon"--and that's fine. I didn't spend 8 years in Evil School...oops...working on this degree for nothing. I'll still insist that my students call me "Sarah," as I will with most everyone else...and if they still choose to call me "Profa," then I'm fine with it.   But here's the thing...I don't really feel that different. I come from humble roots, in some respects (I've written about that before), and my family, while highly proud of my accomplishments, has a routine, in that we don't let anyone get too big for their breeches. We all do it to each other...kinda like a way for us to remember that we really are no better than anyone else. I've been brought up that way, and therefore truly feel that while this is a huge accomplishment, I still have much to do, so I'll just keep plugging away.   However...there's a levity in my soul right now. I've just jumped a major hurdle. And I've cleared it. But there are still many more hurdles left, so I can't take my track shoes off just yet. So I guess I'll enjoy this   (And by enjoy it, I mean I'm going to the beach tomorrow. )

docoflove1974

docoflove1974

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