After the intros for all the other Giants, you hear the sound of
In the bullpen, warming up...number 55...TIM!!!!! LINCECUM!!!!!!
Yes, it's the post season for Major League Baseball, and my Giants are in, and looking strong. While I don't have tickets to any of the games, at least I can watch at home. Also, I won't be freezing at AT&T Park, whic his very and entirely possible to do during night games.
Oh, I had some gripes on what manager Bruce Bochy concocted for the 25-ma
I've paid my dues -
Time after time -
I've done my sentence
But committed no crime -
And bad mistakes
I've made a few
I've had my share of sand kicked in my face -
But I've come through
We are the champions - my friends
And we'll keep on fighting - till the end -
We are the champions -
We are the champions
No time for losers
'Cause we are the champions - of the world -
I've taken my bows
And my curtain calls -
You brought me fame and fortuen
Yes, GhostOfClayton, your entry talking about Human League has put me in a right 80s mood. Actually, to be fair, I was listening to a fair bit of Madness, Clash, and others this afternoon before reading the blog, but still.
So, finals are over! Well, for me they are. I had everything graded by last night, 10pm...record time, I might add. Then again, it was pretty clear that many of my students just didn't do so well on the final paper. I mean, sure, it's an in-class essay, but when
Dammit, Mumford & Sons didn't win at the Grammies. Meh, no accounting for taste, really.
I know, I've been gone a while. Work has been atrocious lately, and the private life has been run topsy-turvy. More details to come at a later point in time.
But I will say this: It's never easy to let someone down, but when you have a floater, well, desperate times call for desperate measures. Why it is that people can't, or perhaps refuse to, understand, I don't know. But if after one or t
Fellow sports fans, have you ever noticed how a radio or television broadcast of a sporting event can be made or broken solely on the skills and prowess of those calling the game?
There's no question that I learned the game of baseball by listening to Giants' broadcasts on KNBR radio, whether I was at the game or at home. Later, yes, our television announcers fell into greatness, but growing up Hank Greenwald called play-by-play on the radio on our games, plus the national games were called
Human behavior is so incredibly fascinating. And how we deal with pressure is a big fascination for me. I still am trying to understand my own behavior, let alone what others do...and how we all feed off of each others' energy and actions.
In the last week, the 'busy season' of the semester has ended--not only did I have a lot of grading to do, but I had exams to create, final plans to set up for, and general bookkeeping to do. I have a tendency to just bear down and slog through everythi
This birthday really started last night...an awesome dinner with my brothers and sister-in-law at our family's favorite Italian restaurant in the City, a bunch of great chatter and tons of good food. I went to bed last night in a good place...and woke up to a beautiful sunrise. Clearly, this is an omen from the Heavens that the forecast for the day, and perhaps the year, will be a good one.
At least, that's what Optimistic Me says. And since I don't allow any other Me to express itself on
*blargh*
That's a common phrase among many, who in a bleary-eyed moment are trying to sum up their feelings as they shuffle toward their keyboards in the morning. It's a general feeling of fatigue, or grogginess even.
This is my first, second, and perhaps even third thought this morning.
I'm half-way through my Month of Hell, and for the most part I'm holding up well. I'm only slightly behind my grading, which is an awesome feat considering how many students I have this semester.
Today I printed off the dissertation. All 150 pages of it. Oh, there's plenty left, since this is the first time that my committee will have the entire work at their disposal. And I've done quite a bit of re-arranging of previous work, to go along with more editing than I care to do. This is all in anticipation of a 'meeting of the minds' for the first week of November, when I must fly back to Austin. I'm mentally exhausted.
But, oh, wait! In the last month, I've put off so many chores
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.
What a feeling...I would have slept in, save for the 10 pound roaring lioness sitting on my chest at 7:05am, wanting to know why I hadn't gotten up 5 minutes earlier like usual (I swear, I need to train Bella on the concept of sleeping in...). But I really had nothing to do today. I finished all of the planning for my Tues/Thurs course, and the other set of courses is all planned--now I just need the contract and other paperwork to get into the system, which would allow me to upload everything
I know, I know...two consecutive blog entries...what has gotten into me? Well, a little of this, a little of that. Mostly, it's shame.
I found it interesting that, because of the political in-fighting and stalemate in DC, the national news agencies and some of the local ones have been asking we, the people, to pipe up. They have wanted us to send a message to our Congressional Representatives and Senators, literally, and tell them how their political dueling has affected our lives. I gues
Every year at Christmas, once school got out, my mom used to take us up to San Francisco. We'd park at the Stonestown Galleria, which is in the outskirts/Park Merced district, and take the street car into Union Square. We'd go to FAO Schwartz to play with the toys and dream of what we'd really love Santa to bring us; we'd have lunch somewhere in some cafe; we'd watch all the ice skaters fall down and look silly on the rink on top of Union Square. We'd gawk at all of the glorious displays in a
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 wo
What's a girl to do? I've got leftovers of a seasoned long-grain and wild rice mix (which is excellent), and I don't really want a ton to eat. Well, you create new culinary delights!
Ok, that's going overboard...but somehow I got in my head that a Mediterranean Fried Rice was in order.
I've been making fried rice for years...it's actually really easy, but requires regular rice, either white or brown. Wild rice does not make for good fried rice, at all...it's too chewy, and doesn't abs
I love it once mid-November rolls around. People actually start caring about each other and acting upon it. Ok, it should happen all year long, of course, but some is better than none, I guess.
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The other day a local news channel did a story about how food and money donations at the local food banks was horrifically low, so low that Thanksgiving turkeys were either in short supply or non-existent; at one major food bank in Oak
...if you wait long enough, the latest installment of your favorite Brit show will be on BBC America. But it might take a while.
That's right, folks, series 11 starts showing here in the States on Monday...except that I'll be teaching, getting home just in time to watch the very very last episode of "Boston Legal," my absolute favorite show on TV right now. 2 hour finale, starts as I get out of class, so I'll be missing the first half hour or so.
Only a couple more weeks, and then I'
I love it when my friends say that California doesn't have winter weather. Of course it does...it's just not as extreme as it is in most places in the world. What they don't understand are the geography, the climate and the population spread in this great Golden State o'mine.
California is long...very long...with at least 3 mountain ranges running along it. In fact, it's so big and long that, according to Wikipedia, if it were a country it'd be the 59th largest country in the world (for what
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, l
Imagine this: you're a kitty, one who loves to play and spazz out while chasing anything, including your own tail. The first year or so of your life you have a big house in which you can run around, not to mention free reign of the gardens and the wild field behind the house. It's fun! (Well, when you're not being chased by the big bad bruiser Peanut, the older female feline who runs the place.) Life's pretty good. Then your owners decide to move, and they can't take you with them. But the
The last couple of weeks have turned out to be more action packed than usual. Usual for the beginning of the academic year, that is. Ironically I've been writing more in my hide-away journal, which is the one I write in when I need to work something out in my head (usually emotionally), as well as creative elements for work. Ah, yes, work.
It turns out that many of my colleagues and co-workers know how much work that I do, have noticed the quality of said work, and my lack of full-time em
Yes, folks, I am now reunited with the virtual world and the television world, and damn does it feel good. Even better, I got my couches today. So in all honesty, I can actually start having people over. What a concept!
In all seriousness, I haven't had a place that I could entertain in since I left Austin in 2005. Living with my parents didn't exactly espouse positive feelings in that aspect. In theory the last apartment could have been wonderful, what with the unit leading to the back
Just a little more than a day before Christmas, and all through the house,
there was plenty of scurrying, but not by a mouse.
Ok, ok, ok...I can't do that...never was that good about reworking classics. But this song in particular has some great memories associated with it.
The song has undergone a 'modernization,' but it's still a good one:
See, when it came out 30 years ago, I was a wee lass, and didn't know of its existence at first. But within a couple of years, it became
New month! New start! Newly deposited cash in bank account! (This last one being probably the most important.)
These last 6-8 months have been disastrous on me financially. A lack of work combined with clients who pulled out at the last minute meant that I was scrambling for extra cash. Now I think I'm finally in the clear--oh, my proverbial boat didn't exactly come in, but I'm back to full paychecks, and debts have been paid off.
Of course, I need to replace my glasses, my car need
It's happened to all of us...we're in a public place, and over the intercom system plays a song that, for whatever reason, strikes a chord immediately with us. Oftentimes it's a song that transports us back in time.
Yesterday I spent the afternoon at the Giants game, where they not only beat the Padres 3-1, but in doing so they swept the series. In one of the middle innings, in between frames, they played
. I could picture David Byrne's sweaty head herking and jerking all over the plac
