tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-318355342012-02-24T15:26:55.859-04:00blog.Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.comBlogger921100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-13483651638258565092012-02-23T18:16:00.000-04:002012-02-23T18:18:19.118-04:00Stupid world. Soo the inflammation is back. In both eyes. Front and backs of eyes. They gave me three different prescriptions - one prednisone eye drop I have to use every hour, one dilating drop three times a day, and then some kind of eye gel for night time. I saw two doctors, and both were wonderful - the first especially. He's a first-year resident but was knowledgeable and professional and Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-29642137419526031932012-02-23T09:48:00.001-04:002012-02-23T09:48:21.761-04:00I am here in the waiting room and have discovered a book of children's poems. There is one about a girl who wants to name her cat "Sashay." I can't tell if these photos are blurry or not due to my dilated pupils.
Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-4823189749638517942012-02-23T09:21:00.001-04:002012-02-23T09:21:00.633-04:00I am here at the hospital. It is only one block away from my apartment. I broke my coffee fast and am having an extra small coffee with one cream and one sugar. A kind grandfatherly technician just dilated my pupils. I find this hospital strangely comforting. Perhaps it's because it looks just like every other hospital I have been in. The cafeteria is exactly like the one at Hopkins, except that Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-3181424641474820792012-02-22T16:15:00.000-04:002012-02-22T16:15:37.231-04:00Went to the ER for my eye. Spent three hours there but they couldn't tell me anything. Was a little irritated with one of the doctors, who was all arrogant and jokey - damnit, why can't you be serious and helpful and reassuring? It is so obvious when doctors have not experienced the stress of anything worse than a cold. Anyway, they made me an appointment with an ophthalmologist at a different Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-65477465917335115232012-02-22T10:40:00.001-04:002012-02-22T10:43:46.537-04:00My left eye feels a bit blurry this morning. This worries me because I've had increased floaters in that eye for the past week. For a minute I thought it was just my glasses that needed cleaning (my glasses are terribly scratched up and I need new ones) but I cleaned them multiple times and tried looking out the window without my glasses (inconclusive, because my vision is already terrible). The Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-58625186569590113562012-02-21T20:40:00.003-04:002012-02-21T20:40:37.393-04:00What an evening! I went to FID, thinking my dinner plans with the girlz was tonight, but then when I got there it was closed and I realized by checking my phone that we are in fact meeting tomorrow! But I'm going to trivia tomorrow! Blah. So I'm thinking I'm going to trivia instead of the dinner, because I am already going out to dinner on Friday. On the way home today I picked up a jar of PeanutShashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-3091425414874651152012-02-20T23:58:00.004-04:002012-02-20T23:58:51.873-04:00Noooo the break is going by too quickly. How can I make it last longer? I have only graded twelve assignments and have done no other work.
I have made many plans this week:
Tuesday - FID small plates dinner
Wednesday - Museum and trivia
Thursday - watch The Office and Big Bang Theory with Chris
Friday - Q and [rec]2 with Chris
Saturday - karaoke??
Also I am attending as many spinning classes asShashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-24843939598757653972012-02-20T22:50:00.002-04:002012-02-20T22:51:13.220-04:00After three days of not eating any sugar, raisins suddenly taste amazing to me. (I'm just avoiding refined sugar.) In my googling about raisins, I came across several websites that point out how ugly they are. One said they are "not much to look at" and another said they look like "shriveled pieces of dog food." That latter one is not only cruel but also inaccurate.Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-28965170152109765482012-02-20T10:38:00.002-04:002012-02-20T10:38:46.764-04:00OH NO. Roll up the rim starts this week - the same week I decided to give up coffee! This is terrible timing.Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-63805231621096524392012-02-20T09:26:00.001-04:002012-02-20T09:26:14.475-04:00Okay I am doing really well with avoiding sugar but god I want some coffee. Yesterday I had three or four sips of a latte (no sugar). Then I threw it out (wasteful). Perhaps I will buy some decaf coffee and just have it with milk and no sugar. The problem is that I am stuck here waiting for Purolator to deliver my new laptop, so I can't leave, and the convenience store downstairs will probably Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-91468180436415072862012-02-19T18:05:00.000-04:002012-02-19T18:07:14.651-04:00Yesterday Chris and I went to our swing dancing class. Because it's spring break, they did a special class where we learned dips, slides, and jumps. At one point I was partnered with this extremely large guy and we had to do a jump and he said he was going to give me some "help" and then he basically threw me at the ceiling.
After that we watched two scary movies: REC and The Changeling. NeitherShashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-64050688077447282482012-02-19T17:27:00.000-04:002012-02-19T17:27:04.766-04:00Made my own pita chips and some delicious guacamole. I am never buying pita chips again. To be fair, I never really bought them before. I was planning to make beef curry for dinner with this stew beef that was on special at Pete's, but then I realized you have to cook it for like two hours. Two hours! I have to leave in one hour because I am going to an electroacoustic music festival.Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-80162362284470689272012-02-17T15:03:00.000-04:002012-02-17T15:03:12.348-04:00Today I lectured 19-year-olds about mortality.
My hip hurts. I am falling apart.Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-85828565042228304562012-02-17T10:56:00.001-04:002012-02-17T10:56:18.347-04:00Today they had a package of the BIG sized macarons on sale at Pete's. The ones I got were strawberry flavoured. Ohhh they were so soft and crumbly and sweet and tart and everything good. I must learn how to make the perfect macaron so that I no longer have to spend so much money on them.Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-39769494154556897632012-02-17T09:36:00.002-04:002012-02-17T09:36:29.584-04:00Okay, man, I am on track today. I woke up two minutes before my alarm, I haven't gained any weight since yesterday, I came to Starbucks and edited an article and had a delicious soy latte, and now I have time to go for a walk before I grade some stuff and supervise a makeup test and review my lecture notes and teach my class.
This evening it's drinks with the girls at Fireside. I plan to have a Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-45847755495672821182012-02-16T21:57:00.000-04:002012-02-16T21:57:04.315-04:00The last time I felt this physically bad I was on prednisone. Blergh.Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-51956546394459742322012-02-16T18:54:00.001-04:002012-02-16T18:54:58.401-04:00stresspainitchstresspainitchstresspainitchhelphelphelphelp. i just want to lie in a bathtub full of ice until it's over.
trying to make myself feel better by eating too many eggo waffles. should i eat more waffles? wafflewaffle.
watching this movie Moon that a student recommended. it seems to be one of those "man in isolation and going totally insane" movies. it reminds me of when i first movedShashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-23293859824816284322012-02-16T17:55:00.001-04:002012-02-16T17:55:23.407-04:00Ugh, why do I sound like such a nitwit on the discussion days???? I need to develop my ability to think and talk on the spot. Words just don't come to my mouth fast enough (which is why I always write so many notes). Today I think I accidentally said something positive about racism. Dumbdumbdumb.
Anyway, it is almost the break. Thank god, because my apartment is a disgusting mess and so is my Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-28502101962729425982012-02-15T23:08:00.001-04:002012-02-15T23:08:45.238-04:00I need to come up with some plans for the break next week so I don't just waste the whole thing. There's lots of work of course but I need to figure out some non-work things to do. Some thoughts:
-cook lamb for the first time ever
-go to spinning classes as often as possible
-organize my closet
-look for a summer workshop to teach
-go to the eye doctor
Okay, those are not very exciting plans Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-31556402313668903392012-02-15T22:08:00.001-04:002012-02-15T22:08:35.796-04:00Wish it was tomorrow night already. Creative Process discussion day tomorrow. Have the questions and material and all but have to organize it and download a couple of clips to show.
Went to doctor. Did not like this doctor much. Hope the prescription works at least. Decided to take it easy the next couple of days so cancelled tomorrow's plans but might do a girlz nite on Friday.
Ate too much Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-12642132208788513032012-02-15T16:54:00.008-04:002012-02-15T16:54:59.381-04:00Okay so my cat scratch is either infected or cat scratch disease or something. It has spread into a horrible rash across my chest and is the itchiest thing I have ever experienced. UGH. I feel as though I have chicken pox. Going to the doctor this evening. Hoping they'll just give me antibiotics and it will go away. Read that other symptoms include fatigue and swollen lymph nodes and whatnot, Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-73594632507269096402012-02-15T10:42:00.004-04:002012-02-15T10:49:30.444-04:00Went to MODA last night and had the BEST food ever. I had braised lamb and for dessert a honey lemon cheesecake. I think that's the kind of cheesecake it was - I want to try to recreate it. It had a kumquat on top. I wore heels but the ground outside was icy and I thought I was going to die. Chris brought me roses. Apparently he had planned to bring them to my apartment in the morning but I neverShashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-25250995851693689732012-02-14T14:56:00.001-04:002012-02-14T14:56:01.536-04:00Oh nausea nausea nausea headache. What is the matter with me? Am in my office, as I have meetings with a couple of students. Maybe I will get some chamomile tea after. Hope I am feeling better by dinner time. Did I already blog that I made a mini heart-shaped chocolate cake for CT? I am a nerd. Am happy because I baked it from scratch, cake and frosting and ganache, and it still tastes good and Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-61837507661959736832012-02-14T12:29:00.003-04:002012-02-14T12:29:43.750-04:00Was feeling stressed all morning cause I have a million odds and ends to get done but then I received a nice email from a student. Ohh Valentine's Day. This is already one of the best Valentine's Days I've had in ages. Last year I bought myself cupcakes and wept.Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-64621359539147279542012-02-13T21:27:00.002-04:002012-02-13T21:27:48.038-04:00Sinus pain...ughughugh. Wish my pasta would boil faster as I am very hungry.Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-35413000354143744262012-02-13T10:11:00.000-04:002012-02-13T10:11:17.671-04:00Okay, I am the worst - I totally took Valentine's Day into my own hands and made us a reservation at MODA and am also baking a fancypants chocolate cake. It's not that I don't like Swiss Chalet or Q; it's mostly that I want to dress up and not feel bloated on Valentine's Day.
There is so much work to do this morning ARGH. Teaching concrete poetry, which, I must admit, is not my favourite topic.Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-39085214098524097482012-02-12T23:47:00.000-04:002012-02-12T23:47:27.570-04:00Ughhh pukey, terrible knee pain and stiffness, blocked nose -- HELP! I don't think I can handle a Monday right now. Going to read Frank Bruni for five minutes then sleep then wake up early but ohhhh my knee hurts knee hurts I wonder if my terrible eating of late is affecting it? Maybe I ought to do that thing where I stop eating inflammatory foods for awhile:(:(:(Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-50850274313537460092012-02-12T21:55:00.004-04:002012-02-12T21:55:21.936-04:00OMG I totally forgot that next week is spring break! That will make the stress of this week so much lighter! But I have no plans for next week. What will I do?Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-24390139175262527342012-02-12T21:39:00.003-04:002012-02-12T21:39:47.445-04:00Okay so I read all the workshop pieces but that is a mere fraction of all the work I was supposed to do today - writing critiques, planning tomorrow's class, compiling a reading list, updating the course websites, grading weekly responses, editing my newsletter article, contacting my editor, booking plane tickets to Baltimore, emailing meeting decisions from Saturday...sigh.
Felt kind of sick Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-10878346673159612792012-02-12T14:14:00.001-04:002012-02-12T14:17:18.927-04:00Damnit I just wrote a whole blog post and it got deleted somehow.
Anyway, yesterday was a potluck at Simon's. He made a tartiflette, which consists of potatos, ham, bacon, and roblechon cheese. Olivier smuggled two wheels of roblechon in his suitcase from France. We celebrated Olivier's birthday by having a balloon fight and making him wear weird orange glasses and a hat that was supposed to be Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-59697231568958752372012-02-11T13:08:00.000-04:002012-02-11T13:08:00.716-04:00Have a meeting at 2. On a Saturday! But it's at a coffee shop. Hoping it won't go too long because I have to make the dessert for this evening.
Was all decided on cream puffs but then spotted some gorgeous blackberries at 2 for $5, so purchased them and decided to make a flourless toasted almond cake with chocolate ganache, and decorate the top with blackberries. Just hope I have time to bake Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-31446473307552139572012-02-10T12:24:00.001-04:002012-02-10T12:25:50.775-04:00Graded all the essays and recorded them and photocopied my handout and now I am in my office reviewing my lecture notes.
Foolishly wore boots with heels today. They are clunky and comfortable but I don't think I will be able to go on my customary after-class walk without going home and changing:(
Going to some kind of folk music event this evening with the gang.
Simon is having a potluck Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-77433543017013740722012-02-10T09:15:00.001-04:002012-02-10T09:17:15.616-04:00Nine more essays to grade this morning. Nine nine nine. I can do it. Some of them are really great, actually - I can see an improvement, in style and in close analysis. Also, more people are showing off their senses of humour. This makes me feel like a good teacher, like they are comfortable enough to be themselves and that they know I'll appreciate a joke. One wrote his whole essay as a satire, Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-33311734492425830272012-02-09T22:34:00.001-04:002012-02-09T22:34:47.822-04:00Feeling quite gross and nauseated. Would like to go read Frank Bruni and then snooze but have yet to reach my essay grading quota for the day. Have taken four baths today (because I grade better in the bathtub).Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-79774249043639984762012-02-09T13:15:00.000-04:002012-02-09T13:15:35.082-04:00Returned the pair of jeans I bought because I found a similar pair at the Salvation Army for $8. And this pair is the correct length so I don't have to hem them. Also bought a lace top and a nerdy geometric patterned cardigan for $6 together.
Dined with CT at Morris East yesterday. I ordered delicious gnocchi in a spicy tomato cream sauce and he ordered some fancy thin crust pizza with braised Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-2821523128991143582012-02-07T00:02:00.002-04:002012-02-07T00:02:33.535-04:00Bought a pair of bootcut jeans today. They were 57% off, so only $35 including tax. Was planning to wait until I'd returned to my summer weight, but I think I've only gone up about a size, so if they get loose I'll just shrink them in the wash or wear a belt or give them to my mom or something. Have been wearing the same pair of skinny jeans for the past year and a half (I mean, I have black Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-57185099935395927712012-02-05T23:34:00.001-04:002012-02-05T23:36:43.994-04:00Breakfast-for-dinner party went well. Lots of food. Cut orange wedges to decorate mimosa glasses. Made some with pineapple juice - delicious! People brought fancy scrambled eggs with cheese and veggies; and freshly grilled potatoes, a quiche, carrot muffins, crepes with brie and prosciutto, bacon, corn beef hash, champagne and juice...mmm. I was happy with how my cinnamon sugar pull-apart bread Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-48183191275200119062012-02-04T13:24:00.000-04:002012-02-04T13:24:18.901-04:00Dinner with Chris and friends last night at Mezza. I had a Greek salad and some delicious feta-phyllo rolls. Then we went to Chris's apartment and played Loaded Questions. The adult version. His crowd is a little more risque than mine. I had to step up my game and add words like "clitori" to my answers.
Now I am lazily preparing for my party. Bought a lovely bouquet of reduced daisies to fancy Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-11445055314574836582012-02-03T18:17:00.003-04:002012-02-03T18:17:48.916-04:00Baked mini pumpkin chocolate chip muffins for my breakfast-for-dinner party tomorrow. The batter tasted like pumpkin pie. Also made dough for cinnamon pull-apart bread. It is rising in my oven and I will assemble and bake tomorrow. Going to make two types of scones - cheddar herb and blueberry almond. Yumyumyum. Bought a bottle of sparkling wine to make mimosas. People are bringing quiche and Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-71954490402520285482012-02-03T15:03:00.000-04:002012-02-03T15:03:32.590-04:00Turned the leftover rotisserie chicken I had into a delicious BBQ chicken wrap. Shredded it and reheated it with some delicious BBQ sauce and then used a chappati as the wrap part (cause I have a bunch in the freezer) and then put in some chopped tomatoes and grated cheddar cheese and cilantro. I think I should start buying these rotisserie chickens regularly, instead of raw chicken. Chicken is Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-87322420162209395142012-02-02T15:14:00.000-04:002012-02-02T15:14:12.249-04:00Yesterday I was quite upset at the loss of my laptop - it felt like the hollow-stomach aftermath of a breakup. But today I was walking along Barrington and saw a poster for a missing cat. The cat is white with brown splotches and the poster said "he is loved and missed," and I thought of how much more terrible it would be to have lost my cat in this desolate February, rather than my laptop.
MyShashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-47679204490342699452012-02-01T15:01:00.000-04:002012-02-01T15:01:19.623-04:00My ENGL 1000 class went awesomely today. At one point they all laughed! At another point they all gasped! I asked for movie and book examples and like five people raised their hands. I was teaching Steve Dixon so maybe I was more enthusiastic than usual and that rubbed off on them. I always try to be enthusiastic, but sometimes, of course, I am not. Or maybe this good class is just the universe Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-25678422939488141232012-02-01T10:50:00.002-04:002012-02-01T10:50:32.136-04:00My laptop is missing. I have no idea where it went. I had it in class yesterday and I went straight home and I remember packing it up after class but it is not in my apartment or in my office or in the auditorium or at library lost and found or student union lost and found or in the English office or at the library coffee shop or at the security office. I retraced all my steps twice and tore my Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-88545786155287455302012-01-31T23:49:00.004-04:002012-01-31T23:49:46.754-04:00Had a bad incident earlier but don't want to talk about it on the internet. Freaked out a bit. Am now my normal self again though.
Occurs to me that tomorrow is the Day of Action is tomorrow and my class is around the time of the rally. I wonder how many of my students will be absent and what my minimum attendance should be to hold class. Hmm.
My face is itching.Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-32621154792979495282012-01-31T15:11:00.002-04:002012-01-31T15:11:47.124-04:00I have lost 2.7 pounds since Friday. I am very motivated because I felt so fat that day. Soon I will be at my summer weight again! Wendy the Cat had a weigh-in today, too. She has lost 0.7 pounds since the summer. That's like 5% of her body weight. Our success must be because of our daily morning exercises (I run around holding a can of cat food and she chases me).Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-70418277064944766582012-01-31T15:00:00.001-04:002012-01-31T15:01:27.587-04:00
“A page of good prose is invincible.” -- John CheeverShashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-68579835531325213832012-01-30T23:52:00.000-04:002012-01-30T23:52:59.943-04:00Gave Wendybaby another bath today. She didn't like it as much as last time, but she did not scratch me because she is the most mild mannered of cats. Her eyes just got big and she mrowwed and knocked over my shave gel as she tried to escape. After I poured water over her with a yogurt container, her fur became flat and she looked very small and I hugged her and hugged her even though she got my Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-18393448248993662472012-01-30T22:54:00.002-04:002012-01-30T22:55:14.219-04:00Hey look, the secret society I was in made this list of "10 Crazy College Secret Societies." If only they knew...Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-30922398298380373272012-01-30T21:34:00.000-04:002012-01-30T21:34:26.052-04:00I like how interchangeably 30 Rock treats the fictional world and the real world. They mention Wayne Brady in one episode and then the actor Wayne Brady appears several episodes later playing a fictional character. David Schwimmer plays a character in one episode and then several episodes later someone refers to "Ross and Rachel." Alec Baldwin's character dates Condoleezza Rice. Plus, GE is real!Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-56893245235924619262012-01-30T10:23:00.000-04:002012-01-30T10:23:56.473-04:00In my office, drinking coffee and reviewing lecture notes. Flash fiction and prose poetry unit starts today! This is my favourite unit. Today we're discussing Seamus Heaney, Baudelaire, and Kafka. What a range! Last year my class thought the sexual undertones of Incertus were hilarious. This year my class is more the type to laugh on the inside. It's unsettling. Because of this, I find myself Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-84743589566393459572012-01-29T23:09:00.002-04:002012-01-29T23:13:26.131-04:00Reread a chapter of The Fountainhead because I want to use it as an example in workshop tomorrow. Oddly, I'm using it as an example to illustrate dialog (mostly how to incorporate long speeches into fiction). I started to read it and felt myself cringing at how transparently the characters are stand-ins for Rand's narrow philosophies. Can't believe how much I used to love her. I guess their Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-82006677656953263262012-01-29T19:39:00.001-04:002012-01-29T23:09:59.254-04:00Figured I ought to eat chicken soup since I'm sick and all. Made a cilantro-lime chicken soup from a recipe I'd clipped from Chatelaine over winter break. It was okay. A little too limey. I'm not a big fan of soup. To be honest, I mostly ate the chicken and corn and celery and whatnot and left the broth part.
Since starting to watch 30 Rock I have decided to do everything I can to become more Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-11577427457593774972012-01-29T14:16:00.001-04:002012-01-29T14:17:26.138-04:00It is like summer today so I went on a deliciously long walk on Spring Garden and then down Barrington and to the Farmer's Market and back. Had a steamed pork bun for lunch. Went into two bookstores. Had too much coffee. Read half a student story. Doing work in manageable chunks.
Wendy the Cat had one of her adventures this morning. Once in a while she gets brave and runs out my door and takes Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-5160379463851170222012-01-28T20:09:00.001-04:002012-01-28T20:09:22.390-04:00Sick sick sick. Had lunch at The Wooden Monkey with Chris and then we went to his apartment and played a video game called Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem. I did not like it as much as I thought I was going to, but it did grow on me. It requires more patience than Mario games, which are the only video games I have any real experience with. Plus it's pretty cheesy and involves Roman Emperors Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-20838883543252403462012-01-28T01:28:00.003-04:002012-01-28T01:28:58.333-04:00I am sicker than I thought I was. Went to curry night and everybody made chicken curry except me. I made potato chickpea curry. Chris brought a cake. We watched hilarious youtube videos and discussed superheros and Twilight and whether Scarlet Johansson is hot. But then by the end of the night I felt more tired than I have felt in ages. Chris very sweetly drove me home. He parks in the casino. Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-55591737663926533922012-01-27T17:35:00.001-04:002012-01-27T17:35:10.297-04:00If they took the laugh track off The Big Bang Theory I would not know when to laugh.
Staffed table at Academic Program Fair today. Two students in my fiction class helped me the whole day, which was wonderful. I was too tired and sick to make Scrabble letter cookies yesterday so I just took Oreos. But everyone loves Oreos so it's okay.
Making a potato chick pea curry for Miko's curry night. I Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-67422153007180403572012-01-26T20:19:00.002-04:002012-01-26T20:19:48.868-04:00Ahhh I ran downstairs and purchased a couple of cans of gingerale and at the first sip my stomach felt so much better. Gingerale is so comforting.
Picked up my free movie passes from The Coast. Then I went online to check movie times and realized it's only playing at Bayer's Lake and Dartmouth Crossing, which means I'd have to take two busses to get there. Then I read reviews. The headline to Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-4612874866816726532012-01-26T18:27:00.002-04:002012-01-26T18:27:49.385-04:00Ohhh so sick so sick. Headache nausea stomachache stuffy nose sinus pain sore throat. I wish I lived in a humidifier. The good thing about being sick is that it is an excuse to drink delicious gingerale.Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-27664243714532629032012-01-25T23:44:00.001-04:002012-01-25T23:44:12.720-04:00I can't figure out if someone in my building is smoking weed or if a skunk got scared and defended itself somewhere in the yard. Usually my building smells clearly like weed so this is new.
Went to trivia. I was not very good, but at least I got the Charlotte's Web question right. Was also able to identify the Roseanne theme song.
Started watching 30 Rock. I'm on the fifth episode. It's growingShashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-39898904684101855552012-01-25T16:47:00.000-04:002012-01-25T16:47:57.964-04:00Made a chicken salad sandwich. It was pretty good. Still feel like eating but am going to trivia tonight and told Chris I'd split nachos with him so I don't want to eat too much now.
Feel a bit stuffy and sleepy.
Have not yet picked up the movie tickets I won from The Coast. Am going tomorrow. I hope they still have them.Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-70685513023073380832012-01-24T21:49:00.002-04:002012-01-24T21:49:35.295-04:00Just found out PRISM international is nominating my story for the Journey Prize!Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-6083220360343891792012-01-24T18:32:00.000-04:002012-01-24T18:32:31.153-04:00Bachelor Ben (before rappelling into a crater with Courtney): "I really
hope Courtney is willing to take this plunge with me today."
Also: "Relationships are all about trust. And diving into the unknown."Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-26831936241689791852012-01-24T14:39:00.002-04:002012-01-24T14:39:27.310-04:00Had lunch with a couple writer peeps at Mary's Place. Actually I had breakfast, because they have all-day breakfasts. It felt good talking to other writers, as lately I've been hanging out with all science types mostly.
It is raining terribly. My coat is "water-resistant" but I suppose not waterproof, because I felt water leaking down my back. Suppose I will wear a different coat this afternoon Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-60751495891942705422012-01-23T15:00:00.001-04:002012-01-23T15:15:24.342-04:00Class was alright today, though very quiet, as I think it's a heavy work time of the semester. I was a little stumbly in the beginning, which is irritating because I know the story very well and I think it's damn good. Even though I know that when a student yawns or chats with the person next to him, it is not necessarily a reflection of my teaching skills, it still makes me feel that I've done aShashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-48751363674508389852012-01-23T10:26:00.003-04:002012-01-23T10:26:36.958-04:00Forgot about the change in sizes at Tim Horton's so when I ordered a large coffee I got the former extra large size but maybe that is what I need this morning.
Monday stress. But after today the week is considerably less stressful and full of socializing and also I am re-excited about my vow to go spinning more often.
Am going to start working on a new story. If I just cut out one TV show, Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-63081111809898197372012-01-22T23:15:00.001-04:002012-01-22T23:23:29.374-04:00Wendy is so much fluffier after her bath. She was already fluffier but now she is the fluffiest. Her hair feels like baby hair. I think maybe she has trouble reaching her back to clean it properly, especially given the massive tumor on her stomach. I am going to start bathing her once a while, since she seems to enjoy it anyway. Might get her a rubber ducky.Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-62503998011088179952012-01-22T22:25:00.001-04:002012-01-22T22:25:48.652-04:00Man, I feel like a fatass. Was looking at photos from the summer and looked much slimmer. Going to eat only the healthiest of foods. Am going to go to four spinning classes a week. I'll be like that redhead guy that's there at every class.Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-77027119919567178602012-01-22T20:49:00.000-04:002012-01-22T20:59:50.845-04:00
Gave Wendy the Cat a bath today. She has some kind of scabby rash and was smelling a bit weird. Half-filled the bathtub in warm water and put her in it and I thought she would freak out and I would have to hold her but she was very brave. She waded around like a champion, practicing her synchronized swimming moves. I poured water over her with a yogurt container and then rub-scrub-scrubbed herShashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-1010417255824839222012-01-22T18:48:00.000-04:002012-01-22T18:48:00.078-04:00Went swing dancing with Chris yesterday. We were terrible. I'm going to watch Swing Kids and perfect my moves before the next class. SWING HEIL!!!! etc. I'm trying to get Chris to watch Swing Kids with me because it's one of my favourite movies ever, but he says if we're going to watch a Christian Bale movie, it might as well be Batman. Anyway, I liked the class. I feel like things like this Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-18710716483330330032012-01-21T17:58:00.000-04:002012-01-21T17:58:01.981-04:00I just made couscous for dinner, with onions and mushrooms and goat cheese and chicken. It's pretty good but next time I'll marinate the chicken ahead of time. Wendy broke into the garbage and stole the raw chicken bone. I followed her in a high-speed chase and wrestled it from her.
Swing dancing with CT in an hour. I better finish eating and get ready.Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-78655592996932268582012-01-20T22:41:00.003-04:002012-01-20T22:41:56.034-04:00Arghhh I tried to work on a relaxing craft project but now I seem to have misplaced the bobbin cover on my sewing machine. I had it just a minute ago! Frustrations. I was planning to make Wendy a pair of pajamas.Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-86231309252587870092012-01-20T19:55:00.002-04:002012-01-20T19:55:51.821-04:00Bah I am irritated with myself today.Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-90874231117332896702012-01-20T19:19:00.000-04:002012-01-20T19:19:11.456-04:00Am eating steel cut oats for dinner. They are very comforting. How lucky that Gill left me her bag of oats when she moved, or I probably never would have thought to buy them. They remind me of One World Cafe, where I once in a while ordered the steel cut oats with cream and preserves.Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-64833266010680550132012-01-20T14:51:00.002-04:002012-01-20T14:51:33.520-04:00I feel awful today. I don't know what's the matter with me today. Felt weirdly self-conscious during class. Cancelled plans this evening because I just want to sleep and take a bath and get rid of this headache I've had all week. ughughugh. Feel like buying ice cream and crying.Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-71732726406450810172012-01-20T09:21:00.001-04:002012-01-20T09:21:32.024-04:00Oh, man, I see I've been sleep-blogging again.Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-41122458881542435222012-01-20T05:15:00.001-04:002012-01-20T05:15:37.300-04:00Yy yikes m I feel sick a so tired blogging from bed with left hand because very tired a sleep sleep sleep.e
Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0South End, Halifax44.63488 -63.578808tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-41135125771817208582012-01-19T23:42:00.001-04:002012-01-19T23:42:28.809-04:00Ughhh now the after-class embarrassment has kicked in. Why does this always happen?
Ate desserts with gang at The Middle Spoon. Had carrot cake. Was unimpressed. This was my second time there and both times I have been disappointed, and I'm not very picky with desserts.
Wendy the sweetest baby is sitting on my lap. There is nothing like a warm cat in winter.Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-23265600384557026502012-01-19T18:33:00.003-04:002012-01-19T18:33:37.642-04:00Man I just made the best grilled cheese sandwich ever.
Also, today I won two free passes to Joyful Noise from The Coast!Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-31446212764575450922012-01-19T18:09:00.002-04:002012-01-19T18:09:42.663-04:00Every time I get an email from my publisher, I worry that it will say they are no longer going to publish my book. It is terrifying. I wish they would put in the subject line: We Are Still Publishing Your Book.
Felt great after today's class. It was a discussion day, and I am always most anxious about those, because they have the potential to be awesome or awful. And I always know there will be Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-47435686799749541122012-01-18T23:13:00.000-04:002012-01-18T23:13:03.135-04:00Wonder when I can take Wendy to the vet. She's a bit scabby and smells bad. Usually she smells like a forest. I would like to give her a bath but she will be mighty scared of the water, and she is also afraid of the hair dryer so I'll just have to bundle her up in a warm towel.Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-29199560429494717382012-01-18T21:27:00.000-04:002012-01-18T21:27:00.526-04:00WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH ME? I am a failure this week. I've just been eating sugar and not doing work. Finally ran out of sugar this evening. Thank God. I have probably been eating three or four times the recommended daily amount of sugar per day this week, so there goes my new year's resolution. Am not going to buy any more sugar until my breakfast-for-dinner party (I will need it then, to make Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-25225574432966193212012-01-18T19:27:00.001-04:002012-01-18T19:31:40.988-04:00Oh God, this video is so hilarious and strangely accurate.
Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-63763582273097046312012-01-18T15:34:00.001-04:002012-01-18T15:34:15.060-04:00In my office hours watching Parenthood. In this episode, the Braverman daughter gets into into Cornell and her parents are unsure if they can send her because it's so expensive and her younger brother is autistic and his doctors and therapists and whatnot cost a lot, and so you think the parents are going to tell her to go to a State school but then the dad goes in and tells her they're going do Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-46638229071195542262012-01-18T13:07:00.003-04:002012-01-18T13:07:49.932-04:00Went on a walk and stopped at Park Lane and bought body butter on sale for $5.40 down from $18. My skin has been dry lately and none of my moisturizers were thick enough. Also bought cherries on sale for 99 cents a pound at Pete's. I have been eyeing them for two weeks now, watching the price drop slowly down from $7.99 a pound. I go to Pete's every single day.
Rather headachy today. Sinuses, I Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-31784088992874508152012-01-18T10:19:00.002-04:002012-01-18T10:21:24.495-04:00Okay, so I went a bit mental this morning. I think I tried too hard to be laid back earlier in the week (I read this article on subpersonalities and it inspired me to try not to be such of an obsessive perfectionist) and then all the work piled up and stuff wasn't working in the morning and I panicked. Am in my office now, typing student poems. When I'm finished I'm going to go on my walk and Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-67529539383265670172012-01-18T08:22:00.003-04:002012-01-18T08:22:35.286-04:00I want to cry. Am having an incredibly frustrating morning. Didn't sleep well last night. I think I'm going to go on a short walk to calm down.Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-82026389656770669072012-01-17T22:13:00.001-04:002012-01-17T22:13:44.328-04:00Okay, I made myself some brownies. I halved the recipe so I wouldn't have too many. I'm having an I-don't-care week. I tend to do this when I get a cold, just let everything slide. Like I was supposed to spend many hours after class working at a cafe but instead I just bought groceries and came home and ate brownies. But tomorrow for real I am going to wake up early and finish everything. I'm Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-28642232566495184172012-01-17T19:36:00.002-04:002012-01-17T19:37:20.830-04:00He Said, She Said
Watching The Bachelor while I get some stuff done. What a terrible show. It's so much more fun to mock it than just to watch it. In Baltimore we all used to watch it and bet on who we thought would make it to the end. The show is so boring that they've started adding Fear Factor style dates. One of the many problems with this is that the show contestants equate success on theseShashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-29803165435467000122012-01-17T18:58:00.000-04:002012-01-17T18:58:30.481-04:00I slept all day today until my class and I feel sooo much better. Food tastes good again. I am eating celery right now and it is delicious. Today I bought meat from the meat counter for the first time ever in my life. I was afraid I would do it wrong, but it worked out okay. A strange man with a Gandalf beard saw me scouting out the specials and advised me to buy some kind of massive prime rib orShashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-74831745458198379912012-01-17T09:17:00.002-04:002012-01-17T09:17:34.932-04:00I've decided to have a breakfast-for-dinner party. A brinner party? Maybe in early February. I have been wanting to host a brunch for ages because there are so many delicious brunch foods, but a morning party is irritating and there's no time to get all the cooking done and nobody would drink in the morning and then it'd be unclear when people should leave. I am going to make mimosas and mini Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-45945371148318523952012-01-17T09:03:00.000-04:002012-01-17T09:03:11.089-04:00Damnit! Blair and Chuck are supposed to be together!!! How could you do this to me again, Gossip Girl?
I am thinking of re-reading The Lord of the Rings. I read it when I was nine, so I hardly remember anything. The reason I want to read it is that I think it would be a solid reference to have when reading student fantasy pieces. Such an undertaking though.
Guest speaker in Creative Process Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835534.post-44291548884963823372012-01-16T23:27:00.003-04:002012-01-16T23:27:45.502-04:00Wendy the Cat has been petting me all day. Are pets called pets because we pet them, or do we pet them because they are pets? And if she pets me, am I then the pet?Shashihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03129419158742747460noreply@blogger.com0