Sunday, January 21, 2024
journeys
Tuesday, November 14, 2023
plaid power
Wednesday, August 30, 2023
celebrations
After work, I was in and out of the house all evening taking soup to AD and pastries and presents to EM (whom we celebrated over dinner last week). Many folks do all this commuting everyday with their kids' activities and sports and... wow. It's a lot.
Our rakhi days are different from everyone else's. This year, only Nu is wearing their rakhi on their wrist; At is wearing theirs on their ankle (work doesn't allow bracelets), and Huck and Max are wearing theirs on their collars. The kids--human and canine--have been tying on rakhis and promising to protect each other for as long as I can remember. But the years are distinct. This is Max's first; we missed Scout. I looked back at last year's celebration, and it feels like a different pandemic world!
After dinner, we called my dad to serenade him with birthday songs and then went outside to look for the blue super moon. My city kids (pointing at a distant streetlight) "Is that it?" (Face palm.)
We finally found it later and higher in the sky--so, so lovely!
Wednesday, August 23, 2023
Day One
I'm sharing Nu's first day of school pictures with so much hope this year, may the universe be good to this child. On FB, I wrote: The tee says "gloomy," but the smile seems to say "ready." Hopeful!
I watched from the end of our driveway as Nu chatted with bus stop friends and the bus showed up on time. When the bus doors close, Joni's always in my head singing "and a big yellow school bus took my little baby away." Mostly icebreakers and fun at school today, apparently. So far, so good.
For me: A detox/day off. I hiked with Big A this morning (eight+ miles) and we took a long soak. Then a CASA meeting, puttering around with online work, house chores, ordering stuff online for other families needing stuff for back-to school, a call with an old student, etc.; pokè delivery (Nu's choice) for dinner.
Pic: Screen-grab from my FB post. Each time someone wished Nu, it felt like a blessing.
Tuesday, August 22, 2023
Ok, half-full
If yesterday was being amused about colleagues coaxing me to eat more food, today was indignation.
If yesterday was perfect picnic weather, today was the sudden rain right as we had to move to another building.
If yesterday was the magic of shaving seven minutes off the commute, today was the delay brought on by tens of thousands of MSU students moving into the dorms across our house.
If yesterday was the euphoria of seeing my people, today was the reality of budget cuts, missing colleagues, metrics of the market, defunding of programs, polarization of higher ed, marginalization of the humanities, potential terminations, and so many new people hired as adjuncts. StephLove was right to remind me in the comments yesterday.
I'm on the Educational Policy Committee and just got elected to the Faculty Tenure and Promotion Committee. Let's see what I can do to make this a place that works for students and makes my colleagues want to stay. Once more into the fray to do the best I can.
Pic: MSU flower bed from last week. I haven't hiked or walked in days.
Monday, August 21, 2023
full
We're officially back at work as Fall Conference started today. And I'm so full and excited from seeing everyone after summer break and catching up and being introduced to new people and talked into new committees and and and... It hasn't been quite like this since the start of the pandemic... Being with colleagues and friends is not something I take for granted anymore. I may have sardonically shared The Chronicle's "First Faculty Meeting of the Year Bingo card" on the group chat, but I sincerely and nerdily love my work.
A lot of the socializing took place over three meals on campus, so I'm feeling pretty full on that count too.
Pic: Walking back to my car after the all-campus picnic.
Friday, August 18, 2023
chances are
Thursday, August 17, 2023
un-doing
Easy does it.
Unrelated: I can't stop thinking about the food situation with my parents, sis, and BIL. I knew they had let some household help, including their cook, go during the early stages of the pandemic. What I didn't realize is that now everyone just orders food online and then they eat separately and at different times. So all they're eating--sometimes even at breakfast, and almost always at lunch and dinner--is restaurant food. Each one according to their own schedule and by themselves.
The worst part is that the food is frequently limp, unappetizing, and unsatisfying by the time it arrives, so it seems people eat more than they would otherwise. My BIL won't even enter the kitchen, my sis is too busy with her job, and my parents are too old, so this isn't a problem with an obvious solution. I made soups and stir-frys while there (for the kids mainly, but there was enough for everyone) and everyone acted like it was the most amazing food in the world (although it really wasn't!). My sister takes such good care of my parents and I didn't want to be a dick; so I didn't say anything. But mealtimes were such a time of togetherness growing up and I feel so, so sad that it's not the case anymore over there.
Pic: Look! A medieval-looking turret on our way to get Big A some coffee at Biggby!
Wednesday, August 16, 2023
a day to rest and recover
Pic: Huck, Max, and Big A rumpus-ing in the rumpus room.
Tuesday, August 15, 2023
so it's like that
India's Independence Day!
This afternoon, after working diligently on syllabuses and stuff, I took a second SUV-load of stuff to the donation center--all the stuff from Big A's Milwaukee apartment. I hope someone else enjoys the nice toaster and placemats and towels and sheets and Apple TV stuff. Big A started his Michigan job while we were in India, and I'm so glad for us to be under the same roof now. And to be able to give away this stuff that was sitting in the garage.
I made a big pot of soup with turmeric, ginger, garlic, and tons of veggies because I wasn't feeling so good. In fact, I felt like I had when I was sick last week. Big A who had been incredulous that no one had given us a Covid test, gave me one... and... that MF-er lit right up.
So we had Covid and gave it to other people. I feel so gross about that. We've been masking everywhere, since we got sick, so hopefully we've been able to limit the spread. I don't feel too sick, but I've been too upset about my public health fail to work. Have been watching Made in Heaven, my mom recommended it after we saw an ad for it on a billboard on our way to the airport.
And the Crumbl cookies I picked up because I was on that side of town gave Nu an allergic reaction. Whomp, whomp. Not a complete winner of a day, for sure.
Friday, August 11, 2023
out...
Thursday, August 10, 2023
doing better
Yay!
And just in time to travel back...
My kids and parents are quick (and so sweet) to reassure me that although things didn't go according to plan, they're really happy to have had so much time together. We've spent a lot of time watching movies, swapping playlists, and telling old stories these past few days. Not as raucous as when we first arrived, but nice in its own way.
I wish we were being safer--as a better Maya said, when we know better we should do better--but we haven't been doing that.
Pic: A pic of Nu, mom, and At from my sis. Sis and I finally got some one-on-one time together and she encouraged me to come back without the kids next time. 😆
Tuesday, August 08, 2023
got me good
Anyway. I'm sick now. Other people are, thankfully, on the mend. I suppose it's a good thing we already had such a great time, because this part sucks.
Yesterday, before visiting the temple, I stopped at a street stall to get some flower garlands for an offering. They're made as always with fresh flowers and held together with knotted banana fiber. When I asked how much it cost (the unit of measurement is the span of the flower-seller's forearm), she held up four fingers: I thought it was four rupees, but she meant forty. Everything is the same except for prices. We had a good laugh together.
Pic: Pushpa (her name translates as "flower") selling flower garlands by the temple. Photo with permission. (Bangalore)
Sunday, August 06, 2023
"my so-called vacation"
*I'd kind of forgotten how over-protective my family can be. I'm still getting frequent earfuls about how--on Friday--I took an auto-rickshaw someplace instead of calling home to let them know to send a car and driver for me. Like what? I'm so old and I've been out on my own in the world for so long! And I take public transport or drive myself. Anyway, I'm a fan of auto-rickshaws, especially because they're smaller than cars and can weave their way through Bangalore traffic better.
Saturday, August 05, 2023
living loud
You won't find Nu in this picture because it's late and they'd had their fill of social interaction.
And you won't find At in this picture because their fever had spiked and they're in bed after we went to the hospital earlier in the evening for a consult, tests, and antivirals. (There's a chance it could be dengue, although we haven't been bitten by a single mosquito, and of course it could be Covid--either of which could complicate things by a whole lot.)
I've had some lovely conversations with my dad on this trip thanks to his amazing new hearing aid. This morning he was telling me about a sib who died in infancy and their family dog who died from grief soon after (that's the family story, anyway), and I started to cry about Scout. My dad was upset about making me cry, but actually, it was such a relief to be able to do any of this--talk to my dad, talk about Scout, hear a story I've heard 10,000 times before, etc.
Pic: Part of my loud and lovely family. The sheet of paper in VM's hand is a blueprint for the big family reunion being planned for next year. (Bangalore)
Friday, August 04, 2023
here we are...
Tuesday, August 01, 2023
the people we came to see...
Except they move so much more slowly now and take way more pills than they used to.
Pic: Amma and Dad at sunrise. (Pondycherry)
#LaterPost
Monday, July 31, 2023
travel is tiring...
...even if all you've done is gotten boarding passes, gone through security, and found your gate...
Saturday, July 29, 2023
tick-tock
Sunday, July 16, 2023
summer fullness
Still frozen in the same place on the writing project--convinced that I'll be satisfied if I work on it for just another 24 hours. Perhaps it's time to send it off to the editor and let them tell me what I need to fix? Perhaps it needs to live in someone else's brain for a while.
In the afternoon, I took myself off to HS's annual garden party, which, as always, was a treat. An unexpected treat was the live jazz band that set up in the dining room and was absolutely fantastic.
The last time H.S. had their garden party was in the year before the pandemic... it was impossible not to reflect on how much has changed since the last time and simultaneously feel that familiar sense of return about so much else.
I feel so replete with flowers, friends, music... and food. So full of food: The whole afternoon repast at HS's, then dumplings and stir-fry at home, and then a second dinner as Nu wanted a pizza snack but only if I would share it with them.
Pic: A partial view of HS's beautiful garden. Someday I will have a beautiful garden too and deer won't eat it.
Prep time
So the Gaza talk is done. Honestly not sure how it went because I joined online and couldn't see the audience very well. I heard "o...
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Friends and old neighbors shutting it down in honor of John Crawford. _
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At had us pose for this pic up at Aunt R's place on Lake Huron so he could put it up in his dorm. "Don't tur...
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I have the feeling that I’m going to succumb to the season and put out a list of resolutions soon. Just wanted to establish this heads up th...