Yoga and a movie; then more yoga and the same movie

The day started with a round of yoga with L and R, and then the rest of it was spent with J getting lunch, catching up, and watching Knives Out. I came home and did a round of yoga with the babies, found Knives Out for rent on Apple, and watched it again with the fam.

It's quite clever and very entertaining. I feel like we'll be reusing some phrases like "Nazi child" for years to come. Other movies suffering a similar fate at our hands: Step Brothers, Other Guys, Mean Girls, Clueless.

Last Christmas

I wanted to give our neighbors's Baby E one of my favorite board books--Ezra Jack Keats' The Snowy Day. I even found a a little snow baby puppet I thought would bring out Baby E's cheeks and smile.

But the very next day, Baby E's parents went to visit grandparents in California for a month (smart of them), and then they moved into their own house sometime last month, and I never got the book to E.

This evening as we were walking home from Big A's Boss Day dinner at Sansu, we saw E's dad T on his way to pick up some things from their old place, and he stopped as he passed us to give us updates and I was able to pass on E's Christmas gift.

I did it! I gave it to someone special. It's not like we don't have snow after all. #GeorgeMichaelLives.

Monologues

MacCurdy thespians put together an amazing performance of Eve Ensler's A Memory. Monologue, Rant, and A Prayer and I'm so glad I stayed.

It does mean I'll be back on campus in less than 10 hours for a committee meeting, and it does mean I'll have missed family dinner, and Nu's bedtime... but still worth it.

Students--and what they're capable of--fill me with hope.

Strange Angles

A student has had their paper accepted to a conference, and I'm here with them in the Broad coffee shop, going over all the angles of their argument and being an encouraging audience.

In my WGS intro, we were talking about Georgia O'Keefe and Zaha Hadid and their reshaping of their fields in somewhat gyno-centric ways--and they loved it. Wish there was enough time to bring them to the Broad this term.

Mine

A couple of students interviewed me (and 41 others) for their "performing advocacy" class last term, and this term some of the interviews were spliced together as a play.

The little vignette of the nine-year-old bulked up by the comforter he's carrying up the stairs in the middle of the night, not hearing his parents asking "who's there?" because he has his headphones in, and in real danger of being mistaken for an intruder? That nine-year-old is my At. 

And that's what's up

MI state senator Peter Lucido has repeatedly been reported for inappropriately sexual behavior, and J suggested drinks today to rally around one of her friends who's amongst those reporting him.

In characteristic J fashion, there were sassy crafts--here some ironic valentines. And later, a new group for us to join: Women's Association of Sassy Sophisticated Urban Professionals or WASSUP. Yup

Collaborateur

I did some voice taping for two colleagues, and their dance-film Uprooted is in a bunch of small film festivals all over the place, so that's one kind of collaboration. But also, At is in this production, and this may be our first (and only) film collaboration.

While We Wait

The longer our Title IX people take to wrap up the case, the closer I am to feeling that things are going wrong, that people misbelieve me, he will be back on campus, and even more empowered now, and on and on.

I need to take a deep breath and focus on all that is lovely in life.

"Snow: Upholder of Patriarchy"

It's Women's March day today and students were supposed to head here for "linner" afterwards, but we had over seven inches of snow overnight and we canceled the linner event in a flurry of early morning texts. At, who was going to offer a ride to other students, was the one who quipped that snow was the biggest upholder of the patriarchy." That kid is golden.

Then suddenly the day was wide open, and I got a few procrastinated tasks off my list, and then T and T showed up for tea and a chat and EBS showed up with a a whole bunch of movie theater snacks for the next "Friday Film Fest" and a whole set of Tupperware because I'm "always sending people home with boxes of food." She had a present for Nu too, and that's the fourth of my friends this year who's given Nu a present alongside me. Love it!!

Big A works tonight, so Huck, Scout, Nu, and I are hunkered down in the rumpus room and plan to watch shows till we we're sleepy. It's not how I expected today to work but it was nice nevertheless.

The Kids are Alright

Did the parents makes jokes about
"I ran?" "Who ran?" "Not our kid... they haven't exercised in a while" etc. jokes.
Yes, Big A and I did.

Sunset Strip

Just this yolky mess of gorgeous sunset on my way home,  and I am so, SO happy that the days are getting longer. 

Also, I negotiated for Big A to be in charge of dinner TTR, so I went home to an amazing Brazilian seafood-veggie soup and and a really exquisite pan of pao de quiejo that Nu, Scout, and I were polishing off even before the soup bowls got to the table.

Now I'm going to scrub the news from my head and just enjoy this moment of fullness, blankets, and milk Chocolove. which is really the best chocolate I've ever had. (overwrite what I said before.)

"Empty Hearts"

 

That's it, that's the update.

I made it out in this, so I'm calling today a success.

(A book club meeting for Juli Zeh's Empty Hearts--

I liked it, but I have SO MANY questions!!)

Regina Vater "For a Time of War"

SS and I went to the The Edge of Things: Dissident Art Under Repressive Regimes exhibit at the Broad while she was here to drop off L. Nu and I had seen it before--with KM and L... but that was months ago, and everything was new to me again.

I really needed At to see it before it vanishes on Sunday, and we managed to sneak in for a bit yesterday, marveling at how long we've have been fighting this fight.

Happy New Year / Hello from the Future!

Really. Doesn't "2020" sound like a completely random and flagrantly fake date in some sci-fi piece?

A planetary reminder

First!

I got to bookclub first, with my signed copy of Rainbow Rowell's sweet debut Eleanor and Park for the book exchange. (Reusing book, bag, and tissue paper here. Hola!)

Half-an hour later, the place was all raucous exuberance, with discussions hilariously veering off course. The book was Tayari Jones's An American Marriage and the loudest, longest discussion SOMEHOW became: which famous prisoner would you write to?

A Slob Story

At took off to protest the President's rally in Battle Creek today, despite my protest that it might get too violent especially since impeachment was expected to drop.

But he went (in his "Abolish I.C.E." tee!) and came back with some great stories--the young man who told MAGAs they were bigots (turned out his dad had been deported two months ago); volunteers from the National Lawyers Guild making sure the police were neutral; that everyone had a fit of the giggles when they started playing the Cats soundtrack.

But before he came back with these stories, I was waiting up for him, monitoring the news and Twitter for signs that things weren't going well... and when I heard that the president had called a protester "a slob" I was sure he was talking about my boy, who'd left in an oversized jacket with pockets full of YDSA buttons.

Grateful

Grateful for this thoughtful present from my lovely students, who even accessorized Frida with a "Sisterhood is Powerful" button.

When I brought her home last week, she was sitting next to me on the drive home and when I was stopped at the light, the homeless person I was chatting to asked me if he could have "dolly" for his niece. So not only did I have no money to give him, it must have seemed that I wouldn't give away what must have seemed like a highly age-inappropriate and superfluous knick-knack. He also asked me for pants ("30-inch waist. But not jeans! Dress pants!"), so I'll be trying to get that to him.

(Also, that intersection will always remind me of Adrian--I hope the fact he hasn't been here for months means he got his truck working again and is off on some travels. And also, I still don't have an answer to the question At and Nu have both asked me in toddlerhood--how are people homeless?)

Toot! Toot!

You can see the very, tiny TIP of my Nu's nose four seats in, first full row from the right, in the bass clarinet section. Some errant toots came from that section too 😊












It's a good thing I got a full view of the little tooter before they headed off to their winter concert.

Figuring out our feminists...

KB gave Nu this puzzle ages ago, but feminism takes time sometimes!