"The News"

Five poems by my wonderful friend Jan are on hand-carved plaques at Beal Botanical Garden to celebrate the sesquicentennial.

"The News" 

The prairie dock rockets

toward the sun.

Its leaves are

as large as a page of the New

York Times. But though their

 business is boosting

circulation, their news is all

 about life.

Pic: "The News" by Jan Shoemaker at Beal Botanical Garden. Early morning trip with L. 

Oh, the places I've been...

StephLove and NGS were curious about the list of places on my bio, so here goes. Actually, that list is somewhat abbreviated and I had to add a couple more places for continuity. Also, I count places where my sister and parents live as a dual home as well, even if I only visit for a couple of weeks here and there. 

1. Madras (Tamil Nadu state), India: Birthplace. In the traditional way, Mom moved back to her parents' seven months into her pregnancy to have me. Dad visited us every weekend.
2. Cochin (Kerala state), India: When I was around three months old, mom and I moved (back) to where Dad worked.
3. Vizag/Vishakapatnam (Andhra Pradesh state), India:  We moved because of Dad's job. This is where my sister was born. We attended Timpany School.
4. Madras (Tamil Nadu state), India: We moved back to Madras where both sets of grandparents and our vast network of cousins and family lived. I went to Holy Angels Convent and Sacred Heart schools and graduated from Stella Maris College.
5. Kodaikanal (Tamil Nadu state), India: I taught at Kodaikanal Christian College for a year after graduating.
6. Columbia, S.C.: I went to the University of South Carolina on a terrific teaching assistantship, making more money than I had ever earned in my life up to that point.
7. Jerusalem, Israel:  University of J; Grad fellowship
8. Utrecht, The Netherlands:  University of U; Grad fellowship
9. Princeton, NJ:  Institute for Advanced Studies; Grad fellowship
10. Chennai (Tamil Nadu state), India: My birth city changed its name...
11. Columbia, S.C.: Back for a bit; At's born here.
12. Oxford, U.K.  Went to the University of Oxford for my doctorate on a scholarship that paid almost as much as my current salary. 
13. Delhi (National Capital Territory), India: Sis and parents moved to the capital city for a couple of years for sis's job.
14. Bangalore (Karnataka state), India: Sis and parents moved for sis's job. They're here now.
15. New York, NY and Springfield, NJ: Big A's residency at NYU; finally married Big A; Nu's born in NYC; started this blog.
16. Yellow Springs, OH: Big A's hometown, we moved there after his residency for his first job as an attending. 
17. Alma, MI: We moved for my job; adopted Scout and Huck
18. Lansing, MI:  Moved as Big A had a fellowship at U of Michigan and Lansing is halfway between Alma and Ann Arbor; adopted Max.

I really don't want to move anymore!

Pic: Puppy attack! Max first and Huckie right behind.

"it'll grow back"

I know that everyone in India will love my babies no matter what, but also... I want them to look nice on the visit. 

So I (very cautiously) broached the idea of a haircut with Nu, who hasn't been to a hair stylist in over two years. They'd cut their own hair a couple of times since then, but not recently. 

When I called the Aveda salon that Big A and Nu use to make an appointment, there was a lot of back and forth and then they asked me if Nu was "biologically male or female." Whereupon I gave them a piece of my mind and hung up. I could have handled that better. But it's fucking hair! Why should it matter?! 

Anyway, I checked in for this morning at the Supercuts nearby (it's the place I use) and off we went. 

I must say, Nu's choice of cut is a bit complicated--the laidback TikTok teen who models it in Nu's reference video has a rattail mullet and sides shaved in an undercut. When we got to the Supercuts, the stylist was an older South Asian woman in a hijab. NGL, I wondered if she'd balk at Nu's choice of cut. But she just cheerfully set to work. At the end of 30 minutes, Nu had precisely the haircut they wanted and I relievedly tipped a 150%. Haircut? More like hair cute! (Ok, I'll stop.)

Nu and I were to go to dinner with AK and AK, but the restaurant closed early (Sunday!) so we met at home to polish off the leftovers from yesterday's feast. I excused Nu from the table, but they chose to linger for hours. Do the AKs know what a huge compliment that is?!

Pic: Baker Woods with L early this morning. This deer was most interested in our chat. 

Note: Pre haircut we were joking about how it's only hair and it'll grow back... and wondering if a hair salon called "It'll Grow Back," would be popular.

trumpets!

Ok. So proud of myself today.

I got the chapter done this morning. Twenty days late, and Big A eyes glazed over when I summarized it on our walk yesterday, and the editor hasn't seen or approved it. But at this moment, I think it's a good first draft. 

And then in the afternoon, I single-handedly shopped, cooked, and (six hours later) served a fancy four-course Indian meal for the UU fundraiser. I think this is my fourth year of doing this "Evening in India" thing, so I have the menu, prep, and production down to an exact science. I like to pretend I'm running a restaurant--do other grown ups do this too? 😂 A couple of guests remarked that they were so happy to get in this year because they'd tried to bid on my offering for a couple of years but the bids went up so quickly. I said something self-deprecating, but I preened a little bit on the inside when I heard that. 

 Pic: Trumpet vine flowers to go with all the self-trumpeting. 

homes, borders, flags

Super excited about leaving for India in ten days... Excited to see everyone and visit every place and eat everything... A bit anxious about giving a talk at my old undergraduate college... but super excited to be home, in the old country. 

In my own anticipation of crossing borders, the hype about the new Indiana Jones and the Oppenheimer movies are beginning to bother me.  Did they really make a full-length movie about Oppenheimer's tortured genius without representing a single Japanese person? 

Anyway--walking, (window) shopping, and snacking my way through downtown East Lansing with JG today, Stephanie Syjuco's "Rogue States" at The Broad Museum really spoke to me. It's an installation of flags of fictional nation states from movies (incl. "Hatay" from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade). A "convention of collective anxiety" about nations that are positioned as "terrorist, backward, resistant, or unstable."

Pic: My second time with Stephanie Syjuco's "Rogue States" this year. The first time was with EM. 

a forgotten summer list

Between the travel and deadlines, I totally forgot to make a summer list this year...

But summer things are still happening anyway. At a breakneck pace these days.

We're entertaining for the next three days (three very different things), have houseguests the weekend after, and then it's off to India... eep.

And as Nu said dolefully: when we come back from India, summer vacation will almost be over. I wanted to redirect and say we ought to enjoy the moment and that we have a whole month left, but NGL--I lowkey feel the way Nu does too.

Pic: Big A, Huck, and Max roasting veggie dogs.

lingering

what is the correct tense for promise

for the butterflies you tried to catch

like the meaning in unknown words 

when you learn loving less is useless

what might we say or sing or pray

aligning the trembling fall of leaves

--if you're still listening, do you hear

content rustling in the fleeing day... 

Pic: A bud vase with wildflowers to take upstairs to Nu.