bugsii

The other day I was sort of stressing out about getting my Christmas decorations up, but then I had the thought that maybe I just wouldn’t put up any decorations this year.  I mean, tomorrow is December 1.  This weekend, we’ll be in Memphis.  Next weekend (plus a few days), we’ll be in Phoenix and the weekend after that we’ll be headed to Cincinnati for a week, followed by a week in Canton.  By my calculations, we will be in our own home for a total of ten days during the month of December.  It sort of made me feel better thinking about just not putting the decorations up, but once it sunk in, I sort of felt sad.  I like putting up little white lights and stockings and my special ornaments.  I like everything to feel “Christmas-y”, even if I won’t be able to enjoy it too much.  So, it won’t get done this week (I’m on my finals spree), but I doubt I’ll be able to hold out.  Sheesh, why can’t I just not care?

This morning I completed my final long run in my half marathon training.  Next weekend, I’ll head to Memphis for the big race.

Tonight, we had our second Thanksgiving dinner with Dan’s family and I am stuffed beyond belief once again (maybe I shouldn’t have had that second round of dessert).  Here’s a nice picture from this evening and there are more under the piictures tab.

Poppy and Katie

Not wanting to get too crazy, Dan, my mom and I headed out to do a little bit of shopping at about 8:30.  We only went to DSW, Dick’s and Target before calling it quits and going to get some brunch.  We did get a good start on our Christmas shopping and avoided most lines (Dick’s was still pretty ridiculous).  After brunch, Dan and I headed back to Columbus to grab some more clothes and then got back on the road to get to Cincinnati.  We did make one more quick Black Friday stop at the outlets.  I made a little dent in J. Crew (all for me) and I won’t apologize.  I haven’t been shopping in quite a while.  I’ll try to stay focused on others tomorrow. 

Giving thanks for my turkey trot.  For the nice weather.  For my working legs.  For my sister and my husband who came and walked with me.  For my bright yellow t-shirt.  For my hopefulness to win my age group.  For my humbling, not-even-close-to-winning place.  For the chance to sit in my old high school gym.  For the energy to pass that girl at the end.

Giving thanks for dinner preparations.  For looking through ads for black Friday.  For drinking coffee.  For peeling and chopping potatoes.  For the turkey in the garage.  For chatting with my mom.  For the hillbilly refrigerator (the car).  For watching Guido blaze a trail through the kitchen.  For waiting.  For the cheeseball and the pumpernickel bread and spinach dip.

Giving thanks for dinner.  For Nick and Tyler’s arrival.  For woodworking talk.  For Ben and Rachael.  For Matt.  For new friends and old.  For Julie, Mark, Katie and Marky.  For hugs.  For digging in.  For telling stories about crazy ladies (three in all).  For mashed potatoes and stuffing.  For losing at euchre.  For three kinds of pie, with whipped cream.  For a little more spinach dip.  For washing dishes.  For sitting down.  For more hugs goodbye.  For relaxing with football.  For going to bed stuffed.

For more pictures on the piictures tab.

In school, people like to talk about “analysis paralysis.”  Not only is it fun to say, it can be a serious problem.  It’s when you collect so much data that you become paralyzed and aren’t able to do any analysis.  This is why my advisor tells us to “do more with less data.”  Well, right now, I wish data was my problem.  Instead, I suffer from Foucauldian paralysis or poststructural paralysis, which I can assure you is much more severe than analysis paralysis (even though it doesn’t rhyme).  See, Foucauldian paralysis is when you are trying to use Foucault’s ideas to analyze your problematic (if you can even pin that down) and you realize that because he resists any sort of nice, neat closure, you could potentially analyze the problematic FOREVER.  I could write and think from now until I keel over and die and I still wouldn’t be done.  In fact, Foucault might just call that an interesting turn of events.  And, not only can you never be done, you can’t ever be RIGHT either.  I mean, I think some analyses are maybe truer to Foucault’s purpose or maybe more analytically rigorous, but none is THE RIGHT ONE.  NONE.  This is antithetical to my bossy, A+, know-it-all side… and it is paralyzing.

I’m trying to write my final paper for my Foucault class and I decided to do a mock interview with the intellectual.  I am spending an inordinate amount of time thinking how to phrase things, each word is painful, and when I finish a sentence I HATE it.  I feel like I’m wading through mud and I don’t know how I will be able to share this paper with the class next Tuesday (my day to present).  It will be horrifying.  It will be a good learning experience, but it will still be horrifying… another limit-experience to tear me down and help me to learn something.  When does the building back up begin?  Anyone?

Oh, my to do list.  I used to love it and revel in crossing things off of it.  Last week and this week, what keeps happening is that I just keep moving things from one day to the next and now I am BEHIND.  Like, three days behind.  I worked a bunch on Monday and had classes all day today, so tomorrow is my last shot before I head home for Thanksgiving.  I’m going to find a good hidey-hole tomorrow and try to crank out as much work as possible (FYI- I said “hidey-hole” in a southern accent in my head).  Wish me luck.

Maybe you’ve heard the “big news” that Oprah’s final season will be next year.  I heard because I watch almost every day.  This is probably a good thing (next year being her last season) because I’ve been having a harder time watching Oprah lately (and lots of shows actually, like What Not To Wear and Biggest Loser).  I like the Oprah shows where she is bringing an issue to light (like transgenderism) or where she is mobilizing her audience to read a good book, think about their place in the world, or actually do something (like educating girls in South Africa).  Though I know that none of this work is innocent per se, I think in some ways, she does some good. I don’t like most of the shows she has with celebrities and I hate the shows about her “favorite things”.  Things, things, things, is that what you want to teach your girls in South Africa, Oprah?  Consumerism?

Last week though I really noticed a contradiction that bugged me and made me want to stop watching.  One episode was on the lady that had her face ripped off by a monkey.  There’s no way to say that that doesn’t sound funny, but I’m really not trying to make it sound funny.  It was sickening to hear about how the whole thing happened and Oprah got the chance to be the first to show this lady’s non-face on TV.  It was sad and bizarre, but overall, Oprah treated the woman with dignity and emphasized the fact that she (Oprah) could feel her spirit.  The moral of the story is, you don’t need a face to be beautiful.  Looks don’t matter.  Well, that’s nice, but THEN a few days later Oprah had a whole show on how essential it is to have shoes that make you look thinner.  She pulled people off the street and transformed them via their footwear.  It was crazy to see how truly happy people (all women) can feel when they have more socially acceptable footwear.  By crazy, I mean sad.  And what’s even more sad is that I really do understand.  But honestly, Oprah, don’t you see the problem?  We are beautiful without a face, but not without expensive heels?  What?

Back in Cincy for a quick trip.  My niece Katie was baptized this morning.  Here she is at the brunch afterward with her cousin Ava.

Katie and Ava

Chelsea and Amanda

If you read this, odds are you’re either from Ohio or live in Ohio now.  If so, you know about the Ohio State/Michigan rivalry.  It’s a big deal if you’re into all that.  But the other day, I got a note on Facebook from two of my former students (who I had while student teaching).  One goes to Ohio State now and the other was coming to visit from Kent State.  They wanted to get together for coffee, so I asked if they were free this afternoon.  They said, you mean besides the game?  Oh yeah, that.

Anyway, we decided to meet just before the game for a while, then they would go meet some friends (and ex-boyfriends, so I hear).  I hadn’t seen either of them in about two years, so it was great to see them and catch up.  They told stories about roommates, classes, what they plan to do with their lives, you know all the things you are thinking about your freshman year of college.  I couldn’t believe I was sitting there talking to the (partially) grown up versions of the 11 year olds I had met 7 years ago.  Wow.  We ended up talking so long that they missed the whole first quarter and part of the next.

Then they left, and I stayed back at the coffee shop to do homework.  There I was, on campus, while most of the rest of the student body were stuffed in bars watching the game, writing a paper.  It was just me and one other grad student working away.  I was feeling kind of old, but in a good kind of way.  My undergrad days are long gone and I even get to see that something I did in my life made a little bit of a difference in someone else’s life.  Ohio State won the game today, but that wasn’t the best part.

Today at work, we walked down to the statehouse at lunchtime.  Word on the street was (okay, we got an email) that there were local artists selling their wares in the basement of the statehouse.  I didn’t even know the statehouse had a basement, but when I walked in, I realized that I had never been in the statehouse period.  I blame my grade school teachers (I mean, we went to COSI).  It was actually pretty cool in there. Here are some shots.

The Dome

Below the Dome

A display in the basement

We saw some neat Christmas arts and crafts, but the best part was that there was a glass elevator!  A GLASS ELEVATOR and SECRET TUNNELS!?!  IN COLUMBUS?!?  I need to write a story.