2011 in review...

Last year, I spent some time reflecting on the good, the bad, and the ugly that was 2010. So what else is there to do but a repeat performance?! How was 2011? A year of some highs and lows, to be sure. Let's start with the highs...

Greece has got to be the topper for this list. Not much more to say about it than I've already blathered on about on the blog. But it was incredible.


I went to some pretty amazing concerts this year. There was U2. Which, let's face it, was a once in a lifetime kind of concert. Bono in the rain with 60,000 fans. Pretty damn crazy wonderful.


Then there was Bon Iver. I liked his music before, but man, the band was incredible live. If I wasn't before, I'm a huge fan now.



There was also the charming Adele, Rock the Garden with My Morning Jacket, Basilica Block Party for Amos Lee and Ray LaMontagne. Incidentally, Bon Iver, My Morning Jacket, and U2 were voted as the top 3 concerts at The Current. Lucky me!

I got set up which didn't end so well. I went on match.com, which led to more stories than good dates. I'm tired of stories. Back on it, sigh. Maybe the sixth time's the charm?

I ran a marathon. I was disappointed in my time, but hey, not everyone can say they've run two marathons both in under 4 hours. So I'm going to feel good about that.

I taught a lot. Ran a lot. Began a new work blog. Played a lot of violin. Last night's Viennese New Year was pretty fun. Good to have an excuse to dress up and play some Strauss.


Read more than last year and enjoyed Talking Volumes again. Went to a few Books & Bars, wishing I could attend more but alas they are scheduled the same night as orchestra rehearsals. Summer. There's always summer.

2011 will go down in the books as a year of music and Greece. Not the worst way to spend a year.

how'd I do on my 2011 resolutions?

In 2011, I resolved to have a happy and healthy, skinnier, wealthier, literarier, runnier, datier, classier, kinder year. How'd I do?

1. Lose dissertation weight: lost 10 pounds. not quite all the weight, but I'm close. considering that I whined far harder about this than I actually practiced moderation, I'm happy I lost the ten!

2. Start saving money: got signed up for and started paying into my work retirement plan.

3. Submit 2 manuscripts for publication: one is under review. another is near submission. waiting on my adviser. what else is new?

4. Read more for pleasure: didn't do so well here. so this one is staying on the list

5. Run another marathon: done. ran 1000 miles in 2011. not sure if I want to up the ante on that for 2012, but maybe I'll go for a repeat.

6. Get my butt in gear and start dating again: did it. and much to my dismay, the depression of the holidays convinced me to reactivate with match.com. I'm not going to meet anyone living my normal life, so I have to do something.

7. Go to orchestra concerts when I don't know any of the music: did not do this. has to stay on the list.

8. Continue to work on my relationship with my mom: I don't think this one will ever be done, so I can't check this one off.

9. Oh, and take my vitamins every day: did this one. check!

10. Go somewhere: Greece, baby.

So not so bad. I also weened myself off sugar in my coffee, which was no easy feat since I took splenda, as regular sugar was not sweet enough. And I have cut down my reality tv watching - no more real housewives of wherever or top chef or sing-off. I still watch project runway and so you think you can dance. but in terms of reality, pretty harmless I think.

Now I have to think of my 2012 resolutions. Something about cooking more, visiting the public library more, and turning off the tv more. I'm settling on them and will get back to you tomorrow or so!

2011 books... the first in several reflections on 2011

Last year I was very disappointed in my list of reads from the year. This year has not proven to be much of an improvement in either volume or quality. Very few 5 stars on this list (bolded) or recommended reads (*). I need something extraordinary to read!

The Imperfectionists (Tom Rachman)
All the Devils are Here: The Hidden History of the Financial Crisis (Bethany McLean)
Matched (Ally Condie)
The Westing Game (Ellen Raskin, a reread)
Moon Over Manifest (Clare Vanderpool)
One Crazy Summer (Rita Williams-Garcia)
* The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference (Malcolm Gladwell)
What the Best College Teachers Do (Ken Bain)
* The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (Rebecca Skloot)
Godless (Pete Hautman)
Ghostopolis (Doug TenNapel)
Something Borrowed (Emily Giffin, probably one of the worst books I've ever read)
The Graveyard Book (Neil Gaiman)
Plum Loving (Janet Evanovich)
Visions of Sugar Plums (Janet Evanovich)
Plum Lucky (Janet Evanovich)
* Bossypants (Tina Fey)
Pope Joan (Donna Woolfolk Cross, a reread)
* The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy (Jeanne Birdsall)
Open (Andre Agassi)
The Help (Kathryn Stockett)
Courageous Conversations About Race (Glenn E Singleton)
Fall of Giants (Ken Follett)
Taking the Leap: Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits and Fears (Pema Chodron)
Thirteen Reasons Why (Jay Asher)
* Richard III (William Shakespeare)
Cutting for Stone (Abraham Verghese)
Fly Away Home (Jennifer Weiner)
Room (Emma Donoghue)
Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen (Christopher McDougall)
Mockingbird (Kathryn Erskine)
Sugar in my Bowl: Real Women Write about Real Sex (Erica Jong)
To Be a Runner (Martin Dugard)
* A Visit from the Goon Squad (Jennifer Egan)
Damned (Chuck Palahniuk)
Living Dead Girl (Elizabeth Scott)
In Other Rooms, Other Wonders (Daniyal Mueenuddin)
* Heart of a Samurai (Margi Preus)
* Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet (Jamie Ford)
* Looking for Alaska (John Green)
* Drums, Girls, & Dangerous Pie (Jordan Sonnenblick)
Lord of the Flies (William Golding, a reread)
* Out of the Dust (Karen Hesse, a reread)
Of Mice and Men (John Steinbeck, a reread)

I suppose there's time for me to read more, but we'll leave it at this. Hoping to get lost in something compelling soon. Here's to a new year in books!

it starts with a P...

When I was in college, my orchestra toured Austria. 'Toured' is maybe a generous term, as in the 4.5 weeks we were in Europe, we gave only 4 concerts. We traveled in Salzburg and Prague and spent a tired day and a half in Munich at the very end of the trip (we all slept on the bus tour of the city but woke up in time to go to the Hafbrauhaus, of course). But most of our time was in Vienna, where we rehearsed in the mornings and had our afternoons free. We had a couple of organized events, but mostly we explored on our own, drinking lots of coffee and wine and eating bread and cheese and chocolate and looking at lots of churches because they were free to get into. One of my favorite nights we wandered over to the Staatsoper and got $2 standing room tickets to the absolutely amazing La Boheme. Afterwards we splurged and got coffee and split a slice of the famous sacher torte at Hotel Sacher, which I think cost us $12 a person. It was snowing Hollywood flakes afterwards, we took a long way back to the hotel, stopping for a glass of wine or three and then stayed up all night playing cards. We also got to go to the President's Ball, since we were in Vienna during Ball Season. The highlight was when my partner waltzed me into the President and his mistress and I said, 'Groshen!' which was not 'excuse me' as I had thought but 'penny' instead. He asked us if we were the American orchestra. Was there any doubt?

So anyway, while we were there, we ate a lot of pork. Like, lots. On one of our late nights of wine and chocolate, we composed a little song, set to the very well known Strauss' Blue Danube Waltz. Our version goes like this:

It starts with a p (pork pork, pork pork),
And ends with a k (pork pork, pork pork).
We eat it all night (pork pork, pork pork),
We eat it all day (pork pork, pork pork).
We eat it in Wien (pork pork, pork pork),
We'll eat it again (pork pork, pork pork).
It comes from a hog, we ate it in Prague!
That's why we're sick of pork, p-p-por-pork!

So why am I telling you all this? Because for the big fundraising orch gala, we're playing Blue Danube Waltz. And every time I practice it, I giggle a little. It's somewhat distracting when I am supposed to be concentrating on sounding good. But I can't help it. It starts with a P...

fun for a while

I'm dog sitting right now for a cute little guy, Vito. It's been awfully fun having him around. And since I sometimes already think I should get a dog, having him around is making that worse. But I suppose it is better that he will go back home tomorrow.

the edge of darkness

I'm always happy when Dec 21 is over, because even though winter weather has only just begun, the daylight will start to increase again. It's almost 5 and there is a little day left.

buyer's remorse?

I bought a groupon this summer for a deal on glasses. While I love the style of my current frames, the arms are too short and don't properly hook behind my ear. Because they are a little heavy, this means that every time I bend over, they slide off. I almost lost them last Christmas on one of the rollercoasters at MOA, but somehow my reflexes were fired up and I caught them before they tumbled to the floor. In the summer when I'm sweaty, this is an even more annoying problem. So I bought the groupon thinking I'd get some new ones that fit a little better.

And, as per usual, the groupon expires tomorrow, so naturally I needed wait until today, when the pressure was on. I let the hipster guy with the funky vintage frames at the store talk me into a pair by telling me how cute I am and how adorable they looked. Now I'm afraid that I was wooed by his charm and not by the frames themselves. They aren't too crazy, but I never would have picked them out myself. And to make matters slightly more concerning, I didn't even ask the price until I had already decided on them. And whoa, they were more than I had planned on, even with the groupon.

Here's hoping I like them when I pick them up in two weeks...

grades... check!

another semester done. only 66 to go 'til retirement.

almost finished

Though I just love giving gifts, I'm a terrible shopper. I don't enjoy it at all. So I'm really happy that after two hours in the mall, I only have 2 more gifts to buy and neither will require another mall trip. Almost done! Yay!

Now if only I could say the same about my grading...

reconnecting

I have a 'book club' that at one time met every month. It was a group that started as folks I did my MA program with, but membership has grown and shifted so we're not all teachers, which is a good thing. Over the years as people had kids and then more kids, we met less frequently and often didn't have a book we read. But we like seeing each other. A few weeks ago, one member sent out an email that she missed us and we needed to get together. I do love that about the holidays. I tried to figure out the last time we'd seen each other, and I think it was March! Terrible! So we made plans for last night. It was so great to see everyone. And though we didn't have a book we read in common, we did spend at least an hour talking about different books we had read. So that counts, I think.

living up to the hype

I'm not usually on the cutting edge of trends. This does not bother me. But sometimes this leads to disappointment. Like when I read The DaVinci Code two years after everyone else. So I was cautious when I finally got to Bar La Grassa last night and had the legendary gnocchi with cauliflower and orange, which makes all the review lists as the must-try dish. And it lived up to all the expectations. Complex flavors and super tender gnocchi. Delish. My friend and I decided a few weeks ago to eat our way through the winter. I might not be able to stick to my weight goal, but if we keep eating amazing meals like this, I won't care.

will you join in our crusade?

Back in around 1988, my family fell in love with the music from the musical Les Miserables. None of us had seen the show, but we bought the soundtrack and over the next 5 years of driving to NJ and CA during the summer, we listened to it countless times. I finally got to see it in person in 2000. I had just started my MA program and couldn't afford a ticket, but they had rush tickets available and I ended up in 8th row center. Close enough to see sweat on brows. It was incredible finally getting the chance to see this show that I knew so well, but only through the soundtrack.

And since then I've listened to the soundtrack occasionally, but probably not in the last several years. But I got tickets for my sister and I to go, and then mom and dad wanted in on the fun, so we all went last night. In prep, I popped in the soundtrack last week and amazingly, I remembered every lyric. Isn't it crazy how our brains work?!?

The actor playing the male lead was phenomenal. Actually, that isn't even a strong enough word for how utterly amazing he was. Turns out that he's played Jean Valjean 2900+ times. I guess he knows the role pretty well. His "Bring him home" brought me to tears, and though that's not normally much of a feat, I've been feeling pretty apathetic and detached from everything lately, so I wasn't expecting to feel something last night.

Such a fun start to the Christmas celebrations with the family.

the sound of silence

I've never lost my voice before. Before today, that is. It was slowly leaving yesterday, and it was a little better this morning, I thought, but as the day has worn on, it has left me. On a long drive today, I called my folks and ended up mostly croaking at them. I hope it comes back soon, because I'm not very good at not talking.

kindermusik

I'm in the midst of watching my first kindermusik classes. My friend teaches kindermusik classes on Saturday mornings, and she's pretty amazing. It's almost more cuteness than I can handle, all these singing and playing and dancing toddlers. My heart aches.

theater people

I'm in Des Moines in the lobby of a community theater waiting for the performance of 'The Sound of Music' in which my bestest friend is a nun and the housekeeper. She has an absolutely amazing voice, and I'm excited to get to see/hear her on stage. I'm going to the show tomorrow night too. And then I get to see her choir sing at church on Sunday. An awesome musical weekend. The only drawback is that I get jealous when I'm in the audience and not part of the pit. I'll need to remember this when we're 14 into a 18 show run of the opera in the spring.

papers, and projects, and finals, oh my!

tis the season to stress (I mean whine) about grading.

under the weather

I used to get sick a lot. But after I started running and, with the exception of a couple years in grad school when I didn't really sleep for three years, I stopped getting sick. Oh, I've felt under the weather for a day or two every once in a while, but really, I've been lucky. I credit figuring out that I needed to relieve stress (i.e. running), eating better, and washing my hands like crazy. Almost ocd crazy, but it works.

But now I've been achy, tired, sore throat, headache, chills, etc for four days, and I'm out of practice. I'm blaming the hotel and flights to the conference. So far, I've taken time off running, drank lots of oj, taken theraflu at night. I can't sleep because I'm too stuffed up, so that's making things worse. I know I just need time, but I'm so used to bouncing back after 24 hours or so. I thought I was getting better yesterday, but have gotten progressively worse throughout the day today.

Ok, enough whining. I'll get the grading done that's piling up, I'll continue to teach even if I feel like death warmed over, and I'll get better eventually.

And then I can get back to being thankful that I'm usually very healthy!

head of the household

Four times in the last month, someone has come asking for money for something or other, and when I answer the door, the person asks, "Is the head of the household available?"

I'm not sure how to take this. Is it because I'm a woman? Or I look young? This has happened consistently since I bought the house. And noteworthy today because it has happened so many times recently. Depending on my mood, it annoys me to different degrees.

Today, I'll take it that I look young. I need a boost, so I'll make one up if I have to.

good friends

I think what I love most about good friends is that no matter the distance and time, you can fall easily into conversation and it isn't strange at all. My friend I visited in Greece was in the Twin Cities for a couple hours on her way back to Athens via the international teaching job fair in Atlanta. She extended the trip to come here to spend some time with her family, who live outside the metro, and so the only chance to see her was at the airport on Sunday evening.

We met her at baggage claim and headed to the bar located outside security for a very brief but great hour and a half. As I was sitting next to her, filling her in on the drama of the fall and hearing about hers, I stopped and said, "It seems so normal to be sitting here next to you." She said the same. Sad it wasn't longer, but glad I got to see her.

She's off to Bogota, Columbia for her next teaching job. Summer 2013??

who, us?

I met a friend for a drink last night. It was packed at the bar during the football game, but then cleared out a bit. There was a group of men sitting around the corner of the bar, and C decided they needed a little shake-up to their evening. She had the bartender anonymously send them shots of whiskey. My friend is a little more daring than me, so it's good to hang out with her. I think I could learn a thing or two.

At any rate, the guys thought that the whiskey came from the loud and more provocatively dressed girls sitting next to us, which was fine, because mostly we thought it was fun to do and hope that karma comes back to bless us some time. So maybe some day, someone will send us a drink. Cheers!

first??

I, apparently, was the first to get the annual college girls Christmas letter in this year. I'm never first. I don't usually enjoy writing the letters, and I'm often the one that the poor woman compiling the letters is waiting on. So hint hint, Vanaheim girls. Your letters are due today...

Phew.

Finished my talk. I was a little nervous heading in because the discussant had that kind of demeanor that indicated she was no-nonsense (read: I thought she might be harsh in her critique). My paper benefited from a few extra weeks of reflection, and my presentation was much improved over the draft of the paper I sent to her. So I was worried she would comment on my flimsy implications/conclusion section. But in fact she did what a good discussant does - she found the common threads among the three papers being presented and then posed some interesting questions for further research. Then I had a great discussion with some of the folks who came to hear the talk about the Teacher Performance Assessment with some folks in other states that are also piloting it. I heard some interesting things, met some interesting people, reconnected with some grad school peeps, and gave a decent talk. A good conference, I think.

a spark of an idea

What I love about conferences like the one I'm at right now, is that I get to hear from the rockstars in my field and all the smart research and teaching they are engaged in at their own institutions. I usually come away with a powerful gem of an idea that transforms something I do. This time, it was a new theory that might just be the right framework for a research project I have percolating in my brain. Have to do more reading and research about it, but at least it is a place to start.

Now if only I could finish this presentation of mine...