Geeking Out

I know I am a total dork and that this will rat me out, but I have a confession to make. 

I love course planning. 

Love it. 

Getting all professorly in anticipation

I ordered books a few months ago. 

Now I'm planning daily activities for four classes. 

The philosophy department is right next to English

I've got a regular Eng 101 class. Easy as pie. I love teaching one section of writing. It's online.

There are two Intro to Lit classes. We're reading some fun stuff, like Oleanna, A Raisin in the Sun, and some short stories. We're also reading some challenging materials like Waiting for the Barbarians and Innocent Erendira. Also lots of fun. These are my face to face classes.

And then there's my most challenging class: a Global Perspectives in Literature course. It's junior level and every single reading is tough. I'm throwing students in the deep end and hoping they swim. 

That one is online. It's going to be the class I have to pay the most attention to. 

I love, love, love this. And I can't wait until the start of the quarter next week. 

In Washington, most of the colleges are on a quarter system and start late in September. In the 1880s when the state began, schools did not commence until after the harvest had finished. We're still doing it. 

Source: www.lovethesepics.com 

Post-Christmas

Christmas was yesterday and passed rather quietly.  I missed snow. I love a white Christmas and almost asked G to drive us up a mountain pass so I could see it.  We went for a walk instead.  Mind you, it's cold enough for snow. It's been lingering in the 20s and 30s for weeks now. We just don't get precipitation here.  If we did, it'd be snowy here in a flash and for a long time.  I think our best Christmas tradition is taking a walk together.  We did that, we made a lovely meal, opened presents, called our families, watched "The Lion in Winter" and fed the cat some tuna for a Christmas meal.  She is so spoiled, even my husband's sister sent her a gift!

I think we're going to head to Seattle this weekend.  My friend E and her family are heading home from the holidays, back to San Diego from our hometown.  We're going to meet up for brunch before their flight.  Her son is growing up- he's a about 14 months old now- and I've never met her husband. But E and I go way back. Our families go way back. Her grandpa was the doctor who delivered my mom. Our parents went to school together, even in the same grade. E and I also graduated together in the same class.

E is smarter than I am, and really classy. She's a life-long equestrian with beautiful mediterranean skin and hair and warm eyes. She should be one of the Onassis family members if you ask me.  I like her a lot too. She's one of the few classmates I've stayed in contact with after high school.  We both went into teaching and our lives paralleled in many ways and we find qualities in each other to admire.  We are both teachers, though she teaches physics and I teach English.  That should tell you a lot right there.  I like her restraint and her ability to plan and execute and make sound decisions using stuff like data and reason.  She admires my ability to tell people what I think and have them thank me for it, and my impetuousness that sometimes pays off.  Next to her, it's easy to feel like a frumpy version of Anna Nicole Smith, except that we get along so well. We come from the same community and despite our differences, experienced many of the same childhood traumas- just from different perspectives.  Oh, and also, E can and does drive a combine from time to time to help out with harvest.  I'll be sure to post a few photos.  Hopefully, we can get them to meet us at the 5 Spot, a popular and delicious brunch spot on Queen Anne Hill.

I guess the other news is about my job.  I can't really go into detail in an online forum, but my contract has been extended through June 30th.  That's great news! I was pretty upset but getting to a place where I could enjoy only teaching 4 classes.  After accepting the overload (3 is full time here), I found out I'd also be working 3/4 time.  Instead of working three days a week, I'm going to be putting in about 55 hours a week between teaching and work.  But it's only for the next quarter; ten weeks. Then I'll drop to two classes and go up to full time, which is what I've been doing all along.  Wish me luck!

I hope you all had a great Christmas, with peace and joy and a few presents shared among those you care for, enough to eat and a warm place to lay your head.

Random 5

Ok, so my Random 5 isn't on Friday this week, it's on Sunday.  Ah well, I'll give you your money back on this one!

Anyway, here are 5 random things from my week.

1.  My cat takes selfies.  She's pretty good at it too.

"This is my good side"

2. I took my students Dumpster diving this week.  The trash situation in Washington is amazing.  Of the six or so sites we visited, they were organized, clean, and had recycling for plastic, paper and aluminum.  Not anything like what I saw when doing this in Oklahoma.

3. I gave an assignment for my students to go outside of their comfort zone and try something they have never done before.  I gave a list of 20 or so suggestions. Two of the males in my classes chose to go try on women's clothing and not explain if they were asked.  I am proud of them for choosing to challenge ideas of gender and masculinity. Both reported it being an uncomfortable experience, but worth it.

Not my actual student

4. We went hiking yesterday and really enjoyed it.  For once, the wind wasn't up and the sun was.  It was a beautiful, bright, clear fall day.  We scared up a couple covey of quail (say that twice fast!), and a few little snakes by the marshy areas, and found a hornet's nest.  I loved it- beautiful day and hours of visiting with G. Ellensburg is a wonderful compromise for us; G gets a city and I get away from people by walking 15 minutes in any direction.

Nobody was home

The trails here are well managed.

5. Confession: I put off my grading all weekend and now I have to spend my afternoon grading. Wah! Fortunately, I will have help and inspiration from the usual suspect.

She finds your grammar...lacking. 

There you have it. Hope you had a good weekend and week.  I'm also excited that my niece, who just started college a few weeks ago, has moved out on her own.  I'm a proud auntie, even though she thinks English is her worst subject. <3 br="" nbsp="">

10 Things I Love About My Job

Love! 

For the greater part of my life, I have taken jobs that I don't necessarily like or enjoy. Sometimes I have had unpleasant conditions, coworkers or safety challenges.  I've worked in the public school system, prison system, and in bars, hotels and offices.
Sometimes, my job wore me down. I once was a part-time, midnight to 8 waitress in a diner.  The morning shift, of 3 waitresses, never trained me but would actively look for things to criticize me over. I would come from my first job to my second, work all night waiting on drunks and fun college-age kids hanging out and having a good time, and in the morning face the barrage of insults from middle aged women who didn't like the way I cleaned the bathroom. It wasn't the physical ache, but the psychological fatigue that made me quit. As it turns out, those ladies were right- I couldn't handle it.
Sometimes, I just wasn't safe and couldn't count on anyone. On my first day teaching at a men's prison, the lieutenant warned me that if I was ever taken hostage, nobody would negotiate for me and I'd probably be raped and killed. What's more, the security officers didn't really have my back. I relied, ironically, on the inmates for protection.
Sometimes my job made me sick. I taught in a public school in a poor neighborhood. Because of known and posted dust, mold and asbestos compounded by construction during school hours, I had bronchitis for almost 10 months straight. But at least I loved the job that I did (once I was allowed to actually do that).

That pretty much brings us to today. Let's face it: any job where I'm not in any particular danger of being shot at, stabbed, physically intimidated or used in some fashion is a good job to me. I happen to think my job is pretty awesome, which leads me to

10 Things I Love About My Job

1. My co-workers.  I love the people I work with. Every single one has chosen this profession to help people and to be a good person. We all keep our eyes on the prize.  I work with vegans, chicken farmers, people of varied gender expressions and their attitudes are all the same: to build up others. I love this aspect. There are at any given time, 3-7 other women in our office and we all get along. No drama. No bullshit. No intrigue! Really cordial and professional. And they are also competent in their jobs.
2. Location. We are in the Pacific Northwest (USA).  It's less than 2 hours to Seattle, 4 to Portland, 3 to Spokane and 4 to Vancouver, BC. What more could a wanderer want?
3. I get to help people. 'Nuff said.
4. I'm using my actual education and experience to do that. This is a real luxury.
5. I get appreciation for what I do. My boss wrote me a letter telling me what a good job I'm doing. I've been a keynote speaker this last year and I get invited to neat committees.
6. I know people here.  I love that our campus (only 10k students) is a community and that I have been invited to be a part of that.
7. Safety.  It's safe enough here to leave your house unlocked. We lock ours but the only real danger is that some drunk will wander in off the street at 2 a.m. and crash on the couch.
8. Campus is beautiful and close-by. I live a mile from my office and walk to work almost every day. I stop frequently to take pictures of flowers and trees and season fruits that grow on campus. There is even a creek that's part of my morning "commute".  We save a lot of money on gas and only have one car. We really only need one car.
9. Autonomy. I get to set my own hours. I work a lot, but if I have a doctor or hair appointment, it's not a big deal. I get a lot of work done and if I need to, I can work from home. I get to think and put those thoughts into action. I'm accountable, but I have leeway.
10. My best friend is doing this with me. None of those other things would matter as much without G. He made all of this possible, really. I wake up happy in the morning and think about the life we live together. It's good. He helps me do my job too.  He proofreads stuff for me, gives me advice and helped me write a grant proposal in May. We work well together and I like the way he thinks. On Fridays we have lunch together too.

Have a great week!

Everyday Housewife

Much of my adult life has been spent in search of an in maintaing a semblence of normality.  When I was younger, life life was chaotic. Chaotic childhood, chaotic adolescence and the shifting sands of moving and settling in and moving again.  Somehow I managed to maintain a few friendships and I decided in 6th grade that I didn't really need to make anymore new friends since the new town we'd moved to was probably a stopping place anyway.  Except that I spent the next 8 years there. Shoulda made more friends.

My daily routine when I was 22 and living in Port Angeles, Washington revolved around work and my social life. I'd get up around 9, go jogging probably twice a week, get a shower and go to coffee.  I had learned to make friends again by then. My little group hung out at Pete's Pancake House (it's now a glassblowing shop) and we'd chain smoke, sip coffee, order breakfast or french fries and talk forever.  Nobody had cell phones. It was 1994. I'd go to work at 3 and get off at 11 at the local Red Lion Hotel. There were days for laundry, days for driving my 77 Thunderbird across the state to see my mom and grandparents, occasional days for dates and lots of comforting friendships.  There was a lot of rain. I also lived by The General Store in PA, and often went to the little coffee stand out front for a 4-shot latte. Those were good times and lean times, sometimes filled with sun but often fraught with worry and care.

When I was 32, I lived in Norman, Oklahoma.  My life was consumed with school and work. I'd get up at 8 and be to work at OU by 9, edit, read drafts and give fellow graduate students advice on their papers, take some healthy piece of food with me and a protein bar.  I rode my bicycle everywhere and lived in a small 4-plex just three blocks north of campus.  I ran 5 miles several times a week and had a jogging buddy.  On Sundays, I would go jogging, drive the 127 miles to Tulsa and work out at my dojo, then teach a yoga class there, then drive home.  I would often be up until 3 a.m.  There was a small group of animals that regularly visited my house at night- six cats, an opossum and a small skunk.  I fed them.  My life was exhausting, and I struggled to find meaning and my place in the world.  My ex-husband drove by my house every day for years-hence the jogging buddy and the dojo. I felt haunted.

Now I'm looking at 40 next month. I walk to work every day that I possibly can.  I don't drive much anymore and our family only has one car. We don't need two. I'm married- still newly so- and we live in Washington. Life is simple. I teach and do research. It's cold in the winters and so far, it feels like it will warm up for spring and summer. Grey keeps us healthy and does a lot of the cooking. After work, I walk home and we go work out at "The Gym" down the street. They're nice people. On weekends, we go to Seattle, we stay home, we visit small towns nearby.  It's a good life. It's not where I thought I'd end up when I graduated from high school over 20 years ago.  I'm not sure that we've actually "ended up" yet. I just can't predict how life will go.

I used to think this would be me: Married to Glen Campbell. 

Just kidding. I thought I'd make a good housewife, that I'd settle, that I would somehow be noble.
Turns out I'm not that.

I was, for a time, this.

Now, I'm this.

Have a good weekend.  The farmer's market starts back up on Saturday, so you know where to find me.

Take That, Claire Danes!

When I was in junior high, Moonlighting was popular on television.  My hair hadn't darkened yet and my peers often called me Cybil Shepard, the lead actress.  Several years ago, I was likened to Claire Danes from her role in "Shopgirl", with Steve Martin.  I can live with that.

I was invited to give a keynote address for a conference in March at Central Washington University. The theme is "Innovation".  I hadn't met anyone on the committee. They asked if I would attend one of the meetings, so this morning, I showed up on time and was the first person there.  As people filtered into the room, I spoke to a few of them.  Nice people; we talked about the campus, life in Ellensburg and assorted other stuff.

Then one of them asked, "So what is your name, then?"
"My name is Mindie."  I use my first name for professional stuff.
A few eyebrows went up.
"Is something wrong?
"No!" said the blonde lady who was apparently the chair of the committee. "We were just, expecting someone....."
I'm thinking rapidly at this point- someone smarter? Someone more academic looking? Someone who doesn't look like a hobo walking in off of the street?
"... much older." 

Oh.

"Oh."
"Don't get me wrong," said the thin woman to her right, "I'm so pleased to have you as our speaker. It's just that you've done a lot of stuff." She seemed really flustered. There was a murmur from the other people in the room. 
"I'm 40." I'm actually 39, but I'll be 40 in a few months. There was a moment where two of the committee members seemed on the verge of spitting out a denial, a refutation, but at the last moment looked at each other and closed their mouths.
"You look so young!"
"Thank you."

This went on for half a minute. I was beginning to get uncomfortable with the attention.  After all, it's sort of an American thing to equate looks with success. We moved on to other topics- defining innovation, discussing approaches for the workshops and the roundtable I will facilitate- and I told them a few stories.

It's flattering that people sometimes think I am younger than I am.  In this case, it was really awkward.  Ok, flattering *and* awkward.  If I am going to be known for anything in this world, I want to be known for the stories I tell about my family, my students, my friends. I want to be known as a good teacher or friend.  Those are the things that will last. 

Where was I going with this? Oh yeah.

I get to give a keynote address!  At a conference addressing innovative ideas. How hard does that rock?!

And hello! There are worse things than being mistaken for a twenty-something. Take that, Claire Danes!

Tomorrow and Tomorrow

I'm just a 12 year old white kid, walking down a gravel driveway, picking apples and dreaming of what my life will be like one day when I get a job or get married or have kids. It's hot and the sky is blue, blue, blue and life is simple and filled with canned food, deer and elk meat and boots and jeans. I'm a wildflower; my great-grandpa told me so. A wild rose, vibrant and defiant growing out of rimrock on the hillside.  Snakes bother me and so do ticks but not much else in the world. It's wide open.

I am 27 and living in a nice suburban neighborhood. I have a job but mostly am a student. I spend my entire spring break reading a series of seven books, one for each day. I used to be so happy to be married, to not need for anything and to have a closet full of nice clothes. My life is far from the backroads of the North Touchet river. It is never quiet and the neighbors are all alike.  I am lost. I am alike.  I plant roses and strawberries and eventually a garden and some trees but there is not enough to do, enough to keep my mind off of the idea that I do not belong and that I may never fit in.  I want more. I want something real. I look out the big picture window and feel narrow.

I am 35 and have been divorced for five years.  I live on the second floor of an apartment building with my cat and have one friend who I see all the time. I teach in a prison and see injustice as a way of life. I see the broken system, the poor punished disproportionately, the mentally ill incarcerated instead of helped.  I visit my grandparents often because they are very old by now and are not long for this world. My beloved great uncle dies, and I am honored to speak at his funeral. I am a raw vegan except for hot, burning coffee.  I hate being stared at every day at the prison. I hate the rumors. My grandma talks to me some months later since I am thin and tired and drinking way too much alone in my apartment. "Go home, to Oklahoma, where people love you." I move, return to graduate school and both of my grandparents die.

Tomorrow, I defend my dissertation. I still have my cat. Four white men and one white woman will vote and I will be magically transformed into a doctor of philosophy.  I do not know how one goes to sleep one night as a regular person and suddenly becomes something else the next day.  I am dragging my feet on revisions, writing blog posts and putting off doing my real work until now.  I do not want it to be over. I did this so that people would be more obliged to listen when I talk to them about injustice and suffering. I want to help. I want to be the change, as they say.  Now people might actually listen (because of a stupid credential? Really?) and I am not certain I have anything worthwhile to say. I am still a wild flower, but older, wiser and slower to speak. I pick my way down the hillside into the wide, wide world and never take my eyes off of the sky.