Hello New Year

So, another blog post starts out with me saying how I've neglected this poor little thing, how I resolve to post more, how I am a writer and writers write, and blah blah blah.

Quelle Surprise.

Maybe I will post, maybe I won't. But I have family in New Zealand who wants to know what's up (Hello, Katie!), and friends in Alaska and in Portland who want their fingers on the pulse of Vermillion news, so I ought to be better. I also ought to take daily flossing much more seriously.

The year has started out nicely. I've been eating stupidly well and keeping my commitment to the gym (again, ye olde 30th birthday looms), so I feel healthy. I've also shoveled the gd driveway 3 times in the past 24 hours, which is awesome.

My semester begins on Thursday. I'm halfway to pool time, baby. Doing some lit, some basic writing, and some business writing this semester. My eyebrows are waxed, my oil is changed, and my first day teaching outfit is all picked out. I don't feel the dread or the urgency of the new semester start yet, but I suppose that will come Wednesday evening.

B and I will celebrate 6 years this weekend. I was just on Allegiant Air, looking for a long-weekend trip to Phoenix or Vegas with which to surprise her, but I'm a little late on the draw (quelle surprise again). A weekend in Omaha sounds nice, but it's, like, cold there? And there's, like, lotsa snow? And, like, it's cold with lots of snow here, too? So, we might just stay home and do a little Sioux City-ing. A little movie-watching, prolly some wine-drinking.

Speaking of B, these are the words I said to my parents at 8 pm on Dec. 29, 2010:

I've been wanting to talk to you about this for a long time, but I didn't know how because I have been very, very scared. But, I want you to know me fully and be part of every part of my life.

So, I need you to know that the woman I live with, B, is not my roommate. I consider her my partner and we have a very happy, healthy life together.

If you want to talk about it, we can. If you want to ignore it, you can. If you want me to leave, I will. I just couldn't keep this from you any longer because me not saying anything has created too much distance between us and I love you guys too much to continue that distance.

Of course, it wasn't nearly as eloquent and was accompanied by stammering and many large hand gestures on my part, but I did it. I felt ready and safe and secure and I did it. Do I wish I could have found the courage much earlier? Absolutely. But, it's done and my parents were wonderful and loving and supportive. I knew I had good parents -- I knew that. But now, I am overwhelmed with love and respect for them. They rock.

So, I got the job, the house, the girl, the family, the friends, and the retirement account. Livin' the Dream.

The "I'd Sure Like To" Edition

I'd sure like to join the local credit union. (Wells Fargo, you are sucking the soul out of my body. I don't really eat at McDonald's, I don't really shop at Wal-Mart, so why in the hell do I really bank with Wells Fargo?)


I'd sure like to cut back and cover my perennial gardens. (I think I will have time to do my annual fall yard clean-up this weekend. I think. I put back together our formerly flooded basement and cleaned the garage this weekend, so the yard is the last big outside thing I want to do before the snow flies.)


I'd sure like to check the mail and find a check from anyone. (I think this everytime I get the mail. Every. Time.)


I'd sure like to live on a beach in a cabin in Puerto Rico for 60 bucks a month. (I should make my Basic Writing studs find all the prepositional phrases in that sentence.)


I'd sure like to take a trip anywhere. (Anywhere. At all. Except NoDak.)

I'd sure like to go to Avenue Q in March at the SuFu Washington Pavilion. (This may actually happen. For realsies.)


I'd sure like to get rid of the pain in my right Achilles heel. (I've had this since Spring. Ay yi yi.)


I'd sure like to get My Antonia read. (Whenever I say this in my head, I always say it as My Aunt Tonia. Ha!)


I'd sure like to be the guest host of Saturday Night Live. (I've got some really fantastic ideas for sketches.)


I'd sure like to go back to bed. (Instead of teaching 6 hours and holding 5 hours of office hours and driving 2 hours today.)

Breaking News!

dooo dooo dooot dooo dooo doot!

I was gonnna maybe sorta kinda let this blog fade off into the distance. If you love something, let it go. Howev, Berkowitz over in the city needs to be kept abreast of Vermillion news. Berkowitz, this one's for you.

The summer passed quickly. My big-dreamin' plans for Arizona, the East Coast, the West Coast did not happen. I believe it was Steinbeck who said, "The best laid plans of a Midwesterner often stay home." I am torn between desperately wanting to go somewhere new and loving weekends in my little home, in my little town, riding my bike while I still can.

The big 3-Day walk has been over for almost a month now, though it seems years ago. It was an emotional, challenging, rewarding experience that I will never, ever do again. Probably. Again, thank you all for your support, both monetarily and emotionally. Wunnerful people, the lot of ya.

We're on the 3rd week of classes! Ay yi yi. Still kinda in love with my students this semester, though I did have to say to both sections of my 101 class this week, "I am not your mother." But, that's okay. Good students abound, though. Friendly, engaged, and I've come across some really excellent writers, especially on the dude end. Last week, I was so not into teaching or grading or lesson planning. I was whiny in my head nonstop. I'm over that now.

B's birthday was about a week ago, so I:

took her out for an insanely romantic dinner at Pro's. ;)
washed her car in the driveway.
will get her little crickets for her classroom toads every other Friday for as long as she needs them.

When summer was first here, I was all, "I have no summer clothes!" Now that fall is fast approaching, I am all, "I have no fall/winter clothes!" What kind of clothes, exactly, do I have?" Who knows? All I know is that I own a ridiculous amount of Nike shorts, goodwill tee shirts, and denim. Sigh.

Speaking of (denim?), after 4 years of loyalty to Heart and Soul, I did not renew my membership with them. I have taken up with that vixen across the street, Anytime Fitness. There, I can watch cable, CABLE!, whilst elliptical'ing or treadmill'ing. Also, they have branches in Fargo and back home (and everywhere else, really), so I can gym it up when I go a-visiting. I have this thing about wanting to be under a certain number by the the time ye olde thirtieth birthday rolls around, and that's in March. So, we'll see. I also like to eat a whole bunch.

In some sad work-related news, my Chair has accepted a new position (still here, thank God). She won't be my Chair anymore. I have never known the ENGL department, both as a student and now as a teacher, without her at the helm. She will be close by, though, and I am happy for her. Still, I am a bit bummed.

That seems to be all for now, so I am signing off.

Stay classy, San Diego.

Clam Up

I've been walking.

A lot.

I'm walking for an excellent reason, but I need to find some new routes. I've pert near walked every inch of Vermillion, so maybe it's time to take on Yankton?

Sioux City? Sioux Falls? Gayville?

I broke the 100 mile mark for training walks on Sunday, but I am still pretty nervous about the event.

Whenever I get news from back home, it's usually sad. Deaths, divorces, cancer, shootouts (yes. A shootout.), and this week was no different. A boy my brother's age died in his sleep. He was 33 (I suppose I can't really call him a boy, can I?) and, growing up, I was close friends with his sister, and thus, knew his family well. 33. My uncle Tom was 33 years old when he died in a skiing accident. I was 12 at the time and he seemed old. He was my uncle. He died in January, and I remember having to go to JC Penney's with my mom to get nice clothes for his funeral, and I remember being snotty and mopey and sad, and I remember how I couldn't believe my mom had shopping on her mind. Now, as an adult close to 30, I can't imagine dragging 3 kids to the mall to get a decent shirt for my brother's funeral. I can't imagine losing a brother who was only 33 years old. News from home makes me sad.

Summer is here. Summer is summer. It's been cold and stormy and rainy and damp and humid. We get a few breaks when the sun emerges, and this is heaven. Household projects abound. I finally have some time to do all the things that need doing. Lots of organizing and cleaning and purging of stuff. I'm setting up an office in one of the spare rooms, and the auction circuit I've made the rounds on have been rewarding. Yesterday, I came home with a gorgeous, finished, walnut desk. It's circa 1950s and I got it for 35 bucks. I am happy as a clam.

I need to do some writing. Some poetry and whatnot. I haven't written much lately, or at all, or for a long time, but, recently, some ideas have been buoyant and persisting, so I will not mess with fate.

I saw a garter snake yesterday. This does not make me happy as a clam.

The Month of May

Last week, I posted the last section of grades.

So far, all of the grades have been posted for:

14 days,
12 days, and
9 days.

No e-mails from indignant students. No complaining, no snarkiness, no confusion. Well, at least none directed at me. I no longer cringe and squint when I sign into my e-mail account. I breathe easier every day.

As most any educator will agree, grading is the worst part of teaching. And not even grading in the sense of writing comments for revision and guidance, but slapping a letter grade on a final draft. Sometimes, though, certain students make it very, very easy to slap grades around.

I've had several full days now of not being in the classroom. It's been a bit quiet. And when it's quiet, I think. So, much to your delight, I'm totally in my head and tangled up in feelings of worth (and worthlessness) in the classroom. I second guess, I wonder if I should take a career where I get to leave work and truly leave it until the next morning, I worry and fret and rationalize.

But that's kinda lame. Here's the short version: if you come into my classroom, and you are at least over the age of 22, and you've at least held some sort of service job, and you at least know you want more out of your life, and you at least want to think and analyze and debate and argue and laugh and speak, and you at least want to confront, defend, or become aware of your own ideas of all the -isms, (right, Lennon?) then I'm the teacher for you.

This will be the last post for awhile about teaching. I'm now in summer vacay mode. I'm going to do some writing, lots of walking, immeasurable amounts of swimming and laying out at the pool, ridiculous pages of reading, and perhaps I'll find time to squeeze in some class prep work. Perhaps.

In other news:
I had lunch with 2 fav ladies.
I scored big at an auction in town.
I planted all my annuals in my funky pots.
I just got back from my 5 mile walk.
I ate some chocolate from New Zealand.

A super fab day, indeed.

My 301st post.

The end of the fourth full year of teaching.

Bor- ring.

I've only one more section of final essay exams to grade, and then I am done with the teaching and the grading for a solid few months. I would write that I am done with the lesson planning, but I get to teach a new class in the fall, a survey class, an American Lit II survey class! I check my class roster for this survey almost compulsively and am pleased to see many of my oldie, but goodie, studs on it. It should make for a really fab group.

So, why haven't I graded that last stack yet? Well, to be honest, I kinda just don't have the ambition to do so. I took all day yesterday off from grading and then kinda forgot I wasn't really done, but also maybe don't care kinda. My other four sections have their grades entered, so maybe this is why I am so willy nilly and fancy-free. This is the first semester in history where my grading hasn't taken up every single day until the deadline. This is because of much better planning and scheduling on my part, as well as the lucky, much-needed break I got from 101 this entire year.

Overall, a tough teaching year, my toughest one yet. But, still, I left the classroom with accomplishment and satisfaction. The studs who wanted to learn, who were engaged, and who revised their little hearts out did very well. I taught them; they taught me.

Enough with the teaching talk, though. Even I am boring myself, which I thought was nearly impossible.

A cold snap this week. A few limbs of my bleeding hearts didn't make it, but the plants themselves are okay. We turned the heat back a few nights, as the thermostat read 58 degrees. Yowza.

B and I have settled, for the most part, back into domestic bliss. The house is clean and bright, the bed gets made every morning, the lawn and gardens are weeded and thriving, mostly, the dishes are done and put away, we are pleasant to be around once again.

B graduated on Saturday and it was lovely. The girl is racking up more degrees then I have fingers to count them on, but hopefully, her dedication and hard work will pay off big. Soon. A very exciting opportunity is on the horizon. Keep fingers crossed. Please and thank you.

One exciting thing: me and 3 Bffs from my younger college days have put together a team for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk for the Cure. I need to do some mega fundraising and training and am starting right now:

My Donation Page

I am excited, nervous, and excited. And nervous. :)

Headed to the farm this coming weekend. Prolly should grade that last stack before I go. Prolly should do it right now.

I've Done Everything in the World Today Except Grade.

I got a good workout in this morning. (I'm into Queer as Folk again, so I am watching it from the beginning. I do an episode whilst on the elliptical and am almost through Season 1. I love it.)

I biked to campus, renewed one library book, returned another, then met the Fry family for lunch at Viejo.

I biked home, put the dishwasher on and made the kitchen (floors and all!) sparkle.

I biked to Hy-Vee (with my reusable tote in tow, because I am so, so, so white) and bought cornbread mix, pineapple, and asparagus.

I biked home, changed lightbulbs all over the house, wiped down the bathroom, ironed my white skirt for work tomorrow, painted my toenails, and thought about vacuuming.

I have dinner all planned out: barbecue chicken, pineapple, and asparagus on the grill; cornbread in the oven. Oh yes I did.

I cannot think of much else to tackle today, so maybe I should grade? I've got a stack of 5,000 word business reports to go through. GD it. But, honestly, it's not so bad. I have 16 more to grade before Monday. And that's my only grading for the week. Quit complainin'.

I had super mucho plans for yardwork this weekend, but it's supposed to rain? Seriously, I have got to mow.

Since I've been blogging just now, I haven't been able to grade. That's a win-win.