Because.

I went to DC for less than 24 hours and I saw my friend Pitchy (she was there for a conference). It did me such a world of good to see her.  I've missed her heaps.
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The me and him love song.

PS We did exchange rings a while ago.
© Copyright by author 2008-2012. All rights reserved.

Huh.

I don't want to jinx myself but . . . if I finish this writing assignment and it is published then I will have published in a medical journal, a law journal, and a social work journal, in addition to criminology and sociology journals.  I'm oddly proud of this.  Though "publishing" and "being relevant" are two different things.

© Copyright by author 2008-2012. All rights reserved.

LIvin' on a ukelele and a prayer.

There was an article in the New York Times about learning music with on-line instruction and it included a link to this  YouTube video of Matt Dahlberg, 22, a community college student.  I thought it was so beautiful that I have listened to it and watched this video every day ever since. I love the music, but I also love this young man's expressiveness.

I showed this clip to my students yesterday. I told them it had nothing to do with the class (though we found a way to connect it), and everything to do with feeling calm.

© Copyright by author 2008-2012. All rights reserved.

Life with kale and ukeleles.

Jessi's been visiting (she's en route South Africa) and that has been lovely.  We kicked around Spanish Harlem and ate birthday cake in Harlem and went to a ukelele thing in Brooklyn with Fury and Melissa.

Friday, I went to onco for my shoulder/neck issues. It was supposed to be a 30 minute visit but wound up being 2.5 hours. I saw a pain specialist. Dr. S. also inserted fine needles into my neck in an attempt to reduce inflammation. I'm signed up for twice a week physical therapy. It's kind of daunting. I don't have time for this stuff but I'm afraid of what will happen if I ignore it.  Saw Ri, Rich and the girls that night which was special as always.

Somehow I finished one syllabus (classes start tomorrow).  I observed MLK Day by going to NAPW today and working on a medical journal article Lynn and I are writing.  Came home to eat lentils Pierre had prepared. I'm a'fixin' to make me some kale chips like Jessi showed me how to make.

I don't know how I'm going to get it all done this year given the neck stuff, the three classes at two campuses stuff, the new prep stuff, the NAPW stuff, the "less time at the computer" stuff, the house hunt stuff...  Not the happiest time in my life.  But maybe one that, down the road, I will look back on with some sense of achievement.

© Copyright by author 2008-2012. All rights reserved.

Four years.

Four years ago, I went to dinner with Maria and her family. Came home and a few hours later found the lump that turned out to be cancer.  Today, like nearly every year, I'll join 'Ri for dinner, but plan to skip the "finding a lump" part.  I also see an oncologist today and will learn more about my neck.

© Copyright by author 2008-2012. All rights reserved.

NAPW Sunday.

Sunday morning, I went down to NAPW and Lynn and I worked on an article we hope to submit to a public health or medical journal. It was an excellent work session, the best I've had in months. We have exchanged drafts but yesterday we sat at the table and went through it together, sentence by sentence, hashing out phrasing, clarifying meaning, discussing examples.  I learn so much from Lynn.

Plus, it's always cool to be out and about on a Sunday morning. A city of millions and you can still be on your own.



© Copyright by author 2008-2012. All rights reserved.

Garage Band.

On Saturday, me and Pierre* went downtown to a class on Garage Band at the Guitar Center on 14th Street. I wasn't wild about going but said "okay" because I think it is better to date someone who says "Hey, I saw this workshop on recording music. Wanna check it out with me?" than "Here, honey. I bought you this heating pad and a therapy cane."**  So we went and it was cool. Maybe 35 people (maybe 5 or 6 women).  A NYC-mix of races and ethnicities.  Maybe 18-60 in terms of age.   Care to guess the race and gender of the person who would not shut up with the comments and the questions-that-are-not-really-questions? Yep.

Afterwards, we went upstairs to worship at the altar of amazing guitars.






* I know this is grammatically incorrect. There are outings that are "Pierre and I" and others that be for "me and Pierre."
** I own a heating pad, a hot water bottle, and a therapy cane. Chronic pain is a humbler.
© Copyright by author 2008-2012. All rights reserved.