2.24.2009: Sunny WInter Days

Another day of procrastination (and a trip to the dentist who warned me about grinding my teeth when I'm stressed - as if I have a choice), but at least it's sunny and crisp outside. Sunny winter days are so beautiful - the leafless branches and crisp white snow against a bright blue sky are truly stunning. And the sunsets are not bad either.

2.23.2009: Himal Chuli.... Yum.

One of my all-time favorite restaurants ever (to the point where the owner's niece who works there says, "Hey, Kate!" whenever I come in) is Himal Chuli on State Street. My cousin's ex-girlfriend just moved to town and we met up to feast on dal and tarkari... oh, so good. I need to stop eating out, but it's so hard in a town like Madison with so many great spots! If you have the time, you don't have the money and when you have the money, you don't have the time - isn't that how it works? Sigh.

2.22.2009: Potluck Party

A bunch of us in my department have been working hard to organize ourselves and build a stronger sense of community... there are times when I want to quit and give up. I'm gone in a year or two anyway, right? And then there are other times where I remember why we started and have a great time enjoying the company of such wonderful people who I'm very lucky to study with. This Sunday, the group hosted a family-friendly potluck with Wii and a gym where the kids could run around. It was a great evening and definitely one of those good times.

My friend Edo with another friend's adorable baby with the longest legs ever.

2.21.2009: Water Works

My sis and bro-in-law came to visit this weekend and, as always, we had a blast. After a delicious breakfast and a few hours at the (free!) international fair downtown (capoiera, Gaelic a cappella, and African storytelling goodness), we came back to my place for another round of the classic game Water Works. Abbey managed to make the most complicated pipe system ever. How many T-pipes can one person have? She redeemed herself during a rousing game of Outburst where her knowledge of reptiles, golf accessories, and famous horses pulled her through.

2.20.2009: Natural Caffeine, Here I Come

After a great coffee this afternoon with a friend, I have come to the semi-tragic conclusion that I need to stop drinking coffee... at least slow things down a bit. I still need a pick-me-up around 2 every afternoon, so it looks like I'll have to rely on natural caffeine. Cue increased apple consumption! I ate this apple this afternoon - it was just so pretty, I had to take a picture. Not much is better than the perfect, crispy apple. I just hope it can substitute for soy capuccinos. Sigh.

2.19.2009: Scrabble Babble

I played Scrabble with a friend tonight who has never played Scrabble before. You heard me right. Never. Not once. It was like playing with an alien. It was also super fun and I almost lost once he got the hang of it. Next we'll amp things up by playing the version of Scrabble I would play with my mom where you can only play a word if it is a) not a real word and b) if your definition makes the other person laugh. An example would be a word that got played... "WARF": the sound a dog makes when puking; also, a character in the sequel to Spaceballs.

2.18.2009: Puddle Jumpers

I am grateful for my navy blue rubber rain boots today. (Yes, it is mid-February and I'm wearing rain boots which is also pretty cool.) I have never had galoshes before and always wanted a pair and now that I have them I love splashing around in puddles and worrying not a bit about wet socks or cold toes. Even if it means I have to wear them over tights and knee high wool socks, I will wear them. There is just something so satisfying about walking in a straight line through whatever comes your way... puddles, slush, mud. I'm like a walking Hummer.

2.17.2009: Run-Ins

Last night I stayed on campus working like the devil on my dissertation reading list (which is long and daunting). I'm most productive in a coffee shop, so I picked one that I rarely go to, got a capuccino and settled in. A couple of hours later, just as I was craving a break, two good friends I haven't seen in awhile walked in the door. It was so wonderful to run into them and have a great chat and a bit of gossip. Several hours later, I took one of the last buses home. To avoid the looney bins that come out of the woodwork after dark, I was waiting right by the bus sign when a bus pulled up. It wasn't my line, but the door opened and someone said, "Hey, Katy!" It was my former driver and friend James who drove the bus home whenever I worked late at the restaurant. We always had such good chats and, once he switched lines, I was sad to think I would never see him again. He stopped the bus, gave me a hug, and chatted for a bit before he had to continue down his route. It reminded me how great it is to be in a city where I can run into people I've met in all sorts of random ways... as anxious as I am to leave and be done with school, I really feel a part of this city.

2.16.2009: Rub a dub dub

I love baths. It's go time with my dissertation and nothing relaxes me before bed like a hot bath. I'm always extremely grateful for that super-hot-almost-burns-you water... it doesn't always come out of my faucet. Every so often, I get a lukewarm namby-pamby bath that just doesn't hit the spot. It reminds me of the summer I studied abroad in Russia and had to boil water in two tea kettles on the dorm kitchen stove. In a towel, I would trudge back to the bathroom, pour one tea kettle over me and scrub faster than I ever thought possible. The second tea kettle was to rinse. I actually got pretty good at rationing out the water just right, but seriously. I do not take that tub full of water for granted.

2.15.2009: Jam Band

I am lucky to have a lot of great friends, but few are as special as Ann and Erin, sisters I met at UNI where we bonded over not wanting to get stuck in a church retreat basement. Ann and her husband lost their 6-month son Luke over a year ago to a stroke. I think about them all the time and am so amazed at how their family has endured such a tragedy with faith and humor and love. They are amazing. It was especially fun to see them all this weekend where I saw Ann, her brother, their guitar teacher, and a harmonica player named T-Bone perform at a tiny bar behind a laundromat in Marion, Iowa. The place was packed with friends-turned-fans and we clapped and cheered them on like they were the Rolling Stones. Even Ann and Erin's mom got up to do a solo on the piano which, of course, made me think of Mom's C-F-G blues. I just had been talking with a friend about how great it would be if Americans spent more time singing and playing music together... I felt very lucky to be part of that circle of friends where you don't even have to know all the words to sing along.

2.14.2009: Gluten-Free Waffles

On Valentine's Day this year (a holiday that I have never cared about - not that I'm a Valentine scrooge... it just seems so cheesy), my sweetheart dad made me gluten-free waffles that were so delicious - and shaped like hearts. It was like a cross between a crepe and a waffle - topped with thinly diced apples and syrup, it was divine. What a treat!

2.13.2009: Home Sweet Home

It was good to finally get back to Des Moines after a six month interlude. I was definitely grateful for my tough little Corolla, though, once I got onto I-235 and entered a massive blizzard. Let's hear it for anti-lock brakes and heaters!

2.12.2009: Home-Cooked Meal

There's nothing better than having someone think you're an amazing cook even if the pot boils over, someone gets cut chopping onions, it takes 2 hours longer than expected, you bought the wrong cheese, and only have one dish. The key is to cook for someone who regularly eats mac and cheese out of the pan... anything looks good compared to that.

2.11.2009: Dinner With Friends

I've eaten dinner with friends the last two nights and I appreciate it so much. There are definitely certain times when I enjoy being alone, but meals are rarely one of them. It's just so nice to break bread with loved ones - everything is better... the cooking, the taste, the clean-up, the conversation (Lois never really has anything interesting to say, God bless her). Even if we're just eating take out on our laps, I would rather eat with than eat without friends.

2.10.2009: Sweet, Sweet Sleep

I am so grateful that my schedule allows for naps and odd hours. I have gotten about a total of 12 hours of sleep since Thursday and am hurting in my bones (but wouldn't trade those late nights for an extra minute of slumber). Today I'm finally starting to get back on track, but couldn't have done it without some serious naps. Luckily, I had enough energy to make it to a K'Naan concert in Madison which was amazing - alas, he wasn't "feeling it" and didn't play too long. I can't blame him - playing funky hip hop to a bunch of Midwestern white men has got to be tough. I highly recommend his music, though. He's a Somali refugee who lives in Canada now and his rhythms/melodies combine the best of jazz, soul, funk, rap, and African beats.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMwpVF58c2c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6t5l31IVkC4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQvNJvHSKPc&NR=1
and my favorite of the night: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBXsbgxp0MQ&feature=related

2.9.2009: Spring Fever!

It was raining today. In February. In Wisconsin. I love it. Fall used to be my favorite season and is still a close second, but spring has been taking the cake the last few years. There is just something in the air - something so exciting and filled with possibility. To splash through puddles in February (even though I know it's short-lived) gets me so excited for spring. I am especially grateful this year for my new rainboots. I've always wanted a pair and found cute navy blue galoshes at TJ Maxx. Bring it, rain clouds! I'm ready for you!

2.8.2009: Chinese Rice Balls

It was a beautiful full moon and my Chinese friends from school organized a party to celebrate the Chinese Lantern Festival. It is so fun to have friends from such different cultures who want to share their food and music and stories. The legend of this festival says that there used to be magical creatures in the sky and that humans shot one of the birds down. The emperor god was angry and promised to wipe the humans out in two years. His princess came to earth to warn them so they gathered an army, but realized they could never defeat the angel warriors, so they got crafty and made thousands of lanterns to make it look like the earth was on fire to the gods in heaven. The emperor god was fooled and never sent his soldiers to earth. If I ever get to China, I would love to go during the first full moon of the new year... it sounds like such a beautiful time! And gluten-free rice balls! What could be better?

2.7.2009: Quirky Sense of Humor

So, I've decided my favorite sense of humor is the quirky hypothetical imagination that gets increasingly ridiculous. My sister is perhaps the world's best connoisseur of this brand of humor. For years, she has left me strange little notes starting with "Picture this..." followed by the strangest situation you can imagine to see how hard we can make each other laugh. I had a great night with a new friend laughing so hard my cheeks hurt picturing what we would do if we could create movie montages in the real world. Bam! Montage! "Eye of the Tiger" would start playing, my house would get clean in a series of clips with a few funny moments/faces, and then I would stop the montage just as I was enjoying a bowl of ice cream. I am grateful, then, for those nights when you laugh so hard you cry and for finding people with similarly warped senses of humors and overactive imaginations.

2.6.2009: Happy Burf-Day

My birthday lingered on with more cards and phone calls - one of my favorites was from my nephew-cousin Nicholas who sang me a very articulate "Happy Burf-Day" song... and forgot who he was singing to. He also then asked me what I was doing for my birthday. "Going out with friends," I said. He said, "Dinner with friends - ooooooooooo" in total sincere amazement. Love it. I also got a couple of poems forwarded to me by an old family friend in honor of my birthday. They're both by ee cummings who is one of my favorite poets of all time... what a great gift.

since feeling is first

who pays any attention

to the syntax of things

will never wholly kiss you;

wholly to be a fool

while Spring is in the world

my blood approves,

and kisses are a far better fate

than wisdom

lady i swear by all flowers. Don't cry

—the best gesture of my brain is less than your eyelids' flutter which says

we are for each other: then

laugh, leaning back in my arms

for life's not a paragraph

And death i think is no parenthesis

__________________________________________________

let it go-the

smashed word broken

open vow or

the oath cracked length

wise-let it go it

was sworn to

go

let them go-the

truthful liars and

the false fair friends

and the boths and

neithers-you must let them go they

were born

to go

let all go-the

big small middling

tall bigger really

the biggest and all

things-let all go

dear

so comes love

2.5.2009: Birthday Bash

Whoa... I need to catch up! Obviously, it has been a whirlwind of a week if I haven't posted since Feb.4. My birthday was wonderful and my gratitude that day was for the tremendous well wishes from far-flung family and friends. I loved hearing from former students on Facebook, getting calls from family, and celebrating with friends new and old downtown. I felt so loved and so lucky. Who could ask for more?

This was my "VIP Bottle Service" champagne chiller - classy, eh? That's what you get when you come to the restaurant where you work for your birthday and are buddies with a wise-cracking bartender.

2.4.2009: Mentors

I could write about being grateful for a new episode of Lost every Wednesday, so I'll try to keep my fandom in check (but, seriously, what an amazing episode... Jin is alive?!! He knows Rousseau?!! Ben was pulling the strings?!! When will I learn!). I am very grateful for lunch today with one of my mentors - a super-smart, down-to-earth, funny, kind, generous woman who is a faculty member with an office across from mine. It's so refreshing to have someone who is several steps ahead of you look back and give you honest, forthright, direct advice about things that make me totally panicky and anxious. We had a lovely lunch in the sun and caught up on professional stuff and life (which is always more interesting). I'm very grateful to have someone like that to spend time with and bounce ideas off of and vent to when I'm feeling at my wit's end. I don't think I'd make it through grad school without that. In fact, when I think back through the different stages of my life thus far, I have been incredibly lucky to always have had amazing mentors who were patient and supportive with just enough dash of whoop ass when I needed it.

2.3.2009: Underdog Lasagna

I'm sitting in a coffee shop and looking forward to going home where I can indulge in the pan of lasagna I made last night. I was skeptical it would be any good... I had forgotten to buy ricotta cheese and had only one egg, so I scraped together some parmesan and mozarella, mixed it up with plain yogurt and dumped it on the rice noodles I found at the co-op in Milwaukee. Yogurt. In lasagna. What? I also used too much sauce at first so ran out of layers for the last round of noodles and tried to beef it up with as much spinach as I could cram in the middle. It shockingly ended up quite tasty and I'm making myself hungry just thinking about it.

2.2.2009: Metro Maiden

I love the bus. I'm so grateful that, as a university student, I get a pass that lets me ride for free... it may not always start and stop at the most convenient times, but it sure beats driving downtown looking (and paying) for parking. I stayed on campus much longer than expected today knowing I could grab the bus home and actually got quite a bit done for my class. Thanks, Metro!

2.1.2009: Support Group

Once again, time with my learning community was totally nourishing and inspiring. We had great speakers that challenged me to be a better teacher and lots of great moments where I laughed so hard my sides hurt. On my way home, I was talking with a friend who remarked on how refreshing it was to hear someone talk about their job in such a positive light. I agree. It is.

1.31.2009: Rise and Shine

I was so happy this morning when I woke up at 6am, showered, dressed for work, and came down from the hotel to find the sunrise already fading. Yes! Spring is on its way...

1.30.2009: Perkins Platter

So... I work in Janesville once a month and, nothing against Janesville, it is pretty boring after-hours. It's also painfully lacking in the gluten-free options. I've now eaten at Noodles so often that I get recognized by the same teenage boy who takes my order and the kid who hosts at the Mexican place knows my favorite table. That's it. I was delighted, then, to discover a Perkins near the mall where I could mix up the pad thai and tacos con carne asada with an egg and hashbrowns platter. I never thought I'd be so happy to see a Perkins.