3.3.2009: Girl Talk

There's just nothing like good girlfriends. I don't know if guys have an equivalent, or if they even need one, but I love having a network of girls to go to for advice or support or laughs. Tuesday morning started with an early coffee with a dear friend who just found out that a monumental struggle in her family's life was over - her husband got a fellowship in DC and they are moving. They have both been in grad school and had two babies and she has been working three jobs, so the idea of having a stable income and time for her dissertation brought us both to tears. We had such a great talk about love and marriage and our own hopes and dreams. How lucky I am to have a friend like that. And she's not the only one. Holy smokes, I am blessed.

3.2.2009: Compliments From A Stranger

I just got an email from a TA who I don't know saying that she overheard two students talking about my class and singing its praises. What a way to start the week! (And I wonder if she would have emailed me if they had been cursing my name :).

3.1.2009: New Friends

After a morning flight and afternoon nap, Will and I met up with friends of his for a couple of drinks at my favorite pub in Madison and had the best time. I knew them both from before in convoluted ways and had wanted to hang out more - we all laughed so hard and had so much fun that we decided to make it a regular Sunday night thing. When, oh when, am I ever going to work on my prelims? For better or worse, I don't really care - this is what life is all about and those darn questions will get done at some point.

2.28.2009: Presenting...

Our presentation went well, though it was the very last session at the very end of the very last day so you can imagine how fired up and attentive our audience was. We shared the billing with two other papers, one that was quite interesting and one that was totally odd. By the end of the weekend, I didn't really care... it doesn't take long for me to be conferenced out. I'm grateful that I'm only signed up for two of these suckers this year.

2.27.2009: Philly's Finest

After chivalrously getting dropped off at the airport at the crack of dawn, I napped all the way to Philly to gear up for a weekend at the Ethnography Forum. My paper partners were on board with skipping Friday's sessions to enjoy an afternoon at the Anthropology Museum (fascinating!) and a tour of Philly from a hometown friend (Liberty Bell! Independence Hall! sprawling oil refineries!). I decided at the last minute to go and was glad that I did.

photos of Philly and Min, one of my co-presenters

2.26.2009: Ladies' Night

A bunch of girls from school decided to meet up for happy hour at Genna's on Thursday for a couple of drinks. It was rainy and gray and I decided to head over there early to see if I couldn't get some studying done. Luckily, the bartender dug up some tea for me and got quite a bit of work done as I sat amidst a sea of bikers who descended on the capitol to lobby for cycle laws. At 4, my friends arrived and the tea turned to hot toddies. It was a great afternoon that finished up with Will stopping by to hang out for a bit. It was quite a cozy way to spend an oddly rainy winter afternoon.

2.25.2009: Phone Dates

I've been very lucky in my life to make wonderful friends from all over... such far-flungness makes it difficult, though, to stay in touch as much as I would like. One of my favorite people from working in St.Charles is my dear friend Naomi who moved away about the same time I did to her husband's family's farm in northern Minnesota. Their three kids are so adorable and I hate missing out on their childhoods, especially since I hung out with Isabel, their oldest, every day that she was in the womb and for her first year. Naomi was one of the greatest friends I could have had in Minnesota and I miss her a lot - our schedules are quite mismatched, however, so we have to schedule phone dates. Wednesday was our last one and we caught up on so much... even though we only see each other once a year, every phone date feels like no time has passed at all.


This is Isabel, taken four years ago during the last few months I lived in Minnesota. Could she be any cuter???