December 9
Daily life is improved with naps. And music.
1964
Oh, another run-in with Mr. W. It wasn’t his fault, though. I think deep down he’s really insecure. I just found out that something happened in Mrs. C’s family - a death I suppose - and she won’t be in tomorrow. I hope we have a good substitute.I got a 95% on a chapter quiz in Geometry - not bad, huh? Mrs. P said she was really proud of us in that play. I’m glad she was, because I wasn’t! Sometimes I feel so awkward and ugly and stupid, it’s awful!
Comment 2022
So many exclamation points!!! And so many underlined words! The downside of keeping a diary as a teenager is that it works as a daily reminder of how alternately boring and terrible your life is. Every now and then, you sit on your bed in your pjs lamenting the limited space of the page, because it was such a great day and there’s no enough room to give it justice. But more often than not, it was a day like December 9, 1964, that included something in English class that was so embarrassing that I couldn’t even describe it, a good mark on a quiz, and beneath it all, the smoldering shame of yesterday’s Julius Caesar fiasco.
I should add that whatever it was that happened in English class, it probably was Mr. W’s fault. He was a cranky, sarcastic, temperamental SOB who amused himself by going through girls’ handbags in front of the whole class and pretending to be embarrassed when he found tampons.
Comment 2024
Once he was no longer in need of the draft deferment, he quit and went into real estate. Good riddance.
1981
The plan continues to work well enough. I’ve been very tired lately and writing has been difficult. Yesterday I came home early and took a short nap. I don’t seem to be getting bigger right now - or maybe just in very tiny increments. It’s so strange. I guess I expected to grow steadily, not in spurts. Yet in the 10th and 11th weeks I became noticeably rounder. Since then, nothing for a couple of weeks. I still don’t look pregnant. (Maybe thanks to last year’s exercise?)
We got a Rubik’s cube to play with and have been beating our brains out with it. That man deserves every cent he earns. It’s a marvelous puzzle.
1984
On the one hand, I have a real icky naggy headache drilling away at me. On the other hand, it’s a pleasant Sunday, Jim and Kiddo are outside, and I have a strong desire to…I don’t know what. Not listen to this music, which is fun (Raffi) but too lively. I need maybe five minutes of PEACE. If I only knew how.
Comment 2024
Raffi! One of the benefits of parenting in the 1980s.
1986
Yesterday was Kiddo 2’s due date. Another early kid. I am just as glad to have missed it again. It amazes me how much better I feel this time. It hasn’t even been three weeks and already I’ve been back on campus four days (off and on). Physically, I feel so much better than I did the last weeks of my pregnancy. The tiredness is still there, and will be there as long as I’m getting up 2 or 3 times a night. But a daily nap - and not overdoing it - helps a lot.
The weather alternates between fairly pleasant and cold and drippy. A winter baby, I’m finding out, is an inconvenience at times. Getting Kiddo 1 to school is the worst. It’s impossible to get her there before 9 a.m., hard as I try. And what happens when Kiddo 2 is sick? (Not “if” - it will happen.)
Last night I went in to say good night to Kiddo 1 and she said, “Mommy, I wish I could kiss and hug you forever”. Warm magic.
1990
How do we get out of this hateful loop of anger and frustration? I had a very long talk with the department chair on Friday and a shorter talk with another professor. They could teach me a lot about this campus. I am no longer sure who to believe about the dean/department chair conflict. My feeling is that the reality is halfway between what each is saying. The chair is honest, but too apt to base her opinions on hearsay and rumor, listening to provocateurs. She doesn’t always accurately remember what I had said to her. The dean, on the other hand, seems to sincerely want to help solve the department conflict. But she has told me one thing will happen, and then done something else. So can I trust her?
1997
Christmas letter to myself.
I have had an amazingly good year, considering its terrible potential. Kids’ school troubles, Jim totaled the car, I had to get FIVE crowns, being buried under administration stuff at work, topped off in June with Mom’s death. And that was just the first six months.
On the other hand, Kiddo 1 is discovering and developing her musical talents. Mom’s car solved the transportation problems. My teeth don’t hurt anymore. My time in the administrative barrel ended (yay!). I have felt creative again for the first time in forever.
It is a minor miracle that I am sitting here in my sweats at 10 a.m., with my journal and scented candle. Aaaaaaaaah.
1998
It has finally gotten cool again, after two weeks of crazy, warm weather. We had a long soaking rain for the last 36 hours. Christmas looms. My thoughts fly everywhere, a sure sign that my circuits are overloaded. My mind is bouncing. Phone calls. Spring Retreat planning. Exercise. Dessert for the campus UUs. Cleaning out the fridge. Boing boing boing.AMST 212. Argh!
But it is a fine sunny day and the tin whistle CD is filling me with energy and optimism.
Comment 2024
Ah, another fine musical memory: Joanie Madden of Cherish the Ladies! There is nothing like the joy of playing music while people dance!
2002
Another day best described as full, but not focused. Four meetings with undergrads, from 10 minutes to an hour and 10 minutes, each seeking something different. One was particularly interesting: an interview about my religious history and current beliefs, for a class project. Another was kind of funny, with a student from AMST 201S who was having trouble with his project website. The problem turned out to be that I had forgotten to create one. (Ahem…) The other two were just routine (things to sign). I also had a short but productive talk with the department chair about going up for promotion. The gist of it that it would be a good thing and he is willing to help me do it.
The problem is that my scholarly work since my last promotion (1987!) has been unorthodox. I have done a bit of traditional scholarship: costume stuff, then a long break, and recently some pedagogical articles, with more on the way. I have taken a leadership role in creating and transforming several courses with new technologies, active learning, and service-learning. The campus may be ready to consider untraditional productivity, but a book or two would still be better. Hmmf.
Comment 2024
So I wrote two books and got promoted, nearly thirty years “late”.
2005
My second snow day in a week, and it is only December 9. But then I remember there was a year when we only had snow in late fall and early spring.
I have been taking it easy this morning, thinking and web browsing. I have a lot of planning to do in January, some really exciting projects. I am both leery and excited about working with the literacy council board. I can already see what some of the problems are. One interesting discovery is that a very vocal UM staff members also on the board. I know her from the Campus Senate; like V, she is a regular at the mic. She takes herself very seriously, in her role representing her constituency.
One thing I am noticing this morning is how lovely and toasty my feet are, despite the below freezing temps outside and the 66 degree inside temperature. I love my fleece socks and boiled wool slippers!