July 23
And he kissed me goodnite. DOES HE MEAN IT?
1966
Went to a fiesta with Juan. Got back at 2:30. At first I got stuck with an A-1 creep. He asked me to dance and I couldn’t refuse. (Etiquette, bah! Humbug!) Instead of one dance, it stretched out to just about all of them. Juan danced with another girl and got stuck with her, too. So we danced.Me fighting UGLY the octopus and Juan keeping a respectful distance from Miss Flower Pot. Then…we danced.
I was never so happy in my life as I was when he finally took me to the dance floor. He held me close and once in a while kissed my neck. We danced some wild fast dances, and a Spanish dance. During that one, I got dizzy and when I told him, he kissed me on the cheek.
After the dance, we took his cousin home with us. She is BEAUTIFUL.
And he kissed me goodnite. DOES HE MEAN IT?
Comment 2023.
Comment, or cringe? Dear reader, you didn’t know where this was going, though you might have suspected. But I have known this day would come since I embarked on this project. Yes, that Juan (Juan #1, brother to Raul, my apartment mate). I leave Mexico on August 11, just about three weeks away.
It’s about to get more interesting and also more embarrassing. And that was just a goodnight kiss on the cheek!
1978
Marley and I have escaped from the air-conditioned discomfort of our apartment to my cool (if dull) office in Temporary UU. So far I’ve looked at pattern books, taken a nap on the floor, and now I am about to write some letters and otherwise amuse myself. Marley seems a bit bored, but at least she’s comfortable, snoozing on her big cushion that I brought from home.
I have written a nasty letter to the apartment management, in an attempt to get some action on the air-conditioning and deck situations.
If I could only learn to deal with hot weather! It feels so good in here right now, but I feel ashamed to be so weak. It’s too hot to anything today, but I feel funny doing nothing. TV no longer holds my interest for any great amount of time, and my eyes are frazzled from all the reading I’ve been doing. I could just sit at home and play lady of leisure, but I would go crazy inside of 2 hours.
One of my fabulous summer plans was making a winter coat, but I honestly can’t even think of it. At least I have finally dealt with the food problem. It’s amazing how difficult it can be to change old eating habits. It seemed impossible to think of more than a couple of dishes that didn’t require cooking.
1979
Plan for today:
Tidy bedroom
Phone calls
Valuation, dissertation proposal
Watch BlueAngel iron, proofread
Groceries
So the only thing I didn’t get to do was watch Blue Angel. What a drag! Those damn hearings on public television. I’ll bet Rashomon won’t be on tomorrow, either, or Brief Encounter on Thursday.
Comment 2023
How dare PBS preempt Marlene Dietrich for a senate hearing on “Military implications of the Treaty on the limitation of strategic offensive arms and protocol thereto (SALT II Treaty)”!!!!! I am so very sorry, Uncle Joel. All your hard work and I just want to watch old movies.
1984 (Norway)
I took some time out from my meeting for a visit to Frogner Park (too short!) and some time to think. I have to respond to Fern Hunt’s talk. Unfortunately, her talk was a definition of technology. How do I discuss a definition?
I am a historian. I study old technologies: how clothing and textiles were made in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. But I live at the end of the 20th century, at the edge of an urban area, in the middle of the middle class. We own one telephone, one air conditioner, two cars, one TV, three radios, one audio cassette player, one video cassette player, and one home computer. Also we have indoor plumbing, hot water, central heating and electricity (and a whole bunch of things that run on electricity). Is the “technology gap” also between the tools we take for granted and the ones we consider “technology”? So far the speakers seem to use “technology” as a synonym for “computers”.
Comment 2023
This was a conference of the International Federation of Home Economics, focusing on how technology could help developing countries. I led a session entitled “"Technology and Family Life”, and wanted to see if a historical perspective could help. The short answer was no.
1985
I am trying very hard to
Slow down, because the pressure is off for a while (classes, etc.)
Get more research done, because this next month before classes start is IT.
Are those goals in conflict? Not really…there’s a lot of stuff that can be put off until classes begin.
It is hard to discipline myself. A full, busy schedule “works” better for me; I like to feel “busy” all day. But a slow, deliberate schedule, with parts of it unhurried…well, that actually requires more will power. (Something I have never had much of.)
2016
Good day. Blazing hot, and humid. It’s going to be that way for a week, at least. I am finishing watching Mohabbatein, looking at the film debut of Aishwarya Rai with SRK. (Their “first date, for my blog series.) It is visually stunning; she is stunning, and very appealing. But there’s a sense of unreality about it. Maybe it’s SRK’s character, which is good and noble, the whole time. Unreal. He’s better in complex roles. Not unbelievably unreal, but too good to be true, almost Disney like. The movie is more about his relationship with Amitabh Bachchan, who plays Aish’s father. I know this was the real draw for many of the fans of this film. “Big B” was THE major star of the 70s and 80s, and this was his return to films after a long hiatus. Mohabbatein is ok, but not one I expect to re-watch a lot.
Comment 2023
Nor have I.
2002
A good morning. Woke naturally at about 6:15. I thought about going back to sleep, but I felt quite rested and decided I really wanted to get up. This new reading/writing corner is quite nice. I have my lap desk, my journal, my lamp, and my CD players. Lovely.
Today I’ll finish the WebtCT article and knock 5 items off my to-do list. The semester begins in just over a month. Time to act.
My mind is racing ahead but I worry that when I sit down at the computer I will just fritter away my time. I will check in tonight for a progress report.
Comment 2024
LOL. You know you won’t.
2023
Still hot in the summer in DC; just hotter. I made “summer crossover” pie this week: rhubarb, peaches, and blueberries. I am hiding from reporters who want me to explain pink. Again. The next emailed list of questions will be answered using ChatGP. F Barbie and the plastic horse she rode in on.