Friday is Conspiracy Day

Sorry, B., that's the second title I've lifted from you in as many days. But this one's for a good reason. Check this out: NPR's All Things Considered Giant Spider Web in Texas story, Southeastern Social Cobweb Spider or just check out this creepy photo:



It's just one more piece of evidence that the animal and insect kingdoms are getting ready to revolt and exterminate homo sapiens. The behavior of the spiders in question (Long-jawed Orb Weavers) is normally not social, but in this case they have banded together to create an immense web that has trapped kabillions of mosquitoes from the nearby pond.

Definitely creepy. It warrants a new label.

Week One Wrap-up

Now that it's Friday, it's almost 5:00, and the week is behind me, I am able to sit down and say PHEW!

Despite all the negativity this week, there are some silver linings to be thankful for:

1. Mom's surgery went well and she is okay (as much as an 80 year old in her condition can be)
2. Both of my classes seem like good groups and I'm psyched for both of them.
3. I have enough work this semester to keep afloat.
4. We continue to have free cable!
5. My grand-nephew turned one!
6. Today is my mother-in-law's birthday!
7. I am loved and supported by many wonderful people.
8. The weather is divine.
9. I have time for writing this weekend.
10. Bizarro and I will have our weekly date at the Farmer's Market tomorrow!

I am looking forward to my schedule calming down and a routine being established soon.

I wanna thank B-Rock for helping me with the footage from Korea. B-Rock, you...well... rock.

A healthy shout out to all teachers and students who share in the agony of the first week of classes. May we all thrive this semester/quarter.

Finally, my condolences to B., whose Gramma passed away on Wednesday. Big cyberhugs, dude. You're in my thoughts.

Day of Suck

I'm borrowing B's title because it's very apt for this day. I have spent the entire day trying to figure out the problem with getting my computer verified at Out of Town University. I've talked/communicated with three different computer services people who all had different stories, and one of whose stories changes by the hour. My computer has to be "verified" before I can hook it up to a classroom Elmo or use wireless so I don't infect the campus with a virus. I finally got the stinking scan downloaded and it says I need McAffee Virex. IT'S A FUCKING MAC, PEOPLE! But when I try to download it from their stupid f'ing website, nothing happens. I am frustrated as hell because my lesson plan tomorrow is all about the computer and demos for stuff my students need to do online. I'm pissed as hell.

Oh, and just a few minutes ago I was informed why all the other problems with being "in the system" and getting my ID and all that shit have been lingering: some asshole spelled my name wrong! Probably the idiot department secretary who couldn't even get me a mailbox made up before she left for her extended trip to Rochester.

Jeezus Krist I've really had it. I don't even WANT to show up tomorrow.

And another thing...

One more way I don't exist at my new job: I have no mailbox in our department's office.

I'd like to know what exactly the department secretary DID last week. She sure as hell wasn't getting any of my stuff ready. How convenient that she's taken off 4 days this week - the first week of classes - to take her son to college. He's only going to University of Rochester, which is only 2-3 hours away. It's not like she had to drive him to Texas.

I'm still not able to get on Blackboard, AND when I try to "verify" my laptop with their stupid computer technology services website, it won't let me. I'm supposed to use it in class tomorrow and I can't if it's not verified. Which is a fucking joke because it's a Mac and there are no virus threats, anyway!

I am so not enjoying this.

Are YOU in the System?

Today was my second day at Out of Town University, and my first day teaching. Class was a breeze. How could it not be, as all we do on the first day are fun ice breakers and reading the syllabus?

What isn't so much fun is the red tape that has kept me from getting an ID and being enrolled on Blackboard (online courseware). On Friday when I was there, I was told I couldn't get my photo ID because I wasn't "in the system." Then yesterday I received an email from our department secretary assuring me that I am now, in fact, "in the system." But today I was told I can't get my ID until tomorrow because even though I'm now "in the system" that information doesn't roll over to the various other systems and computer banks of import. In reality, I won't get my ID until next week because this Thursday is mom's surgery and I won't be hanging around campus after I teach class.

The other snafu that leads me to believe I'm not a real person is the absence of office keys, a computer and even a phone in the office I share with another adjunct. The keys will be here soon, I'm told. But we have no phone and no computer! AND we're supposed to have students turn their papers in electronically (through Blackboard)! We're expected to go to the library and print off their papers there. Can you believe that? It's worse than being a grad T.A. Hell at least we had computers and phones in our offices, even if we did share them with 4 people. Oh, and also, there was a mix-up and now I have 19 students instead of 18. In a writing class.

My office is in the basement, of course, with no window, so I plan on bringing in a lamp with a full-spectrum bulb. I detest overhead florescent lighting.

I'm feeling slightly more comfortable with the drive. Not quite so pissed off. Trying to make the best of this semester and get out of it what I can.

I still have a few things to prepare for both classes I'm teaching, but I'm also starting to feel more at ease with what I'm doing. I hope PMP is also starting to feel more at ease with the new semester!

What is bad sci fi?

Recently I got into a nit-picking contest with my nephew about the movie "300" (fantasy/comic book adaptation). He loved it, I pronounced it "craptastic." He seemed to take slight at my comment, though it wasn't meant as an insult. But that's besides the point. The point? Yes, the point is that I always find it interesting what sci fi fans consider good fare, often disagreeing (at great and geeky lengths).

So, my challenge for you, gentle reader, is this: What, in your opinion, makes bad sci fi? If anyone even reads this blog, leave me a comment.

I have a great title for the next piece of rubbish the Sci Fi Channel makes: Star Bulwark 666: The Prometheus Affair.

Email Sucks

From now on I'm not using email for anything but the briefest of messages that are business related. I've gotten into two arguments with two different loved ones in the last week because of miscommunication and awful timing of using email.

End of Summer

Well kiddies, this weekend was the last weekend of summer for yours truly. And it was a lovely weekend, indeed. On Friday I hung out with Salty Miss Jill. Yesterday Bizarro and I went to the Farmers Market, then I hung out at the pool with Salty Miss Jill and went for a dip in the 90 degree heat. PMP came over for dinner last night and we hung out til late. This morning PMP, Bizarro and I had coffee and bagels and then Bizarro went his own way and we girls strolled around the Commons and looked at all the cool jewelry and other treats on the Commons. I felt a bit tired when I got home but I cleaned up my desk space and surrounding corona before taking a nappy nap. Had a good talk with my Big Bro on ze phone, and now here I am.

Tomorrow is a light day, thankfully. I have to go to the local college to get keys and have copies made for class on Friday, and also to sign in two students who are asking to be let into my class (it feels good to be wanted!). Then I will focus on getting materials organized for the Out of Town University class which begins Tuesday morning.

This Wednesday night I'll stay with Momazoo so I can drop her off at the hospital on Thursday, go teach my class, then come back to the hospital to be there when she comes out of surgery so I can take her home and stay over on Thursday too. So it will be a busy week but I'm looking forward to getting her surgery over with and getting the semester underway.

I have a few other irons in the fire but I don't feel like enumerating right now. I'll save that for later.

Have a good semester, everyone!

Today's LOL Kitteh

Paleo-Future Project

I am so totally going to do this!

Paleo-Future Project

Plastic Fruit of the Future!

Apparently, in the world of the future, plastic fruit on coffee tables will still be a popular staple of home decor.

Owen's 1st Birthday!

It's hard to believe my grand nephew Owen is one! Here are some photos of his first birthday party:

The Week in Revue

It's been quite a week. I temped for four days, still getting over the hideous cold that knocked me on my ass last week. Managed to get both syllabi done for my two classes, and today went in for the 30 minute faculty meeting at Out of Town University. For the record - it takes me 1.5 hours ONE WAY (yes, that's right, 3 hours of driving for a 30 minute meeting and another hour and half to get the rest of my paperwork done)). This is a one semester deal for me, that's for damned sure.

I also helped to take care of Salty Miss Jill's animules over the weekend and early part of this week. I wouldn't mind having a kitty but I'd have to take allergy meds every day of my life and I'm not too keen on that idea. Thankfully I'm not allergic to dogs, so when we eventually have a house, one of my first priorities will be to bring home a fuffy (that was my childhood name for our dog, Duchess).

Yesterday PMP called on the spur of the moment, and we had our traditional Target-run and dinner at Wok Village outing. We were both tired, but it was great to see her after an entire summer of being PMP-less! I was supposed to go to Salty Miss Jill's place for a drink later, but she and her hubby were out with their out-of-country guests. Just as well - I got one of my syllabi done last night as I was watching Ghost Hunters (my new obsession).

I have the entire weekend to relax, catch up on personal stuff, and write. I am saving Monday for last minute school-related stuff, and I'll be going into the Local College to get my keys and say hello to people. I feel so comfortable there, and I'm left alone to do whatever I need to do. Granted, they still treat their adjuncts like shit, but I do love teaching the class.

Okay, we have a problem here. We have an infestation of what appear to be fruit flies. I say "appear" to be fruit flies because they look like fruit flies but they don't seem to be going for fruit. They like to hang out on the bathroom mirror and the kitchen sink, and the garbage. I have a feeling they've come from next door. Our apartment manager was talking about how the cig smoke we're always smelling can come through the giant holes around the pipes, and he took a look at them - sure enough there were gaping holes where the pipes came in, and smoke discoloration around those holes. So he's going to have the maintenence guys fill the holes with something or other made for such purposes. I'm hoping the fruit fly problem will go away soon thereafter. I remember we had this problem last summer, too. It's totally gross, especially when I come in the bathroom and they're on our tooth brushes. EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.

I need to organize my desk and prepare my space for the coming onslaught of the semester. Once that's done, I think I'll kick back with a book and pretend the world doesn't exist. I've been trying to read "The Bastard of Istanbul" by Elif Shafak for weeks but I'm having a hard time getting into it. It's too bad, because I had high hopes for it. I'd heard an interview with the author on NPR and requested the book for my birthday, which Bizarro was so kind to indulge. English is not the author's first langauge, and it does feel awkward in parts. But that's not even the real problem. The problem is she goes on and on about shit that doesn't matter to the characters or the story and I have little patience for that. I call it the "Anne Rice Syndrome." Spend four pages describing the wall paper, meanwhile the character is perched in a chair somewhere and you have no idea what's going on. I'm gonna try to give this book another pass and if I'm still not moved to give a crap, I'll shelve it and find something else for the weekend.

A Lifetime Ago...

From 1980 through 1990, I attended a music camp in Canandaigua, NY that saved my life.

At a 4H camp in the Bristol Hills of western NY, Bristol Hills Music Camp was held every August for two weeks. As a camper for five years, I attended camp for one week, and as a counselor for 5 years, I was there for two weeks every summer. It's been 17 years since I'd returned to the camp, and yesterday I attended the week-ending concert that the daughter of friends was playing in. I had recommended the camp to them last spring, since I knew that like myself at her age, my young friend B. had no experience playing with an ensemble (she also plays violin).

I went yesterday with the joy of watching her play, but also with a jumble of memories swirling around in my head. We arrived at the camp and I was struck by the fact that it looks EXACTLY the same as it did 17+ years ago. There are only a few minor additions to the campground, not enough to spoil the experience of revisiting my favorite place from those years in my life.

Even better - there were folks from my days at camp in attendance, including one of the former camp directors. Here's a picture of myself, Sarah, Amy and Betsy. Oh, the times we had - and the rock we're sitting on is a rock festooned with memories from countless years and campers:



When I say that camp saved my life, I am not exaggerating. My dad passed away in 1979, and we were by then living in Elmira, NY, a dreadful place that held nothing but loneliness and despondency for many years. My school had a shoddy excuse for a music program, with no orchestra and no string ensemble to speak of. As you know (if you read this blog or know me personally), I was not a happy person from the ages of 11 - 19. In fact, I was damned depressed with thoughts of suicide flitting through my hormonal brain. I didn't fit in at school and I had practically non-existent self-esteem.

At Bristol Hills, I realized that I had talent, and that there other people in the world like me. It's the place that saved me from a depressing, lonely, confidence-sapping existence in Elmira's Catholic schools. I felt wanted, needed, appreciated, loved. I belonged. I was someone special, someone people looked up to and although I have never been a great violinist, Bristol Hills made me a better violinist.

To Sandy, Sarah, Kate, Amy, Wil, Brooke, Margie, Jennifer, Jon, Betsy, Hebert, Mr. Z, Mr. Bradley, Greg, and all those campers and counselors whose names I can't recall right now -- I thank you all for creating a place in which I could thrive for ten years running. Thank you for creating the place that saved my life.

I realized as I walked around the camp that certain areas and buildings had entered the landscape of my dreams. Clearly this place has remained a deeply embedded part of my unconscious mind. After yesterday, it is once again a shining place in my conscious memory. I am so pleased that young B. was able to enjoy the same set of traditions and experiences of playing in an ensemble with other dedicated musicians. Here's to the long life of Bristol Hills Music Camp!

String Lodge (all strings-only rehearsals are held here, and the sound is resonant and glorious)


The Edge of Girls' Village, Photo building (?) on the right (junior chorus rehearses there)


Eagles Nest and Lotus Lodge (two of my former cabins)


Main Lodge (where all meals, senior chorus rehearsals, orchestra rehearsals, band rehearsals, mixers, and concerts are held - the strings always fall flat in this building while the brass drowns us out)


We've decided we need to round up as many alumni as possible and try to hold a reunion of sorts next year. Alum #1 on the hit list: Wil Shore. Where are you?

TGIF

I only worked 3 days at the clinic this week but I feel as if it's been the entire week. Again I'll say: really nice people to work with/for, but the tedious nature of my duties is driving me nuts.

But hey, it's the weekend! I have so much work to do this weekend it's not even worth complaining about. I just have to "Git 'er dun!"

I will take time out for the Farmers Market with Bizarro tomorrow, and I will also make time for Doctor Who tonight (although I've already seen it because he downloads those suckers when they air on the BBC) and tonight's episode of "Most Haunted" because I LOVE how ridiculous those guys are.

Here's to all the 9-to-5'ers out there plugging away and making a living.

Workin' 9 to 5

I've been temping this week at a social services clinic type place. The people I'm working for/with are really nice, but I am reminded why I never could hack the 9-5 lifestyle in the past: boredom, secretary spread, and tedium.

For the last two days, this has been my workload: for 3.5 hours in the morning I alphabetize a humungous pile of paperwork that's been neglected for weeks. For 4 hours in the afternoon, I separate an even more humungous pile into two piles - daily logs and group logs.

I'm also answering the phone and greeting clients, which at least breaks up the monotony.

I've done all this grunt work with a nasty cold. Only this morning (Friday) am I starting to feel half-way human with normal hearing.

Today I might have some different duties - I know one thing they have planned for me is even MORE tedious - taking those piles of separated logs and then breaking them down by counselor.

I have to seriously re-think this plan to throw away my teaching career and become a 9-5 lackey. It's one thing to do this for a few days to make some money, it's another thing to know that it's what I'd have to look forward to every day for the next x amount of years. I'm afraid I'd hurl myself off a bridge if that was my life every day.

There may be some possibility of a promotion for Bizarro at work, and if that happens, I may have a reprieve from the 9-5 life and be able to continue teaching and building up a free lance writing clientele. Fingers crossed - it's not even an official possibility as yet, so we're waiting to see what unfurls.

In the meantime, I have to suck up life as an Auton for the next four days (today and Mon-Wed of next week). At some point this weekend I have to create my ESL syllabus for the semester.

Bit of a Rant

It's 5:38 a.m. on Wednesday. These days I'm up between 5-6 every morning. I've been going to bed early because of this goddam cold, and between that and the residual jet lag, well, here I am.

The last week and a half has not been anything like I'd hoped it would be. I arrived back in the states only to discover that my unemployment claim was being denied for the rest of the month (hmmmm, food, rent, anyone?), and three days later I was down with this horrible cold that has lasted the entire week (as of today). In order to make ends meet, I'm forced to temp for the rest of this week and most of next, so instead of writing my syllabi and working on my screenplay, I'm answering telephones and pretending to be happy about it. I have to be thankful for these temp jobs because of the money, but I am unhappy about the fact that I have little time to get myself really prepared for the semester, which starts week after next.

Next Friday I will be at the University in Another City (an hour away) to get things going there. I have to have my syllabus finished and approved by then! And I have to pay THEM $20 for parking - for only one semester! This seems outlandish to me. I could see $5, but $20? Is it me? Or are they just freaking cheap?

Took mom to see the surgeon yesterday for her consult. The surgery is scheduled for Aug. 30, which means I will be teaching at the University in Another City (an hour away) and will have to dash to Elmira in the afternoon to be with her when she's in recovery. We were hoping to have all this wrapped up before the summer was over, but alack and alas... Mom is doing okay, although both she and doctor seem concerned that she's not bounced back more than she has in the month she's been receiving dialysis treatment. The next step is to send her to yet another specialist who will test her bone marrow for other disease, including the C-word.

I think I want a re-do for 2007. Either that or I want someone (in authority) to promise me that 2008 won't suck as much.

Everyone into the Thundertank!

Your Score: Lion Warning Cat

64% Affectionate, 54% Excitable, 37% Hungry

You are the good Samaritan of the lolcat world. Protecting others from danger by shouting observations and guidance in cases of imminent threat, you believe in the well-being of everyone.



To see all possible results, checka dis.

Link: The Which Lolcat Are You? Test written by GumOtaku on OkCupid, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Korea Photos (Pt. I)

Vincent Price Kitteh

Magic Highway

Magic Highway USA (Distribution)
Uploaded by donaldtheduckie

Telecommunications of the 'future'

This is hilarious...

Videophone

Back in the Saddle

I've been home from Korea 5 days now, and am only slightly jetlagged at this point. That was made worse by a cold I caught the day after I got back. Yesterday was the first day I didn't nap from 3-8 in the afternoon/evening - I forced myself to stay awake and went to bed at around 9:45.

It's been great to be home - Bizarro had the apartment ready for my return with vacuumed floors, clean sheets, and a tidy office. He met me at the bus station on Monday with my favorite yogurt, since it was well after dinner and I was hungry.

The bad news of the week was delivered while I was still in NYC, not even back in the states 24 hours. I got a call from NYS Dept of Labor telling me that since I now have a contract to teach this fall, I no longer qualify to claim benefits. So that meant my income for the last 3 weeks of the month went out the window. It's tough - we are down to a skeleton budget and I'm temping next week to make ends meet. But as usual, we'll pull through.

I have made some momentous life decisions based on the fact that I am fucking tired of these ratty-ass situations presenting themselves repeatedly. So... drum roll please...

I will be searching for a full-time desk job to start in Jan. '08 (or December, after the semester finishes). I will get my teaching fix through the local community arts organization, for whom I am teaching a class this fall. I will focus my creative energies on my screenplays and the documentary, getting an agent, putting the doco into festivals. I will also be involved in the local film festival that happens every year here. We need the stability to plan our future, and being an adjunct won't provide that stability.

Now that the decision is made, I feel a lot better. I just need to muddle through this semester of teaching at three different places, driving all over hell and creation, and dealing with the personalities that go with each job. I will also be contacting a career advisor through Bizraro's work place (one of those fringe bennies) to help me make the transition from academia to real world in terms of a job search and presenting myself. All those admin and non-teaching jobs I applied for in the spring I didn't even get an interview for, so I think I need to work on how I present myself.

So, lots of work to be done - syllabi to make, screenplay to write, film to work on. I also am thinking ahead to winter and how I will strategize to keep myself mentally and physically healthy. There's a NIA dance class starting up next week which I will begin doing again. I attended NIA dance classes in Columbus 6 years ago and loved it - so I'm very excited that there's a class starting up here.

I will be posting a couple select photos from my trip to Korea soon. Keep an eye out for those.

It's good to be home!