Nothing like a blogger meet-up...

...to get me blogging again! Yes, I'm still here. Of course, a lot of you already know that since I'm friends with you on Facebook, but for anyone else still out there, I've finally decided to check in. What better format could there be to catch up on the last month, than RBOC?

• I had a blogger meet-up with Dr. Super Babe and her man this afternoon. They were in our general area to visit some friends, so H, D, and I met up with them for coffee before they got on the road this afternoon. It's always wonderful to meet virtual friends in person, and it was especially nice to meet them both. We all bonded over our shared liberal views of the world and wondered why more people don't agree with us. We had a great talk about all sorts of things and after they left, I thought of more things I wanted to ask them! No foot pictures this time- we took a couple 'real' photos that will likely end up on FB, though. I'm so glad that we were able to meet up. :)
• I'm giddily (ok, that's an exaggeration) counting down the days in this 5-teaching-days-a-week semester. The end is definitely in sight, but I have a mountain of grading to climb before it's all over. I've already been scheming about next fall and how I can avoid teaching five days a week again. I really miss having just one day a week when I can stay in my sweats, take D to the school bus, then get some work done without having to be anywhere.
• Personally, I'm not too thrilled with things right now. I'm generally upbeat and happy most of the time (as I have always been), but I have been noticing some real low periods creeping in now and then. I'm exercising three to four days a week, so that should help, but I still seem to get into a funk now and then. I can't point to any one thing, but I know I am still being haunted by last year's miscarriage. It doesn't help that I have two friends (who live far away) that had babies when I was supposed to last fall (and they both celebrated their first birthdays in the last few weeks). And these friends were BOTH at D's birth- how's that for a coincidence? There are times when I enjoy seeing photos of their kids, but other times I just can't bear to see a baby at all. I keep thinking the feeling will fade, and I can't believe that I'm feeling like this almost two years later (ok, 18 months). Good grief, people.
• I have to end on a more positive bullet point, right? Well, I am thrilled with my RA this year. She is doing great work and I get along with her on a personal level. It's SO refreshing after last year's disaster. Hooray for good grad students!!

So, that's it. Four bullet points to summarize the last month. I guess I could have gotten into more details about the crazy traveling for my friend's memorial, followed by my mom's annual visit and D's 10th birthday, then H's friend visiting from Very Distant Country right after that, and D's swine flu shot, and going to the ballet, and some other things, but that about sums it up! I hope everyone out in blogland is doing well.

New month. Now with more blogging!

I hope, anyway. I really hadn't meant to be so quiet over here. I do place some blame on Facebook, but whenever I go back and read some of my old blog posts, I miss this place. So, I'll use this new month as a good time to get back to blogging. 

Things are just dandy here in Small College Town. We are in our last week before spring break right now and I am so thrilled to have that break from teaching coming my way. My classes aren't too tough, but the big freshmen course is more work than usual since I changed books (and am wondering if that was a good decision or not). I am having stupid annoying discipline issues with them, too. Last spring when I taught this class at 8:00AM, nobody was awake enough to chat with their friends, but at 11:00, they can be a real pain in the ass. Some days, I feel like they are so bored and I wish that I hadn't made participation part of the grade. Then the non-engaged students could just stay away. There's always next semester, I guess. My other class is OK, but it's a technical one (that includes some basic physics), so there are always some students who really just don't get it. It's times like those that I switch back and forth from thinking I am a terrible teacher to thinking that they never do the reading or they are just not up to the task. Sigh. 

Research? What's that? I have not done any research lately and am just thankful to have been on grad committees of students who are publishing and I am a co-author. At least my annual report had three papers in review- two from students. You may remember my RA saga from last spring and fall and how I have a total disaster on my hands? Well, I have told this student that s/he will not be working for me next year and the department has reserved a TA for him/her (which I think is a mistake). I am now in a mess, because we have a TA shortage and I want to offer my RA to a new student. So far, this is on hold, but far from resolved. All year, I keep second guessing myself and thinking that maybe my RA is really OK and can do the work I need. Well, we finally got to some basic tasks and s/he even messed that up. In a way, I am glad, because it shows me that I was not crazy to question his/her abilities, but I am also annoyed that my grant money is being wasted to pay this person for the whole year and I have no way to get out of it until May. Sigh.

Otherwise, H and D are fine. D went for her first sleep over this weekend and had a fun time. She is still loving her riding lessons and doing well with piano and reading at a 7th grade level (she's in 3rd grade) and sold LOTS of girl scout cookies. She seems to have some organizational issues with her school work, but hopefully she can work that out!

To end on a positive note, I was very pleased to have another brief (micro?) blogger meet-up last week. I won't mention who it was, since she has not blogged about this trip, but I will say that it was very good to meet her and I hope that she may even be coming back here soon! (fingers crossed!) 

Whew!

I have a few minutes to use this $7.95 that I paid for wi-fi at Big Conference Outside my Discipline. EcoGeoFemme surprised me just now, by walking up to me in the exhibit hall and we had a really short blogger meet-up! We had been in touch before the conference, but never managed to plan anything specific. We both ended up being pretty busy, but it was good to get to meet her briefly, at least! Here we are on the lovely exhibition hall carpeting:

That's D on the left, btw. 

H, D, & I were supposed to stay until tomorrow, then drive further north for vacation, but those plans were conveniently changed by the U.S. government, who finally sent H's letter for his naturalization ceremony- and it's tomorrow at 1:00PM. Thanks for the six days notice! Instead, we are driving back to Small College Town tonight AFTER my poster session. It ends at 7:00, but I'm going to try to get out early, because we will be arriving at home at 2:00 or 3:00 AM. It's exciting that H finally got his letter, but what crappy timing- we've been at home all summer and NOW they decide to schedule that damn thing. We changed our destination and will go on vacation next Monday instead. In the mean time, we are all exhausted and just waiting until we can leave later. I will probably drink REAL coffee tonight to make the drive home. Ugh. I'll try to blog more about the conference over the weekend...

Blogger Meet-Up: Second Call!

OK, I didn't get too many responses to that last call for Bloggers, but I doubt there are too many bloggers out there from my own discipline, anyway. I'd like to appeal to any bloggers who live in Boston (or will be visiting Boston between April 14th through the 17th). There must be someone who lives there, right? So far, I have heard from two people attending the conference... Email or post a comment if you want to be involved in the meet-up!

Blogger Meet-Up???

Psst! Hey! Are you going to AAG? If you know what it is and you're going, send me an email, because there is a blogger meet-up in the works for April! Woo hoo!

Blogger Meet-Up!

Yay! I had my first blogger meet-up yesterday! H, D, & I drove to Capitol City of neighboring state to meet Dr. Brazen Hussy & Abitrista (whose previous blog name was much easier to type!) They were just as fun and nice in person as I had imagined from their blogs. I won't repeat everything that Dr. Brazen Hussy mentioned about the meet-up, so here are some other observations:

• At lunch, D observed that three of us were wearing glasses. Only she and my non-blogging husband weren't wearing them- coincidence?
• I wonder if Brazen noticed the lead deposit in my right foot. They followed us from lunch to the museum and I noticed I had to slow down to avoid losing them.
• The weather was rainy in the morning, but the sun came out by the time we arrived in Capitol City- it was a great day to be out and about.
• It was great to get out of Small College Town AND go somewhere different! They have a pretty cool art museum there, too.
  

Three bloggers, a non-blogger, and a little pumpkin...
Guess which one is which?

We all got along splendidly and spent plenty of time criticizing the U.S. government, organized religion, & all-things conservative. We'll definitely have to do it again!