Today a series of mini-entries

There is much to catch up on and most of it is disconnected, so I will be making a series of mini-blog entries and will eventually come up with a cute name for them. or not.

TATOR TOTS

It has come to my attention that I am not the only person who finds tator tots charming, tasty, and irresistable  - particularly when pregnant. I'm not sure how it comes up in conversation, exactly, but if one could name the 5 foods they relied upon during the worst of the food aversions (otherwise known as cravings if you look at it backwards...) and "morning" sickness - not a single person has failed to mention tator tots as a diet staple.

I'm making some right now. This time, not because I'm having morning sickness, exactly, but a milder version where nothing seems like the right thing to eat. That is, 'cept the tots.


WORKLOAD

I have a lot of work to do. Weekends are now for studying.  "Studying", by the way, means reading, reading, reading, researching the papers you need to read to understand the other reading, writing reactions, researching more papers to fill in the blanks and write papers, writing discussion questions, writing case briefs, summarizing arguments, making powerpoints, and reading some more.

All in all, it is to be expected, so it's okay.  It's just really important to stay organized and constantly be reviewing calendars and the syllabus for each class, eavesdropping on classmates' conversations (what paper are you talking about that is due next week?), and if you don't have anything to do, something is likely missing. I think I'm a little frontloaded this semester (ha! in more ways than one...) so maybe Nov/Dec will be a little more chill than otherwise, but I'm not betting on it.

PIGGYBACKING

I really like the people I school with (seems appropriate...I would have said "people I work with" if it were in any way a paid position...).  They're smart, funny (sometimes downright hysterical), humble, and mostly seem to be in just as much shock and awe about the whole school thing as I am. Still, there is this THING that happens at school...

As soon as I bitch about this one, I'm sure I'm going to be guilty of the same offense. I am torn between amusement and annoyance everytime the following words or phrases are used in my class dicussions (it never happens in normal conversation, I might add...)

"To piggyback on what your mom just said..."
"To dovetail that comment..."
"I was just going to say..."

See, the last one is just habit.  I'm not sure where the habit starts, but what strikes me about it is how you start making your point or argument by apologizing for making it. I don't get that. AND it is obvious.  Of coure you were "going to say" what you are about to say - so just say it.

However, the first two are just annoying buzzwords...and there are others.  Makes me want to randomly start making up stuff to preview my comments. Maybe:

"I'm going to take a tandem bicycle ride on what your mom just said..."
"To two-man-bobsled the point that President Bartlet made..."
"Your comment practically eloped with my point because..."

I'm sure I'm not going to make any friends doing that if I don't choose my timing wisely - and maybe even if I do - but it sure will amuse ME (and a few other classmates I've talked to) and keep my creative mind active.

MEASURING IN WEEKS AND MONTHS

You know how I talked about that in the beginning? Someone asked me the other day how many weeks I was and I didn't know the answer anymore. I said, "um, roughly 5 and a half months...i think" and then realized that I've been giving that answer for a few weeks now...and somewhere along the line I must have stopped counting.  Is that odd?


I HAVE GOT TO STOP CALLING MARC "CHARLIE"

I have a classmate (and TA for a different class) who reminds me in a variety of ways, including physically,  of Charles Young, the awesome personal assistant to the President in The West Wing. This amused me at first until I accidentally said, "hey, Charlie" the other day when a bunch of us were standing around talking and he walked by (thankfully, it was drowned out by other voices using the correct name).  I can't really think of anyone else that I regularly associate so strongly with a television character, so this is a new thing for me.  Does this happen to anyone else?  I mean, there is a girl we met at a wedding that Eric wouldn't stop calling "Lemon" because she looked like Tina Fey, but we aren't likely to see her again, much less on a regular, on-going semi-professional basis... (sigh).



Alright.  Tator Tots are ready.  And some folks are coming over for season premiere of Dexter tonight...so it's back to some of that glorious reading until the doorbell rings.

Elle Woods

There's this little joke in my world about my minor resemblance to Reese Witherspoon (mostly when I'm thinner and younger) and my reality of attending Harvard University.  If you haven't seen it, Legally Blonde is a pretty entertaining little movie.

So it was appropriate that Legally Blonde was on TV tonight. I had kind of a rough day of feeling a little blue, a little stuck, and a little alone.  "Stuck" because I'm at a standstill with getting things set up at the apartment until Eric makes a few moves and because I'm without my car and can't just go get things that would facilitate forward progress at Target or wherever, which I normally would just do to get things moving.  Alone because Eric was dealing with anything BUT our world today (in my opinion) and had plans tonight to see an old friend and I was just feeling a little brushed aside throughout the day at different moments. Blue because of the other two things, guilt (because I really worry about him being happy and I WANT him to see friends he has out here and not begrudge him that) and a healthy dose of preggo hormones, I'm sure.

However, I took it as a sign from the universe to reengage my sense of humor when I was channel surfing and Elle Woods was smiling at me.

I really like my Higher Education and the Law class.  I've only been to one, but it's endlessly interesting to me to think about all the different complications that pop up in the world of Higher Ed. I've had glimpses into complicated little worlds over the years - directing summer camp, working in non-profit, working as a high school administrator - and always have had an interest (much to others' annoyance at times) in risk management, liability, and anticipating potential issues. So this sort of thing is right up my alley and 2 hours flew by, leaving me with a head full of questions about tiny little offshoots from discussion in class.

The same cannot be said for my History of American Higher Education class (no offense, Professor), but I'm sure I'll get there with it eventually.  I have already had to confront my own bias and road blocks when doing the first primary source reading for this course - essentially a marketing flyer for early Harvard that reminded me of how religiously charged and cemented so much of colonial America was.  Turns me off right away (and I did a fair amount of studying Colonial American history and religious formation as an undergrad), but it was what it was and has a lot to say about what still goes on in today's higher ed system - and education system in general.

I haven't been to my other two courses yet, but am looking forward to both for their content and challenge.  I'm a little concerned after my first two courses that there is a disproportionate amount of time and attention paid to the history and issues of private institutions vs. public institutions - as if to assume that everyone in the program is interested in working for private colleges and universities. However, I know there are a gaggle of my program peeps who have the same concern and are interested in a lot of the same issues I am (college access, admissions process, community colleges, etc.) so I know I'm not alone.  I rather like "nerding out" with them about this stuff and THAT is a pretty nice perk of this program all by itself.

Speaking of perks, I totally won the lottery with my advisor - story for another time.

So, I'm going to learn from Elle Woods tonight, buck up, have a little faith in myself, and keep looking forward.  Besides, I worry that peanut picks up on my moods and I don't need to be bringing a moody little bugger into the world. Doesn't make me any more motivated to read that History assignment for Tuesday morning's class, but it did make me write a blog entry tonight  - and I just may do a little research this evening try to enjoy exploring the city a little tomorrow with Eric.  And maybe get a manicure.