Faking It

I don't throw away magazines. I actually never have. Not at the time, you'll see what I mean just hang on... And for some reason lately it's started to make me think. I say "for some reason" like I don't know the reason, I have a basket full of magazines but haven't gotten around to buying a new basket in a few years (two. See? Not that bad...) so the rest of them sit next to the magazine basket, on the floor in front of my couch, on the trunk at the foot of my bed, at my kitchen table, in my backpack. And until last week were piled precariously high on top of the magazine basket. I knew I had a lot of books. They were literally everywhere. I put a bunch under my couch to keep them out from under foot because I ran out of room on the bar area. I live in an apartment so my kitchen and living room are the same room but there's a wall with a counter that I call the "bar area" because it sounds better than "wall with a counter" ar

I LOVE to read! LOVE! I have mentioned this before... I read a lot all the time, it's part and parcel with being in academia. Sometimes it's awesome and sometimes it makes you want to claw your eyeballs out and mail them to said boring researcher. I try to read for myself during the school year because I have to do things for myself. Not just going to the movies and getting pedicures every 6 weeks, although I do that as well. But something that I love in the very depths of my soul. I love to read. And if I don't do it for fun every now and then I feel like part of me will disappear. And no judgement on people who don't. Don't read me saying that. I will never be able to understand what it's like to not enjoy reading because it's always been my favorite thing to do. Both of my parents like to read and it was a hobby that was encouraged. I got into school when I was 4 years old because I could read. It makes me sad to think that the world of books is not

I'm not really that arty or crafty. If you've read my blog at all you'll know it's one big adventure after another where I set out to create something and it turns to crap. Notable examples include any time I try to cook, make cupcake frostings, knit, make Christmas ornaments, etc. (see previous blog entries for reference if you don't believe me). But I love makeup. And makeup is my version of art. My grandfather is a painter, or at least he used to paint. We've had these two beautiful paintings he did hanging on the walls of our homes for as long as I can remember. And I always wanted to be able to do something like that. Even my mom is really crafty! Our house is filled with things that she's made, pots that she's painted or ornaments that we made when we were younger. She makes gorgeous knitted and crocheted things and does really intricate needlework on lace tablecloths. I come from some pretty talented stock. So you'd think I'd be able

I want to be good at the things my Mom is good at. I've never had the problem some of my friends have like hating their parents or wishing they wouldn't turn out like them. Spoiler alert, we all end up being our parents to a certain extent. But I've always actually wanted to be just like my parents. And why not?! My Mom is an amazing woman and I have so many of her qualities, good and bad, but I want to be able to do the things she can do and do them as good. I am, however, destined to always live in her shadow just as she tells me she lives in her Mom's shadow. She says that my Nana was perfect at things like baking and knitting and that after all these years of practice and experience and getting it wrong and getting it right, she's still not her Mom. But we'll spend our lives trying I guess. And my Mom is good at so many things that I am just absolute crap at. My mother is a great cook. Put me in the kitchen and I know you're a gambler. She can cook so we

This year AP-LS fell over Spring Break which was kind of a bummer because I would have loved the excuse to not teach for one night. But it actually worked out really well! This year the conference was in San Juan, Puerto Rico and it was an excellent Spring Break destination. Best place to hold a conference? That's debatable. I ditched a couple of talks in favor of sitting on the beach, but in my defense there weren't any at the time that I really wanted to hear which means they weren't on a topic I was familiar with/interested in. It was a much different experience this year than it was last year. True, I've been before, and my life has changed dramatically in that time, but I was still looking forward to it and it didn't disappoint. We stayed in the conference hotel this year. Last year we went cheap and stayed a few miles away but it was a hassle getting up, getting dressed, getting a cab, paying for the cabs, and then being trapped at the conference hotel with no