clearly NOT the summer of lj

[twinparadox]

Since I haven't posted anything remotely resembling an update in months, I thought I would take the night off from fall semester prep and jot down a few bullet points. Facebook has made me way too lazy, in that I can post a one-sentence update in my "status" and call it a day. Maybe I should just give up and look into Twitter?

So, commence la bullet-point says she who speaks no French:

• I never did find work this summer, so it's been all about the belt tightening. But only in a figurative way, as I have gained about 8 lbs. from a frightening potato chip binge that kept me busy for the latter part of June and most of July. I've given up the delicious little bastards and am working on my Lays gut before the semester starts in a couple of weeks.
• We went to Phoenix for a couple of weeks at the end of July. I left the kids with my sister and flew to Vegas to see Eddie Izzard, the X-Files movie, my nephew who's in the middle of a bitter divorce,
  snacktime,
  az_bandgeek, and
  natterjak. A good time was had by all. Eddie was fab; not up to "Dress to Kill" standards, and, sadly, not in drag, but for a two hour rant on why religion makes no sense, pretty damned funny. XF2, while not without its flaws, felt much more like a "grown-up" movie to me than a boyfic, which is to the good. Anyway. The day after I returned from Vegas, we went with mom and sis to Sedona for four days; on the day of our return I managed not only to come down with a sinus infection, but also went to see Ringo Starr by myself. Then it was up to our friends' cabin for the weekend and back home to MN.
• The North Shore of Lake Superior is one of my new favorite places on Earth. Seriously a gorgeous, gorgeous place.
  
• I have not watched one minute of the Olympics. I keep thinking I should find out when the equestrian stuff is on, at least, but I'm too lazy.
• This week has been all about the applications. I applied for a paid internship with "Speaking of Faith," the American Public Media radio show which looks at religion, ethics, and politics. I find the show very fascinating because Krista Tippett asks all the questions I would like to ask about all kind of religious and spiritual practice. Since my thesis is starting to focus increasingly on the ways people make meaning in their lives (through religion, exercise, work, music, art, tv shows ahem) it seems like a good fit. We'll see if they agree. If I get it, I do believe I can claim the title "World's Oldest Intern." I also just submitted a course proposal to the Loft Literary Center. If they accept it, it'll be a little extra cash, it'll look good on the C.V., and I don't even have to think about it until next spring. Gradually I'm getting better about not talking myself out of applying for stuff just because I'm sure I'll fail.
  
• The weather has been spectacular this summer. Which we deserve because we pre-paid for it last winter, aka The Winter That Wouldn't Die. I hope this year is better, although heating the house is going to be exponentially more expensive.
• I'm working away busily on my syllabus for the Intro to the Essay course I'm teaching this fall. I snagged a new desk down in the band-aid-scented basement office (hmmmm, wonder if I could stick some pencils in the ceiling...) and have submitted the textbook requisitions. I just found out that it's an honors class, so I had to rethink my expectations a little and shift gears from "slacker freshmen" to "uptight blue-flamers." I'm looking forward to it, actually. I'm not sure exactly why they gave it to me, but my evals were pretty good from the Intro to Fiction class I TA'd last fall. (Is it a good thing if your students use profanity to describe you, but in a highly complimentary way? I guess so.)
• I have gotten almost no writing done this summer, although I really did need to "fill the rag bag" as Anne Lamott would say. I did some genealogy research and found out that one of my ancestors was the stepdaughter of Susanna North Martin, one of the Salem Witches. Susanna became her stepmother when Hannah was only two, so was, in effect, the only mother she ever knew. I had been planning to do an essay on women's role in Puritan society anyway, and another ancestor was an indentured servant in Anne Bradstreet's house (she was the first published American poet). Now I just have buckets more material.
• The kids are starting kindergarten in a couple of weeks. Enough said about that; it's a very bittersweet milestone. This is the beginning of me having less and less of an influence in their lives, and more and more of their lives taking place without me. I know it sounds maudlin, but that really is the reality of it.

So, really, that's about it. Haven't been watching much TV. Did make a little progress on my Netflix queue. After I finish the three I have now, I'm starting the first season of Six Feet Under, because the essayist whose work inspired the show is coming to the U this fall and I want my students to read his work (and go to a reading). My house is a fucking rubbish tip. And on that happy note, I'm off to fold laundry.