Democrat

As I was returning to my third-floor library study room from a water bottle-filling and M&M-fetching basement run, I paused briefly to hold the door open for a janitor pushing a trashcan behind me.

“Aww, that’s so nice! You didn’t have to wait and get the door for me!” he enthused. “That was so compassionate! You must be a Democrat!” I laughed and, rather embarrassed by his effusiveness, admitted, “Yes, I am a Democrat.”

“’Cause you know a Republican wouldn’a did!” he laughed. “You have a nice afternoon!”

I  wasn’t at all sure that a “Republican wouldn’a did,” nor that my holding the door open was a mark either of moral superiority or of liberal political leanings, but I still giggled the whole way upstairs.

Blahg

Oh, NaBloPoMo, how tiresome you begin to seem, barely more than halfway through the month! I am not at all sure I'm cut out for daily blogging.

I submitted my fellowship application yesterday, and today my students took their second exams, so a tall pile of blue books awaits me.

What I really need to do is draft another chapter so I have something to present to dissertation workshop in a mere three weeks.

That's about all I've got today.

Applying

I hate pretty much all applications, but I think fellowship applications top the list--partly because at this point in my educational career, the people against whom I am competing for these fellowships are Very Impressive Indeed, and although I don't want to compete against the alarmingly qualified and terrifying Them, I do want money to finish my dissertation and be done with that business. The other reason fellowship applications are awful is that one is forced to sound as Very Impressive as possible, whilst one is increasingly convinced of one's inadequacy generally (and especially against the imagined competition).

The fellowship application that I hope is that last I submit as a doctoral candidate* is due tomorrow. It has been especially fussy, with seven online pages of details, asking for things like a description of my commitment to women's activities and organizations and of awards I've won. This one is also unique in that it charges a $40 submission fee, which is particularly ironic, I think, given that one must also provide a "clear statement of financial need." I've already spent close to $30 on postage and transcripts from all my graduate work.

Siiiiiiigh.

*Assuming I can actually finish the degree, I am sure that this will not be my last fellowship application, because it just doesn't stop. I've somehow selected a career path that seems to involve asking for money, and other things, all the time, because there is no money in the field. There was some, and still is for those who got in about 40 years ago, but the rest is gone.

Procrastiblog

I'm trying to finish the first chapter of my dissertation, which is kind of an exciting thing to write, since being able to finish a chapter does bode well for being able to finish the dissertation.

It's writing here that I'm "finishing the chapter," though, that's exciting; the writing of the chapter itself is not so great. I'm trying to get as much done as possible so I can give it to my workshop group tomorrow, for discussion on Wednesday. I don't technically have to give them the entire chapter or anything, but, as I mentioned before, having a chapter done--or done enough to give to my adviser, anyway--is a pretty thrilling prospect (as is getting to on new material! Woo!).

Anyway, I never shared pictures from my birthday, which I celebrated in Florence with Italian friends the Cocos. It was marvelous! More procrastiblogging opportunities will almost certainly arise soon, in which case maybe I'll try to catch you up on the last part of that trip.

Montréal Deux

Internets, Montreal was awesome. It was unlike any other city I've seen; the closest equation I've been able to come up with is Portland + New Orleans + Amsterdam (or, rather, my imagination of the latter, as I've never been there!).

A few things, I apparently lucked out on: the weather was sunny, and relatively cool and dry (with the exception, naturally, of the quite warm and humid Tuesday, the day I climbed Mont-Royal); I was able to find good vegetarian food (which the city's tradition of French cuisine can apparently make challenging); and my hotel was in what appeared to be the coolest part of the city (the hip, young, Plateau).

The city was highly walkable--compact and with good sidewalks--but there was also excellent public transportation (I bussed from and back to the airport, and once the two miles back to my hotel from downtown). Had I been so inclined, there were also ubiquitous "Bixi" bikes, apparently a direct equivalent to Mpls' Nice Rides, but far more extensive (and with what looked to be a bike-friendlier infrastructure, with lots of dedicated lanes and conscientious drivers).

The architecture was consistently charming, not only in the historic, distinctly French, Vieux Montreal, but in the residential areas of the Plateau and elsewhere. There were a few free-standing mansions, but the majority of the residential areas seemed to consist of block-long rows of houses sharing walls, with exterior staircases leading from the street to the second and occasionally third floor. There were lots of very French balconies (frequently with bikes locked to them!) and lots of flowers. Montreal's citizens seem clearly--and deservedly--very proud to live there.

Wednesday morning I went to the studio to see the pieces and afterward had lunch with the artist's assistant and the latter's boyfriend, who is an artist and currently the pieces' conservationist. That afternoon I wrote and then had dinner at a vegan restaurant, Aux Vivres, which reminded me of Native Foods in California and was completely delicious with an adorable back patio.

Thursday I walked through downtown and Chinatown to Vieux Montreal, explored the quays, and then hit the DHC/ART gallery to see their Jenny Holzer exhibition/installation. After that I headed to the "Mac," the Musee d'Art Contemporain, which wasn't amazing but did have a cool music video exhibit. Thursday night I dined with my new pals the assistant and conservationist at a chic bistro in Little Italy, where we lingered over dinner and dessert until 11:00. We cabbed back to their neighborhood, and from there I walked the 15 minutes or so back to my hotel, feeling completely safe even at so late an hour--particularly because lots of people were still out and about, enjoying the beautiful evening.

It's probably crazy talk--kind of like how when it's sunny in Seattle and thus one of the most beautiful places on earth, I think about moving back--but I could see myself maybe living there. Maybe. I still have to figure out how their winters really compare to ours!

Here are more photos; click here to see larger versions and/or leave comments:

Friday

So here's a question: if it's Friday afternoon and I'm sitting in my office, unsuccessfully trying to write (and have been doing so [unsuccessfully trying to write] for the past... oh... seven hours, aside from nap and lunch breaks and maybe the Thursday LA Times Crossword), waiting for a ride home that may not come for one, two, or three hours,* is writing words on my blog preferable to not writing words on my dissertation?

Clearly I have decided it is--and hope it prompts some inspiration on the latter.

In any case, I am looking forward to the weekend. Tonight David and I are attending an "On A Boat"-themed birthday party, and though, sadly, no actual boats will be involved, I think it will be fun.

Tomorrow night we're seeing Band of Horses at the State Theater downtown. (Last weekend we were watching this video, which features the band's song "The Funeral." David mentioned that he'd like to see them live sometime, and I wondered out loud if they were coming to town soon. We googled it, and not only were they on tour, they were coming to Mpls in seven days, tickets were still available, and the box office [thank goodness there are still occasionally ways around Ticketmaster's extortion] opened in 15 minutes. Win!)

I'm also supposed to do a long run with a friend tomorrow morning--12 miles. I'm slightly less enthused about this, mostly as it's supposed to hit 90° tomorrow. We'll head out early to avoid as much heat as possible, but that will also mean leaving the (non-) boating party early to head to bed (and throwing off my usual pre-run blueberry pancakes ritual).

Then Sunday we're heading to Inception with friends. I'll also probably do hot yoga, which I'm realizing I haven't mentioned here, but have found sufficiently wonderful to pull me out of bed and into the studio before 8 a.m. most Sunday mornings, and will describe at some point.

I remember an item on a personality inventory I saw years ago having to do with whether one preferred to have one's weekend scheduled or open. I like flexibility, but I also like looking forward to a string of fun things.

My office window overlooks a sort of quadrangle on campus, flanked by ivy-covered buildings and intersected by sidewalks. This week I have seen it overrun by elementary school kids from the natural history museum's summer camp program; filled with maintenance vehicles from all over campus (apparently for some facilities meeting?); and at the moment, a first, hosting a swimsuit-clad couple tanning on beach towels. They seem either unaware or unconcerned about their very public display, but then, who would be working on a Friday afternoon this gorgeous, anyway?

Who indeed.

*I'm not a good wait-er in general, but indefinite waits slay me.

Things That Are Awesome VII

• I got summer funding after all! This year my department only gave two of these fellowships, instead of the three they're usually able to fund, and I wasn't one of the recipients... until one of the recipients couldn't accept the money and the department offered it to me.
  
• The department had promised me a bit of money earlier, but it was only going to cover the plane ticket (if that). This way, I can afford to do the project justice--as well as to eat. I'm going to Europe in August!
  
• David is coming for part of the time, too. It is so much more fun to travel with someone than alone.
• I signed up to take a six-week letterpress class!
• Speaking of cutting-edge technology, I bought a typewriter! It's for dissertation research and writing purposes. Sort of. Mostly it's just something I've wanted for a long time.
• Better yet, I got a deal. If this site is to be believed, I saved myself about $820, plus shipping.*
• I had to drive to South Saint Paul to retrieve my 40 pounds of Awesome, but the ladies at the "rummage sale" pointed me to Barb's brother-in-law's shop, five blocks away, where I was able not only to pick up a brand new ribbon, but have it installed, have the holding bracket tightened, and have a brief history lesson, all for free.
• My Royal is in fantastic condition, and types beautifully! I need to do some more cleaning on it, find it a better home than the kitchen table, and post pictures that better demonstrate its beauty, but as you can probably tell, I'm rather smitten.
• How have I been a vegetarian for so long and never learned this technique for preparing tofu? Dry-frying + marinading appears to be the way to go (although Ter always achieved impressive results with baking, this is faster). Tonight I did a marinade of Bragg's, ginger, garlic, lime juice, rice vinegar, Sriracha, and onion before stir-frying it it up with veggies. (Can you believe I'd also never made a stir-fry sauce from scratch? And YES: the marinade IS the sauce. Total awesome sauce.
  

*I don't really think that site is to be believed.

"...And the Sky is Gray..."

These are the epic icicles on my neighbor's roof:

This is the ice holding my screen door closed (thanks to my leaky porch roof):

These are the icicles on my own roof, once I wrenched my screen door open:


And this is my neighbor's doormat, completely glazed over with ice:

In a bit, David and I are headed to a "Superbowl Commercials!!! ...oh, and football" party. We Minnesota-dwellers are pretty disappointed not to be watching the home team play (that last game kind of made we want to weep, and I hardly even follow football), but we know how to eat. I'm only bringing a fraction of the food I brought last year, mostly because this year actual invitations were sent out and other friends have already volunteered a smorgasbord of delicacies. It should be good times--and certainly can't be worse than how I've spent my morning and afternoon: unsuccessfully trying to outline and rewrite that entire conference paper.

Sunday

The main thing I accomplished today was submitting a 250-word abstract for a conference I'm applying to in Toronto this summer. Writing abstracts is, on the one hand, much easier than writing even a short paper, in that they are very few words; you can sort of make almost anything up; and if your abstract isn't accepted, you don't have to write the paper and then deliver it. On the other hand, it can be very challenging, because you're trying to describe, as concisely as possible (every word counts when you have a limit of 250) something that you probably haven't actually written; to make it fit the theme of the conference, if there is one; and, of course, to be accepted to the conference.

These days, writing even those two paragraphs feels like pulling teeth. Still, I got it done and submitted, and feel okay about it. Apparently it's one of those great big conferences that accepts a lot of people, so I'd say my chances of getting in are decent.

In happier news, we ate some seriously excellent food today. For brunch I made my sister's famous cherry peach bread pudding. At least, I think it was the same recipe she uses; weirdly enough, I found it online here, at our local paper's site. Then David made me enchiladas for dinner. They're seriously amazing. Instead of a lot of cheese, he fills them with refried beans and vegetables (red and yellow bell pepper, white and green onions, spinach), black olives, and cilantro. We had them with sweet corn tamales from the Global Market, where we headed for a walk when my brain was overheating from the abstract-writing.

Speaking of brain-overheating, I also posted over at the dream blog.