My 15 minutes....

Check it out, I've been blurbified....cool....

http://www.vanderbilt.edu/historydept/graduate/students

Lots of fun = No work done

I had such a great weekend!! This city is too fun to resist, even when there is a pile of work waiting for you. This, of course, translates to, "I got virtually nothing done worth mentioning." Oh well, I'll just have to play catch-up this week. The good thing is, in speaking with other grads, I'm not alone in my "behind schedule" status. (Above: Myself and my new friend Margarita, from Spain at the jazz club).So, my weekend consisted of:

Friday- leaving work early with crushing headache (girlie stuff); a short nap and lots of aspirin later, I was good to go; cleaned my house quickly and baked some brownies; the Newbies arrived for our weekly "Movie Night" that I was hosting; ended up not watching a movie but eating, chatting and playing Apples to Apples until about 2am

Fun category: Very chill, squeaky clean, getting-to-know-you kind of fun with close friends.

Saturday- woke up very late due to 2am bedtime; made vain attempt to read for upcoming week; couldn't concentrate-- watched movie instead; cleaned up after Friday night gathering; called some friends; went salsa dancing with some Latin friends at a downtown bar (with AWESOME live salsa band); went to bed around 3am

Fun category: Wild, fast-paced, sweaty, work-your-body-til-it-hurts kind of fun.

Sunday- woke up very late, again; made vain attempt to read; couldn't concentrate-- cooked full Brazilian meal instead; nursed my aching and blistered feet; called some friends; went to local bar (pictured above) with some fellow grads to see professional jazz band playing (retired studio musicians); went to bed about midnight thinking, "Oh my god, the weekend is officially over already."

Fun category: Sophisticated, adult, too-cool-for-all-you-other-cats kind of fun.

My question to the peanut gallery is: how do you balance what you HAVE to do with what you WANT to do? Are there times when letting work go on the back burner is necessary? What do you do to unwind after a rough week?

Ode to Teva

These are THE BEST flip-flops I have ever owned (and I'm quite the connoisseur). The Olowahu by Teva is incredibly comfortable and very durable. It is truly a walker-friendly shoe, which can't be said of most flip-flops, or even sandals for that matter. Being a poor grad student, I walk a mile to campus and a mile back each day. I have, in just a month, reduced my feet to ugly blister and callous-laden versions of their original selves and utterly destroyed one pair of flip-flops. This shoe by Teva is really spongy so your feet don't get blisters and the straps are soft enough not to cause callouses. I'm a believer. Go buy Teva!!

Gore Vidal and giggling like a school girl

On Tuesday evening I had the opportunity to see a living legend speak--- Gore Vidal. He's a huge figure in history, politics, American culture and a rather prolific novelist and playwright. Needless to say, I was excited to have brush with greatness. Unfortunately, it didn't quite work out that way.

Two other grad students from my dept. attended with me and we all came to the same conclusion---
Gore Vidal is just a rude, bitter, cantankerous old man. First of all, he didn't answer any of the questions the moderator posed to him; he simply made catty little comments and joked around everything, only pausing to speak about whatever suited his inexplicable fancy. Those rambling speeches consisted of: 1) insults for Southerns (of which, by heritage, he is--ironically enough) 2) insults for GW Bush, which I honestly didn't mind, and 3) lamentations about how perfect everything was in 1945 after WWII when America "had the world by the balls" and how we are now going to hell in an emperialist-shaped basket. Basically, our country sucks, we screwed it up and there's absolutely no hope of fixing it. Niiice.

Then, he proceeded to insult and/or avoid every question put to him by the audience. One woman innocently asked him why he had decided to sell his long-time Italian residence and move back to the U.S. He then answered her, "Did it ever occur to you that I never really moved away? That I was just a temporary resident? That I've always lived in the U.S?" What a jerk, right? I mean, seriously, he couldn't have done more that evening to insult and belittle people who were practically kissing his feet. It was ridiculous. I've never seen a more self-absorbed, ungrateful prat in my whole life. Aren't we supposed to get wiser and kinder as we age? Or, at least, more understanding and tolerant? In the end, I find myself still searching for that great American figure to look up to--- with nothing but disappointment to show for it.

On the upside, last night was the very first "Newbie History Geek Movie Night". Our first film--- Monty Python and the Holy Grail, of course (my personal, VHS copy 'cause I'm just that cool). It was a really fun evening. I like my fellow classmates more and more as time goes on. They are just smart, humble, funny, down-to-earth people which, in grad school, is exceptionally rare. I didn't get home until about 2am, much to my surprise. We were all enjoying ourselves so much with the movie, chatting, eating and drinking that we didn't notice at all how late it was. I found myself giggling like a little school girl seeing Monty Python again after such a long time; that good, hearty, I'm-a-dork-and-don't-care-who-knows-it kind of laughter that comes so rarely after age 12. Thank God for small miracles and good conversations....

Who knew Mowgli was so talented??

This just made me giggle...especially the parts I understood..."Que un par de locos! Que cancion mas tonta!"...."E aqui mesmo! Que bom!"...

Work stinks but the mangoes are juicy...

Boo-hiss:

-- For the last two weeks, my job has been made virtually intolerable by an intense and overwhelming stench. The cause? VU is asphalting around our building AND re-tarring the roof. The result? I have come to associate my job with mind-numbing headaches triggered by the ever-present burning smell. Anyone else particularly effected by smells? Which ones? I seem to be rather sensitive...

-- Since I walk the mile to and from campus along the busiest street in town, being noticed by motorists is inevitable. However, I had a recent incident in which a woman (I maintain she was high or otherwise out of her mind) insisted on yelling nasty things I won't repeat at me which I, of course ignored. She then proceeded to slow to a stop beside me and yell out the window at me to, I suppose, make sure I heard her. Never saw this person before in my life and hope I never do again. What is with some people? How is the sight of a pedestrian so offensive?

-- A second meeting with my advisor resulted in a stack of 5 books of at least 300 pgs. each that must be read (roughly) within the next month; in addition to my regular coursework....ugh....

-- A recent grad party ended badly as some of the "upperclassmen" proceeded to get extremely drunk, rude and virtually ignore all first-years. Not the best way to make a first impression...

Redemption:

--My honey came to visit me here in Nashville for Labor Day weekend. We cooked up a storm, went all over town, he sat in on some of my classes (since we had class on Labor Day, go figure) and just generally basked in the enjoyment of the other's presence. It was perfect :)

-- I received my very first stipend check Friday. CHA-CHING! My bank account is smiling.

-- I have not gotten lost around town for 7 days now!!

-- The discovery of a Latin mercado a few minutes from my house has revived my love of cooking and filled my kitchen with all kinds of wonderful things-- yucca, coconut milk, guava paste, ripe mangoes and huge avocados. Hurray for cheap imports!!