I'm still in the process of editing 2007 home movies. I got a chunk done for New Year's Eve. It's a tradition I'd like to keep up: watching the year's home movies on New Year's Eve. It'll force me to keep up with editing and get them off my hard drive!

I've got a few stragglers. I've spent the past few evenings making a movie about our fun day with friends in Chatty LAST JUNE! It's amazing how long it takes to get such a short bit of movie. But I thought, hey, may as well share it with the people whose company we enjoyed that day (since I keep up with most of you over the internet anyway). Enjoy...for what it's worth...(sorry the resolution is lost a bit in the compressing)

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We arrived at my Granny's yesterday evening to a Very Full House. All of my mom's six siblings and spouses, and all of my grandma's 28 grandchildren save a couple are here. I'm the oldest cousin, and 6 years younger than my mom's youngest sister. The generations sort of just meld. Especially considering the fact that my youngest cousin is a year and a half younger than Ellis, who, by the way, is in the seventh heaven with all these fun cousins to play with. I'm staying with Youngest Aunt, who feels more like a big sister.

Last night, I saw cousins whom I haven't seen in over ten years. I didn't recognize a few. Some of them tower over me in height. (Okay, most of them. I didn't get the tall genes.)

I'm so excited to be here. The car ride wasn't TOO bad, but no picnic either. But it was totally worth it. It's a blessing to be part of such a wonderful family, and I'm so happy to share in that right now.

Posted by at 10:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

So we're on the road. Turnpike is groovin'. The boy is finally asleep. I'm very happily playing one DVD after another for him. What did we do before DVD players? oh yea, we were drugged. HA!!! Now my brother is watching Rear Window on the Player.

Anyway, we found a Chick-Fil-A. Yay!!! A rare spotting up here in the north. And I'm blogging because I can. I picked up a wireless signal from a Panera nearby.

So I know you really want to know what we're watching and eating on our mad travels to Iowa. And now you can be satisfied, because I'm blogging outside of Pittsburgh.

Yay! Jimmy Stewart.

So long!

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We pretty much had the best vacation ever. We stayed with our great friends, the CurlyHeads, who had four kids ages 2,4,6,8 yo. Ellis had a great time with so many playmates. And we all had a wonderful time catching up. it's been two years since we had seen them.

We arrived late Friday night and had a nice relaxing morning saying hi to the kids and resting a bit. In the afternoon we went to the Blue Hill Fair, which could have been straight out of Charlotte's Web (E.B. White was from Maine). The kids had fun looking at the sheep, goats, cows, pigs. We enjoyed watching a few rounds of the sheep dog trials. Then the kids got a treat and a ride. Cotton candy, funnel cakes, moon bounce. A complete fair experience. There was time to go to the park in Blue Hill, which, in addition to the usual playground, included a pebbly peach area. We waded in, threw rocks in the water, climbed on rocks, and got our clothes soaked.

On Monday, Labor Day, we went to Acadia National Park, stopping of at the L.L.Bean outlet on the way. We spent some time on Sand Beach. The kids wore bathing suits and splashed in the waves. The water was too cold for me to even stick my toes in, and the adults sat on chairs, bundled up in fleeces sipping coffee. After awhile 8yoCurlyHead and I went prowling around on the rocks, which was a lot of fun and afforded us a great view of the beach and Beehive Mtn right behind it.

After the beach, we drove up Cadillac Mtn in Acadia. We got ice cream and walked around on the windy summit. The view was incredible! When we got home, we took the girls and Ellis out for a canoe ride in the river next door to our friend's house. Ellis's first canoe ride! While we were out, we saw a beaver next to his dam on the river. I've never seen a beaver before!

On Tuesday, our friend arranged for us to go out on a sailboat with some of their church friends. We sailed in wooden sailboat, Castine class, built there in Castine, ME. The wind was really brisk, and we had an exciting ride, which we love. The seals were out sunning themselves on the rocks. It was also Ellis's first sailboat ride! Afterwards, we ate lobster rolls for lunch in Castine. and then went and walked around a lighthouse.

In the evening I climbed Great Pond Mtn with the CurlyHeads. It was the 4yo's first mountain climb! The view from the stop was fantastic. I love being up there with the wind and the beauty and the openness.

Since we were on vacation after all, we thought we better rest some. So Wednesday we took it easy, picked the girls up from school, and had an evening canoe ride.

We left Thursday morning. We pressed on to get to Hartford before 5pm, so they we could have a quick visit with my college friend Sarah who lives there. We barely made it. It was so fun to see her.

Chris has been reading a book on deaf history during vacation, so while in Hartford, we stopped at the American School for the Deaf, the first deaf school in the U.S. that Thomas Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc started.

We took a picture with Gallaudet.

Spelled Clerc's name.

and walked around campus a little. After grabbing dinner in w. Hartford, we hit the road again and made it home around midnight.

Posted by at 09:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

The amount of unread item in my Google Reader.

We're back. Boohoo. Just as an indication for what an incredibly fantastic time we had: I was a week without technology, not even a cell phone signal....and I didn't care!!! I did do a quick check on my friend's computer from where i posted that pic on Monday, but other than that, nothin'.

Plenty of pictures to follow. It couldn't have been a more perfect vacation.

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A very exhausted family drove to Maine on Friday. It was us!! We're on vacation!!!

I've never been to Maine.

So I have a newsflash for everyone. We're not coming back. (just kidding) Seriously, though, this is like the most incredible place EV-AR!!

I didn't take the above picture, but I did climb on that rock. With my Curly-Headed Friends. They were are best buds in New Orleans. We moved the same day. They moved to Maine; we moved to Philly. We're here for a few more days, and it is GLORIOUS!!!!!

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So I had two main motivations for this recent trip to Chatty. One: to drive my great-aunt and uncle to my second cousin's (their grandson) wedding and to attend said wedding. Two: to visit my friend Alison who lives in France, but is in the U.S. for the summer. And then there's the just the general happy things all around.

For one, I got to stay with recently removed from my every day life bud Jonesey and totally enjoyed getting to see her again (and Ellis likewise with his best bud Josh--note: they are holding cars. it is a shared obsession). What the boys did not know is that their moms stayed up late reciting lines from the movie Cars.

Friday--We arrived in Chatty. Ellis and I went to rehearsal dinner, a cookout at cousin's cabin in Cloudland Canyon. Totally awesome locale.
Saturday--Wedding at Rock Creek located in the Middle of Nowhere on Lookout Mountain. E and I enjoyed several views of the hang gliders as we passed by hang gliding bluff many, many times over those two days.

Sunday--church and Sunday with friends

Monday--playdate with peeps at St. Elmo Park

It was way fun to see old friends. To meet friends' kids! To get reacquainted with people I've gotten to know better through blogs. Alison and her 2 boys came. Steve and Nicky and their two boys came. Alli came with Fuller. Katie with Josiah and Eden. (It was fun to finally meet Eden, since Katie and I were pregnant for most of the same time.) Michelle with Caleb and Alice. Of course, Jonesey and crew.

I spent the afternoon with Alison. After all, she had come all the way from France and i had come all the way from Philadelphia. We often wish we could get our boys together for a playdate, and for an afternoon we got that wish. And it was the perfect summer afternoon. After a dreary looking morning and a soggy lunch, the sun came out for a bright, hot afternoon. We took the boys across the walking bridge to play in the Coolidge Park fountains, followed by fantastic Clumpies ice cream, and a carousel ride.

Alison and I managed to sneak in a couple quick soul-bearing conversations between naps and bedtime. I was so happy that we had come all the way to Chatty.

We left Tuesday morning, got back to Lancaster on Wednesday evening, and I came home on Thursday. It was a long trip. I wasn't feeling well with a bad sore throat for most of the time, but with the aid of Tylenol, really nice hosts who let me sleep in a bit, and sheer adrenalin I made it, and now that I'm home I'm feeling better. harumph, stupid hormones.

We had a lot of fun traveling with my great-aunt and uncle, too. Aunt Lee came prepared with a bag full of cars and books for Ellis, doled out strategically through the journey. I gotta say, though, Cracker Barrel has about zero appeal to me right now. I love hanging out with them. I love the family stories they tell, the love they have for others.

Posted by at 10:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

Phew! 7 days without internet! My brains almost addled. On the way home, I searched for wireless signals at every gas station. Feeling a little desperate.

Had a great time in Chatty. Pics and details later. Very tired now.

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So we're somewhere between Here and There--actually a bit closer to There. I'm so glad we're going to have an easier driving day tomorrow. I'm in the hotel with E and my great-aunt and -uncle, and I have sweet, sweet wireless. I love you. Mwaah, mwaah. I'm doing all the driving in return for en route travel expenses covered. I feel like I'm getting a pretty sweet deal, because I really wanted to go. And I'm really happy that it helps out my aunt and uncle so much, because I really, really love them. But I gotta say, I've been really tired this week (PMS), and it was kind of hard there for awhile. And I didn't have my French rap and dance music to keep me pumping.

E is a fantastic traveler. I'm so happy, because I really love travel. So it's nice to have a toddler who loves being along. I was able to ease the long hours some for him at the end by whipping out my computer with a movie. I'm not going to ever feel bad about letting my kid(s) watch movies on long car trips. Because they are long and hard. I will say that he did not help me by taking a power nap 20 mins before we arrived at the motel. Followed by Major Poop Cleanup upon arrival. *sigh* We did have fun snuggles and giggles, cartoons, turning the lights on and off and on and off. And when it got to the point when I starting to growl to myself "when is the Electric Child going to go to sleep already?" He finally drifted off.

Posted by at 10:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Okay, I'm just going to call it.

St. Elmo Park
10 am
Monday morning, June 25

Hope to see fun peeps!

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Ellis and I are heading South this week. We'll be in Chatty from Friday until Tuesday. My cousin (JD) is getting married on Sat, so maybe we'll some of you there. Otherwise, Monday is Funday. It's pretty much impossible to see EVERYone I'd like to, but I hope to catch a glimpse of a few familiar faces...maybe a general rendez-vous time at the new St. Elmo Playground?

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It has been a whirlwind week.

Monday, Ellis and I rode Amtrak to Lancaster to my parents and sundry visiting relatives.
Tuesday, my mom drove Ellis and I back to Philly by way of old Amish lady who does reflexology or whatever. It helped Ellis's cough.
Wednesday, I finished my thesis. Yea, that's right.
I FINISHED MY THESIS!!!!!
I called a friend in Louisiana who more than kindly printed it out and took it to the graduate school. (Like this was a REALLY NICE thing this friend did, and I've got to find some nice gift to send him.)
Then I packed like crazy and Ellis and I got in the car with my MIL headed for Roanoke, VA to visit the grandmothers.
While I was in the car, the cranky editor called me with the few formatting changes.
Then we got hit by a tractor trailer on the turnpike. It was seriously a huge mercy, because the only thing he touched was the sideview mirror. It could have been so much worse. THat set us back a couple of hours, because it took a long time to process, because the guy was, uh, had illegal status in these parts.
Then I drove through the stormy, dark mountains to get to Roanoke to visit the great-grandmothers.
So I'm sick. Ellis is sick and clingy and cranky. But we do get a few precious moments in with the great-grandmothers.
I relay all the formatting changes to Chris, who fixes my document, changes it to PDF, and uploads it.
That's it.
He told me they sent a confirmation email. But I haven't been able to relax until I got home.

It's really and truly here.
I'm done. Now all I have to do is sit back and wait for my stinkin' diploma to arrive in the mail.

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Thought I'd share a couple of pics from our recent trip to Louisiana

My friend Erica took this pic. My camera is acting weird. I love that double decker bus we found at the thrift.

Here we are in front of our old apartment where C and i lived for 4 years (upper right--man, I miss that porch). No repairs have been done since Katrina. The water was about half-way up the first story. Frankly, that house had serious structural issues before, I'm not sure if it's even worth fixing up. But it was home, had character, a great view, and a lot of memories. Ellis lived there for the first 8 months of his in utero life, because, yea, I moved 1200 miles while 8 months pregnant.

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We left New Orleans at 6 pm Saturday evening. We opened the door to our apartment at 2 am Sunday morning. Everything went very smoothly. Ellis was dead tired. He played in that tired, frantic way on the flight to ATL, and then zonked out on the flight to Philly. The baggage claim area in Philly was IN-SANE!!! It was a huge mess. At 12.30 am coming down the elevator and facing wall to wall luggage pile-up wasn't exactly a welcome sight. Gradually we realized that this was the luggage that had collected from a crazy weekend of weather. Eventually, about an hour later, our luggage came around on the belt, mixed in the another very full flight's luggage. Crazy. I was just so thankful that we got it...especially since the carseat was the clincher on whether we went home or not.

We had a good time in New Orleans after my duties in Baton Rouge were done. We hung out at the zoo with our Fun Friends. It was warm. It was sunny. It was perfect. We visited other friends on Saturday. Drove around uptown a bit, and caught a meal at my favorite Lebanese cafe on the way to the airport.

It's killing me not to have posted pics in ahwile. My computer is having trouble reading my camera. I do have some fun pics, though.

I'm utterly exhausted today. Going to try to get a little work done and then sleep.

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Regarding my post earlier this morning: I'm over it. It was probably just a focal point for all my other emotions. I cried on the way to the airport, but then I was busy being a traveler and having fun. So all's well.

I rocked! Every Ellis Plan worked. Juicy boxes made it through security. Ellis loved his backpack. We had a extra seat both flights, so I didn't have to hold him. And I had just the right amount of variety in toys and staggered them at just the right intervals to keep Ellis happy. Ellis had a good time on the plane; he even had a major poopy diaper that necessitated a change of all but his shirt and socks (I was prepared!). So I rocked the airplane bathroom. (Seriously, how hard would it be to install a fold-down changing table in at least on of the airplane's bathrooms)

My awesome friend and her husband picked us up at the airport. And we squealed about baby stuff and looked at outfits already; looking forward to their summer boy.

And now to bed. A busy day tomorrow! I did have an upbeat conversation on the phone with my advisor as I arrived, so that makes me feel like sticking my head in the toilet.

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Tomorrow Ellis and I are flying to the warm South from the cold North: two flights, transferring in ye olde filter to all southbound: Atlanta (whose airport I seriously don't mind; it's the sitting for 2 hours on the tarmac that gets me). So has anyone flown with children recently? What's the deal with taking juice/food/cups in the carryon. Are they going to snark about his sippy cup? I can't buy all the juice/food he will require at the airport terminal. Eek! $

I'm also open to all suggestions for entertainment to keep him occupied on my lap. Eek!! We've a couple smallcars, crayons, books, laceup board (he loves to fiddle), and i may spring for a mini etchasketch.

sad days: it'll probably his last freebie flight.

Posted by at 09:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBacks (0)

This past week, my mom, Ellis, and I drove my youngest sister, Luisa, to college. Since she is attending my alma mater, I was excited to go along and catch up with a few people. The time, though, was very short and consumed with getting Lu set up, and I didn't get to see some people I was really hoping to see, including the crumleys, dreadfully sorry. :-( I imagine, though, that we'll be down again before the semester is over to bring familial company to my sister.

Chris drove us to Lancaster, since our other car is in the shop getting a very expensive state inspection sticker.

Son, these gas prices are seriously concerning.

Do you ever wonder if there's a conspiracy with the gas prices!? We found gas 50 CENTS cheaper in Virginia!!

I was a little worried, since this was Ellis's greatest distance road trip so far, going all the way to Lookout Mountain, Georgia. And he doesn't have a great track record with long car rides. But, a little maturity has worked wonders. We broke up the 12 hr trip into two days, stopping for the night at Chris's grandmother's house, located conveniently half way in Roanoke, VA. We took lots of stops and exercise walking Ellis around the rest areas...he won't let go of our hands yet, and he loves wearing my keys. Ellis was a dream! he didn't cry AT ALL! He's my traveling buddy!!

Climbing up a green tunnel slide in an empty McDonald's playground somewhere in Tennessee.

We managed to sneak off from Freshmania for a little bit to play with Caleb and Alice. Well, Ellis had a lot of fun with Caleb's toys and trying to climb Alice and terrorizing their dog and trying to play with their parent's computer and climbing on their boxes. I think Ellis's approach to the social situation was a little bit more presumptuous than Caleb was prepared for, who now not only had his sister to worry about but also this crazing climbing machine with a name that sounded an awful lot like his sister's. They started to warm up to each other by the end, perhaps we can stay longer next time. The most hilarious part, though, was Ellis's reaction to their dog, Katie. Ellis loves being around animals, but usually they don't like being around him and go hide. But Katie is wonderfully acclimated to small children. As we were sitting around the table, all of a sudden I heard these deep belly giggles. Ellis was teasing Katie with a cracker, holding it out and pulling it back, laughing and laughing. He chased the dog all over the house; he couldn't get enough of her! Too bad we can't have pets. It was a lot of fun for me to finally meet these two kids and catch up with Bob and Michelle! It's funny to think back to hanging out with them ten years ago in college and now our kids got to play together.

Ellis Goes to College

Goodbye, Aunty Lu!

More pics of the trip on Flickr.

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So on Saturday I flew down to Florida. I packed everything for the boy and for me in one backpack which I carried on. Unfortunately I had take the darn carseat, so one checked item. The carrier I borrowed from my friend worked out great, though it doesn't have great back support. Definitely a style I will look into, though probably not the brand. It was a huge help. I had the boy on my back, and our stuff on my front. Grandma's bags hung from elbows, and I pushed the wheelchair with my hands.

It was definitely wonderful to see and to be with my grandmother again. It was a good time traveling with her, sort of reliving past times when we were summer traveling buddies. She's up here close to us now, and that's a good feeling.

The weekend itself, though, was blah. I'm just exhausted from all the moving and other craziness going on, and hauling through airports with the Wiggliest One-Year Old in the World Who Never Sleeps was not high on list of Desired Things to Do. The brevity of my stay in Pensacola combined with my lack of transportation made it impossible to do or to see anything. My proximity to New Orleans kept haunting me. And it would've been nice to see the water....

All told, Ellis is an excellent traveler. He did sleep in the backpack carrier during our layover in Atlanta today. That was good. Part of the reason why he doesn't sleep on the airplane is that he keeps flirting with everyone around him. And when all else fails, "this little piggy" always amuses.

I had kind of a rough time, so I was pretty thankful to see my dad and sister and then Chris at the Baltimore airport. Dad and Luisa took G'ma on their way to their part of Pennsylvania, and Chris and I headed back to Philly on I-95. No sooner did we clear Baltimore, though, did I realize that my driver's license was still in my g'ma's purse, where I had tossed it for safe-keeping in a frantic moment while my wallet was out of reach. We had just stopped for some dinner and I called my Dad so that he could overnight it. He asked "Well, where are you?" It turned out that we were only one exit away from where they had stopped for dinner!! Praise the Lord! So we turned around and made it to where they were with time to order dessert. And I can continue to drive legally. Thankfully, that was the most upsetting thing on the trip.

The actual flights with my grandma went wonderfully smoothly. She needs a lot of extra help, due to recent surgery and paralysis from a injury when she was young, but we managed great. My great-aunt had booked us first-class which was a HUUUUGE help. It really made such a huge difference to have the extra room and extra attention. (We were hoping to get extra food out of it, too, but alas.)

I'm home. Chris did wonderful unpacking/organizing work while we were gone, and it feels just that more homey around here.

Posted by at 09:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

It's been non-stop around here.

I'm working on a long post about deaf stuff in our lives recently.

But I'm off to Florida right now.
Ellis and I are going down to accompany my grandmother who is moving up here. It'll be a crazy Monday. I borrowed this backpack carrier from a friend, since Ellis has outgrown the one I had. I wasn't sure how I was going to manage a stroller and a wheelchair. I think this will work. This will be the fifth time Ellis has travelled by airplane.

More next week....

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After reading around, I've discovered what I knew had to be the case but didn't have time find out beforehand: there was a blogger meet-up and I missed it. Oh well.

I left super, duper early on Wednesday morning. I had spent the night with my parents in Lancaster, because I got a way cheaper ticket from Harrisburg than from Philly. Our flight left at 6 am, and at 4.30 am I was turning my parent's house upside-down in a panic. I couldn't find my glasses! I wear my glasses all the time. I need them. Last thing off at night, first thing on in the morning. How could I lose them!?!?!??!!? My dad and I searched and searched but could not find them. Well, finally, I just had to give up and go. They promised to FedEx them if they found them.

So I spent the next several hours in a visual fog. We got to Detroit in time for breakfast. Ellis likes blueberry bagels, so I got one for him and everything bagel for me, and we sat at the fun fountain, munching, while I also nursed a grande latte from the adjacent Starbucks. I hadn't been to Detroit since its renovation, and it was a fun airport. After breakfast we walked through the fun tunnel with lights and music a few times. Ellis had a lot fun watching that.

We arrived to Kalamazoo airport. And I wondered how I was going to manage seeing that I couldn't see a darn thing! We were expecting my great-aunt to pick me up. Thankfully, she walked in and found us. And she took us home with her and took care of us!! We had such a nice time with my great-aunt and uncle. And since she has young grandchildren locally, they were fully equipped for all my baby needs. They loved on us and took care of us. Travel-worn and having to pull my head together for my paper, it was so wonderful to be there.

Oh yea, and when I got there and opened my suitcase, there were my stinkin' glasses. I'm an egg-head.

On Thursday I was ready to go. My aunt and uncle took care of Ellis, and I think were mutually entertained. They had a great time with him, and doubtless, he with them. It put me at such ease of mind, since I just didn't know how it all would work out.

I attended interesting sessions, some papers better than others. Met up with Advisor and Friends. Had very helpful read-through with Advisor. And then my session at 3.30. My subfield at K'zoo had a session just before in the same room, so everybody just stuck around and there was a good showing at my session. My paper was sandwiched between to other more established scholars, so I had their roomful, too. And lots of questions afterwards, which I hate, because even though I lived with this topic for a couple of years, I'm still no expert. I think I managed them fairly well. The thing that I don't like is that I can't always spot a dumb question. So I fumble trying to think of something to say and come up with something lame, then afterwards people are like "duh" and that makes me feel better, because I least I had an excuse for being lame. The best part was afterwards everybody was pals with me. Including someone whose area I really want to get into for my dissertation (whenever that happens) and I really like what she does. And she has young kids, so we had the baby thing to talk about, too. She was just cool.

I slept in a bit on Friday (or rather Ellis did, thus I did). And my aunt made us a fabulous breakfast of pancakes and eggs, then I went to a morning session, which was a panel, and I got there and realized that it was boring, and I had no idea what they were talking about, so I flipped through my book and realized a session that I really wanted to be at was happening at that time across campus. So I hoofed it over there trying to get what I could, but I really would have enjoyed the first two papers, and I only made it for the third. Oh well.

Ran into a couple of people I was hoping to bump into. Including former fellow grad student friend now tenure track friend--we were Friday evening library buddies.

But lunch was great. It was a meeting of another subfield closely linked to mine, so lots of friends. And I had good chats and "got involved" a bit. I'll be helping with the newsletter. It's nice to have a little something going on to help me stay in touch since I'm not residing at any institution at the moment.

Then, I left. I knew after a month of travels, I would be too tired to stay for the whole conference. So I was outta there. I had just enough conference to make it worth it and enjoyable. Would've loved to stay for fun dinners with fun peoples, for crashing a few wine receptions, and for hearing a few more papers that looked interesting, but I left satisfied. And, hello!, I didn't ever make it to the book tables.

My aunt took us to the airport in the evening and we were off, arriving in Harrisburg very late.

Posted by at 12:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

You know, I love travelling, but I really hate packing and unpacking--especially when it involves climate adjustments and appropriate wardrobe adjustments...and when it involves said considerations for me and the boy...and when I have to dress up a little (though, mind you, I'm not going all out for this conference).

Off to Kalamazoo uber-early in the morning. It'll be Ellis's first medieval conference ever! At the tender age of ten months. Hey, ya gotta start 'em sometime.

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Walking on the levee in New Orleans

More pics on Flickr

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Still in Louisiana folks!!! And having a great time.

Reporting to you live from Baby Jail.

Ellis's first Easter basket. He got Cheerios, because his mean mom won't let him have candy yet.

It's been really hot here. Ellis enjoys his first ever dip in the pool.

Easter boy.

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Walking in Audubon Park

Dinner with friends at their French Quarter apartment

Whole Foods on Magazine St. has always been great, but now, after its post-Katrina renovation, it's even better!! It just rocks!!! And full of food-lovin' fun people. I love this city.

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Our favorite Lebanese restaurant on Carrollton. With outdoor seating and our favorite order of all appetizers--a huge platter of humus, baba ganoush, labna, along with rolled grape leaves, tabbouleh, and falafel. Even Ellis liked munching on pita and humus.

Walking along the sidewalk in Uptown. (More like a wrestling match between the sidewalk and the stroller.)

Walking by our old church.

Driving into New Orleans.

We drove by Chris's former place of employment in the 9th Ward. The water line on the bush. We were told the actual peak of the water was a couple feet higher.

Posted by at 10:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I miss my blog! I wrote this last week, but I've had intermittant internet access all week, connected to the New Orleans wireless network, which doesn't seem strong enough to upload pics, of which I have loads. Can't wait to share them!

On Monday morning we were swarmed by happy, excited Fun Kids, playing with Ellis and talking to me. Ellis is having a blast being with so many other kids. So I left him to have fun in the playpen with Fun Baby Barely a Year Old and stole away to work on my thesis.

Before too long, though, I had to stop and go to the airport to pick up Chris. It felt so comfortable to drive through the familiar roads and crazy traffic.

When Chris got into the car at the airport, without discussion, we drove down Airline, got on the Earhart Expressway, turned right onto Carrolton, and left onto our old street, Fontainebleau Dr. We drove the length of the street to our old apartment, untouched by flood waters on the second floor.

The building was empty. We pulled into the driveway and noticed a balcony on the apartment in the back sported our old green diner chairs last seen on the curbside for trash pickup. We walked up to the porch and opened the stairway door, instinctively looking in the mail slot. And, lo, and behold, we had mail, just a bit of junk mail from State Farm, but it had our name on it...and a water line.

We walked up the stairs and tried the door. It had already been broken down, so we entered easily. The floor was strewn with broken glass from the windows peppered with dead roaches. Otherwise, it looked as we had left it, tidy and scrubbed. Good thing I had cleaned the fridge well.

It was incredibly cathartic to walk through the place again, especially after Katrina. To know that we didn't love a dream. That it was real, that it was over, and that that was okay. It was a much-needed goodbye. When we left at the beginning of June last year, it was amidst such turmoil that we almost didn't have the mental capacity to say goodbye, and in a sense, this whole trip so far has been giving us this catharsis...again, especially after Katrina. We know that New Orleans is still here.

After inspecting our old apartment, we drove around some familiar streets, soaking it all in. Noting where it looked normal and where it looked altered. Water lines on some homes. A lot of branches and shrubs gone, giving an airy feel to what once were shady streets.

After saying hello to our old stomping grounds, we crossed the river and said hello to some real stompers, the Fun Family. I holed up in the room, Chris entertained Ellis, and I finished my thesis.

Posted by at 12:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

My thesis draft is turned in for now. I expect to make a lot of revisions, but that's okay. I know of a few things that I should probably get more of a handle on before the defense, but I'm looking forward to the feedback, which will really help me figure out what to do next.

I needed to have the thesis in on Monday. While I was in Pensacola visiting great-aunts and -uncles and grandma, I realized that I needed to go to Baton Rouge for the final push to get the draft done. For one, my fab friend Erica could help with Ellis, and I could get to the library for a few citation checks. So instead of going to New Orleans from Pensacola on Monday, I decided to go to Baton Rouge on Sunday afternoon, so that I could be there to finish on Monday before coming back to New Orleans to pick up Chris at the airport.

So after church and lunch with my great-aunt and uncle, Ellis and I were off. It was a beautiful sunny day, and we were cruising. It was fun. Ellis dozed off, and when he woke up was ready for a little break. We had gone for about an hour, so we stopped at the last exit in Alabama at a little gas station with picnic tables. It was sunny and warm, and I was loving it! Ellis and I tried on sunglasses and had fun.

We went back to the car, I strapped him in, and set him up with his toys. He was so cute; I had to take a picture.

We drove for about another hour, and Ellis was getting hungry, so we went to an exit near Gulfport, MS. There was a Barnes and Noble there that Chris and I used to stop at. But it was still getting renovated after the hurricane. By this point Ellis has been screaming for about half an hour. I felt so bad. So I thought we could get out and walk around a little bit after giving him something to eat.

I looked around for the bag with the diapers and my wallet and other random stuff in it, and I couldn't find it!! I turned the car upside down and inside out and I couldn't find it!!!!!!! OH NO!!!! The picture dawned on me: I left it on the ground by the car in Alabama, an hour ago, when I strapped Ellis into the carseat.

As I realized this everything flashed before me. Ellis has been screaming for a good half hour, and likely will continue to scream for much of the two hours we have left to get to Baton Rouge, but the bag is an hour away, so if I were to turn around and go back, that added an additional two hours to the two hours we already have left. So four more hours of Ellis screaming, and trying to finish my thesis at the end of it.

What was I going to do!?!?

I didn't know what to do. I called my friend in New Orleans in a panic. We were going to their house on Monday and are staying with them while in NOLA. They are the Fun Family with five Fun Kids. I called Fun Mom, my friend. After brainstorming for awhile, we came up with a plan. I would go on to Slidell, another half hour, and she would meet me there, except, it would take longer for her to get there than me. So that I could turn around right away to get back to Alabama, she arranged for her cousin, with whom she would trust her life she informed me, and her husband to meet me there to take Ellis. Fun Mom and two Fun Daughters would meet Ellis and take him back to her house in New Orleans, and I would go to her house that evening. So much for Baton Rouge. My wonderful friend Erica agreed to print out my thesis, which i would email to her, and give it to my committee.

So Ellis screamed the whole way to Slidell, where I met Fun Cousin and her husband, who were so wonderful. They filled my tank with gas, gave me some cash, and loved on baby Ellis.

I turned around and headed back 90 miles to Alabama, just praying that I would find it. Having gotten about four hours of sleep the night before, plus thesis, plus traveling alone with screaming Ellis, I was beginning to feel considerably frayed. In my mind, I was praying and composing this blog entry to occupy myself and stay calm.

I got to the gas station at about 9 pm. Praise the Lord, the bag was there!! Not only that, all the cash (over $100) and cards and everything was there. (Chris had already checked card activity online.) The owner of the station had found the bag shortly after I had left and locked it in the office. After profuse thanks, and stocking up on caffeine and sugar to get me the next 130 miles, I was on my way again.

Driving back along the Gulf Coast, driving back into Louisiana, driving across the lake at 45 mph on rickety post-Katrina I-10 bridge, driving past blown out apartment buildings in New Orleans East, driving past mudbaked flooded cars abandoned underneath the interstated bridge, driving through the Central Business District, trying to take in as much as I can in the dark. I drove over the Crescent City Connection to the Fun Family's house on the West Bank. And was happily greeted by Fun Kids and a contentedly sleeping baby, who, I was informed, had a fabulous time with Fun Cousins and zonked out when they loaded up in the car.

I crashed sometime around midnight. So much for the thesis. But so wonderful to be with such dear friends.

Posted by at 12:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

It feels good to be wearing flip-flops again.

We arrived late morning in Pensacola yesterday. Our flight left Philly at 6.30 am with a shortish connection in Atlanta (hi, folks!). We would've missed it, because I had accidently set the alarm for PM instead of AM, but Ellis woke us up at 4.30. AAck! we were out of the door in 20 mins flat. I've never been so glad for E's night-waking.

This is a short post, because I'm trying to finish my thesis here. Blah.

It's nice to see my relatives (great-aunts and -uncles and grandma).

Posted by at 12:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Every time I come home I'm convinced that no one can say it better than Bilbo, "There and back again." Yep. That's my trip in a nutshell.

We had a good Thanksgiving. We left Atlanta yesterday, drove to Roanoke, VA to visit C's grandmothers and then drove to Philly today making it home in time for evening service. Two long days. I'm very tired. Ellis was a trooper. Poor baby. He did a lot better car traveling in daylight. When we went to Buffalo, most of our travel time was in the dark, and he just screamed, except when we let him play with the booklight. I was nervous about two days of car travel after the Buffalo torture, but he did much better. I'm stiff and tired and not going anywhere for awhile.

It was hard to be in the South...so close to New Orleans. Well, at least closer than where we are now. Last time we were in Atlanta, when we went home it was to NOLA. It felt so tangibly close, yet so far.

There are so many levels in which we are still dealing with NOLA emotionally. Often just one of the changes we went through are enough to stress one out...but the church closing, a new baby, a new job, move to a new city, and then watching "home" being destroyed by a hurricane...and now being in a weird holding pattern, still feeling like we're on the vacation that will never end. Being in the South this weekend stripped away another layer of raw emotion, and I find myself bursting into tears at the mere thought of NOLA.

Posted by at 10:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Hey y'all folks in Atlanta! *waving big*

I'm here for Thanksgiving. Ellis and I flew down yesterday along with my brother-in-law (whose house we're at now), who had been in Philly for a conference. Yesterday was raining, and we flew to Atlanta. Guess what that means? Delays! It wasn't too bad (considering Atlanta), just a couple of hours. And Ellis did great on the flight. He even had the courtesy to undergo poop explosion right before we boarded instead of on the flight. Too bad we can't fly everywhere.

I feel fabulous because I just got a fantastic haircut. It's been awhile since I've gotten one that just suits me for the moment. Yay! I'm a grownup again!

Well, between pumpkin pies and grad school applications, my time is filling up quickly. Can't wait for daddy to arrive.

Posted by at 03:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

This weekend we went to Buffalo, NY for Chris's cousin's wedding. We drove up in a rented minivan with C's parents, about a 7 hour trip counting rest stops. It was a whirlwind trip. We're glad we went, but we're glad to be home, too. The wedding was nice, simple, and joyous--everything I like about a wedding. There was a good chunk of time between the ceremony and the reception so we hopped over to see Niagra Falls.

I hadn't seen Niagra Falls since I was really little, so basically I don't remember much. Ellis wasn't too impressed, more interested in snuggling back to sleep. We came just before sunset, so the evening sun made the mist glow brightly. It was exciting and huge.

The reception was fun. It was nice to hang out with C's relatives. And Ellis enjoyed meeting another one of his great-grandmothers.

Posted by at 09:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)

We came home from Florida on Saturday. Ellis was a bit fussier on the plane back, but still overall, a very good traveler. Thankfully, it's warm here, making the transition back to North from sunny sub-tropical a little easier. I gazed longingly as the palm trees faded into tinyness on the ground below.

On Friday morning, Ellis spent an hour at the beach. It was his first trip to the beach. I had a lot of good times at this beach with my grandma when I was little, playing in the waves, collecting shells, watching the sun set, and eating ice cream cones from McDonald's. He won't remember it, but it was nice for me to take Ellis there on Friday morning.

I remember the excitement of driving to the beach, getting closer and closer, until you could finally catch a glimpse of the water over the sand and between the buildings. And then walking around the corner of the bordwalk to see the sand stretch out in front of you. This is the part where you take of your shoes and run wildly in the sand down to the water's edge.

With Ellis on my front and my bag on my back there was no wild running this time, though I was inside. I walked Ellis down to the water's edge. I didn't know how he'd react to the water and everything. I dangled his feet in the edge of the surf and let him feel the wet sand between his toes. He didn't grin or giggle or anything. He's probably too young yet, but he did look and look. We sat there and watched the waves and the birds. I was disappointed we didn't see any pelicans. But lots of gulls, terns, and sandpipers. I bent down to pick up a flat shell for his baby book and then began finding all sorts of beautiful shells, including a whole sand dollar about two inches in diameter.

We walked along for a bit. I thought he might be interested in looking at the birds, but no, what he really loved to look at was our shadow, etched finely in the sand by the late morning sun. And in the warmth of the Florida sun and the rhythm of our walk, he fell asleep.

Posted by at 07:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Phwew! After trying since ... oh, just last night...well, it felt like forever!.... I'm now online at my grandma's house. It's the first time I've ever used a computer in this house, much less get online. Technology never felt so good!

Ellis and I arrived safely late in the afternoon yesterday. He did great on the airplane...his first plane ride! (pictures forthcoming) I'm so thankful Ellis is such an easy-going, easy traveling kid, because I sure don't deserve it! I really like to travel, so I'm glad he does, too.

Actually flying alone was a whole lot easier than conferencing alone. I was a little thrown off, however, by the quick turn-around time between one trip and the next. And feeling slightly anxious about flying with the boy, though, by all appearances, not anxious enough, as I realized halfway to the airport during rush hour traffic that I had left my printout of flight plans on the kitchen table and I couldn't even remember the airline I was flying!! (At least I had looked at the time the night before, so I would know when to leave in the morning.) Well, I remembered that I when I bought my ticket, I was trying to decide between USAirways and American Airlines. I figured I must've chosen American, because everyone complains about USAir. So I had my MIL drop me off at American. Since I had all the baby gear, I was going to go the curbside checkin route. But...wrong...they had no 10.55 flight. But before I decided to trek over to USair in another terminal, I wanted to be sure it was USair, so I pulled out my computer and tried to find the confirmation email, but I couldn't find it, so I sheepishly called my g'ma to whom I had given basic flight info. And then trekked over to USair. When I got there, the curbside guy couldn't find me in the system, so I went in to the self checkin, and voila, no problem. Thankfully! After that it was pretty easy. People were nice and helpful, especially getting through security, and it was a slow time of day.

So now here I am in warm, sunny Florida. I should be missing Philly, at the height of colored leaves season, but truth be told, I'm not. I'm just happy to be wearing my flipflops.

Posted by at 10:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I don't need to dress up as Superwoman for Halloween. All i have to do is look in the mirror!

Anyway, in case you missed me these past couple of days, here's what I've been up to. I went to the annual, national meeting of my professional organization, which was in DC. Since I now live in Philly, I drove down, and since I now have a 4 mo old, he went too.

I was a little worried going all alone. For one thing, it was Ellis's longest carride to date, and for another, I wasn't sure how I was going to maneuver at the conference. Well, Ellis did great in the car. He slept almost the whole way down and definitely the whole back. Overall, Ellis did very, very well.

I drove down on Wednesday night and the first thing I did upon arrival in DC was get lost. I was staying with a friend from Cov (Autumn F. for those who care), and she lives in the city proper, not far at all from the capitol. On Thursday morning, I decided to drive over to the hotel where the conference is since I had baby gear and stuff for the student welcome table that I organized. It was a harrowing experience. I will never drive in DC again! I thought I could manage city driving, but this city is a nightmare. Going ot the hotel was okay, mostly because we were going at like -5mph. It took about an hour and a half to go 5 miles straight through the city. Coming back was horrible; I got so lost and have no idea why. It's like all of a sudden I'm on the wrong road, circling around the Washington Monument! Harumph. I don't like being defeated by directions, because normally I'm very good at figuring out maps, directions, and generally where I am.

Thursday i set up the student welcome table and welcomed students. It's nice for first time attending students, because a major academic conference can feel pretty intimidating, esp. if you come alone or barely knowing anyone. This was my fifth year attending, and it was fun to be able to catch up with people I've gotten to know over these past few years. And there was our small Covenant crowd, yay! I left early Thursday evening. Exhaustion set in, and I knew Friday would be intense.

I got up at 5 am on Friday and was on the Metro by 6.45. LOVE the DC metro! I didn't jump on the whole metro idea at first, because I knew I would have to take a cab home since the metro station was a mile from my friend's house, and I wasn't going to walk a mile in the middle of the night, surely the hour of my return. So in order to take a cab, I would have to bring the car seat. But I managed the Metro. I strapped Ellis to my front in the Bjorn. Piled all my stuff (including the carseat) into the stroller and took elevators. It worked great. And when my midnight departure from the conference rolled around, I was so thankful just to load into a cab and not have to think about anything. I had a 7 am breakfast meeting, and I rolled in with Ellis and the moderator rolled in with a stroller and a 5 yr old, sticking an Elmo DVD into his laptop and asking one of us to take minutes. It made me feel a lot more comfortable about being there with my baby.

Bringing Ellis to the conference at first made me nervous, because, well, you know, academia isn't exactly up there in the family friendly scale. But it turned out really well. I received so many encouraging and supportive comments from women who had brought their babies in years past (or at least wished they had been able to, depending on how many years have passed). At one point, another woman and I were in the same lounge nursing, and she joked that this was beginning to feel like a La Leche League meeting. It was also rather amusing to see super famous scholars (men and women alike) melt at the sight of Ellis's bright blue eyes and cheery smile peering out the top of my Bjorn. (I was also able to get in some good conversations with people I probably wouldn't have approached otherwise. Go Ellis!) However, i didn't have the bravery to bring Ellis into any paper sessions, though one woman encouraged me to go ahead and do so. Joanna held E for a bit so I could catch a couple papers in teh afternoon. I tried to go to singing from Ren facsimiles (my favorite event!), but he was just too fussy. Oh well. After dinner, we went to a 10pm reception and chatted with people. He had been sleeping in my Bjorn, but then he woke up and started CryFest, so I left, got him settled, and caught my cab home. We were both exhausted. And after two days of juggling baby and conference, i was feeling a bit at my wit's end.

I was so thrilled for the dawn of Saturday, because Chris arrived. He came down on Amtrak and took over boy duty. I got to go hear some really fabulous papers, catch up with a couple of people I needed to talk to, and just have some relief. Phwew! I was really ready for him to come. After my morning mile walk to the Metro (with boy in bjorn, stuff in stroller), my body just ached and my head pounded from strain of the past two days. Saturday was an important day for me. I was really excited by the papers I heard. We had super fun with our Cov friends. And then in the evening I hit a couple of parties held by places where I'm applying to grad school.

Yes, I said applying.
For many good reasons, I decided to finish where I am with a master's and apply to new PhD programs. I had a good talk with my advisor about it. And I'm feeling really good about this decision. The thing is, though, that the only viable options in my area are Ivy League, which is good...if I get accepted. So I'm madly working on my applications, and I did some good networking over the weekend. So we'll see!

The hour time change didn't ameliorate my 1am bedtime, and we struggled awake in the morning. Poor Ellis slept all day and all night. Being a good conference baby is also exhausting!

So we're back. I feel refresehd, recharged, and excited.

...and I'm off tomorrow to go to Florida to visit my g'ma.

Posted by at 03:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBacks (0)

This next week or so blogging will be as sporadic as my willingness to haul my laptop to the nearest wireless joint. And since I'm addicted to the blog, it may happen, but don't hold your breath.

For summer contact info, you can email me at jjone84 [at] lsu [dot] edu. My cell number will stay the same.

As soon as I know more, I'll post info about any Chattanooga stopping we may do.

For now, though, I'm happily packing, full of relief, thankfulness, and renewed energy. :-)

Posted by at 12:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

home. 9 pm. 90 degress F. 75% humidity. Lovin' it! (Especially when I come into my air conditioned apt).

I had an uineventful trip, thankfully. The second flight is a bit rough on belly body...both going and comeing. It's not nice sitting like that for hours on end. I bought a book in the Baltimore airport (from where I left), and I read the whole thing on the flight to Chicago. I didn't even skim or skip. See, that's why I just don't read fiction much. It was a great book, though--Curious Incident of a Dog at NIght or something like that. A sort of coming of age story of a 15 yr old kid with autism, told in the first person. It was really excellent.

I wore my brain out, so didn't feel like reading anything else after that. People were nice in Chicago. Ladies let me skip ahead of the line in the restroom. I didn't ask, but must've been wearing the desperation on my face. :-) I didn't have a long layover, got on the plane quickly, and once we got going ate the bit of supper I had bought and wrote a letter to my grandma.

My dad and I had a nice trip down to Baltmore. I was born there. There's a lot of family roots down there. We used to go visit my great-grandmother every weekend or so. Dad and I drove down Rt 1, the familiar road. I remember certain chunks of it so clearly. We drove by Grandmom's old place. It's so cute now, with new owners loving the old design and sprucing it up, giving polish to an old faithful shoe. Great-great-aunt Florence's house next-door, though, has been torn down, and suburbanite bit of pressboard (probably owned by a distant cousin) has taken its place. Dad and I stopped at the Fisherman's Wharf, the old favorite seafood grocery, and got crabcake sandwiches for lunch. So yummy.

And now I'm home. Gotta finish packing this week. For me, this means finishing the desk and dealing with the scariness of under-the-bed storage before tackling the kitchen.

Elvis is cool. He's jiving and squirming

Posted by at 10:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I'm in Philly right now for a few days. I had my requisite 32 weeks appointment this morning. The practice is nice and friendly. There are only four doctors. It'll be fine. It wasn't as nice as the clinic I've been going to, but it did have a homey feel. But like I've said, I'm not expecting much. I am just so thankful we still get insurance coverage in-network up here. I think I will go with a midwife for the next kid, though; it doesn't seem worth it to trek around to the doctor. Baby is doing great. He's turned head-down. I thought so, as his hiccups are always way down low. And I stick close to rest-room vicinity.

Flying up was something of an adventure. I've packed a couple suitcases of stuff that we'll want for the summer and checked one of them and my cello yesterday. I had a carry-on suitcase for the weekend and my bookbag, which in normal life isn't bad at all, and in pregnant life was only a bit awkward. I had a 4 hour layover in St. Louis, so I decided to splurge and get one of those smarte carts to put this carry-on and bookbag one, so that I could walk around easily. It was a splurge, though, because these things cost $3 nowadays!! (ok, so I'm cheap.) After scoping out the terminal, I decided to go to Chili's for lunch, since they had a restaurant in the terminal. I figured that the $6 hamburger and fries there was as good as anything I could've found anyway, and it would kill time having to sit down for a proper meal.

As I came up to the restaurant, I saw that they had a sign posted prohibiting smarte carts, understandably, since space was limited. Before going in, I asked the hostess since they had this policy then, could I leave the cart by the rail and come back to it. She assured me most confidently that it would still be there. So I parked the cart, took my stuff in the restaurant, and had a decent lunch relaxedly and peacefully. When I came out, though, the cart was gone. So I inquired of the hostess as to its whereabouts, and she apologetically said that a security person must have collected it. I asked if she could help me get it back since she had assured me that it would have still been there. (It was $3 after all!!) She got a manager, who got a higher manager. I explained the problem calmly and politely: that I had inquired about the safety of my cart, had been led to believe it would still be there, and would not have eaten there if there was a problem with leaving it by the rail, and could they please help me obtain another? This manager was a mid-60s man who was very rude. We had a huge, big long argument. He said that it wasn't the restaurant's responsibility, because it was airport space. To me this wasn't the primary question; I was just asking for restitution for misinformation that their restaurant had provided me. He made the analogy that what if I left my car in the street, asked the store I was patronizing if it was ok, and my car got towed. It wouldn't be the store's fault, because I had left it in the street. I pointed out to the guy that this was a false analogy, because the street is conventional space with conventional rules, and the rail outside the restaurant in an airport was unconventional space, and when I enquired of the rules, I was given the wrong ones. It wasn't a question of responsibility, rather it was a question of helping me since they had inconvenienced me, and I would've avoided this inconvenience by not eating there if I had been given the right information.

In the end, the guy gave me another $3, so I won. But I was kind of annoyed, because in the end, he still didn't understand the key issue and was still grumbling about how it wasn't their responsibility. And what was $3 to them? It was everything for my pregnant body; it is obvious that I'm beaucoup pregnant at this time, why couldn't he have been nicer and more understanding? I was very polite the whole time, and thanked him kindly as I left with my $3. Oh well. I was proud of myself, though, for sticking to my ground. I felt like crying, but I couldn't find a little corner to cry in. So I went to Starbucks where they had a happy CD playing, and I nursed a latte, pretended to read Hugh of St. Victor, and felt cheerier.

Posted by at 09:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

Well, after a very long, and somewhat roundabout route, I've made it to Princeton for my conference. I flew to Baltimore, through Atlanta; was picked up by my father-in-law and driven to Philly; ate dinner; and drove to P'ton, where I'm staying with a friend who's a grad student there.

It's been a very long day, and being pregnant doesn't make traveling more pleasant (what, I have to go to the bathroom, again!?). But I did want to show off my belly, show everybody that passed that I am pregnant. Last time I traveled, I had just found out that I was pregnant. It felt a little surreal the whole time.

I had a nice visit with Erin Liv'ton and her two cuties (and impending cutey). I love how with some many Cov folks, even ones you didn't know so well then, you can just pick up and talk like nothing else. Maybe our brains all get wired a certain way there. I was also blessed with some great maternity clothes from her! The generosity that has been shown to me in the Mat Clothes category has really overwhelmed me, and I'm so thankful.

I've decided that this is the only conference I'm going to go to this semester. It's a lot to pick up and travel, stay somewhere primitive (I'm lucky this time to have a friend), sit through sessions, etc. It's just not worth the time and money right now. I'm looking forward to this one; I think it'll be good. I think I can skip a 7 months pregnant Kalamazoo medieval conference (aka "camp" for medievalists) without any qualms or reluctance. I'm a little nervous about my paper tomorrow morning. We'll see....

It's also weird to be back up North. There's a part of me that hates it. Since I grew up in the North, that is what is normal. So my new life now in Crazy Exotic City (NOLA), which now feels so much like home, gets shown for what it really is...not home, but crazy, exotic city in light of Normal North. I don't like that. I want to live in NOLA and be part of it in an integral way. Whatever...what is more likely is that we'll find a new place to live...a new city some day. We won't stay in New Orleans in forever, though it's the kind of place that lulls you in to thinking you can.

Posted by at 10:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I could've come home early from Baton Rouge last night. In fact, I really wanted to because I was super tired having stayed up late to read The Inferno. But a friend of mine called who also commutes to LSU from NOLA (we've shared the ride sometimes). Her husband is Nigerian, and they have a friend from Nigeria who just started his PhD in chemistry at LSU. She was going to bring him home for the long Mardi Gras weekend, because he was lonely and wanted to visit. But she couldn't go to school because her baby was sick, so asked if I wouldn't mind giving him a ride. The clincher: his class didn't get out until 4.30 pm, and I was done at 11.30 am.

I really didn't want to do it. I was making excuses to myself (I'm pregnant; I'm more tired than usual!). But I knew it was the Right Thing to Do. Come on! it doesn't kill us to be nice. I actually spent some time in the library doing some photocopying and searching (wh. actually in the end proved fruitless, mildly frustrating).

I picked the guy up and we were off by 5. I take a country rode that meets up with the interstate after Baton Rouge, thus avoiding yucky BR traffic. As soon as I got on the interstate, though, I knew this trip would be a long one. The traffic was so heavy. And about 20 miles outside the greater New Orleans area it slowed to a crawl. The traffic coming out of NOLA was practically nonexistent.

This is Mardi Gras weekend. My usual 1 1/2 hour trip took me 3 hours last night. I was really tired, but in the end, the happiness on this guy's face made it worth it.