zubeneschamali

I'm stealing the idea from

dugindeep, but since I gotta be me, I went and found another 31 days list so I wouldn't have to post my picture, LOL. I know some of us are trying to revive LJ a bit, and here's my attempt. Actually, I've never managed more than a couple of posts a week, so this will be quite the accomplishment if I can do it!

Day One: The story of your life in 250 words or less

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Current Mood: optimistic
Current Music: It's Time--Imagine Dragons

Once again, I'm on the West Coast on Dec. 31 and thus one of the last people to enter the new year. Which gives me more time to think about resolutions, I guess!

( Let's take a look at last year's... )

ETA: I forgot to thank

tebtosca,

deirdre_c,

bt_kady,

cherie_morte,

fiercelynormal,

bewaretheides15, and

locknkey for the delicious gingerbread men. NOM NOM NOM. Also, thanks to

cherie_morte for my cute new userhead. *twirls tassel*

I mentioned a while back that I was taking Spanish this semester. It's gone well, and I'm planning on signing up for the intermediate level next semester. After about two months of wrestling with bureaucracy, that is.

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I want to say thanks to everyone who voted yesterday.

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Current Mood: hopeful

Apparently a cool thing that my university does when someone gets tenure and/or promotion is to allow them to select a book from the library and have a bookplate put in it in their honor. Which is so cool. But OMG, one book! How am I supposed to decide? They asked a month ago and now I have, like, two days to think of something: favorite novel, something of my advisor's, something related to my research, a favorite non-fiction book, etc., etc. IDEK!

Also, there was a thunderstorm early this morning with a huge crack of thunder that nearly made me shriek. On the walk into work this morning, we saw yard-long strips of bark on the ground two houses away and looked up to see a tree with a long slash of bark missing from the top to about halfway down. Guess that loud crack was lightning rather than thunder. O_o

It's back! I have been making progress on the quilt, but I keep forgetting to get the photos off of my camera. *facepalm* Well, here they are, and today's installment explains what makes a quilt a quilt.

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I knew the space shuttle Endeavour was flying to its last home today, but I didn't realize until I saw it trending on Twitter that it was taking a lap around California before it came in to land. And now all morning, every time I see a news story about it or even a mention of it, I start tearing up. And I don't know why!

( Musings below the cut )

Current Mood: melancholy

When my name was posted on

spn_summergen today, they accidentally left out the underscore and it looked like my account was gone. D: But this made me realize that

zubeneschamali, the name I wanted all along but had been taken when I first joined LJ, had been deleted and purged. So I snatched it up. :D

All of the links to this journal and all of my friend connections should still be as they were, but let me know if anything's hinky. And you can leave out the underscore from now on.

I feel like after years of making do with clothes that weren't the right size, I finally got clothes that fit me. Ahhh. :D

Good morning! It's the first day of the new semester here, but it barely feels like it. For one, I'm only teaching one class, which is a graduate seminar on qualitative research methods (the "touchy-feely stuff" that social scientists get criticized for, like interviews and archival work and participant observation and such). For another, I have a fellowship for the spring semester, so I won't be teaching then, and I'm planning on taking a year-long sabbatical next year, so I won't be teaching any undergraduates for the next two years. (!) It's very strange. Instead, I will live vicariously through Mr. Z, who will be teaching calculus to 250 freshmen at 8 A.M., and then again at 9 A.M. (!!) He claims to enjoy it, but I just think he's weird. ♥

What's also different about this semester is that I'm going to be on the other side of the lectern! Faculty and staff can take courses for free, and I never had the time for it because, well, tenure. But I've always wanted to take advantage of that perk, and since I'm planning on this study abroad course in Barcelona next spring and know about as much Spanish as your average Sesame Street viewer, I've signed up for Intensive Beginning Spanish. Which also starts today, so I have two ways to be nervous, yay! (Also, damn, textbooks are expensive.)

I still need to post pics from my weeks in the mountains, and from the two baseball games I got to go to in August, including a really fun one with

dugindeep. But for now, it's off to school...

Back in the hot, flat, worn-down Midwest after three weeks in the Rockies. This was the first time in a very long time that I went on a trip just for the sake of going on vacation. Usually, I stay after a conference for a few days, or combine a vacation in one place with a trip to another place. This time, Mr. Z was the one conferencing, first for a week in Banff and then for two weeks in Park City. Mathematicians get to go to conferences in the coolest places. Thankfully, my yard isn't as dead as I was expecting after three weeks of no rain and ridiculously hot temperatures, although I did lose some plants. :(

It occurs to me that I never posted pics from my last trip, like I promised. So here's a huge picspam of what Z did on her summer vacation:

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Graduation was Saturday, and it was wonderful. It's definitely one of my favorite days of the year because everyone's happy, and I get to meet students' parents (which often cracks me up with how much they resemble each other), and it's a nice, small ceremony for only 3-4 departments, so everyone gets to walk across the stage and shake the Dean's hand. Astonishingly, I didn't cry, though I did come close.

Also! Congrats to everyone on my f'list who graduated this year; I know there's quite a few of you. I'm going to miss the college updates, but I'm also proud of you. :)

It's weird to think that I've been here long enough now that these undergrads came in as freshmen when I was already here. It's like I've always been here, as far as they know. Even some of our Ph.D students have now come and gone since I've been here. Five years this fall, and yet it feels like I just arrived.

Which means it's time to take off to foreign lands! Mr. Z is currently at a conference in Marseille, and since I've never been to France, I'm flying out to meet him. Then on Saturday we'll transfer to Barcelona, where I have been before, and where I'm going to be doing some of the groundwork for a study abroad course next summer. (For which purpose I will be taking Spanish this fall, turning back into a student for a few hours a week. Eep.) After a week there, we have a couple of days in Madrid before flying back on the 30th.

In other words, I'll be around even less than I have been, but with good reason. :) PM or e-mail me if you want a postcard, and I'll be happy to oblige!

Current Music: Leavin' on a Jet Plane

Long time, no post! Besides the week-long trip to my big annual conference (and to meet

bewaretheides15, who is even more lovely in person), from which I have not yet fully caught up, February was insanely busy. I'm just now getting caught up on comments from the past month, which is something I never fall so far behind on. Ugh. And now I have some shenanigans going on in my sinuses that make me feel sleepy and dopey when I'm not actually tired. (Or maybe I am actually tired, given the general sleep deficit of the past month).

I didn't even have a chance to say thank you for the blue dragons, so THANK YOU!

( Warning: this post contains a lot of math. )

So glad that I have next week off. This week has been just horrendous, concluding (so far) with the squirrel in the fireplace.

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This has been the weekend of finishing quilts: I was thisclose to finishing one that I've had in progress for *mumble* years, and then I unexpectedly am going to visit one of my best friends this week; she had a baby over the summer, and the quilt for him was also 90% done. So after some frantic sewing and dashing to the store and only poking myself with a pin hard enough to bleed once, here we are!

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Current Mood: accomplished

One of my best friends from college had her second child this spring, and in the process of making a quilt for the baby, I realized I should also make one for the four-year-old, since she might be feeling a little left out with the new guy in town. Also, we were busy moving four years ago and I didn't make a baby quilt then. I found this cool fabric at a shop in Seattle last spring that looks like a nature journal, and it seemed appropriate along with some bright but not too-bright colors.

And then I found a local quilt shop that rents out time on their longarm, which meant the actual quilting got done in, no kidding, two hours instead of probably a month. Of course, it's taken me another month to get around to finishing and binding it, but oh well. The kids probably don't want quilts in the summer anyway. :)

( Here's the results... )

When we last left our intrepid traveler, she was flying to meet up with her husband in Brisbane in a passionate airport embrace. No, actually, she was going to the hotel on Monday night and when he arrived on Tuesday at 6 A.M., he was getting to the hotel by himself, because she was tired.

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At least physically. Jet lag is ensuring that I'm not entirely mentally here. The first night back after the 28-hour journey, I slept eight hours (with a three-hour gap in the middle); the next night, 3.5 hours; then 10 hours (woo-hoo!); and last night 4 hours. Argh. The clock gets to 2 A.M. and I think, "Huh, maybe I should go to bed. But I'm not tired!" And then I wake up before 6 anyway.

But the trip itself was so, so awesome. The weather was lovely (even a bit chilly at night), we went on some long and short hikes that were magnificent, driving on the other side of the road went great, and in some ways it was like the honeymoon Mr. Z and I never got to have. :)

( Pics and such below the cut )

Current Mood: tired

Okay, I admit it: I signed up for Twitter to read Jared's tweets. But as long as I'm there, I might have something to say once in a while, so if you want to follow st0rm_at_sea, go for it!

Current Mood: hopeful

The first Major League baseball game I can remember going to, I was nine years old. We went to a White Sox game every year--my school district had a deal where straight A's got you discount tickets, and even though my dad's allegiance to the Cubs was stronger than my Mom's allegiance to the White Sox, their mutual desire to avoid driving through city traffic all the way to the North Side was greater. That year, my favorite aunt came down from Michigan when the Detroit Tigers were in town, and I was so excited to go to a game at Comiskey with her.

Turns out, it was the day Jack Morris pitched a no-hitter for the Tigers. At the time, I couldn't appreciate the historic importance of seeing a game like that one; I was just mad that my team was on the losing side, and spectacularly so.

Well, this weekend I got the opportunity to see if it stung less as a grown-up.

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Current Mood: nostalgic

When I was a kid, my mom and I would go for a walk around the neighborhood at this time of year and try to find five signs of spring. On my walk in to campus this morning, I did the same thing:

1) Snowdrops blooming a bright white against the wet, dead leaves and grass
2) The bright green-and-gold of daffodil shoots poking above the surface
3) The vivid green, thinner shoots of what I think will be hyacinths
4) The renewal notice in my e-mail inbox for Major League Baseball Gameday Audio
5) Um. The fact that we only had snow flurries instead of heavy snowfall today?

The icon above is some of the fabric from the new quilt I started today...

Current Mood: hopeful

There really shouldn't be that many different kinds of precipitation falling at once. At least it makes for a very colorful weather map. Also, 16 mph winds and ice pellets? Equals ow.

ETA: Now it says "Ice Pellets Freezing Fog Blowing Snow". Whee....

Current Mood: cold

If you haven't already seen this video, it's kind of amazing. The inflated Metrodome in Minneapolis, where the Vikings and until recently the Twins played, had so much snow fall on it last night that it actually tore and collapsed. The local Fox affiliate had a view from a camera inside the dome as it fell. They are so fortunate that it happened in the middle of the night so that no one was inside.

I used to live there, so it's kind of a big deal to me, just like it was when the bridge collapsed a couple of years ago. Poor Minneapolis!

( vid link above, pic below the cut... )

(I don't have an American flag icon, so this one will have to do instead.)

To my cousin who served in Afghanistan, to Ryan and Jared and Jim and Pat and the other students I've had who have gone to college after serving our country, and to my mom and everyone else at the VA and related organizations who try to take care of them after they come home...

Thanks.

I consider myself tagged by

raeschae and hereby declare you, the reader, tagged if you wish to be.

Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, answer these questions. You can't use the band I used (no matter how tempted you may be...LOL). Try not to repeat a song title. It's a lot harder than you think! Repost as "my life according to (band name)." Tag your music loving friends.

My Life According to They Might Be Giants:

Are you a male or female: She's Actual Size
Describe yourself: Mammal
How do you feel: Brain Problem Situation
Describe where you currently live: We Live in a Dump
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Bed Bed Bed
Your favorite form of transportation: Boat of Car
Your best friend is: My Evil Twin
Your fear: Withered Hope
What is the best advice you have to give: Careful What You Pack
Thought for the Day: I Can't Hide From My Mind
How would you like to die: Hope That I Get Old Before I Die

Current Mood: excited

Okay, who on my f'list is going to the Chicago con Oct. 8-10? Because I am! Wheee!!!!

I only bought a ticket for Sunday, but I'll probably come up Friday night and stay till Sunday evening. If you're going to be there, I'd love to figure out a time to meet up...

Current Mood: happy

So the summer is almost over...only one more week till classes start. I'm mixed about it...this summer has been rough in a lot of ways, which has led to me retreating into my own little world, which is exactly the wrong thing to do. On the other hand, I don't have much choice about getting out more and interacting more with people, because the semester's starting. There's so much I didn't get done this summer that I wanted to, and now I have to cram it in this fall along with everything else...

On a happier note, I was walking home tonight and saw the bright red-orange star in the southern sky that's Antares, which meant I could trace a line to the west until I saw the vertical row of three stars that marks the head of Scorpius, take a north turn from the topmost of those three, and see a little star named Zubeneschamali. :)

Anyway, in the interest of being more present, I jumped on board with

raeschae 's icon meme:

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Current Music: Grace Kelly--Mika

This post is first of all to celebrate my first-ever root canal finally being done. After three tries spanning six months. It wasn't painful, just uncomfortable to have my mouth propped open that long. But yay, it's done and now I can veg the rest of the night.

I also wanted to post pics of my weekend, which included one of the coolest ballpark trips ever. See, my dad and I started this thing a few years ago where we go to a different baseball stadium every summer. We've been to Wrigley on the North Side and both old and new Comiskey/whatever-the-hell-it's-called-this-week on the South Side; RFK Stadium and the new Nationals Stadium in DC; old Milwaukee, Cincinnati, and Philly; new Detroit; Boston, Toronto, Minnesota, Denver, both L.A.s, and San Diego. This year, it was Cleveland's turn. (I guess it had to happen some time. (No offense to anyone from Cleveland.))

The cool thing was that Cleveland was doing a 1920s Throwback Night, which meant the uniforms, the music, the graphics, were all 1920s. (Or slightly later, as my dad kept pointing out with the music.) I've never seen "Huzzah!" on a ballpark scoreboard before.

( Pictures below the cut... )

Right now! After you read this! So that if your computer suddenly refuses to boot like mine did last night, you won't be wondering if you'll ever see the last few months of fanfic you've been writing but haven't yet published ever again...

Thankfully, my job-related work is all on my work computer and is regularly backed up, but since I feel funny about backing up my personal folder (read: fanfic) at school, and I haven't gotten around to backing it up at home for a few months, there's a fair amount of stuff locked up on that hard drive. :(

Current Mood: worried

So it turns out that roll-on sunscreen has its advantages and disadvantages...

( Picture inside the cut )

Also, it's hard to take a picture of your own knee.

On the bright side, my yearly Father's Day gift of baseball tickets to my dad this year was actually used on Father's Day. The home team lost, but it was still a good game; the stadium was awesome (the new Nationals park in DC); and my parents and I all had a great time.

Current Mood: refreshed

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Page generated Jul. 14th, 2025 09:11

it's like a small child crossing an eight lane highway/on a voyage of discovery

Entries tagged with personal

31 Days: One

Another year over, and a new one just begun

PSA: Do you know where your medical records are?

The morning after

Making decisions when indecisive

SPN quilt, part 7

Endeavour

Aahhhh, that's better!

An apple for the teacher?

Home again, home again

Off to summer adventures!

Randomness

SPN quilt, part 2

What a fun week it's been. Not.

More quilts!

Another quilt finished!

Vacation pics, round two

I'm back!

Coming soon to a Twitter near you

Take me out to the ballgame

Signs of spring

Oh, the weather outside is frightful...

Holy snow, Batman!

Happy Veterans' Day

My life according to They Might Be Giants

Chicago plans

Back to life, back to reality

Weekend report

PSA: go backup your computer!

My day in the sun